JPH10319214A - Lenticular lens manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply perform the manufacturing of a lenticular lens and the preparing a stereoscopic image using the lens by means of a simple thermal head printer. SOLUTION: A thermal foaming transparent film is periodically heated by the thermal head 5 of a thermal printer and a rugged lenticular lens 8 is simply formed by using the thermal printer. At the same time, a stereoscopic image is simply formed so as to print an image for right eye and an image for left eye synchronized with the ruggedness of the lenticular lens 8 based on a ruggedness position signal for detecting the rugged position of the lenticular lens 8 thus obtained by using the thermal printer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for easily producing a lenticular lens by a printer having a thermal head, and more particularly to a method for printing a three-dimensional image using the lenticular lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, stereoscopic images using a lenticular lens of a photographic system have been put to practical use, but the lenticular lens itself has not been easily prepared at home. In other words, even if a home printer can print on a lenticular lens formed in advance, the conventional lenticular lens heats and press-molds a plate of vinyl chloride or the like. I couldn't make it easily. In addition, there is a disadvantage that the size of a printable image is restricted by the width of the existing lenticular lens.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the lenticular lens itself can be easily produced by a home printer.
The lenticular lens is used to easily print a three-dimensional image at home.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and uses a thermal printer to apply heat to a thermally foamable transparent film periodically with a thermal head of the thermal printer to easily form an uneven lenticular lens. Is created.

On the other hand, the right-eye image and the left-eye image synchronized with the unevenness of the lenticular lens are printed by another thermal printer on the back side of the lenticular lens created as described above, based on the unevenness position signal of the lenticular lens. It is like that.

Further, an optical sensor for detecting the uneven position of a lenticular lens is provided in the vicinity of the thermal head in a thermal printer having a thermal head and a print control unit for controlling a print signal applied to the thermal head. An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of easily printing a three-dimensional image using a lenticular lens by giving a detection signal detected by a sensor to the print control unit.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a simple method for producing a lenticular lens according to the present invention using a thermal printer. 1 is a platen roller, 2 is a thermal head, 21 is a print control unit for controlling the thermal head 2, and these are generally known thermal printers. According to the present invention using such a thermal printer, the thermally foamable transparent film 3 is inserted between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2, and the heating of the thermal head 2 is controlled by the print control unit 21. In this case, a lenticular lens is formed continuously in the form of a lenticular lens. A PET film is used as the recording sheet of the heat-expandable transparent film 3, and a sheet having a heat-expandable material on the front and an image receiving layer of a first proof receiver on the back thereof is used. Examples of the thermally foamable material include Microsphere-RQ-51 manufactured by Matsumoto Yushi Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
1, -30, -50, Expancel WV820 manufactured by Nippon Ferrite Co., Ltd. and the like are used. In the formation of the kamaboko type, the printing control unit 21 variably controls the amount of heating applied to the thermal head 2 based on data having lenticular lens information, so that irregularities according to the amount of heating can be easily formed on the film 3 of the thermally foamable material. Can be formed. In addition, according to the method of the present invention, the printing control unit 21 can easily change the amount and the period of the heating amount applied to the film 3 by changing the magnitude and the period of the heating amount to be applied to the film 3 instead of the troublesome press molding method which is the conventional lenticular lens manufacturing method. Therefore, it can be easily created by a home printer.

FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional image printing method using a lenticular lens created by the method of FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 4 denotes a platen roller for recording an image, 5 denotes a thermal head, 51 denotes a print control unit for controlling the thermal head 5, and 6 denotes a ribbon. Reference numeral 7 denotes an optical sensor, which is a light source (for example, L
ED) and a light receiving unit (for example, a photodiode) for receiving the light beam. In this case, when a thin light beam is emitted from the uneven surface of the lenticular lens toward the convex surface, the light beam is emitted. Is refracted on the convex surface of the lenticular lens. At this time, for example, if the parallel beam light hits the right convex surface in the drawing, the parallel beam light is refracted to the left in the drawing and passes through the lenticular lens,
The light enters the left light receiving unit of the light receiving unit of the optical sensor 7. Conversely, the parallel light beam hit on the left convex surface in the drawing refracts to the right in the drawing, passes through the lenticular lens, and enters the right light receiving portion of the light receiving portion of the optical sensor 7. Therefore, it is only necessary to sort and print one of the two types of images in accordance with which of the right light receiving unit and the left light receiving unit among the light receiving units of the optical sensor 7 is receiving light. In this case, of course, the two types of images are cut into frames corresponding to the periodic width of the uneven surface of the lenticular lens, half of the screen of each frame is printed, and the other half is cut. Thus, the optical sensor 7 detects the position of the convex portion of the lenticular lens 8 and
A signal for synchronizing the printing of the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye by the thermal head 5 with the uneven position of the lens is obtained. Reference numeral 8 denotes a lenticular lens formed according to FIG. 1, and reference numeral 9 denotes a right-eye image and a left-eye image printed on the image receiving layer on the back side of the lenticular lens 8 in synchronization with the unevenness of the lens.

Next, a description will be given of a method of creating a lenticular three-dimensional image in the above configuration. The lenticular lens 8 created in FIG. 1 is turned over and sent between the optical sensors 7. Lenticular lens is optical sensor 7
The uneven position is detected, and the uneven position information is sent to the print control unit 51. The print controller 51 calculates whether the image to be printed at present is the right-eye image or the left-eye image and the number of the frame from the distance information between the unevenness position information (the unevenness period) and the optical sensor 7 and the thermal head 5. Then, a print control signal corresponding to appropriate image information is given to the thermal head 5 from the image data stored in the print control unit 51 in advance. The thermal head 5 prints a right-eye image and a left-eye image 9 synchronized with the unevenness of the lenticular lens on the back side of the lenticular lens 8 based on a print control signal sent from the print control unit 51.

When the present invention is carried out using one thermal head as described above, first, a thermal foaming film is set on a thermal printer with a print ribbon removed, and the thermal printer is used to set a surface of the thermal foaming film. A lenticular lens having irregularities is formed on the film, and then the film on which the lenticular lens is formed is set upside down on the thermal printer in a printing ribbon setting state, and the film is synchronized with the irregularities of the lens on the back surface of the lenticular lens. The right-eye image and the left-eye image are to be printed, by creating a lenticular lens using an existing thermal printer, and printing the lenticular lens thus created again using a thermal printer. , It is possible to easily create stereoscopic images. .

FIG. 3 shows the use of two thermal heads so that there is no need to set or remove the print ribbon 6.
1 shows a high-speed three-dimensional printing apparatus that can easily print a three-dimensional image at high speed. 1 and 3 denote the same parts. That is, 1 is a platen roller, 2 is a thermal head, 21 is a print control unit for controlling the thermal head 2, 3 is a thermal foaming film, 4 is a platen roller, 5 is a thermal head, 51 is a print control unit, and 6 is a print control unit. A printing ribbon, 7 is an optical sensor, 8 is a lenticular lens, and 9 is an image.

In the high-speed three-dimensional printing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG.
First, the thermal foaming film 3 having no lenticular lens is set in the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, and when the three-dimensional printing apparatus is started, the print control unit 21 sends the thermal head 2 to the thermal head 2 based on the data having the lenticular lens information. The amount of heating to be applied is variably controlled periodically, whereby periodic irregularities corresponding to the amount of heating are formed on the film 3 of the thermally foamable material, and the lenticular lens 8 is formed.

Next, the lenticular lens 8 thus formed is sent between the optical sensors 7. The position of the lenticular lens is detected by the optical sensor 7.
The uneven position information is sent to the print control unit 51. The print controller 51 calculates whether the image to be printed at present is the right-eye image or the left-eye image and the number of the frame from the distance information between the unevenness position information (the unevenness period) and the optical sensor 7 and the thermal head 5. Then, a print control signal corresponding to appropriate image information is given to the thermal head 5 from the image data stored in the print control unit 51 in advance. The thermal head 5 prints a right-eye image and a left-eye image 9 synchronized with the unevenness of the lenticular lens on the back side of the lenticular lens 8 based on a print control signal sent from the print control unit 51. Alternatively, lenticulation recording may be performed after image recording as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present invention, first, a thermal foaming film is set in a thermal printer, and a lenticular lens having irregularities is formed on the surface of the thermal foaming film by the thermal printer. The film on which the lenticular lens is formed is passed through another thermal printer in a set state, and a right-eye image and a left-eye image synchronized with the unevenness of the lens are printed on the back surface of the lenticular lens. It is possible to easily create a stereoscopic image.

In the above example, the lenticular lens is formed using a thermal printer. However, the present invention is not limited to the thermal printer, and a laser printer or the like may be used.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of printing of a three-dimensional screen according to the present invention is as follows. A) Conditions ・ Thermal head: Resolution of 300 dpi in the main scanning direction, heater size 70 μm in the main scanning direction, 80 μm in the sub scanning direction ・ Head resistance: 3500Ω ・ Voltage: 18 V ・ Sub scanning speed: 12.1 mm / s ・ Recording sheet: heat Foamable sheet 1. 1. Thermofoamable material on the PET film table The image receiving layer of the First Proof receiver on the back of the PET film. ・ Thermal transfer ribbon: Fuji Photo Film Digital Color Proofer First Proof Proof Ribbon J ・ Back color image recording conditions are the same as First Proof. (0.5 to 2.9 to 4.6 msec (depending on color and gradation))-Surface lenticular printing was performed by setting the strobe at a maximum of 2.9 msec and 600 dpi in the sub-scanning direction.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the thermal head 2 which repeats heating by ON-OFF control periodically over the entire length of the thermally foamable film 3 and the uneven lenticular lens 8 formed on the thermally foamable film 3 Sensor 7 for detecting the position of the lenticular lens 8 from the optical sensor 7
Using a three-dimensional printing apparatus having a thermal head 5 that prints images for the right and left eyes in synchronization with the unevenness position information of
A lenticular lens is formed on the thermally foamable film 8,
For the right eye synchronized with the uneven position of the lenticular lens 8,
Since the image 9 for the left eye is printed, a three-dimensional image can be created by a simple three-dimensional printing device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method for producing a lenticular lens according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a stereoscopic image printing method using a lenticular lens according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a high-speed lenticulation three-dimensional printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a lenticulation three-dimensional printing apparatus after image recording according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Platen roller 2: Thermal head 21: Printing control unit 3: Film 4: Platen roller 5: Thermal head 51: Printing control unit 6: Ribbon 7: Optical sensor 8: Lenticular lens 9: Image

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B41M 3/06 B41J 3/20 114F

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a lenticular lens, wherein a thermal printer is used to periodically apply heat to a thermally foamable transparent film with a thermal head of the thermal printer to produce a lenticular lens having irregularities. 2. A thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal printer outputs a right-eye image and a left-eye image synchronized with the unevenness of the lenticular lens based on the unevenness position signal for detecting the unevenness position of the lenticular lens. A three-dimensional image printing method characterized by printing on the back side of a lenticular lens. 3. A thermal printer having a thermal head and a print control unit for controlling a print signal applied to the thermal head, wherein an optical sensor for detecting the position of the lenticular lens is provided near the thermal head. Providing a detection signal detected by the control unit to the print control unit. 4. A thermal head for periodically applying heat to a heat-foamable transparent film, an optical sensor for detecting an uneven position of an uneven lenticular lens formed on the heat-foamable film, and an optical sensor for detecting the uneven position. A print control unit for receiving the detection signal, and another thermal head to which a print signal is supplied from the print control unit.