Sony patents camera chip part that stops unwanted electrical leaks
Sony describes a design for a comparator, a small circuit that checks if a signal is above a certain level, which is often used in camera sensors. The invention adds extra switches to block electrical leakage when parts of the circuit are not actively being used.
In the filing’s own words
Switching of input transistors while preventing leakage current from flowing through an input transistor not used for comparison is disclosed. In one example, a comparator includes a comparison unit that switches input transistors to which an input signal is input and compares the input signal with a reference signal, and a switch that prevents leakage current from flowing through a deactivated input transistor. The comparison unit may include a first input transistor to which the input signal is input, a second input transistor to which the input signal is input, and a reference transistor to which the reference signal is input, and the switch may include a first switch connected in parallel with the first input transistor, and a second switch connected in parallel with the second input transistor.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A comparator comprising: a comparison unit that switches a plurality of input transistors to which an input signal is input and compares the input signal with a reference signal; and a switch that prevents leakage current from flowing through an input transistor deactivated on a basis of the switching of the input transistors.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
- Official title
- COMPARATOR AND IMAGING DEVICE
- Publication number
- US20260304007A1
- Application number
- 19478392
- Filed
- Mar 7, 2024
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04N 25/78 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/772 Electricity & electronicsMore from Sony in Chips & hardware
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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.