Abstract: A solid-state image pickup apparatus comprising a pixel array made up a plurality of pixels two-dimensionally arranged and horizontal and vertical scanning circuits, each scanning circuit having an arbitrary-pixel readout function of reading a pixel signal from an arbitrary area that is a portion of the effective pixel area of the pixel array, each scanning circuit comprising: a shift register comprising a plurality of shift register units that are cascaded; a memory unit constructed of a latch for storing the output of the shift register unit; a memory switch connected between the shift register unit and the input terminal of the memory unit; a transfer switch connected between the shift register unit and the output terminal of the memory unit.

Abstract: A solid-state image pickup device includes an array of rows and columns of pixels, a vertical scanning circuit having vertical scanning circuit units disposed to correspond to alternate pixel rows in the vertical direction, a horizontal scanning circuit for taking a pixel signal out of pixel rows being currently selected by the vertical scanning circuit, and selected-row changeover switch section consisting of a pair of first and second switches for transferring an output of one vertical scanning circuit unit to a preceding pixel row and a succeeding one of a certain row corresponding to this unit. A select signal is derived from the unit during two successive horizontal scanning periods, causing the first switch to turn on and the second one to turn off within a first horizontal scanning period, and also causing, during the following horizontal scanning period, the second switch to turn on and the first one to turn off.

Abstract: A two-dimensional rangefinding sensor of the present invention consisting of an illuminating device for projecting light beams, which undergoes luminance modulation at a predetermined frequency for a predetermined duration with a predetermined cycle time, onto an object, an image-formation optical system for forming an image of the object illuminated with light beams which have undergone the luminance modulation and which have been projected from the illuminating device, a two-dimensional image sensor mounted on an image-formation plane of the image-formation optical system, a driving means for performing a modulation driving operation on an electrode terminal, which is operative to determine the sensitivity of the two-dimensional image sensor at the frequency, and a reading means for reading a signal corresponding to a signal charge generated in each of picture elements of the image sensors.