PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15887033
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-02
Publication Date: 2018-06
Patent Classification: ["348", "294000"]

Abstract:
An imaging device whose dynamic range is broadened is provided. The imaging device includes a pixel including a first photoelectric conversion element and a first circuit including a second photoelectric conversion element. The first circuit switches the operation mode of the pixel to a normal imaging mode or a wide dynamic range mode and switches the operation region of the first photoelectric conversion element to a normal region or an avalanche region in accordance with the illuminance of light with which the second photoelectric conversion element is irradiated. When the illuminance of light with which the first photoelectric conversion element is irradiated is increased, the increase rate of a writing current flowing to the pixel is higher in the avalanche region than in the normal region. However, in the wide dynamic range mode, the increase rate of current can be lowered, and thus the dynamic range can be broadened.

Claim (Index 14):
A method for operating an imaging device,\n the imaging device comprising:\n a pixel comprising a first photoelectric conversion element; and \n a controller comprising a second photoelectric conversion element, \n wherein the imaging device operates in a first mode or a second mode, and wherein when illuminance of light irradiated to the first photoelectric conversion element is increased, an increase rate of a writing current flowing to the pixel is lower in the second mode than in the first mode, and the method comprising:\n irradiating the second photoelectric conversion element with light; \n judging whether illuminance of light irradiated to the second photoelectric conversion element is higher than reference illuminance or not; \n if judged to be higher, applying a voltage at which an avalanche multiplication phenomenon does not occur to both terminals of the first photoelectric conversion element, and then performing imaging in the first mode; and \n if judged to be not, applying a voltage at which an avalanche multiplication phenomenon occurs to both terminals of the first photoelectric conversion element, and then performing imaging in the second mode.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 23.0
- Percentile: 88.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.82143
- Patent Class: 348.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['15183885', '15230727', '15095324', '15431937', '15211113']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6629643983845157
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5298278886940394
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.649650747415468
- Mean Citation Score: 334.129278
- Max Citation Score: 347.54102
- Similarity Product: 221.8420003031659

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test