Endoscope for recording and displaying time-serial images

• US 5,697,885 A
• Filed: 02/02/1995
• Issued: 12/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Nonami, Tetsuo, Nakamura, Kazunari, Tsuruoka, Takao, Hiyama, Keiichi, Konomura, Yutaka, Yajima, Akihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P.
• Application Number:
  US08/382,579
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 600/921, 600/118, 600/109, 600/160, 364/413.13, 358/335, 348/220
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2175 with local image input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory
• 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 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums

Abstract

An image recording apparatus which includes a time-serial image recording arrangement for recording time-serial images of an object, and still image filling arrangements for recoding a still image. The apparatus also includes an outputting arrangement capable of outputting an image information data of at least a part of the time-serial images to be recorded or having been recorded by the time-serial image recording arrangement, which is used as a standard for observing variations in the time-serial images of the object which occur with lapse of time. The outputting arrangement includes an extracting arrangement for extracting a selected feature of at least one image among the time-serial images as the image information to be a standard of the position and a composing arrangement for composing and outputting image information of the selected feature extracted by the extracting arrangement and for composing and outputting the time-serial images.

Claims

1. An image filing system for recording a video signal to be retrievable comprising:

a time-serial image filing means for recording a video signal as it is as a time-serial image based on record start and stop signals;

a still image producing means for temporarily storing a video signal and obtaining a still image;

a still image filing means for recording a still image output from said still image producing means based on a release signal; and

an image data recording means, operably coupled to said time-serial image filing means and to said still image filing means, for recording data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded in said still image filing means and a time-serial image filing means, respectively, in common are made to correspond to each other, wherein said image data recording means records data corresponding to recording characteristics of said still image and said time-serial image which relate to each other.

2. An image filing system according to claim 1, wherein said data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded by said still image filing means and said time-serial image filing means, respectively, are made to correspond to each other indicate a release time of a recorded still image.

3. An image filing system according to claim 1, wherein said data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded by said still image filing means and said time-serial image filing means, respectively, are made to correspond to each other indicate a time-serial address for a still image recorded in said still image filing means.

4. An image filing system according to claim 1, wherein said data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded in said still image filing means and said time-serial image filing means, respectively, are made to correspond to each other indicate a number of a still image in which release is performed when the release of the still image is performed while a time-serial image is recorded.

5. An image filing system for recording a video signal to be retrievable comprising:

a time-serial image filing means for recording a video signal as it is as a time-serial image;

an image memory for temporarily storing a video signal and obtaining a still image;

a still image filing means for recording a still image output from said image memory;

a data input means for obtaining record start and record stop signals and supplying these signals to said time-serial image filing means and at that time, for setting the beginning and end of said time-serial image recorded by said time-serial image filing means, said data input means for obtaining a release signal and supplying said release signal to said still image filing means and setting a still image to be recorded by said still image filing means; and

an image data recording means, operably coupled to said time-serial image filing means and to said still image filing means, for recording data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded in said still image filing means and said time-serial image filing means, respectively, in common are made to correspond to each other, wherein said image data recording means records data corresponding to recording characteristics of said still image and said time-serial image which relate to each other.

6. An image filing method, comprising the steps of:

recording video signals as a time-serial image in a time-serial image filing apparatus and recorded as a still image in a still image filing apparatus recording data on images in which a still image and a time-serial image recorded in said still image filing apparatus and said time-serial image filing apparatus, respectively, in common are made to correspond to each other; and

retrieving said video signal, wherein the step of recording said video signals comprises the step of recording data corresponding to recording characteristics of said still image and said time-serial image which relate to each other.

7. An image filing system for recording a video signal to be retrievable comprising:

an image input apparatus having an image processing pan for convening an electric signal supplied from an imaging apparatus, which imaged an object, and photoelectrically converted into a video signal and for superimposing data related to said object on said video signal, a data input pan for inputting and producing a control signal for recording said data related to said object and an image of said object, an image memory selectively causing one of;

(a) said video signal obtained by said image processing pan to be passed through without change based on the control signal by said data input part and (b) storing and outputting the video signal as a still image, and an interface for inputting and outputting said data related to said object and said control signal;

a time-serial image filing apparatus for recording a time-serial image by said image input apparatus;

a still image filing apparatus for recording a still image by said image input apparatus; and

an image file controller, operably coupled to said time-serial image filing apparatus and to said still image filing apparatus, including a first port, CPU, a memory part for temporarily storing data related to record of an image recorded in said CPU, said still image filing apparatus and said time-serial image filing apparatus during an examination, a record apparatus controlling pan for controlling a record apparatus, a second port for inputting and outputting a control signal related to a time-serial image filing apparatus, including record start and record stop signals, and a third port for inputting and outputting a control signal related to a still image filing apparatus, including a release signal, said first port for inputting and outputting data and a control signal to and from said interface of said image input apparatus and inputting and outputting data and a control signal among said CPU, said memory part, said record apparatus controlling part, said second port, and said third port, when the control signal input to said first port is one of record start and record stop signals, said CPU having a function of sending the control signal to said time-serial image filing apparatus through said second port and recording a time-serial image based on the record start and stop signals, when the control signal input to said first port is a release signal, said CPU having a function of sending the release signal to said still image filing apparatus through said third port and recording a still image based on the release signal, and further storing data on images temporarily recorded in said memory part which are made to correspond to said still image and time-serial image that are recorded in a recording apparatus through said record apparatus controlling part, wherein said image file controller controls data corresponding to recording characteristics of said still image and said time-serial image which relate to each other.

8. An image filing system according to claim 7, wherein said image file controller has a video signal distributing part for receiving a video signal from an image memory of said image input apparatus and for supplying said video signal, as a time-serial image signal, to said time-serial image filing apparatus and for further supplying said video signal, as a still image signal, to said still image filing apparatus through said memory part.

9. An image filing system according to claim 7, wherein said image input apparatus supplies retrieval instructions to said first port, and wherein said CPU refers to data stored in said memory part and sends a retrieval control signal to said second or third port and outputs a video signal retrieved from the still image filing apparatus or the time-serial image filing apparatus to a monitor when retrieval instructions from said image input apparatus is input to said first port.

10. An image filing system according to claim 7, wherein said CPU stores data on images temporarily recorded in said memory part to correspond to said still image and said time-serial image that are recorded in a recording apparatus.