Patent ID: 9661243
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: H04N

Claim:
1. An image sensor, comprising: a plurality of binning pixel cells, each binning pixel cell comprising a plurality of photosensors, each photosensor being operable to convert photons incident thereon into a charge signal; a plurality of first control lines that are each coupled to each of a first set of the plurality of binning pixel cells, the first set including at least a plurality of the binning pixel cells; a plurality of second control lines that are each coupled to each of a second set of the plurality of binning pixel cells, the second set including at least a plurality of the binning pixel cells that are different from the binning pixel cells in the first set; a plurality of third control lines, each being coupled to a respective one of the binning pixel cells in said first set of binning pixel cells; and a circuit configured to drive each of said plurality of third control lines with a respective control signal that is individually selectable from at least a first control signal and a second control signal that has at least one signal characteristic different from the first control signal, such that the first control signal and the second control signal are each capable of being selectively applied individually to each of said plurality of third control lines during readout of a given image frame, wherein for each of the first set of binning pixel cells, (i) the respective charge signals generated by at least two of the photosensors in the binning pixel cell are combined in the binning pixel cell in the event that the first control signal is applied to the respective third control line that is coupled to the binning pixel cell, and (ii) none of the respective charge signals generated by each of the photosensors in the binning pixel cell are combined in the binning pixel cell in the event that the second control signal is applied to the respective third control line that is coupled to the binning pixel cell, such that during readout of a given image frame different binning pixel cells in the first set of binning pixel cells are capable being readout with and without binning, respectively.