JP7160131B2 - Molded object manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a modeled object.

Techniques for forming stereoscopic images are known. For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose a method of forming a stereoscopic image using a thermally expandable sheet. Specifically, in the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a pattern is formed on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet with a material having excellent light absorption characteristics, and the formed pattern is heated by irradiating light. do. As a result, the patterned portion of the thermally expandable sheet expands and swells, forming a three-dimensional image.

JP-A-64-28660 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150812

A thermally expandable sheet may be deformed by heat when it is expanded by heating. If the thermally expandable sheet is deformed, the 3D image formed thereon will also be distorted, making it difficult to obtain a desired 3D image. Therefore, it is required to expand the thermally expandable sheet while suppressing deformation of the thermally expandable sheet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the problems described above, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to manufacture a model while suppressing unnecessary deformation.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a model according to the present invention is provided by fixing the periphery of a thermally expandable sheet placed on a tray with a predetermined fixing member wholly or partially, thereby a fixing step of fixing the thermally expandable sheet to the tray; a thermal expansion step of partially thermally expanding the thermally expandable sheet fixed to the tray by heating; and returning the irradiation means from the second position to the first position by the moving means. and a cooling step of cooling the thermally expandable sheet, which has been partially thermally expanded in the thermally expanding step, by a predetermined cooling means while being fixed to the tray, wherein the thermally expanding step comprises: When the irradiating means is moved from the first position toward the second position by the moving means, the irradiating means is turned on and the cooling means is stopped, and the cooling step is performed by the moving means. The cooling means is driven to turn off the irradiating means when the irradiating means is returned from the second position to the first position .

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to manufacture a model, suppressing unnecessary deformation|transformation.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a thermally expandable sheet according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view showing the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a stereoscopic image forming system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the expansion device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a thermally expandable sheet placed on a tray in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control board of the expansion device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how an expansion device performs expansion processing in the first embodiment; 4 is a diagram showing how the expansion device performs cooling processing in the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of stereoscopic image forming processing according to the first embodiment. 3(a) to 3(e) are diagrams showing step by step how a stereoscopic image is formed on the thermally expandable sheet shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by the expansion device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing executed by an expansion device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how an expansion device performs a drying process in Embodiment 2; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how an expansion device performs ventilation processing in Embodiment 2; (a) to (d) are diagrams showing a thermally expandable sheet placed on a tray with two sides facing each other pressed down in a modification of the present invention. (a) to (c) are diagrams showing a thermally expandable sheet placed on a tray with at least two opposing corners pressed down in a modification of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts in the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
<Thermal expandable sheet 100>
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a thermally expandable sheet 100 for forming a stereoscopic image by a stereoscopic image forming system 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. The thermally expandable sheet 100 is a medium on which a stereoscopic image is formed by expansion of preselected portions. A stereoscopic image is a three-dimensional image formed by expanding a part of a two-dimensional sheet in a direction perpendicular to the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the thermally expandable sheet 100 includes a substrate 101, a thermally expandable layer 102, and an ink receiving layer 103 in this order. Note that FIG. 1 shows a cross section of the thermally expandable sheet 100 before a stereoscopic image is formed, that is, in a state where no part is expanded.

The base material 101 is a sheet-like medium from which the thermally expandable sheet 100 is made. The base material 101 is a support that supports the thermal expansion layer 102 and the ink receiving layer 103 and plays a role of maintaining the strength of the thermal expansion sheet 100 . As the base material 101, for example, general printing paper can be used. Alternatively, the material of the base material 101 may be synthetic paper, cloth such as canvas, plastic film such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), etc., and is not particularly limited.

The thermal expansion layer 102 is laminated on the upper side of the base material 101 and is a layer that expands when heated to a specified temperature or higher. The thermal expansion layer 102 includes a binder and a thermal expansion agent dispersed within the binder. The binder is a thermoplastic resin such as vinyl acetate polymer, acrylic polymer, or the like. The thermal expansion agent is a thermally expandable microcapsule with a particle size of about 5 to 50 μm, in which a substance that vaporizes at a low boiling point, such as propane or butane, is encapsulated in an outer shell of thermoplastic resin. When the thermal expansion agent is heated to a temperature of, for example, 80° C. to 120° C., the substance contained therein is vaporized, and the pressure causes foaming and expansion. In this manner, the thermal expansion layer 102 expands according to the amount of heat absorbed. Thermal expansion agents are also called blowing agents.

The ink receiving layer 103 is a layer laminated on the thermal expansion layer 102 to absorb and receive ink. The ink-receiving layer 103 receives printing ink used in inkjet printers, printing toner used in laser printers, ink for ballpoint pens or fountain pens, graphite for pencils, and the like. The ink-receiving layer 103 is made of suitable materials for fixing them to the surface. As a material for the ink receiving layer 103, for example, a general-purpose material used for inkjet paper can be used.

FIG. 2 shows the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100. As shown in FIG. The back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the substrate 101 side and corresponds to the back surface of the substrate 101 . On the other hand, the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the ink receiving layer 103 side and corresponds to the surface of the ink receiving layer 103 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 has a plurality of bar codes B attached along its edge. The barcode B is an identifier for identifying the thermally expandable sheet 100, and is information indicating that the thermally expandable sheet 100 is a dedicated sheet for forming a stereoscopic image. The barcode B is an identifier that is read by the expansion device 50 of the stereoscopic image forming system 1 to be described later, and is an identifier for determining whether or not the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be used in the expansion device 50 .

<Stereoscopic image forming system 1>
Next, a stereoscopic image forming system 1 for forming a stereoscopic image on the thermally expandable sheet 100 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 , the stereoscopic image forming system 1 includes a terminal device 30 , a printing device 40 and an expansion device 50 .

The terminal device 30 is an information processing device such as a personal computer, a smart phone, a tablet, etc., and is a control unit that controls the printing device 40 and the expansion device 50 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the terminal device 30 includes a control section 31 , a storage section 32 , an operation section 33 , a display section 34 , a recording medium drive section 35 and a communication section 36 . These units are connected by a bus for transmitting signals.

The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). In the control unit 31, the CPU reads out the control program stored in the ROM and controls the overall operation of the terminal device 30 while using the RAM as a work memory.

The storage unit 32 is a non-volatile memory such as flash memory or hard disk, and stores programs or data executed by the control unit 31 . Specifically, the storage unit 32 stores color image data, surface foam data, and back foam data to be printed by the printing device 40 .

The operation unit 33 includes input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, buttons, touch pad, and touch panel, and receives operations from the user. By operating the operation unit 33, the user can input an operation for editing the color image data, the surface foaming data, and the back foaming data, an operation for the printing device 40 or the expansion device 50, and the like.

The display unit 34 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and a display drive circuit that causes the display device to display an image. For example, the display unit 34 displays color image data, surface foam data, and back foam data. The display unit 34 also displays information indicating the current state of the printing device 40 or the expansion device 50 as necessary.

The recording medium driving unit 35 reads programs or data recorded on a portable recording medium. Portable recording media include CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, flash memory equipped with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard connector, and the like. For example, the recording medium drive unit 35 reads and acquires the color image data, the surface foam data, and the back foam data from a portable recording medium.

The communication unit 36 has an interface for communicating with external devices including the printing device 40 and the expansion device 50 . The terminal device 30 is connected to the printing device 40 and the expansion device 50 via a cable such as a flexible cable or a wired LAN (Local Area Network), or wirelessly such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark). Under the control of the control unit 31, the communication unit 36 communicates with the printing device 40 and the expansion device 50 according to at least one of these communication standards.

<Printing Device 40>
The printing device 40 is a printing unit that prints an image on the front or back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The printing device 40 is an inkjet printer that prints an image by making ink droplets and spraying them directly onto a printing medium.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration of the printing device 40. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the printing apparatus 40 includes a carriage 41 that can reciprocate in a main scanning direction D2 (X direction) orthogonal to a sub scanning direction D1 (Y direction) in which the thermally expandable sheet 100 is conveyed. Prepare.

The carriage 41 is attached with a print head 42 for printing and ink cartridges 43 (43k, 43c, 43m, 43y) containing ink. The ink cartridges 43k, 43c, 43m, and 43y contain black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks, respectively. Each color ink is ejected from a corresponding nozzle of the print head 42 .

The carriage 41 is slidably supported by guide rails 44 and sandwiched between drive belts 45 . The carriage 41 is moved in the main scanning direction D2 together with the print head 42 and the ink cartridges 43 by driving the drive belt 45 by rotating the motor 45m.

A platen 48 is provided below the frame 47 at a position facing the print head 42 . The platen 48 extends in the main scanning direction D<b>2 and constitutes part of the transport path for the thermally expandable sheet 100 . A feed roller pair 49a (lower rollers not shown) and a paper discharge roller pair 49b (lower rollers not shown) are provided in the transport path of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The paper feed roller pair 49a and the paper discharge roller pair 49b transport the thermally expandable sheet 100 supported by the platen 48 in the sub-scanning direction D1.

The printing device 40 is connected to the terminal device 30 via a flexible communication cable 46 . The terminal device 30 controls the print head 42, the motor 45m, the paper supply roller pair 49a and the paper discharge roller pair 49b via the flexible communication cable 46. FIG. Specifically, the terminal device 30 controls the paper supply roller pair 49a and the paper discharge roller pair 49b to convey the thermally expandable sheet 100. As shown in FIG. Further, the terminal device 30 rotates the motor 45m to move the carriage 41 and transport the print head 42 to an appropriate position in the main scanning direction D2.

The printing device 40 acquires image data from the terminal device 30 and executes printing based on the acquired image data. Specifically, the printing device 40 acquires color image data, surface foaming data, and back foaming data as image data. The color image data is data representing a color image to be printed on the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The printing device 40 causes the print head 42 to eject cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks toward the thermally expandable sheet 100 to print a color image.

On the other hand, the surface foaming data is data indicating the portion to be foamed and expanded on the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . Further, the rear surface foaming data is data indicating the portion to be foamed and expanded on the rear surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The printing device 40 causes the print head 42 to eject black ink of black K containing carbon black toward the thermally expandable sheet 100 to print a dark and light image (light and dark pattern) in black. Black ink containing carbon black is an example of a material that converts light into heat.

<Expansion device 50>
The expansion device 50 irradiates the surface or the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 with light to generate heat in the grayscale image printed on the front surface or the backside of the thermally expandable sheet 100, thereby forming the grayscale image on the thermally expandable sheet 100. is an expansion unit that expands the printed part.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the configuration of the expansion device 50. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the X direction corresponds to the width direction of the expansion device 50, the Y direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the expansion device 50, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. The X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are orthogonal to each other. As shown in FIG. 6, the expansion device 50 includes a housing 51, an insertion section 52, a tray 53, a ventilation section 54, a conveying motor 55, a conveying rail 56, an irradiation section 60, and a cooling section 64. , a barcode reader 65 , a power board 69 , and a control board 70 .

The insertion part 52 has an openable door and is a mechanism for inserting the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which a stereoscopic image is to be formed into the housing 51 . The user opens the insertion portion 52, slides the tray 53 and draws it forward, and then places the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the tray 53 with its surface or back surface facing upward. At this time, the user places the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the tray 53 so that the end of the thermally expandable sheet 100 to which the barcode B is attached is located on the far side. Then, when the tray 53 with the thermally expandable sheet 100 installed is returned to the inside of the housing 51 and the insertion portion 52 is closed, the thermally expandable sheet 100 is placed at a position where light can be irradiated by the irradiation portion 60. .

The tray 53 is a mechanism for setting the thermally expandable sheet 100 at an appropriate position inside the housing 51 . The tray 53 functions as installation means on which the thermally expandable sheet 100 is installed. FIG. 7 shows how the tray 53 with the thermally expandable sheet 100 placed thereon is viewed from above (in the Z direction). As shown in FIG. 7, the tray 53 is provided with a rectangular frame-shaped fixing member 57. The fixing member 57 presses down the four side edges of the placed thermally expandable sheet 100 from above. fixed. Further, the tray 53 is equipped with a sensor for detecting the thermally expandable sheet 100, and determines whether or not the thermally expandable sheet 100 is installed, and if the thermally expandable sheet 100 is installed, the thermally expandable sheet is detected. Detect 100 sizes.

The ventilation part 54 is provided at the rear end of the expansion device 50 and functions as a ventilation means for ventilating the inside of the expansion device 50 . The ventilation unit 54 includes at least one exhaust fan, and ventilates the inside of the housing 51 by discharging the air inside the housing 51 to the outside. The air inside the housing 51 is supplied from the outside by the cooling unit 64 and discharged to the outside by the ventilation unit 54 . The ventilation unit 54 circulates the air inside the housing 51 by discharging the air supplied from the outside by the cooling unit 64 to the outside.

The transport motor 55 is, for example, a stepping motor that operates in synchronization with pulse power, and functions as moving means for moving the irradiation section 60 along the surface or the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . A transport rail 56 is provided inside the housing 51 in the Y direction, that is, in a direction parallel to the front surface or the rear surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The irradiation unit 60 is attached to the transport rail 56 so as to be movable along the transport rail 56 . The irradiation unit 60 reciprocates along the transport rails 56 while maintaining a constant distance from the thermally expandable sheet 100 using the driving force associated with the rotation of the transport motor 55 as a power source.

More specifically, the irradiation unit 60 has a first position P1 corresponding to the back end of the thermally expandable sheet 100 and a second position P1 corresponding to the front end of the thermally expandable sheet 100. It reciprocates between P2 and . The first position P1 is the initial position (home position) of the irradiation section 60 . The irradiation unit 60 waits at the first position P1 when the expansion device 50 is not operating.

The first position P1 is a position opposite to the side of the housing 51 on which the insertion section 52 is provided, and the second position P2 is on the side of the housing 51 on which the insertion section 52 is provided. position. In other words, the first position P1 is a position farther from the end of the expansion device 50 into which the thermally expandable sheet 100 is inserted than the second position P2. Since the initial position of the irradiation unit 60 is provided on the opposite side of the insertion unit 52 in the housing 51 as described above, when the user inserts the thermally expandable sheet 100 into the housing 51 , the irradiation unit 60 is placed at the initial position. can be avoided. Therefore, the user can install the thermally expandable sheet 100 smoothly.

The irradiation unit 60 is a mechanism for irradiating light. The irradiation unit 60 functions as irradiation means for irradiating the thermally expandable sheet 100 placed on the tray 53 with light. As shown in FIG. 6 , the irradiation section 60 includes a lamp heater 61 , a reflector 62 , a temperature sensor 63 , a cooling section 64 and a barcode reader 65 .

The lamp heater 61 includes, for example, a halogen lamp, and heats the thermally expandable sheet 100 in the near infrared region (wavelength 750 to 1400 nm), visible light region (wavelength 380 to 750 nm), or mid infrared region ( Light with a wavelength of 1400 to 4000 nm) is irradiated. When the thermally expandable sheet 100 printed with a grayscale image by black ink containing carbon black is irradiated with light, the light is emitted more efficiently in the portion where the grayscale image is printed compared to the portion where the grayscale image is not printed. converted to heat. Therefore, the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 where the grayscale image is printed is mainly heated, and expands when the thermal expansion agent reaches the temperature at which it starts to expand.

The reflector 62 is arranged to cover the upper side of the lamp heater 61 and is a mechanism for reflecting the light emitted from the lamp heater 61 toward the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The temperature sensor 63 is a thermocouple, a thermistor, or the like, and functions as measuring means for measuring the temperature of the reflector 62 .

The cooling part 64 is provided above the reflecting plate 62 and functions as cooling means for cooling the inside of the expansion device 50 . The cooling section 64 includes at least one air supply fan, and cools the irradiation section 60 by sending air from the outside of the expansion device 50 to the irradiation section 60 . Specifically, the cooling section 64 draws in air from the outside of the expansion device 50 through an air supply port provided in the upper portion of the cooling section 64 and sends the drawn air to the irradiation section 60 . The air sucked by the cooling part 64 is supplied to the reflecting plate 62, and the reflecting plate 62 is air-cooled. Also, the air sucked by the cooling part 64 is supplied to the inside of the expansion device 50 through the irradiation part 60, and each part in the housing 51 including the thermally expandable sheet 100 placed on the tray 53 is cooled. .

The barcode reader 65 functions as reading means for reading the barcode B attached to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . The barcode reader 65 reads the barcode B attached to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 through a reflector (not shown) when the thermally expandable sheet 100 is inserted into the expansion device 50 with the surface facing upward. . The reflector is installed at the far end of the tray 53, and is a reflecting mirror for enabling the bar code reader 65 to read the bar code B from the opposite side. On the other hand, when the thermally expandable sheet 100 is inserted into the expansion device 50 with the back surface facing upward, the barcode reader 65 reads the barcode B attached to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 through the reflector. read directly without intervention.

The expansion device 50 determines whether or not the medium placed on the tray 53 can be used by the expansion device 50 according to whether the barcode B can be read by the barcode reader 65 . If a medium that is not a dedicated sheet for forming a stereoscopic image is inserted into the expansion device 50, the expansion device 50 may not operate properly. Therefore, when the barcode reader 65 fails to read the barcode B, the expansion device 50 does not start the light irradiation processing by the irradiation unit 60 . This suppresses malfunction of the expansion device 50 .

The power board 69 includes a power IC (Integrated Circuit) or the like, and generates and supplies necessary power to each part in the expansion device 50 . For example, the ventilation section 54 , the conveying motor 55 , the lamp heater 61 and the cooling section 64 operate by receiving power from the power supply board 69 .

The control board 70 is provided on a board arranged in the lower part of the housing 51 and controls the operation of each part of the expansion device 50 . As shown in FIG. 8 , the control board 70 includes a control section 71 , a storage section 72 , a timer section 73 and a communication section 74 .

The control section 71 includes a CPU, ROM and RAM, and is connected to each section of the expansion device 50 via a system bus, which is a transmission path for transferring commands and data. The CPU is, for example, a microprocessor or the like, and is a central processing unit that executes various processes and calculations. In the control unit 71, the CPU reads out the control program stored in the ROM and controls the operation of the expansion device 50 as a whole while using the RAM as a work memory.

The storage unit 72 is a non-volatile memory such as flash memory or hard disk. The storage unit 72 stores programs or data executed by the control unit 71 and data generated or acquired by the control unit 71 performing various processes. The clock unit 73 includes a clock device such as an RTC (Real Time Clock), and continues clocking even while the expansion device 50 is powered off.

The communication unit 74 has an interface for communicating with the terminal device 30 . The communication unit 74 communicates with the terminal device 30 by wire or wirelessly under the control of the control unit 71 . For example, the communication unit 74 acquires from the terminal device 30 an instruction to start the light irradiation process input by the user at the terminal device 30 . The communication unit 74 also transmits information indicating the current state of the expansion device 50 to the terminal device 30 .

The control unit 71 functions as control means for controlling operations of the ventilation unit 54 , the conveying motor 55 , the irradiation unit 60 and the cooling unit 64 . Specifically, the control unit 71 performs an expansion process for expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100 and a cooling process for cooling the inside of the expansion device 50 . They will be described in order below.

<Expansion processing>
The control unit 71 performs expansion processing for expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100 placed on the tray 53 by causing the irradiation unit 60 to irradiate the thermally expandable sheet 100 with light. More specifically, the control unit 71 moves the irradiation unit 60 by the transport motor 55 while irradiating the irradiation unit 60 with light so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a specified temperature. The expandable sheet 100 is expanded.

FIG. 9 shows how the expansion device 50 performs expansion processing. In the expansion process, the control unit 71 supplies power supply voltage to the irradiation unit 60 to turn on the lamp heater 61 . At this time, the control unit 71 adjusts the power supply voltage supplied to the irradiation unit 60 to cause the irradiation unit 60 to irradiate light of a predetermined intensity. Then, the control unit 71 drives the transport motor 55 while the irradiation unit 60 is being irradiated with light, thereby moving the irradiation unit 60 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 by a predetermined amount. move at speed. Note that the ventilation unit 54 and the cooling unit 64 are not driven during the expansion process.

When light is irradiated by the irradiation unit 60, the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which the grayscale image containing carbon black is printed generates heat and expands when heated to a prescribed temperature. The specified temperature is the temperature at which the thermal expansion agent contained in the thermal expansion layer 102 starts to expand, and is a temperature of about 80°C to 120°C, for example. A predetermined strength and a predetermined speed are set in advance so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature.

For example, the higher the intensity of the light emitted by the irradiating section 60, the more the thermally expandable sheet 100 receives more light and is heated. Also, the lower the moving speed of the irradiation unit 60 is, the longer the irradiation time is, so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 is heated more. Therefore, by adjusting at least one of the intensity of the light irradiated by the irradiation unit 60 and the moving speed of the irradiation unit 60, the amount of heat applied to each portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be adjusted.

The predetermined strength and the predetermined speed are set to values that can apply a sufficient amount of heat to the thermally expandable sheet 100 in consideration of such a relationship. The control unit 71 heats the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which the grayscale image is printed to a specified temperature or higher by moving the irradiation unit 60 that irradiates light at a predetermined intensity at a predetermined speed. do. As a result, the thermally expandable sheet 100 expands to a height corresponding to the density of black in the grayscale image.

<Cooling treatment>
After executing the expansion process, the control unit 71 executes a cooling process for cooling the thermally expandable sheet 100 by the cooling unit 64 while maintaining the state where the thermally expandable sheet 100 is placed on the tray 53 .

Due to the expansion process, the inside of the housing 51 including the thermally expandable sheet 100 contains a lot of heat. The heat-expandable sheet 100 may be distorted and deformed when subjected to heat. For example, the thermally expandable sheet 100 may bow or warp due to differences in the thermal properties of the multiple layers included in the thermally expandable sheet 100 . In order to suppress such warping of the thermally expandable sheet 100, the control unit 71 drives the cooling unit 64 to cool the inside of the housing 51 and the thermally expandable sheet 100 after performing the expansion process. .

FIG. 10 shows how the expansion device 50 performs the cooling process. Immediately after the expansion process, the irradiation section 60 reaches the second position P2 on the front side of the expansion device 50 . In the cooling process, the control unit 71 causes the cooling unit 64 to cool the inside of the expansion device 50 while moving the irradiation unit 60 by the transport motor 55 . Specifically, the control unit 71 stops supplying the power supply voltage to the irradiation unit 60 to turn off the lamp heater 61 . Then, the control unit 71 drives the cooling unit 64 to supply the air outside the housing 51 to the inside of the housing 51 . The control unit 71 moves the irradiation unit 60 from the second position P2 toward the first position P1 by driving the transport motor 55 while the cooling unit 64 is cooling.

At this time, the control unit 71 drives the ventilation unit 54 to exhaust the air inside the housing 51 to the outside. By driving the cooling unit 64 and the ventilation unit 54 in this way, as shown in FIG. discharged to

Since the cooling unit 64 is attached to the irradiation unit 60 , it moves together with the irradiation unit 60 . Therefore, by driving the cooling unit 64 while moving the irradiation unit 60, the air outside the housing 51 can be widely supplied to the inside of the housing 51, and the entire thermally expandable sheet 100 can be evenly cooled. be able to. In this way, the control unit 71 cools the thermally expandable sheet 100 after executing the expansion process while moving the cooling unit 64 while the four edges of the thermally expandable sheet 100 are fixed to the tray 53 . This can prevent the thermally expandable sheet 100 from warping after being removed from the tray 53 .

<Stereoscopic image forming process>
Regarding the flow of stereoscopic image forming processing executed in the stereoscopic image forming system 1 configured as described above, the flow chart shown in FIG. 11 and the cross-sectional views of the thermally expandable sheet 100 shown in FIGS. will be described with reference to

First, the user prepares the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which a stereoscopic image is not formed, and designates color image data, surface foaming data, and back foaming data via the operation unit 33 of the terminal device 30 . Then, the thermally expandable sheet 100 is inserted into the printer 40 with its surface facing upward. The printing device 40 prints the photothermal conversion layer 104 on the surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 (step S1). The photothermal conversion layer 104 is a layer formed of a material that converts light into heat, specifically black ink containing carbon black. The printing device 40 ejects black ink containing carbon black onto the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 according to the specified surface foaming data. As a result, a photothermal conversion layer 104 is formed on the ink receiving layer 103, as shown in FIG. 12(a).

Second, the user inserts the thermally expandable sheet 100 printed with the photothermal conversion layer 104 into the expansion device 50 with its surface facing upward. The expansion device 50 irradiates the surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 with light from the irradiation unit 60 (step S2). The photothermal conversion layer 104 printed on the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 generates heat by absorbing the irradiated light. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12B, the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 where the photothermal conversion layer 104 is printed rises and expands.

Third, the user inserts the thermally expandable sheet 100 whose surface has been heated and expanded into the printer 40 with the surface facing upward. The printing device 40 prints the color ink layer 105 on the surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 (step S3). Specifically, the printing device 40 ejects cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks onto the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 in accordance with designated color image data. As a result, a color ink layer 105 is formed on the ink receiving layer 103 and the photothermal conversion layer 104, as shown in FIG. 12(c).

When printing a black or gray image on the color ink layer 105, the printing device 40 mixes three colors of ink, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y, or prints carbon black. is formed by further using a black ink that does not contain This prevents the portion where the color ink layer 105 is formed from being heated in the expansion device 50 .

Fourth, the user turns over the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which the color ink layer 105 is printed and inserts it into the expansion device 50 with the back surface facing upward. The expansion device 50 irradiates the rear surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 with light from the irradiation unit 60 to heat the thermally expandable sheet 100 from the rear surface. Thereby, the expansion device 50 evaporates the solvent contained in the color ink layer 105 and dries the color ink layer 105 (step S4). Drying the color ink layer 105 facilitates expansion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 in a later step.

Fifth, the user inserts the thermally expandable sheet 100 printed with the color ink layer 105 into the printing device 40 with the back surface facing upward. The printing device 40 prints the photothermal conversion layer 106 on the back surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 (step S5). The photothermal conversion layer 106, like the photothermal conversion layer 104 printed on the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100, is a layer formed of a material that converts light into heat, specifically black ink containing carbon black. . The printing device 40 ejects black ink containing carbon black onto the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 according to the designated back surface foaming data. As a result, a photothermal conversion layer 106 is formed on the back surface of the substrate 101, as shown in FIG. 12(d).

Sixthly, the user inserts the thermally expandable sheet 100 printed with the photothermal conversion layer 106 into the expansion device 50 with the back surface facing upward. The expansion device 50 irradiates the rear surface of the inserted thermally expandable sheet 100 with light from the irradiation section 60 (step S6). The photothermal conversion layer 106 printed on the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 generates heat by absorbing the irradiated light. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12(e), the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 where the photothermal conversion layer 106 is printed rises and expands.

12A to 12E, the photothermal conversion layer 104 and the color ink layer 105 are shown formed on the ink receiving layer 103 for easy understanding. More precisely, however, the color ink and the black ink are absorbed inside the ink-receiving layer 103 and thus formed in the ink-receiving layer 103 .

As described above, a three-dimensional color image is formed on the thermally expandable sheet 100 by expanding the portions of the thermally expandable sheet 100 where the photothermal conversion layers 104 and 106 are formed. In the photothermal conversion layers 104 and 106, the higher the density, the greater the heating and therefore the greater the expansion. Therefore, by adjusting the density of the photothermal conversion layers 104 and 106 according to the target height, stereoscopic images of various shapes can be obtained.

Either one of the heating from the surface and the heating from the back of the thermally expandable sheet 100 may be omitted. For example, when only the surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is heated and expanded, steps S5 and S6 in FIG. 11 are omitted. On the other hand, when only the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is heated and expanded, steps S1 and S2 in FIG. 11 are omitted. Also, the printing of the color image in step S3 may be performed after the process of heating the thermally expandable sheet 100 from the back surface in step S6.

Further, when forming a monochrome stereoscopic image, the printing device 40 may print a monochrome image instead of a color image in step S3. In this case, a layer of black ink is formed on the ink receiving layer 103 and the photothermal conversion layer 104 instead of the color ink layer 105 .

Next, details of the processing performed by the expansion device 50 in steps S2 and S6 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S<b>2 , the user places the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the tray 53 with its surface facing upward, and inserts it into the expansion device 50 . In step S<b>6 , the user places the thermally expandable sheet 100 on the tray 53 with the back surface facing upward, and inserts it into the expansion device 50 . After that, the user operates the operation unit 33 of the terminal device 30 to input an instruction to expand the thermally expandable sheet 100 . When the control unit 71 of the expansion device 50 receives the instruction input by the user in this way from the terminal device 30, the processing shown in FIG. 13 is started.

When the process is started, the control section 71 determines whether or not the thermally expandable sheet 100 is correctly installed (step S11). Specifically, the controller 71 determines whether the thermally expandable sheet 100 is placed at a proper position on the tray 53 via a sensor provided on the tray 53 .

If the thermally expandable sheet 100 is not installed correctly (step S11; NO), the control section 71 stops the process at step S11. At this time, the control unit 71 issues a warning to inform the user that the thermally expandable sheet 100 is not installed correctly, and requests the user to install the thermally expandable sheet 100 correctly.

If the thermally expandable sheet 100 is installed correctly (step S11; YES), the controller 71 determines whether the barcode B attached to the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be read via the barcode reader 65. is determined (step S12). The barcode B is an identifier for determining whether or not the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be used, and is provided at the far end of the thermally expandable sheet 100 placed on the tray 53 .

If the barcode B attached to the thermally expandable sheet 100 could not be read (step S12; NO), the control section 71 returns the process to step S11. At this time, the control unit 71 notifies the user that the thermally expandable sheet 100 cannot be used, and requests the user to replace the thermally expandable sheet 100 with a proper one.

If the barcode B can be read (step S12; YES), the control unit 71 performs preheating (step S13). Preheating is a process of preliminarily heating the irradiation section 60 before the expansion device 50 starts its main operation. Specifically, the control unit 71 turns on the lamp heater 61 to heat the irradiation unit 60 to a predetermined temperature, and then drives the cooling unit 64 to cool the irradiation unit 60 .

After preheating, the control unit 71 executes expansion processing (step S14). Specifically, the control unit 71 turns on the lamp heater 61 and causes the irradiation unit 60 to irradiate light of a predetermined intensity. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 71 drives the conveying motor 55 to move the irradiation unit 60, which emits light at a predetermined intensity, from the first position P1 to the second position P2. at a predetermined speed. As a result, the controller 71 heats the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which the grayscale image is printed to a temperature equal to or higher than the specified temperature, thereby expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100 . Step S14 is an example of an expansion step.

After executing the expansion process, the control unit 71 executes a cooling process (step S15). More specifically, the control unit 71 turns off the lamp heater 61 to stop the irradiation unit 60 from emitting light, and drives the cooling unit 64 . Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 71 drives the conveying motor 55 while the cooling unit 64 is cooling the irradiating unit 60 from the second position P2 to the first position P1. move toward Thereby, the control unit 71 cools the thermally expandable sheet 100 heated in the expansion process, and suppresses the thermally expandable sheet 100 from warping. Step S15 is an example of a cooling step.

As described above, the expansion device 50 according to the first embodiment expands the thermally expandable sheet 100 by moving the irradiation unit 60 along the thermally expandable sheet 100 and irradiating the irradiation unit 60 with light. After performing the expansion process of the thermally expandable sheet 100, the cooling process of the inside of the expansion device 50 is performed. By performing the cooling process after the expansion process, the thermally expandable sheet 100 heated in the expansion process can be cooled, so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be prevented from being warped and deformed.

In particular, the expansion device 50 according to the first embodiment heats the thermally expandable sheet 100 by moving the irradiation unit 60 instead of by moving the thermally expandable sheet 100 . Therefore, after performing the expansion process, the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be cooled by a simple method of irradiating light while moving the irradiation unit 60 .

Further, the expansion device 50 according to the first embodiment executes expansion processing when moving the irradiation unit 60 from the first position P1 toward the second position P2, and moves the irradiation unit 60 from the second position P2. A cooling process is performed when moving toward the first position P1. In this manner, the expansion device 50 performs the expansion process and the cooling process while reciprocating the irradiation unit 60 once between the first position P1 and the second position P2. processing can be executed efficiently.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, description of the same configuration as in the first embodiment is omitted.

In the first embodiment, the expansion device 50 performs expansion processing for expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100 and cooling processing for cooling the inside of the expansion device 50 . In contrast, in the second embodiment, the expansion device 50 performs a drying process for drying the thermally expandable sheet 100 and a ventilation process for ventilating the inside of the expansion device 50 in addition to the expansion process and the cooling process. Run.

FIG. 14 shows the flow of processing executed by the expansion device 50 according to the second embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 14 is performed by inserting the thermally expandable sheet 100 into the expansion device 50 with the surface or the back surface facing upward, and the thermally expandable sheet 100 is received from the user via the terminal device 30 in the same manner as in FIG. 13 . It starts when an instruction to expand 100 is received. Note that the processing of steps S21 to S23 in FIG. 14 is the same as the processing of steps S11 to S13 in FIG. 13, so description thereof will be omitted.

<Drying treatment>
After preheating is performed in step S23, the control unit 71 performs a drying process (step S24). In the drying process, the controller 71 causes the irradiating section 60 to irradiate the irradiating section 60 with light while moving the irradiating section 60 with the conveying motor 55 so that the temperature of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is maintained at a temperature lower than the specified temperature. The adhesive sheet 100 is dried. Step S24 is an example of a drying step.

The thermally expandable sheet 100 may contain moisture, for example, when the ink applied in the printing device 40 is not sufficiently dried, or due to factors such as the surrounding environment. If the thermally expandable sheet 100 contains a large amount of moisture, the thermally expandable sheet 100 is not heated to the required temperature when expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100, and the thermally expandable sheet 100 is expanded to the desired height. Difficult to inflate. In order to suppress such a situation and expand the thermally expandable sheet 100 with high accuracy, the expansion device 50 performs drying processing of the thermally expandable sheet 100 before performing the expansion processing of the thermally expandable sheet 100. .

FIG. 15 shows how the expansion device 50 performs the drying process. In the drying process, the control unit 71 supplies power supply voltage to the irradiation unit 60 to turn on the lamp heater 61 . At this time, the control unit 71 adjusts the power supply voltage supplied to the irradiation unit 60 to cause the irradiation unit 60 to irradiate light of the first intensity. Then, the control unit 71 drives the conveying motor 55 while the irradiation unit 60 is emitting light, thereby moving the irradiation unit 60 from the first position P1 to the second position P2. move at a speed of Note that the ventilation unit 54 and the cooling unit 64 are not driven during the drying process.

When light is irradiated by the irradiation unit 60, the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 where the grayscale image containing carbon black is printed generates heat. In the drying process, the controller 71 dries the thermally expandable sheet 100 without expanding it. As such, the first intensity and the first velocity are such that the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be maintained below a specified temperature at which the thermal expansion agent begins to expand, in other words the thermally expandable sheet 100 is at a specified temperature. It is set in advance so that it is not heated above the temperature of

For example, the higher the intensity of the light emitted by the irradiation unit 60, the more the thermally expandable sheet 100 receives light and thus the more heated it is. Also, the lower the moving speed of the irradiation unit 60 is, the longer the irradiation time is, so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 is heated more. Therefore, by adjusting at least one of the intensity of the light irradiated by the irradiation unit 60 and the moving speed of the irradiation unit 60, the amount of heat applied to each portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be adjusted.

Considering this relationship, the first strength and the first speed are set to values that can apply heat to the extent that the thermally expandable sheet 100 does not expand. The control unit 71 maintains the thermally expandable sheet 100 at a temperature lower than the prescribed temperature by moving the irradiation unit 60, which emits light at the first intensity, at the first speed. Thereby, the moisture contained in the thermally expandable sheet 100 is evaporated and dried.

<Ventilation treatment>
After executing the drying process, the controller 71 executes the ventilation process (step S25). In the ventilation process, the control unit 71 causes the ventilation unit 54 to ventilate the inside of the expansion device 50 while moving the irradiation unit 60 by the conveying motor 55 . Step S25 is an example of a ventilation step.

The air inside the housing 51 contains moisture evaporated from the thermally expandable sheet 100 due to the drying process. In order to remove such moisture in the housing 51 , the control unit 71 drives the ventilation unit 54 to ventilate the inside of the housing 51 after executing the drying process.

FIG. 16 shows how the expansion device 50 performs the ventilation process. In the ventilation process, the ventilation part 54 blows the air inside the expansion device 50 in the direction in which the irradiation part 60 moves in the return path after the irradiation part 60 moves along the thermally expandable sheet 100 in the drying process. The inside of the expansion device 50 is ventilated by discharging to the outside of the device 50 . More specifically, immediately after the drying process, the irradiation section 60 reaches the second position P2 on the front side of the expansion device 50 . In the ventilation process, the control unit 71 stops supplying the power supply voltage to the irradiation unit 60 and turns off the lamp heater 61 . Then, the control unit 71 drives the ventilation unit 54 to exhaust the air inside the housing 51 to the outside. The control unit 71 moves the irradiation unit 60 from the second position P2 toward the first position P1 by driving the transport motor 55 while the ventilation unit 54 is ventilating.

In the drying process, since the irradiation section 60 moves from the first position P1 toward the second position P2, more moisture evaporated from the thermally expandable sheet 100 is contained on the back side than the irradiation section 60. . Since the ventilator 54 is installed at the end of the expansion device 50 on the far side, it is possible to efficiently remove moisture contained in the far side of the irradiation part 60 . In particular, by moving the irradiation unit 60 from the front side toward the back side, the air in the housing 51 can be sent toward the back side, so that the ventilation unit 54 installed at the end on the back side Ventilate efficiently.

<Expansion processing>
After executing the ventilation process, the control unit 71 executes the expansion process (step S26). The dilation process in the second embodiment is similar to the dilation process in the first embodiment. Step S26 is an example of an expansion step.

Specifically, the control unit 71 turns on the lamp heater 61 and causes the irradiation unit 60 to irradiate the light of the second intensity. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 71 drives the conveying motor 55 to move the irradiation unit 60, which emits light at the second intensity, from the first position P1 to the second position. Move toward P2 at a second speed. As a result, the controller 71 heats the portion of the thermally expandable sheet 100 on which the grayscale image is printed to a temperature equal to or higher than the specified temperature, thereby expanding the thermally expandable sheet 100 .

Here, in order to irradiate the thermally expandable sheet 100 with more light than in the drying process, the second intensity is set to a higher value than the first intensity in the drying process. As an example, the second intensity is set to be approximately two to three times the first intensity. Also, the second intensity is set to a value higher than the first intensity, or alternatively the second speed is set to a value lower than the first speed in the drying process. As an example, the second speed is set to a speed about half to one third of the first speed. By setting the second speed to a value lower than the first speed, the movement time of the irradiation unit 60 becomes longer than in the drying process, so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be irradiated with more light. can be done.

<Cooling treatment>
After executing the expansion process, the control unit 71 executes a cooling process (step S27). The cooling process in the second embodiment is the same as the cooling process in the first embodiment. Step S27 is an example of a cooling step.

More specifically, the control unit 71 turns off the lamp heater 61 to stop the irradiation unit 60 from emitting light, and drives the cooling unit 64 . Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 71 drives the conveying motor 55 while the cooling unit 64 is cooling the irradiating unit 60 from the second position P2 to the first position P1. move toward Thereby, the control unit 71 cools the thermally expandable sheet 100 heated in the expansion process, and suppresses the thermally expandable sheet 100 from warping.

As described above, the expansion device 50 according to the second embodiment executes the drying process and the ventilation process before executing the expansion process of the thermally expandable sheet 100 . By performing the drying process before the expansion process, it is possible to prevent the thermally expandable sheet 100 from becoming difficult to heat during the expansion process, so that the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be expanded with high precision. Moreover, by performing the ventilation process after the drying process, the moisture evaporated from the thermally expandable sheet 100 by the drying process can be removed from the expansion device 50 .

Further, the expansion device 50 according to the second embodiment executes a drying process when moving the irradiation section 60 from the first position P1 toward the second position P2, and moves the irradiation section 60 from the second position P2. Ventilation processing is performed when moving the irradiation unit 60 toward the first position P1, expansion processing is performed when moving the irradiation unit 60 from the first position P1 toward the second position P2, and the irradiation unit 60 is moved. A cooling process is performed when moving from the second position P2 toward the first position P1. In this manner, the expansion device 50 executes the drying process, the ventilation process, the expansion process, and the cooling process while reciprocating the irradiation unit 60 twice between the first position P1 and the second position P2. , these four processes can be executed efficiently.

(Modification)
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above embodiment is an example, and the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the embodiments of the present invention can be applied in various ways, and all embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the control unit 71 performs each of the drying process, the ventilation process, the expansion process, and the cooling process when moving the irradiation unit 60 from the first position P1 toward the second position P2. Alternatively, it is executed when the irradiation unit 60 is moved from the second position P2 toward the first position P1. However, in the present invention, the control unit 71 is not limited to executing these processes only on the outward trip or the return trip, and if necessary, the irradiation unit 60 is moved to the first position P1 in order to execute each process. You may make it reciprocate once or several times between the 2nd positions P2.

Moreover, the number of times or the order in which the drying process, the ventilation process, the expansion process, and the cooling process are performed are not limited to those described in the above embodiment. For example, the control unit 71 may execute the ventilation process after the expansion process, or may omit the drying process or the ventilation process.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 71 performed the cooling process when the conveying motor 55 returned the irradiation unit 60 from the second position P2 to the first position P1. However, in the present invention, as long as the inside of the expansion device 50 including the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be cooled after the expansion process, the control unit 71 executes the cooling process while the irradiation unit 60 is not moving. Also good.

In the above embodiment, the cooling unit 64 was attached to the irradiation unit 60 and moved together with the irradiation unit 60 . However, in the present invention, the cooling section 64 may be provided at a place other than the irradiation section 60 as long as the inside of the expansion device 50 including the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be cooled. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ventilation section 54 is provided at the rear end of the expansion device 50 . However, in the present invention, the ventilator 54 may be provided at other locations as long as the inside of the expansion device 50 can be ventilated.

In the above-described embodiment, the initial position (home position) of the irradiation section 60 was on the far side of the expansion device 50 . However, the initial position of the irradiation unit 60 may be on the front side of the expansion device 50 . When the initial position of the irradiation unit 60 is on the front side of the expansion device 50, the positional relationship between the first position P1 and the second position P2 is reversed, and the same description as in the above embodiment can be made. .

In the above-described embodiment, the tray 53 is configured such that the four sides of the thermally expandable sheet 100 are pressed down by the fixing members 57, as shown in FIG. However, in the present invention, the tray 53 does not have to hold down all four sides as long as the thermally expandable sheet 100 can be fixed. For example, as shown in FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b), the tray 53 may be configured such that two sides facing each other are pressed by two rod-shaped fixing members 57. FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 17(c) and 17(d), the tray 53 may be configured such that two opposite sides are pressed by two point-like fixing members 57. FIG. In this manner, the tray 53 may be configured to hold down at least two of the four sides of the thermally expandable sheet 100 that face each other.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18(a), the tray 53 may be configured to hold down the four corners of the thermally expandable sheet 100 with four point-like fixing members 57. As shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 18(b) and 18(c), the tray 53 is configured such that two of the four corners of the thermally expansible sheet 100 are held down by two point-like fixing members 57. may be configured. The two corners facing each other are two corners connected by a diagonal line in the rectangular thermally expandable sheet 100 . Thus, the tray 53 may be configured to hold down at least two corners of the four corners of the thermally expandable sheet 100 that face each other.

In the above embodiment, the thermally expandable sheet 100 includes the substrate 101 , the thermally expandable layer 102 and the ink receiving layer 103 . However, in the present invention, the configuration of the thermally expandable sheet 100 is not limited to this. For example, the thermally expandable sheet 100 may not have the ink receiving layer 103 . Alternatively, the thermally expandable sheet 100 may have a layer of any other material between the substrate 101 and the thermally expandable layer 102 or between the thermally expandable layer 102 and the ink receiving layer 103. .

In the above embodiment, the terminal device 30, the printing device 40, and the expansion device 50 are independent devices. However, in the present invention, at least any two of the terminal device 30, the printing device 40, and the expansion device 50 may be integrated.

The printing method of the printing device 40 is not limited to the inkjet method. For example, the printing device 40 may be a laser printer and print images using toner and developer. Also, the photothermal conversion layers 104 and 106 may be formed of a material other than black ink containing carbon black, as long as the material easily converts light into heat. In this case, the photothermal conversion layers 104 and 106 may be formed by means other than the printing device 40 .

In the above embodiment, the control unit 71 of the expansion device 50 includes a CPU, and the functions of the CPU are a drying process for drying the thermally expandable sheet 100, a ventilation process for ventilating the inside of the expansion device 50, and a heating process. An expansion process for expanding the expandable sheet 100 and a cooling process for cooling the inside of the expansion device 50 were performed. However, in the expansion device 50 according to the present invention, the control unit 71 uses dedicated hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or various control circuits instead of the CPU. , and dedicated hardware may perform each of the drying, ventilation, expansion and cooling processes. In this case, each process may be executed by individual hardware, or each process may be collectively executed by a single hardware. Also, part of each process may be executed by dedicated hardware, and the other part may be executed by software or firmware.

It should be noted that it is possible to provide an expansion device having a configuration for realizing the functions according to the present invention in advance, and by applying a program, a computer that controls the expansion device can be provided with each function of the expansion device 50 illustrated in the above embodiment. Configuration can also be implemented. In other words, a program for realizing each functional configuration of the expansion device 50 exemplified in the above embodiment can be applied so as to be executed by a CPU or the like that controls an existing information processing device or the like.

The application method of such a program is arbitrary. The program can be applied by storing it in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk, CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, memory card, or the like. Furthermore, a program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program may be posted and distributed on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network. Then, the above processing may be executed by starting this program and executing it in the same manner as other application programs under the control of an OS (Operating System).

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. included. The invention described in the original claims of the present application is appended below.
(Appendix 1)
installation means on which the thermally expandable sheet is installed;
After performing an expansion process of expanding the thermally expandable sheet by irradiating the thermally expandable sheet installed on the installation means with light from the irradiation means, the thermally expandable sheet is placed on the installation means. a control means for executing a cooling process for cooling the thermally expandable sheet by a predetermined cooling means while maintaining the installed state;
An inflation device comprising:
(Appendix 2)
A moving means configured to reciprocate the irradiation means between a first position and a second position,
The control means executes the expansion process when the irradiation means is moved from the first position toward the second position by the moving means, and the moving means moves the irradiation means to the second position. or when the irradiating means is not moved, performing the cooling process,
The expansion device according to appendix 1, characterized in that:
(Appendix 3)
3. The expansion device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the installation means is configured to hold down at least two mutually opposing corners of the thermally expandable sheet.
(Appendix 4)
4. The expansion device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the installation means is configured to hold down at least two sides of the thermally expandable sheet facing each other.
(Appendix 5)
The cooling means is attached to the irradiation means,
5. The expansion device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, characterized in that:
(Appendix 6)
the cooling means cools the irradiation means by sending air from outside the expansion device to the irradiation means;
The expansion device according to appendix 5, characterized in that:
(Appendix 7)
The thermally expandable sheet expands when heated to a specified temperature or higher,
The control means causes the irradiating means to irradiate the thermally expandable sheet with light while moving the irradiating means by the moving means so that the temperature of the thermally expandable sheet is maintained below the specified temperature. After performing a drying process for drying the thermally expandable sheet, by moving the irradiation means by the moving means and irradiating the irradiation means with light, performing the expansion process to expand the thermally expandable sheet;
The expansion device according to appendix 2, characterized in that:
(Appendix 8)
further comprising ventilation means for ventilating the inside of the expansion device,
After executing the drying process and before executing the expansion process, the control means causes the ventilation means to ventilate the inside of the expansion device while moving the irradiation means by the moving means. run the
The expansion device according to appendix 7, characterized in that:
(Appendix 9)
The ventilation means sends the air inside the expansion device in the direction in which the irradiation means moves in the return path after the irradiation means moves along the thermally expandable sheet in the drying process, and the expansion device moves. 9. The expansion device according to claim 8, wherein the inside of the expansion device is ventilated by discharging to the outside.
(Appendix 10)
the moving means reciprocates the irradiation means between a first position and a second position;
The control means moves the irradiation means from the first position to the second position by the moving means in the drying process, and moves the irradiation means to the second position by the moving means in the ventilation process. 2 toward the first position; in the expansion process, the irradiation means is moved from the first position toward the second position by the moving means; and in the cooling process, moving the irradiation means from the second position toward the first position by the moving means;
10. The expansion device according to appendix 8 or 9, characterized in that:
(Appendix 11)
The first position is a position farther from the end of the expansion device into which the thermally expandable sheet is inserted than the second position.
11. The expansion device according to appendix 2 or 10, characterized in that:
(Appendix 12)
an expansion device according to any one of appendices 1 to 11;
a printing device for printing a light-to-heat conversion layer that converts the light irradiated by the irradiation means into heat on the surface or the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet;
The control means performs the expansion process and the cooling process on the thermally expandable sheet on which the photothermal conversion layer is printed by the printing device.
A stereoscopic image forming system characterized by:
(Appendix 13)
An expansion method performed by an expansion device, comprising:
an expansion step of expanding the thermally expandable sheet by irradiating the irradiating means with light while moving the irradiating means along the surface or the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet;
a cooling step of cooling the inside of the expansion device after performing the expansion step;
A method for expanding a thermally expandable sheet, comprising:
(Appendix 14)
a computer that controls the inflator,
moving means for moving the irradiation means for irradiating light along the surface or the back surface of the thermally expandable sheet;
cooling means for cooling the inside of the expansion device;
After performing an expansion process for expanding the thermally expandable sheet by irradiating the irradiation means with light while moving the irradiation means by the moving means, the cooling means cools the inside of the expansion device. control means for performing the process;
A program to function as

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 3D image forming system 30 terminal device 31 control unit 32 storage unit 33 operation unit 34 display unit 35 recording medium drive unit 36 communication unit 40 printer 41 Carriage 42 Print head 43, 43k, 43c, 43m, 43y Ink cartridge 44 Guide rail 45 Drive belt 45m Motor 46 Flexible communication cable 47 Frame 48 Platen 49a Paper feed roller pair 49b Paper discharge roller pair 50 Expansion device 51 Housing 52 Insertion section 53 Tray 54 Ventilation section 55 Conveyance motor 56 Conveyance rail 57 Fixation Member 60... Irradiation part 61... Lamp heater 62... Reflector 63... Temperature sensor 64... Cooling part 65... Bar code reader 69... Power supply board 70... Control board 71... Control part 72... Memory part 73...Timer part 74...Communication part 100...Thermal expansion sheet 101...Base material 102...Thermal expansion layer 103...Ink receiving layer 104, 106...Photothermal conversion layer 105...Color ink layer , B... barcode, D1... sub-scanning direction, D2... main scanning direction, P1... first position, P2... second position

Claims (6)

a fixing step of fixing the thermally expandable sheet placed on the tray to the tray by entirely or partially fixing the circumference of the thermally expandable sheet with a predetermined fixing member;
The thermally expandable sheet fixed to the tray in the fixing step is irradiated with light while moving the irradiation means from the first position toward the second position by the moving means. A thermal expansion step of partially thermally expanding the by heating;
While the irradiation means is returned from the second position to the first position by the moving means, the thermally expandable sheet partially thermally expanded in the thermal expansion step remains fixed to the tray. and a cooling step of cooling by a predetermined cooling means in
In the thermal expansion step, when the moving means moves the irradiating means from the first position toward the second position, the irradiating means is turned on and the cooling means is stopped;
In the cooling step, when the moving means returns the irradiation means from the second position to the first position, the cooling means is driven to turn off the irradiation means.
A method for manufacturing a modeled object, characterized by: In the thermal expansion step and the cooling step, the cooling means is moved together with the irradiation means by the moving means.
2. The method of manufacturing a model according to claim 1, wherein: A forming step of forming a photothermal conversion layer that converts light into heat on the thermally expandable sheet prior to the fixing step;
3. The method of manufacturing a model according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In the fixing step, at least two corners of the thermally expandable sheet facing each other are pressed down.
4. The method of manufacturing a modeled article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: In the fixing step, at least two opposing sides of the thermally expandable sheet are pressed down.
4. The method of manufacturing a modeled article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The fixing step includes fixing the thermally expandable sheet inside a predetermined housing,
In the cooling step, when the moving means returns the cooling means together with the irradiating means from the second position to the first position, the cooling means sends air toward the thermally expandable sheet. Air inside the housing is discharged to the outside of the housing from a ventilation part provided at a position closer to the first position than the first position in the housing to cool the thermally expandable sheet. ,
3. The method of manufacturing a model according to claim 2, wherein:

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