JP2002165632A - Nail art printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow everyone to readily apply nail art of a favorite picture or pattern to his/her own fingernail. SOLUTION: This nail art printer has a setting part 12 for setting the fingernail, a printer head part 3 positioned opposite to the fingernail disposed in the setting part 12, and a controller 4 driving the printer head part 3 to print the picture or pattern on the surface of the fingernail. By only setting the fingernail (an artificial false nail) to the setting part and executing the printing, the nail art can be applied to the fingernail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nail art printer for decorating finger nails.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a nail art in which a finger nail (including an artificial artificial nail) is decorated with an undercoat and then a picture or pattern is drawn with a paintbrush to decorate the picture. I have.

[0003]

For this reason, it is not possible for anyone to apply nail art to their own fingernails, and even if they are good at painting and fine work, they can use their nails. For a fingernail, it is necessary to draw with the hand that is not the dominant arm, and it is extremely difficult to make the same result with both fingers.

[0004] Therefore, it is usual to have a specialized worker apply nail art, and it is not possible to change the picture or pattern that he or she likes at any time. Also, if you prepare several types of false nails with nail art,
Although it can be changed as appropriate, it can only be changed to a few prepared ones.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object the purpose of making it possible for anyone to easily apply nail art of a favorite picture or pattern to their own fingernails. In providing art printers.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a set portion for setting a fingernail, a print head portion located at a position facing the fingernail arranged on the set portion, and driving the printhead portion. And a controller for printing a picture or pattern on the surface of the nail. Simply by setting a fingernail (including artificial false nails) on the setting section and performing printing, nail art can be applied to the nails.

At this time, there are provided a memory for storing a plurality of image data, a selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of image data stored in the memory, and a display means for displaying the selected image data as an image. It is preferable that the controller causes the print head unit to print the selected image data. It is possible to print desired pictures and patterns by itself, and if the memory is of a card type that can be detached from the body, it can be replaced with a memory that stores different image data, Various images and patterns can be used by exchanging image data with a personal computer or the like via the PC.

A personal computer is provided with an interface for connection with a communication interface so that image data can be directly exchanged with the personal computer. Even if the controller is provided with a communication interface for connection and the controller causes the print head unit to print image data distributed from the distribution server, various pictures and patterns can be used.

[0009] An interface for connection with a printer interface of a personal computer is provided.
The controller may cause the print head unit to print the image data sent from the personal computer, that is, the controller may have only a function as a printer.

[0010] When a covering material is provided to cover a portion of the finger set on the set portion other than the nail, it is easy to cope with a difference in the size of the nail, and
The finger can be prevented from becoming dirty.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example of an embodiment. In the illustrated example, a printing function can be independently exerted.
0 has a display unit 2 formed of a liquid crystal display capable of color display, a plurality of switches S1 to S4, and a viewing window 11.
, And a connector 15 which is an input / output unit of the memory card slot 13 and the communication interface 14.

A battery (not shown) as a power supply, a print head unit 3 and an ink tank 30 are provided in the housing 10.
And a controller 4 comprising a microcomputer. The print head unit 3 disposed between the finger insertion port 12 and the viewing window 11 and facing the surface of the nail 90 of the finger 9 inserted into the finger insertion port 12 performs printing by discharging ink (paint). A discharge nozzle array having a length corresponding to the width of a fingernail, for example, and being able to perform printing on the entire surface of the nail by being slid in the longitudinal direction of the nail. It has become.

The controller 4 includes the print head unit 3
And a card-type memory 5 mounted in the memory card slot 13 and the communication interface 14 are connected to control and drive them, and an instruction is input to the controller 4 by operating the switches S1 to S4. Can be performed.

Now, a memory 5 storing image data of a picture or a pattern for nail art is inserted into a memory card slot 1.
3, when the power switch S1 is turned on, the image data in the memory 5 is read out and displayed as an image on the display unit 2. At this time, a plurality of image data are stored in the memory 5. If stored, select switch S2
By pressing, the displayed image data can be switched.

When the user wants to print the displayed image on the fingernail, the user inserts the finger into the finger insertion port 12 as a setting unit, and the fingernail faces the print head unit 3. At this time, the position of the nail is confirmed from the viewing window 11 through the print head unit 3. Then, when the print switch S3 is pressed, the controller 4 sends the image data of the image being displayed on the display unit 2 to the print head unit 3 and prints an image which is a picture or a pattern on the surface of the nail.

When a picture or a pattern is printed after the nail is undercoated, an undercoat mode for printing the entire surface of the nail in a predetermined color may be provided, but the entire surface is printed according to the size of the nail. Since it is difficult to do this, the undercoating is performed manually, and only the picture or pattern may be printed.

Well, even if only a picture or pattern is printed,
Since the size of the nail varies from finger to finger and also from individual to individual, the nail often protrudes from the nail. Even if the controller 4 can reduce the image size before sending it to the print head unit 3,
There is a good chance that it will run off. For this reason, when printing on a fingernail, as shown in FIG. 4, a sheet-like covering material 8 having an opening 80 corresponding to the size of the fingernail 90 is attached to the fingernail. It is preferable to cover the periphery of 90 and perform printing in this state. The picture P can be printed only on the nail 90 without soiling the finger due to the splash of ink. As the coating material 8,
Those which are liquid and form a film by drying after coating can also be suitably used.

Since the size of the nail art image is small, a large number of images can be stored in the small-capacity memory 5, so that a desired one can be selected from the large number of images. It is possible to print, but if the card type memory 5 is a non-volatile general-purpose recording medium and can be used with a personal computer, image data edited and created for nail art by image editing software of the personal computer Is written in the memory 5 and read out on the nail art printer 1 side, so that more images can be selected.

Further, even when the memory 5 is built in the nail art printer 1 and cannot be attached or detached, image data can be exchanged with a personal computer using a communication interface 14 of a standard such as RS232C or USB. By making it possible to perform the operation, new image data can also be captured.

Further, a distribution server S for storing a large number of image data of nail art images designed by a professional designer and periodically adding new image data is prepared, and as shown in FIG. If the user accesses the distribution server S via the Internet or the Internet line, the user can take in arbitrary image data, so that a larger number of images can be used. In this case, besides taking in an image into the nail art printer 1 via a personal computer PC capable of accessing the distribution server S, a built-in modem as the communication interface 14 provided in the nail art printer 1 and connecting to a mobile phone. The nail art printer 1 may be configured to be able to directly access the distribution server S via a telephone line or access via an Internet line to take in an image by using a mobile phone interface that can be used.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the object to be printed is not a fingernail but an artificial nail 91, and the artificial nail 91 is placed on the placing table 15 to be inserted into the finger insertion opening 12. And print on the false nail 91.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration in which the finger insertion opening 12 for setting a fingernail extends to both side surfaces of the housing 10 so that a toe can be set.

In each of the above examples, the display unit 2 which can display an image is provided, and the selection and printing of an image can be performed by the nail art printer 1 alone. The printer may simply print the received print image data, that is, may have only the function of an original printer that only has an interface for connection to a printer interface of a personal computer. Further, since the print surface of the print head portion 3 is the surface of a nail, an ink jet type is preferable, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plotter type using a pen may be used. Good.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a setting portion for setting a fingernail, a print head portion located at a position opposite to a fingernail arranged on the setting portion, and driving the printhead portion And a controller that prints a picture or pattern on the surface of the nail. The nail art (including artificial nails) is set in the set section and printing is performed. This allows anyone to perform their favorite nail art at any time.

At this time, there are provided a memory for storing a plurality of image data, a selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of image data stored in the memory, and a display means for displaying the selected image data as an image. When the controller causes the selected image data to be printed by the print head unit, the controller can not only perform nail art by itself, but also select an image to be printed. Can also be used. In particular, if the memory is of the card type that can be attached to and detached from the body, various pictures and patterns can be exchanged by replacing the memory with one containing different image data or by exchanging image data with a personal computer or the like via the memory. Can be used.

A personal computer having an interface for connection with a communication interface, which is capable of directly exchanging image data with a personal computer, and connecting to a distribution server storing image data via a required line. If it has a communication interface and the controller prints the image data distributed from the distribution server by the print head unit,
Further, various pictures and patterns can be used.

An interface for connection to a printer interface of a personal computer is provided.
The controller may cause the print head unit to print the image data sent from the personal computer, that is, the controller may have only a function as a printer. Although it is no longer possible to use it alone, for a personal computer owner, nail art can be performed only by adding an inexpensive printer.

If a covering material is provided for covering a portion of the finger set on the set portion other than the nail, it is easy to cope with a difference in the size of the nail, and
Prevent fingers from getting dirty

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the same.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the covering material according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a connection with a distribution server.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a case where printing is performed on an artificial nail.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 nail art printer 2 display unit 3 print head unit 4 controller 5 memory

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shigenori Kugumiya 1048 Odakadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. F-term (reference)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A setting section for setting a fingernail, a print head section located at a position facing the fingernail arranged on the setting section, and driving the printhead section to draw a picture or pattern on the surface of the nail. And a controller for printing the image. A memory for storing a plurality of image data, a selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of image data stored in the memory, and a display means for displaying the selected image data as an image. 2. The nail art printer according to claim 1, wherein the controller causes the print head to print the selected image data. 3. The nail art printer according to claim 2, wherein the memory is of a card type detachable from the body. 4. The nail art printer according to claim 2, further comprising an interface for connection with a communication interface of the personal computer, and capable of freely exchanging image data with the personal computer. 5. A communication interface for connecting via a required line to a distribution server storing image data, and the controller causes the print head unit to print the image data distributed from the distribution server. The nail art printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interface for connecting to a printer interface of the personal computer, wherein the controller causes the print head to print image data sent from the personal computer. The nail art printer described. 7. The nail art printer according to claim 1, further comprising a covering material for covering a portion of the finger set on the set portion other than the nail.