US Patent 7327392 Signal processing apparatus

A signal processing apparatus including a clamp pulse generation circuit for generating a clamp pulse in synchronization with an image signal, a clamp circuit for clamping a signal of a black reference value in response to the clamp pulse, and a defect detection circuit for detecting a defective pixel included in an optical black area, wherein the clamp pulse generation circuit cancels a rise of the clamp pulse when a position of the defective pixel detected by the defect detecting circuit and a position of a rise state of the clamp pulse overlap with each other.