This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-290538 filed on Sep. 25, 2001 which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope, and more particularly, to signal processing control of an electronic endoscope which reads signals of all pixels of a still image obtained by exposure within a 1 vertical scanning period and forms a 1-frame image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electronic endoscope, light from a light source lamp is guided through a light guide to a tip of a scope and the light is irradiated from this scope tip onto an object under observation and an image of this object is taken by an image pickup element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) via an objective optical system. This CCD reads signals (charges) stored every 1-field period one by one and forms moving images. On the other hand, when a still image is formed, the CCD reads signals of all pixels obtained by exposure for a 1 vertical scanning period using a light shielding period in order to reduce influences of motions of the object under observation. A conventional example of the technology for reading signals of all pixels is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-80322.
The signals on the odd lines read from the CCD in this way are processed as odd field signals, while the signals on the even lines are processed as even field signals and it is possible to form moving images or still images by using these field signals. Furthermore, this all pixel reading system can only be executed when the still image is formed, and according to this system, an image is formed by all pixel signals obtained by exposure within 1 vertical scanning period of 1/60 sec, providing an advantage of obtaining a clear image which is not affected by motions of an object under observation, etc.
However, the conventional electronic endoscope needs to include the light shielding shutter 4 to shield light of the lamp 2 and the shutter drive circuit 7 including a motor to drive this shutter 4 as shown in
The present invention has been achieved in view of the problems described above and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic endoscope capable of reading all pixel signals for a still image without providing any light shielding period and eliminating the light shielding shutter and its drive circuit which would complicate the configuration.
In order to attain the above-described object, the present invention provides an electronic endoscope that captures an image of an illuminated object under observation by using an image pickup element and performs image processing for displaying a moving image or still image, including a timing generator that generates a first reference signal at a standard speed and a second reference signal at a speed doubling the speed of this first reference signal or faster, an image pickup element drive circuit that reads a signal for forming a moving image from the image pickup element based on the first reference signal at the standard speed and reads an all pixel signals obtained by exposure within a 1 vertical scanning period to form a still image based on the second reference signal at a speed doubling the standard speed of faster, a memory to store the still image signal obtained by the image pickup element and a control circuit that performs control so that the still image signal is written into this memory at a speed doubling the speed of the standard speed or faster and then this still image signal is read at the standard speed.
According to the above-described configuration, the image pickup signal is read based on the first reference signal (clock signal) at a standard speed of, for example, approximately 14 MHz, and a moving image is formed in this way. When a still image switch is operated, the image pickup signal is read based on the second reference signal (clock signal) at a double-speed of approximately 28 MHz, this signal is subjected to image processing and then written into memory at the same speed. Then, the still image signal in this memory is read at the standard speed of approximately 14 MHz, subjected to the same processing as for a moving image to form a still image. The double-speed processing of this still image signal makes it possible to read all pixel signals to form odd and even fields within 1 vertical scanning period, which eliminates the need for a light shielding period which would be set in the conventional art.
The above described light guide 16 extends from the light source apparatus to the tip of the scope and a CCD (image pickup element) 18 to capture an image of an object under observation is provided at the tip of this scope via an objective optical system. This CCD 18 is connected to a CCD drive circuit 20 that outputs a sweeping pulse (SUB pulse), a reading pulse and a horizontal transfer pulse, etc. to read stored charges and this CCD drive circuit 20 is connected to a timing generator (TG) 21.
According to this timing generator 21, the second reference signal at the double-speed is output from the first frequency divider 24a, the first reference signal at the standard speed is output from the second frequency divider 24b, and when the switch 25 is set to the terminal a, a sampling pulse SP1 at the standard speed is obtained and when the switch 25 is set to the terminal b, a sampling pulse SP1 at the double-speed is obtained. Though not shown, various other timing signals including a sampling pulse SP2 to eliminate noise during sampling are formed.
On the other hand, a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling)/AGC (Automatic Gain Control) 28 are provided after the above described CCD 18 and this CDS/AGC 28 applies correlated double sampling to the output signal of the CCD 18 by using the sampling pulses SP1 and SP2 and performs predetermined amplification processing as well.
Such a CDS/AGC 28 is connected through the A/D converter 34 to a memory control circuit 35 and memory 36, and this memory control circuit 35 performs control so that a moving image signal is output directly without passing through the memory 36 and the still image signal is written into the memory 36 at a double-speed of 28 MHz (speed in pixel units) and then read at a standard speed of 14 MHz. After this memory control circuit 35 there is provided a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 38 and this DSP 38 applies various kinds of processing such as white balance, gamma correction, etc. and forms a brightness signal and color-difference signal, for example.
Furthermore, a microcomputer 40 that performs various kinds of overall control over the above-described circuits is provided and this microcomputer 40 is supplied with a signal for operating a freeze switch provided for the scope operation section, etc. and the microcomputer 40 controls formation of still images by using this. Furthermore, the processor apparatus is provided with a signal processing circuit 42 to input an image signal output from the DSP 38 and a D/A converter 43 and the signal processing circuit 42 performs various kinds of processing to output the image signal to the monitor.
The embodiment has a configuration as shown above and its operation will be explained with reference to
On the other hand, when the freeze switch is operated, a freeze signal s in
Furthermore, at the above described CDS/AGC circuit 28, an image signal is extracted by the double-speed sampling pulses SP1 and SP2 in
In such a still image, 1-frame image information is formed in 1/60 sec requiring an exposure time half that of a moving image of 1/30 sec, which gives a clear image free of influences of motions of the object under observation, etc. Furthermore, by reading image pickup signals of all pixels from the CCD 18 at a double-speed (or faster than double-speed), there is no need to set the next period [period Lg in
As explained above, the present invention includes a timing generator that generates a first reference signal at a standard speed and a second reference signal at a speed doubling the standard speed or faster and controls so that all pixel signals captured by an image pickup element are read at a double-speed or faster when a still image is formed, still image signals of all these pixel signals are stored in memory at the double speed and then read at the standard speed, thus making it possible to read all pixel signals for the still image without providing any light shielding period. Therefore, there is no need to provide any light shielding shutter and a drive circuit thereof or complicated drive control for this light shielding shutter.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2001-290538 | Sep 2001 | JP | national |
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6314248 | Ohmura et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6377301 | Hieda | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6791623 | Masuda et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
6836293 | Itoh et al. | Dec 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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09-080322 | Mar 1997 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20030058336 A1 | Mar 2003 | US |