JPS5969741A - Stroboscope light source device of endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generate no uneven light quantity of a video read picture by an endoscope by making stroboscopic light source emit light by synchronizing with a vertical synchronizing signal of a TV system to be used or an electronic finder. CONSTITUTION:When a stroboscopic light emitting switch 10 is turned on, a trigger signal of a onstant interval of time is inputted to a controlling circuit 12 irrespective of its on-time. After the trigger signal is inputted, the controlling 12 turns off an electric power supplying circuit 13 of a continuous light source 8a by synchronizing with the first vertical synchronizing signal, operates a pulse of an electric power supplying circuit 14 of a stroboscopic light source 8b by synchronizing with the second vertical synchronizing signal, and turns on again the electric power supplying circuit 13 of the continuous light source 8a by syncronizing with the third vertical synchronizing signal. A video by pulse light emission is only one frame portion, but by storing it by a suitable means, a static picture by pulse light emission can be reflected on a monitor or an electronic finder for several seconds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a strobe light source device for an endoscope, which allows a strobe to emit light effectively even to a TV system or an electronic viewfinder.

A conventional endoscope is constructed as shown in FIG. In other words, 1 is an endoscope, 2 is a distal end, 3 is a curved part, 4 is a flexible part, 5 is an operating part, 6 is an image guide, 7 is a light guide, 8 is a light source device, and the operating part 5 is Observations are made by looking through the provided finder.

Further, the light source device 8 includes a continuous light source 8a such as a lamp, a pulsed light source 8b such as a strobe, and a movable mirror 8c, as shown in FIG.
The light is reflected by the movable mirror 8c via the condensing lens and enters the light guide 7. When the strobe light emission switch is turned on, the movable mirror 8c first moves to the dotted line position, and then the strobe light source 8b emits light. It is conceivable that the light from the continuous light source 8a be made to enter the light guide 7 again after the light emission is completed, but the movable mirror 8c returns to the solid line position. According to the light source device 8 configured in this way, the continuous light source 8a is normally used, and the strobe light source 8b can be used only when necessary, and the strobe light source has a short light emission time of usually 1 ms, so it is very clear. Still image characteristics can be obtained.

However, by attaching a TV camera head or solid-state image sensor to the finder of the endoscope, images observed by the endoscope can be recorded and played back instantly using the TV system.

When performing transmission, simultaneous monitoring by a large number of people, or in the case of an endoscope equipped with a solid-state image sensor and an electronic viewfinder, the timing of the strobe light source's light emission is limited due to the image reading of the image sensor. If it deviates from the limit, uneven light intensity will appear on the screen.

In view of the above points, the present invention aims to provide a strobe light source device for an endoscope, which emits a strobe in synchronization with a vertical synchronization signal of a TV system or an electronic viewfinder used. This will be explained below with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings. In FIG. 3, numeral 9 is a half mirror, and the others are the same as in FIG. 2. In FIG. 4, 10 is a strobe light emitting switch, and 11 is a T (not shown).
A synchronization circuit 12 for the V system or electronic finder receives a vertical synchronization signal from the synchronization circuit 11, and when a trigger signal is input from the strobe light switch 10, the power supply circuit 13 for the continuous light source 8a synchronizes with the vertical synchronization signal. and a control circuit that controls the operation of the power supply circuit 14 of the strobe light source 8b.

The embodiment of the present invention is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained with reference to the time chart shown in FIG. (A
) is the operation of the strobe light emission switch 10, (B) is a trigger signal for a certain period of time output from the strobe light emission switch 10, and (C) is a vertical synchronization signal output from the synchronization circuit 11, and the strobe light emission switch 10 is turned on. When the trigger signal 7 is turned on, a constant time trigger signal 7 is input to the control circuit 12 regardless of its ON time.

After the trigger signal is input, the control circuit 12 turns off the power supply circuit 13 of the continuous light source 8a in synchronization with the first vertical synchronization signal.
and strobe light source 8 in synchronization with the second vertical synchronization signal.
The power supply circuit 14 of b is activated in pulses, and the power supply circuit 14 of the continuous light source 8a is turned ON again in synchronization with the third vertical synchronization signal.
Make it. Thus, the continuous light source 8a emits light as shown in (D), and the strobe light source 8b emits light as shown in (D), and a video signal as shown in (F) is output to the monitor or electronic viewfinder of the TV system.

In the case of this embodiment, the continuous light source 8a is provided by disposing a light shielding member such as a shutter plate or liquid crystal in front of the continuous light source 8a, or by disposing a movable mirror similar to that shown in FIG. 2 in place of the half mirror 9. The light incident on the light guide 7 may be controlled as shown in FIG. 5(D) while the light remains on.

6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same components as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted. 15 is a light source such as a strobe lamp that can be switched between continuous light emission mode and Noculus light emission mode; 16 is a light guide 7 from the light source 15;
A shutter plate 17 capable of blocking the optical path to the incident end of the shutter plate 17 is a solenoid for inserting and removing the shutter plate 16 into and from the optical path.

A control unit 18 receives a vertical synchronization signal from the synchronization circuit 11, and when a trigger signal is input from the strobe light emission switch 10, controls the power supply circuit 19 of the light source 15 and operates the solenoid 17 in synchronization with the vertical synchronization signal. It is a circuit.

The operation of the above embodiment is performed as shown in FIG.

That is, when the strobe light emission switch 10 is turned on (A)
, a trigger signal (B) for a certain period of time is input to the control circuit 18, and after the trigger signal is input, the control circuit 18 operates the solenoid 17 in synchronization with the first vertical synchronization signal to close the shirt plate 16. (Then, the solenoid 17 is activated in synchronization with the second vertical synchronization signal to open the shutter plate 16. At the same time, the power supply circuit 19 is activated to cause the light source 15 to emit pulsed light. After a predetermined period of time, the light is turned off and then continues again. Therefore, the light reaching the incident end of the light guide 7 becomes as shown in (F), and a video signal as shown in (F) is output to the monitor or electronic viewfinder of the TV system.

In the second embodiment, a light shielding member such as a rotating mirror may be used in place of the shutter plate 16 and the solenoid 170 to shield light.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the strobe light source is made to emit light in synchronization with the vertical synchronization signal of the TV system or electronic viewfinder used, the pulse width of the light emission of the strobe light source is 1 ms or less. , on the TV system monitor or electronic viewfinder.
A clear image with still image characteristics equivalent to that obtained when shooting at a shutter speed as short as 1000 seconds is obtained, and the light from the continuous light source does not enter the light guide 7 during the video signal period for one frame immediately before the pulse emission. Therefore, the light from the continuous light source does not adversely affect the images produced by pulsed light emission, making it very effective.

Incidentally, in the above explanation, in any of the embodiments, the image produced by pulsed light emission is only for -frames, but this can be memorized by appropriate means and displayed on a monitor for several seconds, or even if a still image produced by pulsed light emission is displayed on an electronic viewfinder. good.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a conventional endoscope, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a light source device for an endoscope, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a strobe light source device according to the present invention. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the device shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a time chart of the operation of the device shown in FIG. 3, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram similar to FIGS. 3 to 5 for the embodiment of FIG. 8... Light source device, 9... Half mirror 110.
... Strobe light emission switch, 11... Synchronous circuit, 12.18... Control circuit, 13, 14.19...
...Power supply circuit, 15...Light source, 16...Shutter plate, 17...Solenoid. Agent Yasushi Shinohara 1'2 Figures 1-5 Figures 3 and 6 Figures 17 Figure 18 Continued from page 1 0 Invention by Hisao Ogiu Invention within Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd., 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Yasuhiro Ueda 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Inventor Susumu Nishigaki 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. 0 Inventor Atsushi Tadashi Tokyo 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inventor Yuzuki Yuzuki 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Kaiaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 43-2 Within Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] It includes a control circuit that operates a power supply circuit in synchronization with a vertical synchronization signal of the TV system or electronic viewfinder used when the strobe light emission switch is turned on, and a strobe light source that emits light by the operation of the power supply circuit. A strobe light source device for an endoscope, characterized in that the screen of a TV system or electronic finder can properly display an image illuminated by the strobe light source.