Abstract: There is provided a driving method of a CCD solid-state imaging device that includes: a first pixel group including pixels arranged in a square lattice; a second pixel group including pixels shifted in a row direction and a column direction of the square lattice by 2/1 of a pixel pitch with respect to the pixels in the first pixel group; color filters arranged in Bayer array with respect to each of the first pixel group and the second pixel group; vertical transfer paths; a horizontal charge transfer path; and a line memory. The method includes adding signal charges, which are detected in two same color pixels adjacent in a horizontal direction in the first pixel group, in the horizontal charge transfer path and outputting the added signal charges, by means of a four-phase drive pulse of the horizontal charge transfer path and a drive pulse of the line memory.

Abstract: A driving method for driving a CCD type solid-state imaging device, includes: controlling, when taking dynamic images without a mechanical shutter, exposure time of a first pixel group and exposure time of a second pixel group separately by an electronic shutter function and by timings of reading pulses applied to transfer electrodes which concurrently functions as reading electrodes and which are included in vertical charge transfer paths; causing the vertical charge transfer paths to hold, until the reading pulses are applied to the second pixel group, signal charges read from the respective pixels of the first pixel group to which the reading pulses are applied beforehand of the first pixel group and the second pixel group; and transferring the signal charges read from the first pixel group and signal charges read from the second pixel group together on the vertical charge transfer paths.

Abstract: An n-type semiconductor substrate 11 has a p-type well 12 in which are formed a charge transfer channel 13, a flowing diffusion region 14 made of an n-type impurity region, an n-type buried region 16 and a reset drain region 15. Transfer gates 51 and 52 of a horizontal CCD and an output gate 41 are formed on the surface of the charge transfer channel 13, with an insulation film 20 interposed; reset electrodes 31 and 32 are formed on the surface of the buried region 16, again with the insulation film 20 interposed. The floating diffusion region 14 is connected to a source follower circuit 6. The reset electrodes 31 and 32 are provided adjacent to each other in the channel direction of a reset gate section 3 and can be driven independently of each other.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for producing foods and/or beverage having improved taste and/or flavour, comprising reacting a microbial aminopeptidase on a protein material optionally under the co-existence of a protease, wherein said aminopeptidase has the properties of: (a) having an activity of catalyzing the reaction of specifically releasing a glutamic acid and an aspartic acid from the N-terminal of a peptide and/or a protein; (b) having 50% or more activity at pH6.0-9.0 as compared with the activity at the optimum pH; (c) having 40% or more activity after heating at 25-60° C., pH7.5 for 30 minutes as compared with the activity of the non-heated enzyme; (d) having a molecular weight of about 40-60 kD as measured by SDS-PAGE and about 300-480 kD as measured by native-PAGE; (e) having a hydrolyzing activity of the aminopeptidase toward Glu-Glu dipeptide is 5 U/mg or more, preferably 10 U/mg or more.

Abstract: A solid state image pickup device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a surface layer; charge storage regions disposed in the surface layer; vertical channels disposed in the surface layer adjacent to respective columns of the charge storage regions; vertical transfer electrodes formed above the semiconductor substrate, crossing the vertical channels; a horizontal channel disposed in the surface layer coupled to the vertical channels, having a first portion with transfer stages, each including a barrier region and a well region, and a second portion constituting a gate region with gradually decreasing width, and including an upstream region and a downstream region of different effective impurity concentration, establishing a built-in potential; horizontal transfer electrodes disposed above respective transfer stages of the horizontal channel; an output gate electrode disposed above the gate region; a floating diffusion region disposed in the surface layer coupled to the gate region of the horizontal

Abstract: During a first horizontal blanking period, signal charges on a first row are transferred from a vertical transfer channel to a line memory. During a second horizontal blanking period, the transferred signal charges are partly transferred from the line memory to a horizontal transfer channel. During a third horizontal blanking period, the remaining signal charges on the first row are transferred from the line memory to the horizontal transfer channel. Thereafter, the signal charges on the second row next to the first row are transferred from the vertical transfer channel to a line memory that is vacant.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device comprises: a semiconductor substrate; and a plurality of photodiodes arranged in a surface of the semiconductor substrate, each of the photodiodes having a predetermined shape and being divided into: a first split pixel occupying a central region of a photo acceptance surface of each of the photodiodes; and a second split pixel occupying a peripheral region of each of the photodiodes except the first split pixel, wherein a transfer gate for the first split pixel and a transfer gate for the second split pixel in each of the photodiodes are provided in opposite positions of each of the photodiodes.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensor includes photo-sensitive cells arranged in a bidimensional array for converting incident light to corresponding signal charges. Vertical transfer paths transfer the signal charges read out from the photo-sensitive cells in the vertical direction. The photo-sensitive cells are made up of first and second photo-sensitive cells each having particular sensitivity to incident light. The first and second photo-sensitive cells are positioned at one diagonal corners and the other diagonal corners, respectively, at opposite sides of each vertical transfer path such that the first and second photo-sensitive cells have photo-sensitive areas whose centers of gravity form a rectangle when connected by a virtual line.

Abstract: In a solid-state image pickup apparatus, an image pickup section includes a color separating section having color filters assigned to three primary colors for separating colors of light incident from a desired scene. The color filters assigned to the color G are arranged in stripes. A system controller controls an output of a drive signal generating section for each of an all pixel read mode and a photometry control mode in response to the stroke of a shutter release operation. In the photometry control mode, the image pickup device is supplied with drive signals in response to a horizontal timing signal fed from a timing signal generator and a control signal fed from the system controller. The image pickup device thus reads out only the signal charges representative of the color G in this mode, thereby especially implementing the signal charge reading at a doubled speed.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for producing foods and/or beverage having improved taste and/or flavour, comprising reacting a microbial aminopeptidase on a protein material optionally under the co-existence of a protease, wherein said aminopeptidase has the properties of: (a) having an activity of catalyzing the reaction of specifically releasing a glutamic acid and an aspartic acid from the N-terminal of a peptide and/or a protein; (b) having 50% or more activity at pH6.0-9.0 as compared with the activity at the optimum pH; (c) having 40% or more activity after heating at 25-60° C., pH7.5 for 30 minutes as compared with the activity of the non-heated enzyme; (d) having a molecular weight of about 40-60 kD as measured by SDS-PAGE and about 300-480 kD as measured by native-PAGE; (e) having a hydrolyzing activity of the aminopeptidase toward Glu-Glu dipeptide is 5 U/mg or more, preferably 10 U/mg or more.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device comprises: a semiconductor substrate; and a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements forming a square lattice pattern extending in a column direction and in a row direction substantially perpendicular to the row direction, on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein said plurality of photoelectric conversion elements comprises: a plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements that conduct photoelectric conversion of a relatively higher sensitivity on an amount of incident light; and a plurality of second photoelectric conversion elements that conduct photoelectric conversion of a relatively lower sensitivity on the amount of incident light, wherein said plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements and said plurality of second photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in respective checkered patterns, and wherein said plurality of first photoelectric conversion elements are larger in size than said plurality of second photoelectric conversion eleme

Abstract: A solid state image pickup device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a surface layer; charge storage regions disposed in the surface layer; vertical channels disposed in the surface layer adjacent to respective columns of the charge storage regions; vertical transfer electrodes formed above the semiconductor substrate, crossing the vertical channels; a horizontal channel disposed in the surface layer coupled to the vertical channels, having a first portion with transfer stages, each including a barrier region and a well region, and a second portion constituting a gate region with gradually decreasing width, and including an upstream region and a downstream region of different effective impurity concentration, establishing a built-in potential; horizontal transfer electrodes disposed above respective transfer stages of the horizontal channel; an output gate electrode disposed above the gate region; a floating diffusion region disposed in the surface layer coupled to the gate region of the horizontal

Abstract: An n-type semiconductor substrate 11 has a p-type well 12 in which are formed a charge transfer channel 13, a flowing diffusion region 14 made of an n-type impurity region, an n-type buried region 16 and a reset drain region 15. Transfer gates 51 and 52 of a horizontal CCD and an output gate 41 are formed on the surface of the charge transfer channel 13, with an insulation film 20 interposed; reset electrodes 31 and 32 are formed on the surface of the buried region 16, again with the insulation film 20 interposed. The floating diffusion region 14 is connected to a source follower circuit 6. The reset electrodes 31 and 32 are provided adjacent to each other in the channel direction of a reset gate section 3 and can be driven independently of each other.