JPH04982A - Remote image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize power saving by transmitting a driving signal to a solid- state image pickup element and A/D conversion output that is the output of the solid-state image pickup element with an optical fiber transmission means and providing a means to obtain the power source of the means at a remote image pickup device side. CONSTITUTION:Light from a light source device 26 is transmitted to another terminal by irradiating the end face on one side of a light guide 28, and the light emitted from the another terminal is emitted forward by an optical system 32, and also, part of it is supplied to a cylindrical solar battery plate 31, and feed energy in which part of illumination energy is converted is used as the power source of a camera head part 22. Also, a CCU part 24 converts a CCD driving signal to an optical pulse, and transmits it to a remote camera head part 22 via an optical fiber transmission line 25, and also, a CCD output signal as a signal image-picked up at a CCD 35 is converted to the optical pulse, and is transmitted to the CCU part 24 via the optical fiber transmission line 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a remote imaging device that transmits signals using optical transmission means.

[Prior Art] In recent years, solid-state imaging devices such as charge-coupled devices (hereinafter abbreviated as CCD) have come to be widely used in various imaging devices such as television cameras.

FIG. 13 schematically shows the internal configuration of the CCD 1 as a typical solid-state image sensor and the signal system necessary for driving.

In FIG. 13, each photodiode 2 arranged in a grid form forms a light receiving section (charge storage section) that photoelectrically converts an optical image. A vertical shift register 3 is arranged between the vertical photodiode rows, and guides the charges of the photodiodes 2 and sends them to a horizontal shift register 4. This horizontal transfer register 4 transfers the charges of the vertical shift register 3 to an output gate 5. CCD output signal CCD OUT is sent to the outside via buffer 6.

During this operation, signals φ■1 to φV4 are required to operate the vertical shift register 3, and signals φH1 and φH are required to operate the horizontal shift register 4.
2. Signals φR, VOG, and VLG are required when outputting to the outside. Further, VDD is used as a main power source for these devices.

Generally, the signals φ■1 to φ■4 are input as three-value pulses from the ellipse of the CCD 1, and the signals φH1 and φH2 are also input as binary or three-value pulses.

These signals φ■1 to φV4. CCD 1 operates only when each VLG is correctly input to CCDI.

Conventionally, solid-state imaging devices, particularly CCDs, which are representative of them, have been driven remotely, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-265.9.
No. 243 and JP-A No. 1-161943.

These contents are controlled by the camera control unit section (hereinafter referred to as CCU) as shown in FIG.
When outputting the various drive signals from the drive signal section 12, a method is adopted in which, after passing through the buffer 12a, a parallel circuit shown by a resistor R and a capacitor C is used to send out the waveform a with emphasized high-frequency components. The drive signal of this waveform a has a uniform waveform, with the high-frequency components sent out being canceled out at the receiving end by the equivalent capacitance and resistance that exist in the middle of the cable 13, which is several meters to several tens of meters long. It is designed to serve as a drive signal.

The power supply end of the CCD 10 is supplied with a voltage VCC higher than the power supply voltage VDD by a voltage drop α caused by the equidistant flow resistance 2 in the cable 13. In addition, the output signal of CCD10 is sent to amplifier 1 of CCU section 12 via a buffer and a resistor.
After being input to 5 and amplified, the video signal is processed! ! 41
6, the signal is processed and converted into a video signal, which is then output to a monitor (not shown).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In practical terms, the drive signal shown in FIG. 14 can be transmitted to the CCD camera head section 11 up to several tens of meters, but For each cable, there is an inconvenience that the degree of emphasis level by the resistor R and capacitor C must be changed each time.

Also, it is necessary to supply power with voltage VDD to the CCD 10, but at this time, since the cable 13 has a DC resistance of about 1 Ω per meter on the sending side of the 060 section 12, the length of the cable 13 must be Taking into account the voltage drop caused by the eccentric flow resistance Z, an extra voltage VCC of +α [V] must be supplied on the sending side.The voltage drop level due to the equal eccentric flow resistance Z in this cable 13 is , it varies depending on the length of the cable 13, so if the length differs, it is inconvenient that the sending side has to adjust it each time so that the optimum voltage VDD is obtained at the camera head section 11 on the receiving end side. was there.

In addition, the output signal of the CCD 10 is sent through a buffer of several meters to
When sending to the CCU section 12 several tens of meters apart, 000 copies 1
There is a terminating resistor on the 2 side to try to reduce the reactive loss between transmissions as much as possible, but this output signal is approximately 108H2
This is a high-frequency signal as described above, and due to the influence of the increase in the equivalent capacity of the cable 13, the waveform is actually considerably distorted, and the practical limit is several tens of meters.

In order to eliminate characteristic deterioration during the transmission of the output of the CCD 10, Japanese Patent Application No. 1-40903 proposes that the CCD output is A/D converted and converted into a digital optical signal.
It is proposed to send it to the side.

However, in this configuration, the C
As the cable 13 becomes longer, the CU power supply unit must add a correction voltage according to the length of the cable 13 and send it out.
There was an inconvenience that the sending voltage had to be adjusted (corrected).

As mentioned above, there are drawbacks to the emphasized transmission of the drive waveform and the corrected transmission of the power supply, but it is not enough to emphasize the emphasized transmission of the drive waveform as much as you like; , of course, cannot be transmitted, and due to the limitation of the dielectric strength of the transmission cable 13, the drive signal is emphasized, which leads to an increase in harmonic signals, resulting in EM
Several tens of meters is the practical limit due to limitations on I (electromagnetic interference), limits on the driving ability of the sending buffer 12a of the CCU section 12, and increased power consumption in the sending buffer 12a. Furthermore, regarding corrected power supply transmission, correcting the drop in DC resistance of the transmission cable 13 means correcting the power loss in the cable 13, so the CCU
Restrictions arise because the sending power source of the section 12 becomes larger.

Furthermore, when bending a long transmission cable, the DC resistance value changes due to changes in the environment, and the practical limit is still several tens of meters.
It becomes.

Furthermore, when transmitting a cable over a distance of several tens of meters or less, it is necessary to emphasize the drive waveform or change the correction output amount of the power supply voltage depending on the length of each cable, which makes it extremely difficult to There was no flexibility on the CCU part 1 part 2 device side.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and does not require emphasis on drive waveforms or corrected transmission of power supply voltage, and can be applied to transmission lines over long distances. An object of the present invention is to provide a remote imaging device that enables lower power consumption at a remote location.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In the present invention, in a remote imaging device such as a camera head that incorporates a solid-state image sensor driven by a drive signal transmitted by an optical fiber cable, the output signal of the solid-state image sensor is digitalized. a conversion means for converting into data; a transmission means for converting the output signal from the conversion means into optical pulses; supplying the optical pulses to one end face of the optical fiber cable and transmitting the same to the signal processing device; By providing a separate power supply means for supplying power to the remote imaging device, it becomes unnecessary to emphasize the drive signal or correct the power supply voltage in conventional devices, and it is possible to drive the remote imaging device over long distances.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a general view of the apparatus including the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, an imaging device 21 sends a drive signal 2 to a CCD camera head section 22 as a remote imaging device in the first embodiment.
3 (see Figure 1), and a 000 section 24 that receives signals sent from the camera head section 22 and performs signal processing, and an optical fiber transmission section that transmits signals between the camera head section 22 and the CCU section 24. 25, a light source device 26 that generates illumination light, and a TV monitor 27 that displays the video signal output from the CCU section 24.

The optical fiber transmission line 25 is, for example, several tens of meters or longer, and is composed of, for example, 17 small diameter fibers, and together with a light guide 28 that transmits the illumination light from the light source 26, a cable 29 (see FIG. 3) It is inserted inside. A camera head 22 is attached to the tip of this cable 29, and as shown in FIG. 2, it is inserted into a vibrator 30 or the like so that the inner wall of the pipe can be inspected.

As shown in FIG. 3, this camera head section 22 has a cylindrical sun! on the front of the head body. 8! ! It has a structure in which a plate 31 can be attached, and an illumination optical system 32 installed in front of the tip end surface of the light guide 29 illuminates a part of the inner circumferential surface of the solar cell plate 31 and emits illumination light forward. It's Nishide. The light that illuminates this solar cell plate 31 is converted into electrical energy, and the electrode 3
3 supplies power to the camera head section 22.

In addition, an observation optical system (
An objective optical system (objective optical system) 34 is attached, and a CCD 35 is disposed at the imaging position of the observation optical system 34 to photoelectrically convert the formed image.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the main parts of the remote imaging device 21. As shown in FIG.

The light source device 26 uses a condensing optical system 39 to irradiate illumination light from a lamp 38 that is lit with power from a power source 37 onto one end surface of the light guide 28 . The illumination light transmitted by this light guide 28 is further emitted from the distal end surface via an illumination optical system 32. The 000 section 24 generates a drive signal 23 for driving the CCD 35 by a drive signal generation section (not shown). The drive signal 23 includes horizontal drive pulses φhl, φh2, reset pulse φr, and vertical drive pulses φvl, . . . , φv5.

Each drive signal drives a light emitting diode (hereinafter abbreviated as LED) 41 through an inverter and a resistor, causing it to emit light in a pulsed state, and the electrical drive signal is converted into an optical drive signal to refine the optical fiber transmission line 25. One end face (transmission side end face) of each optical fiber is irradiated. The light pulses transmitted through each optical fiber are received by the phototransistor 42 facing the other end face, that is, the receiving end face, and converted into an electrical signal. The collector of the phototransistor 42 is connected to a voltage generator 43 that generates power supply voltages for various signals necessary to drive the CCD 35, and the emitter is grounded to GND via a resistor.
It is connected to the CCD 35 and the ternary pulse synthesizer 44. This ternary pulse synthesizer 44 receives input drive signals φv1~
Signals φ■1 to φV4 for driving the CCD 35 are generated from φv5 and supplied to the CCD 35.

The voltage generating section 43 generates various power supply voltages using the power from the solar cell plate 31.

The CCD 35 has drive signals φH1, φH2, φR1φV
The photoelectrically converted signal charges are read out by 1, . This A/D converter 46 converts it into, for example, an 8-bit digital signal, which is sent from each conversion terminal via a resistor to the LE.
The light is supplied to the D47 and causes it to emit light in a pulsed manner. This light pulse is transmitted through optical fiber F#! 25 are transmitted through each optical fiber, and 600 copies 24 of each phototransistor 48
It is photoelectrically converted. The digital signal photoelectrically converted by each phototransistor 48 is input to a D/A converter 49 and converted into an analog signal.

Conversion clock f ADCL of this A/D converter 49
K is input to the D/A converter 49 via the inverter 51. Moreover, this conversion clock f ADCLK is
The LED 52 is caused to emit light in a pulsed manner via an inverter and a resistor, and this pulsed light is transmitted via an optical fiber, photoelectrically converted into an electric pulse by a phototransistor 53 in the camera head 22, and then sent to the A/D. converter 4
6 is used as the A/D conversion clock.

The analog signal converted by the D/A converter 49, that is, the CCD output signal, is input to the video signal processing circuit 54, where the video signal is processed to become a video signal, which is output to the external TV monitor 27, and displays the subject imaged by the CCD 35. Play color.

In this first embodiment, the light from the light source device 26 is transmitted to the optical system 3.
9 illuminates one end surface of the light guide 28, transmits the light to the other end through the light guide 28, and the light emitted from the other end is emitted forward by the optical system 32, and part of it is shaped into a cylindrical shape. One feature is that a part of the illumination light energy is converted into power supply energy, and this power supply energy is used as a power source for the camera head section 22. (In recent years, the conversion efficiency of solar cells has made remarkable progress and has reached about 20%.) The 600 unit 24 also converts the CCD drive signal into light pulses and transmits them via the optical fiber transmission line 25. The CCD output signal as a signal captured by the CCD 35 is also converted into a light pulse and transmitted to the 600 part 24 via an optical fiber transmission i ¥825. This is one of its characteristics.

The optical fiber transmission line 25 (each optical fiber that refines it) is
It has wideband transmission characteristics, and for example, a driving pulse converted into an optical pulse is transmitted almost instantaneously at the transmitting end and receiving end of the 600 part 24, and the frequency of various pulses due to the group delay characteristics that occur in coaxial cables etc. The time lag at the receiving end of the camera head unit 22 due to the difference can now be ignored,
No waveform deterioration occurs. Therefore, there is an advantage that processing such as emphasizing the drive waveform according to the length of the optical fiber transmission line 25 is not required.

The operation of this first embodiment will be explained below.

In the 600 unit 24, the drive signals φhl, φh2φr and φv
1 to φV5 cause the LED 41 to emit light, and each is transmitted to the camera head section 22 via an optical fiber with almost no signal waveform deterioration. Camera head section 22
The various driving buffers that have reached the phototransistor 42
each is converted into an electrical signal.

The voltage generating section 43 generates and stabilizes various voltages necessary for the CCD 35 using a power source VHAIN generated from energy from the solar cell plate 31. Various voltages are supplied to the CCD 35, ternary pulse synthesis section 44, A/D converter 46, and phototransistor 42 to maintain each of them in a stable operating state. For example, the power supply voltage vh generated by the voltage generator 43 is supplied to the collector of the phototransistor 42 that photoelectrically converts the optical pulses of the drive pulses φhl and φh2. The drive pulses φH1 and φH2 output from the emitter of the phototransistor 42 are applied to the CCD 35.
is applied to Similarly, the drive pulse φr is optically transmitted,
A power supply voltage Vr is applied as a drive pulse φR to the CCD 35 via a phototransistor 42 whose collector is supplied. Further, the drive pulses φ■1 to φ■5 are also optically transmitted, and are inputted to the ternary pulse synthesis unit 44 via the phototransistor 42 whose collector is supplied with the power supply voltage Vv, and the power supply voltages Vtl, VH, and VL are used. and synthesize each of them,
Drive pulses φVl, φV2. φV3. Generate φv4,
It is input to the CCD 35.

Note that the drive pulses φH1, φ■42. φR1φV1~φ■
Since each of the four pulses is processed as a light pulse by propagating through the optical fiber transmission line 25, no time lag occurs between the pulses.

Further, the CCD output signal output from the CCD 35 is input to the A/D converter 46 via the buffer 45 and converted into a digital signal. This digital signal is
It is converted into a light pulse at D47, propagates through the optical fiber, and returns to the 000 unit 24.

In this 000 section 24, the phototransistor 48 converts the photoelectrically into electric pulses, and then the D/A converter 49
is input into the system and converted back to an analog signal. This analog signal, that is, the CCD output signal, is processed by the video processing circuit 154 to become a video signal, which is displayed on the TV monitor 27.

According to this first embodiment, digital data such as a drive signal to the CCD 35 and a CCD output signal are transmitted through a transmission path using an optical fiber, and the energy of the camera head section 22 is converted into photoelectric light by its own illumination light. Therefore, no matter how long the optical fiber transmission line 25 connecting the 000 part 24 and the camera head part 22 is, it is necessary to drive the CCD 35 appropriately and control the CCD output. Transmission to the 000 section 24 becomes possible.

In addition, as an advantage of this configuration, the camera head section 2
2 is in principle insulated from the 000 part 24. Also,
Since the drive signal is not emphasized more than necessary, harmonic components are less likely to appear, which is desirable from an EMI perspective.
Since the sending buffer from 4 only needs to drive the LED 41, the power consumption of the 600 part 24 side can be reduced and the size can be reduced.

Furthermore, it is not necessary to send out power from the 600 section 24 side.

As described above, the 600 unit 24 side can be made flexible with respect to the length of the transmission path up to the camera adapter 22.

Further, in the first embodiment, the 000 part 24 and the camera head part 2
The distance between the light guides 28 and 2 can be up to the maximum amount of light energy that the light guide 28 can supply to the solar cell plate 31. If a fiber with a low optical attenuation rate is used for the light guide 28 and the power of the light source device 26 is increased, it is possible to extend the distance up to several hundred meters.

Incidentally, the camera head section 22 in this first embodiment can also be refined using an electronic endoscope.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

Is this second embodiment the same as the first embodiment? It does not have the light source device 26 in ff21, and is instead used under the illumination of external illumination means 61.

As is clear from a comparison between FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the same refinement elements as in FIG. 4 are used except for the light source device 26, light guide 28, and illumination optical system 32 in FIG. 1, and their functions are as follows. are also the same and are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, the solar cell plate 31 converts the light energy from the external illumination means 61 into electrical energy and supplies it to the camera head section 22 .

This second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it does not have a self-illumination system.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the external illumination means 61 causes the solar cell plate 31 to generate electricity and supply electrical energy to the camera head section 22. An example of the refinement of the camera head section 22 of this second embodiment is shown in FIG.

A solar cell plate 31 is provided on the cylindrical exterior portion of the camera head portion 22, and a solar cell plate 31 is also provided on the outside of the cylindrical hood prepared for powering up (if necessary). The illumination energy of the external illumination means 61 is converted into electric energy to be purified so that it can be used as a power source.

Further, FIG. 6 shows an example of use of this second embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the camera head section 22 is used as a monitoring camera inside a tunnel 62. In the event of a disaster, etc., an optical fiber transmission line 25 is installed inside a pipe as thin as several hundred meters. By passing the camera head section 22 through the tip of the tunnel and sending it into the tunnel, you can observe the desired location. This second embodiment does not have a self-illumination system (e.g., by the lamp 62 that emits light from an AC power source).
Requires external lighting means 61. If there is an environment where external lighting means 61 can be expected like this, 000 copies 2
The length of the transmission path between 4 and the camera head section 22 is approximately several tens of kilometers.
It can be set up to.

In the first embodiment, the reason for the usage limit is that the longer the light energy transmission distance to the solar cell plate 31 of the self-illumination system, the less the power generated by the solar cell becomes, and the more energy is required to supply power to the camera head section 22. The length limit was as follows.

In this second embodiment, this factor does not exist. The limiting factor for the length in this second embodiment is the optical dispersion phenomenon (mode dispersion) of the optical pulse propagating through the optical fiber transmission line 25.
(material dispersion, structural dispersion, etc.), the high frequency component is attenuated, and the phototransistor 48 on the side receiving the optical pulse is turned on/off.
○The limiting factor is whether the FF can operate accurately or not.

For example, in communication fiber cables used for ISDN, the transmission characteristics of graded index type (GI type) optical fiber cables used in F-32M and F-100M systems have a non-repeater transmission distance of approximately 20 to 30 kIl.
I've come up with something as large as 1. If you use a transmission line like this, 0
00 part 24 and camera head part 22 are approximately 20 to 30kl
It becomes possible to perform an imaging operation at a distance of up to 1.

FIG. 7 shows another usage example of the second embodiment, which is used for home use, and is used as a door camera. Since the camera head 22 does not have a self-illumination system, it uses the light of the sun 63 as an external illumination means during the daytime, and uses the external lamp light 64 as an energy source at night.

The thick 11M battery plate 31 (in this case, it has a flat plate shape) supplies power to the camera head section 22 that does not generate electricity. The camera head section 22 and two CCU sections installed indoors are connected via an optical fiber transmission line 25 installed in a four-way building. In this way, it can also be applied to home security.

As described above in the second embodiment, by supplying power from the solar cell plate 31 to the camera head section 22 using external illumination light, the optical fiber transmission line 25 with the 000 section 24 can reach up to approximately 20 to 301V. This is possible without broadcasting. Of course, if the optical fiber transmission path length is within this range, it is not necessary to emphasize the CCD drive waveform as in the first embodiment, so a flexible remote imaging device that is not affected by the transmission path length can be realized.

Note that as the solar cell (plate), a crystalline Si solar cell or an amorphous Si solar cell can be used, but any solar cell may be used. Further, the solar cell may be an integrated type solar cell as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-21827, or a stacked type solar cell as shown in USPNa427132B. Also, camera spatula 22
The power can be supplied not only by direct power supply from the solar battery, which is carried out only when there is external lighting, but also by a method in which the energy generated by the solar battery is stored in the battery and then supplied to the camera head section 22 using a storage battery. .

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the invention.

This third embodiment differs from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that the camera head 22 does not have the solar cell plate 31, and
Instead, it has a structure including a battery 65. The rest is the same as the second embodiment.

The battery 65 is replaceable as shown in FIG. 9, for example. As shown in FIG. 9(a), a battery (pad) 65 with a recess that can be attached to the rear end of the camera head section 22 has an electrode on the front end, and can be attached as shown in FIG. 9(b). As a result, power is supplied to the camera head 22 via the electrode.

In this third embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 8, the energy supplied to the camera head section 22 does not depend on the illumination light. The camera head unit 2 is powered by energy supplied from the battery 65.
2 works.

As for the usage environment, as long as there is enough lighting to satisfy the minimum object illuminance of the CCD 35, sufficient observation can be made for several tens of minutes.

The limiting factor for the transmission distance between the 000 section 24 and the camera head section 22 in the third embodiment is exactly the same as the limiting factor described in the second embodiment, and is due to the dispersion phenomenon of the optical transmission path.
As in the second embodiment, it is possible to perform imaging operations up to approximately 20 to 30 km without relaying, and of course there is flexibility in setting the distance between the 000 section 24 and the camera head section 22. However, since the third embodiment employs a battery system, there is a limit to the imaging duration, but there is an advantage in that imaging can be performed even in a low-light environment that satisfies the minimum object illuminance of the CCD 35.

Further, since the camera head section 22 is constructed without using the solar cell plate 31 used in the first and second embodiments, a miniaturized camera head section can be realized by using a vapor battery or the like.

Furthermore, since the first, second, and third embodiments all use batteries as power sources, the S/N ratio of the CCD output is better than that of the prior art.

FIG. 10 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, instead of the battery 65 in the third embodiment, an AC/DCC/type converter 71, which converts alternating current to direct current, is used.

The rest is the same as the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a specific example of the configuration of the fourth embodiment.

An AC/D
A connector is provided to which a power supply plug 72 attached to a DC power cable extending from the CC/type connector 71 can be attached. In addition, by attaching the AC plug 73 attached to the AC power cable extending from the AC/DCC/type-ta 71 to a commercial power outlet, the camera head unit 2
2 is supplied with a predetermined power supply.

Further, FIG. 12 shows an example of the use of FIG.
The unit 24 is connected via an optical fiber transmission line 25 to a camera head unit 22 located at each office or the like. In this case, an AC plug 73 is connected to a commercial power source installed in a business office or the like, and a predetermined DC power is supplied to the camera head section 22 via an AC/DCC/type converter 71.

This fourth embodiment is basically the same as the third embodiment, except that an image can be captured if there is illumination equal to or higher than the minimum object illumination level of the CCD 35, and in the third embodiment, an image can only be captured for the duration of the battery 65. are improving. The possible distance between the 000 part 24 and the camera head part 22 is approximately 20 to 30 km without relaying, as in the third embodiment.
If the distance setting between the 00 section 24 and the camera head section 22 is within this range, the CCU section 2 side and the 4 side will have flexibility.

Note that it is also possible to refine different embodiments by combining the above-mentioned embodiments.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the drive signal to the solid-state image sensor and the A/D conversion output of the output of the solid-state image sensor, that is, the digital data, are transmitted by optical fiber transmission means, and Since the remote imaging device side has a means to obtain its power, it can be used even when it is several IQkIl away from the signal processing device side, and there is no need to correct the power supply voltage depending on the cable length, which saves money. Electrification can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 to 3 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a configuration diagram of the main parts including the first embodiment, Figure 2 is an overall diagram of the device including the first embodiment, Figure 3 is an external view of the first embodiment, and Figures 4 to 7 are the main parts. Regarding the second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is an external view of the first embodiment, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of use of the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another usage example of the second embodiment, FIGS. 8 and 9 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the third embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an external view of the third embodiment, FIGS. 10 to 12 are related to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an external view of the fourth embodiment. , FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of use, FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of COD, and FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional example. 21... Imaging device 22... (CCD) camera head unit 23... Drive signal 24...000 part 5.
...Optical fiber transmission line 26...Light source device 7...T
V monitor...Solar cell plate 35...CCD1.47.
...LED 2.48...Phototransistor 3...Voltage generation section 4...Ternary pulse synthesis section 6...A/D converter 6...D/A converter 1 Figure 11 Figure Video. Figure 13 Figure 14 Relationship with the case of the person who amends the name of the indicated invention in the case 4. Amendment of agent's address procedure (gi) 1990 Patent Application No. 102384 Remote imaging device

Claims (1)

[Claims] The solid-state image sensor can be connected to an imaging device control device including a drive signal generation means for generating a drive signal to the solid-state image sensor and a signal processing means for the output signal of the solid-state image sensor using an optical fiber cable. The built-in remote imaging device is driven by a drive signal transmitted in the form of optical pulses via the optical fiber cable, converts the output signal of the solid-state imaging device into digital data, and converts the output signal of the solid-state imaging device into digital data, which is then transmitted to the imaging device control device via the optical fiber cable. What is claimed is: 1. A remote imaging device comprising: a transmitter for transmitting data to the remote imaging device; and a power supply means for supplying power to the remote imaging device, which is separate from the imaging device control device.