Patent ID: 7595822

Claim:
A driving method of a solid-state image pickup device, the solid-state image pickup device comprising: a first-conductive-type semiconductor substrate; a second-conductive-type well that is formed in the semiconductor substrate, corresponding to an inverse-type of the first-conductive-type; a charge storage region that is formed by arranging a plurality of the first-conductive-type charge storage regions formed in the well like a matrix and stores a signal charge generated in accordance with the amount of incident light; a vertical transfer channel of the first-conductive-type that is formed in the well along a column of the charge storage region arranged like the matrix, reads the signal charges stored to the charge storage region, and transfers the signal charges in the column direction; a line-memory transfer path of the first-conductive-type the that is formed in the well, is connected to an end of the vertical transfer channel, and holds the signal charges from the vertical transfer channel; and a horizontal transfer channel of the first-conductive-type that is formed in the well, is connected to an end of the line-memory transfer path, and transfers the signal charges transferred from the line-memory transfer path in the row direction, wherein the signal charges stored to the charge storage region are read to the vertical transfer channel, are transferred to the horizontal transfer channel one row by one row during one horizontal blanking period, and the signal charges are output, the driving method comprising the steps of: transferring the signal charges on a first row from the vertical transfer channel to the line memory during a first horizontal blanking period; transferring the signal charges on the first row from the line memory to the horizontal transfer channel during a next second horizontal blanking period with the first horizontal blanking period and the second horizontal blanking period being separate and distinct, and during the second horizontal blanking period a transfer of any remaining signal charges on the first or a previous row takes place; and thereafter transferring the signal charges on a second row next to the first row from the vertical transfer channel to the line memory that is vacant.