Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
  • A61B1/04—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor combined with photographic or television appliances
  • A61B1/05—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor combined with photographic or television appliances characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an electronic endoscope and an endoscope system using the same, and more particularly, to a circuit configuration included in the electronic endoscope.
• an imaging device 100 disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an optical glass 110, a CCD chip 120, and a laminated circuit board 130, as shown in FIG.
• the CCD 120 is connected to the wiring of the multilayer circuit board 130 by the tab terminal 122.
• a cavity 132 is formed on the laminated circuit board 130, a small chip component 140 is mounted in the cavity 132, and a large chip component 150 is mounted above the cavity 132.
• the chip components 140 and 150 are transistors and capacitors that process an imaging signal from the CCD.
• Patent Document 2 discloses a circuit board for protecting an electronic component mounted on a circuit board of an imaging device from external environmental forces such as mechanical and electrical shocks and air-thermal shocks. Improves the viscosity of the sealant for the mounted electronic components.
• FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope system.
• the endoscope system 200 includes an electronic endoscope 210, and an external control device 230 connected to the electronic endoscope 210 via a cable 220.
• the electronic endoscope 210 constitutes a so-called scope distal end portion, and this portion is inserted into a human body, where an image of a desired affected part is taken.
• the external control device 230 forms a so-called scope terminal unit, receives a signal captured by the electronic endoscope 210 via the cable 220, and displays the signal on a display or the like. Further, a control signal for controlling the operation of the electronic endoscope 210 is transmitted via the cable 220. Scope In addition to the electronic endoscope, the tip of the scope is operated to cut off cells, polyps, etc. The operation unit may be remotely controlled by the external control device 230.
• Patent Document 1 JP-A-2002-76314
• Patent Document 2 JP-A-8-146308
• the electronic endoscope system 200 has a configuration in which an analog signal captured by the electronic endoscope 210 is transmitted to the external control device 230 via the cable 220. If the wiring of 220 becomes long, the noise included in the analog signal becomes large, and as a result, the image of the affected part displayed on the display by the external control device 130 deteriorates!
• the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides an electronic endoscope capable of reducing noise of an imaging signal transmitted from the electronic endoscope, and an endoscope system using the same.
• the purpose is to:
• An electronic endoscope includes a solid-state imaging device, a circuit board on which at least one semiconductor device for processing signals from the solid-state imaging device is mounted, and a semiconductor device mounted on the circuit board.
• a connection terminal for making an electrical connection with an external control device, wherein the at least one semiconductor device is a digital conversion circuit that converts an analog imaging signal from a solid-state imaging device to a digital imaging signal;
• the circuit includes a parallel Z-serial conversion circuit that converts a digital signal input in parallel to a serial signal. Further, the parallel Z serial conversion circuit
• the external controller converts the serially input digital signal into a parallel signal.
• At least one semiconductor device includes an amplifier circuit for amplifying an analog image signal of the solid-state image sensor, and the analog image signal amplified by the amplifier circuit is supplied to the digital conversion circuit.
• the at least one semiconductor device includes a control circuit electrically connected to the parallel Z-serial conversion circuit, and the control circuit includes a control signal output from the parallel Z-serial conversion circuit card. May control at least one of a solid-state imaging device, an amplifier, and a digital conversion circuit.
• At least one semiconductor device includes a driver circuit for driving a solid-state imaging device, and the driver circuit may be driven by a control signal of the control circuit power.
• At least one semiconductor device may include an oscillation circuit for generating a clock signal, and the control circuit may output the control signal in response to the clock signal of the oscillation circuit.
• An endoscope system includes the above-described electronic endoscope, and an external control device electrically connected to a connection terminal of the electronic endoscope via a cable.
• the serial-to-parallel converter converts the serial-converted digital signal into a serial output.
• the signal is supplied to the parallel Z-serial conversion circuit of the electronic endoscope via the cable, and the serial-converted digital signal from the parallel z-serial conversion circuit of the electronic endoscope is received via the cable.
• the electronic endoscope is configured to convert an analog image signal into a digital signal and transmit the digital image signal, it is possible to improve the noise resistance of the image signal transmitted from the electronic endoscope. it can. As a result, even if the cable connecting the electronic endoscope and the external control device becomes long, it is possible to display a high-quality image of the imaging portion on the display.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• an electronic endoscope 1 includes a protective glass 10 and a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD or a CMOS sensor. It is configured to include an element 12 and a circuit board 14.
• the solid-state imaging device 12 is electrically connected to predetermined circuit wiring on a circuit board using a tab terminal or the like as in the related art.
• a plurality of semiconductor devices 16, 18, and 20 are mounted on opposing surfaces of the circuit board 14, respectively.
• each of the semiconductor devices 16, 18, and 20 is constituted by a wafer-level CSP (chip size package), and each is electrically connected to predetermined circuit wiring of the circuit board 14.
• These semiconductor devices include a circuit that processes an imaging signal from the solid-state imaging device 12 and that processes a signal transmitted from an external control device, as described later.
• connection terminals 22 and 24 are connected to an end of the circuit board 14. One end of the pair of connection terminals 22 and 24 is electrically connected to predetermined circuit wiring on the circuit board, and the other end is electrically connected to a cable (see FIG. 2) connected to an external control device.
• the protective glass 10, the solid-state imaging device 12, the circuit board 14, the semiconductor devices 16, 18, and 20, and the connection terminals 22 and 24 are housed in a cylindrical casing (not shown) together with other optical lenses. The inside is filled with a sealant.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the electronic endoscope 1 according to the first embodiment.
• the electronic endoscope 1 includes a solid-state imaging device 12, an AZD converter 30 that receives an analog imaging signal from the solid-state imaging device 12, converts the analog imaging signal into a digital imaging signal, and a parallel Z-serial. It has a variable 32 and a control unit 34.
• the AZD converter 30 is constituted by the circuit of the semiconductor device 16
• the parallel Z serial converter 32 is constituted by the circuit of the semiconductor device 18.
• the control unit 34 is configured by the circuit of the semiconductor device 20, and for example, an FPGA or the like can be used.
• a digital signal input in parallel from the AZD conversion 30 is converted into a serial output, and this is supplied to the connection terminal 22.
• the connection terminal 24 also converts the serially input digital signal into a parallel output and outputs this to the control unit 34.
• the controller 34 receives the digital signal from the parallel / serial converter 32 and controls the operations of the AZD converter 30 and the solid-state imaging device 12 in response to the digital signal.
• the external control device 50 at the end of the scope is electrically connected to the electronic endoscope 1 via a cable 58.
• the external control device 50 includes a power supply 52, a parallel-to-serial converter 54, a DSP 56, and the like.
• the electronic endoscope 1 and the external controller 50 are It is electrically connected via the bull 58.
• the cable 58 is connected to the power supply 52 and includes a power line 60 for supplying power, and signal lines 62 and 64 connected to the connection terminals 22 and 24. In the drawing, the power line 60 is shown by a broken line to distinguish it from the signal line.
• the serial Z-parallel converter 54 converts a digital signal input in parallel from the DSP 56 into a serial output, and supplies this to the connection terminal 24 via the cable 58. Also, it receives a digital signal that has been serial-converted from the parallel / serial converter 32 via a cable, converts this to a parallel output, and supplies it to the DSP 56.
• the DSP 56 performs image processing on a digital imaging signal supplied from the electronic endoscope 1 and generates a digital control signal for controlling the operation of the electronic endoscope 1.
• the external control device 50 is further connected to another external control device, outputs a digital imaging signal to the other external control device, and responds to a digital control signal from the other external control device.
• the electronic endoscope 1 may be controlled.
• the DSP 56 generates a digital control signal required for operations such as the exposure time and the driving time of the solid-state imaging device 12, and the digital control signal is input to the serial Z-parallel converter 54 in parallel.
• the serial Z-parallel converter converts a digital control signal input in parallel to a serial output.
• the converted digital signal is supplied to the parallel / serial converter via the signal line 64 of the cable 58 and the connection terminal 24.
• the normal-to-serial converter 32 converts the digital control signal input serially into a parallel output, and outputs this to the control unit 34.
• the control unit 34 controls the solid-state imaging device 12 and the AZD converter 30 based on the input digital control signal, and adjusts the exposure time and the drive timing.
• an analog imaging signal captured by the solid-state imaging device 12 is input to the AZD transformer 30, where it is converted to a digital imaging signal.
• the digitally converted image signal is input in parallel to a parallel-to-serial converter 34, where it is converted to a serial output.
• the converted digital signal is serially input to the serial-to-parallel converter 54 via the connection terminal 22 and the signal line 62 of the cable 58, where it is again converted to a parallel output and supplied to the DSP 56.
• DSP56 receives the digital imaging signal Perform the necessary signal processing based on the signal.
• the electronic endoscope 1 converts an analog imaging signal into a digital signal and transmits the digital signal, so that the electronic endoscope 1 is compared with a case where a conventional analog imaging signal is transmitted.
• the wiring of the cable 58 is lengthened, noise resistance can be improved.
• the solid-state imaging device 12 may include a circuit that performs correlated double sampling (CDS) for removing noise from the imaged signal power. Further, a digital signal on which a clock signal is superimposed is output from the serial / parallel converter 54 to the parallel Z serial converter 32 so that the external control device 50 and the electronic endoscope 1 become master / slave, and the control unit 34 Each unit may be controlled based on the timing in response to the clock signal. Further, the Noralel / Serial translator 32 and the Serial / Parallel translator 54 may be implemented, for example, by a serializer Z deserializer.
• CDS correlated double sampling
• FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the electronic endoscope.
• three semiconductor devices are mounted on a circuit board, and these constitute the AZD converter 30, the parallel Z-serial converter 32, and the control unit 34, but are not necessarily limited to such a form.
• a single semiconductor device 16a mounted on the circuit board 14 may include the plurality of circuits.
• the single semiconductor device 16a may be configured with a single semiconductor chip, or may be a multi-chip module including a plurality of semiconductor chips.
• FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
• the electronic endoscope according to the second embodiment includes an oscillator 70 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.
• the control unit 34 controls the AZD transformation and the operation of the solid-state imaging device 12 based on the clock signal generated by the oscillator 70. Thus, there is no need to supply a clock signal from the external control device 50 to the electronic endoscope 1.
• FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
• the electronic endoscope according to the third embodiment includes a driver circuit 72 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.
• the driver circuit 72 is fixed in response to a control signal from the control unit 34.
• the body imaging element 12 is driven at a predetermined drive voltage.
• the driving voltage swing is small, so that the driving by the driver circuit 72 is not necessarily required.
• FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
• the fourth embodiment includes the second embodiment and the third embodiment, that is, includes the oscillator 70 and the driver circuit 72.
• FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
• the fifth embodiment includes an amplifier 74 in addition to the components of the first embodiment.
• the amplifier 74 amplifies the analog imaging signal from the solid-state imaging device 12 and outputs this to the A / D converter 30.
• the amplifier 74 may be configured by connecting several stages of a source follower-type amplifier or including a differential amplifier.
• FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
• the sixth embodiment has an oscillator 70 and an amplifier 74 in addition to the components of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
• the seventh embodiment has a driver circuit 72 and an amplifier 74 in addition to the components of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
• the eighth embodiment includes an oscillator 70, a driver circuit 72, and an amplifier 74 in addition to the components of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.
• the ninth embodiment includes an amplifier 74 in addition to the first embodiment, and the operation of the amplifier 74 is controlled in response to a control signal from the control unit 34.
• FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.
• the tenth embodiment includes an oscillator 70 in addition to the components of the ninth embodiment.
• FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. The eleventh embodiment includes a driver circuit 72 in addition to the components of the ninth embodiment.
• FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.
• the twelfth embodiment has an oscillator 70 and a driver circuit 72 in addition to the components of the ninth embodiment.
• circuits of the second to twelfth embodiments described above may be configured in a single semiconductor device 16a, or may be configured to be divided into a plurality of semiconductor devices.
• the force endoscope system in which the electronic endoscope 1 configures the distal end of the scope and the external control device 50 configures the distal end of the scope It is not limited to such a configuration.
• another main control device 80 connected to the external control device 50 may be used, and the external control device 50 and the electronic endoscope 1 may be controlled by the main control device 80.
• a control signal 82 for image processing is transmitted from the main controller 80 to the external controller 50 to the DSP 56
• a signal 84 subjected to image processing is transmitted from the DSP 56 to the main controller 80. You can do it.
• the electronic endoscope and the electronic endoscope system using the same according to the present invention are used for medical endoscopes.
• it can be used in piping with limited space, or in machinery and equipment that poses a danger to the human body.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the electronic endoscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration of the electronic endoscope.
• FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic endoscope according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the electronic endoscope system of the present invention.
• FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional electronic endoscope.
• FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic endoscope system.
• Solid-state image sensor AZD strange

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Instruments For Viewing The Inside Of Hollow Bodies (AREA)
• Endoscopes (AREA)
• Studio Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34792363

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (5)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 2004
  • 2004-01-20 JP JP2004012075A patent/JP4386745B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-01-19 US US11/813,762 patent/US20090207240A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-01-19 WO PCT/JP2005/000599 patent/WO2005067784A1/ja not_active Ceased
  • 2005-01-19 EP EP05703836A patent/EP1745735A4/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events