JP2015043919A - Nail printer, and printing method in the nail printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nail printer and a printing method in the nail printer, allowing high-definition nail printing up to an end part of a nail having a curved surface shape.SOLUTION: A nail printer 1 applying drawing of a pattern on a nail T of a print finger U1 as moving a pen 71, has a rotary solenoid 443 adjusting an angle of the pen 71 relative to a surface of the nail T of the print finger U1. When the pen 71 applies the drawing to regions on both end sides in a width direction of the nail T of the print finger U1, the rotary solenoid 443 adjusts an angle of the pen 71 relative to the surface of the nail T to adjust an angle of the pen 71 relative to the width direction of the nail T such that the angle of the pen 71 approaches an angle of the pen 71 relative to the width direction of the nail T when the pen 71 performs the drawing onto a central part in the width direction of the nail T.

Description

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

Conventionally, a nail printing apparatus that prints a nail design on a nail is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
If such an apparatus is used, a nail design can be easily enjoyed without using a nail salon or the like.

Special table 2003-534083 gazette

However, the nail which is a printing target of the nail printing apparatus has a curved shape in which the height is relatively high and flat at the central portion in the width direction, but the height becomes lower and the inclination increases toward both ends in the width direction. .
For this reason, when printing is performed while simply moving the print head in the horizontal direction, the print head can perform printing from a direction substantially perpendicular to the nail at the central portion in the width direction of the nail. At the end in the width direction of the nail, printing is performed from an oblique direction with respect to the nail.

In this regard, for example, when the print head is an ink jet system that ejects ink as fine droplets, if the ink is ejected obliquely with respect to the nail, the landing position may be shifted or the end of the nail Ink may not reach enough. For this reason, nail art is not a beautiful finish.
In addition, for example, when the print head is a plotter system including a pen that draws with the pen tip directly contacting the nail surface, when the pen tip contacts the nail from an oblique direction, Depending on the shape, the line may be faint, discontinuous, or the line thickness may be uneven. As a result, the finished quality of the nail art is degraded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a nail printing apparatus and a printing method for the nail printing apparatus that can perform high-definition nail printing up to the end of a nail having a curved shape. It is intended.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the nail printing apparatus of the present invention provides:
A print head that has a curved shape in which the center portion rises from both ends along the width direction, the surface of the fingernail as a print target surface, and a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface;
An angle adjustment unit for adjusting an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface;
With
The angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle when the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head is configured to adjust the angle of the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface. The angle is close to the angle of the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface when the print head draws at the center in the width direction of the print target surface.

Further, the printing method of the nail printing apparatus of the present invention is:
In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus that has a curved shape in which the center part rises from both end sides along the width direction, the fingernail is a printing target surface, and draws on the printing target surface,
The nail printing apparatus includes: a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface; and an angle adjustment unit that adjusts an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface.
Moving the print head with respect to the print target surface to perform drawing on the print target surface;
When the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, the angle is adjusted by the angle adjustment unit, and the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface is adjusted. The angle is adjusted to be close to the angle of the print target surface with respect to the width direction of the print head when the print head draws at the center in the width direction of the print target surface.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a high-definition nail print can be given to the edge part of the nail | claw which has a curved surface shape.

It is a front view of the nail print apparatus in this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line in FIG. It is the figure which expanded the print head of this embodiment, (a) is the top view of a print head, (b) is the top view which looked at the print head of (a) from arrow b direction, (C) is the front view which looked at the print head of (a) from arrow c direction. (A) is a top view of the pen in this embodiment, (b) is sectional drawing of the pen of (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the inclination of a print head, and a nail | claw, (a) has shown the state which inclined the print head to the left, (b) has shown the state which has not inclined the print head , (C) shows a state in which the print head is tilted to the right. It is explanatory drawing which shows the condition of the line printed when it prints on a nail | claw without tilting a pen, (a) shows the case where it prints with a ball-point pen type pen, (b) The case where it printed with a pen is shown. It is explanatory drawing which shows the condition of the line printed when a pen is tilted suitably and is printed on a nail, (a) shows the case where it prints with a ball-point pen type pen, (b) shows the sign pen type The case where it printed with a pen is shown. It is a principal part block diagram which showed the control structure of the nail print apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the nail design printed on a nail | claw when printing while inclining a pen. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing explaining the drawing position correction | amendment in this embodiment. It is the figure which expanded the print head in one modification of this embodiment, (a) is a top view of a print head, (b) is the upper surface which looked at the print head of (a) from arrow b direction. It is a figure, (c) is the front view which looked at the print head of (a) from the arrow c direction.

  An embodiment of a nail print apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The embodiments described below are given various technically preferable limitations for carrying out the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the nail print apparatus 1.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line II-II shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nail printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a plotter type printing apparatus including a pen 71 in which a print head 70 draws a nail T of a printing finger U1.
The nail printing apparatus 1 includes a case main body 2 and an apparatus main body 10 accommodated in the case main body 2.

A pen replacement lid 23 configured to be openable and closable for replacing a pen (drawing tool) 71 of the printing unit 7 to be described later is provided at one upper end of the side surface of the case body 2. The pen replacement lid 23 is rotatable from a closed state to an open state as shown in FIG. 2, for example, via a hinge or the like.
Furthermore, a printing medium placed on the pen custom-printing unit 61 at a position corresponding to a later-described pen custom-printing unit 61 on one side surface of the case main body 2 (in this embodiment, the left-side surface in FIG. 1). A medium insertion / exit 24 that can be replaced (not shown) is formed.

An operation unit 25 (see FIG. 9) is installed on the upper surface (top plate) of the case body 2.
The operation unit 25 is an input unit on which a user performs various inputs.
The operation unit 25 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 T, and a printing start command for starting printing. Operation buttons (not shown) for performing various inputs such as buttons are arranged.

In addition, a display unit 26 is installed at a substantially central portion of the upper surface (top plate) of the case body 2.
The display unit 26 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence display, or other flat displays.
In the present embodiment, the display unit 26 includes, for example, a nail image obtained by photographing the printing finger U1 (a finger image including an image of the nail T), a contour line of the nail T included in the nail image, and the like. An image, a design selection screen for selecting a design image to be printed on the nail T, a thumbnail image for design confirmation, an instruction screen for displaying various instructions, and the like are appropriately displayed.
A touch panel may be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit 26. In this case, for example, various stylus pens (not shown) that are pointed stick-shaped writing tools that are written on the touch panel surface, or touch operations that touch the surface of the display unit 26 with a fingertip, etc. Configured to allow input.

  The apparatus main body 10 is formed in a substantially box shape, and a lower machine casing 11 installed below the inside of the case main body 2 and an upper machine installed above the lower machine casing 11 and above the inside of the case main body 2. And a frame 12.

First, the lower machine casing 11 will be described.
The lower machine casing 11 includes a back plate 111, a bottom plate 112, a pair of left and right side plates 113 a and 113 b, an X-direction moving stage accommodating portion 114, a Y-direction moving stage accommodating portion 115 and a partition wall 116.
The lower ends of the side plates 113a and 113b are connected to the left and right ends of the bottom plate 112, respectively, and the side plates 113a and 113b are provided in a state where they stand up against the bottom plate 112.
The lower part of the back plate 111 is formed to be recessed in two steps toward the front (front side in the finger insertion direction). A lower end portion of the back plate 111 is connected to a front end portion of the bottom plate 112, and the back plate 111 divides a region surrounded by the bottom plate 112 and the side plates 113a and 113b back and forth.
The space formed on the back side of the recessed back plate 111 is an X-direction moving stage accommodating portion 114 and a Y-direction moving stage accommodating portion 115 (see FIG. 2). In the X-direction moving stage accommodating portion 114, the X-direction moving stage 45 of the printing portion 7 is accommodated when the printing portion 7 moves forward (front side in the finger insertion direction). A Y-direction moving stage 47 of the printing unit 7 is disposed in the Y-direction moving stage accommodating unit 115.
Further, the partition wall 116 divides the space on the front side inside the lower machine casing 11 (the space on the front side in the finger insertion direction surrounded by the back plate 111, the bottom plate 112, and the side plates 113a and 113b) vertically. Is provided inside. The partition wall 116 is provided substantially horizontally, the left and right ends of the partition wall 116 are connected to the side plates 113 a and 113 b, respectively, and the rear end portion of the partition wall 116 is connected to the back plate 111.

The lower machine casing 11 is integrally provided with a finger fixing unit 30.
The finger fixing unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line III-III shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, only one pen 71 is schematically shown in order to show the positional relationship between the nail T and the pen 71.

The finger fixing unit 30 receives a finger corresponding to the nail T to be printed (hereinafter referred to as “printing finger U1”), and a finger other than the printing finger U1 (hereinafter referred to as “non-printing finger”). And a finger retracting section 32 that retracts the printing finger U2).
The finger receiving portion 31 is disposed on the upper side of the partition wall 116 and substantially at the center in the width direction of the lower machine casing 11. In addition, a space partitioned by the partition wall 116 on the lower side of the lower machine casing 11 constitutes the finger retracting portion 32.
For example, when printing is performed on the nail T of the ring finger, as shown in FIG. 3, the ring finger as the print finger U1 is inserted into the finger receiving unit 31, and the other four fingers (thumb, index finger) as the non-print finger U2. , Middle finger, little finger) is inserted into the finger retracting portion 32.
The finger receiving portion 31 is open to the front side of the lower machine casing 11 (the front side in the printing finger insertion direction), the lower side is a finger placement portion 116a constituting a part of the partition wall 116, both sides are partitions 31a, and the back The side is partitioned by a partition 31c. The finger placement unit 116a places the finger (printing finger U1) of the nail T to be printed on the XY plane.
Further, the upper side of the finger receiving portion 31 is partitioned by a ceiling portion 31d. A window 31e for exposing the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving part 31 is formed in the ceiling part 31d.

Further, on both sides of the front surface side of the lower machine casing 11 on the upper surface of the partition wall 116, a front wall 31f that blocks the front side of the lower machine casing 11 is provided upright. Further, a pair of guide walls 31g that narrow toward the finger receiving portion 31 from the end near the center of the front wall 31f and guide the printing finger U1 into the finger receiving portion 31 are formed on the upper surface of the partition wall 116. It is erected.
The user can sandwich the partition wall 116 between the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving unit 31 and the non-printing finger U2 inserted into the finger retracting unit 32. Therefore, the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving part 31 is stably fixed.
In the present embodiment, a protruding portion 116b projecting downward is formed at the front end portion of the partition wall 116. The protruding portion 116b may be a tapered portion that gradually decreases in thickness toward the near side and gradually increases toward the inner side, and the thickness of the protruding portion 116b is formed in a recess on the inner side of the partition wall 116. On the other hand, the whole structure may be thick. Since the protrusion 116b is formed at the front end portion of the partition wall 116, a space is secured between the printed fingernail T and the partition wall 116 when the non-printing finger U2 is inserted into the finger retracting portion 32. Further, it is possible to prevent the nail T from coming into contact with the lower surface of the partition wall 116 and ink adhering to the apparatus side, or the pattern printed on the nail T being rubbed and damaged.

On the upper surface of the lower machine casing 11, on the side of the finger receiving portion 31 (a position corresponding to the medium insertion / exit 24 of the case main body 2, and on the left side in FIG. 1 in this embodiment), a print head 70 described later. Is provided within the printable range by a pen customizing section 61 for performing a break-in of the pen 71, which will be described later. In addition, the pen custom-character part 61 is formed by digging down a part of the upper surface of the lower machine casing 11, and the height of the pen custom-character part 61 is when the printing finger U <b> 1 is inserted into the finger receiving part 31. It is preferable to be provided so as to be substantially the same as the height of the nail T.
The pen custom-character part 61 is a flat plate portion on which a printing medium (not shown) inserted from the medium insertion port 24 of the case body 2 described above is placed.
The printing medium placed on the pen custom-printing unit 61 may be any medium that can accustom the pen tip (tip portion) 713b, for example, a piece of paper.
In order to prevent the writing start point from being faded due to dryness of the pen tip 713b or poor ink loading, the pen custom-printing unit 61 is provided on the printing medium before starting printing with image data on the nail T. The pen 71 is lowered and a predetermined image such as “◯” or “∞” is printed to make a break-in to improve the state of the pen tip 713b.
The predetermined image to be printed when performing break-in writing is not particularly limited, but is preferably a simple image such as “◯” or “∞” so as not to use ink excessively. It is preferable that the break-in writings such as “◯” and “∞” are written while slightly shifting each time within the range of the pen writing section 61.
When writing is performed on almost the entire surface of the printing medium, a display screen for prompting replacement of the printing medium such as “Replace paper” is displayed on the display unit 26. In this case, when the user takes out the printing medium from the medium insertion / extraction opening 24 and replaces it with a new one, the new printing medium can be conditioned. For example, when the printing medium is roll paper, when the printing space is exhausted, the printing medium is fed out from the roll paper so that break-in can be performed on a new printing surface.

It should be noted that a pen cap that can accommodate the pen tip 713b at the time of non-printing after the pen 71 is mounted on the printing unit 7 and before printing is performed, in front of the pen custom writing unit 61 (front side in the finger insertion direction). (Not shown) is preferably provided.
By storing the pen tip 713b in the pen cap, it is possible to prevent the pen tip 713b from drying during non-printing.
By providing a pen cap near the pen custom-printing unit 61, when printing is started, the pen 71 is lifted up, and the pen writing unit 61 near the pen is used to start the printing. For this reason, the time required for the movement of the pen 71 and the like can be minimized, and a quick printing operation can be performed. The position where the pen cap is provided is not limited to the position shown here.

  The printing unit 7 includes a print head 70 including a printing pen 71, a head support member 441 that supports the print head 70, a unit support member 44 to which the head support member 441 is connected via a support shaft 442, and a head support member 441. A rotary solenoid 443 that rotates the print head 70 supported by the shaft about the axis of the support shaft 442, and an X for moving the print head 70 in the X direction (the X direction in FIG. 1, the left and right direction of the nail printing apparatus 1). A direction moving stage 45, an X direction moving motor 46, a Y direction moving stage 47, a Y direction moving motor 48, etc. for moving the print head 70 in the Y direction (Y direction in FIG. 2, the front and rear direction of the nail printing apparatus 1). It is prepared for.

FIG. 4A is a top view of the print head 70.
FIG. 4B is a front view of the print head 70 in FIG.
FIG. 4C is a side view of the print head 70 in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, in this embodiment, the print head 70 includes a rotary pen carriage 72 that can hold a plurality of pens 71, and a carriage rotation mechanism that rotates the pen carriage 72. 73, a pen up / down mechanism 74 for moving the pen 71 held by the pen carriage 72 up and down is provided.

The pen carriage 72 of the present embodiment is formed in a cylindrical shape, and includes a carriage body 722 in which four pen holding portions 721 are arranged along the circumference.
Note that the number of the pen holding portions 721 is not particularly limited, and may be more than four or less. The more pen holders 721 are provided, the more pens 71 can be simultaneously held, and it becomes possible to print a complicated nail design using various inks.
Note that the pens 71 need not be held by all the pen holding units 721. 4A and 4C show an example in which the pen 71 is held by two of the four pen holding portions 721. FIG.

A gear 723 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the carriage body 722.
In addition, a rotation shaft 724 is provided at a substantially central portion of the pen carriage 72. The pen carriage 72 is configured to be able to rotate substantially horizontally around the rotation shaft 724.
A reference index 725 for indicating a reference position for rotation of the pen carriage 72 is provided at a predetermined position (for example, a position corresponding to a predetermined pen holding portion 721) on the outer peripheral surface of the carriage body 722 of the pen carriage 72. Yes.
The reference index 725 is, for example, a reflective cloth or a reflective sheet that can be read by a photo reflector, and is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the carriage body 722 by sticking or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the carriage rotation mechanism 73 includes a step motor 731 and a gear 733 that is connected to the step motor 731 via a rotation shaft 732 and meshes with a gear 723 of the carriage main body 722.
In this embodiment, when the rotation shaft 732 is rotated by driving of the step motor 731 and the gear 733 attached to the rotation shaft 732 is rotated, the gear 723 of the carriage main body 722 engaged with the gear 733 is rotated. As a result, the pen carriage 72 rotates left and right.
The carriage rotation mechanism 73 includes an index reading unit 734 for reading the reference index 725 of the pen carriage 72. The index reading unit 734 is configured by, for example, a photo reflector that can read a reference index 725 configured by a reflective cloth, a reflective sheet, or the like. Each time the index reading unit 734 reads the reference index 725, the index reading unit 734 outputs the reading result to the print control unit 815.

The pen up / down mechanism 74 is composed of a solenoid, and a plunger 742 biased upward (upward in FIG. 4B) by a spring 741 and the plunger 742 downward against the biasing force of the spring 741. The coil part 743 pushed down is provided.
A conical recess 742 a that receives the tip of the shaft portion 712 a of the pen 71 is formed at the lower end of the plunger 742. As will be described later, since the tip of the shaft portion 712a is formed in a hemispherical shape or a conical shape, the shaft portion 712a and the pen 71 itself having the shaft portion 712a are stably and vertically received by receiving the recess portion 742a. It can be pushed down in the direction.
In addition, the shape of the part which receives the front-end | tip part of the axial part 712a is not limited to a conical concave shape. For example, the shape of the tip portion of the shaft portion 712a described later may be a concave shape, and the shape of the portion receiving the tip portion of the shaft portion 712a may be a hemispherical shape or a cone shape.

FIG. 5A is a side view showing the appearance of the pen 71 held by the pen holding unit 721 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B in this embodiment.
FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the pen 71 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the pen 71 includes an outer cylinder 711, an inner cylinder 712 accommodated in the outer cylinder 711, and a pen body 713 accommodated in the inner cylinder 712. It has.
Although the material which forms the outer cylinder 711, the inner cylinder 712, etc. is not specifically limited, In order to reduce the weight of the pen 71, it is preferable to form with resin etc.
The outer cylinder 711 opens up and down, and an inward flange 711c is formed in the upper opening 711a. An inward flange 711d is formed in the lower opening 711b.

The inner cylinder 712 has a shaft part 712a protruding from the upper opening 711a of the outer cylinder 711 at the upper part. The distal end portion of the shaft portion 712a is formed in a hemispherical shape or a conical shape.
Further, the inner cylinder 712 has an opening 712b in the lower part. An inward flange 712c is formed in the opening 712b. Further, an inward flange 712 d that protrudes to the inside of the inner cylinder 712 is formed above the inner cylinder 712. Further, an outward flange 712 e that protrudes to the outside of the inner cylinder 712 is formed on the outer upper side of the inner cylinder 712.
The outer diameter of the inner cylinder 712 is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower opening 711b of the outer cylinder 711, and the inner cylinder 712 can project from the lower opening 711b of the outer cylinder 711.

The pen main body 713 is provided with a pen tip 713b on the tip end side (lower side in FIG. 5A and the like) of the pen shaft portion 713a. The inside of the pen shaft portion 713a is an ink storage portion that stores various inks.
Various types of ink can be applied as the ink stored in the pen shaft portion 713a. The viscosity of the ink and the particle size (particle size) of the color material are not particularly limited. For example, gold-silver lame ink or white ink, UV curable ink or gel nail, undercoat, top coat A manicure or the like can also be used.
Between the pen shaft portion 713a and the pen tip 713b, a collar portion 713c that projects outward is provided. The outer diameter of the collar part 713c is larger than the inner diameter of the opening part 712b of the inner cylinder 712, and the pen body 713 accommodated in the inner cylinder 712 is inwardly formed with the collar part 713c formed in the opening part 712b of the inner cylinder 712. It is abutted against the flange 712c and is held so as not to fall out from below.

A coil spring 714 is wound around the outer periphery of the pen body 713.
One end side of the coil spring 714 is in contact with the upper surface of the flange portion 713c, and the other end side is in contact with the lower surface of the inward flange 712d of the inner cylinder 712.
The pen body 713 is urged by the coil spring 714 in a direction in which the pen tip 713b protrudes from the opening 712b of the inner cylinder 712 (downward in FIGS. 5A and 5B).
Since the pen body 713 is urged downward by its own weight, the coil spring 714 only needs to give a very slight urging force.

A coil spring 715 is wound around the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 712.
One end side of the coil spring 715 is in contact with the upper surface of the inward flange 711 d formed in the lower opening 711 b of the outer cylinder 711, and the other end side is in contact with the lower surface of the outward flange 712 e of the inner cylinder 712.
The inner cylinder 712 is attached by the coil spring 715 in a direction (upward in FIGS. 5A and 5B) that abuts against the lower surface of the inward flange 711c formed in the upper opening 711a of the outer cylinder 711. It is energized.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the pen 71 has a tip end of a shaft portion 712 a provided in the inner cylinder 712 when the pen holding portion 721 that holds the pen 71 is positioned below the pen up-and-down mechanism 74. The portion is arranged at a position facing a recess 742 a formed at the lower end of the plunger 742.

In this embodiment, the pen 71 is a ballpoint pen type in which, for example, the pen tip 713b is pressed against the surface of the nail T so that the ink contained in the pen shaft portion 713a oozes out and is printed. It is a pen.
The pen 71 is not limited to a ballpoint pen type. For example, a sign pen type in which ink is soaked in a felt-shaped pen tip or a brush pen type in which ink is soaked into bundled hair and printed may be used.
Various pen tip 713b thicknesses can be prepared.
The pens 71 held by the pen carriage 72 may be all pens having the same type of nib 713b, or may be pens having different types of nib 713b.
The pen 71 is held by simply being inserted into the pen holding portion 721 of the pen carriage 72 from above. Therefore, the pen replacement lid 23 provided on the case main body 2 is opened, and the replacement can be easily performed by, for example, picking the shaft portion 712a with a hand or tweezers.
As a result, the user can replace the pen 71 mounted on the pen carriage 72 with a pen 71 having a different color, type of pen tip 713b, or ink according to the nail design to be printed, thereby realizing a wide range of nail designs. be able to.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the plunger 742 of the pen up-and-down mechanism 74 is not in contact with the shaft portion 712a of the pen 71 during non-printing. In this state, the inner cylinder 712 of the pen 71 is pushed upward by the urging force of the coil spring 715 so that the pen tip 713b does not protrude downward.
On the other hand, at the time of printing, the solenoid of the pen up-and-down mechanism 74 is operated, so that the plunger 742 is pushed down. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the distal end portion of the plunger 742 abuts against the shaft portion 712 a of the pen 71, and pushes down the inner cylinder 712 against the urging force of the spring 741. As a result, the pen tip 713b contacts the surface of the nail T or the like. The pen body 713 is urged downward by a coil spring 714, and the pen tip 713b is pressed against the surface of the nail T or the like with an appropriate force, so that the pen body 713 can be printed.
Since the biasing force of the coil spring 714 is slight, the pen body 713 is pushed upward by the surface of the nail T or the like against the biasing force of the coil spring 714 when the surface of the nail T or the like is high. . As described above, the pen body 713 is configured to follow the surface shape of the nail T or the like and move in the Z direction orthogonal to the XY plane (that is, the vertical direction shown in FIG. 3 and the like).

As described above, the print head 70 is supported by the head support member 441, and the head support member 441 is connected to the unit support member 44 via the support shaft 442.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, a rotary solenoid 443 is attached to the upper back side of the unit support member 44 (the back side of the nail printing apparatus 1 and the right side in FIG. 2). A lower end portion of the head support member 441 is fixed to a support shaft 442 that is a shaft.
The rotary solenoid 443 responds to the inclination angle of the surface of the claw T detected by an inclination angle detector 812a (see FIG. 9) described later (angle θ1 with respect to the XY plane, see FIGS. 7A and 8A). Thus, it functions as an angle adjustment unit that adjusts the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating how the angle of the print head 70 is adjusted by the rotary solenoid 443.
The rotary solenoid 443 can be rotated forward and backward about the axis of the support shaft 442. By rotating the support shaft 442 of the rotary solenoid 443, the head support member 441 fixed to the support shaft 442 can be rotated forward and backward.
For example, FIG. 6B shows a state where the print head 70 is not rotating, and in FIG. 6A, the print head 70 is rotated counterclockwise from the state of FIG. 6B (FIG. 6A). ) In FIG. 6 (c), the print head 70 is rotated clockwise from the state of FIG. 6 (b) (clockwise direction in FIG. 6 (c)). ) Shows a state rotated approximately 45 °.
As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, when the head support member 441 rotates, the print head 70 supported by the head support member 441 rotates about the axis of the support shaft 442. As a result, the angle of the pen 71 attached to the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane is adjusted.
In the present embodiment, the rotary solenoid 443 is in a state in which the angle of the print head 70 is not adjusted (that is, in an angle ± 0 ° state, see FIG. 6B), and the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane is approximately + 45 °. The print head 70 can take three states: a state (see FIG. 6A) and a state in which the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane is substantially −45 ° (see FIG. 6C). Three-stage rotation (angle adjustment) is possible.
Note that the configuration of the rotary solenoid 443 is not limited to this, and the rotation may be performed in more stages, and the angle may be adjusted by a fine angle such as 30 degrees or 15 degrees. Further, a step motor, a servo motor, or the like may be used to enable almost stepless rotation so that finer angle adjustment can be performed.

Note that the support shaft 442 of the rotary solenoid 443 has the printing finger U1 placed on the finger placement portion 116a whose height from the XY plane of the support shaft 442 serving as the rotation center is the XY plane on the tip side. It is preferable that the printing finger U1 is arranged so as to be at a position substantially coincident with the height from the XY plane when viewed from the center.
Further, the mechanism constituting the angle adjustment unit that adjusts the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane is not limited to the rotary solenoid. The angle adjustment unit only needs to be configured by a mechanism capable of precisely controlling the rotation angle, and may be configured by various motors or the like.

The pen 71 used in the nail printing apparatus 1 can draw a line and the like most stably when the pen tip 713b comes into contact with the surface of the nail T, which is the printing target surface, from a substantially vertical direction.
However, since the nail T has a curved surface shape whose height decreases from the center portion in the width direction toward the end portion, a desired line is stably printed when printing is performed without adjusting the angle of the pen 71. I can't.
Hereinafter, a comparison between the case where the angle of the pen 71 is not adjusted and the case where the angle is adjusted will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B. To do.
7 (a), 7 (b), 8 (a), and 8 (b), the upper side in the figure shows the relationship with the pen tip 713b when the nail T is viewed from the fingertip direction. A state of a line drawn on the nail T when the nail T is viewed from above is shown on the lower side in the figure.

As described above, as a pen used in the nail printing apparatus 1, for example, a ballpoint pen type in which a caulking portion that holds a ball is provided at the pen tip, a sign pen type having a felt-like pen tip, or a bundled hair is used. There may be a brush pen type that soaks ink and prints.
For example, in the case of the ballpoint pen type pen 71, as shown in the upper diagram in FIG. 7A, the angle of the pen 71 is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the nail T which is the printing target surface (FIG. 7A )), The pen tip 713b properly contacts the surface of the nail T, and a line of a certain thickness is smoothly applied to the surface of the nail T as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. Can be printed.
However, in general, the caulking portion that holds the ball is thicker than the pen tip 713b and protrudes around the pen tip 713b. As the angle (inclination angle θ) increases, the crimped portion comes into contact with the surface of the nail T before the pen tip 713b.
Therefore, for example, as shown at the left end of FIG. 7A, the surface of the nail T is inclined by about 45 ° with respect to the XY plane (that is, θ1 = 45 °), and the contact angle of the pen 71 with respect to the surface of the nail T When the angle is about 45 °, the ball of the pen tip 713b becomes difficult to come into contact with the surface of the nail T, and the line becomes faint or cannot be drawn.
On the other hand, for example, in the case of a sign pen type pen or a brush pen type pen, even if the contact angle of the pen 71 with the surface of the nail T is large, it is unlikely that the pen 71 becomes dull.
However, depending on the shape and structure of the pen tip 713b, for example, as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 7B, the area of the pen tip 713b that contacts the surface of the nail T depending on the contact angle of the pen 71 with the surface of the nail T Changes. That is, when the surface of the nail T is substantially parallel to the XY plane, the pen 71 comes into contact with the nail T from a substantially vertical direction and draws a line having a constant thickness according to the thickness of the pen tip 713b. be able to. On the other hand, for example, as shown at the left end of FIG. 7B, the surface of the nail T is inclined by about 45 ° with respect to the XY plane (that is, θ1 = 45 °), and the pen 71 is in contact with the surface of the nail T. When the contact angle is about 45 °, the side surface portion of the nib 713b comes into contact with the surface of the nail T, and the contact area between the nail T and the nib 713b increases. In this case, depending on the shape of the pen tip 713b, the thickness of the line printed on the surface of the nail T may change as shown in the lower diagram of FIG.

In this regard, as in the present embodiment, a rotary solenoid 443 is provided as an angle adjustment unit, and the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane is set according to the inclination angle of the nail T. When the adjustment is performed, the pen tip 713b can be adjusted so as to always come into contact with the surface of the nail T from a substantially vertical direction, and a desired line or the like can be stably drawn regardless of the angle of the nail T.
That is, for example, in the case of the ballpoint pen type pen 71, as shown in the upper diagram in FIG. 8A, the pen 71 is rotated at an angle of about 45 ° at both ends in the width direction of the nail T and in the vicinity thereof. When the nib 713b is in contact with the surface of the nail T from the substantially vertical direction even at the end of the nail T, as shown in the lower diagram in FIG. It is possible to stably draw a line having substantially the same thickness in all the regions.
Further, for example, in the case of a sign pen type pen or a brush pen type pen, as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 8B, the pen 71 is 45 ° at both ends in the width direction of the nail T and in the vicinity thereof. When the pen tip 713b is brought into contact with the surface of the nail T from the substantially vertical direction even at the end of the nail T, the bottom of FIG. As shown, a line having substantially the same thickness can be stably drawn in all regions of the nail T.
In this way, by adjusting the contact angle of the pen 71 with the surface of the nail T, a desired line can be stably drawn, high-definition design can be formed, and high-quality finished nail art can be realized. it can.

Further, since the nail T has a curved surface shape, the surface with which the tip end portion (pen tip 713b) of the pen 71 abuts changes in the vertical direction (height direction). For this reason, when printing from the end of the relatively low nail T toward the center of the relatively high nail T (that is, when the pen 71 climbs the inclined surface of the nail T), There is a case where the nail T is strongly pressed in the horizontal direction by the pen 71.
If the nail T is strongly pressed by the pen 71, the finger may move by this, which also contributes to a decrease in the quality of the nail print.
In this regard, when the contact angle of the pen 71 with the surface of the nail T is adjusted as in the present embodiment so that the pen tip 713b is always in contact with the surface of the nail T from a substantially vertical direction, the pen 71 Thus, it is possible to reduce the strong pressing of the claw T in the horizontal direction.
For this reason, it is possible to prevent a finger from moving during printing and to realize high-definition nail printing.

Further, the unit support member 44 is fixed to an X direction moving unit 451 attached to the X direction moving stage 45. The X-direction moving unit 451 is configured to move in the X direction along a guide (not shown) on the X-direction moving stage 45 by driving the X-direction moving motor 46, whereby the unit moves via the head support member 441. The print head 70 attached to the support member 44 moves in the X direction (the X direction in FIG. 1, the left and right direction of the nail printing apparatus 1).
The X direction moving stage 45 is fixed to the Y direction moving portion 471 of the Y direction moving stage 47. The Y-direction moving unit 471 is moved in the Y-direction along a guide (not shown) on the Y-direction moving stage 47 by driving the Y-direction moving motor 48, so that the unit moves via the head support member 441. The print head 70 attached to the support member 44 moves in the Y direction (Y direction in FIG. 2, the front-rear direction of the nail printing apparatus 1).
In this embodiment, the X direction moving stage 45 and the Y direction moving stage 47 are configured by combining an X direction moving motor 46 and a Y direction moving motor 48 with a ball screw and a guide (not shown).
In the present embodiment, the head drive unit 49 as an XY drive unit that drives the print head 70 including the pen 71 that prints on the nail T in the X direction and the Y direction by the X direction movement motor 46, the Y direction movement motor 48, and the like. Is configured.

A pen up-and-down mechanism 74 for moving the pen 71 up and down in the printing unit 7, a step motor 731 for rotating the pen carriage 72, a rotary solenoid 443 for adjusting the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71), and movement in the X direction The motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 are connected to a print control unit 815 (see FIG. 9) of the control device 80 to be described later, and are controlled by the print control unit 815.
In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the print control unit 815 adjusts the angle of the print head 70 on which the pen 71 is mounted with respect to the XY plane according to the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T that is the print target surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the photographing unit 50 is provided in the upper machine casing 12.
That is, a substrate 13 is installed on the upper machine casing 12, and two cameras 51 as imaging devices are installed on the lower surface of the central portion of the substrate 13.
The camera 51 is preferably a small camera configured to include, for example, a solid-state imaging device having a pixel of about 2 million pixels or more and a lens with a built-in driver.
The camera 51 captures the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted in the finger receiving unit 31 and obtains a nail image (a finger image including an image of the nail T) that is an image of the nail T of the printing finger U1. It is.

In the present embodiment, the two cameras 51 are provided substantially side by side in the width direction of the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted in the finger receiving unit 31.
Of the two cameras 51, one camera 51 is provided to face the bottom surface of the finger receiving portion 31 and photographs the nail T from directly above.
The other camera 51 is arranged to be slightly inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the finger receiving portion 31 so as to follow the curved shape of the nail T, and photographs the nail T from an obliquely upward direction.

On the substrate 13, an illumination light (illumination device) 52 such as a white LED is installed so as to surround the camera 51. The illuminating lamp 52 illuminates the nail T of the printing finger U1 when the camera 51 takes a picture. The photographing unit 50 includes the camera 51 and the illumination lamp 52.
The imaging unit 50 is connected to an imaging control unit 811 (see FIG. 9) of the control device 80 described later, and is controlled by the imaging control unit 811.
Image data of an image photographed by the photographing unit 50 is stored in a nail image storage area 821 of the storage unit 82 described later.

In this embodiment, the nail | Tail T can be image | photographed from at least 2 different positions and angles with the two cameras 51 as an imaging device, and at least 2 nail images are acquired.
Then, based on these nail images, a nail information detecting unit 812 described later detects nail information such as the contour of the nail T (the shape of the nail T), the curved shape of the nail T, and the vertical position. Further, the inclination angle detection unit 812a can detect the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane (hereinafter referred to as “inclination angle of the nail T” or “nail curvature”) based on these nail images. It has become. That is, for example, by capturing an image from directly above the nail T and an image from the oblique upper direction of the nail T, not only the contour of the nail T but also the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T can be accurately detected. be able to. Here, regarding the inclination angle of the nail T (this is referred to as angle θ1), for example, the counterclockwise angle is positive and the clockwise direction angle is negative. For example, FIGS. 7A and 8A show an example in which the tilt angle (angle θ1) is 45 °.

Further, the control device 80 is installed on, for example, the substrate 13 disposed in the upper machine casing 12.
FIG. 9 is a principal block diagram showing a control configuration in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 9, the control device 80 includes a control unit 81 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like (none of which are shown). And a storage unit 82 constituted by the computer.

The storage unit 82 stores various programs and various data for operating the nail printing apparatus 1.
Specifically, the ROM of the storage unit 82 includes a nail information detection program for detecting nail information such as the shape of the nail T and the inclination angle of the nail T from the nail image, and print data generation for generating print data. Various programs such as a program and a printing program for performing a printing process are stored. When these programs are executed by the control device 80, each unit of the nail printing apparatus 1 is controlled in an integrated manner. .
In the present embodiment, the storage unit 82 includes a nail image storage area 821 for storing a nail image of the nail T of the user's printing finger U1 acquired by the photographing unit 50, and a nail information detection unit including an inclination angle detection unit 812a. The nail information storage area 822 in which nail information (the outline of the nail T, the inclination angle of the nail T, and the like) detected by 812 is stored, and the nail design storage area 823 in which nail design image data printed on the nail T is stored. Is provided.

In the present embodiment, the image data of the nail design stored in the nail design storage area 823 is printed, such as information on a pattern portion (a nail design portion to be printed integrally) drawn as a single piece during the nail design. Information specifying the processing content at the time is attached.
Here, the pattern drawn as an integral is a pattern that is composed of a relatively small single figure, such as the star pattern shown in FIG. It should be noted that it is possible to appropriately set what kind of picture is to be drawn as a unit based on the size, shape, etc. of the picture in the entire design.
In the present embodiment, the pattern portion drawn as an integral part is described later from the beginning of drawing the pattern when a part or all of the pattern portion is applied to a nail T portion having a predetermined inclination angle or more described later. The printing control unit 815 to drive the rotary solenoid 443 performs processing for adjusting the angle of the print head 70.

  When viewed functionally, the control unit 81 includes an imaging control unit 811, a nail information detection unit 812, a print data generation unit 813, a display control unit 814, a print control unit 815, and the like. The functions as the imaging control unit 811, the nail information detection unit 812, the print data generation unit 813, the display control unit 814, the print control unit 815, and the like are stored in the CPU of the control unit 81 and the program stored in the ROM of the storage unit 82. It is realized by the cooperation of.

The imaging control unit 811 controls the camera 51 and the illuminating lamp 52 of the imaging unit 50 and uses the camera 51 to detect a finger image including an image of the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving unit 31 (hereinafter referred to as “nail image”). ")").
In the present embodiment, the imaging control unit 511 causes the two cameras 51 to acquire at least two nail images from different positions and angles (for example, directly above the nail T and obliquely above the nail T).
The image data of the nail image acquired by the imaging unit 50 may be stored in the storage unit 82.

The nail information detecting unit 812 detects nail information about the nail T of the printing finger U1 based on the image of the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving unit 31 photographed by the camera 51. In the present embodiment, the nail information detection unit 812 includes an inclination angle detection unit 812a that detects the inclination angle of the nail T.
Here, the nail information is, for example, the contour of the nail T (nail shape, horizontal position of the nail T), the height of the nail T (vertical position of the nail T, hereinafter “vertical position of the nail T” or simply “ It is also referred to as “the position of the nail T”), and the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane (inclination angle of the nail T, nail curvature).
Note that the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T is an angle with respect to the horizontal plane in the width direction of the nail T (that is, the XY plane of the finger placement portion 116a on which the printing finger U1 is placed) as described above. That is, the angle θ1 shown in FIGS. 7A and 8A. In the present embodiment, the nail information detection unit 812 including the inclination angle detection unit 812a, based on the nail image, out of the nail information, the outline of the nail T (nail shape) and the inclination angle of the nail T (nail curvature). Is supposed to be detected.

Specifically, the nail information detection unit 812 detects the contour (shape and size) and position of the nail T from the nail image of the nail T of the printing finger U1 acquired by the camera 51, and this contour is represented by x, Acquired as information represented by the y coordinate or the like.
For example, the nail information detection unit 812 obtains the outline (shape) of the nail T based on the color difference between the nail T and the other finger part from the nail image of the nail T of the printing finger U1 acquired by the camera 51, for example. It is to detect. In addition, the method in which the nail information detection part 812 detects the outline (shape) of the nail | Tail T is not specifically limited, It is not restricted to what was mentioned here.
In addition, the inclination angle detection unit 812a detects the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T based on at least two nail images photographed by the two cameras 51.
The inclination angle detection unit 812a is based on, for example, a difference in position and shape appearing in two nail images photographed from different positions and angles (for example, directly above the nail T and obliquely above the nail T) by the two cameras 51, for example. The inclination angle (claw curvature) of the user's nail T is detected. In addition, the method in which the inclination angle detection part 812a detects the inclination angle (claw curvature) of the nail | Tail T is not specifically limited, It is not restricted to what was mentioned here.

The print data generation unit 813 generates data for printing applied to the nail T of the printing finger U1 by the print head 70 based on the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 812.
Specifically, the print data generation unit 813 performs alignment processing by enlarging, reducing, cutting out, and the like on the nail design image data based on the shape of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812, and the like. Data for printing is generated.
In this embodiment, the print data generation unit 813 corrects the curved surface of the image data of the nail design according to the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a.
Thereby, data for printing the nail design is generated.

  The display control unit 814 controls the display unit 26 to display various display screens on the display unit 26. In the present embodiment, the display control unit 814 causes the display unit 26 to display, for example, a nail design selection screen, a thumbnail image for design confirmation, a nail image obtained by photographing the printing finger U1, various instruction screens, and the like. It has become.

The print control unit 815 outputs the print data generated by the print data generation unit 813 to the printing unit 7, and the pen up-and-down mechanism 74 of the printing unit 7 to perform printing according to the print data on the nail T, It is a control unit that controls the step motor 731, the rotary solenoid 443, the X direction moving motor 46, and the Y direction moving motor 48.
In the present embodiment, the print control unit 815 adjusts the angle of the print head 70 on which the pen 71 is mounted with respect to the XY plane according to the tilt angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the tilt angle detection unit 812a.

Specifically, the print control unit 815 determines whether the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the angle θ1 exceeds the threshold value, the rotary solenoid 443 is controlled to adjust the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane.
Here, the value of the threshold value of the tilt angle (angle θ1) can be set as appropriate, and the optimum value varies depending on, for example, the type and form of the pen 71, but generally ranges from ± 40 ° to ± It has been experimentally found that a threshold value of 50 ° is good. In the following description, the threshold value is described as ± 40 ° for convenience.

In this case, the print control unit 815 determines that the inclination angle (angle θ1) is | θ1 | <40 ° by using the angle θ1 that is the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a. It is divided into a region and a region where | θ1 | ≧ 40 ° (hereinafter referred to as “steeply inclined region”, which are indicated as steeply inclined regions PA and PB in FIG. 10). When the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T is less than ± 40 °, the rotary solenoid 443 is not driven and the angle adjustment of the print head 70 (pen 71) is not performed (FIG. 6B). )reference).
On the other hand, when the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T is 40 ° or more, the print control unit 815 drives the rotary solenoid 443 to rotate the support shaft 442 so that the print head 70 is rotated. Angle adjustment for adjusting the angle of the (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is performed (see FIGS. 6A and 6C).
In this embodiment, when the print head 70 (pen 71) is perpendicular to the XY plane at 0 °, the rotation angle when the print head 70 is rotated by the rotary solenoid 443 (this is referred to as an angle θ2). 11A and 11B), the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted. Note that the angle θ2 is positive in the counterclockwise direction and negative in the clockwise direction.
Specifically, when the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T is + 40 ° or more, the print control unit 815 drives the rotary solenoid 443 to rotate the support shaft 442 counterclockwise. Then, the angle adjustment is performed so that the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) is approximately + 45 ° with respect to the XY plane (see FIG. 6A). When the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T is −40 ° or less, the print control unit 815 drives the rotary solenoid 443 to rotate the support shaft 442 in the clockwise direction to perform printing. The angle is adjusted so that the angle of the head 70 (pen 71) is approximately −45 ° with respect to the XY plane (see FIG. 6C).

As described above, the rotary solenoid 443 is not limited to one that can be operated in three stages, and may be one that can rotate the support shaft 442 at a finer angle. In this case, the threshold value of the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T is set more finely, and the print control unit 815 determines whether the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T exceeds the threshold value. The operation of the rotary solenoid 443 is controlled to perform finer angle adjustment.
In addition, if the spindle 442 can be rotated almost steplessly using a step motor, a servo motor, or the like, the print controller 815 can detect the surface of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detector 812a. The motor or the like is operated appropriately according to the inclination angle (angle θ1), and the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted so that the pen 71 is always in contact with the surface of the nail T from the substantially vertical direction. To do.

In addition, when the nail design printed on the nail T includes a pattern drawn as an integral part, the surface portion of the nail T on which the pattern is printed has an inclination angle (angle θ1) of a predetermined threshold value (± 40 in this embodiment). )) (Ie, a region where | θ1 | ≧ 40 °, steeply inclined regions PA and PB in FIG. 10), the print control unit 815 starts the print head 70 (pen The rotary solenoid 443 which is an angle adjusting unit is controlled so as to adjust the angle of 71) with respect to the XY plane.
That is, for example, in FIG. 10, when the left and right regions closer to the end than the one-dot chain line in the nail T are steeply inclined regions PA and PB, except for the star pattern located at the center in FIG. A part of the picture includes steeply inclined areas PA and PB. In this case, the print control unit 815 operates the rotary solenoid 443 from the start of printing to start the print head 70 even if the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the nail T does not exceed the predetermined value at the print start position of the star pattern. The angle of (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted.

It should be noted that it is possible to appropriately set how much the range of the pattern is to adjust the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane when it falls on the steeply inclined areas PA and PB.
For example, the print controller 815 may adjust the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane when a small portion of the pattern is included in the steeply inclined areas PA and PB. . Further, the control unit 81 determines how much of the pattern covers the steeply inclined areas PA and PB, and only when the predetermined range of the pattern covers the steeply inclined areas PA and PB, the print head. You may make it adjust the angle with respect to XY plane of 70 (pen 71).
In this case, for example, when the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted when 50% or more of the pattern is in the steeply inclined areas PA and PB, the pattern is positioned on the right side in FIG. Only when a star pattern is printed, the print control unit 815 operates the rotary solenoid 443 from the start of printing to adjust the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) to be approximately 45 ° with respect to the XY plane. I do.
In the above, the threshold value of the inclination angle θ1 is set in advance, and the inclination angle θ1 is greater than or equal to the threshold value based on the inclination angle θ1 of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a in the steep inclination areas PA and PB. Although the case where the area is set has been described, the method of setting the steeply inclined area is not limited to this.
For example, the nail information detection unit 812 has, as a curved shape model of the nail T, “flat type”, “normal type”, “normal type”, “normal type”, “round type”, etc., which have different degrees of bending, that is, inclination angles. A plurality of curve pattern models, and the detected curve shape of the nail T is determined to be closest to any one of the plurality of curve pattern models, and any one of these specific curve patterns is determined. Classify into models. Further, the nail information detection unit 812 determines in advance a setting value for what percentage of the width dimension is set as a steeply inclined area from both ends in the width direction of the nail T for each of the plurality of curved pattern models. Then, the print control unit 815 includes a specific curve pattern corresponding to the curve shape of the nail T determined and classified by the nail information detection unit 812, and a steeply inclined region set for the specific curve pattern model. The steeply inclined region may be set based on the set value and the contour of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812.

  Further, when the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) is adjusted in this way, the contact position where the pen tip 713b contacts the nail T changes. For this reason, the print control unit 815 performs drawing position correction for correcting the drawing position in accordance with the change in the contact position of the pen tip 713b.

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the drawing position correction in the present embodiment.
When the print head 70 is rotated with the axis center of the support shaft 442 of the rotary solenoid 443 as the rotation center c and the angle of the pen 71 with respect to the XY plane is changed, the position where the pen tip 713b abuts the nail T is in the horizontal direction (in the XY plane). (The direction that is parallel to).
That is, for example, when the position p on the nail T shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B (for example, the center in the width direction from the position p along the width direction of the nail T is used as the reference position CL) When drawing is performed by bringing the pen tip 713b into contact with the reference position CL at a position closer to the left end portion by a distance x in the top view, the pen 71 is perpendicular to the XY plane (FIG. 11A). ), The pen 71 in this state is indicated by a broken line.) When the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) is rotated counterclockwise by an angle θ2 (for example, 45 °), FIG. ), The position where the pen tip 713b contacts the nail T is shifted to the left in the horizontal direction by a distance h.
Therefore, the print control unit 815 rotates the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) by the angle θ2 so as to cancel the positional deviation of the pen tip 713b. The pen 71 attached to 70 is moved horizontally by the distance h in the reverse direction (rightward in FIGS. 11A and 11B). As a result, the horizontal position of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) becomes xh.
At this time, tan (θ2) = h / z, and h = z × tan (θ2).
Here, z is the distance from the rotation center c of the center of the support shaft 442 of the rotary solenoid 443 to the position p of the nail T, and the position p of the nail T is the nail in the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 812. Since the vertical position information of T is known, the value of z is also known. Since θ2 is known, h can be obtained from the above equation.
In this way, the print control unit 815 performs drawing position correction that corrects the horizontal position after the angle adjustment of the print head 70 (the pen 71 attached to the print head 70) by an amount shifted by the rotation. Thereby, it is possible to draw at a desired drawing position (position p in FIGS. 11A and 11B) with the rotated pen 71.

  Next, the operation and usage method of the nail print apparatus 1 in the present embodiment will be described.

When printing is performed by the nail printing apparatus 1, the user first turns on the power switch to activate the control apparatus 80.
The display control unit 814 causes the display unit 26 to display a design selection screen. The user operates an operation button or the like of the operation unit 25 to select a desired nail design from among a plurality of nail designs displayed on the design selection screen, whereby a selection instruction signal is output from the operation unit 25. A nail design to be printed on the nail T is selected.
When the nail design is selected, the control unit 81 displays on the display unit 26 an instruction screen that prompts the user to set the pen 71 necessary for printing the selected nail design on the predetermined pen carriage 72 of the print head 70. Display. For example, when red ink or glitter gold ink is necessary, the display unit 26 instructs which pen carriage 72 should be equipped with which ink pen 71. The user sets a predetermined type of pen 71 on a predetermined pen carriage 72 in accordance with an instruction displayed on the display screen. Note that the user may dare to set a pen 71 different from the instruction to realize a nail design with a favorite color and texture.
Note that the control unit 81 may be configured to be able to read which type of pen 71 is set on the pen carriage 72 by a bar code or the like. In this case, the pen carriage 72 is set on the pen carriage 72. A nail design that can be printed by the pen 71 may be displayed on the design selection screen of the display unit 26, and the user may be allowed to select a nail design from the screen.
Next, the user inserts the printing finger U1 into the finger receiving unit 31, inserts the non-printing finger U2 into the finger retracting unit 32, fixes the printing finger U1, and then operates the print switch.
For example, FIG. 3 shows an example in which the ring finger of the left hand is inserted into the finger receiving unit 31 as the printing finger U1 and the other fingers are inserted into the finger retracting unit 32 as the non-printing finger U2.

When an instruction is input from the print switch, before the printing operation is started, the shooting control unit 811 first controls the shooting unit 50 and illuminates the print finger U1 with the illumination lamp 52, and the print fingers U1 with the two cameras 51. U1 is photographed. Thereby, the imaging control unit 811 acquires at least two images (nail images) of the nail T of the printing finger U1 inserted into the finger receiving unit 31.
Next, the nail information detection unit 812 detects the outline (nail shape) of the nail T based on the nail image. Further, the inclination angle detection unit 812a detects the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T based on the nail image.

When the nail information detection unit 812 detects the contour (nail shape) of the nail T and the inclination angle detection unit 812a detects the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T, the print data generation unit is based on the nail information. 813 performs a process of fitting the image data of the nail design to the nail T.
The print data generation unit 813 performs curved surface correction on the image data of the nail design based on the nail information. As a result, print data is generated.
In addition, before starting printing on the nail T, the print control unit 815 moves the printing unit 7 to the pen custom-printing unit 61 to drive the pen up-and-down mechanism 74 of the pen carriage 72 that holds the pen 71. Is ready for printing. Then, running-in is performed to draw a predetermined image such as “◯” or “∞” on the printing medium. Note that the break-in may be performed only for the pen 71 necessary for printing the selected nail design, or may be performed for all the pens 71.

When the print data is generated and the break-in is completed, the print control unit 815 outputs the print data to the printing unit 7 and causes the print head 70 to perform printing based on the print data.
Specifically, first, the print control unit 815 grasps the rotation amount of the pen carriage 72 from the reading result of the reference index 725 by the index reading unit 734, and the step motor 731 determines the rotation amount of the pen carriage 72 according to the rotation amount of the pen carriage 72. The driving is controlled, and the pen carriage 72 is rotated until the pen 71 necessary for printing moves to a position where the pen up-and-down mechanism 74 is provided. Further, the print head 70 is appropriately moved in the XY directions to move to the printing position, the pen up / down mechanism 74 is operated, and the pen tip 713b of the pen 71 is pressed against the surface of the nail T. At this time, the pen nib 713b is urged downward with an appropriate pressing force by the coil spring 714, and prints on the surface of the nail T while moving up and down following the surface shape of the nail T.

While printing with the pen 71, the print control unit 815 has a steeply inclined region in which the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (in this embodiment, the inclination angle is | In a portion where θ1 | ≧ 40 °), the rotary solenoid 443 is operated to adjust the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 held by the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane.
That is, for example, in an area where the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane is + 41 °, the angle of the print head 70 (the pen 71 held by the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane is + 45 °. (Refer to FIG. 6A).
For example, in a portion where the inclination angle (angle θ1) of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane is −43 °, the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71 held by the print head 70) with respect to the XY plane is −45 degrees. It adjusts so that it may become (refer FIG.6 (c)).

Further, the print control unit 815 refers to the supplementary information of the image data of the nail design, and determines whether or not the nail design printed on the nail T includes a picture drawn as a unit. When the nail design printed on the nail T includes a pattern drawn as a single piece, the print control unit 815 further determines that the surface portion of the nail T on which the pattern is printed has a predetermined inclination angle (angle θ1). It is determined whether or not a region (steep slope region PA, PB) that is equal to or greater than a value (threshold value ± 40 ° in the present embodiment) is included.
When the surface portion of the nail T on which the pattern is printed includes steeply inclined areas PA and PB, the print control unit 815 determines the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane from the start of printing the pattern. The rotary solenoid 443 is controlled so as to adjust.
For example, when 50% or more of the pattern includes steeply inclined areas PA and PB (for example, in the case of the star pattern at the right end in FIG. 10), the print control unit 815 starts the print head 70 ( The angle of the pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the line from being shifted or interrupted in the middle of the pattern or the like.
When the angle of the print head 70 (pen 71) with respect to the XY plane is adjusted, the drawing position is corrected, and the print head 70 is appropriately moved in the XY direction so that printing is performed at the corrected position. I do.

When printing is performed on a plurality of fingernails T, after the printing process is completed for one fingernail T, the finger of the printed nail T is removed from the finger receiving unit 31 and then printed. The finger of the power nail T is inserted into the finger receiving unit 31 as the printing finger U1, the nail image of the nail T is acquired, and the above processing is repeated.
When the pen 71 is replaced, the print control unit 815 moves the print head 70 to a position corresponding to the pen replacement lid unit 23. In this state, when the user opens the pen replacement lid 23, the pen 71 can be taken out and replaced.

As described above, according to the nail print apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T of the printing finger U1 with respect to the XY plane is detected, and printing is performed according to the detected inclination angle of the surface of the nail T. The rotary solenoid 443 is controlled so as to adjust the angle of the head 70 with respect to the XY plane.
For this reason, when the pen 71 is a ball-point pen type, if printing is performed without adjusting the angle, the pen tip 713b is less likely to come into contact with the surface of the nail T at the end of the nail T having a large inclination angle, and the line is blurred. Or can't draw. In addition, when the pen 71 is a sign pen type or the like, if printing is performed without adjusting the angle, the contact area of the pen tip 713b with the surface of the nail T increases at the end of the nail T with a large inclination angle. It becomes difficult to perform stable drawing, such as a thickening. In this regard, when the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane is appropriately adjusted as in this embodiment, the pen tip 713b is always on the surface of the nail T at an angle within a certain range that is nearly perpendicular to the nail T. Abut. Thereby, it is possible to perform stable drawing with a constant thickness even in a portion with a large inclination angle (angle θ1) such as an end portion of the nail T.
Furthermore, when printing is performed without adjusting the angle of the pen 71 at a portion where the inclination angle (angle θ1) is large, such as the end of the nail T, the pen 71 moves from a low position to a high position on the nail T. At this time, the nail T is pushed by the pen 71, and the printing finger U1 may move during printing. In this regard, when the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane is adjusted as in the present embodiment so that the pen 71 comes into contact with the surface of the nail T as close to the vertical as possible, the pen 71 T can be prevented from being pushed. For this reason, the burden on the user is reduced, and it is possible to prevent the printing finger U1 from moving during printing by being pressed with the pen 71.
In addition, the print control unit 815 prints the print head 70 (held by the print head 70) when the tilt angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the tilt angle detection unit 812a is equal to or larger than a predetermined value (for example, ± 40 °). The rotary solenoid 443 is controlled so as to adjust the angle of the pen 71) with respect to the XY plane. For this reason, angle adjustment is performed for parts that are likely to have a significant effect on the print finish, and high-quality printing can be performed, and rapid printing processing is realized by stopping the angle adjustment within the necessary range. be able to.
Further, in the present embodiment, when the nail design printed on the nail T includes a pattern drawn as an integral part, the portion of the surface of the nail T on which the pattern is printed includes a portion whose inclination angle is a predetermined value or more. The print control unit 815 adjusts the angle of the print head 70 with respect to the XY plane from the start of printing the pattern. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a line from being shifted or interrupted in the middle of a pattern or the like and to apply a high quality nail design.
In addition, since printing is performed using the pen 71, various color materials such as ink with high viscosity, ink containing gold and silver glitter, white ink, and the like, compared with the case of using a conventional ink jet printing head. Ink containing can be widely used. As a result, the color of the ink can be clearly developed without applying a white background, etc., and the work of applying the background can be saved, and the design utilizing the color of the nail T can be printed. This increases the range of nail designs that can be printed.
Also, when applying an undercoat, topcoat, or the like, or when it is desired to apply color to the entire nail T, use a thick pen 71 or a brush pen type pen 71 with a pen tip 713b to apply quickly and evenly. Therefore, it is possible to save the user the trouble of painting the background and the like, and it is possible to finish the nail art beautifully without causing deterioration in image quality due to unpainted or uneven painting.
In addition, since the ink that can be used is not limited, the same variation as that applied at the nail salon, such as a luxurious design using lame ink, a design with a sense of thickness and gloss, and a luxurious finish An abundant and beautifully finished nail print can be easily applied to the nail T by the nail printing apparatus 1.
In addition, since a highly viscous ink such as UV curable gel nail can be used, it is possible to realize a nail art having a good finish and a beautiful finish, which is applied in a nail salon.
Further, since the nail information detection unit 812 detects the shape of the nail as nail information based on the nail image, printing can be performed in accordance with the user's nail T, and a clean nail art with no unpainted or sticking out Can be realized.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the print head 70 is a plotter type printing apparatus including the pen 71 for drawing on the nail T of the printing finger U1 is illustrated as the nail printing apparatus 1, but the printing head of the printing unit 7 is illustrated. 70 is not limited to the one provided with the pen 71.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, an inkjet print head 43 may be provided.
A configuration in the case of a configuration including the inkjet print head 43 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12A is a top view of the periphery of the print head when an inkjet print head is provided.
FIG. 12B is a top view of the print head and the like shown in FIG.
FIG. 12C is a front view of the print head and the like shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12C, the head support member 441 connected to the unit support member 44 via the support shaft of the rotary solenoid 443 has a head carriage 42 that holds the print head 43. Is attached.
A head drive circuit board 422 for driving the print head 43 is provided on the back side of the head carriage 42 (the back side of the nail printing apparatus, the upper side in FIGS. 12A and 12C). A connector portion (not shown) is provided on the inner side in an exposed state.
A head fixing spring 421 is fixed to the upper side of the head carriage 42 by screwing or the like. The head fixing spring 421 is, for example, a leaf spring, and contacts the upper side of the print head 43 to fix the print head 43 when the print head 43 is mounted on the head carriage 42. The upper surface of the print head 43 has a recess into which the head fixing spring 421 is fitted.
By pushing the print head 43 into the head carriage 42 until the head fixing spring 421 fits into the recess, the print head 43 is positioned and fixed in the head carriage 42. Further, a head side connector portion (not shown) connected to the connector portion of the head drive circuit board 422 is provided on the back side of the print head 43 (upper side in FIGS. 12A and 12C). It has been. In a state where the print head 43 is positioned by the head fixing spring 421 and fixed to the head carriage 42, the connector portion on the print head 43 side is connected to the connector portion of the head drive circuit board 422 so that the print head 43 can be driven. It becomes a state.
When the print head 43 is removed from the head carriage 42, the free end side of the head fixing spring 421 is pulled upward to remove it from the recess of the print head 43, and the front side of the head carriage 42 (the front side of the nail printing apparatus, The print head 43 can be removed by pulling it out (lower side in FIGS. 12A and 12C).
The print head 43 is an integrated cartridge in which ink tanks are integrated, and a plurality of ink chambers that are individually partitioned are provided inside each of the ink chambers. For example, C, M, and Y colors are provided in each ink chamber. Each of the inks is filled. The type and number of inks are not limited to those exemplified here.
On the lower surface of the print head 43 (the surface facing the finger placement portion 116a when the print head 43 is mounted on the head carriage 42, the right side in FIG. 12C), the ink of each color filled in the ink chamber An ejection surface 431 on which ejection ports for ejecting water are formed is provided.

Even when the print head 43 is such an ink jet system, the print control unit 815 controls the rotary solenoid 443 according to the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the inclination angle detection unit 812a. The angle of the print head 43 with respect to the XY plane is adjusted.
When the print head is an ink jet system that ejects ink as fine droplets, if the ink is ejected from an oblique direction with respect to the nail T, the landing position is shifted or the end of the nail T is sufficiently Ink may not arrive.
In this regard, if the angle of the print head 43 with respect to the XY plane is adjusted as described above, ink can be ejected from the direction substantially perpendicular to the nail T regardless of the angle of the nail T. For this reason, as in the case of including the pen 71 described in the above embodiment, high-definition printing can be performed up to the end of the nail T having a large inclination angle, and a beautifully finished nail art can be realized.
Even in the case of the ink jet system, when the angle of the print head 43 with respect to the XY plane is adjusted, the horizontal position of the ejection surface 431 is shifted. For this reason, it is preferable to perform the printing operation after performing a process of correcting the position of the print head 43 (the position of the ejection surface 431 that ejects ink). A specific correction method in this case is the same as the drawing position correction described in the above embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the case where the nail printing apparatus 1 includes the pen carriage 72 on which the four pens 71 can be mounted is illustrated, but the pen 71 held by the nail printing apparatus 1 is limited to four. Not. For example, a pen carriage that can mount a larger number of pens 71 such as eight may be provided. As the number of pens 71 that can be attached increases, it becomes possible to print a complicated nail design using many colors.
Further, a mechanism for automatically replacing the pen 71 mounted on the pen carriage 72 may be mounted. In this case, for example, a plurality of pens are held in the standby space, and the pens are automatically selected from here and mounted on the pen carriage 72. With this configuration, the number of pens 71 that can be held in the apparatus can be further increased.

Furthermore, the number of pens 71 that can be held by the nail print apparatus 1 is not limited to a plurality of pens, and may be only one. In this case, a method may be adopted in which the user manually replaces the pen as necessary.
In the case where only one pen 71 is held in the printing unit 7, it is sufficient that the pen 71 is moved up and down so that the pen tip 713b is brought into contact with the surface of the nail T. There is no need to be configured to be rotatable. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide the carriage rotation mechanism 73 (step motor 731, gear 733, etc.) for rotating the pen carriage. Further, since it is not necessary to check the mounting position of the pen 71, it is not necessary to provide the reference index 725 and the index reading unit 734 for reading the reference index 725. Thereby, the nail print apparatus 1 provided with a pen can be realized at a low cost with a simpler configuration.

Further, in the present embodiment, the processing contents at the time of printing such as which part of the nail design image data stored in the nail design storage area 823 is a pattern part drawn as a unit during the nail design are described. Attached as supplementary information, the print control unit 815 refers to the supplementary information of the image data of the nail design, and adjusts the angle of the print head (i.e., adjusts the angle from the start of printing the pattern, In the example, it is determined whether the angle adjustment is performed from a portion where the inclination angle of the nail T exceeds a predetermined threshold value), but the determination method in the print control unit 815 is not limited to this.
For example, the image data of nail design does not have incidental information, and a threshold for extracting a picture drawn as a unit (for example, a threshold such as a length or an area of a line constituting the picture) is stored in the storage unit 82 or the like. In other words, the print control unit 815 may determine whether the print head angle adjustment is performed by determining whether or not the threshold is exceeded for each print portion.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration using a solenoid as a pen up / down mechanism for moving the pen 71 up and down is illustrated, but the configuration of the pen up / down mechanism is not limited to this. For example, you may comprise with a step motor, DC motor, a motor, a ball screw, etc.

In this embodiment, the X-direction moving stage 45 and the Y-direction moving stage 47 for moving the print head 70 are replaced with an X-direction moving motor 46 and a Y-direction moving motor 48 that are step motors, a ball screw and a guide (not shown). However, the configuration for moving the print head 70 is not limited to this.
The X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 may be anything that can move the print head 70 back and forth and left and right as desired. For example, the shaft, guide and wire used in a conventional inexpensive printer or the like. A configuration using a configured mechanism may be used, or a configuration using a servo motor or the like may be used.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the step motor 731 is used as a driving unit of the carriage rotation mechanism 73 that rotates the pen carriage 72 of the print head 70 is shown, but the configuration of the carriage rotation mechanism 73 is not limited to this.
For example, the carriage rotation mechanism that rotates the pen carriage of the print head may be constituted by a ratchet mechanism and a solenoid.

In the present embodiment, the pen is printed with ink, but the pen attached to the print head is not limited to the one that prints ink.
For example, a pen containing colorless or colored transparent liquid paste is attached to the print head, and after printing using this, sprinkle powdery lame etc. or paste rhinestone etc. before the glue dries As a result, a more luxurious nail design can be realized.
Further, a pen containing a liquid containing a fragrance or the like may be attached to the print head, and printing may be performed using the pen so that a scented nail print can be enjoyed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where a printing medium that is a piece of paper is used for a pen's manual is illustrated, but the printing medium is not limited to paper. In addition, a print medium may be used in a roll shape. In this case, a medium feeding mechanism for feeding and winding the printing medium automatically or manually is provided. Further, when the printing medium is a roll-shaped medium, a medium attachment / detachment opening for attaching / detaching the roll-shaped printing medium is provided instead of the medium insertion / extraction opening 24.

  In this embodiment, the print data generation unit 813 adjusts the nail design image data to the shape of the nail T, performs curved surface correction on the nail design image data, and generates print data as an example. However, the generation of the print data by the print data generation unit 813 is not an essential component of the present invention. For example, without generating print data separately, the print control unit 815 outputs the nail design image data to the print head while appropriately converting the image data using a LUT (Lookup Table) or the like to perform printing that matches the nail shape. Printing control may be performed.

  In the present embodiment, the shape of the nail T is detected as nail information, and print data is generated based on the detected shape. However, detecting the nail shape is not an essential component of the present invention. . For example, if it is not essential to extract the contour of the nail T when performing printing, such as when printing a one-point pattern in the middle of the nail T, it is necessary to accurately recognize the shape of the nail T No, printing can be performed without detecting the nail shape.

  The imaging device is not limited to the camera 51 that captures a still image, and may be an apparatus that can capture a moving image. In this case, a moving image is captured by the camera, and an image on the upper surface of the nail T is appropriately cut out from the captured moving image and used for detection of nail information.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the nail image storage area 821, the nail information storage area 822, and the nail design storage area 823 are provided in the storage unit 82 of the control device 80 is described as an example. The nail information storage area 822 and the nail design storage area 823 are not limited to those provided in the storage unit 82 of the control device 80, and a separate storage unit may be provided.

In this embodiment, the nail printing apparatus 1 that performs printing sequentially by inserting fingers one by one into the apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is applied to an apparatus that can perform printing on a plurality of fingers simultaneously. It is also possible to apply.
For example, it is possible to simultaneously print on a plurality of printing fingers U1 by expanding the operating range of the pen and increasing the printable range.

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>
A print head that has a curved shape in which the center portion rises from both ends along the width direction, the surface of the fingernail as a print target surface, and a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface;
An angle adjustment unit for adjusting an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface;
With
The angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle when the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head is configured to adjust the angle of the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface. An nail printing apparatus, wherein the angle is made closer to an angle of the print head when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface with respect to the width direction of the print target surface.
<Claim 2>
The angle adjustment unit sets the angle to a first value when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head has both ends of the print target surface in the width direction. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the drawing is performed on the area on the part side, the angle is set to a second value different from the first value.
<Claim 3>
The nail printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second value of the angle is set according to a curved shape of the printing target surface.
<Claim 4>
A finger placement unit having a placement surface on which a finger having a nail as the print target surface is placed, and when the print head performs the drawing, the print head is moved along the placement surface. A drive unit,
The drive unit moves the position of the print head to a position where when the angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle, the print head due to the adjustment of the angle cancels out a drawing position drawing on the print target surface. The nail print apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the nail print apparatus is used.
<Claim 5>
The image to be printed on the print target surface includes a specific picture drawn as a unit, and the area of the print target surface on which the specific picture is drawn includes the both end regions and other regions. The angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle of the print head during a period from the start to the end of drawing the specific picture by the print head. The nail printing apparatus according to any one of the above.
<Claim 6>
The regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface have a first region and a second region,
The first region is provided along the length direction of the nail at a position shifted from a center line passing through the center of the nail in the width direction to one end side in the width direction according to the curved shape. 1 is an area surrounded by a boundary line and the edge on the one end side of the surface of the nail,
The second region includes a second boundary line provided along the length direction of the nail and a surface of the nail at a position shifted from the center line to the other end side in the width direction according to the curved shape. 5. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nail printing apparatus is an area surrounded by an edge on the other end side.
<Claim 7>
Furthermore, it has an inclination angle detector that detects an inclination angle in the width direction of the surface of the nail,
The nail print according to claim 6, wherein the first boundary line and the second boundary line are provided at a position where the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection unit is a predetermined threshold value. apparatus.
<Claim 8>
The nail printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the print head includes a drawing tool that performs drawing while a tip portion contacts a surface of the nail.
<Claim 9>
In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus that has a curved shape in which the center part rises from both end sides along the width direction, the fingernail is a printing target surface, and draws on the printing target surface,
The nail printing apparatus includes: a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface; and an angle adjustment unit that adjusts an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface.
Moving the print head with respect to the print target surface to perform drawing on the print target surface;
When the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, the angle is adjusted by the angle adjustment unit, and the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface is adjusted. The nail print is characterized in that the angle is adjusted so as to approach the angle of the print target surface with respect to the width direction of the print head when the print head draws at a central portion in the width direction of the print target surface. The printing method of the device.
<Claim 10>
The angle adjustment unit sets the angle to a first value when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head has both ends of the print target surface in the width direction. The angle is set to a second value different from the first value when drawing on the area on the part side, and the second value is set according to the curved shape of the print target surface. A printing method for a nail printing apparatus according to claim 9.
<Claim 11>
The nail printing apparatus includes: a finger placement unit having a placement surface on which a finger having a nail as the print target surface is placed; and the print head when the print head performs the drawing. A drive unit that moves along the surface,
When the angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle, the drive unit moves the position of the print head to a position where the print head due to the adjustment of the angle cancels the drawing position deviation on the print target surface. The printing method of the nail print apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the printing method is performed.
<Claim 12>
The image to be drawn on the print target surface includes a specific picture drawn as a single piece, and the area of the print target surface on which the specific picture is drawn includes the both end side area and the other area. The angle of the print head is adjusted by the angle adjustment unit from when the print head starts drawing to the end of drawing of the specific pattern. The printing method of the nail print apparatus as described in any one of Claims 11.
<Claim 13>
The nail print apparatus has an inclination angle detection unit that detects an inclination angle in the width direction of the surface of the nail,
The region on both sides in the width direction of the printing target surface is set to a region where the value of the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The printing method of the nail print apparatus as described in any one of Claims 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nail printing apparatus 7 Printing part 71 Pen 70 Print head 72 Pen carriage 46 X direction moving motor 48 Y direction moving motor 49 Head drive part 50 Image | photographing part 80 Control apparatus 81 Control part 82 Storage part 811 Image | photographing control part 812 Nail information detection part 812a Inclination angle detection unit 815 Print control unit 821 Nail image storage area 822 Nail information storage area 823 Design image storage area T Nail U1 Print finger

Claims (13)

A print head that has a curved shape in which the center portion rises from both ends along the width direction, the surface of the fingernail as a print target surface, and a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface;
An angle adjustment unit for adjusting an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface;
With
The angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle when the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head is configured to adjust the angle of the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface. An nail printing apparatus, wherein the angle is made closer to an angle of the print head when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface with respect to the width direction of the print target surface.   The angle adjustment unit sets the angle to a first value when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head has both ends of the print target surface in the width direction. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the drawing is performed on the area on the part side, the angle is set to a second value different from the first value.   The nail printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second value of the angle is set according to a curved shape of the printing target surface. A finger placement unit having a placement surface on which a finger having a nail as the print target surface is placed, and when the print head performs the drawing, the print head is moved along the placement surface. A drive unit,
The drive unit moves the position of the print head to a position where when the angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle, the print head due to the adjustment of the angle cancels out a drawing position drawing on the print target surface. The nail print apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the nail print apparatus is used.   The image to be printed on the print target surface includes a specific picture drawn as a unit, and the area of the print target surface on which the specific picture is drawn includes the both end regions and other regions. The angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle of the print head during a period from the start to the end of drawing the specific picture by the print head. The nail printing apparatus according to any one of the above. The regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface have a first region and a second region,
The first region is provided along the length direction of the nail at a position shifted from a center line passing through the center of the nail in the width direction to one end side in the width direction according to the curved shape. 1 is an area surrounded by a boundary line and the edge on the one end side of the surface of the nail,
The second region includes a second boundary line provided along the length direction of the nail and a surface of the nail at a position shifted from the center line to the other end side in the width direction according to the curved shape. 5. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nail printing apparatus is an area surrounded by an edge on the other end side. Furthermore, it has an inclination angle detector that detects an inclination angle in the width direction of the surface of the nail,
The nail print according to claim 6, wherein the first boundary line and the second boundary line are provided at a position where the value of the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection unit is a predetermined threshold value. apparatus.   The nail printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the print head includes a drawing tool that performs drawing while a tip portion contacts a surface of the nail. In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus that has a curved shape in which the center part rises from both end sides along the width direction, the fingernail is a printing target surface, and draws on the printing target surface,
The nail printing apparatus includes: a print head that performs drawing on the print target surface; and an angle adjustment unit that adjusts an angle of the print head with respect to the print target surface.
Moving the print head with respect to the print target surface to perform drawing on the print target surface;
When the print head performs drawing on the regions on both sides in the width direction of the print target surface, the angle is adjusted by the angle adjustment unit, and the print head with respect to the width direction of the print target surface is adjusted. The nail print is characterized in that the angle is adjusted so as to approach the angle of the print target surface with respect to the width direction of the print head when the print head draws at a central portion in the width direction of the print target surface. The printing method of the device.   The angle adjustment unit sets the angle to a first value when the print head draws at a center portion in the width direction of the print target surface, and the print head has both ends of the print target surface in the width direction. The angle is set to a second value different from the first value when drawing on the area on the part side, and the second value is set according to the curved shape of the print target surface. A printing method for a nail printing apparatus according to claim 9. The nail printing apparatus includes: a finger placement unit having a placement surface on which a finger having a nail as the print target surface is placed; and the print head when the print head performs the drawing. A drive unit that moves along the surface,
When the angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle, the drive unit moves the position of the print head to a position where the print head due to the adjustment of the angle cancels the drawing position deviation on the print target surface. The printing method of the nail print apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the printing method is performed.   The image to be drawn on the print target surface includes a specific picture drawn as a single piece, and the area of the print target surface on which the specific picture is drawn includes the both end side area and the other area. The angle of the print head is adjusted by the angle adjustment unit from when the print head starts drawing to the end of drawing of the specific pattern. The printing method of the nail print apparatus as described in any one of Claims 11. The nail print apparatus has an inclination angle detection unit that detects an inclination angle in the width direction of the surface of the nail,
The region on both sides in the width direction of the printing target surface is set to a region where the value of the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The printing method of the nail print apparatus as described in any one of Claims 12.

Images