SonyPatent applicationCameras & imagingInterest 3/10

Sony patents camera sensor fix for image quality issues

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony has filed a patent for an imaging device that improves image quality by managing how electrical charge is stored in camera sensors. The design uses specific switches to reset a capacitor between reading image data and capturing the next frame, which helps prevent a known electrical effect from distorting the picture.

Why it mattersThis is a technical improvement to camera hardware that aims to make photos clearer by reducing internal electrical noise, though it is unlikely to be visible to most users without side-by-side comparisons.

In the filing’s own words

To suppress deterioration in image quality due to dielectric absorption of a capacitor used for a charge accumulation unit. An imaging device includes: a photoelectric conversion unit; a capacitor having one end connected to the photoelectric conversion unit; a first transistor having one end connected to the capacitor and the other end connected to a first node; a second transistor having one end connected to the first node and the other end connected to a power supply; and a control unit that controls driving of the first transistor and the second transistor. The control unit turns on the first transistor and the second transistor in at least a part of a period from a read operation of reading a pixel voltage of the first node to a shutter operation of the photoelectric conversion unit.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An imaging device comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit; a capacitor having one end connected to the photoelectric conversion unit; a first transistor having one end connected to the capacitor and the other end connected to a first node; a second transistor having one end connected to the first node and the other end connected to a power supply; and a control unit that controls driving of the first transistor and the second transistor, wherein the control unit turns on the first transistor and the second transistor in at least a part of a period from a read operation of reading a pixel voltage of the first node to a shutter operation of the photoelectric conversion unit.

Facts

Company: Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title: IMAGING DEVICE
Publication number: US20260323176A1
Application number: 19486147
Filed: Dec 19, 2023
Published: Oct 15, 2026
Inventors: 2
Claims: 17

Classified under

H04N 25/585 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/771 Electricity & electronicsH04N 25/78 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.