JP2012122754A - Method and apparatus for detecting direction of sheet material, method for cutting sheet material, method for inspecting defect, and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect an inclination direction and an angle of lenticular lenses formed on a sheet material.SOLUTION: Spot light SP that is formed wide is applied to a web 11 on the surface of which is formed with a plurality of lenses 14, from the perpendicular direction thereto. A line sensor 22 is disposed downward apart from the web 11 and apart from the optical axis SPL of the spot light SP in the carrying width direction. The line sensor 22 detects a deviation of refracting light TP to the carrying width direction as a deviation in the linear direction. On the basis of the detecting result, a determination section 23 specifies the inclination direction and an angle θ of the refracting light TP rotated about the optical axis of the spot light SP, and the specified inclination direction and the angle θ are defined as the lens inclination direction and angle θ.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting the direction of a sheet material on which a refracting part such as a lenticular lens is formed, and a cutting method, a defect inspection method and a printing method for a sheet material using the direction detection method for the sheet material. .

  A technique is known in which a stereoscopic image can be observed using a lenticular sheet in which a large number of lenticular lenses having a semicircular cross section and extending linearly are arranged in the left-right direction. This is because, on the back side of the lenticular sheet, for example, linear images obtained by dividing each viewpoint image taken from two left and right viewpoints into a linear shape (stripe shape) are arranged alternately and under one lenticular lens. , Two adjacent linear images are positioned. Further, by capturing n (n is 3 or more) viewpoint images, dividing them into linear shapes, and arranging N linear images side by side behind one lenticular lens, a stereoscopic effect is obtained. A technique for further improving the above is also known.

  As a method of arranging a linear image on the back side of the lenticular sheet, there is a method in which a print (hard copy) in which all linear images are arranged and recorded in advance is pasted on the back side of the lenticular sheet. Printers that directly record linear images are also known.

  When an image is directly recorded on the back surface of the lenticular sheet, it is necessary to record the linear image without inclining with respect to the lenticular lens. For example, when a recording head of a printer sequentially records lines extending in the main scanning direction and records one linear image with one or several lines, a lenticular lens with respect to a predetermined main scanning direction is used. It is necessary to make the longitudinal direction of these parallel. In view of this, it is also known to adjust the attitude of the lenticular sheet so that the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens is parallel to the main scanning direction with reference to the edge of the lenticular sheet.

  On the other hand, a printer is known in which a lens position is detected by irradiating a lenticular sheet with laser light and receiving reflected light from a lenticular lens to determine an image recording start position (see Patent Document 1). ). According to this printer, the recording position of the linear image can be precisely controlled, and each linear image can be correctly arranged with respect to the lenticular lens.

JP 2000-292877 A

  As described above, the method of adjusting the posture of the lenticular sheet with reference to the edge of the lenticular sheet is such that the edge of the lenticular sheet is at a certain angle, for example, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens (or the boundary line of each lens). It is assumed that Even if the image recording start position can be specified as in Patent Document 1, a linear image cannot be correctly recorded on the lenticular lens unless the attitude of the lenticular sheet is properly adjusted with respect to the recording head.

  By the way, the lenticular sheet is produced by cutting a long one into a predetermined size by punching or the like, but if there is a deviation in the cut direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens, the edge of the produced lenticular sheet On the other hand, there is a problem that the longitudinal direction of the lens does not become parallel, for example, and becomes inappropriate as a product. For this reason, it is necessary to accurately detect the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens. Further, when inspecting a defect of the lenticular sheet, the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens needs to be accurately detected even when the inspection condition is set based on the longitudinal direction of the lenticular lens.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a sheet material direction detection method and apparatus capable of accurately detecting the longitudinal direction of a refracting portion such as a lenticular lens formed on a sheet material. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet material cutting method, a defect inspection method, and a printing method using this sheet material direction detection method.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the sheet material direction detection method of the present invention, detection is performed in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section are arranged on one surface in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. By irradiating the target sheet material with the spot light from the vertical direction, the spot light is refracted by the refracting portion, the line-shaped refracted light is transmitted from the sheet material, separated from the sheet material, and the spot light By detecting the refracted light at a position away from the optical axis, the inclination direction and angle of the refracted light rotated around the optical axis of the spot light are specified, and based on the specified inclination direction and angle of the refracted light Thus, the inclination direction and angle of the refracting portion in the longitudinal direction are detected.

  The spot light is preferably wider than the arrangement pitch of the refracting portions and incident on the plurality of refracting portions.

  Further, it is easy to detect the position of the refracted light on a straight line orthogonal to the direction of the spot light toward the optical axis, and specify the tilt direction and angle of the refracted light from this detected position. Furthermore, the position of the refracted light is preferably detected by a line sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged on the straight line.

  It is suitable when the sheet material is a lenticular sheet in which a lenticular lens is formed as a refracting portion.

  Further, in the sheet material direction detection method of the present invention, a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one surface is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The sharpness of the boundary is determined when the sharpness of the boundary is determined by observing the bright and dark portion where the bright portion and the dark portion form a linear boundary, and rotating the bright and dark portion around an axis perpendicular to the sheet material. The inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting part are detected from the rotation direction and angle of the bright and dark part where the brightness becomes the highest.

  Further, in the sheet material direction detection method of the present invention, the sheet material to be detected is formed by arranging a plurality of refracting portions linearly extending in a convex shape or concave shape on one surface in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The direction of the moire and the number of stripes observed when the same type of reference sheet as this sheet material is superimposed are detected, and the inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion are detected from the direction of the moire and the number of stripes. To do.

  In the sheet material cutting method of the present invention, the sheet material direction detection method detects the inclination direction and the angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracted portion of the sheet material to be cut, and based on the detection result. The cutting direction is controlled so as to be cut along the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion.

  Further, in the defect inspection method of the present invention, the longitudinal direction and angle of the refracted portion of the portion to be inspected of the sheet material are detected by the above-described sheet material direction detection method, and the inspection is performed based on the detection result. It is adjusted so that the optical condition at the time becomes constant.

  In the printing method of the present invention, the inclination direction and angle of the longitudinal direction of the refracted portion are detected by the above-described sheet material direction detecting method, and based on the detection result, the longitudinal direction of the refracted portion is the main scanning direction. The recording is performed after adjusting the posture of the sheet material so as to be parallel to each other.

  In the sheet material direction detecting device of the present invention, a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly in a cross-sectional convex shape or concave shape on one surface are arranged on a detection target sheet material arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. , A light source for detection that irradiates the spot light from the vertical direction, and the spot light is refracted by the refracting portion to form a line and detects the refracted light at a position away from the sheet material and away from the optical axis of the spot light. Identifying means for identifying the inclination direction and angle of the refracted light rotated around the optical axis of the spot light, and detecting the inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of each refracting part based on the identification result of the identifying means And an inclination detecting means.

  It is preferable that the detection light source emits spot light having a width wider than the arrangement pitch of the refracting portions, and causes the spot light to enter the plurality of refracting portions.

  In addition, the specifying means specifies a tilt direction and an angle of the refracted light around the optical axis of the spot light by detecting a position of the refracted light on a straight line orthogonal to a direction toward the optical axis of the spot light. It is easy to do. Further, it is preferable that the specifying unit includes a line sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged on the straight line, and the position of the refracted light is detected by the line sensor.

  In the sheet material direction detecting device of the present invention, the bright and dark portions where the bright portion and the dark portion form a linear boundary, and a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one side are long. Imaging means for photographing the bright and dark part through a sheet material to be detected arranged in a direction orthogonal to the direction, rotating means for rotating the bright and dark part around an axis perpendicular to the sheet material, and the imaging means Sharpness determination means for determining the sharpness of the boundary in the photographed image taken by the camera, and when the brightness portion is rotated by the rotation means, the lightness and darkness with the highest sharpness as determined by the sharpness determination means And a tilt detecting means for detecting a tilt direction and an angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting section from a rotation direction and a rotation angle of the section.

  Further, in the sheet material direction detection device of the present invention, a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one surface are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction; From a reference sheet that is formed as the same type of sheet and is in close contact with the sheet material, a light source that irradiates illumination light to a contact portion between the sheet material and the reference sheet, and a contact portion between the sheet material and the reference sheet By means of receiving the transmitted light, a moire determining means for determining the direction and the number of fringes in the captured image obtained from the imaging means, and the determination result of the moire determining means And an inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination direction and an angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion.

  According to the present invention, the refracted light obtained by refracting the wide spot light irradiated to the sheet material to be detected is detected at a position away from the sheet material and away from the optical axis of the spot light, and Since the tilt direction and angle of the refracted light rotated around the optical axis are specified, the tilt direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of each refracting portion can be accurately obtained based on them.

  In addition, the bright and dark parts where the bright part and dark part form a linear boundary through the sheet material to be detected are observed, and the longitudinal direction of the refracted part from the rotation direction and angle of the bright and dark part where the sharpness of the boundary becomes the highest Since the inclination direction and the angle are detected, the inclination direction and the angle in the longitudinal direction of each refracting portion can be accurately obtained. Furthermore, since the direction of moire and the number of fringes observed when the same type of reference sheet is superimposed on the sheet material to be detected, the inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting part are detected. The inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the portion can be accurately obtained.

  Also, since the cutting direction with respect to the sheet material is controlled so as to be cut along the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion based on the inclination direction and angle of the longitudinal direction of each refracting portion obtained accurately, the length of the refracting portion is controlled. The direction and the edge of the sheet produced by cutting can be made exactly parallel. Also, since the optical conditions at the time of defect inspection of the sheet material are adjusted to be constant based on the inclination direction and the angle of the longitudinal direction of each refracted portion obtained accurately, under certain optical conditions Defect inspection can be performed correctly. Furthermore, after adjusting the posture of the sheet material so that the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion is parallel to the main scanning direction of the recording head based on the accurately determined inclination direction and angle of the longitudinal direction of each refracting portion. Since recording is performed, it is possible to record with the line accurately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the cutting device which implemented this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a lenticular sheet. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the detection unit which detects the inclination of a lenticular lens. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the inclination of a lenticular lens, and the cross-sectional center of refracted light. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the detection unit which detects the inclination of a lenticular lens using the change of the sharpness of the boundary line of the bright part and dark part observed through a web. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mark part used as a bright part and a dark part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state where the sharpness of a boundary line is high. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state where the sharpness of a boundary line is low. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the detection unit which detects the inclination of a lenticular lens using the moire observed when a reference | standard lens sheet is closely_contact | adhered. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the state of a moire. It is a block diagram which shows a defect inspection apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows a printer.

[First Embodiment]
A sheet material cutting apparatus embodying the present invention is shown in FIG. The cutting device 10 punches a web 11 as a long sheet material into a predetermined size to produce a lenticular sheet 12 (see FIG. 2). The cutting device 10 determines the inclination direction and angle of a lenticular lens (hereinafter simply referred to as a lens) 14 formed on the web 11, and determines the direction of the blade for punching according to the inclination direction and angle. Adjust. In this example, the lenticular sheet 12 is produced from the web 11 by punching, but may be produced by other cutting methods.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lenticular sheet 12 has a rectangular sheet shape, a large number of lenses 14 are arranged on the surface, and the back surface is flat. Each lens 14 has a semicircular cross section and extends linearly, and a large number of lenses 14 are arranged in an arrangement direction (arrow B direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (arrow A direction). Therefore, the direction of the boundary line between the adjacent lenses 14 is the same as the longitudinal direction.

  The lens width (length in the arrangement direction) of one lens 14 is, for example, about 0.25 mm, and the arrangement pitch of the lenses 14 is also the same. The lenticular sheet 12 has, for example, a 2L size having a short side of 127 mm and a long side of 178 mm. The normal lenticular sheet 12 that has been cut correctly has a short side parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 and is long. The side is parallel to the arrangement direction of the lenses 14.

  For convenience of explanation, the lens 14 is exaggerated in each drawing. The size of the lenticular sheet 12 and the lens width of the lens 14 are examples, and can be various sizes.

  In FIG. 1, a web 11 is supplied to a cutting device 10 from its manufacturing apparatus or the like. The web 11 is wider than the lenticular sheet 12 and is longer in the longitudinal direction of the lens 14. The cutting device 10 includes a transport mechanism 15, a detection unit 16 provided on the detection stage, and a cutting unit 17 provided on the cutting stage.

  The transport mechanism 15 transports the web 11 within the cutting device 10 and is composed of a transport roller, a motor, and the like. The transport mechanism 15 transports the web 11 in the transport direction (arrow X direction). In this conveyance, the web 11 is conveyed along the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 in a posture in which the front side is faced up. Each time the web 11 is transported by a certain length, the cutting unit 17 is operated to perform punching. Therefore, the transport mechanism 15 transports the web 11 intermittently in synchronization with the operation of the cutting unit 17.

  In order to produce the above-described normal lenticular sheet 12 by the cutting unit 17, the conveyance of the web 11 is adjusted so that the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 is parallel to the conveyance direction. The web 11 may be conveyed while being skewed. Therefore, the detection unit 16 detects the tilt direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 and adjusts the cutting direction by the cutting unit 17 based on the detection result.

  The detection unit 16 is disposed upstream of the cutting unit 17 in the conveyance path, and includes a light source 21 for detection, a line sensor 22, and a determination unit 23. The detection unit 16 optically detects the tilt direction of the lens 14 formed on the web 11 and the tilt angle θ of the lens 14. The tilt direction of the lens 14 is the tilt direction of the lens 14 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the transport direction, and the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 is the magnitude of the tilt angle of the lens 14 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the transport direction. Note that the tilt direction and the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 are detected using the transport direction as a reference direction, but the reference direction is not limited to this and can be arbitrarily set.

  The cutting unit 17 cuts the web 11. The cutting unit 17 includes a blade portion 25, a vertical mechanism 26, and a rotating mechanism 27. The blade portion 25 includes a fixed blade 25a disposed on the lower side of the conveyance path of the web 11 and a movable blade 25b disposed on the upper side of the conveyance path at a position facing the fixed blade 25a. The fixed blade 25a has a rectangular tube shape having an opening of the same size as the lenticular sheet 12 to be manufactured, and supports the lower surface of the web 11 during cutting.

  The movable blade 25b has a blade formed on the lower surface thereof. The movable blade 25b is movable between a raised position where the movable blade 25b is retracted upward from the conveyance path to allow the conveyance of the web 11 and a lowered position where the web 11 is sandwiched between the fixed blade 25a and cut. Yes. The vertical mechanism 26 moves the movable blade 25b between the raised position and the lowered position.

  When the movable blade 25 b is moved to the lowered position by the vertical mechanism 26, the rectangular lenticular sheet 12 is punched out from the web 11. The lenticular sheet 12 passes through the hollow interior of the fixed blade 25a and is discharged to the lower side of the fixed blade 25a.

  The blade portion 25 is rotatable about a rotation shaft 28 that is perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the web 11, that is, orthogonal to both the arrangement direction and the longitudinal direction of the lenses 14. The rotation mechanism 27 includes a motor, a control circuit that controls the rotation angle and direction, and the like, and rotates the blade portion 25 around the rotation shaft 28. The rotation mechanism 27 controls the rotation direction and angle of the blade portion 25 based on the tilt direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 from the determination unit 23.

  When the rotation position at which the normal lenticular sheet 12 can be cut from the web 11 that is not skewed is set as the reference rotation position, the rotation mechanism 27 moves the lens 14 in the tilt direction of the lens 14 from the reference rotation position. The blade portion 25 is rotated by an inclination angle θ of. Thereby, a normal lenticular sheet 12 having a pair of sides parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 and a pair of sides parallel to the arrangement direction is punched from the web 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the detection light source 21 is arranged above the transport path, and irradiates the web 11 with the spot light SP from a direction perpendicular to the transport surface. This light source 21 for detection is comprised, for example with the semiconductor laser apparatus, and outputs a laser beam as spot light SP. The spot light SP has a wide beam shape in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction (arrow Y direction: hereinafter referred to as a transport width direction). When the web 11 is irradiated with the spot light SP, the spot light SP is converted into light (hereinafter referred to as refracted light) TP spreading in a line shape in the arrangement direction of the lenses 14 by the refraction action of each lens 14 of the web 11. . In addition, although the spot light SP is irradiated from the surface side of the sheet material 11, you may comprise so that it may irradiate from the back side.

  The reason why the spot light SP is wide as described above is to allow the spot light SP to enter the plurality of lenses 14 in order to improve detection accuracy. That is, when the spot light SP is incident only on the single lens 14 to generate wide transmitted light, the intensity of the refracted light TP varies depending on the irradiation position of the spot light SP with respect to the lens 14, and the variation of the lens 14. If there is a singular point such as a defect at the incident position of the spot light SP by chance, the detection accuracy may be deteriorated, but the refracted light TP is obtained by superimposing the results of the refraction action by the plurality of lenses 14. Thus, the detection accuracy can be increased.

  In order to make it incident on the plurality of lenses 14 on average, the width of the spot light SP is set to be equal to or larger than the arrangement pitch (lens width) of the lenses 14. In this example, with respect to the web 11 in which the arrangement pitch and lens width of the lenses 14 are 0.25 mm, the spot light SP has a width S1 in the transport width direction of about 5 mm and a length S2 in the transport direction of about 1 mm. It has become.

  The line sensor 22 has a light receiving surface 22a in which a plurality of light receiving elements 31 are arranged in a line. The line sensor 22 is separated downward from the web 11 and is separated from the optical axis SPL of the spot light SP by a distance Z in the transport width direction within a range in which the refracted light TP can be received.

  By adjusting the distance Z away from the optical axis SPL, the detection accuracy of the tilt angle of the lens 14 can be adjusted. In this example, the line sensor 22 is separated from the optical axis SPL by the distance Z in the conveyance width direction, but this detects a deviation from the reference of the refracted light TP with respect to the conveyance width direction as will be described later. It is to do. Therefore, the direction in which the line sensor 22 is separated from the optical axis SPL can be appropriately set according to the tilt direction and angle of the lens 14, the arrangement direction of the lens 14, the reference position, and the like.

  The line sensor 22 faces the light receiving surface 22a upward, and the direction in which the light receiving elements 31 are arranged is aligned with the transport direction. Each line sensor 22 receives light on a straight line perpendicular to the direction from the position toward the optical axis SPL of the spot light SP. The elements 31 are arranged in a line. The line sensor 22 arranged in this way receives the refracted light TP that spreads in a line in the arrangement direction of the lenses 14 as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 of the web 11 coincides with the transport direction, that is, when the inclination angle θ of the lens 14 is “0 °”, the cross-sectional center TP1 of the refracted light TP is transported. Parallel to the width direction. Thus, the line sensor 22 is arranged so that the cross-sectional center TP1 when the web 11 is not skewed is on the light receiving element 31 (hereinafter referred to as a reference light receiving element) 31 at the center of the light receiving surface 22a.

The spot light SP is spread in the arrangement direction by the refracting action in the arrangement direction of the lenses 14 as described above. For this reason, when the web 11 is skewed (tilt angle θ ≠ 0 °), the direction in which the refracted light TP spreads is tilted by the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 with respect to the conveyance width direction, as indicated by a two-dot chain line. . When the distance between the light receiving element 31 (hereinafter referred to as a detection light receiving element) 31 that receives the cross-sectional center TP1 when the web 11 is skewed and the reference light receiving element 31 is D, the inclination angle θ of the lens 14 The relationship is as shown in the following equation (1).
tan θ = [D / Z] (1)

The determination unit 23 obtains the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 from the following equation (2) from the relationship of the equation (1). In equation (2), the distance Z is known. Further, when the number of deviations of the light receiving element 31 with respect to the reference light receiving element 31 with respect to the reference light receiving element 31 is the number of deviations N and the known pitch of the light receiving elements 31 is P, there is a relationship of “D = P · N”. . Therefore, the inclination angle θ of the lens 14 can be obtained by detecting the deviation number N of the light receiving element 31.
θ = Tan ⁻¹ [D / Z] (2)

  Further, the determination unit 23 determines the tilt direction of the lens 14 with respect to the reference light receiving element 31 depending on whether the detected light receiving element 31 is upstream or downstream in the transport path. As shown in FIG. 4, when the detection light receiving element 31 is on the downstream side in the transport direction, the tilt direction of the lens 14 is counterclockwise when the web 11 is viewed from above, and conversely, the detection light receiving element 31 is on the upstream side. In some cases, the tilt direction of the lens 14 is clockwise.

  As described above, in this example, the line sensor 22 detects the deviation of the refracted light TP with respect to the conveyance width direction (reference direction) as a deviation in the linear direction, and based on the result, the rotation around the optical axis of the spot light SP. The determination unit 23 specifies the tilt direction and angle θ of the refracted light TP that has been rotated, and the specified tilt direction and angle θ are used as the lens tilt direction and angle θ.

  By providing the distance away from the web 11 of the line sensor 22 and the distance Z away from the optical axis SPL, the deviation number N of the detection light receiving element 31 with respect to the reference light receiving element 31 is increased, and the detection accuracy of the tilt angle of the lens 14 is increased. It is high. In this example, when the arrangement pitch P of the light receiving elements 31 is 0.01 mm, the distance Z is 300 mm, and the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 is “0.1 °”, the deviation number N is “52 (pieces)”. Further, when the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 is “0.05 °”, the deviation number N can be detected as “26 (pieces)”.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The web 11 manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus is fed into the cutting apparatus 10 and is intermittently conveyed to the cutting stage through the detection stage. While the conveyance of the web 11 is stopped during the conveyance, the spot light SP from the light source 21 for detection is irradiated toward the web 11.

  The spot light SP irradiated on the web 11 is incident on a plurality of lenses 14 of the web 11. As a result, the spot light SP is refracted by the lens 14 so as to spread widely in the arrangement direction of the lenses 14 and passes through the web 11 as refracted light TP. A part of the light enters the light receiving surface 22 a of the line sensor 22. When the refracted light TP enters the light receiving surface 22a, a photoelectric signal corresponding to the amount of incident light is output from each light receiving element 31 on which the refracted light TP is incident, and the photoelectric signal is sent to the determination unit 23.

  In the determination unit 23, the detection light receiving element 31 corresponding to the center TP <b> 1 of the refracted light TP among the light receiving elements 31 is specified based on the photoelectric signal from each light receiving element 31. For this purpose, for example, the light receiving elements 31 on which the refracted light TP is incident are specified, and then the light receiving elements 31 located in the center of the light receiving elements 31 are specified as the detection light receiving elements 31.

  Subsequently, the number N of deviations of the reference light receiving element 31 from the detection light receiving element 31 specified as described above is obtained. Then, the distance D is obtained from the deviation number N and the arrangement pitch P, and the inclination angle θ of the lens 14 is obtained by applying the distance D and the preset distance Z to the above equation (2). Desired. Further, it is determined in which direction the detection light receiving element 31 is located with respect to the reference light receiving element 31, and based on this, the tilt direction of the lens 14 is determined. Then, the tilt direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 determined in this way are sent to the rotation mechanism 27.

  Each time the web 11 is sent and the conveyance is stopped, the detection unit 16 irradiates the spot light SP and receives the refracted light TP as described above. Based on the result, the inclination direction and the angle of the lens 14 are detected. θ is determined and sent to the rotation mechanism 27.

  When the portion of the web 11 for which the inclination direction of the lens 14 and the angle θ are determined reaches the cutting stage, the conveyance of the web 11 is stopped. After the blade portion 25 is rotated from the reference rotation position at the inclination direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 determined for the web 11 portion by the rotation mechanism 27, the movable blade 25 b is moved from the raised position to the lowered position by the vertical mechanism 26. Moved to. Thereby, the portion of the web 11 on the cutting stage is punched out by the blade portion 25, and the lenticular sheet 12 is produced.

  When the lenticular sheet 12 is punched from the web 11, the movable blade 25b is moved from the lowered position to the raised position. While in the raised position, the web 11 is fed for a fixed length and its conveyance is again stopped. At this time, the blade 25 is rotated from the reference rotation position at the inclination direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 in the portion of the web 11 on the cutting stage, and then the movable blade 25b is moved to the lowered position. As a result, the web 11 is punched and the next lenticular sheet 12 is produced. Thereafter, the webs 11 are sequentially punched out in the same manner to produce lenticular sheets 12 one after another.

  In this way, the lenticular sheet 12 produced by punching the web 11 with the blade portion 25 is normal in which the short side is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 and the long side is parallel to the arrangement direction of the lens 14. It is a lenticular sheet 12.

  In the above example, the line sensor receives the refracted light. However, the area sensor receives the refracted light, or projects the refracted light onto the screen placed under the sheet material, and the screen is photographed with the line camera or the area camera. You may make it do. In addition, for example, by projecting refracted light onto a screen arranged below the sheet material in parallel with the sheet material, and analyzing the image obtained by photographing the screen, the refracted light rotated directly around the optical axis of the spot light. The tilt direction and angle of TP may be detected, and this may be used as the tilt direction and angle of the lens.

  Furthermore, although the case where the web is conveyed intermittently has been described, the tilt direction and the angle of the lens can be similarly detected when the web is continuously conveyed.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, when the linear boundary between the bright part and the dark part becomes a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lens, the sharpness of the boundary between the bright part and the dark part observed through the sheet material becomes the highest. By utilizing this, the inclination direction and angle of the lens in the longitudinal direction are detected. In addition, except being demonstrated below, it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, The same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same component, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the detection unit 16 in this example includes a light box 41, a camera 42, a sharpness determination unit 43, a detection unit rotation mechanism 44, and an encoder 45. The light box 41 is arranged below the conveyance path of the detection stage, and a camera 42 is arranged above the conveyance path so as to face the light box 41.

  The light box 41 has a light source (not shown) disposed therein, and a light and dark portion 47 provided on the upper surface. As shown in FIG. 6, the light / dark part 47 is elongated in the conveyance width direction, and is provided with a white diffusion plate 47 a that diffuses light and a black light shielding plate 47 b that blocks light. The diffuser plate 47a that is a bright portion and the light shielding plate 47b that is a dark portion are arranged in the transport direction, and a linear boundary 48 parallel to the transport width direction is formed.

  The camera 42 includes a photographic lens, an image sensor, and the like. The camera 42 shoots the light / dark part 47 via the web 11 and outputs an image signal. The light box 41 and the camera 42 are rotatable about a rotation shaft 51 perpendicular to the conveyance surface, and are rotated together by the detection unit rotation mechanism 44.

  The sharpness determination unit 43 determines the sharpness (brightness) of the boundary 48 photographed via the web 11 based on the image signal from the camera 42, and the detection unit rotation mechanism 44 so that the sharpness becomes the highest. Then, the light box 41 and the camera 42 are rotated.

  When the boundary 48 of the light and dark portion 47 is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 due to the refracting action of many lenses 14 formed on the web 11, the boundary 48 becomes a clear straight line as shown in FIG. Captured images with high sharpness can be obtained. On the other hand, when the boundary 48 is not orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14, the boundary 48 becomes unclear and the captured image has low sharpness, as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the sharpness determination unit 43 determines the sharpness of the boundary 48 from the photographed image captured by the camera 42 at each rotation position while rotating the light box 41 and the camera 42 with respect to the web 11, and the sharpness is the highest. Specify the rotational position to be raised. Thereby, the rotational positions of the light box 41 and the camera 42 in a state where the boundary 48 is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 are specified.

  The encoder 45 is attached to the rotation shaft 51 and detects the rotation angle and rotation direction of the light box 41 and the camera 42. The rotation angle and rotation direction detected by the encoder 45 are based on the rotation position where the boundary 48 is parallel to the conveyance width direction, for example, and are the same as the tilt direction and angle of the lens 14.

  According to this example, the light box 41 and the camera 42 are connected while the sharpness determination unit 43 evaluates the sharpness of the boundary 48 photographed by the camera 42 via the web 11 while the web 11 is being transported or stopped. Rotate. Then, the rotational position where the sharpness becomes the highest is specified, and the rotational angle and rotational direction detected by the encoder 45 at that time are set as the tilt direction and angle of the lens 14 and sent to the cutting unit 17.

  In the above, the light box and the camera are rotated, but only the light box may be rotated. Further, the light and dark portions are not limited to those having the above-described configuration as long as those having a difference in brightness or density are adjacent to each other and the boundary line between these regions is a straight line. For example, the light and dark part may be a black band on the surface of an opaque white plate, and the light and dark part illuminated may be observed through a sheet material.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment uses the fact that moire is observed when the longitudinal direction of both lenses is tilted when a reference lens sheet of the same type as that of the sheet material is overlaid. The direction and angle are detected. In addition, except being demonstrated below, it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, The same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same component, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the detection unit 16 in this example includes a reference lens sheet 61, an elevating mechanism 62, a light source 63, a camera 64, and a determination unit 65. The reference lens sheet 61 is disposed below the conveyance path of the detection stage. The reference lens sheet 61 has the same specifications as the web 11. Therefore, a plurality of lenticular lenses (hereinafter referred to as reference lenses) 67 are formed on the reference lens sheet 61, and their sizes, shapes, arrangement pitches, and the like are the same as those of the web 11. The reference lens sheet 61 has a line 68 parallel to the arrangement direction of the reference lenses 67. In this example, an oil-based marking pen was used to mark a line with a constant width on the back surface. This line 68 is used to determine the tilt direction of the lens 14 of the web 11.

  The reference lens sheet 61 is attached to the elevating mechanism 62 so that the longitudinal direction of the reference lens 67 is parallel to the transport direction in a posture parallel to the web 11. The elevating mechanism 62 moves between a close position where the reference lens sheet 61 is in close contact with the lower surface of the web 11 and a retracted position where the reference lens sheet 61 is moved downward from the close position. While the web 11 is being conveyed, the reference lens sheet 61 is in the retracted position, and is in the contact position when the conveyance is stopped and the inclination direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 are detected. The light source 63 is disposed below the reference lens sheet 61, and illuminates the entire surface of the reference lens sheet 61 with illumination light from the illumination surface 63a. The moving direction of the reference lens sheet 61 is not limited to the vertical direction, and can be changed as appropriate according to the conveyance form of the web 11 to be detected. Alternatively, the reference lens sheet 61 may be disposed on the conveyance surface of the web 11 so that the web 11 is conveyed while being in close contact with the reference lens sheet 61. In this case, it is not necessary to move the reference lens sheet 61 between the contact position and the retracted position.

  A camera 64 is disposed on the upper side of the conveyance path so as to face the reference lens sheet 61. The camera 64 is composed of a photographic lens, an image sensor, and the like, and shoots the contact area of the web 11 to which the reference lens sheet 61 is in close contact and outputs an image signal. That is, the camera 64 receives light from the light source 63 through the reference lens sheet 61 and the web 11 and generates a captured image.

  Moire is not observed when the longitudinal directions of the reference lens sheet 61 and the lenses of the web 11 overlap each other in a parallel state. On the other hand, as schematically shown in FIG. 10, the longitudinal direction (arrow A direction) of the lens 14 of the web 11 is the tilt angle θ (θ ≠ 0 °) with respect to the transport direction (arrow X direction). At this time, since the longitudinal direction of the reference lens 67 coincides with the transport direction, the longitudinal directions of the reference lens sheet 61 and the lenses of the web 11 overlap with each other in a state where they are not parallel to each other. For this reason, moire is observed in the contact area. Moire is observed as a periodically repeated stripe pattern of the bright part 71 and the dark part 72. The repetition period (interval) between the bright part 71 and the dark part 72 becomes shorter as the inclination angle θ of the lens 14 becomes larger, and the number of bright parts 71 and dark parts 72 observed in the contact area of a certain size increases.

  The inclination direction of the lens 14 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the reference lens 67 is the same as the direction in which moire fringes extend in the arrangement direction of the reference lenses 67 (arrow Y direction). As in the example of FIG. 10, when the longitudinal direction (arrow B direction) of the lens 14 is tilted counterclockwise with respect to the longitudinal direction of the reference lens 67, The direction in which the moire stripes extend is also counterclockwise.

  Therefore, the determination unit 65 counts the number of moire stripes in the captured image obtained by photographing the contact area with the camera 64, for example, the number of dark portions 72, and determines the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 from the number of stripes. Further, the determination unit 65 determines the inclination direction of the moire fringe with respect to the line 68 in the captured image parallel to the arrangement direction of the reference lenses 67, and sets the inclination direction as the inclination direction of the lens 14. The skew angle of the moire fringes with respect to the arrangement direction of the reference lenses 67 is “θ / 2”.

  According to this example, every time conveyance of the web 11 is stopped, the reference lens sheet 61 is brought into the contact position by the elevating mechanism 62, and the contact area of the web 11 is photographed by the camera 64. By analyzing the photographed image obtained by this photographing, the number of moire fringes is counted, and the tilt angle θ of the lens 14 is obtained based on the number of the fringes. Further, the inclination direction of the direction in which the moire fringe extends with respect to the line 68 in the captured image is determined, and the inclination direction is set as the inclination direction of the lens 14. Then, the tilt direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 obtained in this way are sent to the cutting unit 17.

  As described above, since the inclination angle of the moire fringe extending direction with respect to the arrangement direction (line) of the reference lenses 67 is “θ / 2”, the inclination angle “θ / 2” is changed from the captured image. The inclination angle θ of the lens 14 may be calculated. Further, the inclination angle θ may be obtained from the period of moire fringes. Further, although the inclination direction of the lens 14 is determined using the line 68, when the longitudinal direction or the arrangement direction of the reference lens 67 with respect to the photographing range is fixed, the longitudinal direction of the reference lens 67 or the reference lens 67 from the photographed image is determined. Since the inclination direction of the direction in which the moire fringes extend with respect to the arrangement direction can be determined, the line 68 is not always necessary. As in the second embodiment, the reference lens sheet is rotated, and the tilt direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 may be obtained from the rotation angle and direction of the reference lens sheet in which moire fringes are not observed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the example in which the tilt direction and angle of the lens of the web are detected has been described. However, the sheet material that is the target of detecting the tilt direction and angle of the lens is not limited to a long sheet. Accordingly, it is possible to detect the tilt direction and angle of the lens of the cut lenticular sheet.

  In each embodiment, an example of a cutting device that cuts a web to produce a lenticular sheet of a predetermined size has been described. However, a method for detecting a tilt direction and an angle of a lens can be performed on a sheet material or a sheet material. It can be used for various applications and devices such as printing.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a sheet material defect inspection apparatus. In the defect inspection apparatus 81, the web 11 to be inspected is transported between a pair of polarizing plates 82a and 82b. The polarizing plates 82a and 82b are arranged in a crossed Nicols arrangement. The light source 83 illuminates the portion of the web 11 sandwiched between the polarizing plates 82a and 82b through the polarizing plate 82b, and the camera 84 photographs the illuminated portion through the polarizing plate 82a. The defect determination unit 85 determines the presence or absence of an optical defect in the web 11 by analyzing an image captured by the camera 84.

  The polarizing plates 82a and 82b are rotatable on a plane parallel to the web 11, and based on the inclination direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 detected by the detection unit 16, for example, the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 82a. Are rotated together by the rotation mechanism 86 so as to be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14. Thereby, in order to eliminate the influence of the action of the lens 14 formed on the web 11, the polarizing directions of the polarizing plates 82a and 82b are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 while the polarizing plates 82a and 82b are arranged in a crossed Nicol arrangement. Adjusted to meet certain optical inspection conditions.

  In this example, the conditions of the polarization directions of the polarizing plates 82a and 82b and the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 are made constant as the optical inspection conditions, but the inspection technique and the optical inspection conditions are not limited thereto. For example, the shooting direction of the camera 84 may be adjusted.

    FIG. 12 shows an example of a printer. The printer 91 records an image on the back surface of the lenticular sheet 12 by heating the ink ribbon 93 with the thermal head 92. In this recording, a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 is recorded while the lenticular sheet 12 is fed by one line in the arrangement direction of the lens 14 by the transport mechanism 94.

  In order to record a line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lens 14, the posture of the lenticular sheet 12 when it is set on the transport mechanism 94 is rotated based on the inclination direction and the angle θ of the lens 14 detected by the detection unit 16. Adjust with mechanism 95. In this adjustment, the longitudinal direction of the lens 14 is made parallel to the main scanning direction in which the thermal head 92 records a line. The transport mechanism 94 transports the lenticular sheet 12 while maintaining this posture, and recording is performed during the transport.

  In the above description, the sheet material on which the lenticular lens is formed is described as an example. However, the present invention is applied to a sheet material in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly on one surface are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The invention can be used. For example, the present invention can also be used for a prism sheet in which a large number of prisms having a triangular cross section are arranged. The shape of the refracting portion may be a concave shape in addition to a convex shape in cross section like a lenticular lens.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cutting device 11 Web 12 Lenticular sheet 14 Lenticular lens 16 Detection unit 17 Cutting unit 21 Light source for detection 22 Line sensor 23 Judgment part 25 Blade part 27 Rotation mechanism

Claims (16)

By irradiating a spot material from a vertical direction to a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions having a convex or concave cross section on one surface and extending linearly are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction , Refracting the spot light at the refracting part and transmitting the line-shaped refracted light from the sheet material,
By detecting the refracted light at a position away from the sheet material and away from the optical axis of the spot light, the inclination direction and angle of the refracted light rotated around the optical axis of the spot light are specified,
A method for detecting the direction of a sheet material, comprising: detecting an inclination direction and an angle in a longitudinal direction of a refracting part based on the specified inclination direction and angle of refracted light.   2. The method for detecting the direction of a sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the spot light is wider than the arrangement pitch of the refracting portions and is incident on the plurality of refracting portions.   The position of the refracted light on a straight line orthogonal to the direction toward the optical axis of the spot light is detected, and the inclination direction and the angle of the refracted light are specified from the detected position. Sheet material direction detection method.   4. The sheet material direction detection method according to claim 3, wherein the position of the refracted light is detected by a line sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged on the straight line.   The sheet material direction detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet material is a lenticular sheet in which a lenticular lens is formed as a refracting portion. A bright boundary and a dark boundary are linear boundaries through a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting sections extending in a linear shape with a convex or concave cross section on one surface are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The sharpness of the boundary is determined by observing the light and dark parts forming
Detecting a tilt direction and an angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracted part from a rotation direction and an angle of the bright and dark part where the sharpness of the boundary is highest when the bright and dark part is rotated about an axis perpendicular to the sheet material. A method for detecting the direction of a sheet material.   A reference sheet of the same type as this sheet material was superimposed on a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one side were arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A method for detecting the direction of a sheet material, wherein the direction and the number of fringes observed at times are detected, and the inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion are detected from the direction and the number of fringes. A sheet in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one surface are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a sheet material elongated in the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion is cut into a predetermined size In the cutting method of the material,
By detecting the direction and angle of inclination of the refracted portion of the portion to be cut of the sheet material by the method for detecting the direction of the sheet material according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A cutting method for a sheet material, wherein the cutting direction is controlled so as to be cut along the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion based on the detection result. In a defect inspection method for optically inspecting a defect of a sheet material in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one surface are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction,
The sheet material direction detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 detects a tilt direction and an angle in a longitudinal direction of a refracting portion of a portion to be inspected of the sheet material,
A defect inspection method, wherein an optical condition at the time of inspection is adjusted to be constant based on the detection result. In the printing method of sequentially recording lines extending in the main scanning direction on the sheet material by the recording head,
The sheet material direction detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used to detect the inclination direction and angle of the refracting portion in the longitudinal direction,
A printing method, wherein recording is performed after adjusting the posture of the sheet material so that the longitudinal direction of the refracting portion is parallel to the main scanning direction based on the detection result. For detection by irradiating spot light from the vertical direction to a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one side are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction A light source;
The spot light is refracted by the refracting portion to form a line, and the refracted light is detected at a position away from the sheet material and away from the optical axis of the spot light, and the refracted light rotated around the optical axis of the spot light is detected. A specifying means for specifying a tilt direction and an angle;
An apparatus for detecting a direction of a sheet material, comprising: an inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination direction and an angle in a longitudinal direction of each refracting part based on a specifying result of the specifying means.   12. The sheet material direction detection device according to claim 11, wherein the detection light source irradiates spot light having a width wider than the arrangement pitch of the refracting portions, and causes the spot light to enter the plurality of refracting portions.   The specifying means specifies a tilt direction and an angle of the refracted light around the optical axis of the spot light by detecting a position of the refracted light on a straight line orthogonal to a direction toward the optical axis of the spot light. The direction detection device for a sheet material according to claim 11 or 12.   The sheet material direction detection according to claim 13, wherein the specifying unit includes a line sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged on the straight line, and the position of the refracted light is detected by the line sensor. apparatus. A light and dark part where the bright part and the dark part form a linear boundary;
An imaging means for photographing the bright and dark portion through a sheet material to be detected in which a plurality of refracting portions extending linearly with a convex or concave cross section on one surface are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction;
A rotating means for rotating the light and dark portion around an axis perpendicular to the sheet material;
Sharpness determination means for determining the sharpness of the boundary in the captured image captured by the imaging means;
When the light / dark part is rotated by the rotating means, the inclination direction and angle in the longitudinal direction of the refracting part from the rotation direction and the rotation angle of the light / dark part where the sharpness is highest as judged by the sharpness judging means. An apparatus for detecting a direction of a sheet material, comprising: A plurality of refracting portions having a convex or concave cross section and extending linearly on one surface are formed as a sheet of the same type as a sheet material to be detected arranged in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and are in close contact with the sheet material. A reference sheet,
A light source for irradiating illumination light to a close contact portion between the sheet material and the reference sheet;
An imaging means for photographing the contact portion by receiving transmitted light from the contact portion between the sheet material and the reference sheet;
Moire determination means for determining the direction and number of fringes in the captured image obtained from the imaging means;
An apparatus for detecting a direction of a sheet material, comprising: an inclination detection unit that detects an inclination direction and an angle of the longitudinal direction of the refracting unit based on a determination result of the moire determination unit.

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