Granted Patent B2

US 12,745,013 · App. 18/802,062 · Granted Sep 22, 2026

Inventors: Atsushi Shimada (Kanagawa, JP); Noriyuki Shikina (Tokyo, JP); Yoshiko Shigiya (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

H04N25/42H04N25/77H04N25/79B60Q9/008

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A photoelectric conversion apparatus comprising:

pixels disposed two-dimensionally in a row direction and a column direction;

an L number of (L is 3 or greater integer) vertical signal lines disposed on each pixel column;

an M number of (M is 2 or greater integer) selection circuits disposed in each pixel, each of the selection circuits respectively connecting one of the pixels to a different vertical signal line;

a vertical scanning circuit configured to scan the selection circuits; and

a control unit,

wherein the control unit is configured to set a first operation mode in which the vertical scanning circuit performs a single read scanning operation at a time, and a second operation mode in which the vertical scanning circuit performs a plurality of read scanning operations at a time,

wherein, in the first operation mode, the control unit is configured to perform the single read scanning operation using a first selection circuit out of the M number of selection circuits,

wherein, in the second operation mode, the control unit is configured to perform an operation which is one of the plurality of read scanning operations using a second selection circuit, which is different from the first selection circuit, out of the M number of selection circuits,

wherein, in the first operation mode, the single read scanning operation is performed for a range from a first row to a second row,

wherein, in the second operation mode, the operation is performed for a third row and a fourth row, and

wherein the third row and the fourth row are located between the first row and the second row.

2 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the plurality of read scanning operations in the second operation mode include a first read scanning operation and a second read scanning operation, and

wherein a cycle of the first read scanning operation is longer than a cycle of the second read scanning operation.

3 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the plurality of read scanning operations in the second operation mode include a first read scanning operation and a second read scanning operation, and

wherein the second read scanning operation is performed for a plurality of times while the first read scanning operation is performed once.

4 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the plurality of read scanning operations in the second operation mode include a first read scanning operation and a second read scanning operation, and

wherein a pixel row to be read in the first read scanning operation is different from that to be read in the second read scanning operation.

5 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a number of pixel rows to be read in the first read scanning operation is larger than a number of pixel rows to be read in the second read scanning operation.

6 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the first operation mode includes a first sub-mode in which a plurality of pixel rows are read without performing analog addition on the vertical signal line, and a second sub-mode in which a plurality of pixel rows are read with performing analog addition on the vertical signal line,

wherein a number of the selection circuits disposed in one pixel is at least 3,

wherein, in the first sub-mode, the read scanning operation is performed for each vertical signal line using any one of the selection circuits,

wherein, in the second sub-mode, the read scanning operation is performed for each vertical signal line using a plurality of selection circuits including the selection circuit used in the first sub-mode, and

wherein, in the second operation mode, the read scanning operation is performed using a selection circuit other than the selection circuits used in the second sub-mode.

7 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein each of the pixels includes two photodiodes and a floating diffusion connected to the two photodiodes, and

wherein the selection circuit is configured to connect the floating diffusion and the vertical signal line.

8 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a first substrate on which the pixels are disposed, and

a second substrate on which a signal processing unit that processes signals read from the pixels is disposed, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are stacked.

9 . The photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein each of the pixels includes a photoelectric conversion element configured to receive an incident light.

10 . A photoelectric conversion system comprising:

the photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ; and

a signal processing unit configured to process signals outputted from the photoelectric conversion apparatus,

wherein each of the pixels includes a photoelectric conversion element configured to receive an incident light, and

wherein the signal processing unit generates a first image using the signals read out in the first operation mode, and generates a second image using the signals read out in the second operation mode.

11 . A photoelectric conversion system comprising:

the photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ; and

a signal processing unit configured to process signals outputted from the photoelectric conversion apparatus.

12 . A mobile body comprising:

the photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1 ;

a moving device;

a processing device configured to acquire information from signals outputted from the photoelectric conversion apparatus; and

a control device configured to control the moving device based on the information.

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (33)