CONTROL DEVICE AND OBSERVATION SYSTEM

• US 20200137345A1
• Filed: 10/24/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: TAMONOKI, Sadayuki
• Granted Patent: US 11,375,114 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00006 of control signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0002 provided with data storages
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00042 for mechanical operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00045 Display arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00188 with focusing or zooming features
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/212 Motion video recording combined with still video recording television signal recording H04N5/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2141 in a multi-frame buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0079 Medical imaging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• 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 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• 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 23/67 Focus control based on electronic image sensor signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus

Abstract

A control device includes a processor configured to: perform movie display control of causing a display to sequentially display images acquired in time series, and still image display control of causing the display to display any of the images as a still image; detect a first operation on a switch; determine whether a predetermined operation condition for the switch is satisfied, after the first operation has been detected; switch, when the first operation is detected while the movie display control is being executed, from the movie display control to the still image display control and causing the display to display, as a still image, an image displayed at a timing at which the first operation is detected; and cause, when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied, a memory to store the image displayed as a still image under the still image display control.

Claims

1. A control device comprising:

a processor comprising hardware, the processor being configured to;

perform movie display control of causing a display to sequentially display a plurality of images acquired in time series, and still image display control of causing the display to display any of the plurality of images as a still image;

detect a first operation on a switch by a user;

determine whether a predetermined operation condition for the switch is satisfied, after the first operation has been detected;

switch, when the first operation is detected while the movie display control is being executed, from the movie display control to the still image display control and causing the display to display, as a still image, an image displayed at a timing at which the first operation is detected; and

cause, when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied, a memory to store the image displayed as a still image under the still image display control.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the processor is configured to determine that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied when a continued time period during which the processor detects the first operation reaches a predetermined time period.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein

the switch is formed by a push button switch, and

the processor is configured to detect pressing of the switch by the user as the first operation.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the switch is formed by a button switch operable in two stages that are half pressing and full pressing,

the processor is configured to detect the half pressing of the switch by the user as the first operation and detect the full pressing of the switch by the user as a second operation, and

the processor is configured to determine that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied when the processor detects the first operation and then detects the second operation.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

switch from the movie display control to the still image display control when the processor detects the first operation while the movie display control is being executed, and cause the display device to display, as a still image, an image displayed at a timing when the first operation is detected, and

continue the still image display control when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is not satisfied.

6. The control device according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to cause the memory to store the image displayed as a still image under the still image display control when the processor detects the first operation while the still image display control is being executed and when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied.

7. The control device according to claim 5, wherein

the processor is configured to switch from the still image display control to the movie display control when the processor detects the first operation while the still image display control is being executed and when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is not satisfied.

8. An observation system comprising

the control device according to claim 1.

9. A control device for controlling an operation of an image capturing device including an imaging unit that captures a subject image of a subject and a lens unit that includes a focus lens that moves along an optical axis for focus adjustment and forms the subject image on the imaging unit, the control device comprising:

a processor comprising hardware, the processor being configured to;

perform autofocus control of evaluating an in-focus state of the subject image while moving the focus lens along the optical axis;

perform positioning of the focus lens at a lens position where the subject is brought into focus;

switch between a first autofocus mode of causing the lens controller to execute the autofocus control only once and a second autofocus mode of causing the lens controller to continuously execute the autofocus control;

detect a first operation on a switch by a user; and

determine whether a predetermined operation condition for the switch is satisfied after the first operation has been detected, wherein

the processor is configured to;

execute the autofocus control only once when the first operation is detected under the first autofocus mode; and

switch from the first autofocus mode to the second autofocus mode when the processor determines that the predetermined operation condition is satisfied and continuously execute the autofocus control.

10. An observation system comprising

the control device according to claim 9.