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Sony patents camera sensor that adjusts reset voltage based on light

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes an imaging device that measures the amount of light hitting its pixels to adjust the voltage used to reset the signal lines. By changing this reset potential based on the measured light level, the device aims to reduce power usage and speed up the preparation of the sensor for the next image capture.

Why it mattersThis is a technical improvement to camera sensors that could lead to slightly more efficient power usage in devices like phones or cameras, though it is a minor internal adjustment rather than a new feature.

In the filing’s own words

To reduce power consumption and shorten settling time of a vertical signal line by making a reset potential of a vertical signal line variable. An imaging device includes a plurality of pixels arranged in one direction and each including a photoelectric conversion element, a signal line that transmits a plurality of pixel signals obtained as a result of photoelectric conversion in the plurality of pixels, an illuminance determination unit that determines illuminance of light incident on the plurality of pixels, and a reset potential switch that switches a reset potential for initializing a potential of the signal line on a basis of the illuminance determined by the illuminance determination unit.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging device comprising: a plurality of pixels arranged in one direction and each including a photoelectric conversion element; a signal line that transmits a plurality of pixel signals obtained as a result of photoelectric conversion in the plurality of pixels; an illuminance determination unit that determines illuminance of light incident on the plurality of pixels; and a reset potential switch that switches a reset potential for initializing a potential of the signal line on a basis of the illuminance determined by the illuminance determination unit.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
IMAGING DEVICE
Publication number
US20260304008A1
Application number
19489410
Filed
Jun 12, 2024
Published
Oct 1, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
20

Classified under

H04N 25/78 Electricity & electronicsH04N 23/71 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/65 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/778 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.