ENDOSCOPE APPARATUS

• US 20130050455A1
• Filed: 08/29/2012
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: YAGI, Yukiyoshi
• Application Number:
  US13/597,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20130050455A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/2476 Non-optical details, e.g. housings, mountings, supports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/42 by switching between different modes of operation using different resolutions or aspect ratios, e.g. switching between interlaced and non-interlaced mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/44 by partially reading an SSIS array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

An endoscope apparatus includes: an endoscope body including an image processing circuit for processing a video signal outputted from an image pickup device provided at a distal end portion of an insertion portion; an image pickup device driving circuit provided for the endoscope body and providing a drive signal to the image pickup device via the insertion portion; and a control section having a first display form for displaying an endoscope image based on the video signal and a second display form for displaying an endoscope image with an image quality different from that of the first display form, and controlling the image pickup device driving circuit to change a charge accumulation period of the image pickup device, accompanying an operation of switching to the second display form during display in the first display form.

Claims

1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an endoscope body comprising an image processing circuit for processing a video signal outputted from an image pickup device provided at a distal end portion of an insertion portion;

an image pickup device driving circuit provided for the endoscope body and providing a drive signal to the image pickup device via the insertion portion; and

a control section having a first display form for displaying an endoscope image based on the video signal and a second display form for displaying an endoscope image with an image quality different from that of the first display form, and controlling the image pickup device driving circuit to skip reading out in units of one field or one frame of the image pickup device to change a charge accumulation period, accompanying an operation of switching to the second display form during display in the first display form.

2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an endoscope;

a first memory provided for the endoscope and storing endoscope information about the endoscope; and

a second memory provided for the endoscope body and storing a pattern table for determining the charge accumulation period corresponding to the endoscope information;

wherein

when changing the charge accumulation period, the control section reads out the endoscope information from the first memory and refers to the pattern table stored in the second memory to determine the charge accumulation period.

3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an endoscope;

a switch provided for the endoscope and storing endoscope information about the endoscope; and

a second memory provided for the endoscope body and storing a pattern table for determining the charge accumulation period corresponding to the endoscope information;

wherein

when changing the charge accumulation period, the control section reads out the endoscope information from the switch and refers to the pattern table stored in the second memory to determine the charge accumulation period.

4. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the endoscope information includes at least one piece of information among a type of the image pickup device, a type of illuminating light for illuminating an object, line length and diameter of a signal line for obtaining the illuminating light, and length and diameter of a transmission line for transmitting the illuminating light.

5. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the endoscope information includes at least one piece of information among a type of the image pickup device, a type of illuminating light for illuminating an object, line length and diameter of a signal line for obtaining the illuminating light, and length and diameter of a transmission line for transmitting the illuminating light.

6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the endoscope information is ID information identifying the endoscope.

7. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the endoscope information is ID information identifying the endoscope.

8. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device driving circuit changes the charge accumulation period by skipping pulse generation of a reading-out pulse controlling reading out from the image pickup device.

9. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image pickup device driving circuit changes the charge accumulation period by skipping pulse generation of a reading-out pulse controlling reading out from the image pickup device.

10. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup device driving circuit changes the charge accumulation period by skipping pulse generation of a reading-out pulse controlling reading out from the image pickup device.

11. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control section controls the charge accumulation period by controlling the number of times of skipping the pulse generation of the reading-out pulse.

12. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control section controls the charge accumulation period by controlling the number of times of skipping the pulse generation of the reading-out pulse.

13. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control section controls the charge accumulation period by controlling the number of times of skipping the pulse generation of the reading-out pulse.

14. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the image pickup device driving circuit changes the charge accumulation period by skipping pulse generation of a reading-out pulse controlling reading out from the image pickup device;

and

the pattern table has information about the number of times of skipping based on the endoscope information.

15. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the image pickup device driving circuit changes the charge accumulation period by skipping pulse generation of a reading-out pulse controlling reading out from the image pickup device;

and

the pattern table has information about the number of times of skipping based on the endoscope information.

16. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section changes the charge accumulation period in response to an operation of switching between live display and still image display in a live operation mode or an operation of switching between the live display and high-image-quality live display in the live operation mode.

17. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control section changes the charge accumulation period in response to an operation of switching between live display and still image display in a live operation mode or an operation of switching between the live display and high-image-quality live display in the live operation mode.

18. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section skips reading out in units of one field or one frame of the image pickup device if motion of the endoscope image is smaller than a predetermined threshold even during display in the first display form.

19. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the control section skips reading out in units of one field or one frame of the image pickup device if the motion of the endoscope image is smaller than the predetermined threshold at a time of pre-freeze processing.

20. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the control section does not skip reading out in units of one field or one frame of the image pickup device if the motion of the endoscope image is larger than the predetermined threshold at the time of the pre-freeze processing even during display in the second display form.