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. 14, 2015
Filed:
Jan. 13, 2012
Toru Koizumi, Yokohama, JP;
Shigetoshi Sugawa, Atsugi, JP;
Tetsunobu Kochi, Hiratsuka, JP;
CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A solid-state image pickup device comprises for each pixel a photoelectric converter PD, an input terminal FD of a signal amplifier and a transfer switch TX for transferring an optical signal from the photoelectric converter to the input terminal. The device additionally comprises means for resetting the photoelectric converter by opening the transfer switch TX under a condition of holding the voltage of the input terminal FD to a fixed high level before storing the optical signal in the photoelectric converter PD. With this arrangement, any residual electric charge in the photoelectric converter can be eliminated without paying the cost of reducing the manufacturing yield and degrading the chip performance.