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SonyPatent applicationChips & hardwareInterest 4/10

Sony patents faster image sensor chip design

Sony describes a design for a chip component that turns light signals into digital data. It uses two separate parts to hold and compare signals at the same time to speed up the process without making the chip physically larger.

Why it mattersThis could help make cameras in phones and cameras process images slightly faster or more efficiently.

In the filing’s own words

Enhanced successive approximation AD converter speed with suppressed increase in circuit size is disclosed. In one example, an analog to digital (AD) converter includes a first digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a second DAC, and a comparison unit. The first DAC has a capacitor that holds a first input signal during a first sampling period, and the second DAC has a capacitor that holds a second input signal during a second sampling period. The comparison unit is connected to the first and second DACs.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An analog to digital (AD) converter comprising: a first digital-to-analog converter (DAC) having a capacitor that holds a first input signal during a first sampling period; a second DAC connected in parallel with the first DAC and having a capacitor that holds a second input signal during a second sampling period; and a comparison unit connected to the first and second DACS.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
ANALOG TO DIGITAL (AD) CONVERTER, IMAGING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AD CONVERTER
Publication number
US20260281588A1
Application number
19473646
Filed
Mar 15, 2024
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
10

Classified under

H04N 25/78 Electricity & electronicsH03M 1/1245 Electricity & electronicsH03M 1/462 Electricity & electronicsH03M 1/468 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.