Patent ID: 8847938

Claim:
A method for controlling an imaging device, a plurality of pixel circuits, each pixel circuit photoelectrically converting incident light into charge, the method comprising: (a) for each pixel circuit, transferring the charge photoelectrically converted by a photoelectric converter to a node, amplifying the potential of the node up to a first voltage based on a first voltage source and outputting a voltage depending on the amount of the charge as an output signal to an output signal line, and setting the potential of the node to voltages of at least two different levels other than zero by using a control transistor based on a second voltage source different from the first voltage source; and (b) stopping the signals output from the plurality of pixel circuits for a predetermined period after the reading-out of the charges by the plurality of pixel circuits, wherein, the second voltage source is switched directly from a high voltage level to a low voltage level, then switched directly from the low voltage level to a medium voltage level, and then switched directly from the medium voltage level to the high voltage level.