Patent ID: 8576319

Claim:
An image sensor comprising two-dimensionally arranged pixels for image sensing operations and outputting an image signal, each of the pixels having: a photoelectric conversion section that outputs light as signal charges; a charge coupled device (CCD) memory connected to the photoelectric conversion section comprising a plurality of transfer stages that accumulate a plurality of signal charges output from the photoelectric conversion section at a plurality of different image pickup timings in a series of image pickup operations, in which, an input transfer stage into which a signal charge is injected and a final transfer stage that is the final stage in a transfer direction of the CCD memory are arranged side by side, with four or more folding sections by which the transfer direction changes by 180 degrees, between the input transfer stage and the final transfer stage; the plurality of transfer stages being operative to respectively accumulate a plurality of integrated signal charges obtained by adding a plurality of signal charges output from the photoelectric conversion section at a plurality of different image pickup timings in another series of image pickup operations respectively to the plurality of signal charges accumulated in the image signal recording elements; and operative to output an image signal according to the plurality of integrated signal charges.