Electronic endoscope

• US 6,677,983 B1
• Filed: 12/20/1999
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hoya Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Tadashi, Ozawa, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Assistant Examiner(s): SENFI, BEHROOZ M
• Application Number:
  US09/467,151
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 348/76, 348/74, 348/65, 348/72, 358/520, 382/128, 382/131, 600/101, 600/104, 600/117, 600/118
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0004 for electronic operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00042 for mechanical operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An electronic endoscope includes a processor by which an image captured by an endoscope is displayed on a screen of a monitor. Panel switches, a central processing unit (CPU), a magneto-optic disc and a RAM are mounted in the processor. A keyboard and the monitor are connected to the processor. By operating the panel switches, operation conditions of the devices, mounted in the processor or connected to the processor, are set. The set values, which are set by the panel switches or the keyboard, are temporarily stored in the RAM. The set values stored in the RAM are recorded in the magneto-optic disc at every regular time interval. When character information displayed on the screen of the monitor is renewed by operating the keyboard, the renewed character information is recorded in the magneto-optic disc.

Claims

1. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor that radiates light output from a light source to an object, to obtain and display an image of said object on a screen;

a setting processor comprising an image display condition adjustment switch configured to set an image display condition by changing at least one of a plurality of variables each corresponding to a different image display condition of the image, said setting processor configured to determine set values set by said adjustment switch;

a set value recording processor that temporarily stores said set values in a volatile memory, and reads said set values from said volatile memory to record said set values in a non-volatile memory at a predetermined time interval, wherein said set value recording processor does not record set values corresponding to an unchanged variable of the plurality of variables in the non-volatile memory.

2. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising a character information recording processor that temporarily stores character information of a predetermined item, which is indicated along with said image on said screen and is to be renewed, in said volatile memory, and reads said stored character information from said volatile memory to record said character information in said non-volatile memory.

3. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said operation condition of said electronic endoscope includes a driving condition under which said electronic endoscope is driven.

4. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said set value recording processor records said set values, stored in said volatile memory, in said non-volatile memory at said predetermined time interval, in accordance with an order in which said set values are stored in said volatile memory.

5. The electronic endoscope according to claim 4, wherein said set value recording processor records only a set value, which is renewed, in said non-volatile memory.

6. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined time interval is between approximately 2 seconds and approximately 30 seconds.

7. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said non-volatile memory is one of a magneto-optic disc, a flash memory and a hard disk.

8. The electronic endoscope according to claim 2, wherein said character information corresponds to said image displayed on said screen.

9. The electronic endoscope according to claim 2, wherein said character information recording processor does not record said character information in said non-volatile memory when said character information is not renewed.

10. The electronic endoscope according to claim 2, wherein said character information recording processor records said character information in accordance with an operation of an enter key after a character key is operated, said enter key and said character key being provided in a keyboard.

11. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to radiate light output from a light source to an object, said display processor further configured to obtain and display an image of the object on a screen;

a setter comprising an image display condition adjustment switch configured to set an image display condition by changing at least one of a plurality of variables each corresponding to a different image display condition of the image, said setting processor configured to determine set values set by said adjustment switch;

a set value recorder configured to store the set values in a first memory, said set value recorder further configured to read the set values from said first memory and record said set values in a second memory, wherein said set value recorder does not record set values corresponding to an unchanged variable of the plurality of variables in the second memory.