JP3596735B2 - How to optimize the electronic scope - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for optimizing an electronic scope, and more particularly, to a method for optimizing an electronic scope that rewrites information stored in a nonvolatile memory (for example, an EEPROM) in the electronic scope.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The electronic scope has a connector at an end of a universal cord extending from an operation unit, and this connector is detachably connected to a processor. In the connector of the electronic scope, a CDS circuit (correlated double sampling circuit) for sampling / holding an output signal from a solid-state image pickup device (CCD) provided at the tip of the scope and extracting only a pixel signal is incorporated. Further, a knee circuit for changing the gain of the CDS output signal before and after a predetermined knee point is provided in the CDS circuit, and the output signal of the knee circuit is applied to the processor.
[0003]
An EEPROM is built in the connector of the electronic scope. The EEPROM stores data indicating the knee point of the knee circuit, identification data (ID data) indicating the type of the electronic scope, or CCD drive timing. A delay amount from the drive timing of the CDS circuit and the like are recorded. The delay amount varies depending on the length of the electronic scope and the like, and is used to prevent sampling errors in the CDS circuit.
[0004]
The old type electronic scope and the new type electronic scope have different gain ratios before and after the knee point, and the EEPROM of the new type electronic scope records the amount of delay. No delay amount is recorded in the electronic scope.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In contrast to the old-type processor to which the above-mentioned old-type electronic scope is connected, the new-type processor to which the new-type electronic scope is connected has a control structure of a signal processing circuit therein due to recent development of electronic technology. If a new type processor is connected to an old type electronic scope and used, the data in the electronic scope will not be compatible with the processor that performs signal processing based on the data. There is a problem in that the data may not be used between the old-type processor and the new-type processor due to deterioration or a problem that the electronic scope does not operate at all. The above problem can be solved by increasing the size of the EEPROM in the electronic scope. However, it is necessary to remodel the electronic scope currently on the market, and to maintain the hermetic performance of the electronic scope. It is difficult to increase the size of the EEPROM.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an electronic scope optimizing method in which the same electronic scope can be used mutually between an old type processor and a new type processor. With the goal.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a method for optimizing an electronic scope according to claim 1 of the present application is a rewritable device in which information necessary for processing a signal from an image sensor disposed at a tip of the electronic scope is recorded. When using an electronic scope having a non-volatile memory with a second processor of a different type instead of the first processor dedicated to the electronic scope, the non-volatile memory of the electronic scope is connected via the connector of the electronic scope. The information in the memory is read and stored, and the information in the nonvolatile memory is rewritten so as to be compatible with the second processor. When used in one processor, the stored information for the first processor is stored in the non-volatile memory via a connector of the electronic scope. It is characterized in that return to the directory.
[0008]
That is, when the electronic scope used in the first processor is used in the second processor, the information in the non-volatile memory is fetched once, stored in a recording medium such as a compact flash memory, and Is converted into information (including recalculation) that can be used by the second processor, and the converted information is newly written in the nonvolatile memory, and if there is insufficient information, the information is added. This allows the electronic scope to be used by the second processor.
[0009]
On the other hand, when the electronic scope is used again by the first processor, the information in the nonvolatile memory is rewritten with the stored information (the information in the nonvolatile memory is restored), so that the electronic scope is restored again. One processor can use it.
The electronic scope has a knee circuit for changing a gain of a signal from the image sensor before and after a predetermined knee point as described in claim 2 of the present application, and the information to be rewritten is the knee point. In addition, the rewriting of the information includes a drive timing of the image sensor and a drive timing of a correlated double sampling circuit for sampling / holding an output signal of the image sensor and extracting only a pixel signal as shown in claim 3 of the present application. And appending the delay amount.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an electronic scope optimizing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of a data reader / writer of an electronic scope to which an electronic scope optimizing method according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the data reader / writer.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 1, a connector 12 to which a scope connector 11 of an electronic scope (see FIG. 2) is connected and a card connector 14 are provided on a front surface of the data reader / writer 10, and a liquid crystal panel or the like is provided on an upper surface. A display panel 16, various switches 18, and a light emitting diode (LED) 20 are provided.
As shown in FIG. 2, the connector 12 is connected to the microcomputer 15 via a tri-state bus buffer 13, and the card connector 14 is connected to the microcomputer 15 via a card interface 17.
[0012]
The connector 12 has the following two cases:
(1) When an electronic scope conforming to the old type processor is used with the new type processor (2) When an electronic scope conforming to the new type processor is used with the old type processor, Connected.
[0013]
A memory card 19 prepared in one-to-one correspondence with the electronic scope connected to the connector 12 is mounted on the card connector 14.
The microcomputer 15 controls and controls the data reader / writer 10 and includes an I / O buffer, special registers 1 and 2, registers A and B, an ALU (alsomatic logical unit), a ROM, a RAM, and the like. .
[0014]
In the case of the above (1), data stored in a nonvolatile memory (EEPROM in this embodiment) built in the scope connector 11 on the electronic scope side is read, and the microcomputer is connected via the tri-state bus buffer 13. 15 takes in. In the microcomputer 15, this data is temporarily stored in an I / O buffer, and this data is sent to a special register (indicating EEPROM input / output [special register 1 here]) in synchronization with a clock. The ALU takes the data content of the special register 1 into the register A according to the content of the ROM, and increments the register B when judging that the data is legitimate data. This data is sent to the card interface 17 from the special register indicating a different place (specifying the card interface input / output [special register 2 here]) via the I / O buffer. Thereafter, the data is stored in the memory card 19 via the card connector 14.
[0015]
When the data of the special register 1 is taken into the register A, the number of data is counted by the register B, and is used for discriminating a new / old type of the electronic scope described later.
The data fetched into the register A is converted into data that can be used by the new type processor in the ALU according to the contents of the ROM. The data is written from the special register 2 to the EEPROM via the tristate bus buffer 13, the data reader / writer connector 12, and the electronic scope side connector 11 via the I / O buffer. This allows an electronic scope compatible with the old type processor to be used with the new type processor.
[0016]
On the other hand, in the case of the above (2), the microcomputer 15 reads out the data saved in the memory card 19 as described above from the memory card 19, and the microcomputer 15 takes in the data via the card interface 17, and The data is stored in the / O buffer, passed through the special registers, and returned to the EEPROM of the electronic scope as data that can be used by the old type processor.
[0017]
That is, the data reader / writer 10 saves the EEPROM data contained in the connector of the electronic scope in the memory card 19, rewrites the data so as to be compatible with the new type of processor, and saves the data in the memory card 19. The data is returned to the EEPROM so that one electronic scope can be used interchangeably between the new and old processors.
[0018]
Next, data recorded in the EEPROM of the electronic scope and data that is converted and rewritten will be described.
In the EEPROM of the old type electronic scope, ID data indicating the type of the electronic scope, a knee point in a knee circuit, color information (luminance gamma, color gamma) and the like are recorded. On the other hand, a new type of EEPROM has a delay amount (a delay amount between a drive timing for driving the CCD at the tip of the electronic scope and a drive timing of the CDS circuit) corresponding to the type of the electronic scope, and a knee point in the knee circuit. , And color information.
[0019]
Also, the old type electronic scope and processor and the new type electronic scope and processor have different knee values and denier (DeKnee) values as follows.
{Circle around (1)} Knee value G1: G2 = 3: 2 defined in CDS in the old type electronic scope
(As an example, for an input in the range of 0 to 1, the knee point is set to 0.5)
{Circle around (2)} Denny value G1: G2 = 2: 3 defined in the DSP in the old type processor
(As an example, for an input in the range of 0 to 1, the knee point is set to 0.5)
(3) Knee value G1: G2 = 2: 1 defined in the CDS in the new type electronic scope
(As an example, for an input in the range of 0 to 1, the knee point is set to 0.5)
{Circle around (4)} Denny value G1: G2 = 1: 2 defined in the DSP in the new type processor
(As an example, for an input in the range of 0 to 1, the knee point is set to 0.5)
Here, G1 is the gain before the knee point, and G2 is the gain after the knee point.
[0020]
FIG. 3 shows a combination of (1) and (2), and FIG. 4 shows a combination of (3) and (4). As is clear from these drawings, the combination of the knee value of (1) and the denier value of (2) is appropriate, and similarly, the combination of the knee value of (3) and the denier value of (4) is also appropriate. Is appropriate.
On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows a combination of (1) and (4), and FIG. 6 shows a combination of (3) and (2). When (1) and (4) are combined as shown in FIG. 5, since the Denny value is large, the image becomes white (bright portions are overexposed), and (3) and (2) as shown in FIG. In combination with the above, there is a problem that the image becomes dark because the Denny value is small.
[0021]
In order to solve this problem, an inappropriate combination of the electronic scope and the processor as described above is dealt with by shifting the Denny point in the processor. For example, when an old type electronic scope is used in a new type processor, the denier point shown in FIG. 5 is set to a value larger than 0.5 so that the image does not become white.
[0022]
The processor reads data indicating the knee point recorded in the EEPROM of the electronic scope, and operates to match the denier point with the knee point. Therefore, when the denier point is shifted as described above, the data indicating the knee point recorded in the EEPROM of the electronic scope is rewritten.
[0023]
As described above, the EEPROM of the old type electronic scope records ID data indicating the type of the electronic scope, but the EEPROM of the new type electronic scope drives the CCD at the tip of the electronic scope. In this case, a delay amount between the drive timing for performing the operation and the drive timing of the CDS circuit is recorded. The new type of processor reads the delay amount from the EEPROM of the electronic scope, and controls the drive timing so that sampling error in the CDS circuit does not occur.
[0024]
Since the delay amount is not recorded in the EEPROM of the old type electronic scope, the delay amount is added to the EEPROM when the old type electronic scope is used by the new type processor. Although the amount of delay varies depending on the length of the electronic scope, etc., since the ID data of the electronic scope is recorded in the EEPROM of the old type electronic scope, the amount of delay can be predicted from the ID data. it can.
[0025]
When the old type electronic scope is used by the new type processor as described above, the data recorded in the EEPROM of the old type electronic scope is converted into a format suitable for the new type processor (recalculation). ) And write, and further add the missing data. Note that the data to be converted is not limited to the above data, and includes, for example, color information (luminance gamma, color gamma).
[0026]
Next, the operation of the data reader / writer 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the power switch is turned on, the microcomputer 15 initializes the card controller and the like (step S10), and then determines whether or not to input data from the EEPROM of the electronic scope connected to the connector 12 from the input switch or the like. (Step S12). This is for confirming the input so that the electronic scope is not inadvertently pulled out of the connector 12 (that is, the live line is not cut off).
[0027]
When the data input is determined, the data is fetched from the EEPROM of the electronic scope (step S14). During the data acquisition, the LED 19 (see FIG. 2) on the upper surface of the data reader / writer 10 is turned on.
Next, it is determined whether the electronic scope connected to the connector 12 is an old type or a new type (step S16). If the electronic scope is a new type, the new type flag is turned ON (step S18). The old type or the new type can be determined from the content (for example, the number of data) of the fetched data.
[0028]
Subsequently, the fetched EEPROM data is written to the memory card mounted on the card connector 14. At this time, a file name is automatically generated (step S20). When a memory card is not mounted on the card connector 14, an error message is displayed on the display panel 16.
When the writing to the memory card is completed, it is determined whether or not the rewriting switch is OFF (step S22). If the rewrite switch is OFF, it is determined whether the new type flag is ON (step S24). If the new type flag is not ON, in order to be able to use the old type electronic scope as the new type electronic scope, data conversion of the captured data and additional data necessary for the new type electronic scope are set. (Steps S26 and S28), and writes this in the EEPROM of the electronic scope (Step S30). Note that the LED 19 is turned on during data writing.
[0029]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S22 that the rewrite switch is ON, the data in the EEPROM of the electronic scope rewritten for the new type is stored in the memory card in step S20 in order to rewrite the data for the old type again. The selected data file is selected and written to the EEPROM of the electronic scope (step S30).
[0030]
Further, even if it is determined in step S22 that the rewrite switch is OFF, if it is determined in step S24 that the new type flag is ON, a message confirming the rewrite is displayed on the display panel 16. (Step S34). This is because when an electronic scope for the new type is connected to the connector 12, it is usually rewritten for the old type. When rewriting is selected (step S36), the data stored in the memory card is rewritten to the EEPROM of the electronic scope via steps S32 and S30. On the other hand, if rewriting is not selected in step S36, the process ends.
[0031]
In this embodiment, data conversion of the captured data and additional data are created and recorded so that the old type electronic scope can be used as the new type electronic scope. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Once the data conversion for the new type is performed, save it on the memory card, and save it again on the memory card when using it from the old type electronic scope as a new type electronic scope. The data may be rewritten.
[0032]
The information to be written to the electronic scope is not limited to this embodiment, but may be any information that is used by a processor to which the electronic scope is connected and that performs good signal processing. Further, the information read from the electronic scope is stored in a memory card corresponding to the electronic scope in a one-to-one correspondence. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the information may be stored in a recording medium built in a data reader / writer. It may be. In this case, it is necessary to make the correspondence between the stored electronic scope information and the electronic scope possible.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the information in the rewritable nonvolatile memory provided in the electronic scope is rewritten, the old processors having different signal processings can be used without improving the existing electronic scope. And the new processor can be used interchangeably.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of a data reader / writer of an electronic scope to which an electronic scope optimization method according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the data reader / writer shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between knee and deny when an old type electronic scope and an old type processor are combined. FIG. 4 is a knee and deny when a new type electronic scope and a new type processor are combined. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between knee and deny when an old type electronic scope is combined with a new type processor. FIG. 6 is a combination of a new type electronic scope and an old type processor. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between knee and denney in the case where the electronic scope is optimized. Description of]
10 data reader / writer, 11 scope connector, 12 connector, 14 card connector, 15 microcomputer, 16 display panel, 18 switch, 19 memory card

Claims (3)

An electronic scope having a rewritable non-volatile memory in which information necessary for processing a signal from an imaging element disposed at the tip of the electronic scope is replaced with a first processor dedicated to the electronic scope. When used in a second processor of a different type, the information in the nonvolatile memory of the electronic scope is read and stored via the connector of the electronic scope, and the nonvolatile memory is adapted to be compatible with the second processor. Rewrites the information in the volatile memory,
When the electronic scope adapted to the second processor is used in a dedicated first processor of the electronic scope, the stored information for the first processor is connected via a connector of the electronic scope. A method of optimizing an electronic scope, wherein the method returns to the non-volatile memory. 2. The method of optimizing an electronic scope according to claim 1, wherein the electronic scope has a knee circuit for changing a gain of a signal from the image sensor before and after a predetermined knee point, and the information to be rewritten is the knee point. The rewriting of the information includes adding a delay amount between a drive timing of the image sensor and a drive timing of a correlated double sampling circuit for sampling / holding an output signal of the image sensor and extracting only a pixel signal. The method for optimizing an electronic scope according to claim 1.

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