Electronic endoscope battery section

• US 7,615,006 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2006
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujinon Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujinon Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Abe, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker; John P
• Application Number:
  US11/390,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20060220613A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 600/178, 600/118, 600/117
• US Class Current: 600/118
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00034 rechargeable
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/05 characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00734 battery operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/202 Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery section of an electronic endoscope is provided with an EEPROM. The EEPROM stores charging time and the number of charging of batteries, necessary for calculating remaining power of the batteries, and customized information for assigning functions to first, second and third switches of an operation section. A remaining-power calculator calculates the remaining power of the batteries based on a relation between discharge voltage and discharge time of the batteries as well as on the charging time and the number of charging of the batteries read out from the EEPROM. A function assignment circuit assigns the functions to the first, second and third switches in accordance with the customized information read out from the EEPROM.

Claims

1. An electronic endoscope for photographing an image of a region to be inspected of a subject, said electronic endoscope comprising:

a battery section including a battery for supplying electric power; and

a rewritable memory provided in said battery section, the rewritable memory including a charging time section,

the battery section further including

a charge controller that charges the battery,

a timer connected to the charge controller that measures a time for charging the battery, and

a writing controller connected to both the timer and the charge controller, wherein

the writing controller writes the measured time for charging the battery from the timer to the charging time section of the rewritable memory,

wherein said rewritable memory additionally stores a relation between a discharge voltage and discharge time of the battery as a data table or as an arithmetic expression, the electronic endoscope further comprising;

a remaining-power calculator for calculating remaining power of said battery based on at least the relation between discharge voltage and discharge time of said battery, and said charging time and the number of times of charging the battery stored in said rewritable memory.

2. The electronic endoscope as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rewritable memory further includes a number of times of charging the battery section.

3. The electronic endoscope as claimed in claim 2, wherein every time the charge controller charges the battery, the writing controller increments the number of times of charging the battery section of the rewritable memory by one.

4. An electronic endoscope for photographing an image of a region to be inspected of a subject, said electronic endoscope comprising:

a battery section including a battery for supplying electric power; and

a plurality of switches, each switch performing a certain function when activated;

the battery section further including;

a rewritable memory, said rewritable memory having a customized information Section, and

a writing controller for writing customized information relating to said certain function to be assigned to each of said plurality of switches,

the electronic endoscope further comprising;

a function assignment device for assigning said certain function to each of said plurality of switches in accordance with said customized information, said certain function relating to an operation of said electronic endoscope.