JP2000245682A - Electronic endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To omit the manufacture, transportation and exchange work of a new ROM and to easily update the version of firmware program data in a form corresponding to the various kinds of conditions. SOLUTION: In a processor device 10 provided with firmware, a CPU 12 and both of exchangeably constituted EPROM 15 and flash ROM 16 for storing the firmware program data are provided. For the flash ROM 16, a notebook personal computer or the like is connected through an RS-232C interface 11 and the program data of a new version are transferred to the flash ROM 16 by a program Pa for data transfer. Then, which of the program data of the EPROM 15 and the flash ROM 16 are the latest version is judged and the latest program data are selected and executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a configuration for easily upgrading the version of a firmware program of an electronic endoscope apparatus having a scope and connecting various peripheral devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a conventional electronic endoscope apparatus. In FIG. 4, a scope 2 having a CCD 1 at a distal end is connected to a processor device 3, which includes a monitor 4, a video printer 5, a filing device 6, and other peripheral devices (such as a VTR). Connected. A digital video processor (DSP) for performing predetermined image processing on a video signal transmitted from the scope 2 in the processor device 3
7, a microcomputer 8, a ROM (UV-EPROM) 9 for storing firmware program data, and the like.

According to the above-mentioned electronic endoscope apparatus, the DSP 7 converts the video signal obtained by the CCD 1 at the tip of the scope 2 into a DSP signal.
, Necessary images are displayed on the monitor 4 on the basis of the video signal, and the images of the observed body are output to peripheral devices such as the video printer 5 and used. You. The control and management of the scope 2 and the peripheral devices (5, 6) are executed by firmware of the microcomputer 8 using program data and the like in the ROM 9.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned electronic endoscope apparatus, the functions of peripheral devices such as the above-mentioned video printer 5 and filing device 6 are frequently added and the performance thereof is improved. The performance has been improved and functions have been added, and the firmware needs to be upgraded accordingly. That is, if there is a function addition or performance improvement in the peripheral device or the scope 2, the command exchanged between these devices and the processor device 3 must be changed. Therefore, conventionally, the ROM 9 in the processor device 3 is replaced with a new upgraded ROM 9 in order to support the peripheral device and the scope 2 of the new command system.

[0005] However, in the replacement of the ROM 9 in the electronic endoscope apparatus, there are a work of manufacturing a new ROM that has been upgraded, a work of transporting the ROM, and a work of replacing the new ROM. There is a problem that it costs. For example, even in the above replacement work, after removing the power plug of the processor device 3 and removing the devices mounted on the processor device 3,
There is a task of removing the screws of the device housing, opening the lid, removing the ROM 9 attached to the socket, and replacing it with a new ROM 9. After that, there are operations to close the lid, attach screws, return other devices and so on, and plug in the power plug. Such an operation is complicated and causes a high cost.

[0006] In addition, in order to upgrade such a program, it is necessary to consider the locality, distribution, etc. of the device, or human resources involved in the upgrade work.
It is preferable to carry out in a form corresponding to various situations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to omit operations of manufacturing, transporting and exchanging a new ROM, to easily upgrade firmware program data, and to improve various situations. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope apparatus that can be performed in a form corresponding to the electronic endoscope.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic endoscope apparatus according to the present invention is configured to be replaceable in an electronic endoscope apparatus having a firmware in a control unit. A first memory for storing program data, a rewritable second memory for storing program data of the firmware, and data rewriting for rewriting data in the second memory with version-upgraded program data downloaded from an external device Control means; and selection control means for determining which of the program data in the first memory and the program data in the second memory is the latest version and selecting the latest program data. And Here, the version upgrade means improvement and update of the program in a broad sense, including correction of a bug or the like. Further, the first memory and the second memory include:
The read-only memory can be a read-only memory, and reads the program data of the firmware in a steady state such as when controlling and managing the processor and peripheral devices of the electronic endoscope apparatus.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to upgrade the version of the program stored in the rewritable second memory (for example, flash ROM) without replacing the memory. For example, a notebook personal computer as an external device is connected to the processor through the RS-232C interface, and the upgrade program data stored in the notebook personal computer is downloaded to the processor. Then, the processor writes the downloaded program data in the second memory for each predetermined capacity. This facilitates the exchange of firmware program data without determining whether the power is turned on or off.

Further, in this example, the first type of the conventional exchange type is used.
The control means determines which of the program data stored in the first memory and the second memory is the latest version, and selects the program data of the latest version of the memory. Will be executed. Therefore, not only when the downloaded program is the latest, but also when the program in the first memory for replacement is the latest, the program can be effectively used.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an electronic endoscope device (processor device) according to an embodiment. In this processor device 10, connection to peripheral devices or external devices is established. For this purpose, an RS-232C (or other communication format) interface 11 is provided.
A CPU (or microcomputer) 12 is connected to the interface 11. The CPU 12 executes a predetermined program, performs image processing of a video signal, and performs processing on a peripheral device 14.
And so on. This CPU 12 is connected to the same UV via an address bus and a data bus.
EPROM (read only memory-first memory) 15 and flash ROM (read only memory-second memory) 1
6 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 17 are connected. Then, at least the UV-EPROM 15 is mounted in such a manner that the ROM chip (15) is inserted into a socket so as to be replaceable. Note that a writable memory such as another nonvolatile memory can be used as the flash ROM 16.

In the CPU 12, the ROM 1
It is determined whether any one of the programs 5 and 16 is the latest program, and the latest program is controlled so as to be executed. In addition, the data transfer program stored in the flash ROM 16 is used to communicate with an external device. Control download between. The data bus is set to 0 [version number 0] by pulling down (provided by the number of data) via the resistor R1. Even if the EPROM 15 is disconnected from the socket, the program version number is set. Can be compared. Further, a delay line 18, a reset voltage setting circuit 19, and an AND circuit 20 for performing a self-reset are provided with an output terminal T1 and a reset terminal T1 of the CPU 12.
2 and placed between.

FIG. 2 shows an operation of rewriting the version-up program data in the CPU 12, and FIG. 3 shows an operation of selecting a program. First, FIG. I do. Rewriting the upgraded version of the firmware program data
For example, the data is stored in a notebook computer or the like, and the notebook computer is connected to the RS-232C interface 1.
1 is connected to the processor device 10 via the control unit 1.

In FIG. 2, at step 101, the RS
When the interruption of the −232C interface 11 is performed,
In the next step 102, it is determined whether or not the command is a control command for the peripheral device 14. If "Yes", the process proceeds to step 103, and a normal processing routine for the peripheral device 14 is executed. On the other hand, if "No" in step 102, the process proceeds to step 104, in which the internal normal processing is stopped, the data is saved, the processing in the scope is terminated, and the version upgrade program data is deleted. Execute a rewrite operation.

That is, in step 105, the data transfer program is copied (copied) from the flash ROM 16 to the RAM 17, and in the next step 106, the program counter is rewritten to the copied RAM 17, for example, to the head address. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, if the data transfer program Pa is stored in the flash ROM 16 from the address 9000 (H),
After copying the transfer program Pa to the RAM 17, the start address 10000 (H) is set in the program counter.

As a result, the above-described data transfer program Pa becomes executable, and thereafter, transfer (download) of the program data is started. That is,
In the next step 107, it is determined whether or not the transfer of the program data has been completed. Further, in step 108, it is determined whether or not the data has not been input.
Since both are "No", the process proceeds to step 109, and the input program is sequentially copied to the RAM 17 as a temporary save memory.

In this example, the data stored in the RAM 17 is copied to the ROM 16 for each predetermined capacity unit due to the nature of writing data to the flash ROM 16.
The program data is stored every 6 kbytes (this unit is arbitrary). Therefore, in step 110, it is determined whether or not the evacuation RAM 17 has free space.
In the case of No ", that is, when 256 kbytes of data have been stored, the process proceeds to step 111 to copy (overwrite copy) the 256 kbytes of program data to the flash ROM 16. Thus, the program data has a predetermined capacity Each time, it is sequentially moved and copied from the RAM 17 to the ROM 16.

When the transfer from the notebook computer is completed, a transfer (download) end signal is output. When the transfer end signal is received by the CPU 12, "Yes" is obtained in step 107. Move to step 112. In this step 112, it is determined whether or not the program data remains in the RAM 17, and if it remains (No), the program proceeds to step 11
In step 3, for example, the odd part in the E area of the RAM 17 is set to N
Fill with ULL. Then, in step 114, the remaining data is copied to the flash ROM 16 in a predetermined capacity unit, whereby the download of the firmware program data ends.

In the next step 115, the self-reset terminal T2 is set to Low, and thereafter, the process proceeds to a dummy loop of step 116 in which the reset time waits. That is, in FIG. 1, the AND circuit 20 is set to High by the reset voltage setting circuit 19, and the terminal T
1 is also set to High, but this terminal T1 is set to Lo.
to w. Then, the output of the AND circuit 20 becomes Low.
To set the reset terminal T2 to Low. As a result, the CPU 12 self-resets, and RA
In addition to clearing the data in M17, the start address of the program counter is
Return to the initial state. The initial state can be set by a program without performing the self-reset as described above.

When the power of the electronic endoscope apparatus is actually turned on, the main operation shown in FIG. 3 is executed. In step 201 in FIG. 3, the version numbers of the programs stored in the EPROM 15 and the flash ROM 16 are read, and it is determined whether the version number of the ROM 15 is older than the version number of the program in the flash ROM 16 (which is the latest). I do. And EPR
If the version of the OM 15 is older (the number is smaller) (Yes), the flash ROM 16
The processing is performed using the program contents of the flash ROM 16
If the version is older (No), step 20
In step 4, processing is performed using the program contents of the EPROM 15.

That is, when the download operation cannot be performed using the external device, or due to the distribution, the EPROM 15
There are various situations, such as when it is easy to obtain, and a newer version of the EPROM 15 than the flash ROM 16 may be attached. Therefore, the present invention relates to RO
Flash ROM 1 to eliminate the complexity of M replacement work
In addition to allowing the program 6 to be rewritten to a new version, if it is more convenient to replace the EPROM 15, the replacement EPROM 15 can be used.

In this example, the data bus is pulled down (set to 0) as described above,
Even if 15 is not attached, it is possible to determine whether the above version is new or old. That is, the CPU 12
Went to read the version number, this EPROM
If the number 15 is missing, data 0 is read, and the number (1 or more) of the flash ROM 16 is always determined to be the latest.

Further, in this example, the firmware program of the processor device 10 is targeted. Can be.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An electronic endoscope device is provided with a replaceable first memory and a rewritable second memory for storing program data, and the second memory is provided with an upgrade program downloaded from an external device. Be rewritten with data. Then, it is determined which of the program data in the first memory and the second memory is the latest version, and the latest program data is selected.
The work of transportation and replacement is omitted, and the firmware program data can be easily upgraded. In addition, even when an upgraded version of the conventional exchangeable ROM is used, there is an advantage that the program of the ROM can be used and the upgrade can be performed in a form corresponding to various situations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of an electronic endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a ROM version-up operation in a CPU according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a program selection operation of two ROMs in the CPU of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional electronic endoscope device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Scope, 3, 10 Processor, 9 ROM (UV-EPROM), 11 RS-232C interface, 12 CPU, 14 Peripheral equipment, 15 UV-EPROM, 16 Flash ROM, 17 RAM , T2 ... Reset terminal.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H040 BA00 DA22 GA02 4C061 AA00 BB10 CC06 DD00 HH60 JJ11 LL02 NN07 YY01 YY04 YY12 YY14 YY18 YY20

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic endoscope apparatus having a firmware in a control unit, a first memory configured to be replaceable and storing program data of the firmware, and a rewritable second memory storing program data of the firmware. A memory; data rewriting control means for rewriting data in the second memory with version-upgraded program data downloaded from an external device; and which one of the program data in the first memory and the program data in the second memory is the latest. Selection control means for determining whether the version is the latest version and selecting the latest program data.