JP2024035732A - Recording device and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] The purpose is to reduce image loss when recording on nails. SOLUTION: A recording finger is fixed with upper and lower fixing bases, and an image including the curved shape of the nail and the fixing base is photographed by a photographing section. The processing unit calculates inclination information including the positional relationship and inclination angle of the claw with respect to the fixed base, and based on the calculation result, it includes the required movement amount and direction of the upper and lower fixed bases to calibrate the inclination of the claw. Calculate movement information. The control unit moves the upper and lower fixing bases based on the movement information to calibrate the inclination of the claws. [Selection diagram] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a recording device and a recording method.

2. Description of the Related Art Nail print recording devices are known that are recording devices that record design images on fingernails.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that detects a curved shape of a nail in the width direction, generates drawing data subjected to curved surface correction according to the curved shape, and performs a recording process.

JP 2019-111004 Publication

However, the inclination of the recording finger fixed to the fixing base of the nail print recording device varies depending on the user. In particular, when four fingers other than the thumb are simultaneously fixed on the fixing base, the little finger tends to tilt sideways. If the fixed finger tilts sideways and a part of the curved surface of the nail becomes at an angle of 90 degrees or more with the ink ejection surface of the print head, the printable area of the print head will be exceeded. In such a case, even if the drawing data is accurately corrected based on the detected curved shape of the nail as in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to record beyond the recordable area, so some parts may be missing. There is a possibility that

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce image loss when recording on nails.

The present invention has a recording unit that records an image on a nail to be recorded, and an upper fixing base and a lower fixing base that fix the recording finger, which is the finger with the nail, and the upper fixing base and the lower fixing base is a fixed part that is relatively movable in the nail width direction, a photographing part that photographs the nail and the fixed part, and a first image that includes the nail and the fixed part photographed by the photographing part. a detecting unit that detects position information of the claw with respect to the fixed part and tilt information including a first tilt angle; and a recording unit capable of recording the tilt angle of the claw based on the detected position information of the claw and the tilt information. a processing unit that determines movement information including a first movement amount and movement direction of a fixing base of the fixing unit for calibrating within a region; and a processing unit that moves the fixing base in the claw width direction based on the movement information. a control unit;
It is characterized by having the following.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce image loss when recording on a nail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a recording device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the configuration of the printer main body according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the configuration of the printer main body according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the configuration of the printer main body according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to detection and calibration of a nail inclination according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the calculation method of the inclination information of a nail|claw, and the movement information of a fixing base according to a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart which detects the inclination information of a nail|claw, and calibrates it by a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart which detects the inclination information of a nail|claw, and calibrates it by 2nd embodiment.

Hereinafter, a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention, and not all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are essential to the solution of the present invention. Further, in this embodiment, a nail printer will be described as an example of the recording device.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a nail printer (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a printer). As shown in FIG. 1, in the nail printer main body 1010, a personal computer (PC) 1000 serving as a host device and the printer main body 1010 are communicably connected.

The host PC 1000 mainly includes the following elements.

The CPU 1001 executes processing according to programs held in the RAM 1002 and HDD 1003.

RAM 1012 is volatile storage and temporarily holds programs and data.

Further, the HDD 1003 is a non-volatile storage and holds programs and data for each control.

A DATA TRANSFER I/F (data transfer interface) 1004 controls data transmission and reception with the printer main body 1010. As a connection method for transmitting and receiving data, wired connections such as USB, IEEE1394, and LAN, and wireless connections such as Bluetooth and WiFi can be used.

A KEY BOARD MOUSE I/F (keyboard/mouse interface) 1005 is an I/F that controls an HID (Human Interface Device) such as a keyboard and a mouse. The user can input via this I/F.

A DISPLAY I/F (display interface) 1006 controls display on a display (not shown).

On the other hand, the printer main body 1010 mainly includes the following elements.

The CPU 1011 executes image processing, data processing, etc. in each embodiment described later in FIG.

RAM 1012 is volatile storage and temporarily holds programs and data.

Further, the ROM 1013 is a non-volatile storage, and holds table data and programs used in processing of each embodiment described later.

A DATA TRANSFER I/F (data transfer interface) 1014 controls data transmission and reception with the PC 1000.

A HEAD controller 1015 controls a print head 2021 (see FIG. 2) included in the printer main body 1010 to control a print element (a heater in this embodiment; a piezo element may also be used) mounted on the print head based on print data. controls the operation of the printer and ejects ink. Specifically, HEAD Controller 1015 reads control parameters and recording data from a predetermined address in RAM 1012. Then, when the CPU 1011 writes the control parameters and print data to the above-mentioned predetermined address of the RAM 1012, processing is started by the HEAD Controller 1015, and the print elements mounted on the print head are driven.

A MOTOR Controller 1017 controls motor operations for a plurality of motor units (not shown). The motor is used to move the above-mentioned recording head two-dimensionally relative to the nail to be recorded. Further, the motor is used to move an upper fixing base 2041 and a lower fixing base 2042, which will be described later, in the claw width direction. In addition, a motor for maintenance of the recording head may be provided.

A UI I/F (user interface) 1018 is comprised of a touch panel, LCD, buttons, etc., and sends commands such as recording to the printer according to user operations, and notifies the user of information from the printer.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printer main body viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printer main body 1010 when viewed from the back. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of the printer main body when viewed from the side.

A UI section 2010 is installed on the top surface of the printer main body 1010. The UI unit 2010 is comprised of a touch panel, LCD, buttons, etc., and functions as an instruction unit that sends commands such as recording to the printer in response to user operations, and also functions as a notification unit that notifies the user of information from the printer.

Reference numeral 2020 denotes a recording unit, in which a recording head 2021 and a heater board 2022 are attached to the ink ejection surface of the recording head 2021, and the following ink ejection nozzles are arranged on the heater board. These are a cyan ink discharge nozzle 2023, a magenta ink discharge nozzle 2024, and a yellow ink discharge nozzle 2025.

2026 and 2027 are Y-direction rail guides for moving the recording unit 2020 in the front-back direction. 2028 is an X-direction rail guide for moving the recording unit 2020 in the left-right direction.

An imaging unit 2030 is installed on the floor side (+Z side) of the printer body. The photographing unit 2030 photographs an image including the curved shape of the nail 2052 and the side surface of the lower fixing base 2042 from the toe side of the recording finger 2051, which will be described later. Although the photographing unit 2030 of this embodiment uses a camera, any sensor having the above-mentioned functions may be used. Further, in this embodiment, the finger resting surface of the lower fixing base 2042 is used as a reference surface, and the claw 2052 calculates position information and curvature information with respect to the reference surface. Therefore, when the claw 2052 takes a picture of the side image of the lower fixing base 2042, the structure is such that the picture is taken so that the claw 2052 enters the photographing area together with the claw. The reference surface is not limited to the lower fixed base 2042, but may be any device that has a surface parallel to the ejection surface of the head and that is within the photographing range of the photographing section 2030. For example, the upper fixed base 2041, the recording head 2021, etc. can be used as the reference plane.

A fixing stand 2040 for fixing the finger position and calibrating the nail inclination, and a hand resting stand 2043 for placing the hand are arranged on the floor side of the printer body. The fixed base 2040 holds a movable upper fixed base 2041 and a lower fixed base 2042.

2044 and 2045 are rail guides in the Z direction for moving the lower fixed base 2042 in the vertical direction (Z direction).

2046 and 2047 are rail guides in the X direction for moving the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 in the left and right direction (X direction), respectively.

The upper fixing table 2041 fixes the recording finger 2051 in the Z direction, and the lower fixing table 2042 can stabilize the finger position by pressing the recording finger 2051 upward and parallel to the Z direction.

By moving the upper fixing base 2041 and the lower fixing base 2042 relative to each other in the X direction, which is the nail width direction, it is possible to rotate the recording finger 2051 in the nail width direction and calibrate the inclination of the nail. Although this embodiment has a configuration in which both the upper and lower fixed tables can move in both directions in the X direction, it is also possible to calibrate the claw inclination even if only one of the fixed tables has the above-described configuration.

In addition, in order to more accurately extract the inclination information of the claw 2052 from the photographed image that includes the curved shape of the claw 2052 and the side surface of the lower fixing base 2042, the front end of the claw 2052 is photographed as much as possible of the lower fixing base 2042. The recording finger 2051 is fixed so that it is on the same plane as the side surface of the camera. In order to achieve this, it is desirable to provide a guide groove, a picture, etc. for finger placement positions on the finger fixing surface of the lower fixing base 2042. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the range to be photographed by the photographing unit 2030.

Further, it is assumed that the finger fixing surfaces of the upper fixing table 2041 and the lower fixing table 2042 move while remaining parallel to the head ejection surface of the recording section 2020.

2050 to 2052 indicate the hands, recording fingers, and nails of the person to be recorded. The hand 2050 is placed on the hand resting table 2043, and the recording finger 2051 is fixed between the upper fixed table 2041 and the lower fixed table 2042. In order to simplify understanding, this embodiment describes a method of detecting the inclination of a nail with respect to one finger and performing calibration. When recording is performed on a plurality of fingers at the same time, it is possible to cope with this by adding the above-described configuration of the fixing table, photographing section, etc. for each finger.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to detection and calibration of the nail inclination.

The CPU 1011 has a processing section 1020 and a control section 1021. A storage unit 1022 of the ROM 1013 stores information calculated by the processing unit 1020. The processing unit 1020 functions as a detection unit that detects tilt information including position information and tilt angle of the nail relative to the fixing unit 2040 based on the image photographed by the photographing unit 2030. Based on the detected information, movement information including the amount and direction of movement of the upper fixed base 2041 and lower fixed base 2042 for calibrating the inclination of the claw is calculated and determined. Thereafter, the CPU 1011 writes the above-mentioned tilt information and movement information into the storage section 1023 of the ROM 1013 and stores them. The control unit 1021 reads the movement information of the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 from the holding unit 1022, and controls the movement of the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042, thereby calibrating the inclination of the claw.

The fixing part 2040 holds an upper fixing base 2041 and a lower fixing base 2042. According to instructions from the control unit 1021 described above, the upper fixing base 2041 and the lower fixing base 2042 are moved in a relative direction in the nail width direction to calibrate the nail inclination.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of calculating claw inclination information and fixed base movement information in the first embodiment.

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are analytical diagrams for calculating the inclination angle of the claw. The processing unit 1020 of the CPU 1011 performs image processing on the image including the curved shape of the nail 2052 and the side surface of the lower fixing base 2042 photographed by the photographing unit 2030, and calculates the point A' at the boundary between the nail 2052 and the skin. The position of point B' and plane C' of the lower fixing base 2042 is detected. There are various detection techniques available in the world, and detection can be performed in various ways. For example, light is irradiated onto the surfaces of the claw 2052 and the lower fixing base 2042, and an image is photographed by the photographing unit 2030. Thereafter, the positional relationship between point A', point B', and plane C' can be determined by examining the change in luminance intensity with respect to the above-mentioned photographed image.

Then, from the positional relationship between point A', point B', and plane C', the distance a between point A' and plane C', the distance b between point B' and plane C', the distance c between point A' and point B', A distance d is calculated by projecting the distance between points A' and B' onto plane C', and the inclination angle A of the finger is calculated using the following equation.
Formula (1)...Inclination angle A°=tan- ¹ ((a-b)/d)

FIG. 6(c) is an analytical diagram for calculating the amount and direction of movement of the upper and lower fixing bases for calibrating the inclination of the claw.

The amount of movement Bmm of the upper fixed base 2051 and the lower fixed base 2052 to reduce the inclination angle A° to 0° is calculated from the following equation.
Formula (2)...Movement amount Bmm=K*(c-d)÷2

K is a coefficient, which is determined based on factors such as the compression rate when the finger is pressed and the friction between the fixing base and the finger. ÷2 means that the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 move in relative directions, so one of the fixed bases only needs to move by half of the total amount of movement. If only one fixed base is to be moved, ÷2 is not necessary.

Regarding the moving directions of the upper fixed table 2041 and the lower fixed table 2042, if a>b, the upper fixed table 2041 and the lower fixed table 2042 move in the direction shown in FIG. 6(c). When a<b, the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 move in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 6(c). When a=b, the claw is parallel to the recording unit 2020, so there is no need to calibrate the inclination of the claw.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for detecting and calibrating the claw inclination information in the first embodiment. This process is executed by the CPU 1011 controlling each part of the program stored in the ROM 1013.

Step S101: The upper fixing base 2041 is fixed, and the recording finger 2051 is fixed by pressing the lower fixing base 2042 upward and parallel to the Z direction using the control unit 2021.

Step S102: The photographing unit 2030 photographs an image including the curved shape of the nail 2052 and the side surface of the lower fixing base 2042 from the tip side of the nail.

Step S103, Step S104: The processing unit 1020 performs image processing on the image taken in step S102, and calculates tilt information including the positional relationship of the claw 2052 with respect to the lower fixing base 2042 and the tilt angle A°. . Then, movement information including the movement amount Bmm and the movement direction of each of the upper fixed table 2041 and the lower fixed table 2042 in order to set the inclination angle to 0° is calculated.

Step S105: Based on the above-mentioned movement information calculated by the processing unit 1020, the control unit 1021 moves the upper fixing base 2041 and the lower fixing base 2042 to calibrate the inclination of the claws.

Step S106: The recording unit 2020 performs recording processing and ends.

Further, the maximum value of the amount of movement of the upper fixed base and the lower fixed base may be set in advance, and when the maximum value of the amount of movement is reached, the movement may be automatically stopped or the movement may be returned to the return position. In this state, although an attempt has been made to eliminate the tilt to the maximum, the tilt cannot be eliminated and recording is not possible. At this time, the user may be notified via the UI unit 2010 that recording is not possible.

Further, the maximum torque of the upper fixed base and the lower fixed base may be set in advance, and when the maximum torque is reached, the movement may be automatically stopped or returned to the return position. This is to prevent torque above a certain level from being applied to the finger, since forcing the finger to rotate would place a burden on the user.

By performing the above-described processing, the inclination of the claw is corrected and the inclination that prevents recording is eliminated, thereby making it possible to move the portion of the claw to be recorded within the recordable area. This makes it possible to prevent the image from being lost when recording on the nail.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the inclination information of the nail is detected and the calibration is automatically performed. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the user's burden is reduced as much as possible, taking into consideration the pain in the finger when calibrating the inclination of the nail. Portions that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for detecting and calibrating claw inclination information according to the second embodiment. This process is executed by the CPU 1011 controlling each part of the program stored in the ROM 1013.

Step S201: The upper fixing base 2041 is fixed, and the recording finger 2051 is fixed by pressing the lower fixing base 2042 upward and parallel to the Z direction using the control unit 2021.

Step S202: The photographing unit 2030 photographs an image including the curved shape of the nail 2052 and the side surface of the lower fixing base 2042 from the tip side of the nail.

Step S203: The processing unit 1020 performs image processing on the image taken in step S202, and calculates tilt information including the positional relationship of the claw 2052 with respect to the lower fixing base 2042 and the tilt angle A°.

Step S204: Compare the above-mentioned inclination angle A° with the inclination angle required to accurately record the design image at the desired nail position, and determine whether the inclination angle A° is within the required inclination angle range. do. The purpose of adding this step is to eliminate unnecessary calibration and reduce the burden on the user. The maximum value of the necessary inclination angle here is a value set in advance.

Step S205: If the inclination angle A° of the claw 2052 is within the required inclination angle range (yes), there is no need to burden the user with calibrating the inclination of the claw, so the recording unit 2020 performs recording processing. and exit.

Step S206: If the inclination angle A° of the claw 2052 exceeds the required inclination angle range (no), it is determined that the desired claw position cannot be accurately recorded unless the inclination of the claw is calibrated, and the process proceeds to the calibration step. Specifically, first, it is determined whether the current number of calibrations is within a preset MAX number of repetitions N times.

Step S207: If the current number of calibrations is within N times (yes), it is determined that the inclination of the claw can be calibrated, and the movement information including the movement direction and movement amount Bmm of each of the upper fixing table 2051 and the lower fixing table 2052 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S208.

Step S212: If the current number of calibrations has reached N times (no), it is determined that even if the claw is calibrated any more, the inclination angle will not fall within the required range for recording, and the UI unit 2010 will calibrate the inclination of the claw. Error information indicating that recording is not possible is displayed, and step S213: The user is asked whether to start recording. Step S205: If the user selects to start (yes), record and end. If the user does not select to start (no), the process ends immediately.

In steps S208 to S211, in order to avoid as much pain as possible to recording fingers during calibration, the movement amount of the upper and lower fixing bases is divided into multiple stages and calibrated while checking with the user whether or not to start and stop calibration. This is the step to do this.

Specifically, step S208: The user is asked if it is OK to start proofreading, and if yes, the process proceeds to step S209. If no, error information is displayed on the UI unit 2010 in step S212. The subsequent steps, such as step S213, are the same as those described above, and will therefore be omitted.

Step S209: The control unit 1021 moves the upper fixed table 2041 and the lower fixed table 2042 by a movement amount Bmm/N times, which is obtained by dividing the above-mentioned movement amount Bmm calculated by the processing unit 1020 by N times. N times is a preset number of repetitions during movement.

Step S210: After performing step S209 once, the user is asked whether to stop the calibration of the nail inclination. If the user feels pain or the like and issues an instruction to stop the calibration (yes), error information is displayed on the UI unit 2010 in step S212. The subsequent steps, such as step S213, are the same as those described above, and will therefore be omitted.

Step S211: If the user has not issued an instruction to stop the calibration (no), it is confirmed whether the current number of times of calibration of the upper fixing table 2041 and the lower fixing table 2042 has reached N times.

If the current number of calibrations of the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 is not N times (no), the process returns to step S209 and steps S209 to S211 are repeated.

If the current number of calibrations of the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 has reached N times (yes), it is determined that the upper fixed base 2041 and the lower fixed base 2042 have already moved by Bmm, and the process returns to step S202. ~Repeat step S213. By repeating this calibration, it is possible to improve the calibration accuracy.

As described above, in this embodiment, configurations such as eliminating unnecessary calibration, limiting the maximum number of repeated calibrations, and allowing the user to control the timing of starting and ending calibration are added. With this configuration, it is possible to calibrate the inclination of the nail so that there is no image loss while reducing the burden on the user such as finger pain.

1010 Printer 1011 CPU
1013 ROM
2020 Recording section 2030 Photographing section 2040 Fixing section 2041 Upper fixing base 2042 Lower fixing base 2050 Hand 2051 Recording finger 2052 Nail

Claims (6)

a recording section that records an image on the nail to be recorded;
It has an upper fixing base and a lower fixing base for fixing the recording finger, which is the finger with the claw, and the upper fixing base and the lower fixing base are fixing parts that are relatively movable in the nail width direction;
an imaging unit that photographs the nail and the fixed part;
a detection unit that detects inclination information including position information and a first inclination angle of the claw with respect to the fixing part from a first image including the claw and the fixing part taken by the imaging unit;
The method includes a first moving amount and a moving direction of a fixing base of the fixing unit to calibrate the inclination angle of the claw to within a recordable area of the recording unit based on the detected position information of the claw and the tilt information. a processing unit that determines movement information;
a control unit that moves the fixing base in the nail width direction based on the movement information;
A recording device comprising: The photographing unit photographs a second image including the nail and the fixed part after calibrating the inclination of the nail,
The processing unit compares a second inclination angle of the nail detected from the second image with a maximum value of the inclination angle necessary for recording in a preset area of the nail, and If the second inclination angle is larger than the maximum value, determining a second movement amount of the movable one of the upper and lower fixed tables;
The control unit moves the fixed base by the second movement amount to calibrate the claw inclination.
2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said process is repeatedly performed. According to claim 1 or claim 2, the maximum value of the amount of movement of the upper fixed table and the lower fixed table is set in advance, and when the maximum amount of movement is reached, the device automatically stops or returns to the return position. Recording device as described. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a maximum torque of the upper fixing base and the lower fixing base is set in advance, and when the maximum torque is reached, the recording apparatus automatically stops or returns to a return position. It has an instruction section through which a user gives instructions to the recording device,
3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timing of starting and ending the calibration of the nail inclination is controlled by a user giving an instruction from the instruction section. a step of recording an image on a nail to be recorded; and an upper fixing base and a lower fixing base for fixing the recording finger, which is the finger with the nail, and the upper fixing base and the lower fixing base are arranged in the nail width direction. fixing with a relatively movable fixing part;
a step of photographing the nail and the fixed part;
detecting inclination information including position information and a first inclination angle of the claw with respect to the fixed part from a photographed first image including the claw and the fixed part;
Movement information including a first movement amount and movement direction of a fixing base of the fixing unit for calibrating the inclination angle of the claw to be within a recordable area of the recording unit based on the position information and the inclination information of the claw. and a step of moving the fixing base in the nail width direction based on the movement information.

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