Electronic endoscope selector and electronic endoscope system

• US 20030197781A1
• Filed: 01/09/2001
• Published: 10/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Hideo, Enomoto, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,717,609 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/72
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/04 combined with photographic or television appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An electronic endoscope system that shares peripheral devices, such as a TV monitor, VCR etc., among a plurality of electronic endoscopes via an electronic endoscope selector. Each of the electronic endoscopes is connected to the electronic endoscope selector and the electronic endoscope selector selectively switches between video signals of the electronic endoscopes and feeds them to the TV monitor. Further the electronic endoscope selector comprises image memories and is able to store an image captured by the electronic endoscopes. A stored image may be comparatively displayed on the screen of the TV monitor with the live video being captured by the selected endoscope units. Further, the comparative display is controlled by control buttons on the electronic endoscope. The electronic endoscope selector also comprises a memory for storing image parameters for each electronic endoscope, and adjusts images on the screen by utilizing the parameter for each electronic endoscope.

Claims

1. An electronic endoscope system comprising:

a plurality of electronic endoscopes;

a storing medium that stores at least one recorded image;

an image indicating device that indicates images captured by said plurality of electronic endoscopes;

an image storing processor that stores at least one image captured by one of said plurality of electronic endoscopes, in said storing medium as said recorded image;

a comparative images indicating processor that executes image signal processing, so that a live image being captured by one of said plurality of electronic endoscopes, and said recorded image stored in said storing medium, are comparatively indicated on a screen of said image indicating device.

2. A system according to claim 1, comprising:

an electronic endoscope selector that selects one electronic endoscope from among said plurality of electronic endoscopes and feeds video signals obtained by the selected electronic endoscope to said image indicating device, said selected electronic endoscope being switchable to another; and

wherein said recorded image and said live image are comparatively indicated on said image indicating device by driving said comparative images indicating processor.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said storing medium and said comparative images indicating processor are 5 disposed in said electronic endoscope selector.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein said electronic endoscope selector comprises a video-signal processor that executes adjustment for factors relating to tone of said images displayed on said image indicating device.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein said adjustment is executed in accordance with image parameters set for each of said plurality of electronic endoscopes.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said electronic endoscope selector comprises an image parameter storing processor that stores said image parameters.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said comparative image indicating processor comprises a first image-indicating mode that is able to indicate said recorded image and said live image, alternately on said screen of said image indicating device.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein said comparative image indicating processor comprises a second image-indicating mode that is able to indicate said recorded image and said live image simultaneously on said screen of said image indicating device.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of electronic endoscopes comprises at least one control switch in order to control said comparative images indicating processor and said image storing processor.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein said control switch comprises a first control switch that is to control a storing operation of said image storing processor, so that said image, captured by one of said plurality of electronic endoscopes, is stored in said storing medium as said recorded image.

11. A system according to claim 9, wherein said image storing processor may store a plurality of said recorded images in said storing medium, and said control switch comprises a second control switch that selects one of said plurality of recorded images to indicate the selected recorded image on said screen of said image indicating device.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein said comparative image indicating processor comprises:

a first image-indicating mode that is able to indicate said recorded image and said live image, alternately on said screen of said image indicating device; and

a second image-indicating mode that is able to indicate said recorded image and said live image, simultaneously on said screen of said image indicating device.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said plurality of electronic endoscopes comprises at least one control switch in order to control said comparative images indicating processor and said image storing processor;

and

wherein said control switch comprises a third control switch to control a switching operation between said first and second image-indicating mode.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein said recorded image comprises a still image.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein said recorded image comprises a moving image.

16. An electronic endoscope selector comprising:

a storing medium that stores at least one recorded image;

a video signal switching processor that selectively switches video signals among a plurality of video signals, each of which are being fed from a plurality of electronic endoscopes, so that a selected video signal is fed to an image indicating device;

an image storing processor that stores at least one image captured by one of said plurality of electronic endoscopes, in said storing medium as said recorded image; and

a comparative images indicating processor that comparatively indicates images of said selected video signal, and said recorded image.

17. A selector according to claim 16, wherein said image storing processor and said comparative images indicating processor may be controlled by a control signal from one of said plurality of electronic endoscopes.

18. A selector according to claim 16, comprising an video-signal processor that executes adjustment for factors relating to tone of said images displayed on said image indicating device.

19. A selector according to claim 18, wherein said adjustment is executed in accordance with image parameters set for each of said plurality of electronic endoscopes.

20. A selector according to claim 19, comprising an image parameter storing processor that stores said image parameters.

21. A system according to claim 16, wherein said recorded image comprises a still image.

22. A system according to claim 16, wherein said recorded image comprises a moving image.