JPH0458333B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope system, and particularly to an endoscope system using an electronic imaging device.

[Prior art]

BACKGROUND ART In endoscope systems, techniques have been developed for processing transendoscopic images using an endoscope with a built-in imaging element or a TV camera attached to the eyepiece of the endoscope. In this image processing, images are displayed on a monitor or recorded on a VTR. Conventionally, when recording images, all images taken during endoscope operation are recorded on a VTR. For this reason, unnecessary images and
For example, an image when the objective lens at the end of the endoscope touches the body cavity wall, a so-called red-eye image, an image when water is sent to the objective lens to clean it, or a halation image are reproduced, and these unnecessary images are reproduced. Imaging prevents prompt diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to edit the recorded tape after recording.

Furthermore, if the distal end of the endoscope is too close to the body cavity wall, the light guided into the body cavity may strongly irradiate the body cavity wall, causing burns to the body cavity wall.

〔the purpose〕

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope system that determines an image state from an image signal and stops image recording when the image signal is inappropriate for image recording.

〔overview〕

According to the invention, there is provided an endoscope, an imaging means provided in the endoscope for taking an image of a subject, an image recording means for recording an image signal from the imaging means, and an image recording means for recording an image signal from the imaging means. a determining means that outputs an output when it determines that the input image signal is not a normal image signal suitable for image recording; and in response to the output from the determining means, the image recording means stops recording the image. An endoscope system is provided, characterized in that it is equipped with means for sending out a signal to cause an abnormality.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows an endoscope system, and according to this endoscope system, an endoscope 1 has a built-in solid-state image sensor 12, for example. The endoscope 11 is connected to a light source/imaging device 13. The light source/image device 13 has a built-in light source unit that generates light to be supplied to the endoscope 11 and an image processing unit.
A monitor 14 and a VTR 15 are provided outside. A keyboard 16 is provided for operation input and data input.

FIG. 1 shows the circuit of an image processing unit. According to this circuit, a solid state image sensor (abbreviated as
The image signal output section of SID) 12 is the signal processing circuit 21
The driver is connected to the output terminal of the SID driver 22. An output end of the signal processing circuit 21 is connected to a frame memory section 24 via a switching circuit 23. The frame memory section 24 has three frame memories 24R, 24 for recording R, B, and G image signals.
G, has 24B. These frame memories 24
R, 24G, 24B are connected to the D/A converter 2 of the D/A converter section 25 via buffer memories 25R, 25G, 25B of the buffer memory section 25, respectively.
Connected to 6R, 26G, and 26B, respectively. D/A
Output ends of converters 26R, 26G, and 26B are connected to R, G, and B terminals and an NTSC conversion section 27. The output end of the NTSC conversion section 27 is connected to the NTSC terminal.

The output section of the D/A converter section 26 is connected to a flat image determining section 28 and an R component determining section 29. The flat image determination unit 28 includes high-pass filters (HPF) 30R, 30G, and 30B connected to D/A converters 26R, 26G, and 26B, respectively.
will be provided. The output terminal of HPF30R, 30G, 30B is the frequency voltage conversion circuit (F/V circuit) 31
Threshold circuit 32 via R, 31G, and 31B, respectively.
Connected to R, 32G, and 32B. Threshold circuit 32
The output terminals of R, 32G, and 32B are inverter 33
AND gate 3 via R, 33G, 33B respectively
Connected to the input terminal of 4.

The R component determination unit 29 includes integrators 35R, 35G,
35B is provided, and these integrators 35R, 35
The output terminals of G and 35B are connected to a comparator 36.
The output of comparator 36 is connected to AND gate 34.

Timing generator 37 is SID driver 2
2. A timing generator 38 is provided to control the timing of the switching circuit 2 and the frame memory section 24, and a timing generator 38 is used to control the timing of the buffer memory section 25.

In the above configuration, when the endoscope 11 is inserted into a body cavity and the inside of the body cavity is imaged by the image sensor 12, the image sensor 12 outputs an image signal. In this case, R, G, and B image signals are sequentially output in response to the R, G, and B lights that are sequentially introduced into the endoscope from the light source unit. In addition, R, G,
B light is obtained by arranging a three primary color filter in front of the light source and rotating this filter.

The R, G, and B image signals are supplied to a signal processing circuit 21, subjected to predetermined signal processing, and then supplied to a switching circuit 23. The switching circuit 23 switches the R, G, and B contacts in synchronization with the timing signal of the timing generator 37, and converts the R, G, and B image signals into R, G, and B contacts.
G, B frame memories 24R, 24G, 24B. RG, B frame memory 24R, 24G,
The R, G, and B image signals stored in 24B are sent to D/A via buffer memories 25R, 25G, and 25B.
The signals are transferred to converters 26R, 26G, and 26B and converted into analog signals. When the analog image signal is input to the VTR 15 via the R, G, and B terminals, it is recorded on the magnetic tape of the VTR 15. When the analog image signal is converted into an NTSC signal by the NTSC conversion section 27, the image signal can be reproduced as a print.

The analog image signal is supplied to a flat image determining section 28 and an R component determining section 29 to determine the image state. That is, when the red image signal is input to the flat image determination section 28, the flat image signal contains almost no high frequency components, so the output voltage signals of the F/V circuits 31R to 31B are small, and therefore the output voltage signals of the F/V circuits 31R to 31B are small. All outputs are at 0 level, and this 0 level signal is sent to inverter 33R.
The level is inverted by 33 and AND gate 3
4 is input.

On the other hand, in the R component determining section 29, the R and GB signals are integrated by integrators 35R, 35G, and 35B, respectively, and the integration results are compared in a comparator 36.
This comparator 36 is configured to output a 1-level signal when the R component is larger than the G and B components, so in the case of a reddish image, the R component is naturally large and the comparator 36 outputs a 1-level signal. Output.
Therefore, all inputs to the AND gate 34 are at 1 level, and the AND gate 34 outputs a 1 level signal as a recording pause signal. This pause signal
When input to the VTR 15, the VTR 15 enters a pause state to prevent recording of red-out images. That is, in this embodiment, since it is a flat image and has a large red component, the input image is determined to be an unnecessary reddish image and recording of this image is stopped. In addition, in the above example
Although the AND gate 34 is used to determine whether an image is an unnecessary image based on both the flat image and the red component, an OR gate may be used to generate a pause signal when determining whether the flat image or the red component image is present.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the D/A converter section 26
A switch circuit 41 is connected to the output section of. This switch circuit 41 is connected to a memory section 43 via a switching circuit 42. The switch circuit 41 and the switching circuit 42 are controlled by a timing signal from a timing generator 44. For example, when a specific pixel is specified by the pixel selection circuit 45, a timing signal corresponding to this specific pixel is sent to the switch circuit 4.
1 and the switching circuit 42. At this time, the switch circuit 41 is closed, and the switching circuit 42 is switched to the contacts corresponding to the memories 43R, 43G, and 43B. Therefore, the pixel signal at this time is sent to the memories 43R, 4 via the switch circuit 41 and the switching circuit 42.
It is stored in 3G and 43B. In the next frame, the signal of the pixel at the same position is taken in by the switch circuit 41 again in response to the timing signal.
The contact point corresponding to 46B is switched, and the pixel signal is input to comparators 46R, 46G, and 46B.
On the other hand, the previously stored pixel signals are read out from the memories 43R, 43G, 43B by the readout signal of the readout circuit 47, and the comparators 46R, 46G,
46B. Therefore, these comparators 46
For R, 46G, and 46B, pixel signals of two frames before and after are compared with each other. In normal imaging, the pixel signals of the two frames before and after are almost unchanged, so the outputs of the comparators 46R, 46G, and 46B are at 0 level. On the other hand, when the objective lens at the end of the endoscope is cleaned by water supply, the image signal obtained by the image sensor 12 changes at high speed, and changes significantly between the two frames before and after. When the difference between both pixel signals, for example the difference between the luminance signals, is greater than a certain value, the outputs of the comparators 46R, 46G, and 46B become 1 level, and the AND gate 48 outputs a pause signal. That is, in this embodiment, when an image is generated due to water supply cleaning, recording of this image is stopped.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, it is detected that the distal end of the endoscope is too close to the subject and halation occurs due to the light source, and a predetermined operation is performed. That is, when a pixel in the shaded area of the image shown in FIG.
Output from 2. In response to the timing signal, the switch circuit 41 opens and closes to introduce pixel signals corresponding to the oblique view area into the integrators 53R, 53G, and 53B. Integrators 53R to 53B integrate pixel signals. The integration results are compared with a reference value Ref by comparators 54R to 54B. Integration result is reference value
If it is greater than Ref, comparators 54R-54B produce an output signal. This output signal is OR gate 55
When the light is supplied to the light source unit via the light source, the amount of light from the light source is reduced. This reduction in the amount of light prevents the body cavity wall near the distal end of the endoscope from being burned by the light source light. The decrease in light intensity is caused by comparators 54R to 54.
This is performed while the output signal is being output from B. still,
The reference value Ref of the comparator is set to a value corresponding to when halation occurs in, for example, 25% of the shaded area.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a solid-state imaging device, for example a CCD 62, provided at the tip of an endoscope 61 is connected to a video signal processing circuit 64 and a brightness detection circuit 65 in a light source unit 63. The video signal processing circuit 64 is a circuit that processes the image signal (video signal) from the CCD 62 and sends it to the VTR 66, monitor 67, and electronic camera 68.

The brightness detection circuit 65 converts the image signal of the CCD 62 into 1
It is integrated for each frame and transmitted to the control circuit 699.
The control circuit 69 is connected to a monitor 67, a superimpose circuit 70, and a trigger circuit 71, and reads luminance information every frame and compares it with a predetermined luminance.
When the brightness exceeds a predetermined level, a pause signal is output to the VTR 66 to stop recording, a signal to stop still image shooting is output to the trigger circuit 71, and an instruction is given to the superimpose circuit 70 to display a warning on the monitor 67. . If the brightness information is less than the predetermined brightness,
A signal for restarting recording is output to the VTR 66, and a photographing permission signal is output to the trigger circuit 71. Further, an instruction to clear the alarm display on the monitor 7 is output to the superimpose circuit 70. The trigger circuit 71 transmits a release signal to the electronic camera 68 in response to the operation of the release button 12 attached to the endoscope 61, and transmits the release signal to the electronic camera while a shooting stop signal is input from the control circuit 69. It is composed of a circuit that does not transmit data to 68, for example, an AND circuit. The release signal is 1, the non-release is 0, the shooting stop signal from the control circuit 69 is 0,
When the photographing permission signal is set to 1, the condition for the AND circuit, that is, the trigger circuit 71 to output 1, is when all inputs are 1. Therefore, the release signal is input to the electronic camera 68 when the photographing permission signal and the release signal are input. It's time to do it.

The superimpose circuit 70 interrupts the video signal with a display content signal in order to display or erase predetermined display content on the screen of the monitor 7 in response to a warning display or warning deletion instruction from the control circuit 69.

The operation of the endoscope system having the above configuration will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the image signal from the CCD 62 is input to the video signal processing circuit 64 and the brightness detection circuit 65, the brightness detection circuit 65
The image signal integrated for each frame is transmitted to the control circuit 69. The control circuit 69 compares the luminance information for each frame with a predetermined luminance, and determines that the image is too bright if the luminance information is greater than a predetermined true value. If the image is too bright, the control circuit 19 sends a recording stop signal and a shooting stop signal to the VTR 66 and trigger circuit 71, respectively. As a result, the VTR 66 temporarily stops recording and the electronic camera 68 is not released.

If the too bright image continues for a set time, for example 1 second or more, the control circuit 69 sends a command to the superimpose circuit 70 to display a burn warning, and the superimpose circuit 70 responds to the command to display a burn warning. A signal of predetermined display content is inserted into a video signal. This display content is shown in FIG.

If the image brightness is below a predetermined brightness, the control circuit 69
sends a signal to the VTR 66 instructing it to resume recording,
A photographing permission signal is sent to the trigger circuit 71, and an instruction to erase the burn warning display "BURN" on the monitor 67 is sent to the superimpose circuit 70.

The VTR 66 immediately resumes recording upon receiving the recording restart signal. In addition, when the VTR 66 is manually stopped, a circuit that does not cause the operation by the signal from the control circuit 69, for example,
The AND circuit prevents the signal from the control circuit 69 from being input to the pause circuit when the camera is paused, and the trigger circuit 71 sends a release signal to the electronic camera 68 at any time when the photography permission signal is input. can.

When the superimpose circuit receives a display deletion instruction, it stops interrupting the video signal with a signal of a predetermined display content, and deletes the warning display on the monitor 67.

In FIG. 8, a burn warning display "BURN" is displayed above the transendoscopic image 70, but the content and position of this warning display can be changed as shown in FIG. 9. In other words, in Figure 9, the warning display "Danger of burns"
is displayed at the bottom of the transendoscopic image 70.

According to the above embodiment, it is not necessary to record images that are too bright, thereby eliminating waste of video tapes, films, etc., and preventing overexposed images from appearing during videotape playback, resulting in images that are easy to see and have good exposure conditions. The time required for reproduction is shortened because only the original data is reproduced.

In addition, if the illumination light is left in a state of close proximity, the body cavity wall may be burned by the illumination light, but in the above embodiment, a warning is issued when the brightness exceeds a certain set value for a set period of time. The risk of burns can be avoided.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since recording control, light source control, etc. are performed by determining abnormalities in the image state, it is possible to prevent inappropriate image recording and burn injuries.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of an endoscope system according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the endoscope system, and FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram of an endoscope system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a block circuit diagram of the main part of an endoscope system according to another embodiment for detecting halation images, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the imaging area, and FIG. 6 is another embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the endoscope system of FIG. 6, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing monitor screens. 11...Endoscope, 12...Image sensor, 13...Image/
Image device, 14...Monitor, 15...VTR, 21...
Signal processing circuit, 24... Frame memory section, 25...
Buffer memory section, 26...D/A converter section,
28...Flat image determination unit, 29...R component determination unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope, an imaging means provided in the endoscope for taking an image of a subject, an image recording means for recording an image signal from the imaging means, and an image recording means for inputting the image signal from the imaging means, A determining means that outputs an output when determining that the image signal is not a normal image signal suitable for image recording, and means that transmits a signal to the image recording means to stop image recording in response to the output from the determining means. An endoscope system characterized by comprising: