Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Pentax Corporation

Kouhei Iketani

Akihiro Takahashi

Ryo Ozawa

An electronic endoscope system which captures an image of an object and displays the same on a display device is provided with a noise reduction system. The noise reduction system reduces noise included in a frame of an image signal for each color component. The noise-reduced color components are stored in a buffer, and then output as a video signal to be transmitted to a display where a color image of the object is displayed.

Electronic endoscope system for reducing random noise of a video signal

A video-signal processing device is connectable to an electronic endoscope for feeding at least one kind of electric analog video signal from the electronic endoscope to a peripheral equipment. The video-signal processing device has a photo-coupler or a transformer coupler for making it possible to input the electric analog color video signal from the electronic endoscope to the video-signal processing device, whereby the electronic endoscope is electrically insulated from the peripheral equipment for an electrical security. Also, the video-signal processing device has an analog-to-digital converter for converting the electric analog video signal into a parallel electric digital video signal, a parallel-to-serial converter for converting the parallel electric digital video signal into a serial electric digital video signal, and an electrical-optical converter for converting the serial electric digital video signal into a serial optical digital video signal.

Video-signal processing device connectable to an electronic endoscope

A video-signal processing device connectable to an electronic endoscope capable of outputting a component-type electric analog color video signal. An analog-to-digital converter converts video-signal components of the component-type video signal into parallel digital color video-signal components. A color-conversion digital matrix circuit produces a parallel digital luminance signal-component, and two kinds of parallel digital color-difference signal-components based on the parallel digital color video-signal-components. A parallel-to-serial converter converts the luminance signal-component and digital color-difference signal-components into serial digital color video-signal-components. The electric analog video signal outputted from the electronic endoscope is fed outside the device as the serial electric digital video signal.

A video-signal processing device is connectable to an electronic endoscope designed to output at least one kind of electric analog video signal, and comprises: an analog-to-digital converter for converting the electric analog video signal into a parallel electric digital video signal; and a parallel-to-serial converter for converting the parallel electric digital video signal into a serial electric digital video signal, whereby the electric analog video signal outputted from the electronic endoscope is fed outside from said device as the serial electric digital video signal.

An electronic endoscope has an image sensor for converting an optical image into analog electric image-pixel signals, and an analog-to-digital converter for converting the analog electric image-pixel signals into digital electric image-pixel signals on the basis of a first series of clock pulses. A number of the converted digital electric image-pixel signals included in a one-horizontal-scanning-line being is based upon a frequency of the first series of clock pulses. The endoscope has a pixel-number converter for converting the number of the converted digital electric image-pixel signals into another number of digital image-pixel signals so as to enable the digital electric image-pixel signals to be externally outputted on the basis of a second series of clock pulses having a frequency different from that of the first clock pulses.

Electronic endoscope

A video-signal processing device is connectable to an electronic endoscope designed to output at least one kind of video signal, and comprises a character-information signal producer for producing a character-information signal on the basis of character-code data, and an adder for adding the character-information signal to the video signal outputted from the electronic endoscope, whereby the video signal carrying the character-information signal is fed outside from the device. When the endoscope further outputs a control signal in response to a turning-ON of a function switch thereof, the device comprises a memory for storing fixed character-code data; and a memory-reader for reading the fixed character-code data from the memory in response to the control signal outputted from the endoscope. The character-information signal producer produces a fixed character-information signal on the basis of the fixed character-code data read from the memory.

A battery charger used to charge a battery has a voltage detector for detecting a voltage across a battery, a memory for storing detected voltage values, and a comparator for comparing a presently detected voltage with a previously stored voltage. If the detected voltage decreases below a certain value before a predetermined period of time elapses, it is determined that a battery that has been in storage for a long period of time is connected to the battery charger. The battery charger will then apply a constant current to the battery until a second predetermined period of time has elapsed.

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Tokyo, Japan

Kouhei Iketani