PRINTING APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20080218819A1
• Filed: 03/05/2008
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Usami, Yoshihisa
• Application Number:
  US12/042,582
• Publication Number:
  US 20080218819A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/22
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0236 Form or shape of the hologram when not registered to the substrate, e.g. trimming the hologram to alphanumerical shape substrates bearing a hologram G03H1/0272
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0248 Volume holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0476 Holographic printer G03H1/268 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/182 Post-exposure processing, e.g. latensification
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/265 Angle multiplexing; Multichannel holograms G03H1/268 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/28 superimposed holograms only
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/30 discrete holograms only
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0016 Covert holograms or holobjects requiring additional knowledge to be perceived, e.g. holobject reconstructed only under IR illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0413 for recording transmission holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0417 for recording single beam Lippmann hologram wherein the object is illuminated by reference beam passing through the recording material
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0478 Serial printer, i.e. point oriented processing
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0482 Interference based printer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0497 Dot matrix holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2223 Particular relationship between light source, hologram and observer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2231 Reflection reconstruction
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2263 Multicoloured holobject
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2271 RGB holobject
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2284 Superimposing the holobject with other visual information
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2289 when reconstruction wavelength differs form recording wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/266 Wavelength multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/303 : Interleaved sub-holograms, e.g. three RGB sub-holograms having interleaved pixels for reconstructing coloured holobject
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/13 : Multi-wavelengths wave with discontinuous wavelength ranges G03H2222/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/33 : Pulsed light beam
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/34 : Multiple light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2227/03 : Means for moving one component G03H1/0476, G03H2001/2695 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2250/40 : Printed information overlapped with the hologram
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2260/12 : Photopolymer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2260/30 : Details of photosensitive recording material not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2270/32 : Transparent

Abstract

In a printing apparatus, a recording material ejection nozzle is configured to eject a holographic recording material in dots onto a support, and a hologram recording optical system is configured to emit a plurality of beams of laser light simultaneously onto the holographic recording material ejected on the support by the recording material ejection nozzle to record interference fringes therein. A scanning drive unit is configured to move the recording material ejection nozzle and the hologram recording optical system relative to the support.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

a recording material ejection nozzle configured to eject a holographic recording material in dots onto a support;

a hologram recording optical system configured to emit a plurality of beams of laser light simultaneously onto the holographic recording material ejected on the support by the recording material ejection nozzle to record interference fringes therein; and

a scanning drive unit configured to move the recording material ejection nozzle and the hologram recording optical system relative to the support.

2. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hologram recording optical system comprises a plurality of laser light sources to generate the beams of laser light having a plurality of different wavelengths.

3. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an optical system angle change unit configured to make angles of incidence of the beams of laser light relative to the support changeable.

4. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ink ejection nozzle configured to eject droplets of ink, and

wherein the scanning drive unit is configured to move the ink ejection nozzle relative to the support.

5. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hologram recording optical system comprises a mechanism configured to split or reflect a single beam of laser light into the plurality of beams of laser light.

6. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hologram recording optical system comprises a mechanism configured to emit a first subset of the beams of laser light from a first side of support, and to emit a second subset of the beams of laser light from a second side of the support.

7. A printing method comprising:

ejecting a holographic recording material onto a support; and

emitting a plurality of beams of laser light simultaneously onto the holographic recording material ejected on the support to record interference fringes therein.

8. A printing method according to claim 7, further comprising fixing the holographic recording material, with the interference fringes recorded therein, onto the support by light, heat, pressure, electric field or magnetic field.

9. A printing method according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of beams of laser light form angles of not less than 15 degrees and not greater than 180 degrees with each other.

10. A printing method according to claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of beams of laser light has a wavelength of not less than 200 nm and not greater than 700 nm.

11. A printing method according to claim 7, wherein said emitting a plurality of beams of laser light to record interference fringes is performed more than once at a single spot of the holographic recording material.

12. A printing method according to claim 11, further comprises changing an angle of the plurality of beams of laser light emitted to record interference fringes relative to the support each time the plurality of beams of laser light are emitted at the single spot of the holographic recording material.

13. A printing method according to claim 7, wherein said emitting a plurality of beams of laser light to record interference fringes comprises simultaneously emitting first and second subsets of the beams of laser light from first and second sides of the support, respectively.