Patent ID: 6141049
Filing Date: 2000-10-31
Classification: H01L,H04N

Abstract:
A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising:a plurality of photosensors arranged in rows and columns;accumulation-time control means for controlling accumulation of signal charges in said photosensors and differentiating between a first time period for accumulating signal charges in the photosensors in a first group and a chronologically different second time period for accumulating signal charges in the photosensors in a second group, and for interposing a shutter operation between separate readouts of said signal charges from the photosensors of the first group and of the second group;means for separately transferring the signal charges from the first group and the second group via a single vertical transfer register; andmeans for combining respective signal charges from photosensors of the first and second groups following said transfer via a vertical transfer register to form image information,wherein the photosensors of the first group and the photosensors of the second group are different,wherein the shutter operation removes accumulated signal charges in the photosensors of the first group and in the photosensors of the second group to a drain, andwherein a further readout operation is not interposed between the separate readouts of said signal charges from the photosensors of the first group and the photosensors of the second group.