JP2007061233A - Electronic endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic endoscope apparatus which reliably records still images contemplated by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic endoscope apparatus includes a scope part equipped with an image pickup device for outputting image signals and a processor part for connecting a monitor, which processes the image signals and displays still images and dynamic picture images produced from the image signals, and an outside recording device for recording the still images. The apparatus further has: a recording operation means for directing to record the still images displayed on the monitor in the outside recording device; and a high image quality processing means which performs high image quality processing on the image signals, produces the high-definition still images after the high image quality processing to display them on the monitor and halts the high image quality processing when the recording operation is directed by the recording operation means before the end of the high image quality processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope apparatus including an image sensor that captures a subject image, and more particularly, to the electronic endoscope apparatus for recording a subject image in an external recording device connected to the electronic endoscope apparatus. It relates to the control mechanism.

  A medical electronic endoscope apparatus includes a scope unit having a portion to be inserted into a body cavity of a patient, and a processor unit that controls the scope unit and supplies power. An imaging element (CCD or the like) is provided at the distal end of the scope unit, and a desired site can be imaged in the patient's body cavity. An image signal output from the imaging device is transmitted from the scope unit to the processor unit, converted into a video signal by processing in the processor unit, and as a result, a subject image is displayed on the television monitor. In addition, the subject image can be recorded by outputting the video signal to a video printer, a recording device or the like which is an external recording device.

  In a conventional electronic endoscope apparatus, a subject image can be displayed as a moving image or a still image on a monitor when observing in a body cavity of a patient. In particular, when displaying a moving image, a moving image having a resolution lower than the number of effective pixels of the CCD is displayed. When displaying a still image, a high-resolution still image corresponding to the number of effective pixels of the CCD can be displayed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic endoscope apparatus that displays a captured image as a moving image on a monitor according to a color television system of the monitor and can obtain a high-resolution still image.

JP 2001-215419 A

  In the conventional electronic endoscope apparatus as described above, a high-resolution still image corresponding to the number of effective pixels of the CCD can be displayed on the monitor. However, since the processing time required to display a high-resolution still image is usually longer than the processing time required to display a low-resolution still image, the low-resolution still image is not displayed until the high-resolution still image is displayed. A still image (an image obtained by moving a moving image) is displayed on the monitor. In some cases, it may occur that a low-resolution still image displayed on the monitor is to be recorded on the external recording device. In this case, the user performs a recording operation (for example, pressing a button) while a low-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor. However, even if a recording operation is performed while a low-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor, a high-resolution still image or a low-resolution still image is displayed due to a timing difference between the recording operation and the recording processing of the external recording device. There has been a problem that an image during switching from an image to a high-resolution still image may be recorded.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic endoscope apparatus that can reliably record a still image intended by a user.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a scope unit including an imaging element that captures a subject image and outputs an image signal corresponding to the subject image, and a function of processing the image signal are used. An electronic endoscope apparatus comprising: a processor unit capable of connecting a monitor for displaying a still image or a moving image of the generated subject image and an external recording device for recording the still image; Recording operation means for instructing to record the still image displayed on the monitor to the external recording device, the image signal is subjected to high image quality processing, and after the image quality improvement processing is completed, the high resolution Image quality improvement processing means for generating a still image and displaying it on a monitor, and interrupts the image quality improvement processing if an instruction is given by the recording operation means before the end of the image quality improvement processing. To provide an electronic endoscope apparatus characterized by.

  With the above-described configuration, the present invention has a function of interrupting the image quality improvement processing when a recording operation is performed before a high-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor. Therefore, an attempt is made to record a low-resolution still image. In this case, it is possible to reliably record a low-resolution still image in the external recording device.

  The electronic endoscope apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it has still image display operation means for giving an instruction to display a still image when a moving image is displayed on the monitor. Further, the high image quality processing is started after the instruction by the still image display operation means.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably record a still image intended by the user.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an electronic endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This electronic endoscope apparatus includes a scope unit 100 and a processor unit 200. In addition, a monitor 300 is connected to the processor unit 200, and devices such as a video printer 400 can be further connected. The scope unit 100 includes an insertion unit flexible tube 110, an operation unit 120, a connector 130, and the like. The device connected to the processor unit 200 is not limited to the video printer 400, and may be another device having a function of recording an image, for example, a device using a recording medium that can record an image as data. .

  The insertion portion flexible tube 110 is an elongated tube that is inserted into a body cavity, has flexibility, and has an imaging element (CCD) at the tip. The CCD receives reflected light from the subject and outputs an image signal corresponding to the subject image by photoelectric conversion. A power source / drive signal line for driving the CCD, an image signal line for transmitting an image signal output from the CCD, and other illumination light for irradiating the subject are transmitted into the insertion tube flexible tube 110. A light guide or the like is disposed.

  The operation unit 120 displays a still image by stopping an operation knob (not shown) for distorting the distal end portion of the insertion portion flexible tube 110 in the vertical and horizontal directions and a video (moving image) displayed on the monitor 300. A freeze button 121 for recording, a recording operation button 122 for instructing the video printer 400 to record a still image displayed on the monitor 300, and the like.

  The connector 130 is a member that connects the scope unit 100 to the processor unit 200. The connector 130 connects a power / drive signal line, an image signal line, a light guide, and the like provided in the scope unit 100 to predetermined positions of the processor unit 200.

  A drive circuit for supplying a power source for driving the CCD is not shown, but may be provided in the scope unit 100 or the processor unit 200.

  The processor unit 200 includes a control unit 210, a memory 220, a low image quality reduction processing circuit 230, an image quality improvement processing circuit 232, a switch circuit 240, and the like. Although not shown, the processor unit 200 also includes a power supply module, a light source unit, and the like. Although not shown, the processor unit 200 includes a signal processing circuit that performs predetermined processing on the image signal output from the CCD and converts the image signal into digital image data. Note that the signal processing circuit may be provided in the scope unit 100 instead of the processor unit 200. Also, the schematic diagram of the switch circuit 240 in FIG. 1 shows that two paths (path a and path b) can be switched when a video signal is output to the monitor.

  An image signal output from the image sensor is converted into digital image data by a signal processing circuit (not shown) and then stored in the memory 220. Here, the data stored in the memory 220 is high-resolution image data corresponding to the number of effective pixels of the CCD. The image data is converted into low-resolution image data suitable for a moving image by the image quality reduction processing circuit 230, and then subjected to various image processing such as color balance adjustment, and then converted into a video signal. That is, when a captured image is displayed as a moving image on a monitor, if all the effective pixels of the CCD are used, the time required for image processing becomes long, and there is a possibility that the display speed (frame rate) of the monitor cannot be caught up. Therefore, the image quality reduction processing circuit 230 is operated so as to form an image with the number of pixels lower than the number of effective pixels.

  When displaying a moving image on the monitor 300, the control unit 210 controls the image data to be sequentially updated in the memory 220. When displaying a still image on the monitor 300, the control unit 210 stops updating the memory 220. That is, when the update of the memory 220 is stopped, the image data corresponding to one still image is continuously held in the memory 220. Therefore, the video signal output from the image quality reduction circuit 230 indicates a still image, which is output to the monitor 300 (or the video printer 400) via the switch circuit 240 (path a). As a result, a low-resolution still image continues to be displayed on the monitor 300.

  When the memory 220 is not updated, the image quality enhancement processing circuit 232 reads the image data in the memory 220, performs various image processing on the image data, and converts the image data into a video signal. The processing in the image quality improvement processing circuit 232 usually requires more time than the processing in the image quality reduction processing circuit 230. The video signal generated by the image quality enhancement processing circuit 232 is output to the monitor 300 or the video printer 400 via the switch circuit 240 (path b). As a result, a high-resolution still image continues to be displayed on the monitor 300.

  The control unit 210 has a function of controlling each function of the processor unit 200. Further, an operation by the freeze button 121 or the recording operation button 122 can be detected. Furthermore, the control unit 210 can detect the completion of processing in the image quality enhancement processing circuit 232. The control unit 210 sets the switch circuit 240 to the path a when displaying a moving image on the monitor 300. Further, when the control unit 210 detects a freeze operation by the freeze button 121, the control unit 210 stops the update of the memory 220 and further starts the image quality improvement processing in the image quality improvement processing circuit 232 based on the image data in the memory 220. Let Further, when the processing by the image quality improvement processing circuit 232 is completed, the control unit 210 switches the switch circuit 240 (from the path a to the path b), and the video signal subjected to the image quality improvement process is displayed on the monitor 300 or the video printer. 400. Further, when detecting a recording operation by the recording operation button 122, the control unit 210 instructs the video printer 400 to perform a recording operation.

  Hereinafter, a processing flow in the processor unit 200 when the control unit 210 detects a freeze operation by the freeze button 121 is shown.

  When the control unit 210 detects a freeze operation, the process proceeds to step S01. In step S01, the update of the memory 220 is stopped. The monitor 300 displays a low-resolution still image that has been processed by the image quality reduction processing circuit 230. Thereafter, in step S02, the image quality improvement processing circuit 232 starts the image quality improvement processing.

  In step S03, it is determined whether or not a recording operation has been performed using the recording operation button 121. If a recording operation is detected (step S03: YES), the process proceeds to step S04. In step S04, it is determined whether or not there is an image quality improvement processing completion flag set (the image quality improvement processing completion flag set is generated in step S06 or step S10 described later). If there is no image quality enhancement processing completion flag set (step S04: NO), the process proceeds to step S05. If there is an image quality enhancement processing completion flag set (step S04: YES), the process proceeds to step S07. In step S05, the image quality improvement processing in the image quality improvement processing circuit 232 started in step S02 is interrupted. Thereafter, in step S06, an image quality enhancement processing completion flag set is generated. In step S07, the switch circuit 240 is set to the path a and a recording command is output to the video printer 400. The video printer 400 can output a subject image on a recording sheet or the like by a video signal output from the processor 200. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S08. If a recording operation is not detected in step S03 (step S03: NO), the process proceeds to step S08. Therefore, in the processing from step S04 to step S07 after the recording operation is detected in step S03, it is possible to interrupt the image quality enhancement processing and output a recording command to the external recording device for a low resolution still image.

  In step S08, it is determined whether or not the image quality enhancement processing completion flag is set. If there is no image quality enhancement processing completion flag set (step S08: NO), the process proceeds to step S09. In step S09, it is determined whether or not the image quality improvement processing in image quality improvement processing circuit 232 started in step S02 has been completed. If the high image quality processing has been completed (step S09: YES), the process proceeds to step S10, and a high image quality processing completion flag set is generated. Thereafter, the path of the video signal is switched to b in the switch circuit 240, and a high-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor 300 (step S11). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S12. When the image quality improvement processing in the image quality improvement processing circuit 230 is not completed in step S09 (step S09: NO), the process proceeds to step S12. Therefore, whether or not a high-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor 300 is determined by the processing from step S09 to step S11.

  In step S12, it is determined whether or not a freeze release operation by the freeze button 121 has been detected. If the freeze release operation is not detected (step S12: NO), the process returns to step S03. If a freeze release operation is detected (step S12: YES), the process proceeds to step S13. In step S <b> 13, a low resolution image is displayed on the monitor 300. That is, if the path of the switch circuit 240 is b, the path is switched to the path a. If the path of the switch circuit 240 is a, the state is maintained as it is. After step S13, the process proceeds to step S15, where the update of the memory 220 is resumed (that is, a moving image is displayed on the monitor), and this process ends.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the image data stored in the memory 220 is converted into a video signal including low-resolution and high-resolution images by the low-quality image processing circuit 230 and the high-quality image processing circuit 232, respectively. However, the CCD may be controlled to selectively output image signals indicating low resolution and high resolution from the CCD. That is, the configuration and processing procedure of each function shown as the memory 220, the image quality reduction processing circuit 230, the image quality improvement processing circuit 232, and the switch circuit 240 are not limited to the configurations shown in FIGS.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, when a user performs a recording operation when a low-resolution still image is displayed on the monitor 300 instead of a high-resolution still image, the high-quality image processing circuit 232 performs a high-resolution operation. Since the image quality improvement processing is interrupted, it is possible to reliably record a low-resolution still image in the external recording device. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electronic endoscope capable of reliably recording an intended image.

It is a functional block diagram of an electronic endoscope apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process by a processor part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Scope part 110 Insertion part flexible tube 120 Operation part 121 Freeze button 122 Recording operation button 130 Connector 200 Processor part 210 Control part 220 Memory 230 Image quality improvement processing circuit 240 Switch part 300 Monitor 400 Video printer

Claims (5)

A scope unit including an imaging device that captures a subject image and outputs an image signal corresponding to the subject image, and a still image or a moving image of the subject image that has a function of processing the image signal and is generated from the image signal An electronic endoscope apparatus comprising: a monitor for displaying an image; and a processor unit capable of connecting an external recording device for recording the still image,
Recording operation means for instructing to record the still image displayed on the monitor to the external recording device;
Image quality improvement processing is performed on the image signal, and after the image quality improvement processing is completed, a high-resolution still image is generated and displayed on a monitor.
The electronic endoscope apparatus is characterized in that, when an instruction is given by the recording operation means before the end of the image quality improvement process, the image quality improvement process is interrupted.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a still image display operation unit that gives an instruction to display a still image when a moving image is displayed on the monitor.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image quality enhancement process is started after an instruction by the still image display operation unit.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image quality enhancement process is a process performed on image signals of all effective pixels included in the image sensor.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image quality enhancement process is a process performed by controlling the imaging element.

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