JPH11327065A - Image recording method and thermosensitive recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording method capable of easily forming a stereoscopic image and a picture changing display body by a parallax barrier method without necessitating a special positioning means. SOLUTION: By using a thermosensitive recording medium 30 whose color development is performed by heating, a transparent layer 36 is formed on the upper surface of a first color-developing layer 34 of this medium 30, and also a second color-developing layer 38 for forming a parallax barrier 10 is provided on the layer 36. A picture for display constituted of the array of a strip-like picture piece is printed on the layer 34, and also and the barrier 10 constituted of a light transmitting part 12 and a light shielding part 14 is printed on the layer 38 by the thermal head of a printer. A transparent slit part where the strip-like picture piece is not partially printed remains on the layer 34, the picture changing display body can be easily formed only by superposing the sheet on the existing picture and another picture sheet without special positioning.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording method and a thermal recording medium applied to a printing apparatus such as a printer, and more particularly to a stereoscopic image which gives a stereoscopic effect by using binocular parallax and convergence, and a viewing direction. The present invention relates to a method of creating a pictorial display body whose display content changes depending on the content and a recording medium used for the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method of realizing stereoscopic vision and picture change display by a parallax barrier method has been conventionally known.
For example, a stereoscopic image output device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-281615 includes a means for creating a stereoscopic image and printing the image on recording paper, and a parallax barrier pattern signal. Means for recording on barrier paper, so that a single device can create a stereoscopic image and a parallax barrier sheet.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional method, a parallax barrier sheet and a slit-like image for display (stereoscopic image) are separately created,
Since the parallax panoramagram (stereogram) is obtained by superimposing these, it is necessary to create both of them with high precision, then position them vertically and horizontally, especially in the direction of rotation, and paste them together. . If the bonding positions of the two are displaced, a stereoscopic image or a pictorial display cannot be obtained, so that it is extremely important to accurately position them, but the above publication does not mention any positioning means. .

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and does not require any special positioning means, and is capable of easily realizing a stereoscopic image or a pictorial display by the parallax barrier method. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and to provide a recording medium used in the method.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an image recording method for creating a display body for realizing a stereoscopic image or a picture change display by a parallax barrier method. A recording medium having a transparent layer, and a parallax
A barrier is printed and at least one display image observed through the parallax barrier is printed on the lower surface side of the transparent layer.

[0006] The display image includes not only images of landscapes and people, but also characters and symbols, such as calendars and schedules, and their arrangements and figures.
According to the present invention, parallax media can be stored on one recording medium.
The barrier and the display image are integrally formed by a common technique of printing. Therefore, it is possible to form the parallax barrier and the display image with high accuracy by using one printer. With this, parallax
Positioning associated with the superimposition of the barrier and the display image, and the work of bonding them, are not required, and a stereoscopic image or a pictorial display can be easily created.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording method using a recording medium having a transparent layer, wherein a light transmitting portion and a light shielding portion are alternately arranged on the upper surface side of the transparent layer of the recording medium. A first step of printing and forming a parallax barrier, which is performed before and after the first step,
On the lower surface side of the transparent layer, at least one or more types of display images observed through the parallax barrier,
Printing is performed in a form in which strip-shaped image fragments divided into a predetermined width corresponding to the pitch of the parallax barrier are arranged, and a transparent slit portion is formed without partially printing the strip-shaped image fragments. A second step of performing printing processing;
And arranging the recording medium that has undergone the first and second steps on another image recording body, so that the image of the image recording body observed through the transparent slit portion and the recording A plurality of images including one or more types of display images printed on a medium can be selectively displayed according to a change in viewing angle.

According to the present invention, at least one or more types of strip-shaped image fragments constituting the display image are formed on the first color forming layer of the recording medium on which the display image and the parallax barrier are integrally formed. At the same time, a transparent slit portion which does not print a strip-shaped image fragment is formed. When the recording medium having such a configuration is arranged on an image recording medium on which an arbitrary image is formed, and observed through a parallax barrier, the display image formed on the recording medium and the image formed on the image display body are formed. Can be selectively displayed according to the viewing angle.

According to the present invention, a special positioning is achieved only by superimposing a sheet of a recording medium on which a parallax barrier is formed with an existing photograph or an image sheet (image recording body) created by a general printer. Even if it is not, you can easily enjoy the picture change display. In particular, a recording medium in which a transparent adhesive is formed on the back surface of the recording medium and a display image and a parallax barrier are integrally formed as described in claim 3, and the image recording medium is formed by the adhesive force of the adhesive. It is preferable to be configured so as to be adhered on top of the above. In this case, the second pressure-sensitive adhesive may be further formed on the back surface of the image recording medium.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording method using a recording medium having a transparent layer, wherein a pattern in which light transmitting portions and light shielding portions are alternately arranged on the upper surface side of the transparent layer of the recording medium. A first step of forming a parallax barrier by printing, and a step performed before and after the first step, which is observed on the lower surface side of the transparent layer through the parallax barrier. A second step of printing and forming a plurality of display images in a cyclic arrangement of strip-shaped image fragments divided into a predetermined width corresponding to the pitch of the parallax barrier. And

In the case of the present invention as well, the parallax barrier and the display image can be formed with high accuracy by a single printer in the same manner as the image recording method according to the first aspect of the present invention. Becomes unnecessary. Therefore,
It is possible to easily create a three-dimensional image or a picture change display. In particular, as described in claim 6, as a display image, a stereoscopic image formed by alternately arranging strip-shaped image fragments constituting a left-eye image and strip-shaped image fragments constituting a right-eye image. By forming the image for use, a display body having a three-dimensional effect can be easily created.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the image recording method according to any one of the first to sixth aspects is applied to a thermosensitive recording method, and the color is developed by heating. Using a heat-sensitive recording medium, forming a transparent layer on the upper surface of the first color-forming layer of the heat-sensitive recording medium;
A second color forming layer for forming a parallax barrier is provided on the transparent layer, a display image is formed on the first color forming layer by controlling the energy of a thermal head, and the second color forming layer is formed. A parallax barrier is formed on the substrate.

The use of the thermal recording method has the advantage that a parallax barrier and a display image can be formed with high accuracy by one thermal head. In the case where the thermal recording method is used, the recording medium is a thermal recording medium which develops a color by heating as described in claim 8, wherein a transparent layer is formed on the upper surface of the first coloring layer for expressing an image to be recorded. A dedicated heat-sensitive recording medium comprising a layer and a second color forming layer for forming a parallax barrier on the transparent layer is used.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an image recording method and a thermal recording medium according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the principle of the stereoscopic image and the picture change display by the parallax barrier method will be briefly described. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the principle of the parallax stereogram. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-281615, the parallax barrier 10 has a structure in which the light transmitting portions 12 and the light shielding portions 14 are alternately arranged at equal intervals P, and the interval T A stereoscopic image 16 is arranged with a space therebetween. The stereoscopic image 16 is the left-eye image 1
8 and the right-eye image 20 have widths WL and WR (WL
= WR = W), and these are alternately arranged.

When the stereoscopic image 16 is observed through the parallax barrier 10, the left eye 22 can see only the left-eye image 18 through the light transmitting unit 12, and the right eye 24 can see the right image 24 through the light transmitting unit 12. Only the eye image 20 can be seen. That is, the interval between the left eye 22 and the right eye 24 is L, and the left eye 2
Assuming that the distance (viewing distance) between the stereoscopic image 16 and the right eye 24 and the right eye 24 is D, the following relationship is established between them.

[0016]

P / W = (D−T) / D (1)

[0017]

P / L = T / D (2) An observer who simultaneously observes the left eye image 18 and the right eye image 20 perceives a three-dimensional effect by fusing both images. This principle is not limited to stereoscopic images.
It can also be used for so-called picture display. That is, a plurality of types of images are divided into strips as display images, and the strip-shaped image fragments are circulated to form an image pattern. That is, an image pattern in which the left-eye image fragments A and the right-eye image fragments B are alternately arranged in the form of ABABAB... Is formed. When such an image pattern is observed through the parallax barrier 10, by changing the viewing angle (changing the viewpoint), the light transmitting section 1 is changed.
The image fragments visible through 2 change and different images are recognized.

FIG. 2 shows an image recording method according to the present invention.
Auto-chrome (Thermo-Autochrome) method (hereinafter TA
An example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a digital color printer. As shown in FIG. 2, the thermosensitive recording medium 30 used for the TA printer has a transparent layer 36 formed on a first color forming layer 34 formed on a support 32,
A second coloring layer 38 is formed on the transparent layer 36. Note that the support 32 may be transparent or non-transparent. Further, a heat-resistant protective layer (not shown) may be provided on the second color forming layer 38.

The first color forming layer 34 includes yellow (Y),
A color-forming layer for forming each color of magenta (M) and cyan (C) is formed, and by controlling the heat energy applied by a thermal head of the printer, it is possible to control the color to be formed and to irradiate ultraviolet rays with a fixing lamp. Can be controlled by changing the wavelength.
Then, strip-shaped image fragments (slit images) corresponding to the left-eye image 18 and the right-eye image 20 having the width W shown in FIG. 1 are thermally recorded on the first color forming layer 34.

The transparent layer 36 corresponds to a member for securing the interval T shown in FIG. Then, the parallax barrier 10 including the light transmitting portion 12 and the light shielding portion 14 shown in FIG. 1 is formed on the second color forming layer 38 provided on the upper surface side of the transparent layer 36 by thermal recording. You. The parallax barrier 10 may be formed in either the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head. However, forming the barrier along the sub-scanning direction is more accurate.

In this case, as is apparent from FIG. 1, strictly speaking, P ≠ W, but since D≫T, P = W
You may create as. Either of the display image formed on the first coloring layer 34 and the parallax barrier 10 formed on the second coloring layer 38 may be formed first. In the case of a three-dimensional image, the two types of images, the left-eye image 18 and the right-eye image 20, are respectively divided into strips, and these image fragments are alternately arranged. Two or more types of display images to be displayed are divided into strips, and these are formed into an image pattern in which the display images are arranged in a cyclic manner every predetermined number of pixels. For example, in the case of creating three types of pictorial display objects, the image fragment A for the first display image, the image fragment B for the second display image, and the image fragment C for the third display image are ABCABCABC. An image pattern is formed in such an arrangement.

At this time, the period of the image pattern composed of the cyclic arrangement of the strip-shaped image fragments formed on the first color-forming layer 34 and the light transmission of the parallax barrier 10 formed on the second color-forming layer 38 The light transmitting portion 1 may be formed by making the pattern period (pitch) of the portion 12 and the light shielding portion 14 coincide with each other.
It is not required that the light shielding portions 14 and the light shielding portions 14 be formed at equal intervals.

According to the image recording method according to the present embodiment, the parallax barrier 10 and the slit image are formed on the same thermal recording medium 3 using the same TA printer.
Since they are formed integrally with each other, printing can be performed with high precision by matching the pitch and phase of the two, so that a high-quality three-dimensional image or an unnatural display can be easily enjoyed. In particular, by operating the thermal head from only one side (upper side in FIG. 2) of the thermal recording medium 30, the printing position can be easily positioned between when the display image is printed and when the parallax barrier is printed. High-precision printing is possible.

Further, as a structure of the printer, a thermal head for printing a display image and a parallax
A thermal head for printing the barrier 10 may be separately provided, and each thermal head may act on the thermal recording medium from both the upper and lower directions of the thermal recording medium. In this case, the image for display is inverted and printed.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. 3 that are the same as those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. In the thermosensitive recording medium 40 shown in FIG. 3, the first coloring layer 34 is held by the transparent layer 36,
The support 32 is omitted. Then, the first coloring layer 3
A transparent adhesive 42 is applied to the lower surface of 4, and the adhesive 42 is exposed by releasing a release paper (not shown). The first coloring layer 34 may be held on a transparent support (not shown) (not shown), and the adhesive 42 may be formed on the lower surface of the support.

Using the heat-sensitive recording medium 40 having such a configuration, a transparent slit portion 46 which does not print an image is partially left in an image pattern composed of an array of strip-shaped image fragments 44 formed on the first color forming layer 34. Print processing. For example, when printing one type of display image, the strip-shaped image fragments 44 and the transparent slit portions 46 constituting the display image are alternately formed as shown in FIG. Further, when printing two types of display images, an image fragment forming the first display image, an image fragment forming the second display image, and an image fragment forming the second display image are selected according to the pitch of the parallax barrier 10. In addition, the three transparent slits are formed in a circulating manner every predetermined number of pixels.

In this manner, the parallax barrier 10 and the display image (image pattern composed of a cyclic arrangement of strip-shaped image fragments including the transparent slit portion 46) are integrally formed on the thermal recording medium 40 by printing. The printed sheet is placed on an image recording body 50 (hereinafter, referred to as a full print sheet) on which another image is printed on the entire surface, as in a general photograph, and both are adhered by the adhesive 42.

As a result, the image drawn on the entire printing sheet 50 can be observed through the transparent slit section 46 through the parallax barrier 10. A plurality of images including the printed display image can be switched and displayed depending on the viewing angle. For example, a display image indicating a calendar is formed on the first coloring layer 34 of the thermal recording medium 40, and is attached to a general photograph (corresponding to reference numeral 50). It is possible to easily create a picture change display body that can be observed.

Further, an adhesive 52 is also provided on the back surface of the entire printing sheet 50, and the release paper (not shown) is detached so that the adhesive 52 is exposed and can be attached to an arbitrary place. You may. In addition, the adhesive 42,
A mode in which 52 is not provided is also possible. In each of the above embodiments, an example in which the image recording method according to the present invention is applied to a TA printer has been described. However, the method according to the present invention may be applied to a melt-type thermal transfer method, an inkjet method, a sublimation-type thermal transfer method, and various other recording methods. It can be applied to the printer of the system.
For example, a transparent sheet such as an OHP sheet is used as a recording medium, a parallax barrier is printed and formed on the upper surface side, and a slit image for display is formed on the lower surface side, as described in FIGS. 2 and 3. It is possible to create a three-dimensional image or a picture-change display body that can achieve the same operation and effect as described above.

[0030]

As described above, according to the image recording method of the present invention, the parallax barrier and the display image are integrally formed by printing on the same recording medium. The same printer (printing device) can be created with high accuracy. In addition, there is no need to superimpose the parallax barrier and the display image, and no positioning means is required for both. As a result, it is possible to easily enjoy high-quality stereoscopic images and pictorial displays.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a transparent slit portion is formed together with a strip-shaped image fragment in a first color forming layer of a recording medium having a parallax barrier formed thereon. Since the image is arranged on the image recording medium on which the image is recorded, when this is observed through the parallax barrier, the image formed on the recording medium and the image on the image recording medium are selected according to the viewing angle. Can be displayed.

According to the present invention, the parallax
By simply superimposing the recording media sheet on which the barrier is formed with an existing photograph or an image sheet created by a general printer, it is possible to easily enjoy a pictorial display without special positioning.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the principle of a parallax stereogram.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a thermo-autochrome (TA) type thermosensitive recording medium showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a thermal recording medium showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Parallax barrier 12 ... Light transmission part 14 ... Light shielding part 16 ... Stereoscopic image 18 ... Left eye image 20 ... Right eye image 30, 40 ... Thermal recording medium 32 ... Support 34 ... First Coloring layer 36 ... Transparent layer 38 ... Second color forming layer 42 ... Adhesive 46 ... Transparent slit part 50 ... Fully printed sheet (image recording body) 52 ... Adhesive (second adhesive)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image recording method for producing a display body for realizing a three-dimensional image or a pictorial display by a parallax barrier method, wherein a recording medium having a transparent layer is used, and an upper side of the transparent layer of the recording medium is used. And printing at least one display image observed through the parallax barrier on the lower surface side of the transparent layer. 2. An image recording method for producing a display which realizes a three-dimensional image or a pictorial display by a parallax barrier method, wherein a recording medium having a transparent layer is used, and an upper side of the transparent layer of the recording medium is used. A first step of printing and forming a parallax barrier composed of a pattern in which light transmitting parts and light shielding parts are alternately arranged; and performed before and after the first step, and on the lower surface side of the transparent layer. The at least one display image observed through the parallax barrier,
A printing process is performed in which strip-shaped image fragments divided into a predetermined width are arranged in accordance with the barrier pitch, and a transparent slit portion is formed without partially printing the strip-shaped image fragments. A second step, wherein the recording medium having undergone the first and second steps is disposed on another image recording body, whereby the image recording observed through the transparent slit portion is performed. An image recording method, wherein a plurality of images including a body image and one or more types of display images printed on the recording medium can be selectively displayed according to a change in a viewing angle. 3. A transparent adhesive is formed on the back surface of the recording medium, and the first and second adhesives are formed by the adhesive force of the adhesive.
3. The image recording method according to claim 2, wherein the recording medium that has passed through the step is pasted on the image recording medium. 4. The image recording method according to claim 3, wherein a second adhesive is formed on a back surface of the image recording body. 5. An image recording method for producing a display body for realizing a three-dimensional image or a pictorial display by a parallax barrier method, wherein a recording medium having a transparent layer is used, and an upper side of the transparent layer of the recording medium is used. A step of printing and forming a parallax barrier composed of a pattern in which light transmitting parts and light shielding parts are alternately arranged, and a step performed before or after the first step, wherein the transparent layer A plurality of display images observed through the parallax barrier are printed in the form of a cyclic arrangement of strip-shaped image fragments divided into a predetermined width corresponding to the barrier pitch on the lower surface side of the display. A second step of forming; and an image recording method. 6. The second step is a stereoscopic view in which a strip-shaped image fragment forming a left-eye image and a strip-shaped image fragment forming a right-eye image are alternately arranged as a display image. The image recording method according to claim 5, wherein an image for use is formed. 7. A method for forming a transparent layer on an upper surface of a first color forming layer of the heat-sensitive recording medium by using a heat-sensitive recording medium which develops a color by heating, and for forming a parallax barrier on the transparent layer. A second color forming layer is provided, a display image is formed on the first color forming layer by controlling the energy of a thermal head, and a parallax barrier is formed on the second color forming layer. The image recording method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: 8. A heat-sensitive recording medium which develops a color by heating, and is a first medium for expressing an image to be recorded.
A transparent layer is formed on the upper surface of the color-forming layer, and a second color-forming layer for forming a parallax barrier is provided on the transparent layer.