JP2017012616A - Light source control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of calculating an operating time for each light source without enlarging a device configuration even when a plurality of light sources having different wavelength bands are disposed.SOLUTION: LEDs 19a-19d irradiate a subject with illumination light having wavelength bands different from each other. An observation mode switch unit 11 switches an observation mode in irradiating the subject with the illumination light. A lighting control unit 12 selectively controls all or a part of the LEDs 19a-19d to be lit based on the observation mode set by the observation mode switch unit 11. A main control unit 14 measures an operating time of the light sources from when the lighting control unit 12 starts the lighting control until it completes the lighting control. A memory stores combination information of the LEDs 19a-19d used according to the observation mode. A calculation unit 17 calculates each lighting time of the LEDs 19a-19d on the basis of the operating time measured by a lighting time measurement unit and the combination information stored in the memory.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for calculating a lighting time of a light source in a light source control system for controlling the light source.

  For example, regarding an endoscope observation light source, a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are provided, and when one observation mode is selected from a plurality of observation modes, an LED that is lit according to the selected observation mode is provided. A switchable light source system has been put into practical use. In such a system, the combination of LEDs used differs depending on the observation mode. That is, there is an LED that is not used depending on the observation mode, and the time when the lighting control of the light source is performed in the system is not the usage time of the equal LED.

  Here, in a system including a plurality of LEDs such as white LEDs and purple LEDs, in order to correct the deterioration of the light amount of each LED, the respective use time is obtained from the temperature of each LED, and the deterioration rate is obtained from the obtained use time. A technique for calculation is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1). According to this, the drive current of each LED is corrected according to the calculated deterioration rate.

  In addition, regarding the technique for measuring the usage time of the light source, a technique for calculating the irradiation time of the excitation light from the number of frames irradiated with the excitation light and recording the calculated irradiation time in the flash memory in association with the scope ID is disclosed. (For example, Patent Document 2).

International Publication No. 2012/161028 Pamphlet JP 2005-204905 A

  As described above, when the light source system has a configuration including a plurality of light sources and the combination of the light sources used differs depending on the observation mode, etc. In order to grasp, it is necessary to provide a lighting time measuring unit for each light source. If the lighting time measuring unit is provided for each light source, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration increases as the number of light sources arranged in the system increases.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that can calculate the usage time for each light source without increasing the apparatus configuration even when a plurality of light sources having different wavelength bands are provided.

  According to the light source control system of one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of light sources that irradiate a subject with illumination light having different wavelength bands, and an observation mode that switches an observation mode when the subject is irradiated with the illumination light. Based on the observation mode set by the observation mode switching unit, a lighting control unit that selectively controls lighting of all or some of the plurality of light sources, and lighting control by the lighting control unit A lighting time measuring unit that measures the usage time of the light source from the time when the light source is started to the end, a storage unit that stores combination information of the plurality of light sources used according to the observation mode, and the lighting time measurement A lighting time calculation unit that calculates each lighting time of the plurality of light sources based on the usage time measured by the unit and the combination information stored in the storage unit; Characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, even when a plurality of light sources having different wavelength bands are provided, it is possible to calculate the usage time for each light source without increasing the device configuration.

It is a lineblock diagram of the light source control system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of a calculation part. It is a figure which illustrates the data structure of the combination information currently hold | maintained at memory. It is a figure which illustrates the table which matched the setting value and load coefficient of brightness for every LED.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a light source control system according to the present embodiment. A light source control system 100 in FIG. 1 is a light source system that controls a light source for an endoscope, and includes an observation mode switching unit 11, a lighting control unit 12, a plurality of drive boards 13, LEDs 19, a main control unit 14, and usage time measurement. Section 21, calculation section 17, accumulated time recording section 18, display control section 15, and display section 16.

  In FIG. 1, a configuration relating to light source control in an endoscope video processor integrated with a light source device (with a built-in light source device) is described as a light source control system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Absent. For example, the light source device may be separated to constitute a separate device. In that case, the light source device includes the lighting control unit 12, the drive board 13, and the LED 19 in the configuration shown in FIG.

  A plurality of LEDs 19 as light sources (four from a to d in FIG. 1) are arranged. These LEDs 19a to 19d have different wavelength bands, and the LEDs 19a to 19d irradiate the subject with illumination light of respective wavelength bands such as red, blue, and green. The light source control system in FIG. 1 switches a combination of LEDs to be lit among a plurality of LEDs 19a to 19d according to the observation mode of the endoscope. Depending on the combination of LEDs to be lit, the light output from the light source control system in FIG. 1 is light corresponding to an observation mode such as a normal light (white light) observation mode or a special light observation mode such as NBI (Narrow Band Imaging). Can be switched to.

  The observation mode switching unit 11 accepts an observation mode designated by the user via an input unit such as a touch panel, and switches to the accepted observation mode. The lighting control unit 12 determines an LED to be lit from the plurality of LEDs 19a to 19d according to the observation mode switched by the observation mode switching unit 11, and selectively controls lighting of all or some of the LEDs. In response to a command from the lighting control unit 12, the drive boards 13a to 13d drive the corresponding LEDs 19a to 19d, respectively. Thus, all or part of the LEDs 19a to 19d are turned on according to the observation mode.

  The main control unit 14 is configured by a CPU in the embodiment, and controls each unit constituting the light source control system 100. Among the units constituting the light source control system 100, the lighting control unit 12, the calculation unit 17, the usage time measurement unit 21, and the like are configured by devices such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) in the embodiment.

  The main control unit 14 recognizes this when the lighting control unit 12 selectively starts the lighting control of the LEDs 19a to 19d with respect to the observation mode switched by the observation mode switching unit 11 as described above. As a result, the main control unit 14 configured by the CPU issues a command to perform the following processing to a device such as an FPGA. Specifically, the main control unit 14 issues a command to the usage time measurement unit 21 and starts measurement of the usage time of the LED 19 in the observation mode newly set by being switched by the observation mode switching unit 11. Let The usage time measuring unit 21 starts measuring the usage time of the LED 19 in accordance with a command from the main control unit 14 and notifies the calculation unit 17 of the measured usage time of the LED 19.

  When the usage time of the LED 19 in a certain observation mode is notified from the usage time measurement unit 21, the calculation unit 17 determines the LED 19 to be used (and the LED 19 that is not used) in the observation mode, and determines the lighting time for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d. calculate. The calculating unit 17 updates the integrated lighting time of each LED 19 by adding the calculated lighting time for each LED 19 to the integrated lighting time for each LED 19 recorded in the integrated time recording unit 18.

  The display unit 16 includes a monitor or the like, and displays an accumulated lighting time for each LED 19. The display control unit 15 controls display of information such as the accumulated lighting time on the display unit 16 in accordance with a command from the main control unit 14.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the calculation unit 17. As shown in FIG. 2, the calculation unit 17 includes a lighting time calculation unit 71 and a lighting time integration unit 72.
As described with reference to FIG. 1, the usage time measurement unit 21 notifies the calculation unit 17 of the usage time of the LED 19 in a certain observation mode. Specifically, the usage time measurement unit 21 receives a new command from the main control unit 14 to start the usage time measurement in a different observation mode while measuring the usage time in a certain observation mode. Then, it is determined that the previously set observation mode (until that time) has ended. Thus, the usage time measuring unit 21 is the time from the start to the end of the lighting control of the LED 19 in the previously set observation mode (the timing at which the command is received to start the measurement of the usage time in the different observation modes). And notifies the calculation unit 17 of this.

  The lighting time calculation unit 71 refers to the usage time of the LED 19 notified from the usage time measurement unit 21 and information such as a table held in the memory 20, and calculates each lighting time for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d. .

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of combination information that associates which of the plurality of LEDs 19 is used for each observation mode held in the memory 20.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the memory 20 stores combination information that associates which of the plurality of LEDs is used for each observation mode. In the example, combinations of LEDs 19 to be used among the four LEDs 19a to 19d are stored for each of the three observation modes. For example, in mode 1, three LEDs 19 of LEDs 19a, 19b, and 19c are used.

  When the time from the start to the end of mode 1 (the usage time of the LED 19) is notified from the usage time measurement unit 21, for example, the lighting time calculation unit 71 refers to the memory 20 and each of the four LEDs 19a to 19d. The lighting time of is calculated. Specifically, for the three LEDs 19a, 19b, and 19c, the notified usage time is set as the lighting time of the LEDs 19, and the lighting time is set to zero for the LED 19d. The lighting time calculation unit 71 notifies the lighting time integration unit 72 of the calculated lighting times of the LEDs 19a to 19d.

  The lighting time integrating unit 72 reads the integrated lighting time for each LED 19 recorded in the integrated time recording unit 18 and adds the lighting time notified from the lighting time calculating unit 71 to the integrated lighting time for each LED 19. Update. The updated integrated lighting time is recorded in the integrated time recording unit 18.

  Thus, according to the light source control system 100 according to the present embodiment, without providing a mechanism for measuring the lighting time for each LED 19 for each LED 19, that is, without increasing the device configuration, It becomes possible to calculate the lighting time and integrated lighting time of each of the plurality of LEDs 19a to 19d.

  In the light source control system 100 of FIG. 1, the LED units including the LEDs 19a to 19d are generally configured to be replaceable. When a certain LED 19 is replaced, this may be detected by the main control unit 14 and notified to the calculation unit 17. The calculating unit 17 can reset the accumulated lighting time for the replaced LED 19 among the accumulated lighting times for each LED 19 recorded in the accumulated time recording unit 18. Thereby, even if it is a case where a certain LED19 of several LED19 is replaced | exchanged, the integrated lighting time about replaced | exchanged LED19 is managed appropriately.

  Furthermore, when the LED 19 becomes unable to be lit due to a failure or the like, the main control unit 14 may detect this and notify the calculation unit 17 of an error. The calculation part 17 can be set as the structure which does not update the integrated lighting time about LED19 to which the error was notified among several LED19. As a result, even when a certain LED 19 of the plurality of LEDs 19 cannot be turned on due to a failure or the like, the integrated lighting time for the LED 19 that cannot be turned on can be appropriately managed.

<Second Embodiment>
In said 1st Embodiment, the lighting time and integrated lighting time are calculated for every LED, and integrated lighting time is recorded.
Here, the brightness of the LED 19 can be made variable. The brightness at which the LED 19 is used affects the life (life period) of the LED 19, so when the brightness is variable, the lighting time is simply integrated as in the above embodiment. Then, the life period of LED19 cannot be detected correctly.

  Therefore, in the light source control system 100 according to the present embodiment, the life period of the LED 19 is appropriately calculated according to the brightness of the LED 19 by the following several methods, and the life period is displayed via the display unit 16 of FIG. To the user. Below, the method to calculate the life period of each LED19 according to each brightness of several LED19 is demonstrated concretely.

  In addition, about the structure of the light source control system 100 which concerns on this embodiment, and the structure of the calculation part 17 of the light source control system 100, it is as having shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. For this reason, the detailed description thereof will be omitted here, and the description will focus on the differences in the operation of the calculation unit 17.

  First, in the first method of calculating the life period of each LED 19 according to the brightness of the LED 19, the brightness of the LED 19 is variable by controlling the value of a current flowing through the LED 19 and a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) period. Use the points that can be. The calculation unit 17 in FIG. 1 obtains a load coefficient corresponding to the value of the current passed through the LED 19 determined by the lighting control unit 12 and the PWM period, and calculates the life period using the time multiplied by the load coefficient as the lighting time.

  Specifically, in the light source control system 100, for example, a table in which the current value or PWM period and the corresponding load coefficient are associated with each of the LEDs 19a to 19d is held in the memory 20 of FIG. deep.

  The calculation unit 17 acquires information about the brightness of each LED 19 determined by the lighting control unit 12, that is, information such as a current value and a PWM period from the lighting control unit 12. Information may be acquired via the main control unit 14. The lighting time calculation unit 71 of the calculation unit 17 reads the obtained current value or the load coefficient corresponding to the PWM period from the memory 20 or the like for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d. And the lighting time for every LED19 is calculated from the usage time of LED19 notified from the usage time measurement part 21, and the combination information of FIG. The time obtained by adding the load coefficient for each LED 19 read from the memory 20 or the like to the calculated lighting time is calculated as the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19. The time calculated as the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19 is given to the lighting time integrating unit 72 as in the above embodiment.

  The lighting time integration unit 72 reads the life time for each LED 19 recorded in the integration time recording unit 18, subtracts the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19 calculated by the calculation unit 71 from this, and for each LED 19 , Update the life period.

  The accumulated time recording unit 18 includes not only the life period but also the accumulated time of the lighting time according to the brightness of each LED 19 described above, that is, the time obtained by adding the load coefficient to the usage time of each LED 19. It is good also as a structure which records also about this integration time. In addition, the life period may be calculated by a configuration different from the accumulated time calculation unit 72 such as a life period calculation unit.

In the second method, the load coefficient corresponding to the value set as the brightness is obtained, and the life period is calculated using the time when the load coefficient is applied as the lighting time.
Specifically, in the light source control system 100, for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d, a table in which the brightness setting value and the corresponding load coefficient are associated is stored in the memory 20 or the like.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a table in which brightness setting values and load coefficients are associated with each LED 19. As shown in FIG. 4, even if the brightness setting value is the same, the corresponding load coefficient varies depending on the LEDs 19a to 19d. This is because the temperature when the LED 19 is lit at the brightness differs depending on the specifications of the LED 19, that is, the color and characteristics, and therefore it is necessary to set a load coefficient for each brightness setting value and for each LED 19. It is.

  The table used in the first method also has the same data structure as that in FIG. In the table used in the first method, the item “brightness setting value” in the left column (first column) in FIG. 4 is changed to “current value”, “PWM period”, and the like. Appropriate values corresponding to the respective items are set in the load coefficients of the LEDs 19a to 19d in the column.

  Returning to the description of the second method, the calculation unit 17 directly receives information on the brightness for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d set by the lighting control unit 12, in this case the brightness setting value, directly from the lighting control unit 12 or Obtained via the main controller 14. The lighting time calculation unit 71 of the calculation unit 17 calculates the lighting time for each LED 19 obtained from the usage time of the LED 19 notified from the usage time measurement unit 21 and the combination information of FIG. Then, the time obtained by adding the load coefficient for each LED 19 read from the memory 20 or the like to the calculated lighting time is calculated as the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19. The time calculated as the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19 is given to the lighting time integrating unit 72, and the lighting time integrating unit 72 performs the same process as the first method, and the life for each LED 19 is calculated. Update the period.

  As in the first method, the accumulated time recording unit 18 accumulates the load coefficient not only in the life period but also in the accumulated time of the lighting time corresponding to the brightness of each LED 19, that is, the usage time of each LED 19. The accumulated time of the time obtained in this way may be recorded. The life period may be calculated by a configuration different from the accumulated time calculation unit 72 such as a life period calculation unit.

The life period calculated by the first or second method and recorded in the accumulated time recording unit 18 can be notified to the user via the display unit 16 or the like.
Thus, according to the light source control system 100 according to the present embodiment, the lighting time obtained using the load coefficient corresponding to the current value, PWM period, and brightness setting value determined by the lighting control unit 12 is subtracted. Then, the life period for each of the LEDs 19a to 19d is calculated. Even when the brightness of the LEDs 19a to 19d is variable, the life periods of the LEDs 19a to 19d can be obtained appropriately without increasing the device configuration.

  In the above description, a method is described in which the load coefficient is obtained from the PWM period and the life period is calculated using the load coefficient. In PWM control, it is possible to obtain a total time that is set to ON when each LED 19 is switched ON / OFF. However, in the light source control system 100 that controls the light source for the endoscope, a method of performing control based on the current value at the time when the brightness control of the LED 19 is started and switching to PWM control from the middle is widely performed. . For this reason, in the light source control system 100 that controls the light source for the endoscope, the life time is determined by the above-described method, not by the method of obtaining the lighting time by totaling the time when the PWM control is turned on. By calculating the period, a more accurate life period can be obtained.

  In the above description, the LED light source is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The light source system that controls a plurality of light sources having different wavelength bands, the lighting time, the integrated lighting time, and the life of each light source. It can be applied when calculating the period.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments may be appropriately combined. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. It goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Observation mode switching part 12 Lighting control part 14 Main control part 17 Calculation part 18 Accumulated time recording part 19 LED
20 Memory 21 Usage Time Measurement Unit 71 Lighting Time Calculation Unit 72 Lighting Time Accumulation Unit 100 Light Source Control System

Claims (11)

A plurality of light sources that irradiate a subject with illumination light of different wavelength bands;
An observation mode switching unit that switches an observation mode when illuminating the subject with the illumination light;
Based on the observation mode set by the observation mode switching unit, a lighting control unit that selectively controls lighting of all or a part of the plurality of light sources,
A lighting time measuring unit that measures the time from the start of lighting control by the lighting control unit to the end; and
A storage unit that stores combination information of the plurality of light sources used in accordance with the observation mode;
Based on the usage time measured by the lighting time measurement unit and the combination information stored in the storage unit, a lighting time calculation unit that calculates each lighting time of the plurality of light sources,
A light source control system comprising:   The light source control system according to claim 1, further comprising an integrated time recording unit that records the usage time calculated by the lighting time measurement unit for each light source of the plurality of light sources. Summing up the usage time calculated by the lighting time calculation unit and the lighting time of the light source calculated by the lighting time calculation unit in the past recorded in the cumulative time recording unit, and integrating each light source A lighting time integrating unit for calculating the lighting time;
The light source control system according to claim 2, wherein the integrated time recording unit records an integrated lighting time for each of the light sources calculated by the lighting time integrating unit.   The light source control system according to claim 2, further comprising a reset unit that resets an accumulated lighting time for each of the light sources recorded in the accumulated time recording unit. An abnormality detection unit that detects whether or not an abnormality has occurred for each of the plurality of light sources,
3. The light source control system according to claim 2, wherein the lighting time integration unit does not calculate an integrated lighting time for each light source for a light source in which an abnormality has been detected by the abnormality detection unit. . The storage unit associates, for each light source, a current value or a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) period and a load coefficient for the light source determined in the lighting control unit in order to set the amount of illumination light of the light source. Remember information,
The lighting time calculation unit reads a load coefficient corresponding to a current value or a PWM period determined by the lighting control unit from the storage unit, and calculates a lighting time for each of the light sources using the read load coefficient. The light source control system according to claim 3. The storage unit stores, for each of the light sources, information in which the amount of illumination light of the light source determined by the lighting control unit is associated with a load coefficient,
The lighting time calculation unit reads a load coefficient corresponding to the amount of illumination light of the light source from the storage unit, and calculates a lighting time for each of the light sources using the read load coefficient. The light source control system according to claim 3.   The light source control system according to claim 6, wherein the lighting time integration unit calculates an integration time of the lighting time calculated using the load coefficient. For each of the light sources, a remaining usable time calculating unit that subtracts the lighting time calculated using the load coefficient from the remaining usable time, and updates the remaining usable time,
The light source control system according to claim 6, further comprising:   The light source control system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light sources are LED light sources.   The light source control system according to claim 1, wherein the light source control system is a control system related to an endoscope light source.

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