JP2001327462A - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an endoscope device capable of backing up various type processing data even when a power source is turned off with a simple constitution. SOLUTION: The endoscope device 1 comprises a light source 8 for supplying an illumination light to an endoscope 5. The light source 8 manages various type setting, a display of the setting and control of the various type processing data desired to be stored such as maintenance information, and the like, in a front panel 15 by a CPU 16b. The CPU 16b has a ferroelectric memory 20, hence temporarily writes, stores the data at a normal operation time in a RAM 19, simultaneously writes, stores the data in the memory 20 as well and can operate in response to the data in a state in which the power source is off at the previous time by reading the data from the memory 20 in the case of turning on the power source next time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly, to an endoscope apparatus having a backup memory.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, it is possible to diagnose a diseased part or the like in the body cavity without incision, and to perform a treatment by inserting a treatment tool as necessary. Endoscopes that can be used are widespread.

The endoscope transmits illumination light from a light source device or the like to a distal end of an insertion portion by a light guide or the like, and irradiates the target portion such as an affected part with an illumination light from the distal end through an illumination optical system. An image of a target site such as an affected part is formed by an objective lens disposed at the distal end of the insertion section, and the formed optical image is transmitted to an eyepiece provided on the hand side by optical transmission means, and an eyepiece optical system is provided. Allows for a magnified observation. As the optical transmission means, for example, a fiber bundle is used in a flexible endoscope, and a relay lens is used in a hard endoscope, depending on the use and purpose.

Recently, a solid-state image pickup device, for example, a CCD is provided in the distal end portion of the insertion section, an optical image is formed on an image forming surface of the CCD by an objective lens, and the CCD converts the image information into electric information. Electronic endoscopes that can display a desired image of a target site on a monitor or the like by performing various image processing on this image information have also been widely used.

[0005] With the improvement of image processing technology in recent years, various kinds of image processing can be performed on the above-mentioned image information as described above, so that diagnosis and the like, for example, enlargement of an image and comparison with a related image can be made easier. The optical image can be processed as image information by attaching a camera head unit having a CCD or the like to the eyepiece unit in an endoscope having a conventional optical transmission means so that the optical image can be securely attached. Endoscope systems have been developed. In each device used in such an endoscope system, it is necessary to store various settings even when the power is turned off. Therefore, a conventional endoscope apparatus has an EEPROM as a backup memory for storing various setting data when the power is turned off as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-297714.
(Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) was generally used.

A conventional endoscope device having such an EEPROM is configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example.
The endoscope apparatus 100 includes an endoscope 101 and the endoscope 10.
A camera head 102 which can be freely mounted on the camera head 102;
The endoscope 101 includes a light source device 105 that supplies illumination light to the endoscope 101 via a light guide cable 104. The CCU 103 performs signal processing on an image pickup signal obtained by the camera head 102. A video signal obtained by performing signal processing in the CCU 103 is output to a monitor 106, and an endoscopic image is displayed on the monitor 106. The light source device 105 includes a lamp 111 that emits illumination light, a lamp power supply 112 that supplies power to the lamp 111, an aperture 113 that adjusts the amount of illumination light of the lamp 111, and a dimming signal from the CCU 7. A dimming circuit 1 for controlling the aperture 113 so that the brightness of the subject is constant based on the
14 is provided.

In the light source device 105, setting of a brightness target value of the dimming circuit 114, various setting statuses, various maintenance information, and the like are also displayed by operating the front panel 115. The control of various processing data such as various settings and display and maintenance information on the front panel 115 is managed by the CPU 116, and the various processing data is always stored even when the power supply 117 of the light source device 106 is turned off. Need to be kept.

Such a conventional light source device 106 includes a RAM 118 as temporary storage means for various calculations and setting conditions of the CPU 116 while the power is on, and also provides a backup when the power is turned off. E as memory
An EPROM 119 is provided. When the power is turned off, the power monitoring unit 120 detects that
CPU 11 outputs a detection signal to the
Reference numeral 6 controls the memory control unit 123 in accordance with a program read from the ROM 122 via the bus 121 to read various processing data required for backup from the RAM 118 and sequentially write the data to the EEPROM 119. The memory control unit 123 is connected to the signal line 124.
Through the RAM 118, the EPROM 119 and the RO
It controls reading and writing of data of M122.

Conventionally, a supercapacitor 125 is provided to operate the CPU 116 and other peripheral circuits only for the operation time required for writing to the EEPROM 119. When the power is turned on, the supercapacitor 125 is first used.
By reading out various processing data such as various settings stored in the memory 19, the operation can be started from the set values based on the various processing data.

That is, the conventional light source device 105 stores various processing data such as setting data that the user wants to store while the power is on, in the RAM 118, and stores the supercapacitor 125 after the power is off. Thus, various processing data such as setting data to be stored and written from the RAM 118 to the EEPROM 119 are backed up so that they can operate only for the time required for backup.

[0011]

However, the conventional endoscope apparatus 100 provided with the light source device 105 having the EEPROM 119 as a backup memory has a power supply monitoring unit 120 for monitoring the power supply 117 on / off and the E / E monitor.
CP for the time required for backup of EPROM 119
A supercapacitor 125 for operating U116 and other peripheral circuits is provided.
It was necessary to transfer various processing data from 118 to the EEPROM 119. For this reason, there are disadvantages such as an increase in the occupancy of the component space on the substrate and an increase in software for operating the components. In addition, the EEPROM 119 used as a backup memory has a problem that the number of times of writing is small.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus having a simple configuration and capable of backing up various processing data even when the power is turned off.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises a ferroelectric memory as a backup memory for storing processing data, and the processing data stored in the ferroelectric memory during operation. And a CPU for reading the corresponding data from the ferroelectric memory when the power is turned on and controlling the device in accordance with the data when the power was last turned off. Thus, an endoscope apparatus having a simple configuration and capable of backing up various processing data even when the power is turned off is realized.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has an eyepiece 4 provided with an insertion section 2 inserted into a body cavity and an optical image of a subject such as an affected part provided on an operation section 3. Endoscope (hereinafter, simply referred to as an endoscope) 5 and a camera head which is attached to the eyepiece 4 of the endoscope 5 so as to be freely attached and captures the optical image from the eyepiece 4. 6, a camera control unit (hereinafter, CCU) 7 that performs signal processing on an image pickup signal obtained by the camera head 6, and a light source device 8 that supplies illumination light to the endoscope 5.
In the present embodiment, the light source device 8 is configured as a device and controlled by a CPU circuit described later.

An optical image of a subject transmitted to the eyepiece 4 of the endoscope 5 is converted into an image signal by a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (not shown) in the camera head 6 and the image signal is sent to the CCU 7. In this way, the image signal is processed in the CCU 7 and transmitted to the monitor 9 as a video signal.
The subject can be observed on the monitor 9. The endoscope 5 captures an optical image of a subject through an observation window (not shown) provided on the distal end surface of the insertion section 2 and transmits the optical image to the eyepiece 4 by a light guide unit (not shown) such as a relay lens. It is designed to be transmitted. And this eyepiece 4
An optical image is formed on an image forming surface of a solid-state image pickup device built in the camera head 6 through an eyepiece (not shown) provided in the camera head 6. The operation unit 3 is provided on the endoscope 5.
By removably connecting the light guide cable 3a extending from the side to the light source device 8, illumination light from the light source device 8 is supplied, and this illumination light is transmitted to the distal end side of the insertion portion 2, and The subject is illuminated from the exit surface through an illumination window.

The light source device 8 includes a lamp 11 for emitting illumination light, and a lamp power supply 1 for supplying power to the lamp 11.
2 and an aperture 1 for adjusting the amount of illumination light of the lamp 11
3 and a dimming circuit 14 for controlling the aperture 13 so that the brightness of the subject is constant based on the dimming signal from the CCU 7. In the light source device 8, by pressing a plurality of switches (not shown) provided on the front panel 15, the setting of the brightness target value of the dimming circuit 14 and the dimming are performed automatically or manually. Or by setting a dimming mode or the like to select the above, or by integrating the various setting conditions and a lamp lighting signal output from the lamp power supply 12 by using an LED (not shown) provided on the front panel 15. The display and the like of the transmission and lighting time of the lamp 11 are performed. In addition, various maintenance information such as the number of power-on times and whether or not the lamp 11 is replaced is also displayed. The CPU controls various processing data to be stored such as various settings on the front panel 15 and display and maintenance information thereof.
16b.

In this embodiment, a ferroelectric memory, which will be described later, is provided as a backup memory for the various types of processing data, and the processing data is sequentially written to the ferroelectric memory during operation, and the ferroelectric memory is stored when power is turned on. , The corresponding data is read out from the device, and control is performed in accordance with the corresponding data when the power supply is turned off last time.

That is, the CPU 16b stores a ROM 18 storing a basic program for controlling data input / output via the bus 17, and a program read from the ROM 18 and various processing data input / output. A RAM 19 for temporarily recording, a ferroelectric memory 20 for sequentially writing the processing data at the time of operation, and reading the processing data at power-on;
6b, a memory control unit 22 for controlling reading and writing of data via the signal line 21 is provided.
The U circuit 16 is constituted. The signal line 21a is connected from the memory control unit 22 to the ferroelectric memory 20,
The signal line 21b is sent from the memory control unit 22 to the RAM 1
9 and a signal line 21c is connected from the memory control unit 22 to the ROM 18.

As a result, various kinds of processing data during normal operation are temporarily written and stored in the RAM 19 and simultaneously written and stored in the ferroelectric memory 20. The next time the power is turned on, the ferroelectric memory 20 stores the data. By reading out various types of processing data, an operation according to the data in the state where the power supply was last turned off can be performed. The ferroelectric memory 20 may read and write data in parallel, or may use a serial memory. The connection between the ferroelectric memory 20 and the CPU 16b is not limited to the bus 17, but may be an input / output port.

As a result, it is not necessary to operate the CPU circuit 16 for a necessary time when the power is turned off.
The conventional power supply monitoring unit and the supercapacitor described in (1) are omitted, and various processing data are stored in the ferroelectric memory 2 during normal operation.
By writing data to 0 as needed, various processing data can be left on the ferroelectric memory 20 without any special operation even when the power is turned off, and the configuration can be simplified. Therefore, the actual area of the substrate can be reduced, the software can be simplified, and the number of writable times can be significantly increased, and the number of development steps and cost can be reduced.

It is needless to say that the present embodiment is not limited to the light source device 8, but can be similarly applied to various devices constituting the endoscope device 1 (endoscope system) or a centralized control system.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment. In the first embodiment, the RAM 19 for temporarily storing a program read from the ROM 18 and various processing data to be input / output, and the processing data are sequentially written at the time of operation, and the corresponding processing data are stored at power-on. Although the configuration includes the ferroelectric memory 20 to be read, the second embodiment is configured so that the operation of the RAM 19 is also used by the ferroelectric memory 20. The rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The same components will be described with the same reference numerals.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the light source device 31 constituting the endoscope device 30 of the second embodiment has the R
The ferroelectric memory 32, which also functions as the AM 19, is provided.

Thus, since the ferroelectric memory 32 can temporarily store the program read from the ROM 18 and various processing data to be input / output, the RAM 19 (see FIG. 1), which was conventionally required, can be stored. It can be deleted, and the configuration can be simplified accordingly.

Accordingly, it is possible to further reduce the actual area of the substrate, simplify the software, and significantly increase the number of writable times as compared with the first embodiment, thereby realizing a reduction in the number of development steps and costs. it can.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Incidentally, a conventional endoscope apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 1-257911 and 10-19223.
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 (1993) -207, there have been some types of dimming systems which are broadly divided and have two types of dimming modes described below.

The endoscope described in the former (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-257911) extracts a luminance signal from a video signal of a camera, compares the luminance signal with a reference value prepared separately, and compares the luminance signal with the reference value. There has been proposed a device provided with a dimming method for operating the aperture blade so that the reference signal and the luminance signal match according to the result. That is, automatic dimming is performed so that the brightness of the monitor matches the reference value. Then, by making the reference value variable, automatic dimming is performed so that the screen has the brightness desired by the user. In the endoscope device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-257911, a luminance signal is extracted from a video signal. However, a luminance signal is extracted in advance on the CCU side, and the luminance signal is transmitted to the light source device in the form of a luminance signal. There is also a method of inputting.

The latter (JP-A-10-192232)
As for the endoscope device described in (1), a dimming method in which the CCU controls all of the devices has been proposed. This means that the CCU side can control the aperture blades by outputting a dimming signal while detecting the position signal of the aperture blades in the light source device on the CCU side. And the automatic light control is basically CC
This is performed by the electronic shutter on the U side. In the CCU,
A dimming signal is output so that the position of the diaphragm blade is fixed substantially at the center, and in this state, dimming is performed by the electronic shutter. The target value of the electronic shutter is set to the brightness desired by the user by the dimming level adjusting means provided on the CCU side. If the operating range of the electronic shutter is about to be exceeded, the aperture blade is slightly moved. The amount of light is adjusted so that it always moves within the operating range of the electronic shutter. For this reason, the amount of illumination light is always kept to the minimum necessary, and problems such as burns are less likely to occur.

However, in the conventional endoscope apparatus, two types of dimming methods are mixed, and in each of the dimming methods, the brightness is set differently between the light source device side and the CCU side. The user needs to combine the light source device and C
It was necessary to change the setting location of the brightness depending on the type of CU. Also, in the case of a device in which one type of CCU is connected to a CCU having an electronic shutter function and not to have two types of CCDs, the dimming method differs for each type of CCD to be combined. Therefore, it is necessary to change the brightness adjustment position for each type of CCD, which is not convenient.

Therefore, what kind of endoscope or CCU (CC
D), the endoscope apparatus is configured so that the brightness adjustment is effective and where the brightness adjustment should be performed even when the light source devices are combined.

FIG. 4 shows an endoscope apparatus whose brightness can be adjusted according to the type of CCD. The endoscope apparatus 200 includes an endoscope 204 that inserts the insertion unit 201 into a body cavity and transmits an optical image of a subject such as an affected part to an eyepiece unit 203 provided above the operation unit 202, and an electronic shutter function. A camera head 206 which has a built-in CCD 205 and is attachable to the eyepiece 203 of the endoscope 204 and a CCD 207 which does not have an electronic shutter function. Camera head 2 that can be freely attached to the eyepiece 213 of the endoscope 204
08, a CCU 209 that performs signal processing on image signals obtained by the camera heads 206 and 208, a light source device 210 that supplies illumination light to the endoscope 204,
A monitor 211 displays a subject image based on a video signal processed by the CU 209. In FIG. 4, a camera head 206 having a built-in CCD 205 having an electronic shutter function is attached to an eyepiece 203 of an endoscope 204.

First, C which does not have the electronic shutter function
A case where the camera head 207 having the CD 207 built therein is attached to the eyepiece 203 of the endoscope 204 will be described. The light source device 210 supplies illumination light from a lamp 213 which is turned on and off by a lamp power supply 212 to a dimming circuit 21.
The light amount is adjusted by the stop 215 by the drive control of No. 4 and supplied to the endoscope 204. The dimming circuit 214
Are controlled by a light source side control unit 220 described later.

The endoscope 204 includes the light source 210
The illumination light supplied from the light source device 210 is transmitted to the distal end side of the insertion section 201 via a light guide cable 216 detachably attached to the camera, and the light is emitted from the emission surface through an illumination lens system (not shown). To illuminate. The illuminated optical image of the subject is taken in via an objective optical system (not shown) provided on the distal end side of the insertion section 201 and transmitted to the eyepiece section 203 by light guide means (not shown) such as a relay lens. You. The eyepiece 203 is provided with an eyepiece (not shown), and an optical image of a subject is formed on the image forming surface of the CCD 207 of the camera head 208 attached to the eyepiece 203 via the eyepiece. . The CCD 207 in the camera head 208 is driven and controlled by the CCD drive circuit 217 of the CCU 209, and converts an optical signal of an object from the eyepiece 203 of the endoscope 204 into an image by an image processing circuit. The signal is processed at 218 and transmitted as a video signal to the monitor 211 so that the monitor 211 can observe the subject.

Further, an automatic dimming function described below is provided so that the brightness of the image on the monitor 211 is always constant even when the distance between the endoscope 204 and the subject changes. The light source device 210 includes a light source side control unit 220 that controls the dimming circuit 214, and the dimming circuit 214 is controlled by the light source side control unit 220 to control the image processing circuit 218.
The brightness of the image on the monitor 211 output as the dimming signal a from the CCU-side control unit 219 is compared with a variable desired brightness signal b set on the front panel 221 of the light source device 210. The diaphragm 215 is driven so that the optical signal a matches the desired brightness signal b. Thereby, the amount of illumination light on the subject is adjusted to be constant, so that the brightness of the image on the monitor 211 can be always kept constant. That is,
The brightness of the image on the monitor 211 is adjusted on the front panel 221 on the light source device 10 side.

On the other hand, a CC having an electronic shutter function
D205 built-in camera head 206
A case where the camera is attached to the eyepiece 203 of FIG.

First, the image processing circuit 2 of the CCU 209
By controlling the dimming signal a while monitoring the aperture position signal a obtained via the communication signal line 222 at 18, the light source device 210 is operated so that the position of the aperture 215 of the light source device 210 is fixed substantially at the center. Next, in this state, the CCD
Light control is performed by the electronic shutter 205. The electronic shutter operates with the desired brightness signal a set on the front panel 223 of the CCU 209 as a target value. That is,
The brightness is adjusted to the user's preference by the dimming level adjusting means provided on the CCU 209 side.

When the operation range of the electronic shutter is about to be exceeded, for example, when the subject is so bright that it is near the limit where the electronic shutter cannot fully stop, the aperture 215 is slightly reduced by the judgment of the image processing circuit 218. As described above, the dimming signal a is output, and the aperture 215 is slightly reduced so that the operation range of the electronic shutter is properly maintained. In other words, when the operating range of the electronic shutter is about to be exceeded, the amount of illumination light is always required because the amount of illumination light is always adjusted by slightly moving the aperture blade from the CCU 209 so as to be within the operating range of the electronic shutter. It can be minimized, and unnecessary emitted light can be suppressed.

The presence or absence of the electronic shutter function is determined by the electronic shutter detection unit 231. A camera head 206 incorporating a CCD 205 having an electronic shutter function has an electronic shutter detecting piece 232,
By detecting the connection of the electronic shutter detecting piece 232 by the electronic shutter detecting section 231, it is detected that the connected camera head has an electronic shutter function.

The circuit configuration of the electronic shutter detecting piece 232 is, for example, as shown in FIG. The electronic shutter detecting piece 232 has two pins 232 connected to the camera connector 206a detachably connected to the CCU 209, for example.
a and 232b, and these two pins 232a and 232b are in an electrically shorted state. On the other hand, the connector receiving portion 209 a of the CCU 209 has a pin receiving portion 233 of the electronic shutter detecting portion 231.
a, 233b are formed. The pin receiving portion 233
a is connected to GND while the pin receiving portion 23 is connected to GND.
3b is connected to the internal voltage V via the resistor R. Reference numeral 206b denotes the CCD 205 and the CCD driving circuit 2;
17 is a signal pin for electrically connecting the signal pin 17 to the signal pin 17. The pin receiving portion of the signal pin 206b is not shown for convenience of the drawing. Also, the signal line 2 in the electronic shutter detection unit 231
Needless to say, 22 is not limited to two and may be one or two or more.

The camera connector 206a is connected to the CCU 20
9 is connected to the connector receiving portion 209a, the pins 232a and 232b are connected to the pin receiving portions 233a and 233b, and the pin receiving portion 2 is connected via the pins 232a and 232b.
Since the reference voltage V of the pin 33b is connected to the GND of the pin receiving section 233a, "L" is output to the CCU side control section 219 as an electronic shutter presence / absence detection signal.

The CCU side controller 219 recognizes the presence or absence of an electronic shutter by inputting the electronic shutter presence / absence detection signal to an I / O port (not shown), for example.
When a camera head 208 having a built-in CCD 207 without an electronic shutter mechanism is connected to the CCU 209, the electronic shutter detecting piece 2 is connected to the camera connector.
Since H.32 is not formed, “H” is output to the CCU side control unit 219. Thus, the CCU-side control unit 219 can recognize the presence or absence of the electronic shutter.

The detection result of the electronic shutter detecting section 231 is input to the CCU side control section 219 as an electronic shutter presence / absence detection signal.
By outputting the driving circuit 217, the driving method of the CCD corresponding to the presence or absence of the electronic shutter is selected, and the driving suitable for the type of the CCD is performed. At the same time, based on the determination result of the presence or absence of the electronic shutter, whether the brightness of the image is adjusted on the CCU 209 side or the brightness adjustment on the light source device 210 side is displayed on the monitor 211 by the image processing of the image processing circuit 218.

As shown in FIG. 6, a message such as "brightness adjustment = light source device" is displayed on the monitor 211 in a place where it does not interfere with the endoscope image, so that the user is not confused by the image brightness. Adjustments can be made.

In this way, since which device should be used to adjust the brightness of the image is displayed on the monitor 211, the user can appropriately adjust the brightness of the image without worrying about the type of CCD. Become. As a result, the user
Since the type of D, that is, whether the brightness adjustment of the image is performed on the CCU side or the light source device side is displayed on the monitor, the user appropriately adjusts the brightness of the image without worrying about the type of the scope. be able to.

[Appendix] (Appendix 1) The ferroelectric memory as a backup memory for storing process data, and the process data are sequentially written into the ferroelectric memory during operation, and from the ferroelectric memory when power is turned on. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a CPU that reads out the relevant data and controls a device according to the relevant data in a state where the power has been turned off last time.

(Additional Item 2) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the ferroelectric memory is controlled by a parallel method.

(Additional Item 3) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the ferroelectric memory is controlled by a serial system.

(Additional Item 4) The endoscope apparatus according to additional item 1, wherein the device is various devices constituting a system or a centralized control system.

(Additional Item 5) In an endoscope apparatus provided with an image processing device to which a plurality of kinds of image pickup devices can be detachably connected, an illuminating means for illuminating a subject, and an output of illuminating light generated by the illuminating means A diaphragm for controlling the amount of light; a discriminator for discriminating the presence or absence of a charge accumulation varying unit provided in the imaging device; and a controller for controlling the diaphragm based on a discrimination result of the discriminator. Endoscope device.

(Additional Item 6) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 5, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying a control state of the control unit based on a determination result of the determining unit.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the actual area of the substrate by removing the power supply monitoring unit and the supercapacitor, simplify the software, and greatly increase the number of writable times. The development man-hour and cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional endoscope device.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus capable of adjusting brightness according to the type of CCD.

FIG. 5 is a circuit configuration diagram in the vicinity of an electronic shutter detection piece of FIG. 4;

6 is an example of a monitor display by the endoscope apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 5 ... Endoscope 3 ... Operation part 6 ... Camera head 7 ... CCU (camera control unit) 8 ... Light source device 11 ... Lamp 13 ... Aperture 14 ... Dimming circuit 15 ... Front panel 16 ... CPU circuit 16b CPU 17 Bus 18 ROM 19 RAM 20 Ferroelectric memory 22 Memory controller

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Tashiro 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Takashino 2-34-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Seiichi Hosoda 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo In-house Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Yutaka Koshikawa 2-43-2, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Keiji Handa 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Takeaki Nakamura 2-43 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4C061 AA00 BB00 CC00 DD00 JJ20

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ferroelectric memory as a backup memory for storing processing data, and the processing data is sequentially written into the ferroelectric memory at the time of operation. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a CPU that controls a device in accordance with the data when the power is off.