JP6566094B2 - Stereoscopic image forming system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic imaging system for forming a three-dimensional image on the thermally expandable sheet.

  Conventionally, an electromagnetic wave heat conversion layer for converting electromagnetic waves into heat is formed by printing on a medium (for example, a thermally expandable sheet) having an expanded layer that expands on one surface according to the amount of absorbed heat. Among them, a three-dimensional image forming system is known that forms a three-dimensional image by expanding a portion where an electromagnetic wave heat conversion layer is formed on a medium by irradiating it with electromagnetic waves (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The three-dimensional image forming system has, for example, a structure in which a grayscale image that functions as an electromagnetic heat conversion layer is formed on the back surface of a thermally expandable sheet by printing, and light including electromagnetic waves of infrared wavelengths is irradiated from the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet. It has become.

  In the three-dimensional image forming system, the heat-expandable sheet is heated and fixed by holding the heat-expandable sheet and irradiating light while moving the light-expandable sheet on the heat-expandable sheet. There was something that became. The three-dimensional image forming system having this structure requires a fixing and holding mechanism for pressing the four ends of the thermally expandable sheet and a moving mechanism for moving the light heating means. It was larger than the size of the adhesive sheet. For this reason, it has been difficult for the stereoscopic image forming system having this structure to be reduced in size and price. In addition, since the stereoscopic image forming system having this structure is batch processing, it is not possible to continuously supply the thermally expandable sheet, and it takes time to form a stereoscopic image on a large number of thermally expandable sheets. It was necessary.

  Therefore, in the stereoscopic image forming system, a light heating unit is fixedly arranged, and a guide member that guides the conveyance of the heat-expandable sheet is disposed around a heating region portion that irradiates light to the heat-expandable sheet, There is a structure that heats the thermally expandable sheet by irradiating the light heating means with light while conveying the thermally expandable sheet. Hereinafter, the stereoscopic image forming system having this structure is referred to as a “conventional stereoscopic image forming system”.

Japanese Patent No. 5212504

  However, the conventional stereoscopic image forming system has a problem that uneven heating may occur in the thermally expandable sheet as described below.

  For example, in a conventional stereoscopic image forming system, the guide member is arranged at a position very close to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet (that is, the surface irradiated with light on which the grayscale image that is the electromagnetic wave heat conversion layer is formed). Has been. Therefore, when the thermally expandable sheet is conveyed, a dark shadow of the guide member may fall on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet. In the portion where the shadow is dropped, light does not strike, so the conversion efficiency of electromagnetic waves into heat decreases. Thereby, heating unevenness may occur in the thermally expandable sheet. As a result, the conventional stereoscopic image forming system may not be able to form a favorable stereoscopic image.

  Further, in some conventional stereoscopic image forming systems, the guide member is made of transparent glass or the like so that the dark shadow of the guide member does not fall on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet. However, even in a three-dimensional image forming system having this structure, water vapor generated from the expansion layer during heating may adhere to the glass surface of the guide member, and the glass surface may become cloudy. Thereby, heating unevenness may occur in the thermally expandable sheet. As a result, the conventional stereoscopic image forming system may not be able to form a favorable stereoscopic image.

  Further, in the conventional stereoscopic image forming system, the guide member is eliminated so that the dark shadow of the guide member does not fall on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet, and instead, both ends of the thermally expandable sheet are sandwiched between belts. There was a thing of the structure conveyed by. However, in the stereoscopic image forming system having this structure, curling occurs in the thermally expandable sheet during heating. The curled state differs between both end portions of the thermally expandable sheet that is sandwiched between the belts and the central portion of the thermally expandable sheet that is in a free state that is not sandwiched between the belts. Therefore, a difference occurs in the distance from the light heating means to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet between both ends and the center of the thermally expandable sheet. Thereby, heating unevenness may occur in the thermally expandable sheet. As a result, the conventional stereoscopic image forming system may not be able to form a favorable stereoscopic image.

  The subject of this invention is eliminating the heating nonuniformity of a thermally expansible sheet.

The three-dimensional image forming system according to the present invention includes a conveyance path for conveying a thermally expandable sheet provided with a light-to-heat conversion layer, a light irradiation means whose light irradiation direction is directed to a predetermined area on the conveyance path, A first roller and a second roller, wherein the thermally expandable sheet is interposed between the first roller and the second roller before the thermally expandable sheet passes through the predetermined area. A pair of rollers provided so as to pass through the sheet, a detection sensor for detecting that a rear end of the thermally expandable sheet being conveyed through the conveyance path has approached the pair of rollers, and the thermal expansion by the detection sensor. And control means for increasing the conveying speed of the thermally expandable sheet from which the trailing edge is detected when it is detected that the trailing edge of the adhesive sheet has approached the roller pair.

  According to the present invention, uneven heating of the thermally expandable sheet can be eliminated.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a stereoscopic image forming system according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the guide member used by embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the stereo image formation system which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the medium conveyance method in the three-dimensional image formation system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the upper guide used by embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each figure is only schematically shown so that the present invention can be fully understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the common component and the same component, and those overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Embodiment]
<Configuration of stereoscopic image forming system>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the stereoscopic image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a stereoscopic image forming system 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the upper guide 56 used in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a stereoscopic image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a touch panel display 2, a computer 3, and a light irradiation unit 4.

The computer 3 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and storage means (not shown), and controls the light irradiation unit 4.
The touch panel display 2 is configured by attaching a touch panel to a liquid crystal display panel, and is used for the operation of the computer 3.

  The light irradiation unit 4 is a unit that irradiates the thermally expandable sheet 7 with visible light and near infrared light while conveying the thermally expandable sheet 7. The heat-expandable sheet 7 is a medium having an expansion layer that expands in accordance with the amount of heat absorbed. On the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7, a grayscale image (electromagnetic heat conversion layer) is formed by carbon black. When visible light and near-infrared light are applied to the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 where the grayscale image is formed, the near-infrared light is converted into heat at that portion, and heat is generated. In response to this, the expanded layer of the portion expands and rises, and as a result, a stereoscopic image is formed.

  The light irradiation unit 4 includes a light irradiation control circuit 41, a cooling fan 42, a temperature sensor 43, a lamp heater 44, a reflection plate 441, a barcode reader 45, a mirror 451, a motor 48, insertion rollers 51 and 52, and discharge rollers 53 and 54. Each part is provided.

  The light irradiation control circuit 41 is a control unit that controls the operations of the cooling fan 42, the lamp heater 44, the insertion rollers 51 and 52, and the discharge rollers 53 and 54. The light irradiation control circuit 41 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory (not shown), and comprehensively controls the light irradiation unit 4 based on an instruction from the computer 3. The light irradiation control circuit 41 controls the cooling fan 42 based on input signals from the barcode reader 45, the inlet sensor 46 and the outlet sensor 47. Further, the light irradiation control circuit 41 controls lighting and extinguishing of the lamp heater 44 based on an input signal from the temperature sensor 43. The light irradiation control circuit 41 controls the rotation of the motor 48 that drives the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and the discharge rollers 53 and 54 based on input signals from the barcode reader 45, the inlet sensor 46, and the outlet sensor 47. . The light irradiation control circuit 41 has a function of changing the conveyance speed of the thermally expandable sheet 7 according to an arbitrary timing.

  The cooling fan 42 is a cooling unit that cools the reflecting plate 441 with air. The temperature sensor 43 is a measuring unit that measures the temperature of the reflection plate 441. The lamp heater 44 is a member that generates visible light and near infrared light. In the present embodiment, the lamp heater 44 is described as being constituted by a halogen lamp. The reflector 441 is a member that reflects visible light and near infrared light generated by the lamp heater 44. The lamp heater 44 and the reflecting plate 441 irradiate the thermally expandable sheet 7 with visible light and near-infrared light, and close the portion where the grayscale image (electromagnetic wave heat conversion layer) of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is formed. It functions as a light heating means for heating with infrared light. In the present embodiment, a description will be given on the assumption that the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflection plate 441) is disposed above the conveyance path 6. However, the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflection plate 441) can be disposed below the conveyance path 6.

  The barcode reader 45 is a device that reads a barcode printed on the end of the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7. The mirror 451 reflects the barcode of the thermally expandable sheet 7 and can be read from the barcode reader 45 when the mirror 451 is set in the sheet feeding unit 50 so that the back surface side of the thermally expandable sheet 7 faces upward. Like that. The stereoscopic image forming system 1 can determine the orientation of the front surface and the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 when the barcode reader 45 reads the barcode.

  The motor 48 is a drive source for the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and the discharge rollers 53 and 54. The insertion rollers 51 and 52 are conveying means arranged on the upstream side of the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflecting plate 441). The discharge rollers 53 and 54 are conveying means arranged on the downstream side of the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflection plate 441).

  Inside the light irradiation unit 4, a conveyance path 6 indicated by a one-dot chain line is formed. The conveyance path 6 is formed from an insertion portion 5 into which the thermally expandable sheet 7 is inserted to a discharge portion (not shown) from which the thermally expandable sheet 7 is discharged. A paper feed unit 50 is disposed inside the insertion unit 5. The light irradiation unit 4 includes a paper feeding unit 50, an inlet sensor 46, insertion rollers 51 and 52, a lower guide 55, an upper guide 56, discharge rollers 53 and 54, and an outlet sensor 47 along the conveyance path 6.

  The paper feed unit 50 is a part that supplies the thermally expandable sheet 7 to the light heating means. In the light irradiation unit 4, when the thermally expandable sheet 7 is inserted into the insertion unit 5 and set in the sheet feeding unit 50, and light irradiation is instructed from the touch panel display 2, conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7 and light Start irradiation. This transport is started by a transport mechanism (not shown) provided in the paper feed unit 50.

  The inlet sensor 46 is a detection sensor that detects the thermally expandable sheet 7. In the inlet sensor 46, the front end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 has reached the position immediately before the insertion rollers 51 and 52, and the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 has passed the position immediately before the insertion rollers 51 and 52. Is detected.

  The insertion rollers 51 and 52 are provided separately on the left and right sides of the conveyance path 6, respectively, and convey the end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 sandwiched from above and below. These insertion rollers 51 and 52 are connected to a motor 48 through a power transmission mechanism (not shown) and are driven by the motor 48.

  The lower guide 55 and the upper guide 56 are guide members that guide the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7. In the present embodiment, the lower guide 55 and the upper guide 56 have a long flat plate shape, and guide the thermally expandable sheet 7 from below and above the conveyance path 6. The lower guide 55 has a shape in which the front end portion and the rear end portion are bent downward so as not to hinder the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7. The lower guide 55 is preferably made of a sturdy metal material. Further, the upper guide 56 has a shape in which the front end portion and the rear end portion are bent upward so as not to hinder the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7. The upper guide 56 is preferably made of transparent glass or plastic material.

  In the present embodiment, the “front end” and “rear end” of the lower guide 55 and the upper guide 56 are based on the thermally expandable sheet 7 that is a conveyance medium. In the illustrated example, the side closer to the discharge rollers 53 and 54 (that is, the downstream side in the transport direction) is the front end side of the lower guide 55 and the upper guide 56 and the side closer to the insertion rollers 51 and 52 (that is, the upstream side in the transport direction). ) Is the rear end side of the lower guide 55 and the upper guide 56.

  The discharge rollers 53 and 54 sandwich and convey the thermally expandable sheet 7 from above and below. These discharge rollers 53 and 54 are also connected to the motor 48 via a power transmission mechanism (not shown) and are driven by the motor 48.

  Similarly to the inlet sensor 46, the outlet sensor 47 is a detection sensor that detects the thermally expandable sheet 7. The outlet sensor 47 indicates that the front end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 has reached the position immediately after the discharge rollers 53 and 54, and the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 has passed the position immediately after the discharge rollers 53 and 54. Is detected.

  The mechanism inside the light irradiation unit 4 includes a heating area HS that heats the heat-expandable sheet 7 immediately below the light heating means (lamp heater 44 and reflector 441), and an upstream side upstream from the heating area HS. It is roughly divided into a mechanism unit US and a downstream mechanism unit LS downstream of the heating region unit HS.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, in the present embodiment, the upper guide 56 is constituted by four long plate-like members, and is fixedly supported by a support member 57. In the present embodiment, the support member 57 includes two rods 57a and 57b arranged in parallel along the width direction of the transport path 6, and the four rods 57a and 57b The guide 56 is supported. Each upper guide 56 is provided to be inclined in an oblique direction when viewed from above. Specifically, the upper guide 56 is inclined and arranged such that the front end side faces the outside of the conveyance path 6 and the rear end side faces the center side of the conveyance path 6. The reason is that the front end portion of the heat-expandable sheet 7 that has bounced up between the insertion rollers 51 and 52 is developed toward the outside of the conveyance path 6 (that is, both corner portions of the front end portion of the heat-expandable sheet 7 are This is because the heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is eliminated by the following principle.

  That is, if each upper guide 56 has a structure in which the upper guides 56 are arranged in parallel along the conveying direction in a top view, the shadow of the linear upper guide 56 parallel to the conveying direction is a thermally expandable sheet. Fall to the back of 7. Since the shadow is formed so as to extend along the conveyance direction, even if the thermally expandable sheet 7 is conveyed, it continues to fall at the same position on the back surface of the moving thermally expandable sheet 7. Therefore, in the case of this structure, heating unevenness may occur in the thermally expandable sheet. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the upper guide 56 is provided so as to be inclined in a top view, so that the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 on which the shadow of the upper guide 56 moves when the thermally expandable sheet 7 is conveyed. So that they do not continue to fall in the same position (ie, fall in different positions). Thereby, the three-dimensional image forming system 1 can eliminate heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, each upper guide 56 is provided to be inclined in an oblique direction in a side view. Specifically, the upper guide 56 is disposed between the conveyance path 6 and the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflection plate 441) so as to be inclined so that the rear end side is separated from the conveyance path 6. The reason is that the front end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 that has passed through between the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and bounced up is guided well toward the nip portion between the discharge rollers 53 and 54, and the following principle is used. This is to eliminate heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  That is, if each upper guide 56 has a structure in which the upper guides 56 are arranged in the horizontal direction at the same height in side view (that is, a structure arranged in parallel at the same height as the transport path 6), the lamp heater Since the distance between the upper guide 56 immediately below 44 and the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is short, the dark shadow of the upper guide 56 falls on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7. Therefore, in the case of this structure, heating unevenness may occur in the thermally expandable sheet. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the upper guide 56 is provided obliquely in the oblique direction at the same height and the same inclination angle as viewed from the side, so that the upper guide 56 and the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 immediately below the lamp heater 44 are provided. And the shadow of the upper guide 56 falling on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is softened (that is, the darkness of the shadow of the upper guide 56 is reduced). Thereby, the three-dimensional image forming system 1 can make the conversion efficiency to near infrared light uniform over almost the entire surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7. As a result, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 can eliminate heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  In the present embodiment, when the rear end of the heat-expandable sheet 7 passes between the insertion rollers 51 and 52, the upper guide 56 is provided obliquely in a side view, so that the heat-expandable sheet The rear end portion of 7 jumps up (see FIG. 4C). As a result, the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 approaches the light heating means (lamp heater 44 and reflector 441). At this time, the amount of near-infrared light per unit area irradiated to the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is larger than the amount of near-infrared light irradiated to other portions. Therefore, only the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is strongly heated, and heating unevenness is likely to occur in the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7. Further, since the pressing force of the insertion rollers 51 and 52 against the thermally expandable sheet 7 is eliminated, curling is likely to occur at the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7. Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of these phenomena, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 performs medium conveyance by the method described in the following “Medium conveying method in stereoscopic image forming system” section.

<Medium Conveying Method in Stereoscopic Image Forming System>
Hereinafter, a medium conveying method in the stereoscopic image forming system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the stereoscopic image forming system 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a medium conveying method in the stereoscopic image forming system 1.

  In the present embodiment, the light irradiation control circuit 41 serves as a light heating control means for controlling the operation of the light heating means (the lamp heater 44 and the reflector 441), and also as a conveying means (insertion rollers 51, 52 and discharge rollers 53, 54) functions as a conveyance control means for controlling the operation of step 54). Further, the inlet sensor 46 functions as a rear end detection sensor that detects that the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 has approached the light heating means.

  Note that the stereoscopic image forming system 1 operates based on the time measured by a timer (not shown). Further, the operation of the stereoscopic image forming system 1 is defined by a program stored in a readable manner in a storage unit (not shown) of the light irradiation control circuit 41 and executed by the light irradiation control circuit 41. Hereinafter, since these points are conventional means in information processing, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the three-dimensional image forming system 1, an operator inserts a thermally expandable sheet 7 (paper) into the sheet feeding unit 50 from the insertion unit 5 and sets a start button (not shown) displayed on the touch panel display 2. The operation is started by pressing (tapping).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the light irradiation control circuit 41 of the stereoscopic image forming system 1 detects insertion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 by the barcode reader 45 (step S110). At this time, the light irradiation control circuit 41 determines the front / back orientation of the thermally expandable sheet 7 based on the output signal of the barcode reader 45. If the back surface of the heat-expandable sheet 7 is set to face up, the light irradiation control circuit 41 drives the motor 48 to cause the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and the discharge rollers 53 and 54 to expand thermally. The conveyance of the sheet 7 is started (step S120).

  Thereby, the front-end | tip part of the thermally expansible sheet 7 passes on the inlet sensor 46, and approachs into the heating area | region part HS from the upstream mechanism part US. FIG. 4A shows the state at this time. At this time, in the heating region HS, visible light and near infrared light are irradiated on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7, and as a result, a three-dimensional image is formed on the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  Thereafter, when the thermally expandable sheet 7 is further conveyed, the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 passes over the inlet sensor 46. FIG. 4B shows the state at this time. The light irradiation control circuit 41 detects passage of the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 on the inlet sensor 46 based on the output signal of the inlet sensor 46 (step S130).

  Thereafter, when the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 passes between the insertion rollers 51 and 52, as described above, the upper guide 56 is provided obliquely in a side view, so that the thermally expandable sheet 7 is thermally expanded. The rear end portion of the sheet 7 jumps up. FIG. 4C shows the state at this time. As a result, the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 approaches the light heating means (lamp heater 44 and reflector 441). At this time, the amount of near-infrared light per unit area irradiated to the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is larger than the amount of near-infrared light irradiated to other portions. Therefore, only the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is strongly heated, and heating unevenness is likely to occur in the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7. Further, since the pressing force of the insertion rollers 51 and 52 against the thermally expandable sheet 7 is eliminated, curling is likely to occur at the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  Therefore, the light irradiation control circuit 41 seems to approximate the light amount of near infrared light per unit area irradiated to the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 to the light amount of near infrared light irradiated to other portions. In addition, continuous increase control of the conveyance speed of the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and the discharge rollers 53 and 54 is performed (step S140). At this time, the light irradiation control circuit 41, for example, continuously increases the transport speed so that the transport speed increases by several percent every few seconds. Thereby, the three-dimensional image forming system 1 can perform irradiation with near-infrared light having a light amount per unit area that is substantially equal between the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 and other portions. Such a three-dimensional image forming system 1 suppresses that only the rear end portion of the heat-expandable sheet 7 is strongly heated, and suppresses occurrence of curling in the rear end portion of the heat-expandable sheet 7. Can do. As a result, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 can form a substantially uniform stereoscopic image at the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 and other portions.

Thereafter, when the thermally expandable sheet 7 is further conveyed, the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 passes over the outlet sensor 47. FIG. 4D shows the state at this time. The light irradiation control circuit 41 detects the passage of the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet 7 on the outlet sensor 47 based on the output signal of the outlet sensor 47 (step S150). In response to this, the light irradiation control circuit 41 stops the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and the discharge rollers 53 and 54 to stop the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7 (step S160).
Thereby, a series of routine operations are completed.

  However, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 can also form a stereoscopic image on both surfaces of the thermally expandable sheet 7 by irradiating both surfaces of the thermally expandable sheet 7 with near infrared light. In this case, in the stereoscopic image forming system 1, the behavior of the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is different between the expansion on the back side and the expansion on the front side. In such a stereoscopic image forming system 1, the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 may be conveyed along the lower guide 55 depending on the direction of curl generated on the thermally expandable sheet 7. Therefore, when the stereoscopic image forming system 1 forms a stereoscopic image on both surfaces of the thermally expandable sheet 7, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 may control the conveyance so as not to increase the conveyance speed.

<Main features of stereoscopic image forming system>
In such a configuration, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment has the following characteristics.

  (1) The stereoscopic image forming system 1 is provided with the upper guide 56 inclined in an oblique direction when viewed from the side (see FIG. 2B). In such a stereoscopic image forming system 1, the distance between the upper guide 56 immediately below the lamp heater 44 and the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is separated, and the shadow of the upper guide 56 falling on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is shadowed. It is made to soften (that is, to reduce the darkness of the shadow of the upper guide 56). Thereby, the three-dimensional image forming system 1 can make the conversion efficiency to near infrared light uniform over almost the entire surface of the thermally expandable sheet 7. As a result, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 can eliminate heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet 7.

  (2) The three-dimensional image forming system 1 is configured such that the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 passes over the insertion sensor 46 (that is, the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is removed from the insertion rollers 51 and 52 and heated. At the timing of entering the area HS, the conveyance speed of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is continuously increased at an accelerated rate. Thereby, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 suppresses that only the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 is strongly heated due to the behavior of the thermally expandable sheet 7, and the rear of the thermally expandable sheet 7. Suppresses the occurrence of curling at the end. As a result, the stereoscopic image forming system 1 can form a substantially uniform stereoscopic image at the rear end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 and other portions.

  (3) Since the stereoscopic image forming system 1 has a simple structure in which the light heating means is fixedly arranged, the size of the system can be reduced. Further, the operation of the stereoscopic image forming system 1 is merely performed by the operator inserting the thermally expandable sheet 7 from the insertion portion 5 and pressing (tapping) a start button (not shown) displayed on the touch panel display 2. Such a stereoscopic image forming system 1 can be widely spread.

  As described above, according to the stereoscopic image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, heating unevenness of the thermally expandable sheet can be eliminated.

In addition, this invention is not limited to above-described embodiment, A various change and deformation | transformation can be performed in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail in order to easily understand the gist of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the one provided with all the constituent elements described. Further, according to the present invention, other components can be added to a certain component, or some components can be changed to other components. In the present invention, some components can be deleted.

For example, in the embodiment, the case where the upper guide 56 is a long plate-shaped member has been described as an example. However, the upper guide 56 can be deformed, for example, as in the modification shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing upper guides 561, 562, 563 a, and 563 b as modified examples of the upper guide 56.
In the example shown in FIG. 5 (a), the upper guide 561 moves the front end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 that has passed through between the insertion rollers 51 and 52 to the nip portion between the discharge rollers 53 and 54. So that the central portion of the long flat plate is curved in an arc shape in the upward direction so as not to hinder the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7 The portion is bent upward.
In the example shown in FIG. 5 (b), the upper guide 562 faces the front end portion of the thermally expandable sheet 7 that has passed through between the insertion rollers 51 and 52 to the nip portion between the discharge rollers 53 and 54. So that the central part of the long flat plate is curved upward and does not hinder the conveyance of the heat-expandable sheet 7 so that it can be guided well. The portion is bent upward.
In the example shown in FIG. 5C, the upper guide is divided into an upstream upper guide 563a and a downstream upper guide 563b. The upper guide 563a has a shape in which the front end portion of the long flat plate is bent upward so as not to hinder the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7, and the portions other than the front end portion of the flat plate are on the downstream side. It arrange | positions so that it may fall as it progresses and the front end part of a flat plate may go up as it progresses downstream. On the other hand, the upper guide 563b has a shape in which the rear end portion of the long flat plate is curled so as not to hinder the conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet 7, and the portions other than the rear end portion of the flat plate are on the downstream side. It is arranged to go up as you go.

  Further, for example, the medium transport method described in the section “Medium Transport Method in Stereoscopic Image Forming System” is not limited to the stereoscopic image forming system 1 and can be applied to various systems or apparatuses. In this case, the light heating means can be changed to a process execution means for performing an arbitrary process on the medium. Specifically, the apparatus includes a transport unit that transports the medium, a process execution unit that performs arbitrary processing on the medium, and a control unit that controls the operation of the transport unit, and the transport unit performs the process. It is assumed that the apparatus has a structure including an upstream mechanism unit disposed on the upstream side of the means and a downstream mechanism unit disposed on the downstream side of the processing execution unit. In the medium transport method according to the present invention, in the apparatus, the control means may increase the transport speed of the transport means when the rear end of the medium is detached from the upstream mechanism.

The invention described in the scope of claims attached to the application of this application will be added below. The item numbers of the claims described in the appendix are as set forth in the claims attached to the application of this application.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
Conveying means for conveying the thermally expandable sheet along the conveying path; light heating means for irradiating and heating the thermally expandable sheet;
A rear end detection sensor for detecting that the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet has approached the light heating means;
Transport control means for controlling the operation of the transport means,
The conveyance control unit increases the conveyance speed of the conveyance unit when the trailing end detection sensor detects that the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet has approached the light heating unit. Stereoscopic image forming system.
<Claim 2>
A guide member configured to guide conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet, and the guide member is disposed between the conveyance path and the light heating unit so as to be inclined so that a rear end side is separated from the conveyance path; The stereoscopic image forming system according to claim 1, wherein:
<Claim 3>
The three-dimensional image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the transport control unit increases the transport speed of the transport unit in an accelerated manner when the transport speed is increased.
<Claim 4>
Conveying means for conveying the thermally expandable sheet along the conveying path;
A guide member for guiding conveyance of the thermally expandable sheet;
A light heating means for irradiating and heating the thermally expandable sheet,
The three-dimensional image forming system, wherein the guide member is disposed between the transport path and the light heating unit so as to be inclined so that a rear end side is separated from the transport path.
<Claim 5>
A transport unit that transports the medium; a process execution unit that performs arbitrary processing on the medium; and a transport control unit that controls the operation of the transport unit. The transport unit is upstream of the process execution unit. A medium conveying method in an apparatus having a structure including an upstream mechanism unit disposed on a side and a downstream mechanism unit disposed on a downstream side of the processing execution unit,
The medium transport method according to claim 1, wherein the transport control means increases the transport speed of the transport means when a rear end of the medium is separated from the upstream mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stereoscopic image formation system 2 Touch panel display 3 Computer 4 Light irradiation unit 41 Light irradiation control circuit (control means)
42 Cooling fan (cooling means)
43 Temperature sensor 44 Lamp heater (part of light heating means)
441 Reflector (part of light heating means)
46 Entrance sensor (rear end detection sensor)
47 Exit sensor 48 Motor 50 Paper feed unit 51, 52 Insertion roller (conveying means)
53, 54 Discharge roller (conveyance means)
55 Lower guide (guide member)
56, 561, 562, 563a, 563b Upper guide (guide member)
7 Thermally expandable sheet HS Heating area (processing execution means)
US upstream mechanism part LS downstream mechanism part

Claims (4)

A conveyance path for conveying the thermally expandable sheet provided with the photothermal conversion layer;
A light irradiation means in which the light irradiation direction is directed to a predetermined region on the transport path;
A first roller and a second roller, wherein the thermally expandable sheet is interposed between the first roller and the second roller before the thermally expandable sheet passes through the predetermined area. A pair of rollers provided to pass through,
A detection sensor for detecting that a rear end of the thermally expandable sheet being conveyed through the conveyance path has approached the roller pair;
Control means for increasing the conveying speed of the thermally expandable sheet from which the trailing edge has been detected when the detection sensor detects that the trailing edge of the thermally expandable sheet has approached the roller pair.
A three-dimensional image forming system. The control means increases the conveyance speed of the thermally expandable sheet so that the amount of light per unit area irradiated to the rear end of the thermally expandable sheet approximates the amount of light irradiated to other parts.
The three-dimensional image forming system according to claim 1. The control means accelerates the conveyance speed of the thermally expandable sheet continuously in an accelerated manner.
The three-dimensional image forming system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein At least one roller pair is provided on each of the left and right sides of the transport path.
The three-dimensional image forming system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

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