JP2002200035A - Endoscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope system which can record good static images even in a case movement of an object is quick. SOLUTION: This endoscope system mainly comprises an endoscope 1, an endoscope 2, a light source 3, a TV camera 4 with built-in CCD 21, and a CCU 5. The light source 3 has a lamp unit 11 to selectively supply illumination light for static imaging and illumination light for dynamic imaging. The CCU 5 has a CPU 24 to control a lamp control circuit 12 of the light source 3 to selectively switch the illumination light for static imaging and the illumination light for dynamic imaging and to control a CCD driver so as to match an objective image lit up by the switched illumination light for static imaging to control operation of the CCD 21 of the TV camera 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly to a supply control section for supplying illumination light and an imaging control section for capturing a subject image illuminated by the illumination light by the supply control section. The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscope devices have been widely used in the medical and industrial fields. 2. Description of the Related Art Some endoscope apparatuses have an optical endoscope equipped with a television camera provided with an imaging unit in an eyepiece section. Some endoscope apparatuses use an electronic endoscope having an image pickup means at the distal end. The endoscope apparatus displays an endoscope image captured by an imaging unit on a monitor.

[0003] When an endoscopy is performed in the medical field using the above-mentioned endoscope apparatus, an operator often records a moving image or a still image so that a detailed diagnosis can be made later. Or get a hard copy.

Such an endoscope apparatus is disclosed in, for example,
As described in JP-A-47085, there has been proposed an apparatus having a recording means for recording a still image obtained as an endoscope image in a storage device such as a PC card. The endoscope apparatus can easily search and edit a still image in correspondence with a still image, and further compresses the still image as digital data by a still image extension unit to reduce deterioration of image quality,
The data is recorded in the storage device.

In general, in such an endoscope apparatus, it is better to increase the number of frames per second when shooting a moving image in order to smoothly move the subject and reduce flicker. For this reason,
NTSC (Natinal Ter), which is a general TV signal standard
evision System Comitee signal or PAL (Phase Alte
For the rnating line signal, the number of frames per second is increased using an interlaced scan (interlaced scan) method. For this reason, the endoscope apparatus uses a CCD compatible with an interlace scan (interlaced scan) method.

[0006] On the other hand, in recent years, with the rapid spread of digital cameras, the number of CCDs using progressive scan (all-pixel reading), which is more suitable for still image shooting, has increased. In such progressive scan CCDs, the number of pixels is increasing in order to capture still images with higher resolution. For this reason, the progressive scan type CCD needs to increase the number of frames per second in order to capture a moving image.

Therefore, when using the above-described progressive scan CCD, the endoscope apparatus needs to drive the progressive scan CCD at a higher operating frequency than the CCD corresponding to the NTSC signal or the PAL signal. is there.

[0008]

However, in the conventional endoscope apparatus, blurring of an image occurs when a still image is recorded, particularly when the subject moves fast. Further, in a conventional endoscope apparatus, when a full-frame still image is recorded using an interlaced scan type CCD, a blur due to a time difference between fields occurs, and it is difficult to obtain a good image. A conventional endoscope apparatus has a method of obtaining a still image by using information of only one of two fields constituting one frame in order to eliminate the blur between the fields. Nevertheless, the conventional endoscope apparatus has a problem that the image becomes dark when the image is taken at a high shutter speed in order to reduce the blur of the image.

Further, in the conventional endoscope apparatus, when a progressive scan type CCD is used, there is no blur between fields as compared with an interlace scan type CCD. However, the conventional endoscope apparatus has a problem in that, when the movement of the subject is fast, if the image is taken at a higher shutter speed, the image becomes darker.

In a general endoscope apparatus, an image sensor and a control circuit are separated. For this reason, it is necessary to transmit a control signal from the control circuit to the image sensor through a camera cable of several meters. Therefore, it is difficult for the conventional endoscope apparatus to drive a progressive scan CCD having generally high pixels at a high operating frequency.
For this reason, the conventional endoscope apparatus has a problem that when moving images are taken at a reduced number of frames per second without increasing the operating frequency of the CCD much, the movement of the subject is not smooth.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and has as its object to provide an endoscope apparatus capable of recording a good still image even when a subject moves fast.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an endoscope that emits illumination light for capturing a still image and illumination light for capturing a moving image. Illumination light supply means, an imaging means for imaging a subject image illuminated with illumination light from the illumination light supply means, illumination light for moving image imaging generated by the illumination light supply means, and the stationary An illumination light switching unit that selectively switches between illumination light for image capturing, and an illumination light switching unit that controls the illumination light switching unit to switch the illumination light for moving image imaging to the illumination light for still image imaging. And control means for controlling the operation of the image pickup means so as to match a subject image illuminated with illumination light for picking up a still image. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect, the control unit controls an exposure operation of the imaging unit. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect, the control unit controls an output operation of the imaging unit. With this configuration, it is possible to realize an endoscope apparatus that can record a good still image even when the subject moves fast.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 4 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the entire structure of the endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing the internal configuration of the endoscope device of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the internal configuration of the lamp unit of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing an internal configuration of the image storage memory of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment transmits an image of a subject, such as an affected part, to an eyepiece 2c provided above an operation section 2b by inserting an insertion section 2a into a body cavity. Endoscope (hereinafter simply referred to as an endoscope) 2, a light source device 3 for supplying illumination light to the endoscope 2, and an eyepiece 2 of the endoscope 2
b, an external TV camera (hereinafter, referred to as a TV camera) 4 having a built-in image pickup unit to be described later for picking up a subject image transmitted from the eyepiece 2b of the endoscope 2.
A CCU (camera control unit) 5 for performing signal processing on an image pickup signal obtained by the TV camera 4, and a display monitor (hereinafter, monitor) 6 for displaying an endoscope image based on the video signal processed by the CCU 5. Mainly composed of The CCU 5 and the light source device 3 are connected by a communication cable 7. The TV camera 4 and the CCU 5 are connected by a camera cable 4a.

The CCU 5 includes a front panel 5a.
And a recording medium slot 5b in which a recording medium such as a PC card is detachably mounted. In addition, PC card is P
This is a credit-sized peripheral device conforming to the C card standard, which was standardized in 1995 by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association and the Japan Electronics Industry Development Association. The CCU 5 has operation switches 5c such as freeze and release as operation means on the front panel 5a. The TV camera 4 has a remote switch 8 composed of a freeze switch 8a and a release switch 8b as operation means on the outer surface.

As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope 2 has a light guide cable 3a extending from the side of the operation section 2b, and is detachably connected to the light source device 3. Illumination light is supplied from 11. The lamp unit 11 is controlled by a lamp control circuit 12 as described later. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the lamp unit 11 selectively switches between illumination light for capturing a still image and illumination light for capturing a moving image.

Illumination light supplied from the lamp unit 11 of the light source device 3 is transmitted to the distal end side of the insertion section of the endoscope 2, and illuminates the subject from the exit surface through an illumination window. . The illuminated subject image is obtained by the endoscope 2
The light is taken in via an observation window (not shown) provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion, and transmitted to the eyepiece 2c by light guide means (not shown) such as a relay lens.
The subject image can be observed through an eyepiece (not shown) provided in the eyepiece 2c.

The subject image transmitted from the eyepiece 2c of the endoscope 2 is formed on the image plane of the CCD 21 which is an image pickup means built in the TV camera 4 by attaching the TV camera 4. , And an image is taken. still,
The CCD 21 used in the present embodiment is a CCD that reads out signals of all pixels by an interlace method based on the current TV broadcast (NTSC system).

The CCD 21 is connected to a CC in the CCU 5.
The driving is controlled by the D driver 22. The CCD driver 22 is driven by a CCD drive signal from a TG (timing generator) 23. The TG23 is C
It is controlled by a control signal from the PU 24. In addition, the T
G23 outputs various timing signals.

CCD 2 driven at a predetermined timing
1 photoelectrically converts the subject image formed on the image forming plane and accumulates electric charges. The electric charge accumulated in the CCD 21 is read out as an image signal by the CCD driver 22 in the CCU 5 and transmitted to the CCU 5. The CCD 21 used in the present embodiment has an electronic shutter function.

The imaging signal transmitted into the CCU 5 is
The signal is amplified by a predetermined gain in order to compensate for the loss caused by the transmission in the analog signal processing circuit 25 at the preceding stage, and correlated double sampling, adjustment of the gain and the like are performed to adjust the level of the imaging signal. After that, the signal is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 26 and input to the digital signal processing circuit 27. The digital signal processing circuit 2
The digital signal input to 7 is subjected to predetermined digital signal processing, and is converted into a digital video signal.

The digital video signal converted by the digital signal processing circuit 27 is input to an image storage memory unit 28 and written as moving image or still image digital data. The operation of the image storage memory unit 28 will be described later.
The digital data for moving image or still image written in the image storage memory unit 28 is switched to either one and output to the D / A conversion circuit 29. D / A
The conversion circuit 29 converts the output moving image or still image digital data from a digital signal to an analog signal, and outputs the digital signal to the subsequent analog processing circuit 30.

The latter-stage analog processing circuit 30
The analog video signal converted into an analog signal by the / A conversion circuit 29 is converted into a VBS signal (composite signal) or an analog RGB signal and output to the monitor 6.

As described above, the CCU 5 has the recording medium slot 5b into which the recording medium 31 such as a PC card is inserted. The CCU 5 stores the recording medium 31
And a digital image recording / compression circuit 32 for recording a still image. The digital image recording / compression circuit 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes conversion of digital still image data from the image storage memory unit 28 into a predetermined format under the control of the CPU 24. JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Gr)
oup) The still image is recorded on the recording medium 31 by performing compression or the like. The digital video signal from the digital signal processing circuit 27 is input to a detection circuit 33. The detection circuit 33 detects the brightness of the captured image based on the input digital video signal, and outputs the detection result to the dimming circuit 34.

The dimming circuit 34 determines whether the current brightness is to be made darker or brighter, based on the brightness result of the picked-up image detected by the detection circuit 33, and dims the determined result. The signal is output to the CPU 24 as a signal. The CPU 24 controls the light control circuit 3
4, the lamp unit 11 of the light source device 3 and the CCD 21 of the TV camera 4 are controlled by the dimming signal from
An image with the optimal brightness can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 24 operates the remote switch 7 of the TV camera 4 or the CC.
By pressing the operation switch 5c on the front panel of U5, the lamp control circuit 12 of the light source device 3 is controlled to selectively switch the illumination light for capturing a still image and the illumination light for capturing a moving image. CCD driver 2 adapted to the subject image illuminated by the illumination light for capturing a still image
2 to control the operation of the CCD 21 of the TV camera 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lamp unit 11 of the light source device 3 includes a normal illumination light lamp 41 for generating normal illumination light, a lamp power supply 41a for lighting the normal illumination light lamp 41, and a flash light. A flash light lamp 42 to be generated, a lamp power supply 42a for lighting the flash light lamp 42, a movable mirror 43 for switching between the normal illumination light and the flash light, and a mirror driving unit 43a for driving the movable mirror 43; A converging lens 44 condenses the illumination light from the movable mirror 43 and condenses it on the light incident end of the light guide 3b inserted into the light guide cable 3a.

The movable mirror 43 is in the position A when the normal illumination light of the normal illumination light lamp 41 is incident on the light incident end of the light guide 3b of the light guide cable 3a. The movable mirror 43 is connected to the mirror driving unit 4.
When it is moved by 3a, it moves to position B. Thereby, the normal illumination light of the normal illumination light lamp 41 is blocked, and the flash light of the flash light lamp 42 is instead incident on the light incident end of the light guide 3b of the light guide cable 3a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the image storage memory unit 28 of the CCU 5 includes a moving image memory 51 and a still image memory 52 for writing a digital video signal input from the digital signal processing circuit 27. A selector 53 for selecting data output from the moving image memory 51 and the still image memory 52 and outputting the selected data to the D / A converter 29;
And a buffer 54 for transmitting digital still image data to the buffer 54.

At the time of ordinary moving image shooting, a digital video signal from the digital signal processing circuit 27 is transmitted to the CPU 2.
Under the control of 4, the digital data is written in the moving image memory 51 as moving image digital data, and is read out at any time in the next field. The read digital data for a moving image is output to the D / A converter 29 as needed by the selection of the selector 53.

On the other hand, at the time of photographing a still image, the digital video signal from the digital signal
Under the control of 24, the digital data is written into the still image memory 52 as still image digital data for one field period,
It is stored temporarily. Under the control of the CPU 24, the still image digital data written in the still image memory 52 is read out in the next field. The read still image digital data is supplied to the selector 5 under the control of the CPU 24.
3 and is output to the D / A converter 29.

The still image digital data stored in the still image memory 52 is transmitted to the digital image recording / compression circuit 32 by turning on the buffer 54 under the control of the CPU 24. .

The operation of the thus configured endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The CPU 24 of the CCU 5
The operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the freeze switch 8a of the TV camera 4 is pressed, and a freeze signal is input. Then, CCU5 C
The PU 24 transmits a mirror switching signal to the lamp control circuit 12 of the light source device 3 via the communication cable 7 at a predetermined timing. The lamp control circuit 12, which has received the mirror switching signal, transmits a lighting signal to the lamp power supply 41a of the lamp unit 11 to turn on the flash lamp 42. At the same time, the lamp control circuit 12
A switch signal is transmitted to the light guide cable 3a, and the movable mirror 43 is driven such that the flash light from the illuminated flash light lamp 42 is incident on the light incident end of the light guide 3b of the light guide cable 3a. Then, the movable mirror 43 is moved to the position A.
Is moved by the mirror driving unit 43a from the state shown in FIG.
Go to The normal illumination light of the normal illumination light lamp 41 is blocked, and instead the flash light of the flash light lamp 42 is incident on the light incident end of the light guide 3b of the light guide cable 3a, and the subject image is momentarily brightened by the flash light. Illuminated.

The subject image illuminated by the flash light of the flash light lamp 42 is applied to the eyepiece 2 of the endoscope 2.
The image is picked up by the CCD 21 in the TV camera 4 via c.
At this time, the CPU 24 of the CCU 5 transmits a control signal to the TG 23 and controls the electronic shutter of the CCD 21 via the CCD driver 22 to increase the shutter speed. As a result, the subject image illuminated by the flash light of the flash light lamp 42 is captured by the CCD 21 and converted into an image signal, and then subjected to the signal processing as described above, and is converted into still image digital data for one field period. It is temporarily stored in the still image memory 52 of the image storage memory unit 28.

Then, the CPU 24 of the CCU 5 transmits a control signal to the image storage memory unit 28 so as to freeze the image. Thereby, the CPU 24 of the CCU 5 writes the still image digital data of the subject image illuminated by the flash light into the still image memory 52,
The writing to the still image memory 52 is stopped.
Then, the CPU 24 of the CCU 5 reads out the still image digital data written in the still image memory 52 in the next field. The read still image digital data is selected by the selector 53 and the D / A converter 29
Output the still image data. The still image data output to the D / A converter 29 is output to the monitor 6 via the subsequent analog processing circuit 30.

In this state, when the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the freeze switch 8a of the TV camera 4 is pressed again, the freeze is released. At this time, the illumination light from the light source device 3 is switched to the illumination light from the normal illumination light lamp 41a. After the subject image illuminated with the normal illumination light is captured by the CCD 21 and converted into an image signal, the signal After being processed, the data from the moving picture image memory 51 is again selected and output by the selector 53.

On the other hand, when the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the release switch 8b of the TV camera 4 is pressed, the freeze is released and the buffer 54 is turned on. Then, the still image digital data stored in the still image memory 52 is transmitted to the digital image recording / compression circuit 32 via the buffer 54.

The transmitted digital still image data is converted by the digital image recording circuit 24 into a predetermined format.
JPEG compression or the like is performed and recorded on the recording medium 31 as a digital still image. The recording medium 31 can be searched and edited by using it for another information device such as a personal computer.

As a result, the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment
In the recording of a still image, an image with less blur and blur can be obtained by increasing the shutter speed of the electronic shutter of the CCD 21 and capturing an image. Further, the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment turns on the flash light to compensate for the insufficient light amount caused by increasing the shutter speed of the electronic shutter of the CCD 21 at the time of recording a still image, so that an appropriate brightness You can get a picture.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an optical endoscope that transmits an illuminated subject image to the eyepiece 2c by a light guide such as a relay lens. However, the present invention may be applied to a device configured using an electronic endoscope having a built-in imaging unit at the distal end of the insertion section 2a. In the present embodiment, the insertion section 2
Although a is configured using a hard rigid endoscope, the insertion portion 2a may be a flexible endoscope having a flexible and curved portion.

In this embodiment, a digital image recording / compression circuit 32 and a recording medium slot 5b for accommodating the recording medium 31 are provided inside the CCU 5 as digital still image recording means. The recording / compression circuit 32 and the recording medium slot 5b may be provided separately from the CCU 5, and may be configured as a digital still image recording device, or may be a CCU / light source integrated type.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows the internal configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the operation of a progressive CCD used in the TV camera of FIG. 5, and FIG.
FIG. 6A is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an all-pixel reading mode of a progressive CCD, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating a high-speed draft mode of a CD.

In the first embodiment, the current TV broadcast (NTS) is used as a CCD built in the TV camera 4.
C), the present invention is applied to a drive type CCD that reads out signals of all pixels by an interlace scan (interlaced scan) method. In the second embodiment, however, the TV camera 4 has a built-in CCD. The present invention is applied to a CCD using a progressive scan (all pixel reading) type CCD as the CCD. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted, and the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the endoscope apparatus 60 according to the second embodiment includes a progressive scan (all pixel readout) type CCD (hereinafter, referred to as a CCD) in the TV camera 4.
It has a built-in progressive CCD 61.

The progressive scan (all pixel readout) method is different from the interlace scan (interlaced scan) method according to the current TV broadcast (NTSC method). For example, as shown in FIG. Is a non-interlaced CCD for reading all pixels. Note that the progressive C of the present embodiment is used.
The CD 61 is usually designed to take a picture with priority on dynamic resolution by using a high-speed draft mode when shooting a moving image.

In the high-speed draft mode, the operating frequency is fixed, and, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, vertical pixels (R, G, B) are read out every three lines. In this mode, scanning is performed by thinning out. This makes it possible to increase the number of frames per second,
The image can be captured at 60 frames per second as in the NTSC system.

The operation of the thus configured endoscope device 60 of the present embodiment will be described. CPU 24 of CCU5
As described in the first embodiment, when the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the freeze switch 8a of the TV camera 4 is pressed down and a freeze signal is input, the lamp control circuit 12 is controlled. To switch the illumination light to the flash light from the flash light lamp 42 and control the CCD driver 22 to increase the shutter speed of the electronic shutter of the progressive CCD 61 so as to capture the subject image transmitted from the endoscope 2. .

Here, the CPU 24 receives the freeze signal and causes the CCD driver 22 via the TG 23 to input the freeze signal.
To change the reading method of the progressive CCD 61 from the high-speed draft mode to the all-pixel reading mode.

In this state, when the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the freeze switch 8a of the TV camera 4 is pressed again, the freeze is released, and the process returns to the high-speed draft mode for capturing moving images.

When the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the release switch 8b of the TV camera 4 is pressed down and a release signal is inputted,
The freeze is released, and recording on the recording medium 31 is performed.

As a result, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the endoscope apparatus 60 of the second embodiment can obtain a full-frame still image without blur due to a time difference between fields. it can.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
It is a lineblock diagram showing the composition of the lamp unit of the light source device used for the endoscope apparatus concerning an embodiment. The first,
The second embodiment includes a normal illumination light lamp 41 and a flash light lamp 42. When a still image is captured, the normal illumination light lamp 41 is replaced with the flash light lamp 42.
, And captures a subject image illuminated with the flash light from the flash light lamp 42. In the third embodiment, however, the configuration using the progressive CCD 61 of the second embodiment is used. The normal illumination light from the normal illumination light lamp 41 is stopped by the aperture, and the illuminated subject image is captured. The other configuration is the same as that of the above-described second embodiment, so that the description is omitted, and the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral.

That is, the lamp unit 70 of the light source device used in the endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment includes a lamp 41 for normal illumination light, a lamp power supply 41a, an aperture 71,
An aperture drive circuit 72 for driving the aperture 71 is provided.

The CPU 24 of the CCU 5 controls the aperture driving circuit 72 via the lamp control circuit 12 based on the dimming signal from the dimming circuit 34.

The operation of the thus configured endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. As in the second embodiment, the CPU 24 of the CCU 5 controls the CCD driver 22 when the operation switch 5c of the front panel 5a of the CCU 5 or the freeze switch 8a of the TV camera 4 is pressed and a freeze signal is input. Then, the progressive CCD 61 is changed from the high-speed draft mode to the all-pixel reading mode.

At the same time, the CPU 24 transmits a dimming signal for instructing the lamp control circuit 12 to open the aperture 71 fully. The lamp control circuit 12 includes a CPU 24
, And transmits an aperture control signal to the aperture drive circuit 72. When an aperture control signal is input, the aperture drive circuit 72 opens the aperture 71 at a stroke.

On the other hand, a control signal is transmitted from the CCD driver 22 so as to increase the shutter speed of the electronic shutter of the progressive CCD 61, and an image of a subject brighter than normal illumination light is captured via the aperture 71.

As a result, since the endoscope apparatus of the third embodiment records a still image with the progressive scan method at the time of recording a still image as in the second embodiment, a good still image In addition to the above, it is possible to obtain a still image with sufficient brightness by fully opening the aperture 71 or widening the aperture close to the fully open state in order to compensate for the lack of light amount due to the increased shutter speed.

In the third embodiment, the progressive CCD 61 of the second embodiment is used. However, the interlaced scan CCD of the first embodiment is used. But it is good.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Appendix] (Appendix 1) Illumination light supply means capable of supplying illumination light for capturing a still image and illumination light for capturing a moving image to an endoscope, and illumination light from the illumination light supply means. Imaging means for capturing an illuminated subject image; illumination light switching means for selectively switching the illumination light for moving image imaging and the illumination light for still image imaging generated by the illumination light supply means; Controlling the light switching means to switch the illumination light for capturing a moving image to the illumination light for capturing a still image, and further, the imaging is performed so as to match a subject image illuminated with the switched illumination light for capturing a still image. Control means for controlling the operation of the means.

(Additional Item 2) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the control means controls an exposure operation of the imaging means.

(Additional Item 3) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the control means controls an output operation of the imaging means.

(Additional Item 4) The additional feature is that the illumination light supply means has a flash light lamp that generates flash light as illumination light for capturing a still image.
An endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

(Supplementary Note 5) The illumination light supply means includes an aperture on an optical path of illumination light generated by the illumination light supply means as illumination light for capturing a still image, and aperture drive means for driving the aperture. 2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

(Supplementary note 6) The control means controls the illumination light switching means to switch to the illumination light for capturing the still image, and controls the imaging means to increase the exposure operation speed of the imaging means. 2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope apparatus captures a still image.

(Supplementary Note 7) The imaging means has a high-speed reading mode and an all-pixels reading mode, and the control means controls the imaging means to switch to the all-pixels reading mode of the imaging means and stop. 2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope apparatus captures an image.

(Supplementary Note 8) The control means controls the aperture driving means to control the aperture ratio of the aperture, thereby supplying normal light generated by normal illumination light as illumination light for capturing a still image. 6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

(Additional Item 9) A continuous light lamp for generating continuous light, a flash light lamp for generating flash light, an illumination light switching means for switching between the continuous light and the flash light to illuminate a subject, Imaging means for imaging a subject; signal processing means for performing signal processing on an imaging signal output from the imaging means; a still image recording means for recording a video signal output from the signal processing means as a still image; An operation switch for operating a still image recording unit, an illumination control unit for controlling the illumination light switching unit based on an operation signal output from the operation switch, and an operation of the imaging unit based on the operation signal An endoscope apparatus comprising: imaging control means.

(Additional Item 10) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 9, wherein the imaging control means controls an exposure operation of the imaging means.

(Additional Item 11) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 9, wherein the imaging control means controls an output operation of the imaging means.

(Additional Item 12) The illumination light switching means may include:
Based on the operation signal, the continuous light is switched to the flash light, and the imaging control unit causes the subject to be illuminated with the flash light to be imaged at an increased exposure operation speed of the imaging unit based on the operation signal. 10. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

(Additional Item 13) A light source lamp for irradiating an object with illumination light, a diaphragm provided on an optical path of the illumination light, an imager for imaging the object, and an image signal output from the imager Signal processing means for processing the image signal, a still image recording means for recording a video signal output from the signal processing means as a still image, an operation switch for operating the still image recording means, and an output signal from the operation switch. An endoscope apparatus comprising: an illumination control unit that drives and controls the diaphragm unit based on an operation signal to be transmitted; and an imaging control unit that controls an operation of the imaging unit based on the operation signal.

(Additional Item 14) The illumination light switching means may include:
Based on the operation signal, the aperture ratio of the aperture unit is increased to increase the amount of illumination light, and the imaging control unit is configured to, based on the operation signal, display the subject image illuminated with the increased amount of illumination light. 14. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the imaging operation is performed by increasing an exposure operation speed of the imaging unit.

(Additional Item 15) The imaging means has a high-speed reading mode and an all-pixels reading mode, and the imaging control means controls the imaging means to switch to the all-pixels reading mode of the imaging means. 14. The endoscope apparatus according to additional item 9 or 13, wherein a still image is captured.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an endoscope apparatus capable of recording a good still image even when the subject moves fast.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing an internal configuration of the endoscope apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the lamp unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram showing an internal configuration of the image storage memory of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a progressive CCD used in the TV camera in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a lamp unit of a light source device used in an endoscope device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 2 ... Endoscope 3 ... Light source apparatus 3a ... Light guide cable 4 ... TV camera 5 ... CCU 11 ... Lamp unit 12 ... Lamp control circuit 21 ... CCD 22 ... CCD driver 24 ... CPU 28 ... Image storage Memory unit 41: lamp for normal illumination light 42: lamp for flash light 43: movable mirror

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/18 H04N 7/18 MF term (Reference) 2H040 CA04 CA10 DA02 GA01 GA05 GA12 4C061 AA29 CC06 GG01 JJ17 LL03 NN01 NN05 PP12 QQ09 RR02 SS05 SS11 SS14 SS17 TT09 WW01 5C022 AA09 AB15 AB17 AB65 AC69 AC75 CA00 5C054 AA05 CC07 EA01 EG10 EH07 EJ07 GA05 HA12

Claims (3)

[Claims] An illumination light supply means capable of supplying illumination light for capturing a still image and illumination light for capturing a moving image to an endoscope, and a subject image illuminated with the illumination light from the illumination light supply means. Imaging means for imaging; illumination light switching means for selectively switching the illumination light for moving image imaging and the illumination light for still image imaging generated by the illumination light supply means; and controlling the illumination light switching means. Switching the illumination light for capturing a moving image to the illumination light for capturing a still image, and further controlling the operation of the imaging unit so as to match a subject image illuminated with the switched illumination light for capturing a still image. An endoscope apparatus comprising: control means; 2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls an exposure operation of the imaging unit. 3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls an output operation of the imaging unit.