JP2001034150A - Holographic stereogram producing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a holographic stereogram producing device constituted so that a stereoscopic image can be inexpensively and quickly produced. SOLUTION: This holographic stereogram producing device 1 is constituted as follows. A 1st spatial light modulator 2 being a liquid crystal element displaying the parallax image column of a recording image to be formed is irradiated with laser beams emitted from one laser beam source and branched. Then, the laser beams are emitted toward a 2nd spatial light modulator 3 being a liquid crystal element by the modulator 3 as an object light including recording image information. By opening and closing the modulator 3 every opening and closing window consisting of plural vertical and horizontal pixels, only the object light including a parallax pixel column group consisting of the plural parallax image columns out of the object light is passed so as to irradiate a recording material 5. By opening the opening and closing window of a 3rd spatial light modulator 4, which is a liquid crystal element, consisting of plural vertical and horizontal pixels, the opposite side of the material 5 to the irradiating position of the object light is irradiated with reference light. By executing the above actions by successively moving the opening and closing windows of the modulators 3 and 4, all of element holograms are formed at the material 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a holographic stereogram creating apparatus, and more particularly, to a holographic stereogram creating apparatus for easily and quickly creating a good stereoscopic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, various techniques for forming a three-dimensional image as a hard copy have been proposed. As such a technique, for example, a laser beam having the same wavelength is used to swell a single photosensitive material (recording material). There is a color Lippmann hologram or the like which is prepared by performing multiple exposures with varying degrees and developing the same (see JP-A-1-321471 and JP-A-3-249885). That is, the conventional technique of forming a stereoscopic image as a hard copy is a method of creating a holographic stereogram in which a large number of element holograms are recorded in a dot shape on a recording material,
It is possible to form a good three-dimensional image having up, down, left, and right parallax.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional method for producing a hard copy of a stereoscopic image, a holographic stereogram is used, and a planar image is used for recording each element hologram. Therefore,
An image to be recorded is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel or the like and used as a mask for laser light. Light transmitted through the mask is condensed on a recording material by a lens, and is holographically recorded on the recording material. This operation is sequentially performed on the entire recording area to form an element hologram on the entire recording area. Therefore, it takes a very long time to form an element hologram over the entire recording area, and in particular, it is necessary to increase the number of element holograms per area as the quality of the formed stereoscopic image is improved. There was a problem that the creation time was further increased. In addition, the recording material is moved every time an element hologram is formed, but when the recording material is moved, it is necessary to wait for the exposure and the next movement until the vibration accompanying the movement of the recording material is attenuated. There was a problem that it took a long time.

Further, in order to accurately determine the formation position of the element hologram, a precise driving device for accurately moving the recording material is required, and there has been a problem that the cost is high. Furthermore, when forming an element hologram, it is necessary to use a mask such as a pinhole so that the photosensitive material in the peripheral area is not exposed to light, but it takes a lot of trouble and time to perform alignment of the mask. In addition, since the photosensitive material is moved, it is necessary to separate the mask from the sensitizer every time between exposures or to take measures to prevent the mask from damaging the sensitizer.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the first liquid crystal element, a recorded image to be created is displayed as a large number of parallax image strings, and the incident light includes the recorded image information to generate an object light. And a predetermined number of parallax image rows of object light transmitted through the first liquid crystal element by opening an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots in the liquid crystal screen of the second liquid crystal element. Illuminate the recording material by transmitting object light,
An opening / closing window including a plurality of dots is opened in a liquid crystal screen of a third liquid crystal element disposed on the opposite side of the second liquid crystal element with respect to the recording material, and a position opposite to the position where the object light of the recording material is irradiated. Conventionally, the operation of irradiating the reference light to the side is performed by sequentially switching the positions of the open / close windows that are opened on the liquid crystal screens of the second liquid crystal element and the third liquid crystal element to create the entire recorded image on the recording material. The opening and closing windows of the second liquid crystal element and the third liquid crystal element are moved without waiting for the vibration of the recording material to be stopped by moving the recording material as described above, and without using a driving mechanism for accurately moving the recording material. Just switch sequentially,
With the object of providing a holographic stereogram creating apparatus capable of forming a recorded image on a recording material quickly and accurately, forming a compact, high-speed, inexpensive and highly accurate holographic stereogram. I have.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of opening / closing windows of the second liquid crystal element and a plurality of opening / closing windows of the third liquid crystal element at positions corresponding to the opening / closing window of the second liquid crystal element are simultaneously opened. It is an object of the present invention to provide a holographic stereogram creating apparatus that records more parallax image sequences on a recording material at the same time and has a higher processing speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a light diffusing plate for diffusing incident light is provided in front of the first liquid crystal element to diffuse light incident on the first liquid crystal element. It is an object of the present invention to provide a holographic stereogram creating apparatus capable of forming a holographic stereogram with higher accuracy by making a certain pixel correspond to many recording positions, improving the utilization efficiency of incident light. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, of the pair of substrates for holding the liquid crystal of the second liquid crystal element, the substrate on the recording material side is formed to have a thickness of 0.4 mm or less.
The object of the present invention is to provide a holographic stereogram creating apparatus capable of forming a holographic stereogram with higher accuracy by increasing the margin of position adjustment between the liquid crystal element and the recording material and improving the resolution. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an opening / closing window between the first liquid crystal element and the second liquid crystal element, the object light emitted from the first liquid crystal element being opened by the second liquid crystal element. By disposing a lens array for condensing light, the utilization efficiency of the object light passing through the first liquid crystal element is further improved, the resolution is improved, and a more accurate holographic stereogram is formed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a holographic stereogram creating device capable of performing such operations.

[0010]

A holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a holographic stereogram creating apparatus for creating a holographic stereogram on a predetermined recording material. A first liquid crystal element for displaying an image as a large number of parallax image strings and causing the incident light to contain the recording image information and emit as object light, and an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots in the liquid crystal screen is opened. A second liquid crystal element that transmits the object light including a predetermined number of the parallax image strings out of the object light transmitted through the first liquid crystal element and irradiates the recording material with the second liquid crystal element; A portion corresponding to a position of the recording material to be irradiated with the object light by opening an opening / closing window formed of a plurality of dots in the liquid crystal screen and disposed on a side opposite to the second liquid crystal element A third liquid crystal element for irradiating a reference light on the opposite side, and sequentially switching positions of the open / close window of the second liquid crystal element and the open / close window of the third liquid crystal element on the liquid crystal screen. The above object is achieved by forming the recording image entirely on the recording material by opening the recording material.

According to the above configuration, the first liquid crystal element displays a recorded image to be formed as a large number of parallax image strings, and the incident light includes the recorded image information to produce the second light as object light. The light is emitted to the liquid crystal element, and an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots is opened in the liquid crystal screen of the second liquid crystal element, and object light including a predetermined number of parallax image strings is transmitted from the object light transmitted through the first liquid crystal element. Then, the recording material is irradiated with the recording material, and an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots is opened on a liquid crystal screen of a third liquid crystal element disposed on the opposite side of the second liquid crystal element with the recording material interposed therebetween to open an object of the recording material. The operation of irradiating the reference light to the side opposite to the position where the light is irradiated is sequentially switched between the positions of the open / close windows that are opened on the liquid crystal screens of the second liquid crystal element and the third liquid crystal element, and all the recorded images are recorded. Because it is created on the material, the recording material is Without switching and waiting for the vibration to stop, and without using a driving mechanism for accurately moving the recording material, only the opening and closing windows of the second liquid crystal element and the third liquid crystal element are sequentially switched, thereby quickly It is possible to form a recorded image on a recording material with high precision and accuracy, to reduce the size of the holographic stereogram and to increase the processing speed, and to form an inexpensive and highly accurate holographic stereogram. it can.

In this case, for example, as described in claim 2, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus simultaneously opens a plurality of the open / close windows of the second liquid crystal element and simultaneously opens the plurality of open / close windows of the third liquid crystal element. The plurality of opening / closing windows at positions where the reference light is irradiated on the opposite side of the recording material from the positions of all the object lights irradiated to the recording material by the openings of the plurality of opening / closing windows of the second liquid crystal element. They may be opened at the same time.

According to the above configuration, the opening / closing window of the second liquid crystal element and the third opening / closing window corresponding to the opening / closing window of the second liquid crystal element.
Since a plurality of opening / closing windows of the liquid crystal element are simultaneously opened, more parallax image rows can be simultaneously recorded on the recording material, and the processing speed can be further improved.

[0014] Further, for example, as described in claim 3, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus includes:
A diffusion plate for diffusing the incident light may be provided in front of the first liquid crystal element.

According to the above arrangement, since the diffusion plate for diffusing the incident light is provided in front of the first liquid crystal element, the light incident on the first liquid crystal element is diffused. Pixels can be made to correspond to many recording positions, the utilization efficiency of incident light can be improved, and a more accurate holographic stereogram can be formed.

Further, for example, in the second liquid crystal element, of the pair of substrates holding the liquid crystal, the substrate on the recording material side has a thickness of 0.4 mm or less. It may be formed.

According to the above configuration, of the pair of substrates holding the liquid crystal of the second liquid crystal element, the substrate on the recording material side is
Since it is formed to a thickness of 0.4 mm or less, the margin for positional adjustment between the second liquid crystal element and the recording material can be increased, the resolution can be improved, and a more accurate holographic stereo can be obtained. Grams can be formed.

Further, for example, as described in claim 5, the holographic stereogram creating device includes:
The object light emitted from the first liquid crystal element is supplied to the second liquid crystal element between the first liquid crystal element and the second liquid crystal element.
A lens array for converging light on the opening / closing window of the liquid crystal element may be provided.

According to the above arrangement, the first liquid crystal element and the second liquid crystal element
Since the lens array for converging the object light emitted from the first liquid crystal element to the open / close window of the second liquid crystal element is disposed between the liquid crystal element and the first liquid crystal element, The utilization efficiency of the object light passing through the holographic stereogram can be further improved, the resolution can be improved, and a more accurate holographic stereogram can be formed.

[0020]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, various technically preferable limitations are added. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description. The embodiments are not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a main part top view of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 to which a first embodiment of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 1, a holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 includes a first spatial light modulator 2, a second spatial light modulator 3, a third spatial light modulator 4, a recording material 5, and the like. In addition, a recording material 5 on which a holographic stereogram composed of element holograms is created is disposed between the first spatial light modulator 2 and the second spatial modulator 3.

That is, in order to create a holographic stereogram composed of elementary holograms on the recording material 5 by the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1,
It is necessary to create a parallax image sequence for forming this element hologram on the recording material 5 and display it on the first spatial light modulator 2 described later. This parallax image sequence can be obtained by a method obtained by calculation using a normal method, for example, a ray tracing method, or a method obtained by exchanging elements from a photographed image sequence.

First spatial light modulator (first liquid crystal element) 2
Uses a liquid crystal element including a predetermined number of pixels (dots), and displays the parallax image sequence. The first spatial light modulator 2 receives one of a laser beam emitted from one laser light source (not shown) and split by a not-shown spectroscope, for example, a half mirror, and enters the first spatial light modulator 2, and emits object light including image information to be displayed. Out to the second spatial light modulator 3. The holographic stereogram creating device 1
Irradiation is always performed during the operation of.

Second spatial light modulator (second liquid crystal element) 3
Is formed of a liquid crystal element having a shutter function, and opens and closes a pixel group including a predetermined number of pixels in each of the vertical and horizontal directions as an opening / closing window for each of the opening / closing windows. Of the object light that has passed through the displayed parallax pixel row, only the object light that has passed through the area corresponding to the parallax pixel row group composed of the plurality of vertical and horizontal parallax image rows passes therethrough and irradiates the recording material 5. Let it.

Third spatial light modulator (third liquid crystal element) 4
Is disposed on the side opposite to the second spatial light modulator 3 with the recording material 5 interposed therebetween, and is formed of a liquid crystal element having a shutter function. The third spatial light modulator 4 receives reference light, which is the other of the laser light emitted from the one laser light source and split by a spectroscope (not shown), and is input to the holographic stereogram creating device. 1 is always illuminated during operation. The third spatial light modulator 4 has an opening / closing window (shutter) at a position corresponding to a position opposite to the recording member 5 to which the object light is irradiated when the second spatial light modulator 3 is opened. Then, the recording member 5 is irradiated with the reference light at the position.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 uses liquid crystal elements as the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4, and forms an element hologram block composed of a plurality of element holographic elements on a recording material 5. Has its features.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 displays a parallax image sequence on the first spatial light modulator 2 and converts the laser light emitted from one laser light source into a laser beam branched by a spectroscope. 1 spatial light modulator 2
To the second spatial light modulator 3 as object light.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 opens and closes the second spatial light modulator 3 for each of the opening and closing windows each having a predetermined number of pixels in each of the vertical and horizontal directions, and causes the first spatial light modulator 2 to open and close. Of the object light that has passed, only the object light that has passed through a region corresponding to a parallax pixel row group including a plurality of the parallax image rows in the vertical and horizontal directions is passed, and the recording material 5 is irradiated.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 includes a plurality of vertical and horizontal plural spatial light modulators 4 of a third spatial light modulator 4 disposed on the opposite side of the second spatial light modulator 3 with the recording material 5 interposed therebetween. The liquid crystal element is opened as an opening / closing window, and the opening / closing window of the second spatial light modulator 3 opens reference light, which is the other of the laser light emitted from one laser light source and branched by a spectroscope (not shown). Member 5 irradiated with object light
Is irradiated with the reference light at a position corresponding to the position on the opposite side of.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 converts the object light that has passed through the image of the parallax image sequence formed on the first spatial light modulator 2 into a predetermined area of the second spatial light modulator 3. An opening / closing window corresponding to a parallax image sequence group including a parallax image sequence is opened to irradiate one surface of the recording member 5, and reference light is radiated to a predetermined region on the back surface side of the third spatial light modulator 4 to perform recording. An element hologram is formed on the member 5 for each of a plurality of element holograms. The above operation is performed by sequentially moving the open / close windows of the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4 to form all the element holograms of the holographic stereogram to be formed on the recording member 5.

The position and size of the element hologram are determined by moving the positions of the open / close windows of the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4. Since the third and third spatial light modulators 4 use liquid crystal elements, they can be easily performed by switching electric signals, and the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 can be made simple and inexpensive. In addition to this, it is possible to greatly reduce the time required to create a holographic stereogram.

That is, unlike the conventional case where the recording member 5 is moved, there is no need to drive the motor. Therefore, not only does the vibration caused by the driving of the motor nor the vibration caused by the movement of the recording member 5 occur, but also In addition, it is not necessary to adjust the positional accuracy accompanying the movement of the recording member 5. The time during which the vibration caused by the movement of the recording member 5 attenuates depends on the rigidity of the holographic stereogram creating device 1 and the state of the installation table (optical surface plate) on which the holographic stereogram creating device 1 is installed. The exposure time for forming the element hologram on the recording member 5 is equal to or about 1/4 of the exposure time.

However, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment uses the liquid crystal elements for the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4 as described above. By switching the electric signal and switching the size and position of the opening and closing windows of the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4, the position and size of the element hologram formed on the recording member 5 can be quickly changed. In addition, switching can be easily performed, and the speed can be increased by about 20% as compared with the conventional method.

However, when the exposure of adjacent element holograms is started, the liquid crystal shutters (open / close windows) of the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4 are completely closed before the first spatial light modulator is opened. The display of the parallax image of the spatial light modulator 2 is switched to the next element hologram, and then the opening and closing windows of the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4 of the next element hologram are opened. I do. That is, the first spatial light modulator 2, the second spatial light modulator 3, and the third spatial light modulator 4
Uses a liquid crystal element as a display element and as a shutter, but even if a liquid crystal element is used, it takes a certain amount of time to drive it, and switching of the display of the liquid crystal shutter and display of a parallax image are performed. This is because if the switching is performed at the same time, light leaking during the switching may become noise.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 of this embodiment uses a liquid crystal element as a shutter as the second spatial light modulator 3 and the third spatial light modulator 4, so that the liquid crystal shutter Is larger, the area that can be continuously recorded on the recording material 5 without moving the photosensitive material 5 can be increased, and the number of element holograms that can be recorded can be set larger. In addition, the recording time can be reduced.

The number of element homs that can be simultaneously recorded is determined by the number of pixels used for element holograms and the number of pixels of the first spatial light modulator 2 in the image display device. When about 100 pixels are recorded, a good stereoscopic image is obtained during observation. And
The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, 600 × 8 as the first spatial light modulator 2, the second spatial light modulator 3, and the third spatial light modulator 4.
When a liquid crystal element of 00 pixels is used, 6 × 8 = 48 elements can be simultaneously recorded.

Therefore, recording can be performed 48 times faster than in the conventional case where recording is performed one point at a time, and the recording time can be greatly reduced.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10 to which a second embodiment of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 2, a holographic stereogram creating device 10 includes a laser light source 11, a spatial filter 12, a half mirror 13, mirrors 14,
5, 16, the diffusion plate 17, the first spatial light modulator 18, the second
, A third spatial light modulator 20, a recording material 21, and the like, and an element hologram is provided between the first spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial modulator 19. A recording material 21 on which a holographic stereogram is created is provided.

The holographic stereogram creating device 10 includes a spatial light filter 1 from a laser light source 11.
The laser light is emitted to the half mirror 13 through 2 and the laser light incident on the half mirror 13 is split into the mirror 14 and the mirror 16. The laser light transmitted through the half mirror 13 and incident on the mirror 14 is reflected on the mirror 1
The laser light reflected by 4 and incident on the mirror 15 and incident on the mirror 15 is reflected on the mirror 15 and incident on the diffusion plate 17.

As the diffusion plate 17, various types of conventionally known diffusion plates can be used, and a plate having high light use efficiency for irradiating the first spatial light modulator 18 is preferable. Diffusion plate 17
It is preferable to use, for example, a microlens array formed of glass or resin, or a hologram diffusion plate using a transmission type hologram. If the position is between the plate and the recording material 21, incident light can be used more effectively.

The diffusing plate 17 diffuses the incident light and makes it incident on the first spatial light modulator 18, and the first spatial light modulator 18
Are made to correspond to many recording positions.

First spatial light modulator (first liquid crystal element) 1
Reference numeral 8 uses a liquid crystal element including a predetermined number of pixels, like the first spatial light modulator 2 of the first embodiment, and displays a parallax image sequence. The laser light diffused by the diffusion plate 17 is incident on the first spatial light modulator 18, and the first spatial light modulator 18 converts the second spatial light as object light including a parallax image sequence to be displayed. The light is emitted to the modulator 19. The holographic stereogram creating device 1
0 is always illuminated during operation.

Second spatial light modulator (second liquid crystal element) 1
9 is a second spatial light modulator 19 according to the first embodiment.
Similarly to the first embodiment, the first spatial light modulation is performed by opening and closing each of the open / close windows using a pixel group including a predetermined number of pixels in each of the vertical and horizontal directions as an open / close window. Of the object light that has passed through the parallax pixel rows displayed on the display unit 18, only the object light that has passed through the regions corresponding to the parallax pixel row group composed of the plurality of parallax image rows in the vertical and horizontal directions is passed, and the recording material 21 is passed. Irradiated.

The second spatial light modulator 19 has a thickness of 0.4 mm on the side of the substrate holding the liquid crystal layer which is close to the recording material 21.
mm or less. That is, since the liquid crystal layer of the second spatial light modulator 19 mainly has the function of a mask, as the substrate holding the liquid crystal layer becomes thicker, the distance between the liquid crystal layer as the mask and the photosensitive material 21 increases, and the resolution decreases. This is because the quality is easily reduced.

The second spatial light modulator 19 may have a parallax compensator disposed on the surface of the substrate.

Furthermore, the substrate of the second spatial light modulator 19 may also serve as a polarizing plate. In this case, it is not necessary to further overlap the polarizing plate on the substrate surface, and the second spatial light modulator 19 is a mask. Layer of the spatial light modulator 19 and the photosensitive material 2
It is possible to further expand the margin of adjustment of the positional relationship with 1, and to adjust the resolution more appropriately, thereby further improving the resolution.

Third spatial light modulator (third liquid crystal element) 2
Numeral 0 is disposed on the side opposite to the second spatial light modulator 19 with the recording material 21 interposed therebetween, and is formed of a liquid crystal element having a shutter function. The third spatial light modulator 20 includes:
A reference beam, which is a laser beam emitted from the one laser light source 11 and split by the half mirror 13 and reflected by the mirror 16 is incident thereon, and the reference beam is constantly emitted during the operation of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10. Is done. The third spatial light modulator 20 is the second spatial light modulator 1
9 is opened and the liquid crystal shutter at a position corresponding to the position on the opposite side of the recording member 21 to which the object light is irradiated is opened as an opening / closing window, and the recording member 21 is irradiated with the reference light at the position.

The second spatial light modulator 19 which is a mask for the object light and the third spatial light modulator 20 which is a mask for the reference light
Can be used such that the sizes of slits and dots for exposure are different. In particular, when the thickness of the substrate is large, the distance between the liquid crystal layer serving as a shutter and the photosensitive material 21 becomes long when the second spatial light modulator 19, which is a mask on the object light side, increases the object light. The size of the dot on the photosensitive material 21 is equal to or larger than the dot of the second spatial light modulator 19. The size of the light can be adjusted.

As the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20, it is preferable to use one having a high light-shielding property, and it is preferable to use active liquid crystal or ferroelectric liquid crystal. A surface where each of the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 is in contact with the photosensitive material may be coated with an anti-reflection index matching liquid. Internal reflection can be prevented.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10 forms the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 on the recording material 21 while forming an element hologram block composed of a plurality of element holographic elements on the recording material 21. The feature is that the diffusing plate 17 is provided in front of the optical modulator 18.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating device 10 creates a parallax image sequence in the first spatial light modulator 18, and splits the laser light emitted from one laser light source 11 by the half mirror 13. To the first spatial light modulator 18 and to the second spatial light modulator 19 as object light.

Before this first spatial light modulator 18,
A diffusion plate 17 is provided, and the diffusion plate 17 diffuses the incident laser light and causes the laser light to enter the first spatial light modulator 18.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10 opens and closes the second spatial light modulator 19 for each of the opening and closing windows each having a predetermined number of pixels for each of the vertical and horizontal directions.
Out of the object light that has passed through the spatial light modulator 18, only the object light that has passed through the region corresponding to the parallax pixel row group composed of the plurality of parallax image rows in the vertical and horizontal directions is passed therethrough to irradiate the recording material 21. .

The holographic stereogram creating device 10 is disposed on the opposite side of the second spatial light modulator 19 with the recording material 21 interposed therebetween.
A reference light, which is the other of the laser light emitted from the laser light source 11, branched by the half mirror 13 and reflected by the mirror 16, is opened by opening an opening / closing window formed of a plurality of liquid crystal elements in the vertical and horizontal directions. The opening / closing window of the spatial light modulator 19 is opened to irradiate the reference light at a position corresponding to the position on the opposite side of the recording member 21 to which the object light is irradiated.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating device 10 converts the object light that has passed through the image of the parallax image sequence formed on the first spatial light modulator 18 into a predetermined area of the second spatial light modulator 19. An opening / closing window corresponding to a parallax image sequence group including a parallax image sequence is opened to irradiate one surface of the recording member 21, and a reference light is opened to the opening / closing window of the third spatial light modulator 20 to open the recording member 21. By irradiating a predetermined area on the back side, an element hologram is formed on the recording member 21 by a plurality of element holograms. The above operation is performed by the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 19.
Are sequentially moved to form all the element holograms of the holographic stereogram to be formed on the recording member 21.

The position and the size of the element hologram are determined by moving the positions of the open / close windows of the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 as described above. Since the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 use liquid crystal elements, they can be easily performed by switching electrical signals, and the holographic stereogram creating device 10 can be simplified. In addition to being inexpensive, the time required to create a holographic stereogram can be significantly reduced.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a second spatial light modulator 19.
Since the liquid crystal shutter is used as the third spatial light modulator 20, the recording material 21 is continuously moved without moving the photosensitive material 5 as the area that performs the function of the liquid crystal shutter is larger.
And the area that can be recorded on the
The number of element holograms that can be recorded can be set large, and the recording time can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the first spatial light modulator 18 for displaying the parallax image sequence is provided with the diffusion plate 17 before the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 10. Light incident on the pixels of the spatial light modulator 18 can be diffused, and a certain pixel can correspond to many recording positions.

The second spatial light modulator 19 has a thickness on the side of the substrate holding the liquid crystal layer which is close to the recording material 21.
Since the thickness is set to 0.4 mm or less, the distance between the liquid crystal layer having a mask function and the photosensitive material 21 can be reduced, and the resolution can be improved, and the quality of an image formed on the photosensitive material 21 can be improved. Can be.

Furthermore, if the substrate itself also functions as a polarizing plate, the second spatial light modulator 19 does not need to further overlap the polarizing plate on the substrate surface, and the second spatial light modulator 19 serving as a mask can be used. The margin of adjustment of the positional relationship between the liquid crystal layer and the photosensitive material 21 can be further expanded, the resolution can be adjusted more appropriately, and the resolution can be further improved.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 to which the third embodiment of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

This embodiment is applied to a holographic stereogram creating apparatus similar to the above-described second embodiment. In the description of this embodiment, the second embodiment will be described. The same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In FIG. 3, a holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 includes a laser light source 11, a spatial filter 12, a half mirror 13, mirrors 14, 15, a diffusion plate 17, a first , A second spatial light modulator 19, a third spatial light modulator 20, a recording material 21 and the like, and a polyhedral mirror 31, a lens array 32, and the like. Reference numeral 32 is provided between the first spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial light modulator 19.

The holographic stereogram creating device 30 includes a laser light source 11 and a spatial filter 12.
A half mirror 13 is disposed between the two. A laser beam emitted from the laser light source 11 is first split by the half mirror 13, and the laser beam transmitted through the half mirror 13 is transmitted through the spatial filter 12. Mirror 1
4 is irradiated. The holographic stereogram creating device 30 converts the spatial filter 12 to the mirror 1
The laser light incident on the mirror 4 is reflected by the mirror 14 to the mirror 15, and is reflected by the mirror 15 toward the diffusion plate 17.

The diffusing plate 17 diffuses the incident laser light and makes it incident on the first spatial light modulator 18 to make the pixels of the first spatial light modulator 18 correspond to many recording positions.

The first spatial light modulator 18 includes a diffusion plate 17
The first spatial light modulator 18 emits to the lens array 32 as object light including a parallax image sequence to be displayed.

The lens array 32 converges the object light that has passed through the first spatial light modulator 18 onto the dots of the second spatial light modulator 19, emits the light to the second spatial light modulator 19, Light dispersion is prevented, and the utilization efficiency of object light is improved. The object light is always emitted while the holographic stereogram creating device 30 is operating.

The lens array 32 is attached to a moving mechanism (not shown), for example, an XY stage or the like, and is exposed by the moving mechanism in a direction parallel to the second spatial light modulator 19 and vertically in FIG. Each time the object light is moved to a position corresponding to the opening / closing window of the second spatial light modulator 19 and passes through the first spatial light modulator 18 to the opening / closing window of the second spatial light modulator 19. Let it converge.

As described above, the second spatial light modulator 19 is formed of a liquid crystal element having a shutter function, and opens and closes each of the vertical and horizontal windows each having a predetermined number of pixels. Of the object light that has passed through the parallax pixel array displayed on the first spatial light modulator 18, only the object light that has passed through an area corresponding to a parallax pixel array group consisting of a plurality of vertical and horizontal parallax image arrays has passed. Then, the recording material 21 is irradiated.

In the second spatial light modulator 19, as described above, the thickness of the substrate holding the liquid crystal layer on the side close to the recording material 21 is desirably 0.4 mm or less.

In the second spatial light modulator 19, a parallax compensating plate may be disposed on the surface of the substrate, or the substrate itself may also serve as the polarizing plate.

The third spatial light modulator 20 includes a recording material 21
Are arranged on the opposite side of the second spatial light modulator 19 with the liquid crystal element having a shutter function. The third spatial light modulator 20 includes a polyhedral mirror 3 branched by a half mirror 13 before being emitted from the one laser light source 11 and passing through the spatial filter 12.
The reference light which is the laser light reflected at 1 is incident, and this reference light is always irradiated during the operation of the holographic stereogram creating device 30.

The third spatial light modulator 20 includes a recording member 21 to which the second spatial light modulator 19 is opened and irradiated with object light.
The shutter at the position corresponding to the position on the opposite side is opened, and the recording member 21 is irradiated with the reference light at the position.

Although not shown, the polyhedral mirror 31 is attached to a rotating mechanism whose operation is controlled by a controller. The rotating mechanism converges the laser light at the opening position of the third spatial light modulator 20 using the laser light as reference light. And irradiate.

Also, in the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 of the present embodiment, the second spatial light modulator 19 which is a mask for object light and the third spatial light modulator 20 which is a mask for reference light are It can be used so that the size of slits and dots for exposure are different.

Further, it is preferable that the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 have high light-shielding properties, and that the active spatial liquid crystal or the ferroelectric liquid crystal be used.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 forms the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 on the recording material 21 while forming an element hologram block composed of a plurality of element holograms on the recording material 21. A diffusing plate 17 before the light modulator 18, a lens array 32 between the first spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial light modulator 19,
Further, the third spatial light modulator 20 is characterized in that a polyhedral mirror 31 is provided as a mirror for reflecting reference light.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating device 30 displays the parallax image sequence on the first spatial light modulator 18 and converts the laser light emitted from one laser light source 11 and branched by the half mirror 13 into the diffusion plate 17. And irradiates the first spatial light modulator 18 through the lens array 32 and emits it to the lens array 32 as object light including a parallax image sequence to be displayed. The diffusion plate 17 diffuses the incident laser light and causes the laser light to enter the first spatial light modulator 18.

The lens array 32 is opened by a moving mechanism (not shown) in parallel with the second spatial light modulator 19, and vertically and vertically in FIG. The object light that has been moved to the position corresponding to the opening / closing window and passed through the first spatial light modulator 18 is converged on the opening window of the second spatial light modulator 19. That is,
The lens array 32 converges the object light that has passed through the first spatial light modulator 18 to dots in the opening and closing windows of the second spatial light modulator 19, prevents dispersion of the object light, and improves the efficiency of use of the object light. Improve.

That is, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 opens and closes the second spatial light modulator 19 for each of the vertical and horizontal open / close windows each having a predetermined number of pixels, and outputs the first spatial light modulator 19. Of the object light that has passed through 18, only the object light that has passed through an area corresponding to a parallax pixel row group composed of a plurality of parallax image rows in the vertical and horizontal directions is allowed to pass, and is irradiated on the recording material 21. The holographic stereogram creating device 30 includes a lens array 32
Is moved in accordance with the opening position of the second spatial light modulator 19 so that the object light is converged on the dot of the opening / closing window of the second spatial light modulator 19.

The holographic stereogram creating device 30 includes the second spatial light modulator 19 with the recording material 21 interposed therebetween.
A plurality of liquid crystal elements in the vertical and horizontal directions of the third spatial light modulator 20 disposed on the opposite side are used as opening windows, and these opening windows are opened. The light is emitted from the laser light source 11 and branched by the half mirror 13. The reference light, which is the other of the laser light reflected by the polyhedral mirror 31, is transmitted to a position corresponding to the position on the opposite side of the recording member 21 to which the object light is irradiated by opening the opening / closing window of the second spatial light modulator 19. Is irradiated with reference light.

The polyhedral mirror 31 irradiates the open / close window of the third spatial light modulator 20 by converging the laser light as reference light by a rotating mechanism (not shown).

That is, the holographic stereogram creating device 30 converts the object light that has passed through the image of the parallax image sequence formed on the first spatial light modulator 18 into a predetermined area of the second spatial light modulator 19. The opening / closing window corresponding to the parallax image sequence group including the parallax image sequence is opened, and the object light is converged by the lens array 32 on the opening / closing window opened by the second spatial light modulator 19 to form one surface of the recording member 21. The illuminated reference light converged by the polyhedral mirror 31 is applied to the third spatial light modulator 2.
A predetermined area on the back side of the recording material 21 is irradiated through the opening / closing window 0 to form element holograms on the recording member 21 one by one. The above operation is performed by sequentially moving the open / close windows that open the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 to form all the element holograms of the holographic stereogram to be formed on the recording member 21.

The position and size of the element hologram are determined by moving the positions of the openings of the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20 as described above. Since a liquid crystal element is used as the second spatial light modulator 19 and the third spatial light modulator 20, switching can be performed easily by switching electrical signals, and the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 can be simplified. In addition to being inexpensive, the time required to create a holographic stereogram can be significantly reduced.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment has the second spatial light modulator 19
Since the liquid crystal element is used as a shutter as the third spatial light modulator 20, the larger the area that performs the function of the liquid crystal shutter, the larger the area that can be continuously recorded on the recording material 21 without moving the photosensitive material 5. It is possible to increase the number of element holograms that can be recorded while increasing the number of element holograms that can be recorded, thereby shortening the recording time.

Further, in the holographic stereogram creating device 30 of the present embodiment, the first spatial light modulator 18 for displaying a parallax image sequence is provided with the diffusion plate 17 before the first holographic stereogram creating device 30. Light incident on the pixels of the spatial light modulator 18 can be diffused, and a certain pixel can correspond to many recording positions.

The second spatial light modulator 19 has a thickness on the side of the substrate holding the liquid crystal layer which is close to the recording material 21.
Since the thickness is set to 0.4 mm or less, the distance between the liquid crystal layer having a mask function and the photosensitive material 21 can be reduced, and the resolution can be improved, and the quality of an image formed on the photosensitive material 21 can be improved. Can be.

Further, if the substrate itself also functions as a polarizing plate, the second spatial light modulator 19 does not need to further overlap the polarizing plate on the substrate surface, and the second spatial light modulator 19 serving as a mask can be used. The margin of adjustment of the positional relationship between the liquid crystal layer and the photosensitive material 21 can be further expanded, the resolution can be adjusted more appropriately, and the resolution can be further improved.

The holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment is arranged between the first spatial light modulator 18 for displaying a parallax image sequence and the second spatial light modulator 19 having a shutter function. Arrange the lens array 32,
Since the object light passing through the first spatial light modulator 18 is converged on the opening window of the second spatial light modulator 19,
Object light can be used efficiently, and the resolution can be further improved.

Further, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment uses the polyhedral mirror 31 as a mirror for reflecting the reference light to the third spatial light modulator 20, and uses the third spatial light modulator 20. Since the reference light is converged on the opening / closing window, the reference light can be used efficiently, and the resolution can be further improved.

Further, as described above, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment does not move the recording material 21 and moves the second spatial light modulator 18 and the third spatial light modulator 20. Since the opening position is switched and the movement of the lens array 32 and the rotation of the polyhedral mirror 31 are performed in accordance with the opening position, the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced and the processing speed can be improved.

[0094]

<Example 1> Sharp XVE550 type 3
The liquid crystal display panel of the plate type liquid crystal projector is taken out, one is used as an image display element, and the other two are used as liquid crystal shutter elements, and the same as the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 20 described in the second embodiment. A holographic stereogram creating device was assembled on an optical surface plate. In the following description, the description will be made using the reference numerals used in FIG. 2 as they are.

Although not shown, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 20 has a projector main body and a personal computer for inputting an image connected to a liquid crystal display panel.

The holographic stereogram creating device 20 is used to give the image information of the image to be created to the first spatial light modulator 18 to display a parallax image sequence. The image information is given by the spatial light modulator 18 and the recording position of the element hologram is specified by the second spatial light modulator 19 to irradiate the photosensitive material 21. On the other hand, the reference light separated by the half mirror 13 is
6 and irradiates the third spatial light modulator 20 with the third spatial light modulator 20.
Was introduced into the photosensitive material 21 through the opening / closing window of the spatial light modulator 20, and the hologram was formed by intersecting the object light and the reference light on the photosensitive material 21.

At this time, the intensity ratio between the object light and the reference light immediately after being emitted from the laser light source 11 and branched by the half mirror 13 was set to 10: 1.

As the photosensitive material 21, 8E-
Using 75 (trade name), element holograms were simultaneously created for 16 locations, and all 16 element holograms were created sequentially for each of the 16 locations.

After all the element holograms are exposed to the designated area of the photosensitive material 21 in this manner, the photosensitive material 21 is exposed.
Was developed and bleached to create a holographic stereogram.

The obtained holographic stereogram displayed a good stereoscopic image with respect to the white light reference light.

<Embodiment 2> The first spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial light modulator 19 of the first embodiment are taken out and
The glass substrate on the side of the photosensitive material 21 is removed, and a polycarbonate program having the same electrode pattern as this glass substrate and a thickness of 0.2 mm is attached to the first spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial light modulator. 19 was incorporated into a holographic stereogram creating device 20.

In this state, when a holographic stereogram was created in the same manner as in the first embodiment, a clear image with a deeper depth of field than in the first embodiment could be obtained.

That is, the second spatial light modulator 18 and the third
Of the spatial light modulator 19, in particular, the substrate on the recording member 21 side of the second spatial light modulator 18 is 0.2 mm or less, which is 0.4 mm or less.
It has been demonstrated that the image quality can be improved by reducing the thickness to m.

<Embodiment 3> A holographic stereogram creating apparatus similar to the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 described in the third embodiment is assembled on an optical surface plate in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Was. In the following description, the description will be made using the reference numerals used in FIG. 3 as they are.

Although not shown, the holographic stereogram creating apparatus 30 has a projector main body and a personal computer for inputting an image connected to a liquid crystal display panel, and has a function of holding and moving the lens array 32 in parallel. An XY stage, a controller, and a drive mechanism for rotating the polyhedral mirror 31 and a controller are provided.

Using the holographic stereogram creating device 30, the image information of the image to be created is given to the first spatial light modulator 18 to display a parallax image. The image information is given by the spatial light modulator 18 and the second spatial light modulator 1 is passed through the lens array 32.
9, the recording position of the element hologram is specified by the opening and closing window of the second spatial light modulator 19 and the photosensitive material 21 is irradiated. On the other hand, the reference light separated by the half mirror 13 is reflected and converged by the
Of the third spatial light modulator 2
The photosensitive material 21 is introduced into the photosensitive material 21 through the opening window
A hologram was formed by crossing the object light and the reference light on 1. At this time, the ratio of the intensity of the object light to the intensity of the reference light is 1: 1.
And the exposure time was about 1/10.

After all the element holograms are exposed to the designated area of the photosensitive material 21 in this manner, the photosensitive material 21 is exposed.
Was developed and bleached to create a holographic stereogram.

The obtained holographic stereogram displayed a good stereoscopic image with respect to the white light reference light.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0110]

According to the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the first liquid crystal element includes:
The recorded image to be created is displayed as a large number of parallax image strings, and the incident light includes the recorded image information and is emitted as object light to the second liquid crystal element. Of the liquid crystal screen of the second liquid crystal element, An opening / closing window including a plurality of dots is opened, and object light including a predetermined number of parallax image rows is transmitted from the object light transmitted through the first liquid crystal element to irradiate the recording material with the second light. An operation of opening an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots in a liquid crystal screen of a third liquid crystal element disposed on the opposite side to the liquid crystal element and irradiating a reference light on a side opposite to a position where the object light of the recording material is irradiated; Are sequentially switched by changing the positions of the open / close windows that open on the liquid crystal screens of the second liquid crystal element and the third liquid crystal element, so that all the recorded images are created on the recording material. Without waiting for the vibration to stop, In addition, a recorded image can be formed quickly and accurately on a recording material only by sequentially switching the opening and closing windows of a second liquid crystal element and a third liquid crystal element without using a drive mechanism for moving the recording material with high accuracy. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the holographic stereogram and to increase the processing speed, and to form an inexpensive and highly accurate holographic stereogram.

According to the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the second aspect, the opening / closing window of the second liquid crystal element and the third opening / closing window at the position corresponding to the opening / closing window of the second liquid crystal element.
Since a plurality of opening / closing windows of the liquid crystal element are simultaneously opened, more parallax image rows can be simultaneously recorded on the recording material, and the processing speed can be further improved.

According to the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, since the diffusion plate for diffusing the incident light is provided in front of the first liquid crystal element, the first liquid crystal is provided. Light incident on the element can be diffused to make a certain pixel correspond to many recording positions, and the utilization efficiency of the incident light can be improved to form a more accurate holographic stereogram.

According to the holographic stereogram producing apparatus of the invention, the substrate on the recording material side of the pair of substrates holding the liquid crystal of the second liquid crystal element is
Since it is formed to a thickness of 0.4 mm or less, the margin for positional adjustment between the second liquid crystal element and the recording material can be increased, the resolution can be improved, and a more accurate holographic stereo can be obtained. Grams can be formed.

According to the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the invention described in claim 5, the first liquid crystal element and the second
Since the lens array for converging the object light emitted from the first liquid crystal element to the open / close window of the second liquid crystal element is disposed between the liquid crystal element and the first liquid crystal element, The utilization efficiency of the object light passing through the holographic stereogram can be further improved, the resolution can be improved, and a more accurate holographic stereogram can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged top view of a spatial light modulator and a photosensitive material portion of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus to which a first embodiment of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus to which a second embodiment of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a holographic stereogram creating apparatus to which a third embodiment of the holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 holographic stereogram creating device 2 first spatial light modulator 3 second spatial light modulator 4 third spatial light modulator 5 recording material 10 holographic stereogram creating device 11 laser light source 12 spatial filter 13 half Mirror 14, 15, 16 Mirror 17 Diffusion plate 18 First spatial light modulator 19 Second spatial light modulator 20 Third spatial light modulator 21 Recording material 30 Holographic stereogram creating device 31 Polyhedral mirror 32 Lens array

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A holographic stereogram creating apparatus for creating a holographic stereogram on a predetermined recording material, wherein a recorded image to be created is displayed as a large number of parallax image trains, and the recorded image is converted to light incident thereon. A first liquid crystal element for emitting information light as object light, and a predetermined number of the parallaxes of the object light transmitted through the first liquid crystal element by opening an opening / closing window including a plurality of dots in a liquid crystal screen. A second liquid crystal element for transmitting the object light including the image row and irradiating the recording material with the second liquid crystal element; and a plurality of dots arranged on the opposite side of the recording material between the second liquid crystal element and the liquid crystal screen. A third liquid crystal element for opening reference windows on a side opposite to a portion of the recording material corresponding to the position where the object light is irradiated by opening an opening / closing window made of
Wherein the opening and closing windows of the liquid crystal element and the opening and closing windows of the third liquid crystal element are sequentially switched and opened on the liquid crystal screen to form the entire recorded image on the recording material. Holographic stereogram creation device. 2. The holographic stereogram creating device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of opening / closing windows of said second liquid crystal element are simultaneously opened, and said plurality of opening / closing windows of said second liquid crystal element of said third liquid crystal element. 2. A plurality of opening / closing windows at positions where the reference light is radiated are simultaneously opened on the opposite side of the recording material from positions of all the object lights irradiated to the recording material by the openings. Holographic stereogram creation device. 3. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a diffusing plate for diffusing the incident light in front of the first liquid crystal element. 2. The holographic stereogram creating device according to 2. 4. The recording material-side substrate of the second liquid crystal element has a thickness of 0.4 m among a pair of substrates holding the liquid crystal.
The holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holographic stereogram creating apparatus is formed to have a thickness of not more than m. 5. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object light emitted from the first liquid crystal element is provided between the first liquid crystal element and the second liquid crystal element. The holographic stereogram creating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a lens array for focusing light on the opening / closing window of the liquid crystal element is provided.