Patent ID: 7733515
Filing Date: 2010-06-08
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A solid-state imaging device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in a two-dimensional array, each of the photoelectric conversion elements accumulating a signal charge in accordance with a received amount of light; a charge transfer path that transfers the signal charge read out from the photoelectric conversion elements, the charge transfer path including two branch transfer paths, each receiving the signal charge transferred through the charge transfer path and transferring the signal charge to an output end of the solid-state imaging device; the charge branching part in a connecting portion between the charge transfer path and the two branch transfer paths, the charge branching part distributing the signal charge toward one of the two branch transfer paths; and a line memory that receives the signal charges transferred through the vertical transfer paths and outputs the signal charges to the horizontal transfer path at a timing that distributes signal charges corresponding to branching residual charges in a checkerboard pattern on a reproduced image, the line memory storing the line memory outputting the red-color, green-color and blue-color signal charges to the horizontal transfer path at timings to perform a pixel addition along the horizontal direction with respect to signal charges having the same color, wherein the checkerboard pattern of the signal charges corresponds to the branching residual charges and is realized on the reproduced image by performing the pixel addition at different timings for odd and even lines of the reproduced image.