Patent ID: 6982404

Claim:
An image processing apparatus having an optical area in which a plurality of elements are disposed in a matrix having rows and columns, comprising: a storage arithmetic operation area controlled by an arithmetic operation control section; light reception means for receiving light introduced into said elements of said optical area and photoelectrically converting the light; a plurality of operating units, each of which operates a signal obtained for a corresponding one of said elements by the photoelectric conversion by said light reception means in accordance with a predetermined rule, the operation of said operating units being based on at least one of a clear signal and a transfer signal, said operating units including storage means for successively storing a plurality of signals at different timings obtained by the photoelectric conversion, wherein said operating units execute a comparison operation for a combination of a plurality of ones of the signals stored in said storage means, wherein the comparison operation includes an arithmetic operation in response to an arithmetic operation selection signal inputted from the arithmetic operation control section for determining a maximum value or a minimum value of the signal; a plurality of outputting units, each for receiving a result of the operation of a corresponding one of said operating units and outputting the result of the operation for each of said corresponding one of said elements; and timing adjustment means for adjusting a timing at which the result of the operation is output for each of said plurality of elements from said outputting units, said timing adjustment means using a control signal other than the clear signal or the transfer signal in the timing adjustment.