Patent ID: 7714904

Claim:
A solid-state imaging device comprising: an output circuit; a pixel array in which a plurality of pixel cells, each of which includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, are arranged; a scanning circuit effective to selectively drive the pixel cells; a transfer circuit effective to transfer signals from the pixel array to the output circuit; and an adder which is electrically coupled between the photoelectric conversion elements and sets a ratio between the signals to be added based on the arrangement of the photoelectric conversion elements wherein, the adder consists of, a plurality of vertical signal lines connecting each pixel to one of two systems, each system consisting of a first and second capacitor respectively, the first capacitor having a larger capacitance than the second capacitor, the ratio being set by the first and second capacitors, wherein, the capacitors are connected through first, second and third switches, a pixel signal from an ith row is stored in the first capacitor and a pixel signal of an identical color from a jth row stored in the second capacitor by the switches being in predetermined ON, OFF states, the signals are added-averaged row wise accord to the capacitor ratio by turning ON the third switch while the first and second switches are held OFF, and for adding-averaging the pixel data column wise, a signal from an nth column is stored in the first capacitor with a signal from a pixel of an identical color from a jth column stored in the second capacitor by the switches simultaneously being in predetermined ON, OFF states wherein, the signals stored in the first and second capacitor are added-averaged column wise according to the capacitor ratio by turning ON the third switch and holding the first and second switches OFF, and the adder adds together signals from non-adjacent pixels, no signal is used twice in consecutive addition operations, and the ratio for the addition operation used by the adder is such that the pitches between centers of virtual pixels resulting from the addition operation are equalized.