Patents Assigned to SmartSens Technology (HK) Co, Limited
  • Publication number: 20240113139
    Abstract: An image sensor, a layout structure, and a control method are provided. The image sensor includes multiple pixel blocks arranged in rows and columns. Each pixel block includes: at least one photosensitive unit connected between a floating diffusion active region and a first reference voltage; a reset transistor with a control terminal and a second terminal; a gain control transistor with a control terminal, a first terminal, and a second terminal; a source follower transistor with a control terminal and a second terminal; a select transistor with a control terminal, a first terminal, and a second terminal. Two adjacent pixel blocks in the same column share the same select transistor and the same reset transistor, or two groups each composed of two adjacent pixel blocks in three adjacent pixel blocks in the same column share the same select transistor and the same reset transistor, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2022
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Applicant: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY(HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventors: Shengxin ZHANG, Chen XU
  • Patent number: 11871136
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an image sensor, an image readout method, and an electronic device. The image sensor comprises: a pixel array and a plurality of readout conversion circuits, the readout conversion circuit comprises: a comparison circuit for comparing an output signal of the column pixel with a ramp signal to obtain a first output signal and a second output signal; a selection module for selecting the first output signal during a first sampling count, and selecting the second output signal during a second sampling count; a counter for counting according to the first output signal and the second output signal to obtain total quantization value of the first sampling count and the second sampling count, so as to obtain actual signal quantization result according to the total quantization value. The image readout speed of the image sensor is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY (HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventors: Yaowu Mo, Liming Tang, Jing Yang, Yanbang Xu, Kun Xiao
  • Patent number: 11856309
    Abstract: A pixel array, an image sensor, and a self-checking method of the image sensor are provided. The pixel array includes a photosensitive pixel region, a first reference pixel region and/or a second reference pixel region; the photosensitive pixel region includes M rows and N columns of pixels arranged in an array; the first reference pixel region includes n columns of first reference pixels disposed corresponding to N columns of pixels of the photosensitive pixel region; the second reference pixel region includes m rows of the second reference pixels disposed corresponding to the M rows of pixels of the photosensitive pixel region. The first reference pixel region and/or the second reference pixel region can be used to implement a real-time self-checking function of the readout circuit and/or the control circuit in the image sensor, check in real time whether the image signal output by the image sensor is correct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY (HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventor: Guang Yang
  • Patent number: 11848344
    Abstract: The present application provides a pixel structure, an image sensor, a device, an image processing method and a control method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY (HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventors: Shengxin Zhang, Chen Xu, Guanjing Ren, Xiaoyong Wang, Jiaqing Hou
  • Publication number: 20230345141
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an imaging device, a pixel and a method thereof The imaging device comprises: a pixel array, which comprises multiple pixels arranged in rows and columns, wherein at least one pixel comprises multiple subpixels, and the multiple subpixels share one floating diffusion region; and a control circuit, which controls the pixel array; wherein the control circuit reads the multiple subpixels one by one under the rolling shutter state, and reads the multiple subpixels simultaneously under the global shutter state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2023
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Applicant: Smartsens Technology (HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventors: Yaowu Mo, Zhibin Xiong, Chen Xu, Zexu Shao
  • Publication number: 20230290803
    Abstract: A pixel structure, an image sensor, an electronic device and a method for controlling an image sensor are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2022
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Applicant: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY(HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventors: Shengxin ZHANG, Chen XU
  • Patent number: 11630213
    Abstract: A pixel circuit of a time-of-flight sensor is disclosed, in the pixel cell in the Mth row and the Nth column, the photoelectric conversion element receives a modulated light wave to generate charges; the first charge storage and transfer circuit, the second charge storage and transfer circuit, the third charge storage and transfer circuit and the fourth charge storage and transfer circuit selectively modulates charges corresponding to four phases of the modulated light wave to generate four integrated charge signals according to four charge modulation signals, and outputs four integrated charge signals according to four control signals; the charge readout circuit outputs a third photoelectric signal and a second photoelectric signal according to the third integrated charge signal and the second integrated charge signal. Thus, the left and right pixel cells which are adjacent to each other share the charge readout circuit, the size of the pixel circuit is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: SMARTSENS TECHNOLOGY (HK) CO., LIMITED
    Inventor: Tonghui Guo
  • Patent number: 10855939
    Abstract: A compact high frame rate image sensing system has a three CMOS semiconductor circuit chip stack formation, and an imaging method thereof. The bottom chip has an array of light sensitive regions and structures to capture an image. The middle chip includes a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) or a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) frame buffer circuit. The top chip includes image processing and logic circuit elements to rapidly extract an image or its main characteristics as determined by a boundary detecting filter block. The image sensing system also includes a compiling tool to provide the programming parameters to the programmable filter blocks in order to optimize the image sensing system for a specific motion detection application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: SmartSens Technology (HK) Co, Limited
    Inventors: Chen Xu, Jin He, Xiaoyong Wang