JPH02168928A - Electron endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize the function of an electron endoscope without necessarily using a large expensive signal processor and to easily move the device by providing a signal processing means at the side of the electron endoscope and providing a power source circuit to the signal processing means at the side of a light source device. CONSTITUTION:A power is supplied from a power source circuit 23 in a light source device 20 to a pulse generating circuit 12 and a signal processing circuit 13 in an electron endoscope 1, and the pulse generating circuit generates a driving pulse and drives a solid-state image pickup element 11. An object image is image-formed in an objective lens system 10, this picture signal photoelectrically converted in the solid-state image pickup element is inputted to the signal processing circuit 13, video signal processing is executed for the picture signal, and a standard video signal is generated. Video is displayed by inputting this standard video signal to a monitor television 30. Thus, it becomes unnecessary to use other signal processor, and the device can be easily moved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application 1 The present invention relates to an 8-position pre-nacroscopic scope in which a signal processing circuit is provided on the electronic endoscope side.

[Prior Art] In recent years, various electronic endoscopes using solid-state image devices such as charge-coupled devices (CODs) as lead-acid means have been proposed.

The configuration of this electronic endoscope and peripheral devices may be as shown in FIG. 5.

That is, the electronic endoscope device shown in FIG. 5 includes an electronic endoscope 33, a light source device 34, a signal processing device 35, and a monitor television 30. 34
and a signal processing device 35.

A lamp 21 is provided inside the light 11 installation @34,
The light emitted from this lamp 21 is made to enter the light guide 9 of the electronic endoscope 33. The signal processing device 35 also includes a pulse generation circuit 12 that generates drive pulses for driving the solid-state image element 11 of the electronic endoscope 33, and a signal that processes the output signal of the solid-state image element 11 as a video signal. A processing circuit 13 and a power supply circuit 23 for supplying power to both the circuits 12 and 13 are provided. And the said belief ffi [! (The video signal output from the 11th path 13 is input to the monitor television 30.

By the way, in the past, since the signal processing device 35 was relatively expensive, a plurality of electronic endoscopes and
Various improvements have been made to signal processing devices so that they can be used in combination with 133.

For example, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-131664N, in order to be able to use electronic endoscopes with various signal cable lengths, 1 and II control signals are generated according to the length of the signal cable. and a means for correcting the driving pulse of the solid-state image sensor thereby.

Also, 5A shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 115535/1983
In the fourth aspect, a means is provided for changing the timing of a sample and hold pulse for sampling the output signal of the solid-state image sensor in accordance with the length of the signal line of the electronic endoscope.

In addition, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-244161M, the operating level of the solid-state image sensor is adjusted to accommodate differences in the characteristics of the solid-state image sensor built into each electronic endoscope. A lever adjustment section is provided on the endoscope side.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the device disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-131664, apart from the signal processing circuit and drive pulse generation circuit necessary to perform the original functions of the signal processing device, , circuits such as a control voltage converter, DC bias correction circuit, amplitude correction gain amplifier, frequency correction gain amplifier, etc. necessary to support multiple electronic endoscopes are provided. This is causing the increase in prices.

Similarly, the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-115535 is provided with circuits such as a delay line with multiple taps and a multiplexer, which are necessary to support multiple electronic endoscopes. Since the connector of the electronic endoscope is provided with a plurality of bins, for example, four bins, for identifying the type of the electronic endoscope, the number of bins increases, leading to an increase in the size and price of the connector.

In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-244161, the fourth
In order to connect the level adjustment unit and the control device shown in Figure 5, it is necessary to use connectors and cables with extremely large numbers of pins, and the setup driver has a structure that allows remote adjustment using a potentiometer. This makes setup drivers complicated and expensive.

In this way, in both conventional examples, solid! In addition to the circuit that performs the original function of the signal processing device, which is to drive the image element, process its output signal, and display the image on a monitor TV, it is also possible to connect multiple electronic endoscopes. In order to do this, many complicated circuits had to be built in, and this is what Signal Processing II! This is causing mushrooms to become larger and more expensive.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the electronic endoscope 33.
Signal processing device 35. Since the monitor television 30° light source device 34 requires four components, transportation is troublesome when it is moved and used.

Furthermore, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-48011, it has been considered to transmit an NTSC signal from the internal vision VT device and display it on the monitor, but in this case, the internal vision 11
It is necessary to incorporate a power supply circuit into the device, which poses the problem of increasing the size of the endoscope device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and eliminates the need to use large and expensive signal processing circuits. The purpose is to provide an electronic internal 8-mirror device that can realize the function of a mirror and is easy to move.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the electronic internal AKVT device of the present invention, an electronic endoscope serving as an image carrier is connected to the electronic endoscope, and illumination light is emitted to the electronic endoscope. and a signal processing means for performing signal processing 111i on the first stage of the lid image on the electronic endoscope side and outputting a video signal capable of displaying the image by the display means. is provided on the light source device side for supplying power to the signal processing means.
ifi liaison circuit gold circuit.

In addition, the video signal that can display an image by the display means is
4 such as NTSC system and PAL system! Including Ary system video signals, RGB system, brightness/color difference system video signals,
A signal that can be visualized by a display means without special signal processing.

[Operation] In the present invention, the signal processing means provided on the electronic endoscope performs signal processing on the image carrier, and the video signal output from this signal processing means is used to control other signal processing devices. It is possible to visualize it by a display means without using it. Further, power to the signal processing means is supplied from a power supply circuit provided in an optical Si device to which the electronic endoscope is connected.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic internal congratulation i11 device is
ii is connected to a light source device 20, and a monitor television 30.

The electronic endoscope 1 includes an elongated and flexible insertion section 2, a large-diameter operation section 3 connected to the rear end of the insertion section 2, and a large-diameter operation section 3 extending laterally from the operation section 3. Provided with flexibility
The light source connector 5 is provided at the end of the universal cord 4 and is connectable to the light source device 20. The distal end portion 7 of the insertion portion 2 is provided with an illumination window and an observation window. A light distribution lens 8 is mounted inside the illumination window, and this light distribution lens 8
A light guide 9 is connected to the rear end of the light guide 9.

This light guide 9 is connected to the insertion section 2. It is inserted through the operating section 3 and the universal cord 4 and connected to the light source connector 5. Furthermore, an objective lens system 10 is mounted inside the observation window, and a solid-state image pickup device 11 such as a COD is disposed at the imaging position of this objective lens system 10. Further, in the operation section 3, a pulse generation circuit 12 that generates a drive pulse for driving the solid-state image element 11, and a signal processing circuit 13 that processes the output signal of the solid-state image element 11 as a video signal. is provided. The pulse generation circuit 12
and the signal processing circuit 13, and the solid-state dancing elm tree 11,
Each signal cable 14 is inserted through the insertion section 2.
15.

The pulse generating circuit 12 also generates several pulses necessary for the signal processing circuit 13 to operate, and supplies these to the signal processing circuit 13.

Further, the light source connector 5 is provided with a power connector 16 connected to the light source device 20 and a video signal connector 17 connected to the monitor television 30. The power supply connector 16 and the pulse generation circuit 12. The signal processing circuit 13 is connected to the power supply cable 18 which is passed through the Uniper cable 4 . Further, the video signal connector 17 and the signal processing circuit 13 are
They are connected by one video signal cable inserted through the universal cord 4.

Inside the light source device 20, there is a lamp 21 that emits illumination light.
Then, the light from this lamp 21 is condensed into a light guide 9.
A condensing lens 22 for inputting light to the J4 end, connected to the power supply connector 16, and connected to the pulse generation circuit 12.
? for supplying power to the trust processing circuit 13? If source circuit 23 is installed.

Further, a monitor television 30 is connected to the video signal connector 17 via a cable 31.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The pulse generation circuit 12 and signal processing circuit 13 in the electronic endoscope 1 are connected to a power supply connector 16. Power is supplied through a power cable 18. The Moeki pulse generation circuit ff112 generates a driving pulse, and this driving pulse is supplied to the solid-state image element 11 through the signal cable 14 to drive it. A subject image is formed on this solid-state boron oxygen element 11 by an objective lens system 10, and an image signal photoelectrically converted by this solid-state & image element 11 is sent to a signal processing circuit 1 through a signal cable 15.
3 is input. Then, the image signal is subjected to video signal processing by this signal processing circuit 13, for example, NTSC.
A standard video signal of the system is generated. This standard video signal is passed through the video signal cable 19 to the monitor television 30 via the video signal connector 17° cable 31.
is input. Since this signal is a standard video signal, the monitor TV 30 can be connected directly as shown in the figure.
Images can be displayed on this monitor television 30.

By the way, with the recent development of high-density integration technology, the signal processing circuit 13 and the pulse generation circuit 12 can now be realized in a very small size. This is clear when looking at home video cameras and the like. Moreover, the cost is rapidly decreasing.

In this embodiment, instead of providing the signal processing device 35 separately from the electronic endoscope 1 as shown in FIG.
It is built into t1. As a result, the signal processing circuit 13
Since the pulse generation circuit 12 is a dedicated circuit for the electronic endoscope AL11, the circuit that was required to combine one signal processing device and various endoscopes as in the past can be cut off. This eliminates the need for the signal processing circuit 13 and the pulse generation circuit 12, making it possible to make them extremely simple, small, compact, and low cost.

Also, since there is no need for a separate signal processing device, internal
321? The device [electronic endoscope 1. There are three components, the light source device 20 and the monitor television 30, which makes it easier to move than before.

Further, a power supply circuit 23 for operating the signal processing circuit 13 and pulse generation circuit 12 in the electronic endoscope 1 is provided in the light source device 20, and a power supply circuit 23 is provided in the light source device 20 to supply power to the circuit using the light source connector 5. As a result, there is no need to replace batteries, and the operating unit 3 is made smaller.

It can be converted into 11ll.

In addition, each solid fluorooxygen particle has variations in characteristics, and conventionally, for example, adjusting means to correct for this variation has not been included. Although the signal processing circuit 13 and the pulse generation circuit 12 are originally located on the electronic endoscope 1 side in this embodiment, such adjustments cannot be made directly within these circuits. Therefore, there is no need to use connectors and cables with an extremely large number of pins to connect the level adjustment section in the endoscope and the Luri control device as in the past, and the cost of the electronic endoscope 1 is reduced. Ru.

In addition, a video signal connector 17 provided on the light source connector 5
transmits an NTSG signal, so for example, BN
A C-type coaxial connector is fine. On the other hand, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the signal connector requires a multi-pin connector of 20I4i to 30 pins. This also makes it possible to reduce the cost of the electronic endoscope 1.

Note that the video signal output from the video signal connector 17 is not an NTSC signal, but may be another standard video signal (#! I! Image Shingetsu) such as PAL Shin@special. In addition, RGB video signals that transmit R, G, and B color signals or luminance signals that transmit luminance signals and color difference signals are also available.
A color difference video signal may also be used. In either case, the video signal connector 17 requires only one to four coaxial connectors, which is a much smaller number of pins than in the past.

FIG. 2 shows the electron inside of the second embodiment of the present invention? JH] is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the device.

In this embodiment, the light source connector 5 has a video signal connector 41 connected to the light source device 20 instead of the connector 17 in the first embodiment, and one video signal cable is connected to this connector 41. ing. Further, a video signal connector 42 is provided on the exterior of the optical FA device 20, and this connector 42 is connected to the video signal connector 41 of the light source connector 5 via a cable 43 inside the light source device t20. ing. Then, the monitor television 3 is connected to the connector 42 via the cable 31.
0 is connected.

In this embodiment, electronic endoscope u! NTSC output from 1
Video signals such as signals are transmitted by using the light source connector 5.
The signal is then guided into the light source device 20 and sent to the monitor television 30 via a video signal connector 42 provided on the exterior of the light source device 20 .

According to this embodiment, the electronic endoscope 1 is simply connected to the light source device 20 by the light source connector 5, and connection and removal are facilitated.

Other functions and effects of the configuration 1 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, an ultra-compact monitor television 45 using a liquid crystal display or the like, which has become rapidly popular in recent years, is attached to the operating section 3 of the electronic endoscope 1. The NTSC signal gW video signal output from the signal processing circuit 13 is input to this monitor television 45, and the video is displayed. Further, the power source of the monitor television 45 is the same as the power source of the electronic endoscope 1. That is, monitor television 4
5 is supplied with power from a power supply circuit 23 in the light source device 20 through a power supply cable 18 inserted through the universal cord 4 .

Other functions and effects of the configuration 1 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram that does not show the configuration of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the first to third embodiments, the pulse generation circuit 12 and the signal processing circuit 13 were built into the operation 8113 of the electronic endoscope 1, but in this embodiment, these circuits 12 and 13 are connected to the light source connector. It is built into 5.

According to this embodiment, the operation section 3 can be made small and shaped like a rod, and the operability can be improved.

Other functions and effects of the configuration 1 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and for example, the video signal output from the electronic endoscope 1 does not necessarily need to be directly input to the monitor television 30. The information may be input to a monitor or a recording device via a processing device that performs the processing.

In this case, the video signal output from the electronic endoscope 1 is
Since the characteristics do not differ depending on the individual electronic endoscopes 1, the processing device does not need to perform adjustment or different processing depending on the type of electronic endoscope 1.

[Effect of the Invention 1] As explained above, according to the present invention, a signal processing means is provided on the electronic endoscope side, and a power supply circuit for supplying power to the signal processing means is provided on the light source device side. , it is possible to realize the functions of an electronic endoscope without using a large and expensive signal processing device, and there is also an effect that movement is facilitated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a first embodiment of the present invention! 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 4 are explanatory diagrams showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electronic endoscope device. 1...Electronic endoscope 3...Operation unit 11...
Solid-state VQ@element 12...Pulse generation circuit 13...
・Signal processing circuit 20...Light source device 23...Power supply circuit 30...Nanita TV Fan 1 Figure 2 Figure 4 Kabuto 3 Figure 65 Procedure Uichi Masagi Rip (self-initiated)

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electronic endoscope apparatus comprising an electronic endoscope having an imaging means and a light source device to which the electronic endoscope is connected and supplies illumination light to the electronic endoscope. A signal processing means for performing signal processing on the imaging means and outputting a video signal capable of displaying an image by the display means is provided on the side, and a power supply circuit for supplying power to the signal processing means on the light source device side. An electronic endoscope device characterized by being provided with.