Patent ID: 7456882

Claim:
A driving method for a CMOS type image pickup device having pixels each including a photoelectric conversion unit and a transfer MOS transistor for transferring photoelectric conversion signal charges generated by the photoelectric conversion unit to a floating diffusion region at an input terminal of an amplifier element, wherein the image pickup device includes signal lines configured to output an amplified signal to a capacitor arranged at each signal line, the driving method comprising, for a pixel: a driving step comprising at least a first and a second transfer step, the first transfer step being performed for applying a pulse to a transfer switch to transfer a part of signal charges generated during one accumulation period by a photoelectric conversion unit to a floating diffusion region, and the second transfer step being performed, subsequently to the first transfer step, for applying a pulse to the transfer switch to transfer a remaining part of the signal charges generated during the same one accumulation period by the photoelectric conversion unit to the floating diffusion region, before reading out a signal from the pixel to a corresponding signal line, wherein no reset of the floating diffusion region is performed between the first and second transfer steps of the signal charges.