Image search device

• US 6,930,705 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2001
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Chinari
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, TUNG T
• Application Number:
  US09/986,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20020057341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,372 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N01.3/00, H04/N00.7/12, G02/B00.7/02, 348/45, 348/42, 348/43, 348/44, 348 46- 51, 348 72- 78, 348 65- 70, 348143-147, 600/173, 600/118, 600/102, 600/168, 600/111, 700/65, 700/77, 700/66, 700/83, 700/250, 359/625, 359/626, 359/627, 359/628, 359/629, 359/638, 359/814, 359/823, 359/813, 359833-836
• US Class Current: 348/45
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00045 Display arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00188 with focusing or zooming features
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/055 having rod-lens arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An endoscopic apparatus has an objective optical system arranged in a rigid endoscope for forming an image, a first image re-forming optical system for re-forming a part of the image once formed through the objective optical system on an image pickup surface of a first CCD camera and a second image re-forming optical system which re-forms an image once formed through an objective optical system on an image pickup surface of a second CCD camera. A second monitor displays the image picked up by the second CCD camera added with a rectangular frame indicating size and amplitude of the area corresponding to the image picked up by the first CCD camera.

Claims

1. An image search device comprising:

a first image pickup optical system;

a first image pickup device which picks up an image of a predetermined visual field formed through said first image pickup optical system to output a first image signal representing the picked up image;

a second image pickup optical system including at least one lens which forms an image of at least a part of the predetermined visual field;

a second image pickup device which picks up the image formed through said second image pickup optical system to output a second image signal representing the picked up image;

a shift unit which shifts an area to be picked up by said second image pickup device through said second image pickup optical system within the predetermined visual field by shifting an optical axis of the lens in said second image pickup optical system relative to said second image pickup device, said shift unit comprising an optical axis shifting member which shifts the optical axis by moving in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and a moving unit which moves the optical axis shifting member, said optical axis shifting member comprising an image erecting optical system comprising at least four reflection surfaces;

an image synthesizing unit which adds, to the first image signal, an image signal representing a mark showing the area corresponding to the image picked up by said second image pickup device based on an amount of the relative shift of said optical axis with respect to said second image pickup device;

a first display unit which displays the image represented by said first image signal processed by said image synthesizing unit; and

a second display unit which displays the image represented by said second image signal.

2. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein

said first image pickup optical system and said second image pickup optical system share an objective optical system including the lens whose optical axis is shifted by said shift unit relative to said second image pickup device, and a separating optical member which separates object light that passed through the objective optical system;

and

said second image pickup optical system has an image re-forming optical system arranged at a rear of said separating optical member to relay at least a part of an image formed through said objective optical system.

3. The image search device according to claim 2, wherein

said image re-forming optical system includes a variator that changes a magnifying power of the whole image re-forming optical system by moving along an optical axis of the variator;

and

said image synthesizing unit computes an amplitude of the area corresponding to the image picked up by said second image pickup device in the image picked up by said first image pickup device based on a position of said variator and generates an image signal representing the mark showing the area having the computed amplitude.

4. The image search device according to claim 2, wherein

said objective optical system is incorporated in an endoscope.

5. The image search device according to claim 2, wherein

said objective optical system is incorporated in a surveillance camera.

6. An image search device comprising:

a first image pickup optical system;

a first image pickup device which picks up an image of a predetermined visual field formed through said first image pickup optical system to output a first image signal representing the picked up image;

a second image pickup optical system including at least one lens which forms an image of at least a part of the predetermined visual field;

a second image pickup device which picks up the image formed through said second image pickup optical system to output a second image signal representing the picked up image;

a shift unit which shifts an area to be picked up by said second image pickup device through said second image pickup optical system within the predetermined visual field, by shifting an optical axis of the lens in said second image pickup optical system relative to said second image pickup device;

an image synthesizing unit which adds, to the first image signal, an image signal representing a mark showing the area corresponding to the image picked up by said second image pickup device, based on an amount of the relative shift of said optical axis with respect to said second image pickup device;

a first display unit which displays the image represented by said first image signal processed by said image synthesizing unit; and

a second display unit which displays the image represented by said second image signal,

wherein, said first image pickup optical system and said second image pickup optical system share an objective optical system including the lens whose optical axis is shifted by said shift unit relative to said second image pickup device, and a separating optical member which separates object light that passed through the objective optical system; and

said second image pickup optical system has an image re-forming optical system positioned at a rear of said separating optical member to relay at least a part of an image formed through said objective optical system, and

wherein said image re-forming optical system includes a variator that changes a magnifying power of the whole image re-forming optical system by moving along its optical axis; and

said image synthesizing unit computes an amplitude of the area corresponding to the image picked up by said second image pickup device in the image picked up by said first image pickup device based on a position of said variator and generates an image signal representing the mark showing the area having the computed amplitude.

7. The image search device according to claim 6, wherein

said shift unit comprises an optical axis shifting member which shifts the optical axis by moving in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and a moving unit which moves the optical axis shifting member.

8. The image search device according to claim 6, wherein said objective optical system is incorporated in an endoscope.

9. The image search device according to claim 6, wherein

said objective optical system is incorporated in a surveillance camera.