Patent ID: 7408443

Claim:
An image sensor for reducing fixed pattern noise, comprising: an active pixel sensor array including a plurality of unit pixels; a row driver for selecting at least one row line of the active pixel sensor array; at least two analog-to-digital converter blocks; a switching device for establishing a connection between at least one column line and one of the at least two analog-to-digital converter blocks; wherein the at least two analog-to-digital converter blocks are connectable to at least two columns of the plurality of unit pixels; each of the at least two analog-to-digital converter blocks includes a plurality of analog-to-digital converters and a latch block for latching the digital signals from at least one of the plurality of analog-to-digital converters, each of the plurality of analog-to-digital converters further being connectable to at least two of the at least two columns of the plurality of unit pixels, at least one of the at least two analog-to-digital converter blocks is configured to process signals from each non-adjacent column in the selected row line simultaneously; and a multiplexer for outputting a signal from the latch block.