JPH0775599B2 - Control device for endoscope - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope control device capable of using both a frame sequential imaging unit and a simultaneous imaging unit.

[Problems to be Solved by Conventional Techniques and Inventions] In recent years, a slender insertion portion is inserted into a body cavity to observe an organ in the body cavity or the like, and a treatment inserted into a treatment instrument channel as necessary. 2. Description of the Related Art Endoscopes that can be used for various medical treatments with a tool are widely used.

Further, various electronic endoscopes using a solid-state image pickup device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) as an image pickup means have been proposed. This electronic endoscope has advantages such as higher resolution than a fiberscope, easy recording and reproduction of images, and easy image processing such as image enlargement and comparison of two screens. .

A color image capturing method of the electronic endoscope includes, for example,
As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-82731, the illumination light is R
A frame-sequential system in which (red), R (green), B (blue), etc. are sequentially switched, and, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-76888, R, G, B There is a simultaneous system in which a filter array in which color filters that transmit the respective colored lights are arranged in a mosaic pattern is provided. The frame-sequential method has an advantage that the number of pixels can be reduced as compared with the simultaneous method, while the simultaneous method has an advantage that no color shift occurs.

Further, the electronic endoscope has been diversified depending on its purpose of use. For example, for the upper digestive system, the outer diameter of the insertion part is
Most of them are from 10φ to 12φ mm. For bronchial use, the outer diameter is 3φ to
Most of them are 5 mm. In this way, the outer diameter of the insertion part is 3φ
It is physically and performance-unreasonable to use the same type of image pickup element and the same type of image pickup method for various electronic endoscopes ranging from .about.12 .phi.mm. That is, for example, the outer diameter 3φ
For the one having a diameter of up to 5 mm, it is extremely advantageous to reduce the number of images of the solid-state image pickup device and use the frame-sequential image pickup method in order to reduce the outer diameter of the insertion portion. On the other hand, outer diameter 10φ
It is advantageous to increase the number of pixels and to use the simultaneous image pickup method for improving the image quality for those having a diameter of up to 12 mm.

By the way, the electronic endoscope is generally used by being connected to a control device having a built-in light source device and a video signal processing circuit, and an observation image is displayed on a monitor connected to the control device. There is.

Although the illumination method and the video signal processing are different between the frame sequential method and the simultaneous method, the conventional control device is provided with only the illumination device and the video signal processing circuit corresponding to either the frame sequential method or the simultaneous method. It was a thing. Therefore, the user needs to prepare different systems and perform different operations depending on the imaging method, which is inefficient and economical.

In JP-A-60-243625, a camera is connected to an endoscope equipped with an optical fiber bundle for image transmission in a control device for an electronic endoscope of a frame-sequential system, and a display of a monitor TV or the like is displayed. A connection system capable of being observed on a screen is disclosed. However, this system cannot use cameras and electronic endoscopes of different imaging methods.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is provided with a video signal processing means of either a frame sequential system or a simultaneous system having a light source device adapted to the frame sequential system and the simultaneous system. The extended control device provided with the other video signal processing means other than the video processing means,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope control device that can be easily and reliably mechanically attached and detached.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] An endoscope control apparatus according to the present invention includes a frame sequential system or a simultaneous system video signal processing having a light source device adapted to the frame sequential system and the simultaneous system. It is possible to teach the light source device by providing a joining means capable of mechanically and reliably attaching and detaching the extended control device having the other video signal processing means other than the video processing means to the control device main body provided with the means. It is possible to use it as an integrated endoscope control device.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 7 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the joining means, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure after joining, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the whole endoscope device, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the endoscope device. 5, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a frame sequential system pro-process circuit, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a simultaneous system pre-process circuit, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a post-process circuit. is there.

As shown in FIG. 3, an endoscope apparatus 1 includes a frame-sequential electronic endoscope 2 and a fiber scope 3 having an image guide formed of a fiber bundle as an image transmitting means.
The eyepiece 4 of the fiber scope 3 has a built-in simultaneous-type television camera 5 that is detachably connected, a light source device and a frame-sequential video signal processing circuit, and is connected to the electronic endoscope 2. Simultaneous system in which the frame sequential system control device 6a and a video signal processing circuit of the simultaneous system are built in, are connected to the frame sequential system control device 6a, and are connected to the television camera 5 mounted on the fiber scope 3. Controller 6b
And a color CRT monitor 7 as display means connected to the frame sequential control device 6a.

The electronic endoscope 2 has a slender, for example, flexible insertion portion 11 and a large-diameter operating portion 12 connected to the rear end of the insertion portion 11. A flexible table 13 is extended laterally from the rear portion of the operation portion 12, and a connector 14 is provided at the tip of this cable. The connector 14 is integrally provided with an electric system socket 15 and an illumination system socket 16. The illumination system socket 16 includes an illumination system terminal 16a and an air / water supply system terminal 16b communicating with an air / water supply channel (not shown) provided in the insertion portion 11. On the front surface of the control device 6, for example, the electric system socket 15 and the illumination system socket 16 are provided.
Electrical connector receiver for frame-sequential system
17, lighting system connector receiver 18 is provided, these sockets 1
5, 16 and connector receivers 17, 18 connect the electronic endoscope 2 to the frame sequential control device 6a.

The frame sequential electrical connector receiver 17 can be connected not only to the frame sequential electronic endoscope 2 but also to a frame sequential television camera.

On the other hand, the fiber scope 3 is connected to the electronic endoscope 2
Similarly, the operation portion 22 having a large diameter is connected to the rear portion of the insertion portion 21 which is elongated and has flexibility. A flexible cable 23 extends laterally from the rear of the operation section 22, and an illumination system connector 24 is provided at the tip of this cable.
The illumination system connector 24 includes an illumination system terminal 24a and an air / water supply system terminal 24b communicating with an air / water supply channel (not shown) provided in the insertion portion 21. The illumination system connector 24 is adapted to be connected to the illumination system connector receiver 18.

A flexible cable 26 extends laterally from the television camera 5, and an electrical connector 27 is provided at the tip of the cable 26. The electric system connector 27 is connected to a simultaneous system electric system connector receiver 28 provided on, for example, the front surface of the simultaneous system control device 6b.

The illumination system connector receiver 18 and the simultaneous system electrical system connector receiver 28 include not only the television camera 5 mounted on the fiber scope 3 but also a simultaneous system solid-state image sensor at the tip of the insertion portion. A simultaneous electronic endoscope can also be connected.

As shown in FIG. 4, a light distribution lens 32 is provided at the tip 31 of the insertion portion 11 of the electronic endoscope 2, and this light distribution lens 32 is provided.
On the rear end side of 32, the emission end of the light guide 33 formed of a flexible fiber bundle inserted into the insertion portion 11 is arranged. The base end of the light guide 33 is connected to the illumination system socket 16. Then, the connector 14 is connected to the connector receivers 17 and 18 of the frame sequential control device 6a so that the illumination light emitted from the light source device 10 in the frame sequential system control device 6a enters the light guide 33. It has become. The light source device 10 includes a lamp 35 that emits white light, a rotary color filter 37 that has a color transmission filter of three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) and that is rotated by a motor 36. Is equipped with. And the lamp 35
The illumination light emitted from the light passes through the rotary color filter 37 and is sequentially converted into light of red, green, and blue wavelengths, and a condenser lens.
The light is collected by 38 and is incident on the light guide 33. In this embodiment, the rotary color filter 37 can be moved in the direction of arrow A, and can be inserted and removed between the lamp 35 and the condenser lens 38. The light incident on the light guide 33 is
The light guide 33 guides the light to the tip portion 31, emits the light from the emission end of the light guide 33, passes through the light distribution lens 32, and illuminates the subject.

An image forming optical system 41 including an objective lens is provided at the tip end portion 31 of the electronic endoscope 2. At the image forming position of the image forming optical system 41, a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD image pickup device is provided. Element 40
Is provided. The solid-state imaging device 42 is driven by a frame sequential driver 43 in the frame sequential control device 6a. Red, green from the subject,
The return light corresponding to each blue color light passes through the imaging optical system 41 and is received by the solid-state imaging device 42. This solid-state image sensor
The output signal of 42 is amplified by the preamplifier 43 provided in the tip portion 31, and the signal line 44 inserted into the insertion portion 11 and the cable 13 and the electrical system socket 1 of the connector 14 are provided.
5, via the electrical connector receiver 17 for the frame sequential system, is input to the video signal processing unit 50 for the frame sequential system in the frame sequential system control device 6a. In the video signal processing unit 50, the output signal of the solid-state image pickup device 42 is first input to a preprocess circuit 45 as shown in FIG. 5, for example. In the pre-processing circuit 45, a video signal is extracted from the output signal of the solid-state imaging device 42 by the sample hold circuit 46, γ corrected by the γ correction circuit 47, and then converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 48. It This digital signal is switched by the multiplexer 49 in synchronism with color plane sequential illumination, and is stored in the R frame memory 51, G frame memory 52, and B frame memory 53 corresponding to red, green, and blue colors in sequence. It The frame memories 51, 52 and 53 are simultaneously read at a speed matched with a display device such as the color CRT monitor 7 and converted into analog signals by the D / A converters 54, 55 and 56, respectively, and R, G, A B color signal is generated. The R, G, B color signals are supplied to the matrix circuit 57 for the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY,
Converted to BY.

The luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY, B of the matrix circuit 57
Each output terminal of -Y is connected to one switching contact of the changeover switch 59, and the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY, B- are connected.
Y is input to the post process circuit 68 as shown in FIG. 7, for example, through the changeover switch 59. In the post process circuit 68, the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY are input to the NTSC encoder 69, converted into NTSC signals and output. Further, the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY are
It is also input to the inverse matrix circuit 70, converted into R, G, B signals by this inverse matrix circuit 70, and these R, G, B signals are driver.
It is designed to be output via 71, 72, 73. As described above, in this embodiment, the NTSC signal and the R, G, B signals can be output. Then, the NTSC signal or R, G,
The B signal is input to the monitor 7 and an observation image is displayed on the monitor 7.

On the other hand, the tip portion 81 of the insertion portion 21 of the fiber scope 3 is
Is provided with a light distribution lens 82, and at the rear end side of the light distribution lens 82, an emission end of a light guide 83 formed of a flexible fiber bundle inserted into the insertion portion 21 is arranged. There is. The illumination system connector at the base end of the light guide 83
Connected to 24. And the frame sequential control device
Illumination light emitted from the light source device 10 in 6a enters the light guide 83. When the illumination system connector 24 of the fiberscope 3 is connected to the illumination system connector receiver 18 of the control device 6a, the light source device 10
The rotary color filter 37 is moved in the direction of arrow A so that the white illumination light emitted from the lamp 35 is made incident on the light guide 83 without passing through the rotary color filter 37. The light incident on the light guide 83 is guided to the tip portion 81 by the light guide 83, emitted from the emission end of the light guide 83, passes through the light distribution lens 82, and is irradiated onto the subject. It has become.

An imaging optical system 84 including an objective lens is provided at the tip 81 of the fiber scope 3, and a fiber inserted into the insertion portion 21 is provided at the imaging position of the imaging optical system 84. The front end surface of the image guide 85 formed of a bundle is arranged. The observation image combined by the imaging optical system 84 is guided to the eyepiece 4 by the image guide 85,
The eyepiece section 4 can be used for observation. By connecting a television camera 5 to the eyepiece unit 4, the observation image can be taken.

The television camera 5 includes a solid-state image sensor 87 arranged at the image forming position of the eyepiece section 4 and a preamplifier 88 for amplifying an output signal of the solid-state image sensor 87. In addition, on the front surface of the solid-state image pickup device 87, a filter array (not shown) in which color filters that transmit R, G, B and the like are arranged in a mosaic pattern is provided. Further, the solid-state imaging device 87 is a driver for the simultaneous system in the simultaneous system control device 6b.
It is designed to be driven by 89. The output signal of the solid-state image pickup device 87 is amplified by the preamplifier 88, and passes through the signal line inserted in the cable 26, the electric system connector 27, the simultaneous system electric system connector receiver 28, and the simultaneous system control device 6b. Are input to the simultaneous system video signal processing section 90. In this video signal processing unit 90,
The output signal of the solid-state image pickup device 87 is first input to a preprocess circuit 91 as shown in FIG. 6, for example. In the pre-processing circuit 91, the output signal of the solid-state image sensor 87 is input to the luminance signal processing circuit 92, and the luminance signal Y is generated. The output signal of the solid-state image pickup device 87 is also input to a color signal reproduction circuit 93, and the color signal reproduction circuit 93 generates color difference signals RY and BY for each horizontal line in time series. After passing through the white balance circuit 94 for color temperature correction, one is directly input to the analog switch 95 and the other is delayed by one horizontal line by the 1H delay line 94a and input to the analog switch 95a. -Y, BY are obtained. The luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY are input to the freeze section 60. In the freeze section 60, the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals RY and BY
Are converted into digital signals by the A / D converters 61, 62 and 63, respectively, and then stored in the frame memory 64. The digital signal read from the frame memory 64 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converters 65, 66, 67, and one of them is connected to the frame-sequential housing 50a and the simultaneous housing 90a. Output to the post process circuit 68 via the changeover switch 59 via the connector receiver 75 and the connector 76 provided on the surface,
The other is output to the NTSC encoder 96.

When the freeze unit 60 freezes, one frame of data is stored in the frame memory 64, and thereafter writing to the frame memory 64 is stopped and a still image can be displayed on the monitor 7. ing.

According to the present embodiment, even when the television camera 5 connected to the fiber scope 3 which is the image pickup means of the simultaneous system is used alone, the freeze section 60 is used to freeze the NTSC signal and stop it. It becomes possible to display an image.

When the frame sequential image pickup means is used, it is possible to display a still image by using the frame memories 51, 52, 53 in the frame sequential image signal processing unit 50.

By the way, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 50a in which the frame-sequential video signal processing unit 50 is housed has a hinge which is an opening / closing member on one side plate. A lid 96 is provided so as to open upward by 95, and a female screw 97 as a joining means provided on the lid 96 so as to be rotatable and so as not to fall off is used as a simultaneous system video signal processing unit 90. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame-sequential housing 50a and the simultaneous housing 90a are detachably attached by screwing into a female screw portion provided on the upper surface of the housed housing 90a. ing.

The connector receiver 75 for electrically connecting the frame sequential control device 6a and the simultaneous system control device 6b is a frame sequential system housing.
50a is provided on the side plate 94 to which the simultaneous type housing 90a is joined, and the connector 76 is provided on the side plate corresponding to the connector receiver 75 of the simultaneous type housing 90a. By doing so, the simultaneous system housing 90a is replaced by the frame sequential system housing 5a.
The circuit can be connected at the same time as it is bonded to 0a.

According to the present embodiment, the mounting of the housings 50a and 90a is simple and reliable, and when only the frame sequential control device 6a is used, it is not an obstacle if the lid 96 is tilted to the side plate 94 side, and the simultaneous control device is used.
The unit mounting structure has a good appearance even when 6b is joined.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the construction showing the joining means of the field sequential control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the housing 50a in which the frame sequential video signal processing unit 50 is housed is provided with a lid 96 on one side plate so as to be opened downward by a hinge 95 which is an opening / closing member. Further, a locking female screw 97 as a joining means rotatably provided on the lid 96 so as not to fall off is provided with a female screw portion provided on the lower surface of a housing 90a in which the simultaneous system video signal processing unit 90 is housed. The frame-sequential housing 50a and the simultaneous housing 90a are detachably attached by screwing into the. The lid 96 includes, for example, a metal casing 50a.
A magnet 93 that can be attracted to the side plate 94 of the
When the 6b is not joined, the lid 96 can be fixed to the side plate 94.

Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the construction showing the joining means of the frame sequential control device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, one side plate 94 of the housing 50a of the frame sequential control device 6a is provided with a convex portion 108 that spreads from the rear surface to the front surface of the control device 6a at the front end, and the simultaneous system control device 6 corresponding thereto is provided.
By providing the side plate 98 of the housing 90a of b with the concave portion 109 that fits into the convex portion, the frame sequential system control device 6a and the simultaneous system control device 6b can be fitted and joined.

It should be noted that the front surface of the convex portion 108 has a surface sequential control device 6a.
The click device 110 is provided so that the and the simultaneous control device 6b can be joined at a predetermined position, and can be electrically connected at the time of joining.

Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 relate to the fourth embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a configuration showing a joining means of a frame sequential control device and a simultaneous system control device, and FIG. 11 is a configuration explanatory view showing a configuration of the joining means.

Side faces 103 and 104 of frame 50a and 90a of frame sequential system and simultaneous system
A rod 101 having a circular groove portion 100 near the tip is provided on one side surface of the lid 99 having the same shape as the side surface 103 and a side surface 103 of the casing 90a of the simultaneous control device 6b corresponding to the rod 101. A through hole 102 and a hole 105 are provided on the side surface 104 of the housing 50a of the system control device 6b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 11, when the simultaneous type housing 90a is sandwiched in the hole 105, the position where the groove portion 100 of the rod 101 reaches and the simultaneous type housing 90a are not sandwiched, and the lid 99 is housed. A ball 107 biased by a spring 106 is provided at a position reached by the groove portion 100 of the rod 101 when the rod 10 is joined to the body 50a.
When 1 is inserted into the hole 105, the rod 101 penetrates against the biasing force of the spring 106, and when the ball 107 reaches the position of the groove 100, the groove
A sphere 107 is fitted to 100 to fix the lid 90.

Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, cameras and scopes of different image pickup systems can be used, and the invention can be used as an integrated endoscope control device and can be used as a control device main body. There is an effect that the joining work with the extended control device can be performed easily and surely.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 7 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the joining means, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure after joining, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the whole endoscope device, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the endoscope device. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a frame sequential method preprocessing circuit, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a simultaneous system preprocessing circuit, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a postprocessing circuit. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the construction showing the joining means of the frame sequential control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is the joining means of the frame sequential control device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 relate to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the structure showing the joining means of the frame sequential control device and the simultaneous system control device. FIG. 11 is a structural explanatory view showing the structure of the joining means. 6a …… Frame sequential control device 6b …… Simultaneous control device 50a …… Housing, 90a …… Housing 94 …… Side plate, 95 …… Hinge 96 …… Lid, 97 …… Set screw

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Hisao Yabe 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Takamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichi Kato 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-63-220213 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A control device main body provided with a video signal processing means of either a frame sequential system or a simultaneous system having a light source device adapted to the frame sequential system and the simultaneous system,
An endoscopic control device comprising a joining means for attaching and detaching an expansion control device having another video signal processing means other than the video signal processing means. 2. A control device main body having a video signal processing means of either a frame sequential method or a simultaneous method having a light source device adapted to the field sequential method and the simultaneous method, while the other is not the video signal processing means. A controller for an endoscope, characterized in that the extension controller provided with the video signal processing means is provided with a joining means that can be slid and attached. 3. A main body of a control device having a video signal processing means of either a frame sequential method or a simultaneous method having a light source device adapted to the field sequential method and the simultaneous method, and the other not the video signal processing means. A controller for endoscopes, characterized in that a joining means constituted by a fitting portion and a fitted portion is provided for joining the expansion control device having the video signal processing means.