Patent ID: 7119318

Claim:
An image processing method for an image processing apparatus which has an optical area in which a plurality of elements are disposed in rows and columns, forming a matrix, comprising: a light reception step of receiving light introduced into said elements of said optical area and photoelectrically converting the light; an operation step of operating a plurality of signals, wherein the plurality of signals are obtained for each of said elements by the photoelectric conversion in the light reception step, in accordance with a predetermined rule, wherein the predetermined rule causes a comparison of at least two of the plurality of signals to determine a maximum or minimum value of the plurality of signals for a time period, wherein each of the plurality of signals represents a value accumulated in a light reception section of each element between a reset signal and a light reception section transfer signal, the operation being based on at least one of a clear signal and a transfer signal; an outputting step of receiving a result of the operation from the operation step and outputting the result of the operation step for each of said elements by a corresponding outputting unit of a plurality of outputting units, each of said elements including one of said plurality of outputting units; and a timing adjustment step of adjusting a timing at which the result of the operation is output from each said outputting unit corresponding to each said element, said timing adjustment step using a control signal other than the clear signal or the transfer signal in the timing adjustment.