Charges are transferred from vertical charge transfer devices of a solid-state image sensing device to horizontal charge transfer device via buffer storage cells. Charges obtained from a unessential area out of the transferred charges are discarded by operating the horizontal charge transfer device, and charges obtained from a specific area out of the transferred charges are normally read out by operating the horizontal charge transfer device. When there is a remaining charge in the horizontal charge transfer device after reading charges from the specific area, charges are transferred from the vertical charge transfer devices to the horizontal charge transfer device so that the remaining charge is added only to a charge obtained from the unessential area. Further, charges are transferred in the vertical charge transfer devices in the vertical direction while discarding unessential charges.
A plurality of pixel sets, each having 16 pixels are vertically provided successively one after another. A vertical transfer path 2 has two groups a and b of transfer electrodes 1a, 1b to 16a, 16b. Two like sequence transfer electrodes in the two electrode groups are provided for each of the pixels in each set. Each pixel is connected via a shift gate 3 to each transfer channel corresponding to each of the transfer electrodes in the electrode group a. To the transfer electrodes in the electrode group a, independent shift/transfer pulse application lead lines 4A are connected for applying independent gate pulses to the individual shift gates in addition to transfer pulses. Common lead lines are connected to the transfer electrodes 2a and 4a, 5a and 7a, 10a, 12a, and 13a and 15a. Transfer pulse application lead lines 4B are connected to the transfer electrodes in the electrode group b. Thus, a CCD imaging device is constructed, which is capable of performing a desired read-out operation by 4-phase driving. A solid-state imaging device capable of reducing the numbers of lead lines for shift gate control gate electrodes for charge read-out to a vertical transfer path and external circuit connection terminals and capable of a special read-out, such as a multiple rate read-out is realized.
In order to select an image pickup mode corresponding to purposes, there is provided a photoelectric conversion device comprising a plurality of photoelectric conversion pixels; and a control circuit for controlling a first mode for reading out first and second signals from each of the photoelectric conversion pixels, and a second mode for reading out the first signal from each of the photoelectric conversion pixels, wherein the first signal includes a noise signal produced upon resetting each of the photoelectric conversion pixels, and an optical signal produced by accumulating a photocharge, and the second signal includes a noise signal produced upon resetting each of the photoelectric conversion pixels.
