Patent ID: 7259780
Filing Date: 2007-08-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image sensor, comprising: a solid-state image sensor which includes an image pickup section comprising a plurality of light receiving pixels arranged in matrix which accumulates information charges generated by the respective light receiving pixels in response to incident light forming an object image, a vertical transfer section which receives and stores information charges accumulated in the respective light receiving pixels of the image pickup section in units of single screen and then transfers the charges in a vertical direction in units of one line, and a horizontal transfer section which transfers in a horizontal direction and outputs the information charges output from the vertical transfer section; an image sensor control circuit for controlling the operation of the solid-state image sensor; a line memory for storing according to an internal clock, in units of one line, image data corresponding to picture signal output from the solid-state image sensor; a memory control circuit for reading the image data, which is to be stored in the line memory, one pixel at a time according to an external clock supplied from an external equipment and outputting the image data to the external equipment, supplying, stopping, and resupplying of the external clock being controlled in accordance with the state of the external equipment; and a register in which a parameter that designates a read-out range is set; wherein the memory control circuit reads a designated range of image data from the line memory according to the parameter set in the register.