JP2011053311A - Image printer, image printing method and image sheet for integral photography - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image printer and an image printing method, by which a high-accuracy stereoscopic image can be obtained by printing an image on a back surface of a lens sheet. <P>SOLUTION: In the image printer, a light beam L1 is radiated onto the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 having a plurality of recessed parts 4 formed to be arranged at a predetermined pitch corresponding to a plurality of lenses 3, the plurality of recessed parts 4 are detected from a polarized light component of reflected light L2 obtained from the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 resulting from the radiated light beam L1, and images corresponding to the plurality of lenses 3 are printed on the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 while obtaining each position of the plurality of lenses 3 based on the plurality of recessed parts 4 which have been detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for printing an image on the back surface of a lens sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arrayed at a predetermined pitch on the front surface.
The present invention also relates to an integral photography image sheet on which an image is printed by such an image printing method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image obtained by pasting an image on the back surface of a lens sheet such as a lenticular sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arranged on the surface is known as a method for realizing a stereoscopic image. By arranging the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye in a stripe shape on the back surface of the lens sheet corresponding to the plurality of lenses, one stereoscopic image can be obtained through the lens sheet.

  As a method of pasting an image on the back surface of the lens sheet, for example, a stereoscopic image in which an image for the left eye and an image for the right eye are arranged is printed in advance on a print paper or the like. There is a method to paste. However, in this method, printing is caused by in-plane variations and inter-lot errors in the arrangement pitch of a plurality of lenses on a lens sheet, in-plane variations and inter-lot errors in the image arrangement pitch on a printed paper. It was difficult to accurately match the position of each image arranged on the paper and the position of each lens of the lens sheet. If the position of each image and each lens shifts, the accuracy as a three-dimensional image decreases, and a high-quality three-dimensional image cannot be obtained.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 irradiates the lens sheet with a light beam from the back surface side, detects the transmitted light of the lens sheet, detects the position of each lens in the lens sheet, and is used for stereoscopic viewing on the back surface of the lens sheet. An apparatus for directly printing an image has been proposed.
In Patent Document 2, the lens sheet is irradiated with a light beam from the back side, and the light reflected once after passing through the lens sheet is detected to grasp the position of each lens of the lens sheet. An apparatus for directly printing a stereoscopic image on the back surface has been proposed.
According to the devices disclosed in these Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the image is directly printed on the back surface of the lens sheet after optically detecting the position of each lens of the lens sheet, the space between the image and the lens is Misalignment can be avoided.

JP-A-6-340099 JP 2007-125790 A

  However, in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6, when the light beam L11 is irradiated from the back surface 21b side of the lens sheet 21, it is not reflected in the lens sheet 21 depending on the irradiation position. Not only the light L12 that goes straight to the surface 21a side but also the light L13 that exits the surface 21a after being repeatedly reflected in the lens sheet 21, so that even if light is detected on the surface 21a side, It is difficult to accurately grasp the position of each lens 22.

  Also in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 7, when the light beam L11 is irradiated from the back surface 21b side of the lens sheet 21, the light is once incident into the lens sheet 21 from the back surface 21b and the front surface 21a. In addition to the light L14 emitted from the back surface 21b after being reflected at the back surface 21b, there is also the light L15 that is reflected by the back surface 21b without passing through the lens sheet 21, so that even if light is detected on the back surface 21b side, the lens sheet It was difficult to accurately grasp the positions of the 21 lenses 22.

If the position of each lens on the lens sheet cannot be accurately grasped, there is a risk that the accuracy of the three-dimensional image is lowered due to a positional shift between the image printed on the back surface of the lens sheet and the lens.
The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides an image printing apparatus and an image printing method capable of obtaining a high-precision stereoscopic image by printing an image on the back surface of a lens sheet. The purpose is to do.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image sheet for integral photography on which an image is printed by such an image printing method.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image printing apparatus according to the present invention is an image printing apparatus that prints an image on the back surface of a lens sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arranged on the front surface at a predetermined pitch. Has a plurality of shape change portions arranged at the predetermined pitch corresponding to the plurality of lenses on the back surface, and a light irradiation unit that irradiates a light beam on the back surface of the lens sheet, A light detection unit for detecting a polarization component of reflected light obtained from the back surface of the lens sheet due to the light beam emitted from the light irradiation unit; and for printing an image on the back surface of the lens sheet. Detecting the plurality of shape change parts from the polarization component of the reflected light detected by the image printing unit and the light detection unit, and detecting the plurality of lenses based on the detected plurality of shape change parts Provided is an image printing apparatus comprising: a control unit that prints images corresponding to the plurality of lenses on the back surface of the lens sheet by the image printing unit while grasping each position. Is.

Here, it is preferable that the shape change portion is a concave portion or a convex portion formed on the back surface of the lens sheet.
Further, the light detection unit detects an S-polarized component and a P-polarized component of the reflected light, respectively, and the control unit is configured to determine the plurality of shapes based on the difference or ratio between the detected S-polarized component and the P-polarized component. A change site can be detected.
The image printing unit can print an image by an inkjet method.

  The image printing method according to the present invention is an image printing method in which an image is printed on the back surface of a lens sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arranged and formed at a predetermined pitch on the front surface. The lens sheet is on the back surface. A plurality of shape change portions arranged at the predetermined pitch in correspondence with the plurality of lenses, irradiating a light beam on the back surface of the lens sheet, and the lens sheet caused by the light beam; Detecting a polarization component of reflected light obtained from the back surface of the lens, detecting the plurality of shape change portions from the detected polarization component of the reflected light, and detecting the plurality of shape change portions based on the detected shape change portions. The image corresponding to the plurality of lenses is printed on the back surface of the lens sheet while grasping each position.

Here, it is preferable that the shape change portion is a concave portion or a convex portion formed on the back surface of the lens sheet.
In addition, an S-polarized component and a P-polarized component can be detected as polarized components of the reflected light, and the plurality of shape change portions can be detected based on the difference or ratio between the detected S-polarized component and P-polarized component. .
The image can be printed by an ink jet method.

  The image sheet for integral photography according to the present invention is composed of the lens sheet on which an image is printed by any of the image printing methods described above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate stereoscopic image by printing an image on the back surface of the lens sheet.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the waveform of the detection optical signal with respect to a lens detection position. 6 is a diagram illustrating a lens position calculation method according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a lens position calculation method according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a lens sheet used in Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the detection method of the lens position in a prior art example. It is a figure which shows the detection method of the lens position in another prior art example.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an image printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The image printing apparatus includes a scanning unit 2 that moves the lens sheet 1 at a predetermined speed in the horizontal direction, for example, the left direction on the paper surface, while holding the lens sheet 1 almost horizontally. Above the scanning unit 2, a light irradiation unit 5 that irradiates the light beam L1 toward the lens sheet 1 at a predetermined angle is disposed and a light detection unit for detecting the reflected light L2 reflected by the lens sheet 1 6 is arranged.
Further, an image printing unit 7 is disposed above the scanning unit 2 and on the downstream side in the moving direction of the lens sheet 1 with respect to the light irradiation unit 5 and the light detection unit 6, and a control unit 8 is provided in the image printing unit 7. It is connected. The control unit 8 is also connected to the scanning unit 2, the light irradiation unit 5, and the light detection unit 6.
The image printing unit 7 prints an image on the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1, and for example, an inkjet method can be used. Further, it is assumed that a print image to be printed on the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 is stored in the control unit 8 in advance.

  The lens sheet 1 is composed of a so-called lenticular sheet, microlens sheet, or the like in which a plurality of lenses 3 are arranged on the surface 1a at a predetermined pitch. However, the lens sheet 1 used in Embodiment 1 has a plurality of concave portions 4 arranged on the back surface 1b corresponding to the plurality of lenses 3 on the front surface 1a at the same pitch as those of the lenses 3. It is. The plurality of recesses 4 are for accurately grasping the positions of the plurality of lenses 3 on the front surface 1a on the back surface 1b side of the lens sheet 1, and each recess 4 has a triangular cross-sectional shape. And is arranged on the back surface 1b corresponding to the boundary portion of the lenses 3 adjacent to each other on the front surface 1a. Such a lens sheet 1 uses, for example, a first mold having a cavity having a shape corresponding to the plurality of lenses 3 and a second mold having a cavity having a shape corresponding to the plurality of recesses 4. It can be produced by molding a molten resin or molten glass.

The lens sheet 1 is held on the scanning unit 2 with the back surface 1b facing upward. That is, the light irradiation unit 5 irradiates the light beam L1 toward the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 in which the plurality of concave portions 4 are formed, and the light detection unit 6 receives the reflected light L2 reflected by the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1. Will be detected.
When the light beam L1 is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5 toward the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1, a part of the light beam L1 is reflected as surface reflected light by the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1, and the remaining part is the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1. The light then enters the lens sheet 1. Furthermore, a part of the light incident on the lens sheet 1 is emitted to the front surface 1a of the lens sheet 1, but there is light emitted to the back surface 1b side after repeated reflection in the lens sheet 1. The light emitted from the back surface 1b after undergoing internal reflection in the lens sheet 1 in this way is referred to as internal reflection light.

The reflected light L2 detected by the light detection unit 6 includes not only surface reflected light but also internally reflected light. For this reason, it is difficult to accurately grasp the position of each recess 4 simply by detecting the reflected light L2. Therefore, the light detection unit 6 is configured to decompose the received reflected light L2 into an S-polarized component and a P-polarized component, and detect the light intensity of each component. The S-polarized component of the reflected light L2 is a component in which the vibration surface of the electric field of the reflected light L2 is perpendicular to the surface including the light beam L1 and the reflected light L2, and the P-polarized component is reflected from the light beam L1. The vibration surface of the electric field of the reflected light L2 is a component parallel to the surface including the light L2.
That is, in the light detection unit 6, the optical signal intensity including each S-polarized component (surface reflected light S-polarized component and internal reflected light S-polarized component) of the surface reflected light and the internally reflected light, the surface reflected light and the internally reflected light The optical signal intensity including each P-polarized component (surface reflected light P-polarized component and internally reflected light P-polarized component) is detected.

When the light beam L1 is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5 toward the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 and the lens sheet 1 is moved in the horizontal direction by the scanning unit 2, the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 as shown in FIG. The surface reflected light reflected by and detected by the light detector 6 has a sharp change in light intensity when the irradiation position of the light beam L1 corresponds to the recess 4 in both the S-polarized component and the P-polarized component. This is because most of the reflected light from the back surface 1b of the portion where the recess 4 does not exist is directed to the light detection unit 6, whereas in the portion where the recess 4 exists, the reflected light is caused by the triangular cross-sectional shape of the recess 4. This is because the light is deviated from the light detection unit 6 and reflected in different directions.
On the other hand, the internally reflected light detected by the light detection unit 6 is reflected not only when the irradiation position of the light beam L1 corresponds to the concave part 4 but also around the concave part 4 in order to repeat reflection in the lens sheet 1. Even when the beam L1 is irradiated, a change in the light intensity occurs. The internal reflection light has a smaller intensity than the surface reflection light, and the intensity change of the internal reflection light that occurs in the periphery of the recess 4 is also the surface reflection light when the irradiation position of the light beam L1 corresponds to the recess 4. It is small compared to the sharp intensity change. Since most of the internally reflected light is non-polarized light, the S-polarized component and the P-polarized component of the internally reflected light have substantially the same light intensity.

Next, the operation of the image printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
First, the scanning unit 2 is driven by the control unit 8, and the lens sheet 1 is moved in the horizontal direction at a predetermined speed by the scanning unit 2. In this state, the light beam L1 is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5 controlled by the control unit 8 onto the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 at a predetermined angle, and the reflected light L2 from the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 is detected by the light detection unit. 6 is received.

  The light detection unit 6 converts the received reflected light L2 into an S-polarized component (surface reflected light S-polarized component + internally reflected light S-polarized component) and a P-polarized component (surface reflected light P-polarized component + internally reflected light P-polarized component). The reflected light intensity is detected and output to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 converts the P-polarized component (surface reflected light P-polarized component + internally reflected light P) of the reflected light L2 from the optical signal of the S-polarized component (surface reflected light S-polarized component + internally reflected light S-polarized component) of the reflected light L2. The optical signal of the polarization component is subtracted. As described above, since the S-polarized component and the P-polarized component of the internally reflected light have substantially the same light intensity, the effect of the internally reflected light is obtained by subtracting the P-polarized component from the S-polarized component of the reflected light L2. As shown in FIG. 3, a signal waveform in which the light intensity changes sharply only when the irradiation position of the light beam L1 corresponds to the concave portion 4 is obtained. Thereby, the control unit 8 can accurately specify the position of the recess 4.

  Since the plurality of concave portions 4 of the lens sheet 1 correspond to the plurality of lenses 3 and are arranged at the same pitch as the plurality of lenses 3, each lens of the lens sheet 1 is determined based on the specification of the positions of the concave portions 4. The position of 3 can be detected accurately.

  Based on the position of each lens 3 detected in this way, the control unit 8 drives and controls the image printing unit 7 to print the print image stored in advance on the back surface 1 b of the lens sheet 1. The timing at which the corresponding portion of the lens sheet 1 reaches the image printing unit 7 is calculated from the detection time of each recess 4 and the speed of the lens sheet 1 moved by the scanning unit 2. The image corresponding to the above is printed.

  As described above, in order to accurately detect the respective positions of the plurality of recesses 4, even if there are in-plane variations in the arrangement pitch of the plurality of lenses 3 in the lens sheet 1 and errors between lots, etc. An image can be accurately printed on the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 according to the position. As a result, a highly accurate stereoscopic image can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, the light irradiation unit 5, the light detection unit 6, and the image printing unit 7 are fixedly arranged, and the scanning unit 2 prints an image while moving the lens sheet 1 with respect to them. On the contrary, the lens sheet 1 is fixed, and the image can be printed on the back surface 1b of the lens sheet 1 while moving the light irradiation unit 5, the light detection unit 6, and the image printing apparatus 7 together.

  Moreover, it is preferable to use a microlens sheet for the lens sheet 1 used in the present embodiment. Compared with a lenticular sheet in which each lens is arranged one-dimensionally, in a microlens sheet in which each lens is arranged two-dimensionally, reflection in the microlens sheet by the incident light is repeated many times, so that the internally reflected light The non-polarization property of the light can be increased, and the influence of the internally reflected light in the detection light signal of the recess 4 can be reduced.

Embodiment 2
In the control unit 8 of the first embodiment described above, the position of the concave portion 4 is detected by subtracting the optical signal of the P-polarized component from the optical signal of the S-polarized component of the reflected light L2, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 5, the position of each concave portion 4 can also be detected by calculating the ratio of the optical signal of the S-polarized component and the optical signal of the P-polarized component of the reflected light L2 and using this ratio.

Embodiment 3
FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the lens sheet 11 used in the third embodiment. This lens sheet 11 is a lens sheet 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a plurality of convex portions protruding in a triangular cross section instead of the plurality of concave portions 4 having a triangular cross section formed on the back surface 1 b. 14 are arranged on the back surface 11b. These convex portions 14 are arranged on the back surface 11b corresponding to the boundary portions of the lenses 13 adjacent to each other on the front surface 11a.
Similarly to the first embodiment, when the light beam L1 is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5 toward the back surface 11b of the lens sheet 11 and the lens sheet 1 is moved in the horizontal direction by the scanning unit 2, a portion where the convex portion 14 does not exist. While most of the reflected light from the back surface 11b of the light is directed to the light detection unit 6, the reflected light is deviated from the light detection unit 6 due to the triangular cross-sectional shape of the convex part 14 at the location where the convex part 14 exists. Therefore, the reflected light L2 whose light intensity changes sharply when the irradiation position of the light beam L1 corresponds to the convex portion 14 can be detected by the light detection unit 6. Therefore, even if the lens sheet 11 of the third embodiment is used, it is possible to accurately detect the position of each lens 13 and print an image corresponding to each lens 3 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Become.

  In addition, while forming the lens sheet used in the first to third embodiments from a microlens sheet and accurately detecting the position of each lens using a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions by the image printing method as described above. By printing an image on the back surface of the lens sheet, a highly accurate image sheet for integral photography can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,11 Lens sheet, 2 Scan part, 3,13 Lens, 4 Concave part, 5 Light irradiation part, 6 Light detection part, 7 Image printing part, 8 Control part, 14 Convex part, L1 light beam, L2 Reflected light.

Claims (9)

In an image printing apparatus that prints an image on the back surface of a lens sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arrayed at a predetermined pitch on the front surface,
The lens sheet has a plurality of shape changing portions arranged on the back surface corresponding to the plurality of lenses at the predetermined pitch,
A light irradiation unit that irradiates a light beam on the back surface of the lens sheet;
A light detection unit that detects a polarization component of reflected light obtained from the back surface of the lens sheet due to the light beam emitted from the light irradiation unit;
An image printing unit for printing an image on the back surface of the lens sheet;
The image is detected while detecting the plurality of shape change parts from the polarization component of the reflected light detected by the light detection unit and grasping the respective positions of the plurality of lenses based on the detected shape change parts. An image printing apparatus comprising: a control unit that causes the printing unit to print images corresponding to the plurality of lenses on the back surface of the lens sheet.   The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape change portion includes a concave portion or a convex portion formed on the back surface of the lens sheet. The light detection unit detects an S-polarized component and a P-polarized component of the reflected light,
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects the plurality of shape change portions based on a difference or ratio between the detected S-polarized component and P-polarized component.   The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image printing unit prints an image by an inkjet method. In an image printing method for printing an image on the back surface of a lens sheet in which a plurality of lenses are arrayed at a predetermined pitch on the front surface,
The lens sheet has a plurality of shape changing portions arranged on the back surface corresponding to the plurality of lenses at the predetermined pitch,
Irradiating a light beam on the back surface of the lens sheet;
Detecting a polarization component of reflected light obtained from the back surface of the lens sheet due to the light beam;
On the back surface of the lens sheet, the plurality of shape change portions are detected from the polarization components of the detected reflected light and the positions of the plurality of lenses are grasped based on the detected shape change portions. And printing an image corresponding to the plurality of lenses.   The image printing method according to claim 5, wherein the shape change portion is formed of a concave portion or a convex portion formed on the back surface of the lens sheet. Detecting an S-polarized component and a P-polarized component as polarized components of the reflected light,
The image printing method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of shape change portions are detected based on a difference or ratio between the detected S-polarized component and P-polarized component.   The image printing method according to claim 5, wherein the image printing is performed by an inkjet method.   An image sheet for integral photography, comprising the lens sheet on which an image is printed by the image printing method according to any one of claims 5 to 8.

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