JP2015054153A - Nail printing equipment, and printing method for nail printing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide nail printing equipment for preventing a line from being thinned or blurred even at the end portion of a nail having a large inclination angle and for lightening the feel that the nail is pushed while being drawn by a writing instrument, thereby to prevent that a finger is moved by a force pushed by a writing instrument, so that a highly fine nail print can be realized, and a printing method for the nail printing equipment.SOLUTION: In the case where a nail T of a printing finger U1 placed on an XY plane is drawn while moving a drawing head 42 mounting a writing instrument 41 in an X-direction and a Y-direction, the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T of the printing finger U1 is detected so that the drawing is performed by changing the moving velocity of the drawing head 42 in accordance with the detected inclination angle of the surface of the nail T.

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a plotter-type printing apparatus that includes a drawing head equipped with a writing tool such as a pen and performs drawing by bringing the tip of the writing tool into contact with a sheet (object) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
In Patent Document 1, an inclination angle with respect to a floor surface of a table on which a sheet is placed is detected, and the writing pressure of the writing instrument, the descending speed of the writing instrument, and the moving speed of the drawing head are held at constant values according to the inclination angle. A configuration is disclosed.
In the method described in Patent Document 1, when drawing on a plane, the speed is changed in the oblique direction, so that the writing pressure or the like can be prevented from changing due to the change in the inclination angle of the table.

JP-A-7-266789

However, when the plotter is used as a nail printing apparatus, the object to be drawn is a nail, and the surface with which the tip of a writing instrument such as a pen abuts changes in the vertical direction (height direction).
For this reason, there is a problem that the drawing speed by the writing instrument is greatly changed, the thickness and density of the line drawn on the nail are changed, and the line is faint in some cases, and a beautiful nail print cannot be performed. is there.
In addition, since the nail design is not seen with one eye from right above, but with different angles with both eyes, image correction is performed so that the design is not distorted when printed on the surface of the nail, which is a curved surface. Although it is necessary, even when such correction is performed, the speed of the writing tool on the nail is not solved according to the angle of the nail surface.

  In addition, when drawing from the end of the nail having a relatively low height toward the center of the nail having a relatively high height (that is, when the writing tool climbs the inclined surface of the nail), the nail is leveled by the writing tool. It may be pushed strongly in the direction. In particular, when the speed of the writing instrument is high, it is easy to feel the force pressed by the writing instrument. If there is a feeling that the nail is strongly pressed by the writing instrument, the finger may move by this, and there is a problem that the finished quality of the nail print is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and prevents the line from becoming thin or blurred even at the end of the nail having a large inclination angle, and the nail is pushed by the writing tool during drawing. An object of the present invention is to provide a nail printing apparatus and a printing method of the nail printing apparatus that can realize high-definition nail printing by reducing the feeling and preventing the finger from moving due to the force pressed by the writing instrument. To do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the nail printing apparatus of the present invention provides:
A finger placement unit for placing the finger of the nail on the XY plane;
An inclination angle detector for detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the nail with respect to the XY plane;
A head for mounting a writing instrument for drawing on the fingernail placed on the finger placement unit;
A head drive unit for moving the head in the X and Y directions;
A control unit that controls the head drive unit so as to change the moving speed of the head according to the tilt angle of the surface of the nail detected by the tilt angle detection unit;
It is characterized by having.

Further, the printing method of the nail printing apparatus of the present invention is:
In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus for drawing on the fingernail placed on the XY plane while moving the head equipped with the writing instrument in the X direction and the Y direction,
Detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the fingernail with respect to the XY plane;
The drawing is performed by changing the moving speed of the head according to the detected inclination angle of the surface of the nail.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the line from becoming thin or faint even at the end portion of the nail having a large inclination angle, and to reduce the feeling that the nail is pushed by the writing tool during drawing, and by the force pushed by the writing tool. The finger can be prevented from moving, and a high-definition nail print can be realized.

1 is a front view of a nail print apparatus according to a first 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 writing instrument carriage in the drawing state and the writing instrument supported by this, (a) is a side view of the writing instrument carriage and the writing instrument, (b) is an arrow view of the writing instrument carriage and the writing instrument of (a) It is the top view seen from b direction, (c) is the front view which looked at the writing instrument carriage and writing instrument of (a) from arrow c direction. It is a principal part block diagram which showed the control structure of the nail print apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the design drawn on a nail | claw when not performing curved surface correction | amendment, (b) is description which shows the example of the design drawn on a nail | claw when curved surface correction | amendment is performed. FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the inclination angle of a nail and the speed of a writing instrument, (b) has shown the speed of the writing instrument in case the inclination angle of a nail is 30 degree | times, (c) Shows the speed of the writing instrument when the inclination angle of the nail is 45 degrees, and (d) shows the speed of the writing instrument when the inclination angle of the nail is 60 degrees. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the inclination angle of a nail | claw, and the force which pushes a nail | claw, (a) has shown the case where the inclination angle of a nail is 0 degree | times, (b) has the inclination angle of a nail | claw 30 degree | times. (C) shows the case where the inclination angle of the nail is 45 degrees, and (d) shows the case where the inclination angle of the nail is 60 degrees. It is the figure which showed the example of the area | region classification of the nail | claw according to the inclination angle in the nail print apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a front view of the apparatus main body of the modification of the nail print apparatus. It is sectional drawing which follows the XI-XI line in FIG.

[First Embodiment]
A first embodiment of a nail print apparatus 1 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 perspective view showing an internal configuration of the nail print apparatus 1, and 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 print apparatus 1 includes a case main body 2 and an apparatus main body 10 accommodated in the case main body 2.

A writing tool replacement lid 23 configured to be openable and closable to replace a writing tool 41 such as a pen of a drawing unit 40 to be described later is provided at one upper front end of the case body 2. The writing instrument replacement lid 23 is rotatable from a closed state to an open state as shown in FIG. 2 via, for example, a hinge.
Further, a drawing medium placed on the writing instrument custom-designing portion 61 at a position corresponding to a writing instrument custom-designating portion 61 described later on one side surface (in this embodiment, the left side surface in FIG. 1) of the case main body 2. A medium insertion / exit 24 that can be replaced (not shown) is formed.

An operation unit 25 (see FIG. 5) 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 drawn on the nail T, and a drawing start for instructing a drawing start. 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 drawn 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 selections and instructions can be performed by touching the touch panel surface with a fingertip or the like. Other than the finger, for example, various inputs can be performed by a touch operation of touching the surface of the display unit 26 with a stylus pen or a pointed writing tool.

  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 drawing portion 40 is accommodated when the drawing portion 40 (see FIG. 5) moves forward (front side in the finger insertion direction). A Y-direction moving stage 47 of the drawing unit 40 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.

The finger fixing unit 30 receives a finger corresponding to the nail T to be drawn (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 drawing on the nail T of the ring finger, as shown in FIG. 3, the ring finger as the printing finger U1 is inserted into the finger receiving unit 31, and the other four fingers (thumb, index finger) as the non-printing 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 drawn 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, front walls 31 f (see FIG. 1) that block the front side of the lower machine casing 11 are erected on both sides of the upper surface of the partition wall 116 and on the front side of the lower machine casing 11. 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 protruding portion 116b is formed at the front end portion of the partition wall 116, when the non-printing finger U2 is inserted into the finger retracting portion 32, a space is secured between the drawn fingernail T and the partition wall 116. Further, it is possible to prevent the nail T from coming into contact with the lower surface of the partition wall 116 so that ink adheres to the apparatus side and the picture drawn on the nail T is rubbed and damaged.

Drawing on the upper surface of the partition wall 116 and 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) Within the possible range, there is provided a writing instrument customizing section 61 for writing in the writing instrument 41 described later. Note that the writing instrument customary portion 61 is preferably provided at a height that is substantially the same as the height of the nail T when the printing finger U1 is inserted into the finger receiving portion 31.
The writing instrument customary portion 61 is a flat plate portion on which a drawing medium (not shown) inserted from the medium insertion port 24 of the case body 2 is placed.
The drawing medium placed on the writing instrument customary unit 61 may be any medium that can accustom the pen tip 412, for example, a piece of paper.
The writing instrument customizing unit 61 prevents the writing start from fading due to dryness of the pen tip 412 or poor ink loading, etc. before starting drawing with image data on the nail T. The writing instrument 41 is lowered to draw a predetermined image such as “◯” or “∞” to make a break-in and improve the state of the pen tip 412. The predetermined image to be drawn 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 to write the break-ins such as “◯” and “∞” while slightly shifting each time within the range of the writing instrument custom-writing section 61. When writing is performed on almost the entire surface of the drawing medium, a display screen for prompting replacement of the drawing medium such as “Replace paper” is displayed on the display unit 26. In this case, when the user takes out the drawing medium from the medium insertion port 24 and replaces it with a new one, a new writing medium can be written into. If the drawing medium is roll paper, when the printing space is exhausted, the drawing medium is fed out from the roll paper so that break-in can be performed on a new printing surface.

Further, in this embodiment, a rubber writing instrument cap 62 is installed in front of the writing instrument custom writing section 61 (on the front side in the finger insertion direction). The writing instrument cap 62 is provided in a number corresponding to the writing instrument 41 to be attached to the drawing unit 40 (four in the present embodiment), and when the writing instrument 41 is attached to the drawing unit 40 and drawing is not performed. After the writing instrument 41 is moved right above the writing instrument cap 62, a later-described solenoid 440 (see FIG. 4) is pulled to lower the writing instrument 41, and the pen tip 412 is accommodated in the writing instrument cap 62, so that no drawing is performed. The pen tip 412 can be prevented from drying. The shape or the like of the writing instrument cap 62 is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the writing instrument cap 62 is a long groove-shaped writing instrument cap that can receive the pen tips 412 of all the writing instruments 41 attached to the drawing unit 40. Also good.
In the present embodiment, since the writing instrument cap 62 is provided near the writing instrument custom-designing part 61 in this way, when starting drawing, the writing instrument 41 is lifted and the writing instrument custom-designing part 61 immediately adjacent thereto is used. You can write in and start drawing. For this reason, the time required for the movement of the writing instrument 41 or the like can be minimized, and a quick drawing operation can be performed.

  The drawing unit 40 moves a drawing head 42 having a writing instrument 41 for drawing, a unit support member 44 that supports the drawing head 42, and the drawing head 42 in the X direction (the X direction in FIG. 1 and the left and right direction of the nail printing apparatus 1). X-direction moving stage 45, X-direction moving motor 46, and Y-direction moving stage 47 for moving the drawing head 42 in the Y-direction (the Y-direction in FIG. 2 and the front-rear direction of the nail printing apparatus 1). A motor 48 and the like are provided.

In the present embodiment, the drawing head 42 includes four writing instrument carriages 43 each holding one writing instrument 41.
4A to 4C are enlarged views of the writing instrument carriage 43 and the writing instrument 41 supported by the writing instrument carriage 43, and show a state (drawing state) when drawing is being performed.
FIG. 4A is a side view of the writing instrument carriage 43 and the writing instrument 41, and FIG. 4B is a top view of the writing instrument carriage 43 and the writing instrument 41 of FIG. FIG. 4C is a front view of the writing instrument carriage 43 and the writing instrument 41 of FIG. 4A as viewed from the direction of the arrow c.

As shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the writing instrument 41 held by each writing instrument carriage 43 is provided with a pen tip 412 on the tip side of the writing instrument shaft portion 411. The inside of the writing instrument shaft portion 411 is an ink storage portion that stores various inks. The ink accommodated in the writing instrument shaft 411 is not particularly limited in viscosity, color material particle size (particle size), etc. For example, gold-silver lame ink, white ink, UV curable type Ink, gel nail, undercoat, topcoat, nail polish, etc. can also be used.
On the other end side of the writing instrument shaft portion 411, a lid portion 414 on which a collar portion 413 projecting outward from the writing instrument shaft portion 411 is attached. The material for forming the writing instrument shaft 411 and the lid 414 is not particularly limited, but is preferably formed of a resin or the like suitable for mass-producing the writing instrument 41.
In this embodiment, a knob portion 415 is provided on the upper portion of the lid portion 414 so that it can be easily held by hand or tweezers, and a small iron piece 416 is embedded in the knob portion 415 so as to be attracted to the magnet. It is provided by sticking.

The writing instrument 41 is, for example, a pen in which the pen tip 412 is a ball-point pen type in which the pen tip 412 is pressed against the surface of the nail T to draw the ink contained in the writing tool shaft portion 411. The writing instrument 41 is not limited to a ball-point pen type, for example, a sign pen type that draws ink by soaking a felt-shaped pen tip, or a brush pen type that draws ink by soaking the bundled hair. It may be. Various types of pen tip 412 can be prepared.
The writing instrument 41 held by each writing instrument carriage 421 may be a pen having the same type of nib 412 or a writing instrument having a different type of nib 412.
As will be described later, the writing instrument 41 is held only by being inserted into the writing instrument holder 437d and the writing instrument holder 431 of the writing instrument carriage 43 from above, so the writing instrument replacement lid 23 provided on the case body 2 is opened, For example, it can be easily replaced by a method such as picking the knob part 415 with a hand or tweezers, or bringing a magnet attached to the tip of a rod-shaped member (not shown) close to the knob part 415 and attracting the iron piece 416 to the magnet and pulling it up. Is possible. For this reason, a user implement | achieves a wide nail design by replacing suitably the writing instrument 41 with which each writing instrument carriage 43 is mounted | worn with the writing instrument 41 from which the kind of nib 412 and the kind of ink differ according to the nail design to draw. Can do.

  In this embodiment, since four writing instrument carriages 43 that hold the writing instrument 41 are arranged in the width direction of the apparatus (left and right direction, X direction in FIG. 1), the position of the pen tip 412 is in the X direction (right and left of the apparatus). However, this deviation is an integral multiple of one step in the drawing operation, and the drawing is performed by correcting the number of steps corresponding to the deviation according to the writing instrument 41 used for drawing. The four writing instruments 41 can draw at the same position.

Each writing instrument carriage 43 is provided with a writing instrument holder 431 that holds the writing instrument 41 substantially vertically and a writing instrument up-and-down mechanism 432 for moving the writing instrument 41 up and down.
The writing instrument holder 431 is a cylindrical portion that holds the writing instrument 41 through which the pen tip 412 and the writing instrument shaft 411 are inserted.
The writing tool up-and-down mechanism 432 is biased forward (to the right in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4A) by a spring 433, and a cylindrical plunger 434 that reciprocates like a piston, and the attachment of the spring 433. A pull-type solenoid 440 that sucks the plunger 434 backward (to the left in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4A) against the force, a pin 436 attached to the moving end side of the solenoid plunger 434, and this pin A writing tool up / down lever 437 connected to the plunger 434 via 436 and a stopper 438 for suppressing the writing tool up / down lever 437 from rising too high are provided. A movable plunger 434 moves in a coil portion 435 wound with a copper wire or the like. A solenoid 440 is formed by a set of the coil portion 435 and the plunger 434.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the writing tool up / down lever 437 is an L-shaped member in which the short arm 437a and the long arm 437b intersect at a substantially right angle, and is engaged with a pin 436 on the distal end side of the short arm 437a. A long hole 437c is formed. Further, a writing instrument holding portion 437d through which the writing instrument 41 is inserted is provided on the distal end side of the long arm 437b. The writing instrument holding portion 437d is formed in a ring shape having an inner diameter that is larger than the diameters of the writing instrument shaft portion 411 and the pen tip 412 of the writing instrument 41 and smaller than the diameter of the collar portion 413 of the writing instrument 41, and the writing instrument shaft portion 411 and The pen tip 412 is inserted, and the hook portion 413 is locked to be supported from below.
A rotating shaft 439 is inserted from the writing instrument carriage 43 side at the intersection of the short arm 437a and the long arm 437b of the writing instrument up / down lever 437.

In this embodiment, when the solenoid 440 is driven, the plunger 434 is pulled backward against the biasing force of the spring 433 as shown in FIG. 4A, and the pin 436 of the plunger 434 is pulled. The writing tool up / down lever 437 is held at a position where the long arm 437b is substantially horizontal. In this state, the pen tip of the writing instrument 41 is lowered below the writing instrument holder 431 of the writing instrument carriage 43, and is in a drawing state in which the surface of the nail T and the drawing medium can be contacted. Further, in a state where the solenoid 440 is opened, the plunger 434 protrudes forward by the biasing force of the spring 433. At this time, the writing tool up / down lever 437 locked to the pin 436 of the plunger 434 rotates upward (counterclockwise) with the rotation shaft 439 as a fulcrum, and the long arm 437b comes into contact with the stopper 438 and stops. Thereby, the collar part 413 of the writing instrument 41 is flipped upward by the writing instrument up / down lever 437 (see FIG. 2). In this state, the pen tip of the writing instrument 41 is raised above the writing instrument holder 431 of the writing instrument carriage 43 and is in a non-drawing state where it does not contact the surface of the nail T or the drawing medium.
As described above, the force for moving the plunger 434 back and forth of the solenoid 440 is converted into the force for moving the writing tool 41 up and down by the rotating shaft 439 and the writing tool up / down lever 437 that rotates about the rotating shaft 439.

Note that the writing instrument 41 is only inserted and held in the writing instrument holder 431 of the writing instrument carriage 43 and is not fixed to the writing instrument up / down lever 437 or the like, and is therefore biased downward by its own weight. Thereby, the writing instrument 41 can freely descend along the writing instrument holder 431 to a position where the collar part 413 contacts the upper surface of the writing instrument holding part 437d, and when it hits the surface of the nail T or the drawing medium, the pen tip 412. Is pressed against the surface of the nail T and the drawing medium.
That is, when drawing with the writing instrument 41 on the nail T, the pen tip 412 follows the surface shape (surface undulation or the like) of the nail T (according to the curved surface or height of the nail T) and the printing finger U1 is placed. It is configured to be freely movable in the Z direction (that is, the vertical direction) orthogonal to the placed XY plane.
For example, when drawing on a portion where the height of the nail T is low (for example, both ends in the width direction of the nail T), the writing instrument 41 descends to a position near the position where the collar 413 contacts the upper surface of the writing instrument holding part 437d. When drawing on a portion where the height of the nail T is high (for example, a central portion in the width direction of the nail T), the writing instrument 41 rises following the height of the nail T, and the collar 413 It is separated from the upper surface of the writing instrument holder 437d.
Since the weight of the writing instrument 41 is extremely light such as several grams to several tens of grams, the user does not feel pain even when the pen tip 412 hits the nail T, and the writing pressure of the writing instrument 41 is secured by its own weight. A nail design can be drawn on the nail T or the like.

In the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 439 and the stopper 438 are made of a metal such as stainless steel among the members constituting the writing instrument up-and-down mechanism 432, and the other members are lightweight such as resin and do not react to the magnet. Made of material. In addition, the material of the member which comprises the writing instrument up-and-down mechanism 432 is not limited to what was illustrated here.
In this embodiment, the solenoid 440 is used as an actuator for moving the writing instrument 41 up and down. However, the actuator for moving the writing instrument 41 up and down is not limited to the solenoid 440. Since the writing instrument 41 is lightweight, an actuator for moving the writing instrument 41 up and down can be configured by various small driving devices in addition to the solenoid.

The unit support member 44 that supports the drawing head 42 is fixed to an X-direction moving unit 451 attached to the X-direction moving stage 45. The X-direction moving unit 451 is moved 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 drawing head 42 is moved in the X direction (see FIG. 1 in the X direction and 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 configured to move in the Y direction along a guide (not shown) on the Y-direction moving stage 47 by driving the Y-direction moving motor 48, whereby the drawing head 42 is moved in the Y direction (see FIG. 2 in the Y direction, 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). The X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 of this embodiment are step motors that move 40 μm every time one pulse is sent.
That is, in this embodiment, “1 vector (40 μm)”, which is the minimum unit of drawing in the image data represented as vector data, is defined as one step in the X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48 that are step motors. Sometimes, in order to move one step, the writing control unit 815 sends a drive signal of one pulse to the X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 40 μm.
In the present embodiment, the movement of the X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 is set to 40 μm / step. When a nail design is drawn, a resolution of about “600 dpi” in the printer is sufficient. This is because 25.4 mm / 600 = 42.333 · μm. In principle, it can be moved at 1 μm / step or the like, but in order to perform such high-precision motor control, the accuracy and rigidity of the apparatus are required, and the cost increases and at the same time the drawing speed slows down. . For this reason, it is preferable to set it as about 40 micrometers / step like this embodiment.
In the present embodiment, a head drive unit 49 that drives a drawing head 42 including a writing tool 41 for drawing on the nail T in the X and Y directions by the X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48 (see FIG. 5). Is configured.

A solenoid 440 for moving the writing instrument 41 in the drawing unit 40 up and down, an X-direction moving motor 46, and a Y-direction moving motor 48 are connected to a drawing control unit 815 (see FIG. 5) of the control device 80 described later, and the drawing control is performed. It is controlled by the unit 815.
In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the drawing control unit 815 adjusts the moving speed of the drawing head 42 in accordance with the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T to be drawn.

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 preferably has, for example, about 2 million pixels or more.
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. Further, the other camera 51 is arranged to be slightly inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the finger receiving portion 31 and photographs the nail T from an obliquely upward direction.
An illumination lamp (illumination device) 52 such as a white LED is installed on the substrate 13 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 photographing unit 50 is connected to a photographing control unit 811 (see FIG. 5) of the control device 80 to be described later, and is controlled by the photographing 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 512, which will be described later, in addition to the contour of the nail T (the shape of the nail T), the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane (hereinafter referred to as “the inclination of the nail T”). Nail information such as “angle” or “nail curvature”) and the vertical position of the nail T can be detected. That is, for example, by capturing an image from directly above the nail T and an image from an obliquely upward direction of the nail T, not only the contour of the nail T but also the position and the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T can be accurately determined. Can be detected.

Further, the control device 80 is installed on, for example, the substrate 13 disposed in the upper machine casing 12.
FIG. 5 is a principal block diagram showing a control configuration in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, 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 drawing data generation for generating drawing data. Various programs such as a program and a drawing program for performing a drawing process are stored. When these programs are executed by the control device 80, each unit of the nail print apparatus 1 is controlled in an integrated manner. .
Further, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 82 stores the nail image storage area 821 for storing the nail image of the nail T of the user's printing finger U1 acquired by the photographing unit 50, and the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 812. Is stored, and a nail design storage area 823 for storing nail design image data drawn on the nail T is provided.

  When viewed functionally, the control unit 81 includes an imaging control unit 811, a nail information detection unit 812, a drawing data generation unit 813, a display control unit 814, a drawing control unit 815, and the like. The functions as the imaging control unit 811, the nail information detection unit 812, the drawing data generation unit 813, the display control unit 814, the drawing control unit 815, etc. 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.
Here, the nail information includes, for example, the contour of the nail T (nail shape, horizontal position of the nail T), the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane (inclination angle of the nail T, nail curvature), Height (position of nail T in the vertical direction, hereinafter also referred to as “vertical position of nail T” or simply “position of nail T”). Note that the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T refers to 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). The nail information detection unit 812 of the present embodiment detects the contour (nail shape) of the nail T and the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T among these nail information based on the nail image. .

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.
The nail information detection unit 812 functions as an inclination angle detection unit that detects the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T based on at least two nail images captured by the two cameras 51.
For example, the nail information detection unit 812 uses a tilt angle (for the user's nail T) from two nail images taken from different positions and angles (for example, directly above the nail T and obliquely above the nail T). Nail curvature). Note that the method by which the nail information detection unit 812 detects the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T is not particularly limited, and is not limited to that described here.

The drawing data generation unit 813 generates data for drawing applied to the nail T of the printing finger U1 by the drawing head 42 based on the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 812.
Specifically, the drawing data generation unit 813 performs alignment processing by enlarging, reducing, cutting out, etc., nail design image data based on the shape of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812, and the like. Generate data for rendering.

In the present embodiment, the drawing 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 to be printed.
FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are explanatory diagrams conceptually showing the difference between drawn images when the curved surface correction is not performed on the image data and when the curved surface correction is performed.
Since the nail design applied to the nail T is not seen with one eye from right above, but seen from various angles with both eyes, the design appears to be distorted when drawn without curved surface correction.
That is, since the nail T for drawing the nail design is curved in the width direction, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the circle image data is directly drawn on the nail T without correction, The circle is stretched in the width direction of the nail T along the curved surface of the nail T, is drawn as a horizontally long ellipse on the nail T, and appears as an ellipse when viewed by both human eyes. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, the original circle image data is reduced in length in the width direction in consideration of the curvature of the nail T (that is, the image of a vertically long ellipse as a whole). When the image data is drawn by performing curved surface correction (as data), a circle is drawn on the nail T, and a design that looks like a circle even when viewed by both eyes can be drawn.

  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 displays, for example, a nail design selection screen, a thumbnail image for design confirmation, a finger image obtained by photographing the printing finger U1, a nail image included in the finger image, various instruction screens, and the like. 26 is displayed.

The drawing control unit 815 outputs the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 813 to the drawing unit 40, and the solenoid 440 of the drawing unit 40 in the X direction so as to perform drawing according to the drawing data on the nail T. A control unit that controls the moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48.
In the present embodiment, the drawing control unit 815 has a larger inclination angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812 functioning as an inclination angle detection unit than a portion where the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T is smaller. The head driving unit 49 (that is, the X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48 for moving the drawing head 42 including the writing instrument 41 in the X direction and the Y direction) is controlled so as to slow down the moving speed of the drawing head 42. .
Note that the control for changing the moving speed of the drawing head 42 based on the tilt angle may be performed in either the width direction (ie, the horizontal direction) of the nail T or the extending direction (ie, the vertical direction) of the nail T. However, since the shape of the nail T is generally higher in the lateral center and lowers toward the side end, in the present embodiment, control corresponding to the lateral inclination angle of the nail T is performed. Illustrate.
For this reason, the drawing control unit 815 controls the X-direction moving motor 46 that moves the writing instrument 41 in the X direction according to the inclination angle of the nail T. In addition, when performing control according to an inclination angle about both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the nail | Tail T, the drawing control part 815 moves the X direction movement motor 46 and the writing instrument 41 which move the writing instrument 41 to a X direction. Both of the Y-direction moving motors 48 to be moved to are controlled according to the inclination angle of the claw T.

As for the nail T which is a drawing target of the nail printing apparatus 1, the surface (surface of the nail T) with which the tip of the writing instrument 41 abuts changes in the vertical direction (height direction).
For this reason, when the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is made constant, the drawing speed by the writing instrument 41 changes greatly according to the inclination angle of the nail T, and the thickness and density of the line drawn on the nail change. Will fade the line and make a beautiful nail print.

That is, when the surface of the nail T is inclined by θ with respect to the XY plane on which the printing finger U1 is placed, the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T is 1 / COSθ. 15 times, 1.4 times when θ = 45 ° and 2 times when θ = 60 °. For this reason, when the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is kept constant, the drawn line may be thinned, the color may appear light, or it may be faint in the portion where the inclination angle of the nail T is large. In the present embodiment, as described above, image correction (curved surface correction) is performed in advance on the image data of the nail design. Even when such correction is performed, the correction is performed according to the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T. It cannot be solved that the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T is increased.

In addition, when drawing from the end of the relatively low nail T toward the center of the relatively high nail T (that is, when the writing instrument 41 climbs the inclined surface of the nail T), the writing instrument 41 may push the nail T in the horizontal direction. In particular, when the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T is fast, the force of the writing instrument 41 is easily felt strongly. If there is a feeling that the nail T is strongly pressed by the writing instrument 41, the printing finger U <b> 1 may move accordingly, and the finished quality of the nail print is deteriorated.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the angle formed by the surface of the nail T with respect to the XY plane on which the printing finger U1 is placed (the inclination angle of the nail T) θ = 0 °, the force Pn from the writing instrument 41 is All are force components P1 horizontal to the nail T, and the force for pushing the nail T in the vertical direction is only the weight of the writing instrument (or the own weight + the pressure applied by the spring).
On the other hand, when the inclination angle θ of the nail T is 30 °, sin30 ° = 0.50 of the force Pn from the writing instrument 41, that is, half of the force becomes a force component P2 that pushes the nail T in the vertical direction. When the angle θ = 45 °, sin45 ° = 0.7071 of the force Pn from the writing instrument 41, that is, almost 70% of the force becomes the force component P2 that pushes the nail T in the vertical direction, and when the inclination angle θ = 60 ° of the nail T sin60 ° = 0.8660 becomes a force component P2 that pushes the nail T in the vertical direction, and a force of 80% or more of the force Pn from the writing instrument 41 is applied to the nail T.
In particular, when θ = 60 °, the force applied to the nail T, Sin (60) = 0.8660, that is, a force of 0.866 × 0.866≈0.7500, is the force that pushes the nail T in the horizontal direction (lateral direction), and this is the printing finger It causes U1 to move.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the drawing control unit 815 is an X-direction movement motor 46 that is a step motor according to the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812 functioning as an inclination angle detection unit. And by controlling the drive frequency of the Y-direction movement motor 48 (X-direction movement motor 46 in this embodiment), the portion of the writing instrument 41 having a large inclination angle of the nail T is smaller than the portion having a small inclination angle of the nail T. Adjust the movement speed to be slower.
Specifically, the drawing control unit 815 determines each drawing position of the writing instrument 41 from the inclination angle (data regarding the curved surface of the nail T) detected by the nail information detection unit 812 functioning as the inclination angle detection unit. The inclination angle θ of the nail T is calculated, and “Vp = V / COSθ” (where V: θ = 0 ° is the speed of the writing instrument 41 so that the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T is constant ( (Appropriate speed), Vp: the speed of the writing instrument 41 at the inclination angle θ.) The drive frequency (pulse width, pulse interval) of the step motor is changed so that
As described above, the X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 of this embodiment are step motors that move 40 μm every time a pulse driving signal is sent from the drawing control unit 815, and are usually 250 PPS (pulse / pulse). Assuming that the motor is driven at a second, T = 4 mS), it can be expressed as a stepping motor driving frequency: Fp = 250 COS (θ).
In this case, for example, 250 COS (30) = 216.506≈217 PPS when θ = 30 °, 177 PPS when θ = 45 °, and 125 PPS when θ = 60 °. Thus, by slowing the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 as the inclination angle θ of the nail T increases, the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T can be made almost constant regardless of the inclination angle. In addition, the amount of work per unit time from the writing instrument 41 to the nail T is reduced, and the writing instrument 41 is easily pushed up by the reduced speed. For this reason, even when the writing tool 41 draws from a low to a high position of the nail T (that is, when climbing the slope), the feeling that the nail T is pressed by the writing tool 41 can be reduced, and the printing finger U1 is drawn during drawing. It can be prevented from moving.

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

When drawing with 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 the operation buttons 251 and 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. The nail design to be drawn on the nail T is selected.
When the nail design is selected, the control unit 81 causes the display unit 26 to display an instruction screen that prompts the user to set the writing tool 41 necessary for drawing the selected nail design on the predetermined writing tool carriage 43 of the drawing head 42. Display. For example, when red ink or lame gold ink is required, the display unit 26 instructs which writing instrument carriage 43 should be equipped with which writing instrument 41. The user sets a predetermined type of writing instrument 41 on a predetermined writing instrument carriage 43 in accordance with an instruction displayed on the display screen. Note that the user may intentionally set a writing instrument 41 different from the instruction to realize a nail design with a favorite color or texture.
The control unit 81 may be configured to be able to read which type of writing instrument 41 is set on the writing instrument carriage 43 by a barcode or the like. In this case, the writing instrument carriage 43 is set on the writing instrument carriage 43. A nail design that can be drawn by the writing instrument 41 may be displayed on the design selection screen of the display unit 26 and the user may be allowed to select a nail design.
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 drawing 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 drawing switch, before the drawing operation is started, the shooting control unit 811 first controls the shooting unit 50 and illuminates the printing finger U1 with the illumination lamp 52 and the printing fingers 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 contour (nail shape) of the nail T and the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T based on the nail image.

When the contour (nail shape) of the nail T and the inclination angle (nail curvature) of the nail T are detected by the nail information detection unit 812, the drawing data generation unit 813 performs image data of the nail design based on the nail information. The fitting process to the nail T is performed. The drawing data generation unit 813 performs curved surface correction on the image data of the nail design based on the nail information. Thereby, drawing data is generated.
In addition, the drawing control unit 815 moves the drawing unit 40 to the writing instrument custom writing unit 61 before starting drawing on the nail T, and drives the solenoid 440 of the writing instrument carriage 43 that holds the writing instrument 41 to draw the writing instrument 41. Make it possible. Then, running-in is performed to draw a predetermined image such as “◯” or “∞” on the drawing medium. Note that the break-in may be performed only for the writing instrument 41 necessary for drawing the selected nail design, or may be performed for all the writing instruments 41.
When the drawing data is generated and the break-in is completed, the drawing control unit 815 outputs the drawing data to the drawing unit 40 and drives the solenoid 440 of the writing tool carriage 43 that holds the writing tool 41 necessary for drawing to cause the writing tool 41 to move. The drawing state is set, and the drawing head 42 is appropriately moved in the XY directions based on the drawing data to cause the nail T to draw. At this time, the writing instrument 41 is pressed against the surface of the nail T by its own weight, and performs drawing while moving up and down following the surface shape of the nail T.

  While drawing with the writing instrument 41, the drawing control unit 815 determines each drawing position of the writing instrument 41 from the inclination angle of the nail T (data regarding the curved surface of the nail T) detected by the nail information detection unit 812 as the inclination angle detection unit. The inclination angle θ of the nail T is calculated, and the head drive unit (the main drive unit) is arranged so that the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is slower in the portion where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is large than in the portion where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is small. In the embodiment, the drive frequency of the X-direction moving motor 46) is switched and controlled as needed.

When drawing is performed on a plurality of fingernails T, after the drawing process for one fingernail T is completed, the finger of the drawn nail T is removed from the finger receiving unit 31 and then drawn. 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.
Note that when the writing instrument 41 is replaced, the drawing control unit 815 moves the drawing head 42 to a position corresponding to the writing instrument replacement lid 23. When the user opens the writing instrument replacement cover 23 in this state, the writing instrument 41 can be taken out and replaced.

As described above, according to the nail print apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when drawing is performed on the nail T by moving the drawing head 42 including the writing tool 41 that performs drawing on the nail T in the X direction and the Y direction, the inclination is increased. According to the inclination angle of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812 as the angle detection unit, the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is higher in the portion where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is larger than in the portion where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is small. The X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 constituting the head drive unit are controlled so as to slow down.
For this reason, the amount of work per unit time from the writing instrument 41 to the nail T is reduced at the end of the nail T having a large inclination angle as compared with the case where the movement speed is not adjusted. In addition, since the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 becomes slow, the writing instrument 41 can easily push up the inclined surface. For this reason, even when the writing tool 41 draws from a low place to a high place of the nail T (that is, when climbing the slope), the feeling that the nail T is pushed by the writing tool 41 can be reduced, and the burden on the user is reduced. At the same time, it is possible to prevent the printing finger U1 from moving during drawing by being pressed by the writing instrument 41, and a beautiful nail art can be applied without thinning or blurring of the line width.
In this embodiment, the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 constituting the head drive unit are step motors, and the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction are used as a method for adjusting the moving speed of the writing instrument 41. A method of adjusting the drive frequency of the moving motor 48 is used. For this reason, the moving speed can be continuously adjusted by simple control.
Further, since drawing is performed using the writing instrument 41, various color materials such as high viscosity ink, gold-silver glitter ink, and white ink are used as compared with the case of using a conventional ink jet type print head. Ink containing can be widely used. As a result, the color of the ink can be beautifully developed without applying a white background, etc., and the labor of painting the background can be saved, and the design utilizing the color of the nail T can be drawn. Because it can, the range of nail designs that can be drawn is expanded.
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 writing tool 41 with a nib 412 or a writing pen-type writing instrument 41, etc. 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.
In addition, since the nail information detection unit 812 detects the shape of the nail as nail information based on the nail image, the nail information can be drawn according to the user's nail T, and a clean nail art with no unpainted or protruding parts Can be realized.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the nail print apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the method of adjusting the moving speed of the writing tool of the drawing head, and therefore, the following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 that are step motors are moved by 10 μm every time one pulse drive signal is sent from the drawing control unit 815.
In this embodiment, “1 vector (40 μm)”, which is the minimum unit of drawing in the image data represented as vector data, is defined as one step in the X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 that are step motors. Sometimes, when drawing on a portion having no inclination angle, the writing instrument 41 (the drawing head 42 on which the writing instrument 41 is mounted) moves by 40 μm. That is, when drawing on a portion having no inclination angle, a drive signal of 4 pulses is sent from the drawing control unit 815 to move one step, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 10 μm × 4 = 40 μm.

In addition, the drawing control unit 815 has an X-direction moving motor 46 and a Y-direction moving motor, which are step motors, at a portion where the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T is large compared to a portion where the inclination angle of the surface of the nail T is small relative to the XY plane. The X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48 constituting the head drive unit are controlled so that the number of pulses per step of 48 is reduced.
Thereby, in the part where the inclination angle of the nail T is large, the moving speed of the writing tool 41 of the drawing head 42 becomes slower than the part where the inclination angle of the nail T is small.

In the present embodiment, the region within the contour range of the nail T to be drawn is divided into a plurality of regions based on the inclination angle of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812 as the inclination angle detection unit. The X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 constituting the head drive unit are controlled so as to change the moving speed of the writing tool 41 of the drawing head 42 for each region.
The area classification according to the inclination angle may be performed in either the width direction (that is, the horizontal direction) of the nail T or the extending direction of the nail T (that is, the vertical direction). In the present embodiment, the lateral direction of the nail T is divided into a plurality of regions that are substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the nail T. The case is illustrated.
For this reason, the drawing control unit 815 controls the X-direction moving motor 46 that moves the writing instrument 41 in the X direction according to the inclination angle of the nail T. In addition, when performing control according to an inclination angle about both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the nail | Tail T, the drawing control part 815 moves the X direction movement motor 46 and the writing instrument 41 which move the writing instrument 41 to a X direction. Both of the Y-direction moving motors 48 to be moved to are controlled according to the inclination angle of the claw T.

Specifically, an area within the contour of the nail T is an area where “0 ° ≦ θ <29 °” according to the inclination angle θ of the nail T (this region is referred to as an area ar1), “29 °. ≦ θ <51 ° ”(this is a region ar2),“ 51 ° ≦ θ <67 ° ”(this is a region ar3), and“ θ ≧ 67 ° ” (This area is referred to as area ar4). Each area is distinguished from each other (threshold value for dividing the area) and the number of pulses per step corresponding to each area. And stored in the storage unit 82 or the like. The drawing control unit 815 controls the X-direction movement motor 46 so as to obtain the number of pulses of one step corresponding to each region while referring to this association.
For example, when “0 ° ≦ θ <29 °”, a drive signal of 4 pulses per step is sent from the drawing control unit 815, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 40 μm / step. When “29 ° ≦ θ <51 °”, a driving signal of 3 pulses and a pause signal for 1 pulse are sent from the drawing control unit 815 per step, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 30 μm / step. Further, when “51 ° ≦ θ <67 °”, a drive signal of 2 pulses and a pause signal for 2 pulses are sent from the drawing control unit 815 per step, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 20 μm / step. When “θ ≧ 67 °”, a driving signal of one pulse and a pause signal for three pulses are sent from the drawing control unit 815 per step, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 10 μm / step. In addition, since the pause signal is input according to the number of pulses of the drive signal, the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 changes because the amount of movement changes at the same time for one step.
It should be noted that there are no particular restrictions on how many types of areas the nail T is divided into. It may be divided into three or less types of regions, or may be divided into finer regions such as five or more types.

  The image data of the nail design is expressed as vector data as described above, and “1 vector” which is the minimum unit of drawing is set as one step in the X direction moving motor 46 and the Y direction moving motor 48 which are step motors. Sometimes 1 step = 40 μm. Therefore, when the control is performed so that the number of pulses per step decreases as the inclination angle of the nail T increases as described above, the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 in the portion where the inclination angle is large is decreased. Thus, not only can the speed of the writing instrument 41 on the nail T be made substantially constant regardless of the inclination angle of the nail T, but also the curved correction of the image data can be performed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the size of one step in each area when the area within the contour of the nail T is divided according to the example described above.
In the example shown in FIG. 9, the inclination angle θ is small (that is, “0 ° ≦ θ <29 °”) from the central portion of the nail T to a certain range, and is classified into a region ar1. Further, the portions on both sides thereof are classified into a region ar2 where “29 ° ≦ θ <51 °”, and the ends in the width direction of the nail T on both sides thereof are regions where “51 ° ≦ θ <67 °”. It is classified as ar3. In addition, in the example of FIG. 9, it is the nail | Tail T without the area | region classified into area | region ar4 with the largest inclination angle.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the central portion of the nail T classified in the area ar1 and in the vicinity thereof, the drawing control unit 815 sends a drive signal of 4 pulses per step to the X-direction moving motor 46 to write the writing instrument 41. Moves by 40 μm / step. In the portion classified into the area ar2, the drawing control unit 815 sends a drive signal of 3 pulses per step to the X-direction moving motor 46, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 30 μm / step. Further, at both end portions of the nail T classified into the area ar3, the drawing control unit 815 sends a drive signal of 2 pulses per step to the X-direction moving motor 46, and the writing instrument 41 moves by 20 μm / step. To do.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

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

When performing drawing using the nail print apparatus of the present embodiment, the control unit 81 sets the surface of the nail to a plurality of surfaces based on the inclination angle of the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 812 as the inclination angle detection unit. The areas are classified into areas (for example, areas ar1 to ar3 shown in FIG. 9).
When drawing with the writing tool 41, the drawing control unit 815 refers to the association stored in the storage unit 82, and changes the moving speed of the writing tool 41 of the drawing head 42 for each region. The X-direction moving motor 46 that constitutes the driving unit is controlled.
That is, in a region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is small (for example, the region ar1), a drive signal of 4 pulses per step is sent to the X-direction moving motor 46 to move the writing instrument 41 by 40 μm / step. Then, in a region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is large (for example, the region ar3), the number of pulses sent to the X-direction moving motor 46 is reduced for one step, and the writing instrument is moved little by little (for example, in the region ar3 of this embodiment). 2 pulses of driving signal are sent for one step, and the writing instrument 41 is moved by 20 μm / step.)
Accordingly, the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 (drawing head 42) is slower in the region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is large than in the region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is small. In addition, since the number of pulses per step is changed based on the inclination angle θ of the nail T, it is possible to perform drawing while also including curved surface correction.

  Since other points are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment.
In other words, in the present embodiment, the drawing control unit 815 has the number of drive pulses per step of the X-direction movement motor 46 that is a step motor in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail T is large than in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail T is small. The head driving unit 49 is controlled so as to reduce the amount of the head driving unit 49.
For this reason, the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 (drawing head 42) is slower in the region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is large than in the region where the inclination angle θ of the nail T is small. The amount of work per unit time from the writing instrument 41 to the nail T is reduced as compared with the case where the movement speed is not adjusted. In addition, since the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 becomes slow, the writing instrument 41 can easily push up the inclined surface. For this reason, even when the writing tool 41 draws from a low place to a high place of the nail T (that is, when climbing the slope), the feeling that the nail T is pushed by the writing tool 41 can be reduced, and the burden on the user is reduced. At the same time, it is possible to prevent the printing finger U1 from moving during drawing by being pressed by the writing instrument 41.
In the present embodiment, the X-direction moving motor 46 and the Y-direction moving motor 48 that are the head driving unit 49 are step motors, and the inclination angle θ of the nail T is large as a method for adjusting the moving speed of the writing instrument 41. In the region, a method is used in which control is performed so that the number of pulses per step of the head drive unit (X-direction moving motor 46 in the present embodiment) is smaller than in a region where the inclination angle θ of the claw T is small. For this reason, by adjusting the moving speed of the writing instrument 41, it is possible to perform drawing while including curved surface correction at the same time, and it is not necessary to separately perform curved surface correction on the image data. Usually, when drawing on the nail T, it is necessary to correct the curved surface of the image data before drawing. However, in order to perform curved surface correction on image data described in vectors, many operations and memories are required. In some cases, vector data needs to be divided and the amount of operations increases. In the present embodiment, processing time for performing such curved surface correction is not required, and the control configuration can be simplified.
In the present embodiment, the surface of the nail T is classified into a plurality of regions based on the inclination angle of the nail T, and the moving speed of the drawing head 42 (the writing instrument 41 mounted on the drawing head) is changed for each region. . For this reason, processing can be simplified compared with the case where the inclination angle of the nail | Tail T in each drawing position is determined at any time while drawing.

  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 first embodiment, the inclination angle of the nail T is obtained each time for each drawing position, and the head drive unit 49 is controlled so as to change the moving speed of the writing tool 41 of the drawing head 42 according to this inclination angle. However, as in the second embodiment, for example, the nail T is classified into a plurality of regions, the step motor drive frequency is changed for each region type, and the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is changed. May be.
Conversely, in the second embodiment, the nail T is classified into a plurality of regions, and the head driving unit 49 is controlled to change the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 for each region type. As in the first embodiment, the inclination angle of the nail T is obtained each time for each drawing position, the number of pulses per step is changed according to this inclination angle, and the moving speed of the writing instrument 41 is changed. May be.

Moreover, the structure of the drawing part 40 is not limited to what was shown to said each embodiment.
FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show an example of a nail print apparatus equipped with a drawing unit 7 having a configuration different from those of the above embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the apparatus main body of the nail print apparatus 1, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line XI-XI in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the drawing head 70 of the drawing unit 7 includes a rotary writing tool carriage 72 that can hold a plurality (for example, eight) of writing tools 71, a carriage rotation mechanism 73 that rotates the writing tool carriage 72, A writing tool up-and-down mechanism 74 for moving the writing tool 71 held by the writing tool carriage 72 up and down is provided.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the writing tool replacement is configured to be openable and closable so that the writing tool 71 can be taken out and replaced at a position corresponding to a drawing head 70 described later on one side of the case body 2. A lid portion 23 is provided. The writing instrument replacement lid 23 is rotatable from a closed state to an open state as shown in FIG. 10, for example, via a hinge or the like.

The writing instrument carriage 72 of this embodiment is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a plurality (e.g., eight) of writing instrument holders 721 that hold the writing instrument 71 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the writing instrument carriage 72. In addition, the number of the writing implement 71 and the writing implement holding | maintenance part 721 holding this is not specifically limited, It may be more than eight and may be fewer than this. It is possible to draw a more complicated nail design using a plurality of inks as the writing tool holding unit 721 is provided and the plurality of writing tools 71 are held.
Note that the writing implements 71 need not be held in all the writing implement holding sections 721, and the writing implements 71 may be held in only a part thereof.
The writing instrument carriage 72 is configured to be rotatable by a predetermined amount by, for example, a carriage rotating mechanism 73 configured by a step motor. When the writing instrument 71 used for drawing is selected, the writing instrument 71 is connected to the writing instrument up / down mechanism 74. The writing instrument carriage 72 is rotated so as to be positioned below.
The writing tool up-and-down mechanism 74 is configured by a solenoid or the like, and pushes down the writing tool 71 disposed below the writing tool up-and-down mechanism 74 to a position in contact with the surface of the nail T at the time of drawing. As a result, the writing instrument 71 is in a state where the pen tip is pressed against the surface of the nail T with an appropriate force and drawing is possible.
The configuration of the carriage rotation mechanism that rotates the writing instrument carriage 72, the configuration of the writing instrument up / down mechanism that pushes down the writing instrument 71, and the like are not limited to those exemplified here. For example, the carriage rotation mechanism may include a ratchet mechanism and a solenoid.

  As described above, the nail print apparatus having the above-described configuration can perform drawing while simultaneously holding a plurality of types of writing tools 71 (up to eight types in the present embodiment). For this reason, for example, a rainbow pattern that requires seven colors of ink, a gradation pattern that requires a plurality of inks having different densities in stages, and an argyle pattern that uses various colors are required. Even complicated and delicate designs can be drawn easily.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the structure which used the solenoid was illustrated as a writing tool up-and-down mechanism which moves the writing tool 41 up and down, the structure of a writing tool up-and-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 each of the above embodiments, the X-direction moving stage 45 and the Y-direction moving stage 47 for moving the drawing head 42 are replaced with an X-direction moving motor 46 and a Y-direction moving motor 48 that are step motors, Although an example in which the drawing is combined with the guide is shown, the configuration for moving the drawing head 42 is not limited to this.
The X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 may be anything that can move the drawing head 42 back and forth and right and left as desired. For example, a shaft, a guide and a 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.

Further, in the present embodiment, the writing tool is illustrated as drawing with ink, but the writing tool attached to the drawing head is not limited to that drawing ink.
For example, a writing instrument containing colorless or colored transparent liquid glue is attached to the drawing head, and after drawing with this, it is sprinkled with powdery lame etc. before the glue dries, or a rhinestone is attached. As a result, a more luxurious nail design can be realized.
Alternatively, a writing instrument containing a liquid containing fragrance or the like may be attached to the drawing head, and drawing may be performed using the writing tool so that a scented nail print can be enjoyed.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, an example in which a plurality of writing tools, such as four, can be mounted on the drawing head at the same time has been illustrated. However, for example, only one writing tool can be mounted on the drawing head, It is good also as a system which replaces a writing instrument manually. In this way, the nail printing apparatus 1 having a writing instrument can be realized at low cost.
Further, a mechanism for automatically changing a writing instrument attached to the drawing head may be mounted. In this case, for example, a plurality of writing tools are held in the standby space, and the writing tools are automatically selected therefrom and attached to the drawing head. With such a configuration, it is possible to further increase the number of writing instruments that can be held in the apparatus.

Moreover, although each said embodiment illustrated the case where the drawing medium which is a piece of paper was used for the customary writing instrument, the drawing medium is not limited to paper. The drawing medium may be a roll-shaped medium. In this case, a medium feeding mechanism for feeding and winding the drawing medium automatically or manually is provided. Further, when the drawing medium is a roll-shaped medium, a medium attachment / detachment opening for attaching / detaching the roll-shaped drawing medium is provided instead of the medium insertion / exit 24.

  In each of the above embodiments, the drawing data generation unit 813 performs curved surface correction on the image data of the nail design and generates the drawing data. However, the drawing data generation unit 813 generates the drawing data. Is not an essential component of the present invention. For example, without generating drawing data separately, the drawing control unit 815 outputs the nail design image data to the drawing head while appropriately converting the image data using a LUT (Lookup Table) or the like to perform drawing in accordance with the nail shape. Drawing control may be performed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the shape of the nail T is detected as the nail information, and the drawing data is generated based on the detected shape. However, detecting the nail shape is an essential component of the present invention. Absent. For example, if it is not essential to extract the contour of the nail T when drawing, as in the case of drawing a one-point pattern in the middle of the nail T, it is necessary to accurately recognize the shape of the nail T No, drawing 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 each of the above embodiments, 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. 821, the nail information storage area 822, and the nail design storage area 823 are not limited to being provided in the storage unit 82 of the control device 80, and a separate storage unit may be provided.

In each of the above embodiments, the nail print apparatus 1 that performs printing sequentially by inserting fingers one by one into the apparatus is taken as an example. However, the present invention is applicable 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 draw a plurality of printing fingers U1 by expanding the operating range of the writing instrument and increasing the drawing 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 finger placement unit for placing the finger of the nail on the XY plane;
An inclination angle detector for detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the nail with respect to the XY plane;
A head for mounting a writing instrument for drawing on the fingernail placed on the finger placement unit;
A head drive unit for moving the head in the X and Y directions;
A control unit that controls the head drive unit so as to change the moving speed of the head according to the tilt angle of the surface of the nail detected by the tilt angle detection unit;
A nail printing apparatus comprising:
<Claim 2>
The head drive unit includes a step motor,
The control unit reduces the moving speed of the head at a portion where the inclination angle of the claw surface is large by lowering the driving frequency of the step motor than at a portion where the inclination angle of the claw surface is small. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is controlled.
<Claim 3>
The head drive unit includes a step motor,
The control unit controls the head driving unit so that the number of pulses per step of the step motor is smaller in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail surface is large than in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail surface is small. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1.
<Claim 4>
Classifying the surface of the nail into a plurality of regions based on the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detector;
4. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the head driving unit so as to change a moving speed of the head for each region. 5.
<Claim 5>
In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus for drawing on the fingernail placed on the XY plane while moving the head equipped with the writing instrument in the X direction and the Y direction,
Detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the fingernail with respect to the XY plane;
A printing method for a nail printing apparatus, wherein the drawing is performed by changing the moving speed of the head according to the detected inclination angle of the surface of the nail.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nail printing apparatus 2 Case main body 31 Finger receiving part 40 Drawing part 41 Writing tool 42 Drawing head 43 Writing tool carriage 46 X direction moving motor 48 Y direction moving motor 49 Head drive part 50 Image pick-up part 51 Camera 52 Illumination lamp 80 Control apparatus 81 Control part 82 storage unit 116 partition 811 imaging control unit 812 nail information detection unit 813 drawing data generation unit 814 display control unit 815 drawing control unit 821 nail image storage area 822 nail information storage area 823 design image storage area T nail U1 printing finger U2 non-printing finger

Claims (5)

A finger placement unit for placing the finger of the nail on the XY plane;
An inclination angle detector for detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the nail with respect to the XY plane;
A head for mounting a writing instrument for drawing on the fingernail placed on the finger placement unit;
A head drive unit for moving the head in the X and Y directions;
A control unit that controls the head drive unit so as to change the moving speed of the head according to the tilt angle of the surface of the nail detected by the tilt angle detection unit;
A nail printing apparatus comprising: The head drive unit includes a step motor,
The control unit reduces the moving speed of the head at a portion where the inclination angle of the claw surface is large by lowering the driving frequency of the step motor than at a portion where the inclination angle of the claw surface is small. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is controlled. The head drive unit includes a step motor,
The control unit controls the head driving unit so that the number of pulses per step of the step motor is smaller in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail surface is large than in a portion where the inclination angle of the nail surface is small. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1. Classifying the surface of the nail into a plurality of regions based on the inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detector;
4. The nail printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the head driving unit so as to change a moving speed of the head for each region. 5. In the printing method of the nail printing apparatus for drawing on the fingernail placed on the XY plane while moving the head equipped with the writing instrument in the X direction and the Y direction,
Detecting an inclination angle of the surface of the fingernail with respect to the XY plane;
A printing method for a nail printing apparatus, wherein the drawing is performed by changing the moving speed of the head according to the detected inclination angle of the surface of the nail.

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