SOLID-STATE IMAGE PICKUP DEVICE

• Main Authors: YAMAWAKI MASAO, UENO MASAFUMI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 07.12.1987
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

PURPOSE:To obtain a still picture without using a mechanical shutter by driving a vertical charge transfer element so as to transfer the charge to a drain area during a period when an image pickup command signal is not received and during a period when this image pickup command signal is receive and a photosensitive part stores the charge. CONSTITUTION:During the period T1, the voltage of a high level (H level) is impressed to a control gate 3 by a control clock phiT to open the control gate 3 and the charge generated by photoelectric conversion in the photosensitive part 1 is all transferred to a vertical transfer CCD 2. This vertical transfer CCD 2 impresses a clock pulse so as to transfer the charge to the drain area 6 (called a reverse direction transfer) and the charge is all transferred to the drain area 6 and discharged. Then, when the image pickup command signal comes from an image pickup command signal generator, the photosensitive part 1 starts the storage of the charge generated by the photoelectric conversion. A period T4 is a period for reading the charge stored in the photosensitive part 1, the charge transferred to the vertical transfer CCD 2 is transferred to a horizontal transfer CCD 4 every one line (normal direction transfer) and read to an external part through a charge detecting part 5.