JP2013039170A - Nail printer, and method for controlling print - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nail printer prevented from causing image displacement in each scanning so as to perform high-quality printing even though a finger moves during a period to (n+1)-th time scanning after finishing n-th time scanning when a printing head makes a plurality of scans to perform printing on a nail part: and to provide a print controlling method.SOLUTION: The print controlling method includes: when dividing a nail part T into a plurality of areas and printing a one design image by a plurality of scans, acquiring the position information of the nail part T (S2) before starting scanning in each of the times (S3), comparing the position information of the nail part T before starting the n-th time scanning with the position information of the nail part T before starting the (n+1)-th time scanning (S8) to detect the position information of the nail part T (S9) before starting (n+1)-th time scanning, correcting a print starting position when performing the (n+1)-th time scanning corresponding to the position change of the nail part T when the position change of the nail part T is detected before starting the (n+1)-th time scanning (S10), and controlling printing so as to start next printing from the print starting position after corrected as above (S9).

Description

  The present invention relates to a nail printing apparatus and a printing control method.

  The nail printing apparatus is a printing apparatus that positions a finger of a nail to be printed on a finger placement table provided in the apparatus main body, and prints a design image such as a color or a pattern on the fingernail thus positioned. In such a nail printing apparatus, a user selects a design image that the user wants to print on his / her nail, and the selected design image is printed on the nail portion of the finger.

  Conventionally, a method has been adopted in which the scale of the print data of the design image held in the storage unit such as the nail printing apparatus is corrected according to the size or shape of the user's nail area and printed ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

Special table 2003-534083 gazette

However, in order to reduce the size and weight of the nail printing apparatus, a small print head is often mounted, and the range that can be printed by one scan is sometimes narrower than the area of the nail portion.
In such a case, for example, one design image is printed by dividing the nail portion into a plurality of areas and scanning the print head a plurality of times. For example, after the first scan is completed, the scan is continuously performed. In some cases, the finger may move before the second scanning starts.

  As described above, when the finger moves between the end of the first scan and the start of the second scan, if the second-stage printing is performed by the second scan as it is, the nail is obtained by the first scan. The first-stage image printed on the part and the second-stage image printed on the nail part due to the second scanning are shifted and not aligned, and the boundary between the first and second stages is conspicuous and the finish is poor There is a problem that it becomes an image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above. When the print head is scanned a plurality of times and printing is performed on the nail portion, after the nth scan is finished, the next n + 1th time following this scan is continued. It is an object of the present invention to provide a nail printing apparatus and a printing control method capable of performing high-quality printing by preventing image displacement for each scanning even when a finger moves before scanning. is there.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the nail printing apparatus of the present invention provides:
Printing means for printing on the nail portion based on the print data of the design image;
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the nth scan start acquired by the nail part position acquisition means is compared with the position information of the nail part before the (n + 1) th scan start. Nail position change detecting means for detecting a position change of the nail part;
When a position change of the nail part is detected by the nail part position change detection means before the start of the (n + 1) th scanning, according to the position change of the nail part detected by the nail part position change detection means, A print control unit that corrects a print start position at the time of scanning, and controls the printing operation of the printing unit so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected print start position;
It is characterized by having.

The printing control method of the present invention includes
In a printing control method used for a printing apparatus that controls printing operation of a printing unit and prints on a nail portion based on print data of a design image,
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition step for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the start of the nth scan acquired in the nail part position acquisition step is compared with the position information of the nail part before the start of the (n + 1) th scan. A nail position change detecting step for detecting a position change of the nail part;
In the nail position change detection step, when a nail position change is detected before the start of the n + 1th scan, the n + 1th time is detected according to the nail position change detected in the nail position change detection step. A printing control step for correcting the printing start position when performing scanning, and controlling the printing operation of the printing means so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected printing start position;
It is characterized by including.

  According to the present invention, when one design image is printed by a plurality of scans with the nail part divided into a plurality of areas, the position information of the nail part is acquired before the start of each scan and the n + 1th scan is performed. Before the start of the nth scan, and the position information of the nail before the start of the (n + 1) th scan is detected to detect a change in the position of the nail and start the (n + 1) th scan. When a change in the position of the nail portion is detected before, the print start position at the time of performing the (n + 1) th scan is corrected according to the change in the position of the nail portion, and the next n + 1 is determined from the corrected print start position. Since the printing operation is controlled so as to start the second printing, when the print head is scanned a plurality of times and printing is performed on the nail portion, the next n + 1 scanning is performed after the nth scanning is completed. Even if your finger has moved between The effect of that it is possible to perform high quality printing prevent misalignment.

1 is a perspective view conceptually showing an embodiment of a nail print apparatus according to the present invention, and shows a state in which a lid is opened. It is the perspective view which showed notionally the apparatus main body of the nail print apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a printing finger fixing unit of the nail printing apparatus in FIG. 1 and illustrates a fixing mode when a pinky finger is inserted from a forefinger as a printing finger into a printing finger insertion unit. It is sectional drawing of the front side of the nail print apparatus of FIG. It is a sectional side view of the nail print apparatus of FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows typically the relationship between the finger | toe inserted in the printing finger | toe insertion part, the imaging | photography part, and the printing part. It is a principal part block diagram which showed the control structure of the nail print apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing in the present embodiment. It is the figure which showed the ideal printing state of the design image. It is the figure which showed an example of the printing nail image acquired before the printing start. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the nail | claw part moved to the scanning direction by fl after the 1st step | paragraph printing. It is explanatory drawing explaining the printing start position of the 2nd step | line when the nail | claw part moved to the scanning direction after the 1st step | paragraph printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state printed without correct | amending the printing start position of the 2nd step | paragraph, when the nail | claw part moved to the scanning direction by fl1 after the 1st step | paragraph printing. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where printing is performed without correcting the printing start position of the second stage when the nail portion moves in the direction opposite to the scanning direction by fl2 after the first stage printing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which correct | amended and printed the printing start position of the 2nd step | line when the nail | claw part moved to the scanning direction by fl after the 1st step | paragraph printing.

An embodiment of a nail print apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a nail print apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the nail print apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the nail printing apparatus 1 includes a case body 2 and a lid body 4. The case body 2 and the lid body 4 are connected to each other via a hinge 3 provided at the rear end portion of the upper surface of the case body 2.

The case body 2 is formed in an oval shape in plan view. The case body 2 is provided with an opening / closing plate 2c on the front side so as to be able to be tilted. The opening / closing plate 2 c is connected to the case body 2 via a hinge (not shown) provided at the lower front end of the case body 2. The opening / closing plate 2 c is for opening and closing the front surface of the case body 2.
An operation unit 12 to be described later is installed on the top plate 2f of the case body 2, and a display unit 13 is set almost at the center of the top plate 2f.
Note that the shapes and configurations of the case body 2 and the lid body 4 are not limited to those illustrated here.

Further, the case main body 2 accommodates the apparatus main body 10 of the nail printing apparatus 1. The apparatus main body 10 includes a printing finger fixing unit 20 constituting a printing finger fixing unit shown in FIG. 2, a photographing unit 30 constituting a photographing unit, a printing unit 40 constituting a printing unit, and a control unit. A control device 50 (see FIG. 7) is provided. The printing finger fixing unit 20, the photographing unit 30, the printing unit 40, and the control device 50 are provided in the machine casing 11.
The machine casing 11 includes a lower machine casing 11a and an upper machine casing 11b. The lower machine casing 11a is formed in a box shape and installed below the inside of the case body 2, and the upper machine casing 11b is installed above the lower machine casing 11a and inside the case body 2.

The printing finger fixing unit 20 is provided on the lower machine casing 11 a in the machine casing 11. The printing finger fixing unit 20 is configured by the printing finger insertion unit 20a, the non-printing finger insertion unit 20b, and the gripping unit 20c provided in the lower machine casing 11a.
Here, the printing finger insertion portion 20a is a finger insertion portion for inserting a finger (hereinafter referred to as “printing finger”) U1 corresponding to the nail T to be printed (see FIG. 3). The bottom surface (printing finger placement surface) of the printing finger insertion unit 20a functions as a finger placement unit that places the printing finger U1. Photographing and printing of the printing finger U1 are performed in a state where the printing finger U1 is placed on the printing finger placement surface of the printing finger insertion unit 20a as the finger placement means.
Further, the non-printing finger insertion unit 20b is a finger insertion unit for inserting a finger other than the printing finger (hereinafter referred to as “non-printing finger”) U2 (see FIG. 3).
The gripping portion 20c is a portion that can be sandwiched between the printing finger U1 inserted into the printing finger insertion portion 20a and the non-printing finger U2 inserted into the non-printing finger insertion portion 20b. In the present embodiment, the grip portion 20c is constituted by a partition wall 21 that partitions the printing finger insertion portion 20a and the non-printing finger insertion portion 20b.

  The upper surface of the partition wall 21 constitutes a flat printing finger placement surface. A bulging portion 22 is formed at the finger insertion side end of the partition wall 21. The bulging portion 22 is a portion where the base U3 of the printing finger U1 and the non-printing finger U2 contacts when the printing finger U1 and the non-printing finger U2 are inserted deeply into the printing finger insertion portion 20a and the non-printing finger insertion portion 20b. Is formed. The bulging portion 22 can strongly hold the partition wall 21 (the gripping portion 20c) between the printing finger U1 and the non-printing finger U2 in a state where the entire belly of the printing finger U1 is in contact with the printing finger placement surface. In addition, the cross-section in the finger insertion direction is circular so as to bulge downward from the lower surface of the partition wall 21. Note that the shape of the bulging portion 22 is not limited to a circular cross section, and may be a non-circular shape such as an elliptical cross section or a polygonal shape.

For example, when four fingers (index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger) other than the thumb of the left hand are the print fingers U1, the user places four print fingers on the print finger insertion portion 20a as shown in FIG. U1 is inserted, and the thumb that is the non-printing finger U2 is inserted into the non-printing finger insertion portion 20b. In this case, when the user holds the gripping portion 20c between the printing finger U1 inserted into the printing finger insertion portion 20a and the non-printing finger U2 inserted into the non-printing finger insertion portion 20b, the printing finger U1 holds the gripping portion. It is fixed on 20c.
When only the thumb becomes the printing finger U1, the thumb (printing finger U1) is inserted into the printing finger insertion unit 20a, and the four fingers other than the thumb (non-printing finger U2) are inserted into the non-printing finger insertion unit. Insert into 20b. Also in this case, the printing finger U1 is fixed by the user holding the grip portion 20c between the printing finger U1 and the non-printing finger U2.

4 is a front sectional view of the nail printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of the nail printing apparatus 1.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the photographing unit 30 is provided in the upper machine casing 11 b in the machine casing 11.
That is, a camera 32 having about 2 million pixels or more with a built-in driver is installed on the lower surface of the central portion of the substrate 31 installed in the upper machine casing 11b. An illumination lamp 33 such as a white LED is installed on the substrate 31 so as to surround the camera 32. The photographing unit 30 includes the camera 32 and the illumination lamp 33.
The photographing unit 30 illuminates the printing finger U1 placed on the printing finger insertion unit 20a, which is a finger placement unit, with the illumination lamp 33, and photographs the printing finger U1 with the camera 32 to obtain a fingernail image. The imaging unit 30 is an imaging unit, and is connected to an imaging control unit 511 of the control device 50 described later, and is controlled by the imaging control unit 511.

The printing unit 40 is a printing unit that prints on the nail portion T based on the print data of the design image, and is mainly provided in the upper machine casing 11b.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, two guide rods 41 are installed in parallel on both side plates of the upper machine casing 11b. A main carriage 42 is slidably installed on the guide rod 41. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, two guide rods 44 are installed in parallel on the front wall 42a and the rear wall 42b of the main carriage 42. A sub carriage 45 is slidably installed on the guide rod 44. A print head 46 is mounted at the center of the lower surface of the sub carriage 45.
In this embodiment, the print head 46 is an ink jet type print head that performs printing by atomizing ink and spraying it directly onto a printing medium (nail portion T in the present embodiment). A nozzle surface (not shown) provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink is formed on a surface opposite to the printing finger placement surface. The nozzle surface may be provided on the entire surface of the print head 46 facing the print finger placement surface 21a, or may be provided in a range smaller than the area of the surface of the print head 46 facing the print finger placement surface 21a. It may be.
The nozzle surface of the print head 46 according to the present embodiment has a length dimension (length dimension in the length direction of the nail portion T) that is a dimension in the standard length direction of the nail portion T (extension direction of the finger). It has a smaller dimension. For this reason, when printing a design image over a length larger than the length dimension of the nozzle surface, the print head 46 divides the nail portion T into a plurality of regions and performs one design by scanning a plurality of times. An image is printed.
The recording method of the print head 46 is not limited to the ink jet method.

Further, in the present embodiment, a nail image (printing nail image) of the printing finger U1 is taken at a position on the lower surface of the sub-carriage 45 so as not to interfere with the print head 46 before the scanning of each time is started. A nail photographing camera 49 is provided as a print nail image obtaining unit to obtain.
The nail photographing camera 49 serving as a print nail image acquisition means divides the nail portion T into a plurality of areas and prints one design image by a plurality of scans before the start of each scan. Claw position acquisition means for acquiring information. The range captured by the nail photographing camera 49 is not particularly limited, and only the nail portion T may be photographed to obtain a printed nail image, or the entire printing finger U1 including the nail portion T may be photographed widely. You may acquire as a printing nail image.
The configuration of the nail photographing camera 49 is not particularly limited. For example, the nail photographing camera 49 may be capable of photographing a color image or a monochrome image, but a sharp image of the nail portion T is acquired. A highly accurate camera that can do this is preferred.
The nail photographing camera 49 is connected to a photographing control unit 511 of the control device 50 to be described later, and its operation is controlled by the photographing control unit 511.
The image data of the printed nail image photographed by the nail photographing camera 49 is stored in the printed nail image holding area 522 of the storage unit 51.

The main carriage 42 is connected to a motor 43 through power transmission means (not shown), and is configured to move in the left-right direction along the guide rod 41 by forward and reverse rotation of the motor 43. The sub-carriage 45 is connected to a motor 47 via a power transmission means (not shown), and is configured to move in the front-rear direction along the guide rod 44 by forward and reverse rotation of the motor 47.
Further, the lower machine casing 11 a is provided with an ink cartridge 48 for supplying ink to the print head 46. The ink cartridge 48 is connected to the print head 46 via an ink supply pipe (not shown), and supplies ink to the print head 46 as appropriate. Note that an ink cartridge may be mounted on the print head 46 itself.

  The printing unit 40 includes the guide rod 41, the main carriage 42, the motor 43, the guide rod 44, the sub carriage 45, the print head 46, the motor 47, the ink cartridge 48, and the like. The motor 43, the print head 46, and the motor 47 of the printing unit 40 are connected to a printing control unit 513 of the control device 50 described later, and are controlled by the printing control unit 513.

The operation unit 12 is input means for the user to make various inputs.
The operation unit 12 includes, for example, a power switch button for turning on the power of the nail printing apparatus 1, a stop switch button for stopping the operation, a design selection button for selecting a design image to be printed on the nail portion T, and printing for instructing printing start. A start button and operation buttons 121 for performing various other inputs are arranged.
In the present embodiment, for example, a design selection screen (not shown) for selecting a design image is displayed on the display unit 13, and the user selects a desired design image with the operation button 121 to print The design image to be selected is selected.

The display unit 13 is a display unit configured with, for example, a liquid crystal panel (a liquid crystal display (LCD)).
A touch panel may be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit 13. In this case, various inputs can be performed by touching the surface of the display unit 13 by a touch operation with a stylus pen or a fingertip (not shown).

For example, a fingernail image obtained by photographing the printing finger U1, a design selection screen for selecting a design image to be printed on the fingernail portion T of the printing finger U1, a thumbnail image for design confirmation, and the like are displayed on the display unit 13. It has become so.
A touch panel may be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit 13. In this case, it is configured such that various input operations and the like can be performed simply by the user touching the surface of the display unit 13.

Moreover, the control apparatus 50 is installed in the board | substrate 31 etc. which are arrange | positioned at the upper machine casing 11b, for example. FIG. 7 is a principal block diagram showing a control configuration in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7, the control device 50 includes a control unit 51 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and the like, a storage unit configured by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. 52 is a computer. Note that the storage unit of the nail print apparatus 1 is not limited to the storage unit 52 (ROM, RAM) in the control device 50, and other storage units may be provided.

  When viewed functionally, the control unit 51 includes a photographing control unit 511, a position change detection unit 512, a print control unit 513, and the like. The functions as the photographing control unit 511, the position change detection unit 512, the print control unit 513, and the like are realized by the cooperation of the CPU and a program stored in a ROM or the like of the storage unit 52. Note that the functional units included in the control unit 51 are not limited to those described here, and may include functional units such as a nail region detection unit that detects the region of the nail portion T from the fingernail image, for example.

When the nail part T is divided into a plurality of regions and one design image is printed by scanning a plurality of times, the imaging control unit 511 performs a nail imaging camera 49 as a print nail image acquisition unit (nail unit position acquisition unit). Is a shooting control means for acquiring a print nail image (position information of the nail portion T).
In addition, the photographing control unit 511 controls the photographing operation of the photographing unit 30 so as to photograph a fingernail image or the like of the user's printing finger U1.
The shooting control unit 511 stores image data of images acquired by the nail shooting camera 49 and the shooting unit 30 in the storage unit 52.

The position change detection unit 512 starts the nail T before the start of the nth scan acquired by the nail photographing camera 49 which is a print nail image acquisition unit (claw unit position acquisition unit) before starting the (n + 1) th scan. The nail position change detecting means detects the position change of the nail part T by comparing the position information of the nail part and the position information of the nail part T before the start of the (n + 1) th scanning.
In the present embodiment, the position change detection unit 512 compares the printed nail image before the n-th scanning start acquired by the nail photographing camera 49 with the printed nail image before the n + 1-th scanning start to compare the nail portion T. Detect position change.
Specifically, for example, the position change detection unit 512 detects the contour of the nail portion T from the nail print nail image acquired by the nail photographing camera 49 and the n + 1 print nail image before the scan start. Is extracted, and the position change of the nail portion T is detected by comparing the contours of the nail portion T extracted from the two printed nail images. In the present embodiment, when comparing the two, as shown in FIG. 11 and the like, the edge of the nail portion T in the width direction (scanning direction Y in FIG. 11 and the like) is the finger ( An example is shown in which a part (this is called a “stress point”, which is shown as a stress point sp in FIG. 11 and the like) is detected and the position (position indicated by x, y coordinates, etc.) is compared. The object to be compared and the method of comparison are not limited to this. The entire contour of the claw portion T may be compared, or for example, both ends of the portion having the largest dimension in the width direction of the claw portion T may be detected and the positions may be compared.
In the present embodiment, the position change detection unit 512 has a width direction between the position of the nail portion T before the start of the nth scan and the position of the nail portion T before the start of the n + 1th scan (in FIG. A change in position in the scanning direction Y) is detected. Note that the distortion detected by the position change detection unit 512 is not limited to the position change in the scanning direction Y. For example, it may be possible to detect a change in position of the print head 40 in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction Y.

The print control unit 513 is a print control unit that controls the printing operation of the printing unit 40 that is a printing unit so as to print on the nail portion T based on the print data of the design image.
In this embodiment, the print control unit 513 detects the position change detection unit 512 when the position change detection unit 512 serving as a nail position change detection unit detects a position change of the nail part T before the n + 1th scan starts. The print start position of the printing unit 40 when performing the (n + 1) th scanning is corrected according to the change in the position of the nail portion T detected by the above.
The print data of the design image includes print position information (for example, x and y coordinates indicating the print position of each pixel) of each pixel constituting the image, and the print control unit 513 is operated by the position change detection unit 512. According to the detected position change of the nail part T, the print position information of the print data of the (n + 1) -th stage image printed in the (n + 1) th scan is corrected, and the corrected print data is output to the printing part 40. Thereby, the printing unit 40 can perform printing in the (n + 1) th stage with the printing start position corrected. Note that the method for correcting the print start position of the printing unit 40 when performing the (n + 1) th scan is not limited to this. For example, the print start position may be corrected by correcting the operation start position of the print head 46. Good.

  The storage unit 52 stores various programs such as a position change detection program for detecting the position change of the nail portion T and a print program for performing a printing process. The control device 50 executes these programs. Thus, each part of the nail printing apparatus 1 is controlled.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 52 stores a fingernail image or the like of the user's print finger U1 acquired by the photographing unit 30.
The storage unit 52 is provided with a design image holding area 521 for storing print data (original data) of the design image. The print data of the design image includes information such as color and brightness and position information of each pixel indicated by x, y coordinates and the like for each pixel.
Further, the storage unit 52 stores the print nail image (the position of the nail part T) of the nail part T before the start of each scan acquired by the nail photographing camera 49 as a print nail image acquisition unit (nail part position acquisition unit). A printing nail image holding area 522 for storing information) is provided.

Next, a printing control method by the nail printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 11 to 15, the position of the nail portion T before the start of the first (n-th) scan is indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the position of the nail portion T before the start of the second (n + 1) -th scan is indicated by a solid line. Is shown.
When printing is performed by the nail printing apparatus 1, the user first turns on the power switch to activate the control apparatus 50.
The main body control unit 52 causes the display unit 13 to display a design selection screen, and the user operates the operation button 121 or the like of the operation unit 12 to select a desired design image from a plurality of design images displayed on the design selection screen. Is selected, a selection instruction signal is output from the operation unit 12 and one design image is selected. In the present embodiment, a case where a sunflower design image as shown in FIG. 9 is selected will be described as an example.

When a design image to be printed is selected and a print start instruction is input from the operation unit 12, the control unit 51 sets n = 1 as shown in FIG. 8 (step S1). Further, the photographing control unit 511 controls the nail photographing camera 49 to photograph the nail part T, and stores the image data of the printed nail image in the printed nail image holding area 522 (see step S2, FIG. 10). .
Thereafter, the n-th (that is, the first) printing is performed by the n-th (that is, the first) scanning (step S3). That is, the print control unit 513 reads the nth (ie, first) print data of the design image from the design image holding area 522 of the storage unit 52 and outputs the read data to the printing unit 40. Based on this print data, n-th (that is, first) printing is performed by the n-th (that is, first) scanning of the nail portion T by the printing unit 40 (see FIG. 11).
The control unit 51 determines whether or not the printing of the design image has been completed by the n-th scanning (step S4), and when it is determined that the printing of the design image has been completed (print data waiting for printing). If it is determined that there is no remaining, the print control process ends in step S4 (YES).

On the other hand, when it is determined that printing of the design image has not been completed (when it is determined that print data waiting for printing remains, step S4; NO), the control unit 51 newly sets n to n + 1. (Step S5), the print head 46 is moved to the n-th stage (new n-th stage, here the second stage) (step S6). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 and the like, the nail portion T is divided into two regions (upper and lower two regions), and one design image is printed by two scans. As shown in FIG. 12, after the printing of the n-th stage (that is, the first stage) is completed, the control unit 51 moves the print head 46 to a new n-th stage (here, the second stage) (see FIG. 12). .
Then, the imaging control unit 511 controls the nail image capturing camera 49 again to image the nail portion T, and stores the image data of the print nail image in the print nail image holding area 522 (step S7).

Next, the position change detection unit 512 includes the position information included in the image data of the current print nail image (that is, before the start of a new n-th scan (here, the second scan)), and the previous (that is, Compared with the position information included in the image data of the print nail image acquired before the original n-th scan (in this case, before the first scan) (step S8), based on the position information of both, It is determined whether or not the position of the nail portion T has changed before the next n + 1-th (that is, a new n-th) scan is started (step S9).
For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when the position of the nail portion T is moved in the scanning direction Y by the distance fl1, if the new n-th stage (that is, the second stage) is printed, The image printed in the second row starts printing from a position closer to the side opposite to the scanning direction Y (left side in FIG. 13) by the distance gl1 (distance gl1 = distance fl1) than the position where printing should be originally started. Is done. For this reason, the n-th (that is, first) image and the new n-th (that is, second) image do not match and a shift occurs. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, when the position of the nail portion T has moved to the side opposite to the scanning direction Y by the distance fl2, printing of a new n-th stage (that is, the second stage) is continued as it is. As a result, the image printed in the second row is from a position closer to the scanning direction Y side (right side in FIG. 14) by a distance gl2 (distance gl2 = distance fl2) than the position where printing should be started. Printing starts. For this reason, the n-th (that is, first) image and the new n-th (that is, second) image do not match and a shift occurs.
For this reason, if the position change detection unit 512 determines that the position change of the nail portion T has occurred before the start of a new n-th (that is, the original n + 1) scan (step S9; YES), printing is performed. The control unit 513 corrects the new n-th (that is, second) printing start position in the new n-th (that is, second) scanning according to the detected change amount of the position of the nail portion T (that is, the second step). Step S10).
For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the position of the nail portion T before the start of a new n-th (ie, second) scan (printing) is nail before the start of the n-th (ie, first) scan (printing). When moving in the scanning direction Y from the position of the portion T by the distance fl, the actual end rp1 of the design image at the present time (that is, before the start of the second scanning) is the n-th scanning (that is, the first scanning). The position is moved in the scanning direction Y by the distance gl from the printing start position dp1 before the start of (printing). Therefore, the print control unit 513 changes the print start position at the time of the new n-th (that is, second) scan (print) from the original print start position dp2 to the print start position rp2 that takes into account the position change of the nail portion T. Correction is performed (see FIG. 12).

  When the print start position is corrected by the print control unit 513, the nail portion is scanned from the corrected print start position rp2 by the position change detection unit 512 before the start of a new n-th (that is, the original n + 1) scan. If it is determined that there is no change in the position of T (step S9; NO), the print control unit 513 outputs print data to the printing unit 40 so as to start printing from the original print start position dp2. Then, a new n-th (that is, second) printing is performed on the nail portion T by a new n-th (that is, second) scanning (step S2). The control unit 51 repeats the processing from step S2 to step S10 until the printing of the design image on the nail portion T is completed. In the present embodiment, the printing of the design image is completed by the second scan, so the printing process is performed by performing a new n-th (ie, second) printing by a new n-th (ie, second) scan. Ends. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to print a high-quality image in which no deviation or the like occurs at the boundary between the n-th stage (ie, the first stage) and the new n-th stage (ie, the second stage).

As described above, according to the nail print apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, when the nail portion T is divided into a plurality of regions and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail portions are scanned before the start of each scan. While acquiring the position information of T, before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part T before the start of the nth scan is compared with the position information of the nail part T before the start of the (n + 1) th scan. If the position change of the nail portion T is detected before the start of the (n + 1) th scanning, the printing when performing the (n + 1) th scanning according to the position change of the nail portion T is detected. The start position is corrected. Therefore, when printing is performed on the nail portion T by scanning the print head a plurality of times, even if the printing finger U1 moves between the end of the nth scan and the n + 1th scan, the image for each scan It is possible to perform high-quality printing while preventing misalignment.
In the present embodiment, the nail position acquisition means is a nail photographing camera 49 (printing nail image acquisition means) that captures a nail part and acquires a printed nail image before the start of each scan, and detects a change in position. The unit 512 compares the printed nail image before the n-th scanning start acquired by the nail photographing camera 49 with the printed nail image before the n + 1-th scanning start, and detects a change in the position of the nail portion T. In this way, since the positional change of the nail part T is detected by comparing the images of the nail part T to be printed, the movement of the nail part T can be reliably detected, and printing is performed in each scan. It is possible to effectively prevent a shift between images.
The nail position change detection unit 512 detects a position change in the scanning direction Y between the position of the nail part T before the start of the nth scan and the position of the nail part T before the start of the (n + 1) th scan. The print control unit 513 corrects the print start position in the scanning direction Y of the printing unit 40 when performing the (n + 1) th scanning based on the detection result by the nail position change detection unit 512. For this reason, even when the printing finger U1 slides in the scanning direction Y within the printing finger insertion portion 20a from the n-th scanning to the next n + 1-th scanning start, a high position without misalignment. Quality design images can be printed.

In this embodiment, the case where the nail part position acquisition unit is the nail photographing camera 49 as the print nail image acquisition unit is illustrated, but the nail part position acquisition unit is not limited to the one that acquires the print nail image.
For example, before the start of each scan, the nail photographing camera 49 serves as a reference for the position of the nail portion T, such as a print finger U1, an image printed on the nail portion T, scratches or streaks on the nail portion T, and the like. A thing may be photographed and acquired as position information.

  In the present embodiment, the nail photographing camera 49 is provided as a nail position acquisition unit (printing nail image obtaining unit) separately from the photographing unit 30, but the photographing unit 30 functions as the nail part position obtaining unit. May be fulfilled.

Further, the nail portion position acquisition means is not limited to the print nail image acquisition means such as a camera.
The nail position acquisition means may be any means that can acquire the position information of the nail T before the start of each scan. For example, a sensor that can detect the movement of the printing finger U1 (for example, a pressure sensor or a contact sensor). Etc.) may be arranged on the printing finger placement surface on which the printing finger U1 is placed, and the movement of the printing finger U1 may be detected by this sensor before the start of each scan.

  In the present embodiment, the design image holding area 521 and the print nail image holding area 522 are provided in the storage unit 52 of the control device 50 as an example. The area 522 is not limited to the case where it is provided in the storage unit 52 of the control device 50, and a separate storage unit may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the nail printing apparatus 1 capable of simultaneously printing on four fingers is taken as an example. However, the present invention is applied to an apparatus that performs printing sequentially by inserting fingers one by one into the apparatus. It is also possible to apply.

  In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be changed suitably.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof. .
The invention described in the scope of claims attached to the application of this application will be added below. The item numbers of the claims described in the appendix are as set forth in the claims attached to the application of this application.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
Printing means for printing on the nail portion based on the print data of the design image;
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the nth scan start acquired by the nail part position acquisition means is compared with the position information of the nail part before the (n + 1) th scan start. Nail position change detecting means for detecting a position change of the nail part;
When a position change of the nail part is detected by the nail part position change detection means before the start of the (n + 1) th scanning, according to the position change of the nail part detected by the nail part position change detection means, A print control unit that corrects a print start position at the time of scanning, and controls the printing operation of the printing unit so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected print start position;
A nail printing apparatus comprising:
<Claim 2>
The nail position acquisition unit is a print nail image acquisition unit that captures a nail part and acquires a print nail image before the start of each scan,
The nail position change detection means is included in the position information included in the nail print nail image acquired by the print nail image acquisition means and the n + 1 print nail image before the scan start. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in position of the nail portion is detected by comparing with position information.
<Claim 3>
The nail position change detecting means detects a position change in the scanning direction between the position of the nail part before the start of the n-th scanning and the position of the nail part before the start of the n + 1-th scanning,
The print control unit is configured to correct a print start position in the scanning direction of the printing unit when performing the (n + 1) th scanning based on a detection result by the nail position change detection unit. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
<Claim 4>
In a printing control method used for a printing apparatus that controls printing operation of a printing unit and prints on a nail portion based on print data of a design image,
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition step for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the start of the nth scan acquired in the nail part position acquisition step is compared with the position information of the nail part before the start of the (n + 1) th scan. A nail position change detecting step for detecting a position change of the nail part;
In the nail position change detection step, when a nail position change is detected before the start of the n + 1th scan, the n + 1th time is detected according to the nail position change detected in the nail position change detection step. A printing control step for correcting the printing start position when performing scanning, and controlling the printing operation of the printing means so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected printing start position;
A printing control method comprising:

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nail printing apparatus 2 Case main body 20a Printing finger insertion part 30 Shooting part 40 Printing part 49 Nail imaging camera 50 Control apparatus 51 Control part 52 Storage part 511 Shooting control part 512 Nail part position change detection part 513 Print control part 521 Design image Holding area 522 Printing nail image holding area T Nail part U1 Printing finger U2 Non-printing finger

Claims (4)

Printing means for printing on the nail portion based on the print data of the design image;
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the nth scan start acquired by the nail part position acquisition means is compared with the position information of the nail part before the (n + 1) th scan start. Nail position change detecting means for detecting a position change of the nail part;
When a position change of the nail part is detected by the nail part position change detection means before the start of the (n + 1) th scanning, according to the position change of the nail part detected by the nail part position change detection means, A print control unit that corrects a print start position at the time of scanning, and controls the printing operation of the printing unit so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected print start position;
A nail printing apparatus comprising: The nail position acquisition unit is a print nail image acquisition unit that captures a nail part and acquires a print nail image before the start of each scan,
The nail position change detection means is included in the position information included in the nail print nail image acquired by the print nail image acquisition means and the n + 1 print nail image before the scan start. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in position of the nail portion is detected by comparing with position information. The nail position change detecting means detects a position change in the scanning direction between the position of the nail part before the start of the n-th scanning and the position of the nail part before the start of the n + 1-th scanning,
The print control unit is configured to correct a print start position in the scanning direction of the printing unit when performing the (n + 1) th scanning based on a detection result by the nail position change detection unit. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. In a printing control method used for a printing apparatus that controls printing operation of a printing unit and prints on a nail portion based on print data of a design image,
When the nail part is divided into a plurality of areas and one design image is printed by a plurality of scans, the nail part position acquisition step for acquiring the position information of the nail part before the start of each scan;
Before starting the (n + 1) th scan, the position information of the nail part before the start of the nth scan acquired in the nail part position acquisition step is compared with the position information of the nail part before the start of the (n + 1) th scan. A nail position change detecting step for detecting a position change of the nail part;
In the nail position change detection step, when a nail position change is detected before the start of the n + 1th scan, the n + 1th time is detected according to the nail position change detected in the nail position change detection step. A printing control step for correcting the printing start position when performing scanning, and controlling the printing operation of the printing means so as to start the next n + 1 printing from the corrected printing start position;
A printing control method comprising:

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