Patent ID: 7623162
Filing Date: 2009-11-24
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A signal processing device comprising: a solid-state image pickup element having: means for clamping, to a predetermined reference value, black level values of pixel signals from the vertical light-shielded pixel area and the effective pixel area, which are outputted from the output circuit; means for determining a threshold value, the threshold value defining the bounds of a range of acceptable black level values that fall between the predetermined reference value and the threshold value, the threshold value being defined by calculating a standard deviation of random noise from the vertical light-shielded pixel area and performing a multiplication operation on the standard deviation to find the threshold value; means for determining whether pixel signals from the vertical light-shielded pixel area that have the black level value clamped to the reference value exceed the threshold value; means for detecting a defective pixel among pixels arranged in the vertical light-shielded pixel area when a pixel signal exceeds the threshold value; and means for correcting the detected defective pixel by adjusting the pixel signal level of the detected defective pixel to equal the threshold value.