Integral imaging with element having anti-halation layer

Details Integral imaging with element having anti-halation layer Integral imaging with element having anti-halation layer

1995-12-22

2001-08-07

Chea, Thorl (Department: 1752)

Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th

Imaged product

Structurally defined

C430S014000, C430S403000, C430S510000, C430S513000, C430S496000, C430S950000, C359S463000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06270931

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of integral image elements which may display depth, motion or other images, and methods of making such elements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Integral image elements which use a lenticular lens sheet or a fly's eye lens sheet, and a three-dimensional integral image aligned with the sheet, so that a user can view the three-dimensional image without any special glasses or other equipment, are known. Such imaging elements and their construction, are described in “Three-Dimensional Imaging Techniques” by Takanori Okoshi, Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1976. Integral image elements having a lenticular lens sheet (that is, a sheet with a plurality of adjacent, parallel, elongated, and partially cylindrical lenses) are also described in the following Unites States patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,254; U.S. 5,424,533; U.S. 5,241,608; U.S. 5,455,689; U.S. 5,276,478; U.S. 5,391,254; U.S. 5,424,533 and others; as well as allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/931,744. Integral image elements with lenticular lens sheets use interlaced vertical image slices which, in the case of a three-dimensional integral image, are aligned with the lenticules so that a three-dimensional image is viewable when the lenticules are vertically oriented with respect to a viewer's eyes. Similar integral image elements, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,238 and U.S. 3,538,632, can be used to convey a number of individual two-dimensional scenes (such as unrelated scenes or a sequence of scenes depicting motion) rather than one or more three-dimensional images.
Integral image elements using reflective layers behind the integral image to enhance viewing of the integral image by reflected light, are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,258, U.S. 2,500,511, U.S. 2,039,648, U.S. 1,918,705 and GB 492,186.
Previous lenticular imaging methods typically used a method for exposing the images through the lenticular material. This causes flair because multiple views must be exposed and each view introduces a background flair into the overall scene due to light scatter from the lenticular material. Resolution is also lost because the lenticular material does not have as high an optical resolution as is necessary for high quality imaging and as a consequence resolution is lost during the exposure of the image.
A technique for exposing a light sensitive layer on the flat back side of a lenticular sheet, has been previously described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,478. One difficulty with exposing from behind in this manner is that some light will pass through the light sensitive layer and be reflected back at an angle from the front surface of the lens sheet, to expose additional areas of the light sensitive layer. This effect, known as halation, results in a loss of sharpness in the recorded image. The possibility of using an antihalation layer between the sheet and recording layer is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,478. However, the light source described is a point source of light (such as a laser, LED or CRT) which is scanned over the recording layer from the back side to form the image. This necessarily requires a relatively complex scanning mechanism with its associated circuitry and mechanical parts.
It would be desirable then, to provide a method of obtaining an integral image element by exposing a light sensitive layer on the back side of an integral lens sheet from behind the light sensitive layer by a means which does not require scanning a spot source of light. Such a method should also result in low flair and high resolution, as well as low halation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention recognizes that other exposing methods than a scanning light spot source can be used to expose an integral image from behind the light sensitive layer. However, the present invention further recognizes that the problem of halation encountered with such other methods can differ from that encountered in a scanning light spot method. It is believed the following explanations accounts for this although it is not intended to be limiting in terms of the mechanism which may be involved.
First, in the case of exposing with a narrow collimated light beam as is found in scanner optical systems, there will be less scattered light which can cause halation and consequent loss of resolution and contrast. By comparison, other printing techniques use less collimated light sources.
Second, it is known that light sensitive layers, such as light sensitive silver halide emulsions, are not linear in their response at lower light levels. Where a first photon is absorbed in the light sensitive layer and is not shortly followed by a second photon, the effect of the first photon will be lost. This phenomena is described, for example, in T. H. James, editor,
The Theory of the Photographic Process
, 4th Edition, Macmillan, New York, 1977, particularly at pages 134-136. Thus, the effect of two simultaneous photons versus two photons spaced apart in time, is not the same (the first case may produce a developable spot on a photographic element, while the second produces nothing).
In the situation where a large area of the light sensitive layer of an integral imaging element is simultaneously exposed from behind the light sensitive layer, a given location may receive a certain amount of photons “H” from halation (that is, which has been reflected from the front surface of the element), over some small time period, &Dgr;t. In the case of a scanning light spot though, over the same amount of time the photons from halation can only come from reflections from the single spot and will therefore be some fraction of “H” (assuming the final image is to be exposed the same amount in both methods). In a case of the large area exposure then, since there will be many more total photons from halation at a given point in a light sensitive layer, a first photon from halation is likely to be more closely followed in time by a second photon from halation than will be the case in the scanning single spot (even though the total halation may be the same over the entire time of the exposure). As already discussed, in the second case the effect of the first photon is more likely to be lost, thereby producing less halation. Thus, using a method of eliminating halation in a large area exposure of an integral imaging element can produce an advantage which is not expected from a consideration of the scanning light spot method.
The present invention then, provides a method of exposing an integral imaging element having: an integral lens sheet with opposed front and back surfaces; a light sensitive layer positioned behind the back surface; and an anti-halation layer between the light sensitive layer and the back surface;
the method comprising the steps of:
simultaneously exposing a major portion of the area of the light sensitive layer with light from behind the light sensitive layer, or simultaneously exposing the light sensitive layer to all of an integral image from behind the light sensitive layer.
The method of the present invention then, provides a means of obtaining an integral image element of the present invention, which has low flair and high resolution as well as low halation, while not requiring any scanning mechanism for a light spot.


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