The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 10, 2026
Filed:
Aug. 22, 2024
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus includes a photodiode that performs avalanche multiplication, a recharging circuit, a control signal generating circuit that generates a control signal to control the recharging circuit, a count pulse generating circuit that generates a pulse signal from a signal output from the photodiode, and a counter that counts the pulse signal output from the count pulse generating circuit. The control signal generating circuit is configured to output, based on a clock signal and a mask signal, the control signal having a first period and the control signal having a second period longer than the first period. In a case where a counted value of the counter reaches a threshold, the signal to be output from the control signal generating circuit can be switched from the control signal having the first period to the control signal having the second period.