JPH06335450A - Electronic endscope equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide electronic endoscope equipment capable of obtaining release images without any influence of noises even when used with wireless. CONSTITUTION:The equipment comprises: at least an image pickup element 2; an endoscope portion 4 having a first memory means 3 for storing images obtained by the image pickup element 2; a connection detecting means 5 for detecting the connection of the endoscope portion 4; a second memory means 6 for storing images stored in the first memory means 3; and a processor portion 8 having a picture image processing means 7 for processing images, and conduct signal transmission by wireless; at the time of connecting between the endoscope portion 4 and the processor portion 8, images are transmitted from the first memory means 3 to the second memory means 6, and at the time of observation in case release is done without any connection between the endoscope portion 4 and the processor portion 8, the first memory means 3 is made to store released still-picture, so that still-pictures without any influence of noises can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope apparatus for displaying an image on a monitor without connecting a signal cable between the electronic endoscope section and the processor section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic endoscope apparatus has no deterioration in resolution or image loss due to fibers as compared with a conventional fiberscope that uses an optical fiber as an image transmission means, and a plurality of people can observe a monitor image at the same time. Since the treatment can be performed smoothly, it is widely used as the performance of the image sensor is improved.

The electronic endoscope apparatus has an endoscope section which has an image pickup device such as a CCD and is inserted into the body cavity, and a light source section for illuminating the body cavity through an optical fiber in the endoscope section. , C
It is composed of a processor unit for processing an image obtained by an image pickup device such as a CD and outputting the image to a monitor or a recording device.

[0004]

Therefore, the endoscope section must be connected to the light source section and the processor section at the time of observation by the electronic endoscope apparatus, and only the light source section and the endoscope section are connected for observation. It is more troublesome to handle than the conventional fiberscope that can be used. If it is assumed that the usable wireless can be realized without connecting the endoscope section to the processor section, it is expected that it will be more susceptible to noise than the wired method.

In particular, in the case of a moving image, deterioration / degradation of image quality is less noticeable than that of a still image, but the image quality of a release image such as a still image to be referred to later when a release operation is performed. If is decreased, improvement is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an electronic endoscope apparatus capable of obtaining a release image which is not affected by noise even when used wirelessly. With the goal.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention. The electronic endoscope apparatus 1 of the present invention includes an endoscope section 4 having at least an image pickup element 2 and a first storage section 3 for storing an image obtained by the image pickup element 2, and an endoscope section 4. Connection detecting means 5 for detecting connection, second storage means 6 for storing the image stored in the first storage means 3,
Processor unit 8 having image processing means 7 for image processing
And a configuration for wirelessly transmitting signals between the endoscope section 4 and the processor section 8, and when the endoscope section 4 and the processor section 8 are connected to each other, The configuration is such that an image is transferred to the storage unit 6, and the endoscope unit 4 is used during observation.
If the release is performed without connecting the processor unit 8 with the processor unit 8, the released still image is stored in the first storage unit 3 so that a still image not affected by noise can be obtained. ing.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electronic endoscope apparatus 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic endoscope apparatus 11 according to the first embodiment that can be used wirelessly is an endoscope including an image pickup element. Section (hereinafter abbreviated as scope section)
12, a light source unit (not shown) that supplies illumination light to the scope unit 12 (a light guide (not shown)), a processor unit 13 that performs signal processing for the scope unit 12, and a video signal output from the processor unit 13 are displayed. Monitor (not shown).

A CC as an image sensor is provided in the scope section 12.
D14 is built in, and this CCD 14 is driven by a CCD drive circuit 15, and its output signal is a preamplifier 16
Is input to the demodulation circuit 17 via. The signal demodulated by the demodulation circuit 17 is the IR modulation circuit 18 and the A / D conversion circuit 1
9 is input. The IR modulation circuit 18 modulates the image signal into a frequency suitable for infrared (also referred to as IR) transmission, and I
The R transmission unit 21 transmits the IR to the processor unit 13 side.

On the other hand, the image signal digitized by the A / D conversion circuit 19 is sent to the frame memory 2 connected to it.
Stored in 2. The frame memory 22 has a capacity (about several tens) capable of storing still images for one endoscopic examination. A scope-side controller 23 is provided to control the storage operation, and a still image is stored in the frame memory 22 by operating the scope switch 24 provided in the scope operating section. The image stored in the frame memory 22 can be output via the parallel / serial conversion circuit 25. A power supply 26 is provided to operate the above circuits.

On the other hand, the processor section 13 includes an IR receiving section 2
7 is provided to receive the endoscopic image transmitted by IR from the scope unit 12. This signal is the IR demodulation circuit 2
At 8 the image signal is converted again and is output as an observation image to a monitor or the like via the switching circuit 29 and the output buffer 31.

The scope unit 12 is replaced by the processor unit 13
Connected to the frame memory 2 of the scope unit 12 side
The image No. 2 is transferred to the image storage unit 33 in the processor unit 13 via the parallel / serial conversion circuit 25 and the serial / parallel conversion circuit 32 in the processor unit 13. This image storage unit 33 has at least one
It has a still image storage capacity necessary for daily endoscopy.

The endoscopic image stored in the image storage unit 33 is processed by an image processing unit 34, a D / A conversion circuit 35, a switching circuit 29, and an output which cannot be realized by the circuit scale in the scope unit 12. It is output to an external device by the buffer 31. In addition, control of the image storage unit 33 and the switching circuit 29,
A controller 37 is also provided on the processor unit 13 side for performing a user interface with the keyboard 36.

The processor section controller 37 has a connection terminal at the connection section with the scope section 12 for communicating with the scope section controller 23, and when the scope section 12 is connected to the processor section 13, The connection is detected by the communication between the controllers 23 and 37. That is, both controllers 23 and 37 are included in the scope unit 1.
2 also has a function of detecting connection between the processor unit 13.

Next, the operation of the electronic endoscope apparatus 11 of this embodiment will be described. During endoscopic observation, scope 1
2 and the processor unit 13 are electrically separated and operate independently. The endoscopic image obtained by the scope unit 12 is transmitted to the processor unit 13 by infrared rays, and the observer can perform endoscopic observation on the monitor connected to the processor unit 13. During observation, a still image is stored in the frame memory 22 in the scope unit 12 as an image that needs to be recorded by operating the scope switch 24.

When the endoscope observation for one patient is completed, the user connects the scope section 12 and the processor section 13.
At this time, the processor-side controller 37 detects the connection through communication with the scope-side controller 23. After this detection, the image storage unit 33 is set in a recordable state, and the scope unit side controller 23 is instructed to output an image.

In response to this instruction, the scope-side controller 23 transfers the image data for one patient stored in the frame memory 22 to the processor section 13 side. When the transfer is completed, the scope unit 12 can be separated again, and the next endoscopic observation can be performed. In addition, the processor unit side controller 37 receives the stored image 3 according to an instruction from the user.
3 reproductions can be performed.

In the first embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration, the endoscopic image under examination is displayed by infrared communication and the recording is performed by the frame memory 22 in the scope section 12. Therefore, the processor section 13 and the scope section 12 are connected. Even in the state of not performing, it is possible to obtain a recorded image without deterioration / degradation of image quality without being affected by noise. That is, there is also an advantage that the image of the infrared communication can be recorded without deterioration of the image quality as compared with the case of recording the image as it is.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize an electronic endoscope apparatus which can be used wirelessly and has good operability, and a recorded image which is not deteriorated / degraded even when a release operation is performed. You will be able to get it.

Next, a second embodiment of the electronic endoscope apparatus which can be used wirelessly will be described. The electronic endoscope apparatus 41 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 includes a scope section 42 and a processor section 43 that performs signal processing wirelessly with the scope section 42.
And a monitor 44 connected to the processor unit 43.

As shown in FIG. 4, the scope portion 42 is composed of an elongated insertion portion 45 and a thick operation portion 46 provided at the rear end of the insertion portion 45. The operation portion 46 has a bending operation knob 47. Is provided so that the bending portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion 45 can be bent. The scope unit 42 does not have a universal cable and is not connected to the light source device or the processor unit 43.

The operation unit 46 is provided with a battery unit housing 49 into which the battery unit 48 can be inserted, and the rear lid 5
It is housed and fixed in the battery unit housing part 49 by 1. A packing 52 for keeping watertightness is provided on the rear lid 51 so that the battery unit 48 can be installed in the battery unit housing portion 4.
When the rear lid 51 is closed, the scope portion 42 as a whole is kept watertight.

Electrodes 53 and 54 for establishing electrical connection with the battery unit 48 are provided on the battery unit housing 49 and the back cover 51 of the scope unit 42. The power of the battery unit 48 is supplied to the insertion portion 45 via the power supply lines 55, 55.
It is supplied to the solid-state imaging device unit 56 housed at the tip of the and the high-brightness LED unit 57 for illuminating the subject. Further, power is also supplied to the wireless video transmission unit 58 housed in the operation unit 46.

An object image is formed by the objective lens 59 on the image pickup surface of the solid-state image pickup device constituting the solid-state image pickup device unit 56, and photoelectrically converted by the solid-state image pickup device. The photoelectrically converted image pickup signal is read by the drive signal from the drive circuit forming the solid-state image pickup device unit 56,
After being amplified, the operation unit 4 is transmitted through the signal transmission lines 60, 60.
6 is input to the wireless video transmission unit 58.

The wireless video transmission unit 58 converts the signal into a wireless signal, propagates in space, is received by a wireless video receiving unit 61 in the processor unit 43, is demodulated, and is again converted into an image pickup signal. The converted image pickup signal is converted into a TV video signal by the video signal processing circuit 62 and then displayed as a video on the monitor 44.

According to the present embodiment, since the universal cord is required to be inserted, the scope portion 42 and the processor portion 43 can be configured wirelessly, and the operator of the scope portion 42 can be positioned at the position of the processor portion 43. The scope section 42 can be operated without being limited, and the operability is dramatically improved.

Although the dry battery type battery unit 48 is used in the present embodiment, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that a button type, a card type battery unit or the like may be used. . Also, the method of transmitting the video signal and the method of illuminating the subject are not limited to this.
A conventional wired system may be used.

A freeze switch is provided in the operation section 46 and the like, and an A / D converter and a frame memory are provided in the wireless video transmission unit 58 so that a still image can be stored in the frame memory when the freeze switch is operated. You can In this case, a terminal is provided on the surface of the operation unit 46 so that the operation unit 46 can be connected to the processor unit 43 so that the still image stored in the frame memory can be read out after the inspection is completed. You may make it transfer to an image storage means etc.

FIG. 5 shows a scope section 42 'in the third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is the operation unit 46 of the second embodiment.
An LED 64 for confirming the battery capacity is provided in FIG. 6, and the mechanism for confirming the battery capacity will be described with reference to FIG.

The voltage Vcc of the battery unit 48 is the LED 6
When the voltage is higher than the forward voltage VF × 2 (2VF) of 4,
It lights up, but goes out when 2VF is higher than the voltage Vcc. The resistor 65 is a resistor for limiting current. From this, if 2VF is set to the detection threshold level, the remaining battery capacity can be displayed by the LED 64.

According to this embodiment, since the remaining battery capacity can be visually checked at all times, there is no need to interrupt the operation by suddenly running out of the battery, and the battery-powered type can be used with peace of mind. Other effects are the same as those of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a scope section 71 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The operation section main body 72 of the scope section 71
A first battery A and a second battery B are built in the battery and are used as a power supply for bending, a power supply for driving the image pickup unit, and a power supply for signal processing, respectively.

The bending controller 73 forming the bending device is connected to the battery A, and the battery A drives the motor 74 and the encoder 75. Further, the battery A is connected to contacts 76, 76 'protruding from one outer surface of the operation section main body 72. A bending operation switch 77 projects from the other outer surface of the operation portion main body 72.
Reference numeral 7 is connected to the bending control unit 73.

By operating the bending operation switch 77, the bending control section 73 drives the motor 74, and the pulley 80 is rotated via the gear 79 meshing with the gear 78 of the shaft of the motor 74. The wire 81 wound around is pulled to bend the bending portion.

On the other hand, the battery B is disposed on the tip side of the insertion portion 82, is connected by power supply lines 85 and 85 so as to be used as a driving power source for the CCD 84 and the like forming the image pickup portion 83, and the operation portion is also provided. A signal processing & transmitting unit 86 of the main body 72,
It is connected to the contacts 87, 87 '.

In this embodiment, a drive signal is applied to the CCD 84 from a driver 88 arranged at the tip of the CCD 84, and the CCD 84
The output signal is converted into a digital signal by, for example, a serial output type A / D converter 89 arranged at the tip portion, and then transmitted to the signal processing & transmitting unit 86 of the operation unit main body 72 via the signal transmission line 90.

The signal processing & transmitting unit 86 modulates a serial digital signal with an RF signal and wirelessly transmits it to the processor side (not shown). By modulating a digital signal with an RF signal and transmitting the modulated signal, it is less susceptible to noise (compared to the case of an analog signal).

The contacts 76, 76 ', 87, 87' are the contacts 92, 92 ', 9 provided on the charging connector 91.
3, 93 'are contacted and charged by the charger 94 shown in FIG. The charging connector 91 can be charged with one touch by using a magnet like a connector used in a pot for general household use.

As the illuminating means, for example, L is attached to the tip.
An ED may be provided to cause the third battery or the batteries A or B (not shown) to emit light, or illumination light from a light source device (not shown) may be transmitted by a light guide and emitted from the tip. . In this embodiment, since the batteries A and B are built in the operation portion main body 72, the curved power supply line and the CCD driving line originally inserted in the universal cord are eliminated, so that the diameter of the universal cord can be reduced and the cord is cordless. Can be used in.

As described in the third embodiment, the operation unit 7
It is also possible to provide a freeze switch in 2 and the like, and provide a frame memory in the signal processing & transmitting section 86 so that a still image can be stored in the frame memory when the freeze switch is operated. In this case, a terminal is provided on the surface of the operation unit 72 so that the operation unit 72 can be connected to a processor unit (not shown) so that the still image stored in the frame memory can be read out after the inspection is completed. You may make it transfer to an image storage means etc.

FIG. 9 shows an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
Indicates 01. This endoscope apparatus 101 includes a scope section 102.
And a processor unit 103 and a monitor 104. The CCD 106 built in the scope unit 102 is C
It is driven by the driver pulse from the CD driver 107 and sends the photoelectrically converted image signal to the CDS circuit 108.

The image signal demodulated to the base band by the CDS circuit 108 is input to the pre-processing circuit 109. The signal that has been subjected to the predetermined processing in the pre-processing circuit 109 is A / D converted by the A / D converter 111, and the memory 1
12 is input to the transmission unit 113, and R
The electric wave modulated by the F signal is transmitted to the air. The memory 112 stores a still image via the controller 115 when the switch 114 is operated. The operation signal of the switch 114 is also input to the transmission unit 113 and is modulated with the RF signal.

Further, the controller 115 provided in the scope unit 102 stores the memory 112 when the scope unit 102 and the processor unit 103 are connected by a cable (not shown).
It also controls the transfer of the image temporarily stored in the processor unit 103 side. Further, the scope section 102 is provided with a solar cell 116 as a power source for supplying electric power to each circuit in the scope section 102. The solar cell 116 is formed of, for example, a solar cell panel 116a provided on the outer surface of the lower side of the grip portion of the operation unit 117 as shown in FIG. 10, and is provided in a portion that is not shaded when operated.

The radio wave transmitted from the transmission unit 113 is received by the reception unit 121 of the processor unit 103, demodulated, and then input to the memory 122 and the controller 123. The memory 122 is composed of, for example, two frame memories, and when stored in one frame memory, the image in the other frame memory is read. Further, the controller 123 detects the switch operation signal superimposed between the image data, and when the switch operation signal is ON, applies the write inhibit signal to the memory 122 so that the stationary state can be maintained.

The signal read from the memory 122 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 124, subjected to predetermined processing by the post-process circuit 125 and sent to the monitor 104, which is observed as an image by the monitor 104. To be done.

Further, the processor unit 103 has an image storage unit 1 for storing images in the memory 112 in the scope unit 102.
26 is provided, and the scope unit 102 and the processor unit 1 are provided.
03 is connected to the scope unit 10 from the controller 123 of the processor unit 103.
The image in the memory 112 can be transferred to the image storage unit 126 by sending a transfer command to the second controller 115. The image in the image storage unit 126 can also be displayed on the monitor 104 through the D / A converter 124.

Further, for example, the processor section 103 is provided with an irradiation lamp 127 for irradiating the solar cell 116 of the scope section 102 with illumination light for generating electromotive force,
The irradiation lamp 127 supplies illumination light to the solar cell 116 with directivity by means of a concave mirror or the like.

In the above components, the scope section 10
2 A solar cell 116 is used as a power supply means to a circuit built in the main body, and as shown in FIG. 10, the solar cell panel is mounted at a position where irradiation light is not obstructed during use of the scope. Solar cell 116 on the scope 102 main body
By providing the above, the endoscope observation can be performed without the need for supplying a battery from the outside.

FIG. 11 shows the main parts of a modification of the fifth embodiment. The rechargeable battery 131 is used as a power supply unit for a circuit built in the main body of the scope unit 102, and the solar battery 116 is detected by the battery capacity detection unit 132 when the capacity of the rechargeable battery 131 is low. To charge.

At this time, the solar cell panel is mounted at a position where the irradiation light is not obstructed during use of the scope, as in the sixth embodiment. As described above, the rechargeable battery 1 is used as the power supply means.
By providing 31 and using the solar cell 116 as the charging means, endoscope observation can be performed without the need for external power supply means and battery charging means. It should be noted that a combination of the above-mentioned embodiments partially or otherwise belongs to the present invention.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to wirelessly transmit image information between the scope unit side and the processor unit side, and record an image released during inspection on the scope unit side. Since this is done, it is possible to obtain a release image without being affected by noise and without deterioration / degradation of image quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a scope unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a scope section according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram for checking battery capacity.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a scope unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a charger.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing that a solar cell is provided in the operation unit.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the main parts of a modification of the fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic endoscope apparatus 2 ... Image pick-up element 3 ... 1st memory | storage means 4 ... Endoscope part 5 ... Connection detection means 6 ... 2nd memory | storage means 7 ... Image processing means 11 ... Electronic endoscope apparatus 12 ... Scope section 13 ... Processor section 14 ... CCD 15 ... CCD drive circuit 21 ... IR transmission section 22 ... Frame memory 23 ... Controller 24 ... Scope SW 26 ... Power supply 27 ... IR reception section 33 ... Image storage section 37 ... Controller

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 19, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART Electronic endoscope apparatus, compared with the conventional fiberscope using optical fiber as the image transmission means, the lack of resolution degradation and image defects that by the fiber, can simultaneously observe a monitor image a plurality of persons jointly Due to the smoothness of work procedures, it is widely used as the performance of image pickup devices improves.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0004]

Therefore, the endoscope section must be connected to the light source section and the processor section at the time of observation by the electronic endoscope apparatus, and only the light source section and the endoscope section are connected for observation. It is more troublesome to handle than the conventional fiberscope that can be used. If it is possible to realize a wireless system that can be used without connecting the endoscope section to the processor section, it is expected that the system will be more susceptible to noise than the wired system.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0026

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

According to the present embodiment, since the universal cord is not required to be inserted, the scope portion 42 and the processor portion 43 can be configured wirelessly, and the operator of the scope portion 42 can be placed at the position of the processor portion 43. The scope section 42 can be operated without being limited, and the operability is dramatically improved.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Masahito Goto 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Shinji Yamashita 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuyuki Saito 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masao Uehara 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic endoscope section having an insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity, an image pickup element for picking up an image, and a first image storage section for storing an image obtained by the image pickup element, A processor unit that has a second image storage unit for storing the image stored in the first image storage unit, and performs a signal processing for the image pickup device; and a connecting unit between the electronic endoscope unit and the processor unit. An electronic endoscope apparatus comprising: a transfer unit that transfers an image from the first image storage unit to the second image storage unit.