JPH095643A - Stereoscopic endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To secure wide visual field and to improve the operability of an endoscope by switching a three-dimensional mode for performing stereoscopic display and a wide angle two-dimensional mode for observing a wide range in a stereoscopic endoscope device. CONSTITUTION: The image 26 picked up by using a wide angle lens 22 having the wide viewing angle of one camera 42 and by using the wide angle lens 22 in the wide angle two-dimensional mode is outputted as the signal for a right eye 13 and the signal for a left eye 14 of a stereoscopic display device 7. In a three-dimensional mode, the image 26 picked up by using the wide angle lens 22 is electrically enlarged by an image enlarging part 24 and stereoscopically displayed by the device 7 by using the image 27 corrected to a standard viewing angle so as to be apparently equivalent to the image 25 by an image segmenting part 30 and the image 25 by the other camera 41 having a standard viewing angle lens 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a wide-angle two-dimensional mode capable of capturing a wide area in a two-dimensional manner and a three-dimensional mode capable of capturing a stereoscopic image in an area narrower than the two-dimensional mode. The present invention relates to a stereoscopic endoscope device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional stereoscopic endoscope apparatus is one in which two cameras having the same characteristics are arranged in parallel inside an endoscope, and its configuration is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the conventional stereoscopic endoscope apparatus includes two lenses 1 and 2 having the same focal lengths corresponding to the right eye and the left eye, and the lenses 1 and 2 respectively.
Two image pickup devices 3 and 4 provided at predetermined positions so as to face each other, and signal processing units 5 and 6 for converting outputs of the image pickup devices 3 and 4 into video signals and the like, respectively.
The stereoscopic display device 7 is configured to display images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye based on the image signals from the signal processing units 5 and 6, respectively, and to make an observer perceive a stereoscopic image. The light that has passed through the lenses 1 and 2 is imaged by the image sensors 3 and 4.
Are converted into electric signals respectively by the signal processing unit 5
And 6 convert to a normal video signal. Stereoscopic display 7
Then, the signal input as the signal for the right eye is only for the right eye,
The signal input as the signal for the left eye is projected only to the left eye. Here, since the lenses 1 and 2 are mounted inside the endoscope, they must be small and a fixed focus lens is used.

[0003]

However, in the conventional stereoscopic endoscope apparatus, the focal length of the lens is fixed, and the angle of view cannot be changed. Therefore, for example, in a surgical operation using an endoscope, it is possible to perform an operation of first imaging a wide area to search for an affected area, and then enlarging a narrow area to observe the affected area in detail. could not.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, and has a two-dimensional mode capable of observing a wide field of view in two dimensions and a three-dimensional mode capable of observing a stereoscopic image. An object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic endoscope device that can be switched and is safer and easier to use.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention comprises a first camera equipped with a first lens having a first focal length, and the first camera. A second camera equipped with a second lens having a second focal length longer than the focal length, and an image captured by the first camera are apparently equivalent to an angle of view captured by the second camera. Image processing means for correcting an image so that the image is captured by the first camera, a wide-angle two-dimensional mode for two-dimensionally displaying the image captured by the first camera, and an image captured by the second camera and the image processing means. A display mode switching means for switching between a three-dimensional mode for displaying the formed image in three dimensions and a display means for displaying an output from the display mode switching means.

In the above arrangement, the image processing means is
An image magnifying unit that electrically magnifies the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera, and the image is enlarged by the image enlarging unit. It is preferable to provide an image cutout unit that cuts out the same range as the image captured by the second camera from the center of the enlarged image.

In the above structure, the display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right and left eyes, and the display mode switching means selects the wide-angle two-dimensional mode. When the 3D mode is selected, the image captured by the first camera is distributed to the right eye signal and the left eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the 3D mode is selected, the second camera outputs the image. It is preferable that the captured image is output to one of the right eye signal and the left eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing unit is output to the other.

Another stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention is a first camera equipped with a first lens having a first focal length, and a second focus longer than the first focal length. A second camera equipped with a second lens having a distance and an image captured by the first camera, the image being corrected so that the image angle is apparently equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera. A first image processing means, a second image processing means for fitting a magnified image obtained by enlarging the image taken by the first camera with an image taken by the second camera to create a composite image, and the first image processing means. A wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode in which an image captured by a camera is two-dimensionally displayed, and a wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode in which a composite image created by the second image processing unit is two-dimensionally displayed, The image captured by the second camera and the front Comprising a display mode switching means for switching the three-dimensional mode for displaying an image corrected by the image processing means three-dimensionally, and display means for displaying an output from the display mode switching means.

In the above arrangement, the first image processing means electrically controls the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera. Image enlarging means for enlarging the image, and image cutting means for cutting out the same range as the image captured by the second camera from the center of the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means. The processing unit electrically magnifies the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera, and the second unit. Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image captured by the camera of FIG. 2 with the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means, and synthesizing position adjusting means for adjusting the image synthesizing position in the horizontal and vertical directions of the screen. Preferred to have There.

Further, in the above structure, the display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye, and the display mode switching means selects the wide-angle two-dimensional mode. When the wide-angle two-dimensional center high-resolution mode is selected, the image captured by the first camera is distributed to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output. The composite image combined by the second image processing means is distributed to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output,
When the dimension mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera is output to one of the right eye signal and the left eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing unit is output to the other. It is preferable.

Further, in the above arrangement, the second image processing means is a parallax detecting means for detecting a binocular parallax between the magnified image magnified by the image magnifying means and the image picked up by the second camera. It is preferable that the composite position adjusting means adjusts the image composite position based on the binocular parallax detected by the parallax detecting means.

Further, in the above arrangement, the second image processing means enlarges and reduces the image synthesized by the image synthesizing means to an arbitrary size and enlarges it by the image enlarging / reducing means. Alternatively, it is preferable to include an image cutout unit that cuts out an arbitrary range of the reduced image.

In each of the above structures, it is preferable that the first and second lenses are fixed focus lenses. Further, it is preferable that the first lens and the second lens are set to have a distance so that an object at the same position is focused.

[0014]

According to the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the first camera equipped with the wide-angle first lens having the first focal length having the short focal length, and the focal length Of the same subject with a second camera equipped with a second lens having a standard angle of view having a long second focal length of, and an image captured by the wide-angle first camera by the image processing means, The image is corrected so as to be equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera with the apparent standard angle of view, and the image captured by the second camera and the corrected image are displayed on the display device corresponding to the left and right eyes. To do. As a result, the subject can be stereoscopically observed by observing these images with the left and right eyes. On the other hand, since the image captured by the wide-angle first camera is displayed on the display means corresponding to the left and right eyes, it is possible to observe a wide range of subjects although it is planar.

As the image processing means, the image captured by the first camera is electrically enlarged so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera, and the center of the enlarged image is obtained. Since the same range as the image captured by the second camera is cut out, the image quality is lower than that of the image captured by the second camera, but an apparently equivalent image is obtained. This deterioration in image quality is offset by fusing the left and right images with both eyes, so that the observer can observe a stereoscopic image without feeling discomfort.

The display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right and left eyes, and when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected by the display mode switching means, the first camera is displayed. The image captured in step 3 is distributed to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output.
When the dimension mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera is output to one of the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing means is output to the other. Thus, the observer can distinguish between a wide-range two-dimensional image and a relatively narrow three-dimensional image by operating the switch while keeping his eyes on the stereoscopic endoscope device.

Further, according to another stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above operation, in the wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode, the second image processing means takes an image with the first camera. Since the image captured by the second camera is fitted to the enlarged image obtained by enlarging the image to create a composite image, compared to the wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode in which the image captured by the first camera is simply enlarged, the central portion The image captured by the second camera embedded in the image improves the image quality of the central portion of the combined image.

As the second image processing means, the image captured by the first camera is electrically enlarged so that the image size is the same as that of the image captured by the second camera, and the image on the screen is displayed. By combining the image captured by the second camera with the magnified image while adjusting in the horizontal and vertical directions, the combined image and the image captured by the first camera are apparently equivalent, and the central portion The resolution of can be improved.

Further, the display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye, and when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected by the display mode switching means, the first camera is displayed. When the wide-angle two-dimensional center part high resolution mode is selected by distributing the image captured in step (3) to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and outputting the divided signals,
The image synthesized by the second image processing means is distributed to the right eye signal and the left eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the three-dimensional mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera Is output to one of the right eye signal and the left eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing means is output to the other, so that the observer can operate the switch while keeping his eyes on the stereoscopic endoscope device. Thus, it is possible to distinguish a two-dimensional image in a wide range from a three-dimensional image in a relatively narrow range.

Further, the second image processing means is provided with parallax detection means for detecting the binocular parallax between the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means and the image captured by the second camera, and the composite position adjusting means. Is configured to adjust the image combination position based on the binocular parallax detected by the parallax detection unit, so that the second image is automatically displayed on the enlarged image by the first camera.
The images are automatically combined by the camera, and the discomfort at the boundary of the image combining portion can be eliminated.

Further, an image enlarging / reducing means for enlarging and reducing the image synthesized by the image synthesizing means to the second image processing means to an arbitrary size, and an arbitrary image enlarged or reduced by the image enlarging / reducing means. By providing the image cutting-out unit that cuts out the range, an image in an apparently arbitrary range can be picked up, and substantially the same effect as when the variable focal length lens is used can be obtained.

Further, by using fixed focus lenses as the first and second lenses, respectively, the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode can be realized without increasing the size of the stereoscopic endoscope device. Further, by setting the distances of the first lens and the second lens so that the subject at the same position is focused, the switching operation between the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode and the wide-angle two-dimensional central portion high resolution are performed. It is possible to eliminate parallax and a sense of discomfort when combining images in modes.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the stereoscopic endoscope device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a switching operation of the display mode switching unit 23 in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing image processing in the three-dimensional mode of the first embodiment.

The stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a first lens 21 having a first focal length (the same focal length as the conventional example shown in FIG. 8) and a first focus. The second lens 22 having a second focal length shorter than the distance, and the two image pickup devices 3 and 4 provided at predetermined positions so as to face the first and second lenses 21 and 22, respectively.
A signal processing unit 5 and 6 for converting the outputs of the image pickup devices 3 and 4 into a video signal, an image enlarging unit 24 for electrically enlarging an image output from the signal processing unit 6, and an image enlarging unit. An image cutout unit 30 that cuts out an image in a predetermined range from the image enlarged by 24, an image signal directly output from the signal processing units 5 and 6, and an image signal cut out by the image cutout unit 30 selectively. A display mode switching unit 23 for switching between a wide-angle two-dimensional mode and a three-dimensional mode.
The stereoscopic display device 7 is configured to display a two-dimensional image or a three-dimensional image by the output from the display mode switching unit 23. The first lens 21, the image pickup device 3, and the signal processing unit 5 constitute a standard angle-of-view camera 41, and the second lens 2
2, the image sensor 4 and the signal processing unit 6 constitute a wide-angle camera 42.

The first and second lenses 21 and 22 are fixed focus lenses as in the conventional example, and generally, the focal length of the first lens is such that an angle of view close to the visual field of the naked eye can be obtained. Has been selected. In addition, the second lens 22
The focal length of the
Approximately 1/2 to 1 / with respect to the focal length of the lens 21 of
A range of 3 is preferred. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first lens 21 corresponds to the right eye and the second lens corresponds to the left eye. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and vice versa. Good. Further, the first lens 21 and the second lens 22 focus on an object at the same position, respectively, so that the distance from the object 8 to the lenses 21 and 22 and the distance from the lenses 21 and 22 to the image pickup devices 3 and 4 are adjusted. It goes without saying that the distance to is set.

Next, the operation of the wide-angle two-dimensional mode in the first embodiment will be described. First, the internal connection of the display mode switching unit 23 is switched to the state shown in FIG.
The image captured by the image sensor 4 through the wide-angle second lens 22 is converted into a video signal by the signal processing unit 6, and is input to the display mode switching unit 23 as the wide-angle image 26.
As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the display mode switching unit 23 distributes the wide-angle image 26 to both the right-eye signal 13 and the left-eye signal 14 of the stereoscopic display device 7. At this time, since the same image is input to the left-eye signal 13 and the right-eye signal 14 of the stereoscopic display device, the stereoscopic display is not stereoscopic, but the wide-angle second lens 2 is used.
Since the image is captured at 2, a wide field of view can be obtained.

Next, the operation of the three-dimensional mode in the first embodiment will be described. First lens 21 with standard angle of view
The image 25 picked up by the image pickup device 3 is converted into a video signal by the signal processing unit 5 and output to the display mode switching unit 23 as a standard view angle image for the right eye. An image 26 captured by the image sensor 4 through the wide-angle second lens 22 is converted into a video signal by the signal processing unit 6 and output to the image enlarging unit 24. In the image enlarging section 24, an image 26 picked up by the second lens 22 as shown in FIG.
Is electrically enlarged so that the size of the subject is the same as the image 25 captured by the first lens 21, and the wide-angle enlarged image 31 is output to the image cutout unit 30. Image cutout unit 30
Cuts out the wide-angle magnified image 31 from the center to the same size as the display screen and outputs it as the left-eye corrected image 27 to the display mode switching unit 23. That is, the image enlarging unit 24 and the image clipping unit 30 correct the image 25 captured by the first lens 21 and the left-eye corrected image 27 so that they have the same angle of view as the image. Display mode switching unit 23
Outputs the standard view angle image 25 for the right eye as the signal 13 for the right eye of the stereoscopic display device 7, because the internal connection of the display mode switching unit 23 is switched to the state shown in FIG.
The corrected image 27 for the left eye is displayed as the signal 14 for the left eye of the stereoscopic display device 7.
Output as At this time, the resolution of the image is reduced only for the left eye, but when the left and right images are fused with both eyes, this reduction in resolution is difficult for an observer to perceive, and thus good stereoscopic viewing is possible.

As described above, according to the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the first embodiment, the two lenses for the left eye and the right eye use lenses having different focal lengths, and the wide angle in the wide angle two-dimensional mode. By displaying the image captured by the lens of (1) on both the left and right eyes, an image capable of observing a wide range is provided. Also,
In the three-dimensional mode, the image captured by the lens of the standard angle of view is presented to one eye as it is, and the image captured by the lens of the wide angle is adjusted by the image enlarging unit to have the same angle of view as the other lens system. A stereoscopic image is provided by electrically correcting and displaying it on the other eye.

Next, a second embodiment of the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the stereoscopic endoscope device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a switching operation of the display mode switching unit 23 in FIG. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing image processing in a wide-angle two-dimensional center high-resolution mode of the embodiment of FIG.

The stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 has a first lens 21 having a first focal length (the same focal length as the conventional example shown in FIG. 8) and a first focal point. The second lens 22 having a second focal length shorter than the distance, and the two image pickup devices 3 and 4 provided at predetermined positions so as to face the first and second lenses 21 and 22, respectively.
A signal processing unit 5 and 6 for converting the outputs of the image pickup devices 3 and 4 into a video signal and the like, an image enlarging unit 24 for electrically enlarging an image output from the signal processing unit 6, and a wide-angle enlarged image. An image synthesizing unit 28 for fitting the standard image into the image, an image synthesizing position adjusting unit 29 for changing the image fitting position in the image synthesizing unit, and an image enlarging / reducing unit 33 for electrically enlarging or reducing the image at an arbitrary magnification. An image cutout unit 30 that cuts out an image in a predetermined range from an image enlarged by the image enlargement unit 24 or the image enlargement / reduction unit 30, and an image signal directly output from the signal processing units 5 and 6 and an image cutout unit 30. The display mode switching unit 23 that selectively switches the output image signal to switch between the wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode, the wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode, and the quality three-dimensional mode.
And a stereoscopic display device 7 or the like that displays a two-dimensional image or a three-dimensional image by output from the display mode switching unit 23. The first lens 21, the image pickup device 3 and the signal processing unit 5 form a standard angle of view camera 41, and the second lens 22, the image pickup device 4 and the signal processing unit 6 form a wide angle camera 42.

In FIG. 5, (a) shows switching of the display mode switching unit 23 in the wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode. Further, (b) shows switching of the display mode switching unit 23 in the three-dimensional mode. Since the wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode and the three-dimensional mode in the second embodiment are the same operations as the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode in the first embodiment, respectively, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode of the second embodiment will be described. First, the display mode switching unit 23 is switched to the state shown in FIG. The wide-angle image 26, which is the output of the wide-angle camera 42, is enlarged by the image enlargement unit 24 to have the same size as the subject imaged by the standard angle-of-view lens, and becomes the wide-angle enlarged image 31. The image composition unit 28 inserts the standard angle-of-view image 25 near the center of the wide-angle enlarged image 31, as shown in FIG. At this time, the image synthesizing unit 28 horizontally translates the standard angle-of-view image 25 by the amount of binocular parallax that is assumed in advance, and inserts the standard angle-of-view image 25 at a position substantially coincident with the subject in the wide-angle enlarged image 31. The insertion position is adjusted by the image composition position adjustment unit 29.
You can move up, down, left and right from a preset position. Composite image 32 output from the image composition unit 28
Is input to the image scaling unit 33. The image enlargement / reduction unit 33 electrically enlarges or reduces the image at an arbitrary magnification and outputs the image to the image cutout unit 30. Image cutout unit 3
At 0, the image scaled up and down at an arbitrary scale is cut out in accordance with the size of the display device and output as the wide-angle composite image 35 to the display mode switching unit 23. Display mode switching unit 23
As shown in FIG. 5C, the central part high-resolution wide-angle composite image 35 is distributed to both the right-eye signal 13 and the left-eye signal 14 of the stereoscopic display device 7 and output.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the wide-angle 2D mode and the 3D mode described in the first embodiment, in the wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode, an image is picked up by the wide-angle lens. By inserting an image taken with a lens with a standard angle of view near the center of the existing image, you can observe a wide field of view at once as in the wide-angle two-dimensional mode.
Since the image captured by the lens having the standard angle of view is displayed in the central portion, the central portion has a high image quality and can be observed in more detail than the simple two-dimensional mode.

Next, a third embodiment of the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The stereoscopic endoscope of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 has a first lens 21 having a first focal length (the same focal length as the conventional example shown in FIG. 8) and a shorter focal length than the first focal length. A second lens 22 having a second focal length, two image pickup devices 3 and 4 provided at predetermined positions so as to face the first and second lenses 21 and 22, respectively, and each image pickup device 3 Signal processing units 5 and 6 for converting the outputs of 4 and 4 into video signals, an image enlarging unit 24 for electrically enlarging an image output from the signal processing unit 6, and an image in which a standard image is fitted to a wide-angle enlarged image. The synthesizing unit 28, the portion having the highest correlation with the standard angle-of-view image 25 are detected from the inside of the wide-angle enlarged image 31, and the parallax detecting unit 36 that outputs the position and the parallax detecting unit 36 automatically detects the parallax The function to adjust the insertion position The image combining position adjusting unit 29 that changes the position where the image is fitted in the combining unit, the image enlargement / reduction unit 33 that electrically enlarges or reduces the image at an arbitrary magnification, and the image enlargement unit 24 or the image enlargement / reduction unit 30. An image cutout unit 30 that cuts out an image in a predetermined range from the enlarged image, an image signal directly output from the signal processing units 5 and 6, and an image signal cut out by the image cutout unit 30 are selectively switched, A display mode switching unit 23 that switches between a wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode, a wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode, and a quality three-dimensional mode.
And a stereoscopic display device 7 or the like that displays a two-dimensional image or a three-dimensional image by output from the display mode switching unit 23. The first lens 21, the image pickup device 3 and the signal processing unit 5 form a standard angle of view camera 41, and the second lens 22, the image pickup device 4 and the signal processing unit 6 form a wide angle camera 42.

Since the wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode and the three-dimensional mode in the third embodiment are the same operations as the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode in the first and second embodiments, respectively, their description will be omitted. To do. In the wide-angle two-dimensional center high-resolution mode in the second embodiment, the insertion position adjusting unit manually finely adjusts the position where the standard view angle image 25 is fitted into the wide-angle enlarged image 31. The example is different in that the parallax detection unit 36 automatically performs the adjustment. The correlation detection unit 36 detects a portion having the highest correlation with the standard angle-of-view image 25 from the inside of the wide-angle enlarged image 31, and outputs the position to the composite position adjustment unit 29. In the composite position adjusting unit 29, according to the output from the correlation detecting unit 36,
The image combining unit 28 is instructed of the position to be inserted in the wide-angle enlarged image 31. Other operations are the same as those in the second embodiment.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, in the wide-angle two-dimensional center high-resolution mode, the binocular parallax is obtained from the image captured by the wide-angle lens and the image captured by the standard-angle lens. By detecting and automatically determining the position to insert the image with the standard angle of view in accordance with the parallax, fine adjustment of the insertion position becomes unnecessary.

[0037]

As described above, according to the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the first camera equipped with the wide-angle first lens having the first focal length having the short focal length, and the focal length. Of the same subject with a second camera equipped with a second lens having a standard angle of view having a long second focal length of, and an image captured by the wide-angle first camera by the image processing means, The image is corrected so as to be equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera having an apparently standard angle of view, and the image captured by the second camera and the corrected image are observed by the left and right naked eyes to thereby obtain a stereoscopic image. You can observe the subject.
On the other hand, by displaying the image captured by the wide-angle first camera on the display means corresponding to the left and right eyes, it is possible to observe a wide range of subjects although it is planar. Therefore, for example, in a surgical operation using an endoscope, it is possible to perform an operation of first imaging a wide area to search for an affected area, and then enlarging a narrow area to observe the affected area in detail. it can.

As the image processing means, the image taken by the first camera is electrically enlarged so that the image size is the same as the image taken by the second camera, and the center of the enlarged image is obtained. By cutting out the same range as the image captured by the second camera, the image quality is lower than that of the image captured by the second camera, but an apparently equivalent image can be obtained. This deterioration in image quality is offset by fusing the left and right images with both eyes, and the observer can observe a good stereoscopic image.

The display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right and left eyes, and when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected by the display mode switching means, the first camera is displayed. The image captured in step 3 is distributed to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output.
When the dimension mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera is output to one of the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing means is output to the other. Thus, the observer can distinguish between a wide-range two-dimensional image and a relatively narrow three-dimensional image by operating the switch while keeping his eyes on the stereoscopic endoscope device.

Further, according to another stereoscopic endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the first wide-angle lens having the first focal length having a short focal length is used.
The same subject is imaged by the first camera equipped with the second lens and the second camera equipped with the second lens having the standard focal angle having the second focal length having a long focal length,
The image processing means corrects the image captured by the wide-angle first camera so as to be equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera having the apparent standard angle of view, and captures the image by the second camera. By observing the corrected image and the corrected image with the left and right eyes, the subject can be observed three-dimensionally. On the other hand, by displaying the image captured by the wide-angle first camera on the display means corresponding to the left and right eyes, it is possible to observe a wide range of subjects although it is planar. further,
By the second image processing means, the image captured by the second camera is fitted to the enlarged image obtained by enlarging the image captured by the first camera to create a composite image, so that the second camera embedded in the central portion. The image taken in is the enlarged first
The resolution is higher than the image captured by the camera. As a result, the central portion can be observed in detail while observing a wide visual field.

As the first image processing means, the image taken by the first camera is electrically enlarged so that the image size is the same as the image taken by the second camera, and the enlarged image By cutting out the same range as the image captured by the second camera from the center, the image quality is lower than that of the image captured by the second camera, but an apparently equivalent image is obtained. This deterioration in image quality is offset by fusing the left and right images with both eyes, and the observer can observe a good stereoscopic image. As the second image processing means, the image captured by the first camera is electrically enlarged so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera,
By synthesizing the image captured by the second camera with the enlarged image while adjusting the horizontal and vertical directions of the screen, the synthesized image and the image captured by the first camera are apparently equivalent to each other, and The resolution of the central portion can be improved.

The display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right and left eyes, and when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected by the display mode switching means, the first camera is displayed. When the wide-angle two-dimensional center part high resolution mode is selected by distributing the image captured in step (3) to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and outputting the divided signals,
The image synthesized by the second image processing means is distributed to the right eye signal and the left eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the three-dimensional mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera Is output to one of the right eye signal and the left eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing means is output to the other, so that the observer can operate the switch while keeping his eyes on the stereoscopic endoscope device. Thus, it is possible to distinguish a two-dimensional image in a wide range from a three-dimensional image in a relatively narrow range.

Further, the second image processing means is provided with a parallax detecting means for detecting a binocular parallax between the magnified image magnified by the image magnifying means and the image picked up by the second camera, and the composite position adjusting means. Is configured to adjust the image combination position based on the binocular parallax detected by the parallax detection unit, so that the second image is automatically displayed on the enlarged image by the first camera.
The images are automatically combined by the camera, and the discomfort at the boundary of the image combining portion can be eliminated.

Further, an image enlarging / reducing means for enlarging and reducing the image synthesized by the image synthesizing means to the second image processing means to an arbitrary size, and an arbitrary image enlarged or reduced by the image enlarging / reducing means. By providing the image cutting-out unit that cuts out the range, an image in an apparently arbitrary range can be picked up, and substantially the same effect as when the variable focal length lens is used can be obtained.

Furthermore, by using fixed focus lenses as the first and second lenses, respectively, the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode can be realized without increasing the size of the stereoscopic endoscope device. Further, by setting the distances of the first lens and the second lens so that the subject at the same position is focused, the switching operation between the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode and the wide-angle two-dimensional central portion high resolution are performed. It is possible to eliminate parallax and a sense of discomfort when combining images in modes. Further, by sharing the image pickup system in the wide-angle two-dimensional mode and the three-dimensional mode, it is possible to realize the same size as the conventional one.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a stereoscopic endoscope device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation of a display mode switching unit in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of image processing (image enlarging unit and image clipping) in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the stereoscopic endoscope device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation of a display mode switching unit in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of image processing (image enlarging unit and image fitting) in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the stereoscopic endoscope device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional stereoscopic endoscope device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2: lens 3, 4: image pickup device 5, 6: signal processing unit 7: stereoscopic display device 8: subject 10: stereoscopic endoscope device 13: right eye signal 14: left eye signal 21: first Lens 22: Second lens 23: Display mode switching unit 24: Image enlarging unit 25: Right-eye image (standard angle-of-view image) 26: Wide-angle image 27: Left-eye correction image 28: Image combining unit 29: Composite position Adjustment unit 30: Image cutout unit 31: Wide-angle enlarged image 33: Image enlargement / reduction unit 35: Wide-angle combined image 36: Correlation detection unit 41: First camera 42: Second camera

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Takeo Azuma 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A first camera equipped with a first lens having a first focal length and a second camera equipped with a second lens having a second focal length longer than the first focal length.
And the image processing means for correcting the image captured by the first camera so that the image is apparently equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera, and the image captured by the first camera. Display mode switching means for switching between a wide-angle two-dimensional mode for displaying an image in a two-dimensional manner and a three-dimensional mode for displaying an image captured by the second camera and an image corrected by the image processing means in a three-dimensional manner. A stereoscopic endoscope device comprising: a display unit that displays the output from the display mode switching unit. 2. The image processing means electrically enlarges the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera. The stereoscopic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an enlarging unit and an image cutting-out unit that cuts out the same range as the image captured by the second camera from the center of the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging unit. 3. The display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye, and the display mode switching means, when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected, The image captured by the first camera is distributed to the right eye signal and the left eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the three-dimensional mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera. The stereoscopic endoscope device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein is output to one of the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal, and the image corrected by the image processing unit is output to the other. 4. A first camera equipped with a first lens having a first focal length and a second camera equipped with a second lens having a second focal length longer than the first focal length.
Camera, and first image processing means for correcting the image captured by the first camera so that the image is apparently equivalent to the angle of view captured by the second camera; and the first camera A second image in which the image captured by the second camera is fitted to an enlarged image obtained by enlarging the image captured in 2. to create a composite image.
Image processing means, a wide-angle two-dimensional standard image quality mode for two-dimensionally displaying an image captured by the first camera, and a two-dimensional display of a composite image created by the second image processing means. Display mode switching means for switching between a wide-angle two-dimensional center high-resolution mode and a three-dimensional mode for three-dimensionally displaying an image captured by the second camera and an image corrected by the image processing means; A stereoscopic endoscope device comprising: a display unit that displays an output from the mode switching unit. 5. The first image processing means electrically operates the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as that of the image captured by the second camera. The second image processing means is provided with an image enlarging means for enlarging and an image cutting means for cutting out the same range as the image captured by the second camera from the center of the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means. An image enlarging means for electrically enlarging the image captured by the first camera so that the image size is the same as the image captured by the second camera;
Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image captured by the second camera with the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means, and synthesizing position adjustment for adjusting the image synthesizing position in the horizontal and vertical directions of the screen. The stereoscopic endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: 6. The display means is a stereoscopic display device capable of displaying different images corresponding to the right eye and the left eye, and the display mode switching means, when the wide-angle two-dimensional mode is selected, The image captured by the first camera is distributed to the right eye signal and the left eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the wide-angle two-dimensional center high resolution mode is selected, the second image The composite image combined by the processing means is distributed to the right-eye signal and the left-eye signal of the stereoscopic display device and output, and when the three-dimensional mode is selected, the image captured by the second camera is displayed. 6. The stereoscopic endoscope device according to claim 4, wherein the stereoscopic endoscope apparatus outputs the signal for the right eye or the signal for the left eye, and outputs the image corrected by the image processing unit to the other. 7. The second image processing means includes parallax detection means for detecting binocular parallax between the enlarged image enlarged by the image enlarging means and the image captured by the second camera, The stereoscopic endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the composite position adjusting unit adjusts the image composite position based on the binocular parallax detected by the parallax detecting unit. 8. The second image processing means includes an image enlarging / reducing means for enlarging and reducing the image synthesized by the image synthesizing means to an arbitrary size, and enlarging or reducing by the image enlarging / reducing means. The stereoscopic endoscope device according to claim 4, further comprising an image cutting-out unit that cuts out an arbitrary range of an image. 9. The stereoscopic endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein each of the first lens and the second lens is a fixed focus lens. 10. The stereoscopic endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the first lens and the second lens are set to have a distance such that an object at the same position is in focus.