Abstract: A solid state imaging device includes an array of photosensitive elements for storing signal charges, a plurality of vertical shift registers for storing the signal charges transferred from the photosensitive elements, charge storage sections for storing one field of signal charges transferred from the respective vertical shift registers, a horizontal shift register for storing one line of signal charges transferred thereto successively at time intervals from the charge storage sections, a timing generator for producing clock pulses for driving the vertical shift registers to transfer the signal charges from the vertical shift registers to the charge storage sections and to sweep residual charges from the vertical shift registers, and a driver for amplifying the clock pulses fed thereto from the timing generator. The driver has a variable amplification factor.

Abstract: An electric power consumption and a quantity of generated heat can be reduced and hence a temperature characteristic can be maintained satisfactorily. A timing generator generates a smear gate pulse and a storage section driving pulse. The smear gate pulse is supplied to a smear gate region, whereby the smear gate region is opened during a vertical blanking period. The smear gate pulse and the storage section driving pulse are input to a gate circuit and an image section driving pulse is output from the gate circuit. The image section driving pulse has a waveform corresponding to a waveform which results from eliminating a line shift pulse from the storage section driving pulse. In the present invention, since the line shift pulse is not contained in the image section driving pulse, an electric power consumed by an image section is reduced considerably as compared with the prior art.