Video signal processing system for electronic endoscope

• US 5,309,227 A
• Filed: 06/08/1993
• Issued: 05/03/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujinon Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Optical Co. Ltd (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Au, A.
• Application Number:
  US08/073,616
• Time in Patent Office: 329 Days
• Field of Search: 358/98, 358/11, 358/21 R
• US Class Current: 348/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A video signal processing system for electronic endoscope, employing a high-sensitivity solid-state image sensor device having an approximately doubled sensitivity along with improved dynamic range and RGB spectral sensitivity ratios and reduced to about 1/2 in size as compared with conventional endoscopic solid-state image sensor devices, the system being arranged to read out therefrom an A-field signal having a preceding line added to each scanning line and a B-field signal having a succeeding line added to each scanning line, store the A- and B-field signals in a field memory, and read out the A- and B-field signals alternately line by line from the field memory as picture data to improve the RGB spectral sensitivity ratios.

Claims

1. A video signal processing system for an electronic endoscope, comprising:

a solid-state image sensor device;

a video processor for reading out signal charges from said solid-state image sensor device under sequential RGB illuminations;

a field memory means for storing output data of said video processor;

control means for reading out from said solid-state image sensor device an A-field signal having a preceding line added to each scanning line and a B-field signal having a succeeding line added to said each scanning line, for storing the A-field and B-field signals in said field memory means, and for reading out the A-field and B-field signals alternately line by line from said field memory means as picture data; and

display means for displaying said picture data.

2. A video signal processing system as defined in claim 1, wherein said sequential RGB illuminations are repeated consecutively a couple of times in obtaining one frame of picture data.

3. A video signal processing system for an endoscope, comprising:

a control means compatible with both;

a first system employing a single solid-state image sensor device for producing picture data on the basis of one of two different field signals obtained from picture data of each primary color; and

a second system employing a high-sensitivity solid-state image sensor device having a half number of picture elements as compared with said single solid-state image sensor device of said first system and, said second system comprising first reading means for reading out from said high-sensitivity solid-state image sensor an A-field signal having a preceding line added to each scanning line and a B-field signal having a succeeding line added to said each scanning line, storing means for storing said A-field and B-field signals in a field memory means, and second reading means for reading out said A-field and B-field signals alternatively line by line from said field memory means as picture data to be displayed on a monitor.

4. A video signal processing system as defined in claim 3, further comprising a circuitry arranged to use an A/D converter, a field memory means, D/A converters, a color encoder and master clock circuit commonly for processing video signals from said solid-state image sensor devices of said first and second systems.