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:
Jul. 03, 2007
Filed:
Apr. 13, 2005
Applicants:
Matthew Purcell, Edinburgh, GB;
Robert Henderson, Edinburgh, GB;
Inventors:
Matthew Purcell, Edinburgh, GB;
Robert Henderson, Edinburgh, GB;
Assignee:
STMicroelectronics Ltd., Buckinghamshire, GB;
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G09G 3/10 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
An image sensor includes an array of pixels arranged in rows and columns. A reference current source provides the reference current to a transistor forming one half of a current mirror. Each column has a current source, which forms the other half of a current mirror. A switch is provided to selectively connect a resistance between ground and the transistor. When the resistance is connected, the transistor is starved of gate-source voltage, which reduces the current supplied by each current source.