Patents by Inventor Taichi Kasugai

Taichi Kasugai has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11838668
    Abstract: The photoelectric conversion device includes pixels each including photoelectric converters and a floating diffusion to which charges of the photoelectric converters are transferred, a vertical scanning unit for performing readout processing and reset processing on the pixels while switching the photoelectric converter to be processed and the floating diffusion to be processed, and a control unit that controls the vertical scanning unit. The control unit includes a readout row address generation unit and a reset row address generation unit that generate a row address to be processed. A first cycle in which the photoelectric converter is switched is shorter than a second cycle in which the floating diffusion is switched, an update cycle of the row address is equal to the second cycle, and a setting unit of an update timing of the row address is equal to the length of one cycle of the first cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Taichi Kasugai, Shintaro Takenaka
  • Patent number: 11778347
    Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device includes a plurality of unit pixels each including a charge holding portion to which charges are transferred from four or more photoelectric conversion units. Sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a first group to incident light is greater than sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a second group to the incident light. After charge accumulation is started in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group, charge accumulation is started in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group. After signals corresponding to charges accumulated in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group are read out, signals corresponding to charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group are read out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Suzuki, Shintaro Takenaka, Taichi Kasugai
  • Publication number: 20230119511
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a pixel unit including a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and each including a quench element of which a control node a signal defining a start and an end of an exposure period is input to and a photodiode connected to the quench element, a scan unit that scans the pixel unit by performing processing of reading signals of the pixels, processing of starting the exposure period, and processing of ending the exposure period on the plurality of rows sequentially in units of one row or two or more rows, and a control unit that outputs a synchronization signal to the scan unit to control a timing of the reading processing, wherein at least one of a timing of the start processing and a timing of the end processing is controlled by another control signal different from the synchronization signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Taichi Kasugai, Yasuharu Ota, Shintaro Takenaka
  • Publication number: 20230122042
    Abstract: A device includes a pixel unit, a selection unit, and a first generation unit. The pixel unit has a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows. Each pixel includes a quenching circuit configured to receive a signal for determining start and end of an exposure period and a photodiode coupled to the quenching circuit. The selection unit is configured to simultaneously receive a plurality of clock signals of different periods and select a clock signal to be outputted from the plurality of clock signals. The first generation unit is configured to generate the signal by using the outputted clock.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Shinya Igarashi, Taichi Kasugai
  • Publication number: 20230120430
    Abstract: A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a plurality of pixels each including a respective avalanche photodiode, wherein the plurality of pixels includes an active pixel that outputs a photon detection signal according to detection of a photon and an inactive pixel that does not output the photon detection signal, and wherein the photoelectric conversion apparatus further includes a control unit that recharges a voltage to be applied between an anode and a cathode of the avalanche photodiode of the inactive pixel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Yasuharu Ota, Taichi Kasugai
  • Publication number: 20230077775
    Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device includes a plurality of unit pixels each including a charge holding portion to which charges are transferred from four or more photoelectric conversion units. Sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a first group to incident light is greater than sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a second group to the incident light. After charge accumulation is started in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group, charge accumulation is started in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group. After signals corresponding to charges accumulated in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group are read out, signals corresponding to charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group are read out.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2022
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Inventors: Satoshi Suzuki, Shintaro Takenaka, Taichi Kasugai
  • Publication number: 20220353450
    Abstract: The photoelectric conversion device includes pixels each including photoelectric converters and a floating diffusion to which charges of the photoelectric converters are transferred, a vertical scanning unit for performing readout processing and reset processing on the pixels while switching the photoelectric converter to be processed and the floating diffusion to be processed, and a control unit that controls the vertical scanning unit. The control unit includes a readout row address generation unit and a reset row address generation unit that generate a row address to be processed. A first cycle in which the photoelectric converter is switched is shorter than a second cycle in which the floating diffusion is switched, an update cycle of the row address is equal to the second cycle, and a setting unit of an update timing of the row address is equal to the length of one cycle of the first cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Inventors: Taichi Kasugai, Shintaro Takenaka
  • Patent number: 11425325
    Abstract: A driving apparatus that outputs a drive signal for driving, per row, a plurality of pixels arranged to form a plurality of rows, the driving apparatus comprising a plurality of row driving units arranged to correspond to the respective rows, wherein each of the row driving units includes: a memory unit that holds a signal for controlling the pixels in a corresponding row to be set to a charge accumulation state or a reset state; and a selection unit that selects whether to cause a state of the signal held in the memory unit to transition when a signal for readout from the pixels is input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Taichi Kasugai, Atsushi Shimada
  • Publication number: 20210051286
    Abstract: A driving apparatus that outputs a drive signal for driving, per row, a plurality of pixels arranged to form a plurality of rows, the driving apparatus comprising a plurality of row driving units arranged to correspond to the respective rows, wherein each of the row driving units includes: a memory unit that holds a signal for controlling the pixels in a corresponding row to be set to a charge accumulation state or a reset state; and a selection unit that selects whether to cause a state of the signal held in the memory unit to transition when a signal for readout from the pixels is input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Publication date: February 18, 2021
    Inventors: Taichi Kasugai, Atsushi Shimada