JPH0410813B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus in which an operation switch is provided in the operation section of the endoscope.

[Prior art]

An example of such an endoscope device is an endoscope device that has a built-in solid-state image sensor at its tip and displays image signals on a monitor or records them on a recording medium.
Here, since still images are required when recording,
A signal for switching the displayed image from a moving image to a still image and a release signal for determining the timing of display and recording were required.

Conventionally, these signals have been generated by a switch provided in the operating section of the endoscope, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-182704.

However, as the types of image signal processing become more diverse, the types of signals required increase and the number of switches provided on the operating section also increases, resulting in a disadvantage that the operating section becomes larger. Furthermore, although the processing form of the image signal differs depending on the user, the configuration of the control switch of the operating section must be changed each time, resulting in a lack of versatility.

〔the purpose〕

This invention was made in order to cope with the above-mentioned circumstances, and improves the operability of switches necessary for various controls in an endoscope apparatus having an operation switch in the operation section without increasing the size of the operation section. The purpose is to improve versatility.

〔overview〕

This purpose is to provide an endoscope device that includes an endoscope having an operation switch in its operation section and an external device having a plurality of functional means, one of which is driven by the operation of the operation switch. This is realized by an endoscope device in which an external device is provided with means for switching the functional means driven by an operation switch.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. This device consists of an endoscope main body 10 and a control unit 30. A light source lamp 32 is provided within the control unit 30, and illumination light emitted from the lamp is guided to the objective end of the endoscope body 10 via a light guide 20 made of an optical fiber bundle, thereby illuminating the inside of the body cavity.

The endoscope main body 10 is mainly divided into a flexible part that is inserted into a body cavity and an operating part that is not inserted into a body cavity. An objective optical system is provided at the tip of the flexible portion, and a focusing lens 12 that is slidable in the optical axis direction is provided in this objective optical system. The focusing lens 12 is connected via a wire 16 to a focusing knob 18 provided on the operating section. By rotating the focus knob 18, the focusing lens 12 is moved in the optical axis direction, and focusing is adjusted.

Inside the objective optical system is a solid-state image sensor (e.g.
A CCD (CCD) 14 is provided, and an optical image inside the body cavity that is incident on the solid-state image sensor 14 via the objective optical system and the focusing lens 12 is converted into an image signal.
The inside of the body cavity is imaged. The operation section of the endoscope body 10 includes a release switch 2 for instructing still image recording.
2. A multi-switch 24 is also provided which functions as a different operation switch for each operating mode.

The operation of the solid-state image sensor 14 is controlled by drive pulses from a solid-state image sensor driver (SID driver) 34 within the control unit 30. The output image signal of the solid-state image sensor 14 is supplied to a sample/hold (S/H) circuit 36 within the control unit 30. The output of the sample/hold circuit 36 is a low pass filter (LPF) 38, an auto gain controller (AGC) 40, and a gamma (γ) correction circuit 4.
2. Monitor device 46 via NTSC decoder 44
images inside the body cavity are displayed in real time as a moving image.

The output of the low pass filter 38 is supplied to a control circuit 52 via a high pass filter (HPF) 48 and an A/D converter 50. The control circuit 52 includes a release switch 22 provided on the endoscope body 10,
A signal from multi-switch 24 is also supplied. The function of the control unit 30 when the multi-switch 24 is turned on differs for each operating mode and is selectively determined by the control circuit 52. Therefore, the control unit 30 includes a freeze switch 54 as a mode switch for specifying the operation mode, a focus-in freeze switch 56, and a focus-in freeze switch 56.
In trigger switch 58, focus in
A freeze-and-trigger switch 60 is provided, and signals from these switches 54, 56, 58, and 60 are also supplied to control circuit 52. here,
The mode switches 54, 56, 58, and 60 are self-illuminated switches that select from four modes.

On the other hand, the output of the gamma correction circuit 42 is sent to a frame memory 64 for freezing via an A/D converter 62.
is supplied to The frame memory 64 has a capacity to store one image, and is always read while being written, so it outputs the input signal as is, but when a freeze instruction is given, writing is prohibited and the last writing is performed. One image is repeatedly read out and output. The signal read from the frame memory 64 is sent to the D/A converter 66, the low pass filter 68,
The signal is supplied to a monitor device 72 via an NTSC decoder 70. Therefore, the monitor device 72 always displays a moving image, and switches to a still image display when a freeze instruction is received. The frame memory 64 has a control circuit 52
A write phrase signal F is supplied from the write phrase signal F, and writing is prohibited by this signal F. Here, it is assumed that the screen of the monitor device 72 is smaller than that of the monitor device 46.

The output of the NTSC decoder 70 is also supplied to a recording device 74, where a still image is recorded. Recording device 74
is comprised of, for example, a disk cartridge type magnetic storage device. A recording trigger signal T is supplied from the control circuit 52 to the recording device 74, and still image recording is executed by this signal T.

A timing generator 76 is provided for timing control of each part within the control unit 30.
Its output is the solid-state image sensor driver 34, sample/hold circuit 36, NTSC decoder 44, 7
0, is supplied to the control circuit 52 and frame memory 64.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, mode switches 54, 56, 58, 60
The case where both are off will be explained. When the focus knob 18 is turned, the wire 16 and the focusing lens 12 move in the optical axis direction, and the solid-state image sensor 14
The imaging conditions of the objective optical system are varied. As mentioned above, the monitor device 46 uses the solid-state image sensor 1
The output image of step 4 is constantly displayed as a moving image.

The control circuit 52 also includes switches 54, 56, 5
When both 8 and 60 are off, the write phrase signal F is not generated. Therefore, frame memory 6
4 is writable, and the image signal from the solid-state image sensor 14 is written and read out frame by frame, and the data in the frame memory 64 is sequentially updated. Therefore, the monitor device 72 also displays the output image of the solid-state image sensor 14 as a moving image.

When the release switch 22 is turned on, a storage trigger signal T is supplied from the control circuit 52 to the recording device 74. Then, only one frame of the output image signal of the NTSC decoder 70 is supplied to the recording device 74, and a still image is recorded. Here, the recording device 7
4 is not limited to a disk cartridge magnetic storage device, but may also be an optical file, a normal photographic camera, or the like.

Note that when the release switch 22 is turned on,
A write phrase signal F is supplied from the control circuit 52 to the frame memory 64 for 0.3 seconds, and during this time writing to the frame memory 64 (data update) is stopped, and the monitor device 72 is frozen and displays a still image.

Next, mode switches 54, 56, 58, 60
Each operation mode determined by the following will be explained.

In the freeze mode set by turning on the freeze switch 54, when the multi-switch 24 is turned on, the control circuit 52 supplies the write freeze signal F to the frame memory 64 and stops writing data to the frame memory 64. Therefore, the monitor device 72 is frozen and displays a still image.

When the multi-switch 24 is turned on again, the control circuit 52 stops generating the write freeze signal F, resumes writing data to the frame memory 64, and the monitor device 72 is unfrozen and resumes displaying the moving image.

In the focus-in-freeze mode, which is set by turning on the focus-in-freeze switch 56, first set the focusing lens 12 to an appropriate position using the focus knob 18, and then turn on the multi-switch 24. From there, the tip of the endoscope main body 10 is brought close to the body cavity wall to adjust focusing. Alternatively, while maintaining an appropriate distance between the tip of the endoscope main body 10 and the body cavity wall, the multi-switch 24 is turned on, and the focusing knob 18 is turned to slide the focusing lens 12 to adjust focusing. At this time, even if the multi-switch 24 is turned on, the control circuit 52 does not immediately supply the write freeze signal F to the frame memory 64.

A high frequency component of the output of the solid-state image sensor 14 is input to the control circuit 52 via the high-pass filter 48 and the A/D converter 50. The control circuit 52 determines the imaging state of the optical image formed on the solid-state image sensor 14 by the objective optical system from the amount of high frequency components of the image signal. When the image is out of focus, the amount of high-frequency components is small; as the image comes into focus, the amount of high-frequency components increases; and when the image is in focus (in-focus state), the amount of high-frequency components reaches its maximum. Furthermore, as the tip of the endoscope main body 10 approaches the body cavity wall, the amount of high frequency components decreases. Therefore, the endoscope body 1
If the tip of 0 is brought close to the body cavity wall and the maximum value of the high frequency component of the output of the solid-state image sensor 14 is detected,
The in-focus state can be detected. In reality, the frame in which the high frequency component changes from increasing to decreasing is the frame after the in-focus frame.
The shooting time for one frame is usually as short as 1/30 seconds, so
A shift of one frame may be ignored.

When the control circuit 52 detects the focused state, it supplies a write freeze signal F to the frame memory 64 to stop writing data. As a result, the output image signal of the solid-state image sensor 14 is transferred to the frame memory 64.
A still image is recorded, and the monitor device 72 enters a frozen state and displays a still image.

In this state, the photographer fixes the endoscope body 10 and turns on the release switch 22 to transfer the still image displayed on the monitor device 72 to the recording device 7.
Can be recorded to 4. The control circuit 52 supplies a recording trigger signal T to the recording circuit 74 in response to a signal from the release switch 22.

In this way, in the focus-in-freeze mode, you can check the contents of a still image that is frozen and in focus, and record only what you want to keep if necessary.

When the multi-switch 24 is turned on again, the generation of the write freeze signal F is stopped, data writing to the frame memory 64 is restarted, and the monitor device 7
The frozen state of 2 is released.

Even in the focus-in-trigger mode, which is set by turning on the focus-in-trigger switch 58, turn on the multi-switch 24 while maintaining an appropriate distance between the tip of the endoscope body 10 and the body cavity wall. Turn the focus knob 18 to slide the focusing lens 12 to adjust focusing. Alternatively, the focusing lens 12 is set at an appropriate position using the focusing knob 18, the multi-switch 24 is turned on, and the distal end of the endoscope body 10 is brought close to the body cavity wall to adjust focusing.

When the control circuit 52 detects the focused state, it supplies a recording trigger signal T to the recording device 74 to record one frame of image. Here, the control circuit 52 does not generate the write freeze signal F, data writing to the frame memory 64 is not stopped, and the monitor device 72 continues to display the moving image without being frozen.

In the focus-in-freeze-and-trigger mode, which is set by turning on the focus-in-freeze-and-trigger switch 60, the operation in the focus-in-freeze mode and the focus-in-trigger mode described above are the same. Both actions are performed. That is, the focusing lens 12 is set at an appropriate position, the multi-switch 24 is turned on, and the endoscope main body 10 is turned on.
Bring the tip of the endoscope close to the body cavity wall, or while maintaining an appropriate distance between the tip of the endoscope main body 10 and the body cavity wall, turn on the multi-switch 24 and then turn the focus knob 18 to adjust the focusing. Take an image of the inside.

When the control circuit 52 detects the in-focus state, writing to the frame memory 64 is stopped, the monitor device 72 is put into a frozen state, a still image is displayed, and the still image is recorded in the recording device 74. The frozen state of the monitor device 72 is released by turning on the multi-switch 24 again.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the multi-switch 24 is provided in the operating section of the endoscope main body 10, and the function of the multi-switch 24 is controlled by the control unit 3.
Mode switches 54, 56, 58, 6 provided at 0
0, can be switched by the control circuit 52.
Therefore, even if the processing format of image pickup signals becomes diverse, there is no need to provide that many switches in the operating section, and the operating section does not become large. Furthermore, even if the required image processing format is different,
This can be done simply by changing the configuration of the switch of the control unit 30, and the versatility of the endoscope body is improved.

Note that this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways. The above explanation was about an endoscope device that has a built-in solid-state image sensor at its tip and displays image signals on a monitor or records them on a recording medium. The same applies to fiberscopes. That is, there is no need to limit the function of the multi-switch as an operation switch.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the operability of switches necessary for various controls and to improve the versatility of the apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention. 14...Solid-state image sensor, 22...Release switch, 24...Multi switch, 46, 72...
Monitor device, 52... Control circuit, 54... Freeze switch, 56... Focus in freeze switch, 58... Focus in trigger switch, 60... Focus in freeze and trigger switch, 64 ... Frame memory, 74 ... Recording device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An endoscope comprising: an endoscope provided with an operation switch in the operation section; and an external device having a plurality of functional means, one of which is driven by operation of the operation switch. An endoscope device, wherein the external device includes means for switching functional means driven by the operation switch.