JP3335188B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus in which operations of various devices constituting a system are controlled by a microcomputer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An existing video tape recorder (VTR)
In the case where a computer or hard copy device is used as a peripheral device of an endoscope system and its operation is controlled by a microcomputer, conventionally, software and hardware for that purpose are built into a microcomputer built in the endoscope device. Was.

[0003]

In order to change the type of peripheral equipment connected to the system, it is often necessary to change the software of the microcomputer and sometimes also the hardware.

In such a case, in a conventional endoscope device,
The program itself stored in the ROM (read-only memory) of the built-in microcomputer must be changed, and in some cases, even the built-in hardware must be changed, which requires a large amount of replacement work and extremely high replacement costs. Would. Also, it has been very difficult to deal with frequent replacements and various types of devices.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an endoscope apparatus which can easily control any type of peripheral equipment without exchanging software and hardware built in the endoscope apparatus. The purpose is to:

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention has a micro-program in which a program for controlling at least a part of operations of various devices constituting a system is stored in a ROM. In an endoscope apparatus having a computer, a ROM storing a program for controlling the operation of peripheral devices of the system by the microcomputer separately from the ROM, and an interface for sending a control signal to the peripheral devices The circuit board provided with the above is detachably provided to the system.

The above circuit board is not provided with a RAM,
A predetermined portion of the storage area of the RAM of the microcomputer may be allocated as an area used by the circuit board.

[0008]

An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows an endoscope system and peripheral devices connected to the endoscope system. In the endoscope, various operating devices are provided at a base end side of a flexible insertion section 11 having a solid-state imaging device built in at a distal end 11a. The provided operation unit 12 is connected, and is connected to a video processor 20 by a flexible connection tube 13.

A light guide fiber bundle for transmitting illumination light for illuminating the subject,
A signal cable or the like for transmitting an image signal from the solid-state image sensor is inserted therethrough.

In the video processor 20, in addition to a processor for processing image signals, a light source lamp for supplying illumination light to the light guide fiber bundle, a light amount adjusting device for adjusting the supplied light amount, and the like are provided. A device as a light source device for an endoscope is also incorporated. Reference numeral 21 denotes an operation panel provided with a plurality of operation buttons and the like.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a monitor that reproduces an image signal sent from the solid-state image sensor as a visible image. The endoscope system further includes an air supply, water supply, suction device, and the like, but illustration thereof is omitted.

Reference numerals 61 and 62 denote a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) and a hard copy device used as peripheral devices, which are connected to the back of the video processor 20 by connection cables 66 and 67, respectively.

FIG. 1 shows a microcomputer 30 provided in the video processor 20 for controlling the brightness of the light source lamp 24, controlling the adjustment of the image displayed on the monitor 22, and controlling the printing of the date and time on the screen. And its surroundings.

A central processing unit (CP) for performing arithmetic processing
U) 31, a read-only memory (R) built in the microcomputer 30 is connected to a system bus 32.
OM) 33 and a random access memory (RAM) 34, a real-time clock (RTC) 35, and a video random access memory (video RAM) for displaying characters.
36 are connected. A program for causing the CPU 31 to perform a processing operation is stored in the ROM 33.

Also, the CR connected to the system bus 32
The image data and the character data for display are combined and output to the monitor 22 through the T controller (CRTC) 37, and the lamp control circuit 25 for controlling the panel switch 21 and the light source lamp 24 includes input / output ports 38,
39 are connected.

With such a configuration, the microcomputer 30 controls the light source lamp 24 and executes the panel switch 2 according to the program stored in the ROM 33.
A color tone adjustment process or the like is performed according to the setting conditions input from Step 1.

A small circuit board (hereinafter referred to as "sub board") 51, 52, 53 is connected to the system bus 32 of the microcomputer 30 from outside the video processor 20.
Can be arbitrarily attached and detached.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sub-board 51 is attached to the video processor 20 by being inserted from the back side thereof, and the connector 50 attached to the tip is connected to the system bus 32. I have.

In this embodiment, the system bus 32
The three sub-boards 51, 52, and 53 can be connected in parallel, but any number of one or more may be used as necessary. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the sub-boards 51, 52, 53
Are provided with ROMs 54, 55, 56 and input / output ports 57, 58, 59, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows the first sub-substrate 51 as an example.
The circuit configuration provided therein is shown, and the data bus 5
11, address bus 512 and control bus 513
Are the system buses 3 of the microcomputer 30, respectively.
2 are connected via a connector 50 to a data bus, an address bus and a control bus.

The ROM 54 on the first sub-board 51 includes
A program for controlling the operation of the VTR 61 as a peripheral device is stored. ROM 54 has three buses 51
1, 512, 513, and the program is executed by the CPU 31 of the microcomputer 30 .

The input / output port 57 is connected to the data bus 511 and the control bus 513. A VTR 61 is connected to the input / output port 57, and a connector 60 for connecting a connection cable to the VTR 61 is formed on the sub-board 51 as shown in FIG.

Returning to FIG. 4, the address bus 512
Further, an address decoder 514 is connected, and the VTR 61
Timer 5 for counting the time required for operation control
15 is a data bus 511 and a control bus 513
It is connected to the.

The second and third sub-boards 52 and 53 have the same structure, and a hard copy device 62 is connected to the second sub-board 52 as shown in FIG. 3
Further, another peripheral device 63 is connected to the sub-board 53.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the contents of the control processing performed by the microcomputer 30 built in the video processor 20, and S indicates steps.

Here, according to a program stored in the ROM 33, first, variables related to the microcomputer 30 and peripheral LSIs are initialized (S1).
Next, it is checked whether or not the sub-boards 51, 52, 53 are inserted (S2).

The determination of the presence or absence of the sub-boards 51, 52, 53
For example, this is performed as follows. The address map of the microcomputer circuit is configured as shown in FIG. 7, for example, and the ROM 5 of the three sub-boards 51, 52 and 53 is constructed.
4, 55 and 56 correspond to the three mounting ports 1 to 3 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the ROM of each sub-board 51, 52, 53
A constant C ₀ (C ₀ ≠ FF _H ) at a specific address y ₁₄ as illustrated in FIG. 8 is written in 54, 55, and 56.

By doing so, the sub-boards 51, 52, 53
Is determined based on specific addresses y ₁ + y ₁₄ , y ₂ + y ₁₄ and y ₃
+ Read the value of y _14, the value is found to be that there is FF _H unless the sub-substrate 51, 52, 53, if the value is FF _H, that the sub-substrate 51, 52, 53 is not I understand.

Note that, as shown in FIG.
The o~y address ₁₁ of ROM54,55,56 of 1,52,53 stored iteration program, y ₁₂ ~y
_At address ₁₃ , the initial settings (input / output ports 57, 5
8, 59, etc.) are stored.

Returning to FIG. 5, in S2, the sub substrates 51, 52,
When there is no 53, only the processing (main processing) for the microcomputer 30 circuit of the endoscope apparatus is repeatedly performed (S3).

FIG. 9 shows the contents of the main processing, the processing set by the panel switch 21 and the light source lamp 24.
Related processing, date and time display processing, other processing, and the like. FIG. 10 exemplifies the contents of the panel switch processing therein, and here, the panel switch 2 of the endoscope apparatus is shown.
Each time the "VTR" switch 1 is pressed, the VTR 61 is alternately switched between the recording state and the pause state each time.

If none of the panel switches 21 is pressed, the process jumps to the next date and time display processing (S3a). If any switch is pressed, the peripheral device-related switch ( For example, it is determined whether “VTR”, “copy”, etc.) have been pressed (S3b).

When the peripheral device related switch is pressed, for example, when the “VTR” switch of the panel switch 21 is pressed, the variable r1 is set to r 1 = 1 (S3
d, S3e), when the “hard copy” switch is pressed, the variable r2 is set to r 2 = 1 (S3f, S3g).

When a switch (for example, "brightness increase / decrease", "color tone change", etc.) of the panel switch 21 other than the peripheral device related switch is pressed, a process corresponding to the switch is performed (S3c).

Returning again to FIG. 5, in S2, the sub-substrates 51, 5
2 and 53, the corresponding sub-boards 51, 52 and 5
3 are initialized (S4 to S9). This processing is shown in FIG.
Performed by executing a y ₁₂ ~y ₁₃ address of the program shown in.

After the initial setting of the sub-substrates 51, 52 and 53 is completed, as shown in FIG. 6, the same main processing as in S3 is performed (S10), and then the corresponding sub-substrates 51, 52 and 53 are processed.
Processing (sub-substrate processing) according to the program 53 is performed (S11 to S16). This process is performed in the range of 0 to 0 shown in FIG.
y This is performed by executing the program at address ₁₁ .

FIG. 11 shows the VTR of the sub-substrate processing.
6 shows a program stored in the ROM 54 of the first sub-board 51 for controlling the sub-board 61. Here, first, V
The state of the TR 61 is input (S21), and processing corresponding to the state is performed (S22). That is, for example, "recording" is displayed on the monitor 22 during recording, and is displayed when the tape is completed.

Subsequently, the value of the variable r1 is determined, and r1 = 0
In this case, it means that the "VTR" switch has not been pressed with the panel switch 21, so that nothing is performed (S23).

However, when r1 = 1, it means that the "VTR" switch has been pressed, and the processing corresponding thereto, that is, the VTR is set to the pause state or the recording state (S
24-S26). Finally, the variable r1 is reset to r1 = 0 (S27).

As described above, the R of the first sub-substrate 51
The program stored in the OM 54 is executed by the CPU 31 of the microcomputer 30 in the video processor 20, and the operation of the VTR 61 as a peripheral device is controlled.
Similarly, the operation of the hard copy device 62 is controlled by the program stored in the ROM 55 of the second sub-board 52, and the operation of the other peripheral devices 63 is controlled by the program stored in the ROM 56 of the third sub-board 53. The operation is controlled.

Next, the RAM of the microcomputer 30
The predetermined area of the storage area of the sub-boards 51, 52, 53
A method of allocating as a use area will be described.
Since the first to third sub-boards 51, 52, 53 are inserted into the first to third mounting ports 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 3 is performed.

In the programs of the sub-boards 51, 52 and 53, variables are assigned by relative addresses. The variable name is q1 (here, the variable name represents a relative address as it is).

The absolute address a1 of the variable is a1
= Q1 + b. It is assumed that b is a numerical value for converting a relative address to an absolute address, and also a variable name or a register name for storing the numerical value.

In the overall processing shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
Immediately before the sub substrate 1 for 12, keep the b = y _41. Immediately before performing the sub-substrate 2 processing in S14, b = y ₄₁ +
s. Immediately before the processing of the sub-substrate 3 in S16, b =
y ₄₁ +2 s.

When the variables are referred to in the processes S12, S14 and S16 of the sub-substrates 51, 52 and 53, a1 =
The RAM 34 is accessed using this a1 as q1 + b. By doing so, R for each of the mounting ports 1, 2, 3
The use area of the AM 34 is allocated.

[0046] For example, the absolute address is as shown in FIG. 12, the relative address of a sub-board variable q1 is assumed to be 012C _H. When the sub-board is mounted in the mounting port 1, q1
It is the absolute address, b = 1000 _H So, a1 = q1 + b
= 112C _H next, assigned to the RAM area for the attachment port 1. When this sub-substrate is mounted in the mounting port 2, q1
Is the absolute address of b = 1400 _H, so a1 = 152C
_H , which is allocated to the RAM area for the mounting port 2.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be, for example, one in which a RAM is provided on a sub-board.

[0048]

According to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, a circuit board provided with a ROM and an input / output port is detachably provided to a system, and a peripheral device is connected to the input / output port. The microcomputer stored in the system can be operated by the program stored in the ROM to control the operation of the peripheral device.

Therefore, even when any peripheral device is used, there is an excellent effect that the peripheral device can be easily controlled without exchanging software and hardware built in the endoscope apparatus.

By allocating the storage area of the RAM of the microcomputer in the system to each circuit board without providing the RAM on the circuit board, the RAM can be shared and the configuration can be made at very low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sub-substrate attaching / detaching portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a microcomputer of a sub-board according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a control processing flowchart of a built-in microcomputer of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a control processing flowchart of a built-in microcomputer of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an address map of the built-in microcomputer of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an address map of a ROM of a sub-board of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a control processing unit included in a program stored in a ROM of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control processing unit included in a program stored in a ROM of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a program stored in a ROM of a sub-board of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an address map of a RAM according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 microcomputer 33 ROM 34 RAM 51, 52, 53 sub-board 54, 55, 56 ROM 57, 58, 59 input / output port 61 VTR 62 hard copy device

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-61-8217 (JP, A) JP-A-3-212764 (JP, A) JP-A-63-276649 (JP, A) (58) Investigation Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 1/00-1/32 G02B 23/24-23/26 G06F 17/40

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A program for controlling the operation of at least a part of various devices constituting a system is stored in a first ROM.
And the first R
A circuit board provided with a second ROM storing a program for controlling the operation of the peripheral device of the system by the microcomputer separately from the OM, and an interface for transmitting a control signal to the peripheral device In an endoscope apparatus detachably provided to the system, it is determined whether or not the circuit board is mounted on the system by executing a program stored in the first ROM. , when the circuit board is not attached to the system then the microcode
Executing only the program stored in the first ROM provided on the computer, and when the circuit board is mounted on the system, the program stored in the second ROM provided on the circuit board is provided . An endoscope apparatus wherein the program stored in both the first and second ROMs is executed equally after the initial setting process of the circuit board is performed by the program.