Patents Examined by Nelson D. Hernández Harnández
  • Patent number: 7728893
    Abstract: Each pixel cell (12) of an image sensor (10) is made of a 4-Tr structure, in which only one Tr for resetting a column (X) is so added to an ordinary 3-Tr APS as to reset only an arbitrary pixel selectively, thereby to confine the pixel size. When a pixel signal is to be read, the period, for which the pixel signals composing an ordinary image of one frame are read, is finely divided so that the pixel signals of the pixels receiving an ID light for the period are read out bit by bit and repeatedly. At this time, for only the column being read, an electric current is fed to a read amplifier in the pixel cell (12) or a variable gain amplifier in an output unit (14), thereby to suppress the power consumption. As a result, a lower power consumption and a higher pixel formation can be attained in an image pickup device for picking up an image and for acquiring the ID information of a light beacon existing in the image pickup range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignees: Japan Science and Technology Agency, National University Corporation Nara Institute of Science and Technology
    Inventors: Keiichiro Kagawa, Yuki Maeda, Jun Ohta