Electronic endoscope

• US 6,937,267 B1
• Filed: 12/20/1999
• Issued: 08/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pentax Corporation (Hoya Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): SENFI, BEHROOZ M
• Application Number:
  US09/467,152
• Time in Patent Office: 2,080 Days
• Field of Search: 348/45, 348/65, 348/69, 348/72, 348/74, 348/76, 382/128, 382/131, 600/46, 600/180, 600/181, 600/109, 600/317
• US Class Current: 348/65
• 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 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera

Abstract

An electronic endoscope displays the date so as to enable the year, month, and day to be differentiated on a screen when displaying a date together with the object image. The electronic endoscope is provided with, in a processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a real time clock (RTC), a cathode ray tube controller (CRTC) and a character generator read only memory (CG-RORM) and, on the outside, a keyboard and monitor. A date is read from the RTC and a character code corresponding to the year, month, and day to be displayed on the screen of the monitor is read from the CG-ROM at the CRTC. The character code is transmitted as a character signal to the monitor, and the date is displayed on the screen along with the object image, the month being displayed by a green color and the year and day by a white color at this time.

Claims

1. A data generating device, provided in an electronic endoscope, said device generating an image data corresponding to an object image obtained by said electronic endoscope, and character information including a date when said object image is obtained, said device comprising:

a date-differentiating processor that generates said character information so that, when said date is displayed on a screen of a display device along with said object image;

at least one of the year, month, and day is differentiated on said screen, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the year, month, and day to a color different from the others; and

the date is displayed in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, wherein said display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the year, month, and day to a color or character type different from the others only for the period of a date-setting operation.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets a mode of display of the year, month, and day so that said screen differentiates at least one of the month and day, of the displayed year, month, and day.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the month and day, of the year, month, and day displayed by numerals, to a different color.

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the month and day, of the year, month, and day to be displayed by numerals, to a different color only for the period of the date setting operation.

6. The device according to claim 3, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets the year, month, and day to be displayed by numerals to respectively different colors.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said object image and date to be displayed on said screen are preferably stored as a single image in an image storage device.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein said object image stored in said image storage device is at least reproduced and displayed on said screen or output as hard copy.

9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a storing processor that stores ad date along with said object image, in an electronic fle.

10. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a display processor that displays said character information, generated by said date-differentiating processor, along with said object image, on said screen.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein said display processor comprises a character code output processor that outputs a character code corresponding to said date, and a character signal generating processor that generates a character signal in accordance with said character code output by said character code output processor, said character signal being output, along with a video signal corresponding to said object image, to a monitor provided outside said electronic endoscope, so that said object image is displayed on said screen and said date is displayed at a predetermined position on said screen.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein said date-differentiating processor outputs said character code in such a manner that one of the year, month, and day, to be differentiated from the others, is displayed in a mode of display which is different from that of the others.

13. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to display a date in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, along with an object image on a screen, wherein the display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order; and

a storing processor that stores said date along with said object image in an image storage device as a single image;

said storing processor configured to differentiate at least one of the year, month, and day by storing one of the year, month, and day by the color different from a color of the other of the year, month, and day in said image storage device.

14. The electronic endoscope according to claim 13, wherein said storing processor stores the year, month, and day in said image storage device to enable at least the month and day in the year, month, and day to be differentiated on said screen.

15. The electronic endoscope according to claim 14, wherein said storing processor stores one of the month and day in the year, month, and day by a different color in said image storage device.

16. The electronic endoscope according to claim 14, wherein said storing processor stores the year, month, and day displayed by numerals by different colors in said image storage device.

17. The electronic endoscope according to claim 13, wherein said image stored in said image storage device is at least reproduced and displayed on said screen or output as hard copy.

18. The electronic endoscope according to claim 13, wherein said storing processor comprises a character code output processor that outputs a character code corresponding to said date, and a character signal generating processor that generates a character signal in accordance with said character code output by said character code output processor, said character signal being output, along with a video signal corresponding to said object image, to said image storage device, so that said date is stored in said image storage device along with said image.

19. The electronic endoscope according to claim 18, wherein said storing processor outputs said character code in such a manner that one of the year, month, and day, to be differentiated from the others, is displayed in a mode of display which is different from that of the others.

20. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to display a date in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, along with an object image on a screen, wherein the display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order; and

a date-differentiating processor that sets the mode of display of the year, month, and day to be displayed by said display processor so as to differentiate at least one of the year, month, and day on said screen, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the year, month, and day to a color different from the others.

21. A data generating device for an electronic endoscope, the data generating device comprising:

an image data generator configured to generate image data corresponding to an object image obtained by the electronic endoscope; and

a date-differentiating processor configured to;

generate character information including a date, such that when the date is displayed on a screen of a display device along with the object image said date-differentiating processor differentiates at least one of year, month and day on the screen by setting one of the year, month, and day to a color different from the other of the year, month and day; and

switchably display, via a switching operation, an order of the displayed date from among the year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year.

22. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to selectively and switchably display, along with an object image on a screen and via a switching operation, an order of a date from among year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year; and

a storing processor configured to;

store the date along with said object image in an image storage device as a single image; and

store the at least one of one of the year, month, and day of the date by a color diferent from a color of the other of the year, month and day in said image storage device.

23. A data generating device, provided in an electronic endoscope, said device generating an image data corresponding to an object image obtained by said electronic endoscope, and character information including a date when said object image is obtained, said device comprising:

a date-differentiating processor that generates said character information so that, when said date is displayed on a screen of a display device along with said object image;

at least one of the year, month, and day is differentiated on said screen, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the year, month, and day to a font different from the other of the year, month and day; and

the date is displayed in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, wherein said display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order.

24. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to display a date in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, along with an object image on a screen, wherein said display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order; and

a storing processor that stores said date along with said object image in an image storage device as a single image;

said storing processor configured to differentiate at least one of the year, month, and day by storing one of the year, month, and day by a from different from the other of the year, month and day in said image storage device.

25. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to display a date in an order of at least one of year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year, along with an object image on a screen; and

a date-differentiating processor that sets the mode of display of the year, month, and day to be displayed by said display processor so as to differentiate at least one of the year, month, and day on said screen, wherein said date-differentiating processor sets one of the year, month, and day to a font different from other of the year, month and day wherein said display order can be changed on said screen by a switching operation of the display order.

26. A data generating device for an electronic endoscope, the data generating device comprising:

an image data generator configured to generate image data corresponding to an object image obtained by the electronic endoscope; and

a date-differentiating processor configured to;

generate character information including a date, such that when the date is displayed on a screen of a display device along with the object image said date-differentiating processor differentiates at least one of year, month and day on the screen by setting one of the year, month, and day to a font different from the other of the year, month and day; and

switchably display, via a switching operation, an order of the displayed date from among the year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year.

27. An electronic endoscope comprising:

a display processor configured to selectively and switchably display, along with an object image on a screen and via a switching operation, an order of a date from among year, month and day;

month, day and year; and

day, month and year; and

a storing processor configured to;

store the date along with said object image in an image storage device as a single image; and

store the at least one of one of the year, month, and day of the date by a front different from the other of the year, month and day.