JP7275652B2 - printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to printing apparatuses.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus is known in which a cartridge for storing ink is replaceable, and a printing operation is performed by mounting the cartridge in a cartridge holder (carriage) (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100001).
In this type of printing apparatus, the housing is provided with an opening, and the cartridge is attached/detached from the outside to/from the internal cartridge holder through the opening.

JP 2014-226796 A

However, a space is required around the opening on the outside of the apparatus for inserting and removing the cartridge from the opening.
Therefore, simply providing an opening in the housing unnecessarily increases the space to be secured around the device, which limits the installation location of the device. If the installation place of the apparatus is limited, it may become difficult to perform good printing because, for example, a surrounding environment suitable for printing cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and has an advantage of providing a printing apparatus capable of excellent printing.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention includes:
a housing;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
a control means for controlling the operation of the cartridge holder;
with
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached ;
The control means moves the cartridge holder from a waiting area where the cartridge holder stands by during non-printing to the replacement area when the cartridge is attached or detached.

According to the present invention, good printing can be performed.

It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the nail printing device in this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lower cover is removed from the nail printing device shown in FIG. 1; 1. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the lower cover from the nail printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and opened the upper cover, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state with which the cartridge was mounted. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the nail printing apparatus in this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the base of the nail printing device according to this embodiment; 2 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the nail printing device according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lower cover is removed and the upper cover is opened from the nail printing device according to the present embodiment, showing a state in which the cartridge is removed; 8 is a perspective view showing how a cartridge is mounted in a cartridge holder in the nail printing device in the state shown in FIG. 7; FIG.

An embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG.
Although various technically desirable limitations are attached to the embodiments described below for carrying out the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.
Further, in the following embodiments, the case where the printing apparatus is a nail printing apparatus for printing on fingernails as an object to be printed will be described as an example. For example, toe nails may be printed. Also, objects other than nails, such as nail tips and surfaces of various accessories, may be printed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of a nail printing device 1, which is a printing device according to this embodiment.
In the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and back refer to directions shown in FIG. Also, the X direction and the Y direction refer to the directions shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the nail printing device 1 has a housing 2 that is substantially box-shaped.
The housing 2 includes a housing body 21 having an opening 211 (see FIG. 2) on the front side (the front side of the nail printing device 1, the front side in FIG. 1), and a housing body 21 arranged on the front side of the housing body 21 to open. A lower cover 22 and an upper cover 23 closing the portion 211 are provided.
That is, in the present embodiment, the front surface of the housing 2 is divided into approximately two halves vertically in the height direction of the housing 2, with a lower cover 22 on the lower front side and an upper cover 23 on the upper front side. The lower cover 22 and the upper cover 23 are substantially flush with each other in the closed state.

A front wall portion 212 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the front upper side of the housing body 21 and inside the upper cover 23 . A part of the front wall portion 212 is cut out and opened, and serves as an extraction port 213 when the cartridge 7, which will be described later, is attached to or detached from the apparatus.
As will be described later, in this embodiment, a home position Ar1 (standby area during non-printing) of the cartridge 7 is provided on the right side in the width direction (X direction) in the apparatus, and the apparatus in the Y direction from this home position Ar1 is provided. A straight forward position is a replacement area Ar3 for attaching and detaching the cartridge 7 (see FIG. 4).
The outlet 213 is a second opening according to the present invention, and is provided at a position close to the replacement area Ar3 so as to expose the replacement area Ar3 to the outside of the front side of the housing 2 . The take-out port 213 is formed in a size that does not get caught when the cartridge 7 is attached or detached. In this embodiment, the right half of the extraction opening 213 is an opening corresponding to the replacement area Ar3, and the left half of the extraction opening 213 is an upper cover 23 described later. It is an opening corresponding to the window 231 of (see FIG. 3, etc.). The extraction port 213 may be an opening corresponding to at least the replacement area Ar3 and located in the vicinity thereof.

The lower cover 22 is detachable from the housing body 21 .
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lower cover 22 is removed from the housing 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, by removing the lower cover 22, the finger fixing portion 6 and the finger waiting portion 350, which will be described later, are exposed from the opening 211 of the housing body 21, and the nail to be printed (the nail corresponding to the nail) is exposed. A finger (hereinafter referred to as a “printing finger”), neither of which is shown, and a finger other than the printing finger (not shown; hereinafter referred to as a “non-printing finger”) are inserted into the nail printing apparatus 1. can be inserted. That is, the lower cover 22 covers the opening 211 including the opening 61 of the finger fixing portion 6 when attached to the housing body 21 .
Further, on the far side (rear side in FIG. 1) of the lower cover 22, when the lower cover 22 is attached to the housing main body 21, there is a space inside the housing 2 (a space below a mounting plate 35 described later). A drawer portion 24 to be accommodated is integrally formed. The drawer part 24 may be a small item container capable of storing various parts (not shown) attached to the nail printing device 1, for example.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the nail printing device 1 with the upper cover 23 opened. Note that FIG. 3 shows a state in which the cartridge 7 is mounted.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the upper cover 23 is attached to the housing body 21 by connecting the upper end of the upper cover 23 and the upper end of the front wall 212 via a hinge mechanism 214 . rotatably provided. The hinge mechanism 214 is preferably composed of a slide hinge or the like so that it does not appear on the exterior of the housing 2 .
The upper cover 23 is rotatable from a closed state covering the front side of the housing body 21 to an open state in which the front side of the housing body 21 is opened (in this embodiment, the front wall portion 212 is exposed). By this rotation, the outlet 213 of the front wall portion 212 can be opened and closed.

In this embodiment, the upper cover 23 rotates forward of the housing 2 in the open state. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the upper cover 23 rises to a position higher than the upper surface of the housing 2 in the open state. It is sufficient that the upper cover 23 is regulated to an open state in which the removal port 213 is opened and the upper cover 23 is positioned at the same height as the upper surface of the housing body 21 . Here, the height that is approximately the same as the top surface of the housing body 21 is a height that does not significantly differ from the top surface of the housing body 21, and is, for example, half the height of the housing body 21 to 1.5 cm. Up to double height.
As described above, the lower cover 22 and the upper cover 23 are configured so that they can be removed or opened toward the front of the device. Since the height is about the same as the top surface, even if the nail printing device 1 is stored in a place with no space in the height direction, it is possible to perform printing without taking it out of the storage space. .

In the upper cover 23, a window portion 231 having a transparent member formed of transparent plastic or the like is mounted at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the housing 2 (left and right direction of the nail printing device 1, X direction in FIG. 1, etc.). is provided.
From the window portion 231, the inside of the apparatus, particularly the housing 2, where the finger fixing portion 6 (described later) in which the nail to be printed is placed, is placed about the left half of the outlet 213 of the front wall portion 212. Visible from the outside through the

A handle 25 is provided so as to be retractable at substantially the center of the upper surface of the housing 2 (the housing main body 21).
A concave portion 251 is formed in the upper surface of the housing 2 , and the handle 25 can be stored in the concave portion 251 . The handle 25 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the housing 2 in the stored state (the state shown in FIG. 1 and the like) when stored in the recess 251 . As a result, the nail printing device 1 can be arranged as long as there is a gap corresponding to the height of the housing 2, and space can be saved when the device is housed.
Also, the handle 25 serves as a handle for carrying the nail printing device 1 in the raised state raised from the concave portion 251 .
The shape, arrangement, etc. of each part of the housing 2 are not limited to the illustrated example, and can be set as appropriate. For example, a power switch button for turning ON/OFF the power of the nail printing device 1, various display units, and the like may be provided on the upper surface, the side surface, or the like of the housing 2 .

Further, inside the upper surface (top plate) of the housing 2 and above the opening 63 of the finger fixing portion 6, which will be described later, a nail (printing finger including the nail) exposed from the opening 63 is photographed. An imaging unit 50 (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, is provided for acquiring a nail image.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of essential parts showing the internal configuration of the nail printing apparatus 1 with the housing 2 removed from the nail printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the like.
As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 2 is provided with a base 3 in which various internal structures are incorporated.
A substantially flat base upper plate 30 is arranged on the upper side of the base 3 . The base upper plate 30 is arranged at a height that is substantially flush with the surface of the nail (surface to be printed) when the printing finger is fixed to the finger fixing portion 6 . The base upper plate 30 divides at least the left and right portions of the finger fixing portion 6 into regions above and below the height at which they are arranged.

A finger fixing portion 6 is arranged in the front side (near side) portion of the base upper plate 30 and substantially in the center in the left-right direction.
The finger fixing portion 6 is a box-shaped member having an opening 61 that opens to the front side of the device, and a finger fixing member 62 for fixing a printing finger is arranged inside the finger fixing portion 6 . The opening 61 is for inserting a nail to be printed (printing finger) into the housing 2, and is the first opening according to the present invention.
The finger fixing member 62 pushes up and supports the printing finger from below, and is made of, for example, flexible resin or the like. In this embodiment, the finger fixing member 62 has a shape in which substantially the central portion in the width direction (horizontal direction) is recessed. is received by the finger fixing member 62 to prevent the finger from rattling in the left-right direction.

An opening 63 is formed on the back side (rear side in the Y direction) of the top surface of the finger fixing portion 6 . A fingernail inserted into the finger fixing portion 6 is exposed from the opening 63 .
In this embodiment, printing is performed by the printing unit 40, which will be described later, in the area where the opening 63 is provided.

Further, the front side of the top surface of the finger fixing portion 6 (the front side in the Y direction) serves as a finger presser 64 that prevents the printing finger from floating and regulates the upward position of the printing finger.
The printing finger is supported from below by the finger fixing member 62, and the upper side of the printing finger is pressed by the finger presser 64, so that the surface of the nail of the printing finger (the surface to be printed) is positioned in the height direction by the printing unit 40. It is positioned in a predetermined position suitable for printing.

At a height position below the base upper plate 30 and below the opening 61 and at a height that does not interfere with the drawer 24 of the lower cover 22, there is a placement plate 35 on which a non-printing finger is placed during printing. , are provided substantially parallel to the base upper plate 30 . The placing plate 35 is formed with a finger insertion portion 351 formed in a concave shape or a hole shape. The finger insertion part 351 is formed at a position on the back side (rear side) corresponding to the tip side portion of the non-printing finger to be placed.
A space between the base upper plate 30 and the mounting plate 35 serves as a finger waiting portion 350 for waiting a non-printing finger while printing is performed on the nail of the printing finger.

During printing, the user inserts the waiting non-printing finger into the finger waiting section 350 and appropriately puts the fingertip into the finger insertion section 351 so that the non-printing finger can be kept in a stable state without difficulty. As a result, the printing finger is not burdened, and blurring or the like is less likely to occur during printing.
Further, since the tip of a non-printing finger can be put in the finger insertion portion 351, it is possible to prevent, for example, the nail of a finger that has already been printed from contacting each part of the apparatus. As a result, there is no risk that the printed nail will be scratched or damaged, and it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the interior of the apparatus.
The space below the base upper plate 30, including the space below the placing plate 35, may be used as the finger standby portion. In that case, even when the thumb is used as the printing finger, the non-printing finger does not have to be cramped and the nail printing can be performed comfortably.

A home position Ar1, which is a waiting area where a cartridge 7 (cartridge holder 8), which will be described later, waits during non-printing, and a non-printing A maintenance area Ar2 and the like are provided in which maintenance such as cleaning of the cartridge 7 is sometimes performed.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the home position Ar1 is arranged on the right side in the width direction (X direction) of the apparatus, and the maintenance area Ar2 is arranged on the left side.
Further, a position straight ahead of the device in the Y direction from the home position Ar1 to just before the ejection port 213 is a replacement area Ar3 where the cartridge holder 8 is arranged when the cartridge 7 is attached to or detached from the cartridge holder 8 . That is, the home position Ar1 is arranged on the back side in the housing 2 in the front-rear direction with respect to the replacement area Ar3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a printing unit 40 for printing on a surface to be printed is provided inside the housing 2 . Here, the print target surface is the surface to be printed, and in this embodiment, it is the surface of a fingernail.
The printing unit 40 includes a cartridge 7 functioning as a print head, a cartridge holder 8 for supporting the cartridge 7, an X-direction moving stage 45 for moving the cartridge 7 in the X direction along the horizontal direction, and an X-direction moving motor 46. (see FIG. 6), a Y-direction moving stage 47 for moving the cartridge 7 in the Y direction along the longitudinal direction, a Y-direction moving motor 48 (see FIG. 6), and the like.

The Y-direction moving stage 47 has support members 471 extending in the front-rear direction (Y-direction) on both sides of the base upper plate 30 in the left-right direction.
Pulleys 477 are attached to both ends of the pair of support members 471 in the extending direction. Drive belts 474 extending in the front-rear direction are wound around the pulleys 477 on the left side and the right side of the device.
Pulleys 477 provided on the rear side of the device are attached to both ends of the drive shaft portion 476 . A Y-direction movement motor 48 (see FIG. 6) is connected to the drive shaft portion 476. By driving the Y-direction movement motor 48, the drive shaft portion 476 and the pulley 477 attached thereto are appropriately moved. Rotate forward and backward.
As the pulley 477 rotates, the driving belt 474 wound around the pulley 477 also rotates, so that the X-direction moving stage 45 (and the cartridge 7 mounted on the X-direction moving stage 45) can move in the Y direction. It's becoming
A guide shaft 475 extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the support member 471 in parallel with the drive belt 474 .

The X-direction moving stage 45 is formed in a rectangular box shape extending in the left-right direction (X-direction) and provided at the rear end portion of the base upper plate 30 .
Guide shafts 475 are inserted through the left and right ends of the X-direction moving stage 45, respectively, and the X-direction moving stage 45 is rotated by driving the Y-direction moving motor 48 (see FIG. 6) and rotating the driving belt 474. is movable along the guide shaft 475 in the Y direction.

A pulley (not shown) is provided inside the X-direction moving stage 45, and a drive belt 454 extending in the left-right direction is wound around the pulley. Further, inside the X-direction moving stage 45, a guide shaft 455 extending in the left-right direction is provided substantially parallel to the driving belt 454. As shown in FIG.
A cartridge holder 8 that detachably holds the cartridge 7 is mounted on the X-direction moving stage 45 .
A holder support member (not shown) through which the guide shaft 455 is inserted is provided on the rear side (rear side in FIG. 4) of the cartridge holder 8 .
The cartridge holder 8 is movable in the X direction along the guide shaft 455 in the X direction movement stage 45 by driving the X direction movement motor 46 (see FIG. 6) and rotating the drive belt 454 . .

The cartridge holder 8 is formed in a shape that opens forward, and the cartridge 7 is attached to and detached from the cartridge holder 8 in the front-rear direction.
The cartridge holder 8 is provided with a U-shaped stopper member 84 .
The stopper member 84 has rear ends fixed to the left and right side surfaces of the cartridge holder 8, respectively, and rotates about the fixed portion as a fulcrum.
The stopper member 84 is lifted upward when the cartridge 7 is not mounted, and opens the front side of the cartridge holder 8 .
When the cartridge 7 is attached to the cartridge holder 8, it is arranged on the front side of the cartridge 7 to prevent the cartridge 7 from falling out of the cartridge holder 8 due to external impact, vibration, or the like. ing.
The stopper member 84 may be configured to automatically descend to the front side of the cartridge 7 when the cartridge 7 is attached to the cartridge holder 8, or the stopper member 84 may be manually moved up and down by the user. It is acceptable to be able to

In this embodiment, a head moving mechanism 49 (see FIG. 6) capable of moving the cartridge 7 as the print head in the X direction and the Y direction is configured by the X direction moving motor 46, the Y direction moving motor 48, and the like. The operation is controlled by the control device 80 (especially the print control unit 813), which will be described later.
Note that the print control unit 813 that controls the operation of the cartridge 7 and the operation of the head moving mechanism 49 need not be provided entirely on one control board. For example, the X-direction moving stage 45 is provided with a control board (not shown) that is electrically connected to the main control board and has a control unit 81 that controls the ejection of ink from the cartridge 7 and the operation of the X-direction moving motor 46 . may be In this embodiment, a flexible printed wiring board 425 is provided on the rear side of the cartridge holder 8 . This printed wiring board 425 is electrically connected to the control board provided on the X-direction moving stage 45, and the control signal from the print control section 813 provided on the main control board is It is sent to the printed wiring board 425 via the control board provided on the moving stage 45, and the ink ejection control of the cartridge 7 and the like according to the control of the print control section 813 are performed.

The cartridge 7 of the present embodiment functions as a print head as described above, and is an inkjet method in which printing is performed by spraying droplets of ink from the ink discharge section on the bottom surface onto the surface of the object to be printed (nail) to be printed. is an inkjet head. The cartridge 7 can eject, for example, yellow (Y; YELLOW), magenta (M; MAGENTA), and cyan (C; CYAN) inks.
The cartridge 7 is configured to move in a region above the base plate 30 .

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the base upper plate 30 with the X-direction moving stage 45 of the printing unit 40 and the cartridge 7 supported by the cartridge holder 8 removed.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the finger fixing portion 6 is arranged in the front portion of the base upper plate 30 and substantially in the center in the left-right direction as described above. A region corresponding to the opening 63 of the finger fixing portion 6 is a printing region Ar4 in which the cartridge 7 performs a printing operation during printing.
Further, the right rear portion of the base upper plate 30 serves as a home position Ar1 where the cartridge 7 is arranged during non-printing.
The home position Ar1 is the home position of the cartridge 7, is a position different from the print area Ar4, and is arranged on the right side of the print area Ar4. It should be noted that the home position Ar1 is not limited to the illustrated example as long as it is arranged within a range in which the cartridge 7 can be moved by the head moving mechanism 49 .

A cap portion 71 is provided at the home position Ar1 to cover the ink ejection surface on the bottom surface of the cartridge 7 .
The cap portion 71 protects the ink ejection surface from drying or the like during non-printing, and is formed of, for example, a flexible resin or the like.
When the cap portion 71 is in the initial position where the cartridge 7 is not covered (for example, the state shown in FIG. 5), the cap portion 71 is biased forward by a biasing member 711 having a spring or the like. In this state, the upper surface of the cap portion 71 is lowered to a sufficiently low position so as not to contact the lower surface of the cartridge 7 (that is, the ink ejection surface). This prevents the cap portion 71 from coming into contact with the cartridge 7 or interfering with its movement during printing.

Then, when the cartridge 7 moves from the front side to the rear side and moves to the home position Ar1, the cartridge 7 and the cartridge holder 8 supporting the cartridge 7 resist the biasing force of the biasing member 711 and the cap portion 71. is pushed backwards.
As a result, the cap portion 71 is guided by a rail (not shown) or the like and rises upward to a position where it covers the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 7 , and the ink ejection surface is capped by the cap portion 71 . Further, when the cartridge 7 leaves the home position Ar1, the cap portion 71 is pushed back to the initial position by the biasing member 711 and lowered to a height position where it does not interfere with the cartridge 7 again.
The configuration in which the cap portion 71 is vertically movable between a height position that does not interfere with the cartridge 7 and a height position that covers the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 7 is not limited to the one illustrated here.

Further, the rear left side of the base upper plate 30 serves as a maintenance area Ar2 in which maintenance of the cartridge 7 is performed.
In this embodiment, the maintenance area Ar2 is adapted to perform a plurality of maintenances with mutually different contents. A wiping portion 73 for wiping the ejection surface is provided.
The maintenance area Ar2 is located at a position different from the printing area Ar4 and the home position Ar1, is located on the left side of the printing area Ar4, and is arranged within a range in which the cartridge 7 can be moved by the head moving mechanism 49. FIG.
Also, in the maintenance area Ar2, the purge section 72 and the wipe section 73 are located at substantially the same position in the X direction, but the purge section 72 is arranged on the front side of the wipe section 73 in the Y direction.

The purge unit 72 forcibly ejects ink from the ink ejection openings on the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 7, and discharges air, impurities, and highly viscous ink together with the ink in the ink flow paths such as the nozzles. It is a maintenance section that receives ink that is forcibly ejected from the ink ejection surface during a so-called purge process.
By performing the purging process, clogging or the like occurring in the nozzles of the cartridge 7 can be eliminated, and a good ejection state can be restored.
The purge section 72 has an opening 721 formed to be slightly larger than the ink ejection surface, and a waste ink tank (not shown) formed continuously from the opening 721 . An absorber (not shown) for absorbing ink is provided in the waste ink tank.

The wiping portion 73 is a maintenance portion that cleans the ink ejection surface of the lower surface of the cartridge 7 by wiping, and has a plurality of wiping members 731 erected. In this embodiment, four wiping members 731 are staggered and arranged. Note that the arrangement, size, number, and the like of the wiping member 731 are not limited to the illustrated example.
The wiping member 731 is a cleaning blade that wipes off ink or the like adhering to the ink ejection surface, and is made of an elastic material such as rubber. The wiping member 731 is preferably made of a corrosion-resistant material that does not easily corrode even if it repeatedly comes in contact with ink.

When the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 7 is wiped, ink adheres to the tip of the wiping member 731 and the like.
For this reason, in the present embodiment, a scraping portion 74 for removing ink adhering to the wiping member 731 is provided behind the wiping portion 73 .
The scraping part 74 is provided movably in the Y direction along two guide rails 741 extending in the Y direction.
A scraping member 742 is provided at the front end of the scraping portion 74 to scrape off the ink adhering to the tip of the wiping member 731 by slidingly contacting the wiping member 731 . The material, shape, etc. of the scraping member 742 are not particularly limited as long as the ink adhering to the wiping member 731 can be removed.

A thin plate-like connecting spring 743 having a mountain-fold bent portion at the front end is provided on the upper surface of the scrape portion 74 . The bent portion of the front end of the connecting spring 743 is fitted into a concave portion (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the cartridge holder 8 , so that the scrape portion 74 is detachably connected to the cartridge holder 8 .
That is, by moving the cartridge holder 8 above the scrape portion 74 along the Y direction, the bent portion of the connecting spring 743 is fitted into the concave portion of the cartridge holder 8, and the scrape portion 74 and the cartridge holder 8 are connected. . By moving the cartridge holder 8 in this connected state, the scraping portion 74 can be moved to a position where the wiping member 731 can be scraped.
When the scraping portion 74 is passed over the wiping member 731 from behind, it abuts against the purge portion 72 and the bent portion of the connecting spring 743 falls out of the concave portion of the cartridge holder 8 . As a result, the connection between the scrape portion 74 and the cartridge holder 8 is released. The scrape portion 74 is urged rearward by an urging spring (not shown), and when the connection with the cartridge holder 8 is released, the urging force of the urging spring causes the scrape portion 74 to move to the initial position (in this embodiment, the position shown in FIG. 5). ).

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the nail printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.
As shown in this figure, the nail printing apparatus 1 includes an imaging section 50, a communication section 55, and a control device 80 in addition to the printing section 40 described above.

The photographing unit 50 includes a photographing device 51 and an illumination device 52 .
The photographing unit 50 illuminates the nail of the printing finger placed on the finger fixing unit 6 with the illumination device 52 . Then, the photographing device 51 photographs the printing finger to obtain a nail image (a finger image including the nail image) that is an image of the printing finger's nail.
Note that the imaging unit 50 may be configured to be movable in the XY directions by the head moving mechanism 49 that moves the cartridge 7 .
The photographing device 51 is, for example, a compact camera including a solid state photographing element having pixels of about 2 million pixels or more, a lens, and the like. Also, the lighting device 52 is, for example, a lighting lamp such as a white LED.
The photographing unit 50 obtains a nail image (an image of the nail including the printing finger) by photographing the nail with the photographing device 51 .
The photographing unit 50 is connected to a photographing control unit 812 of the control device 80 to be described later, and its operation is controlled by the photographing control unit 812 .
Note that the data of the image captured by the imaging unit 50 may be stored in the storage unit 82, which will be described later.

The communication unit 55 is configured to be capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a terminal device 9 described later that operates in cooperation with the nail printing device 1 .
Communication between the nail printing device 1 and the terminal device 9 is performed by, for example, a wireless LAN. Communication between the nail printing device 1 and the terminal device 9 is not limited to this, and any method may be used. For example, it may use a network line such as the Internet, or may perform wireless communication based on a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi. Also, this communication is not limited to wireless, and a configuration in which various data can be transmitted and received between the two through a wired connection may be employed. The communication unit 55 includes an antenna chip or the like compatible with the communication method of the terminal device 9 .

The control device 80 is installed, for example, on a substrate (not shown) arranged on the lower surface side of the top surface of the housing 2 or the like.
The control device 80 includes a control unit 81 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and a storage unit 82 including a ROM (Read Only Memory) 821, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 822, and the like. It is a computer with

The storage unit 82 stores various programs, various data, and the like for operating the nail printing device 1 .
Specifically, the ROM 821 of the storage unit 82 stores various programs such as a maintenance program for performing maintenance operations for maintaining the cartridge 7 and a print program for performing print processing. is executed by the control device 80, each part of the nail printing device 1 is controlled in an integrated manner.

The control unit 81 includes a communication control unit 811, an imaging control unit 812, a print control unit 813, and the like from a functional point of view. Functions of the communication control unit 811 , the photographing control unit 812 , the printing control unit 813 and the like are realized by cooperation between the CPU of the control unit 81 and the programs stored in the ROM 821 of the storage unit 82 .

The communication control section 811 controls the operation of the communication section 55 . In the present embodiment, communication with a terminal device 9 (to be described later) is controlled, and when print data or the like is transmitted from the terminal device 9, it is received.
Moreover, when the nail image is acquired by the photographing unit 50 , the nail image data is transmitted to the terminal device 9 together with temporal information such as the acquired date and time.
In addition, when a trouble occurs during printing on the nail printing apparatus 1 side, or when there is a change in the operation state, the fact may be transmitted to the terminal apparatus 9 side.

The image capturing control unit 812 controls the image capturing device 51 and the lighting device 52 of the image capturing unit 50 so that the image capturing device 51 captures a finger image (nail image) including the nail image of the printing finger fixed to the finger fixing unit 6 . It is to be photographed.
Image data of the nail image acquired by the photographing unit 50 is transmitted to the terminal device 9 described below via the communication unit 55 . Note that the image data may be stored in the storage unit 82 .

The print control unit 813 outputs a control signal to the print unit 40 based on the print data transmitted from the terminal device 9, which will be described later, and instructs the print unit 40 to print on the nail according to the print data. is a control unit for controlling the X-direction movement motor 46, the Y-direction movement motor 48, the cartridge 7, and the like.

Further, in this embodiment, the print control unit 813 moves the cartridge holder 8 holding the cartridge 7 to a predetermined exchange area Ar3 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) when the cartridge 7 needs to be attached/detached. , the operations of the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 are controlled.

In the present embodiment, the cartridge holder 8 is arranged at the home position Ar1 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), which is the standby position, in the initial state where the nail printing apparatus is powered off.
In this case, when the power of the nail printing device 1 is turned on according to the operation instruction from the terminal device 9, the print control section 813 moves the cartridge holder 8 from the home position Ar1 to the replacement area Ar3.
Specifically, the Y-direction movement motor 48 is controlled to move the cartridge holder 8 (the X-direction movement stage 45 that supports the cartridge holder 8) straight toward the front side of the apparatus along the Y direction, and the ejection opening 213 is moved. is stopped at the replacement area Ar3 before the .

At the home position Ar1, a cap portion 71 or the like is provided to protect the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 7 from being dried. The cartridge holder 8 is arranged at the home position Ar1.
However, when the cartridge 7 is removed from the cartridge holder 8, such as when the apparatus is not used for a long period of time, the cartridge holder 8 is not necessarily arranged at the home position Ar1. Further, the power may be turned off while the cartridge holder 8 is located at a position different from the home position Ar1.
In such a case, the print control unit 813 grasps the current position of the cartridge holder 8, appropriately controls the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48, and moves the cartridge holder 8 in the X and Y directions. direction, until it reaches the exchange area Ar3 and then stops.

When the cartridge 7 is attached to the cartridge holder 8, the print control unit 813 applies a predetermined voltage or current to the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 so that the cartridge holder 8 does not move in the movement direction. The operations of the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 are controlled as follows.
In this embodiment, when the cartridge holder 8 is stopped in the replacement area Ar3, the print control unit 813 applies a predetermined voltage or voltage to the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 so that the cartridge holder 8 does not move from that position. A current is applied to hold the stopped state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the nail printing device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to communicate with the terminal device 9, and executes printing operations and the like based on operation commands from the terminal device 9. It's like

The terminal device 9 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smart phone or a tablet. However, the terminal device 9 is not particularly limited as long as it can communicate with the nail printing device 1, and may be, for example, a notebook or stationary personal computer, a game terminal device, or the like.
Specifically, the terminal device 9 includes an operation unit 91, a display unit 92, a communication unit 94, a control device 95, and the like.

The operation unit 91 can perform various inputs and settings according to the user's operation. When the operation unit 91 is operated, an input signal corresponding to the operation is transmitted to the control device 95. be done. In this embodiment, a touch panel is integrally provided on the surface of the display unit 92, and the user can also perform various operations such as input and setting by touching the touch panel.
Note that the operation unit 91 for performing operations such as various inputs and settings is not limited to a touch panel. For example, various operation buttons, a keyboard, a pointing device, etc. may be provided as the operation unit 91 .
In this embodiment, the user can select a nail design to be printed on the nail by operating the operation unit 91 .

The touch panel configured in the display unit 92 displays various display screens under the control of the control unit 951, which will be described later.
In the present embodiment, the display unit 92 can display nail designs input/selected by the user from the operation unit 91, images transmitted from the nail printing apparatus 1, and the like.

The communication unit 94 can transmit print data to the nail printing device 1 . Further, when data such as a nail image is transmitted from the nail printing apparatus 1, the communication section 94 receives the data. The communication unit 94 includes a wireless communication module or the like capable of communicating with the communication unit 55 of the nail printing device 1 .
It should be noted that the communication unit 94 may be any device that can communicate with the nail printing device 1, and one that conforms to the communication standard of the communication unit 55 of the nail printing device 1 is applied.

The control device 95 is a computer including a control unit 951 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and a storage unit 952 configured by a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) not shown. is.

The storage unit 952 stores various programs, various data, and the like for operating each unit of the terminal device 9 .
Specifically, in the ROM or the like of the present embodiment, in addition to an operation program for centrally controlling each part of the terminal device 9, various programs such as a nail printing application program for performing nail printing using the nail printing device 1 are stored. Programs are stored, and the terminal device 9 is controlled by the control device 95 developing these programs in, for example, a work area of a RAM and executing them.
Further, the storage unit 82 of the present embodiment stores nail design data, nail images, nail position/range information, and the like.

The control unit 951 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the terminal device 9 . The control unit 951 realizes various functions for printing on nails in cooperation with programs stored in the storage unit 952 .

Next, the operation of the nail printing device 1 when the cartridge 7 is mounted will be described.
Here, the case where the cartridge 7 is not attached to the cartridge holder 8 and the nail printing apparatus 1 is operated from the power-off state will be described. However, even when the cartridge 7 is detached (removed) from the cartridge holder 8 in which the cartridge 7 is mounted, the operation is the same as when the cartridge 7 is mounted, except for the user's task of mounting and demounting the cartridge 7 .
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where the lower cover 22 is removed from the nail printing apparatus 1 and the upper cover 23 is opened, and shows a state where the cartridge 7 is removed from the cartridge holder 8. FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing how the cartridge 7 is mounted in the cartridge holder 8 in the nail printing apparatus 1 in the state shown in FIG.

When mounting the cartridge 7 in the cartridge holder 8 , first, the user inputs an instruction to mount (replace) the cartridge 7 of the nail printing device 1 from the terminal device 9 . As a result, when the nail printing device 1 is powered off, the terminal device 9 outputs a power ON instruction to the nail printing device 1, and the nail printing device 1 is activated.
When the nail printing device 1 is activated, the print control unit 813 controls the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 to move the cartridge holder 8 to the replacement area Ar3 corresponding to the ejection port 213. FIG.
For example, if the cartridge holder 8 is positioned at the home position Ar1 on the right rear side of the base 3 in the initial state when the power is off, the print control unit 813 controls the Y-direction movement motor 48. Then, the cartridge holder 8 is advanced in the Y direction (the direction indicated by the black arrow in FIG. 4) toward the front side of the apparatus, and moved from the home position Ar1 to the replacement area Ar3.
At this time, the display unit 92 of the terminal device 9 may display a message such as "Please open the upper cover of the nail printing device and install the cartridge."
When the cartridge holder 8 moves to the replacement area Ar3, the user removes the lower cover 22 from the housing body 21 and then opens the upper cover 23, as shown in FIG. If it is down, raise it up. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the cartridge 7 is attached from the front side to the cartridge holder 8 in the open state. In FIG. 8, the user's hand pushing the cartridge 7 is indicated by a chain double-dashed line.

At this time, the print control unit 813 applies a predetermined current or voltage to the Y-direction movement motor 48 . As a result, the Y-direction movement motor 48 is braked, and the cartridge holder 8 is held stationary against the pressing force of the user. Therefore, the user can easily mount the cartridge 7 .

Thereafter, the user lowers the stopper member 84 to the front side of the cartridge 7 to prevent the cartridge 7 from unintentionally falling out of the cartridge holder 8 (see FIG. 3).
Then, when performing printing, the user closes the upper cover 23, inserts the printing finger into the finger fixing portion 6, and executes a predetermined printing operation from the terminal device 9. FIG. As a result, the terminal device 9 and the nail printing device 1 operate in cooperation, and printing is performed on the nail of the printing finger.
When stopping the nail printing device 1, the user closes the upper cover 23, attaches the lower cover 22 to the housing body 21, and inputs an instruction to turn off the nail printing device 1 from the terminal device 9. do. Then, after the printing control unit 813 of the nail printing device 1 moves the cartridge holder 8 to the home position Ar1, the control unit 81 turns off the power of the nail printing device 1 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the front wall portion 212 of the housing 2 (housing main body 21) includes the opening 61 for inserting a nail (printing finger) to be printed into the housing 2. , and an extraction port 213 for exposing to the outside the replacement area Ar3 in which the cartridge holder 8 is arranged when the cartridge 7 is attached or detached.
As a result, the space necessary for inserting the printing finger into the housing 2 and replacing the cartridge 7 can be shared, and these operations can be performed only in the space on the front side of the housing 2 . That is, in the periphery of the housing 2, at least the space required for inserting the printing finger and replacing the cartridge 7 can be limited only to the front side. Therefore, the nail printing device 1 can be made user-friendly regardless of the installation location, and good printing can be performed.

Further, according to this embodiment, the direction of exposing the replacement area Ar3 from the ejection port 213 corresponds to the direction of attaching and detaching the cartridge 7 from the cartridge holder 8 .
As a result, the cartridge 7 can be easily attached to and detached from the cartridge holder 8 through the ejection port 213 .

Further, according to the present embodiment, the home position Ar1 where the cartridge holder 8 is arranged during non-printing is located inside the housing 2 in the direction (front-rear direction) in which the cartridge 7 is attached to and detached from the cartridge holder 8 with respect to the replacement area Ar3. It is arranged on the far side (that is, on the rear side). When the cartridge 7 is attached or detached, the print control unit 813 moves the cartridge holder 8 forward from the home position Ar1 to the replacement area Ar3 toward the front side of the housing 2 .
Thus, when the cartridge 7 is attached or detached, the cartridge holder 8 is moved forward from the home position Ar1 to the replacement area Ar3, and then the cartridge 7 is attached or detached to and from the cartridge holder 8 in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the cartridge holder 8 can be quickly moved to the replacement area Ar3, and the cartridge 7 can be easily attached and detached.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the housing 2 includes the housing main body 21 having the front wall portion 212, and the upper cover 23 provided on the housing main body 21 so as to open and close the outlet 213 of the front wall portion 212. , and the extraction port 213 is exposed by opening the upper cover 23 .
As a result, for example, when the apparatus is not in use or when printing, the top cover 23 covers the top cover 23, and only when the cartridge 7 is replaced, the top cover 23 is lifted to open the top cover 213. Intrusion of dust and the like into the housing 2 can be suppressed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the upper cover 23 material is provided with the window portion 231 for visually recognizing the nail (printing finger) to be printed that is inserted into the housing 2 from the outside.
Thereby, the state of the nail to be printed arranged in the housing 2 can be visually confirmed through the window portion 231 .

Further, according to the present embodiment, the upper cover 23 is connected to the housing main body 21 by connecting the upper end portion of the upper cover 23 and the upper end portion of the front wall portion 212 via the hinge mechanism 214 . It is rotatably provided. The rotation range of the upper cover 23 is from a closed state covering the outlet 213 to an open state in which the outlet 213 is exposed and the upper cover 23 is positioned at approximately the same height as the upper surface of the housing body 21. regulated by
In other words, the upper cover 23 is not located higher than the upper surface of the housing body 21 . As a result, even when the nail printing device 1 is stored in a place where there is no room for space on the upper side, it is possible to perform printing, exchange of the cartridge 7, etc. without taking it out of the storage place.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the housing 2 includes the lower cover 22 which is detachable from the housing body 21 and covers the opening 61 when attached to the housing body 21 .
Thus, for example, when the apparatus is not in use, the opening 61 is covered with the lower cover 22, and when printing, the opening 61 is opened by removing the lower cover 22, thereby removing dust from the opening 61 into the housing 2. Intrusion can be suppressed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the opening 61 and the outlet 213 are provided in the front wall 212 of the housing 2 (housing body 21), but these openings are It may be provided on any one of the two wall portions. Here, the wall portion is a portion of the housing that stands up and down to separate the inside and outside of the housing. In this case, the replacement area Ar3 is provided at a position corresponding to and adjacent to the position of the outlet 213 .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first opening according to the present invention is the opening 61 for inserting the nail to be printed (printing finger) into the housing 2. may be an opening 211 for inserting a hand including a printing finger into the housing 2 .

In this embodiment, the cartridge 7 is a head-integrated ink cartridge integrally provided with an ink jet print head mechanism, but the cartridge is not limited to ink jet printing.
Also, the cartridge is not limited to a head-integrated type. For example, a print head mechanism having a function of ejecting ink such as an ink ejection surface may be provided on the side of the cartridge holder 8 where the cartridge 7 is mounted, and the cartridge may have only an ink reservoir.
In this case, a replaceable cartridge as a consumable item can be realized with a simple and inexpensive structure, which is economical for the user.
In this case, the cartridge has a sensor for monitoring how much ink is used up and a terminal connected to this sensor. It may be configured such that the remaining amount of ink is grasped on the device side, and the user is notified of the replacement time of the cartridge.

In addition, when a sensor is provided to monitor the degree of ink consumption, and the detection result of the sensor is sent to the terminal device 9, the detection result of the sensor indicates that the ink has decreased below a predetermined level, and the cartridge 7 is due to be replaced. When the control device 90 of the terminal device 9 or the like determines that there is such a state, the cartridge holder 8 is moved to the exchange area Ar3, and a predetermined voltage or current is applied to the X-direction movement motor 46 to bring the cartridge holder 8 into a stationary state. The operation instruction may be output to the print control unit 813 of the nail printing device 1 so as to apply the voltage to the Y-direction moving motor 48 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the nail printing device 1 is configured to perform printing by the inkjet method, but the method by which the nail printing device 1 performs printing is not limited to the inkjet method.
For example, a pen holder for holding a printing pen that prints by contacting the tip of the nail with the surface of the nail may be provided, and the pen may be used for printing. Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which printing is performed using a plurality of printing means by including both the ink-jet printing means and a pen holder for holding a pen for printing, as in the present embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the nail printing device 1 configures a printing system in cooperation with a terminal device, and inputs an instruction to start printing, detects a printing area (that is, a nail area), makes various corrections, and generates printing data. , etc., are performed on the terminal device side, and the printing operation for printing the nail is performed on the nail printing device 1 side, but the nail printing device 1 is not limited to the one shown here.
For example, an operation unit and a display unit for inputting various instructions, a print data generation unit for generating print data, and the like are provided on the nail printing device 1 side, and the control device of the nail printing device 1 performs these processes. good too.
When configured in this way, the nail printing apparatus 1 can be configured to complete the printing operation by itself without cooperation with a terminal device.

Further, the nail design image data may be provided in the storage unit of the terminal device, or may be stored in the storage unit of the nail printing device 1 .
In addition, nail design image data is stored in a server device or the like that can be connected via a network line or the like, so that the terminal device or the nail printing device 1 can access the server device or the like and refer to the nail design image data. may be configured.
By doing so, it is possible to select a design to be printed from among a greater number of nail designs.

Further, the nail printing apparatus 1 may be provided with a drying section including a heater and a fan for drying the ink after printing.
For example, by providing a drying unit in the finger standby unit 350 or the like, it is possible to dry the printed nail while printing is being performed on the nail of another finger, thereby shortening the time required for nail printing. can.

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, and includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalent ranges thereof. .
The invention described in the scope of claims originally attached to the application form of this application is additionally described below. The claim numbers in the appendix are as in the claims originally attached to the filing of this application.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
a housing;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
with
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached;
A printing device characterized by being provided with
<Claim 2>
comprising control means for controlling the operation of the cartridge holder;
a waiting area in which the cartridge holder waits during non-printing is arranged on the back side of the housing in a predetermined direction in which the cartridge is attached and detached with respect to the replacement area;
2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller moves the cartridge holder from the waiting area to the replacement area in the predetermined direction toward the front side of the housing when the cartridge is attached or detached. .
<Claim 3>
The housing includes a housing main body having the one wall portion, and a cover member provided on the housing main body so as to be openable and closable, and opening the cover member opens the first wall portion. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two openings are exposed.
<Claim 4>
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cover member is provided with a window portion for visually recognizing the print target inserted into the housing from the outside.
<Claim 5>
The cover member is
An upper end portion of the cover member and an upper end portion of the one wall portion are connected via a hinge mechanism so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing body,
The rotation range of the cover member is such that the second opening is exposed from the closed state covering the second opening, and the cover member is positioned at a height approximately equal to the upper surface of the housing body. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the opening is regulated.
<Claim 6>
6. The housing includes another cover member that is detachable from the housing body and covers the first opening when attached to the housing body. The printing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.
<Claim 7>
The housing includes a finger waiting portion for inserting a non-printing finger, and when the other cover member is attached to the housing body, the other cover member covers the first opening and the finger waiting portion. 7. A printing device according to claim 6, characterized in that it covers.

1 nail print device 2 housing 6 finger fixing section 7 cartridge 8 cartridge holder 21 housing body 22 lower cover 23 upper cover 61 opening 211 opening 212 front wall section 213 outlet 214 hinge mechanism 231 window section 350 finger standby section Ar1 Home position Ar3 Exchange area

Claims (10)

a housing;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
a control means for controlling the operation of the cartridge holder;
with
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached;
The printing apparatus, wherein the control means moves the cartridge holder from a standby area where the cartridge holder waits during non-printing to the replacement area when the cartridge is attached or detached. comprising control means for controlling the operation of the cartridge holder;
the waiting area is arranged on the back side of the housing in a predetermined direction in which the cartridge is attached and detached with respect to the replacement area;
2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller moves the cartridge holder from the waiting area to the replacement area in the predetermined direction toward the front side of the housing when the cartridge is attached or detached. . The housing includes a housing main body having the one wall portion, and a cover member provided on the housing main body so as to be openable and closable, and opening the cover member opens the first wall portion. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two openings are exposed. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cover member is provided with a window portion for visually recognizing the print target inserted into the housing from the outside. The cover member is
An upper end portion of the cover member and an upper end portion of the one wall portion are connected via a hinge mechanism so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing body,
The rotation range of the cover member is such that the second opening is exposed from the closed state covering the second opening, and the cover member is positioned at a height approximately equal to the upper surface of the housing body. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the opening is regulated. 6. The housing includes another cover member that is detachable from the housing body and covers the first opening when attached to the housing body. The printing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3. a housing provided with a cover member provided with a window portion for visually recognizing an internal print target from the outside ;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
with
The cover member is openable and closable,
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached,
The printing apparatus, wherein the housing exposes the second opening by opening the cover member. a housing comprising a cover member that can be opened and closed;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
with
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached,
wherein the housing exposes the second opening by opening the cover member;
The cover member is
An upper end portion of the cover member and an upper end portion of the one wall portion are connected via a hinge mechanism so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing ,
The rotation range of the cover member changes from a closed state covering the second opening to an open state in which the second opening is exposed and the cover member is positioned at approximately the same height as the upper surface of the housing. A printing device characterized by being regulated by a state. a housing comprising a cover member that can be opened and closed;
a cartridge holder that is housed in the housing and holds the cartridge;
with
On any one wall of the housing,
a first opening for inserting a printing finger corresponding to a nail to be printed in the housing;
a second opening that exposes to the outside a replacement area in which the cartridge holder is arranged when the cartridge is attached or detached,
The housing includes another cover member that is detachable from the housing and covers the first opening when attached to the housing , and the second opening is opened by opening the cover member. A printing device characterized by exposing a The housing includes a finger waiting portion for inserting a non-printing finger, and the other cover member covers the first opening and the finger waiting portion when the other cover member is attached to the housing. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 6 or 9, characterized in that:

Images