Appeal No. 95-4788
Application 07/996,393
This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the final rejection of claims 3-5,
all of the claims pending in the application. Claim 1 and 2 have been cancelled.
The invention is directed to a solid state imaging device as may be understood from claim
3 reproduced below.
3. A solid state imaging device comprising: an array of photosensitive elements
for storing signal charges, a plurality of vertical shift registers for storing the signal charges
transferred from the photosensitive elements, charge storage sections for storing one field
of signal charges transferred from the respective vertical shift registers, a horizontal shift
register for storing one line of signal charges transferred thereto successively at time
intervals from the charge storage sections, a timing generator for producing clock pulses
for driving the vertical shift registers to transfer the signal charges from the vertical shift
registers to the charge storage sections and to sweep residual charges from the vertical
shift registers, a driver for amplifying the clock pulses fed thereto from the timing
generator, the driver having a variable amplification factor, control means for controlling
the amplification factor of the driver so as to provide a smaller amplitude for the clock
pulses used to sweep the residual charges than for the clock pulses used to transfer the
signal charges, wherein the driver has a smaller amplification factor when it receives a
smaller reference voltage, and wherein the control means includes means for producing a
first reference voltage and a second reference voltage which is less than the first reference
voltage, switching means for selectively coupling one of the first and second reference
voltages to the driver, and wherein the switching means includes means for coupling the
first reference voltage to the driver when the signal charges are to be transferred from the
vertical shift registers to the respective charge storage sections and for coupling the second
reference voltage to the driver when the residual charges are to be swept from the vertical
shift registers.
The examiner relies on the admitted prior art and the following reference:
Howard et al. (Howard) 4,845,482 July 4, 1989
The admitted prior art is described in the specification at page 3, line 13 to page 6, line 14
with respect to figures 3-5. In the prior art of figures 4 and 5, "[t]he power circuit 26 provides
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Last modified: November 3, 2007