Patent ID: 7697048

Claim:
A solid state imaging apparatus, comprising: a plurality of pixels forming a first matrix of adjoining rows and adjoining columns, wherein the pixels of adjoining rows and adjoining columns are relatively shifted from each other; a plurality of vertical transfer devices that transfer signals of two rows of the pixels, the pixels of the two rows being relatively shifted from each other, in parallel as one line; a line memory that receives and temporarily stores said one line of signal electric charges transferred in parallel; a horizontal transfer device; an impressing device that impresses a plurality of electrically independent control voltages, wherein said impressing device is configured to impress said control voltages such that said horizontal transfer device receives signal electric charges selectively read out from said line memory and transfers the signal electric charges serially in a horizontal direction; and an output device that converts the signal electric charges transferred by the horizontal transfer device into voltage and outputs the voltage, wherein signal electric charges of four pixels of said first matrix are added in said horizontal transfer device and said line memory, the four pixels consisting of two pixels adjacent in a row and two pixels adjacent in a column of said first matrix, an intersection of a line between the two pixels in the row and a line between the two pixels in the column approximately corresponds with a center of the four pixels, and said centers of four pixels form a second matrix of rows and columns, wherein the centers of four pixels of adjacent rows and adjacent columns are relatively shifted from each other.