JP7443864B2 - Printing device, printing device control method, and control program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device, a method of controlling the printing device, and a control program.

2. Description of the Related Art Printing devices that print nail designs on people's fingernails and the like are conventionally known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this type of printing device, a user operates an operation unit of the main body of the device or a terminal such as a smartphone that can communicate with the main body of the device to perform various inputs, instructions to start printing, and the like.
However, since the hand that has the nails to be printed is restrained by the device body, there is a problem in that it becomes difficult to perform various operations when printing the nails of the dominant hand or when printing the nails of both hands at once.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-255013

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve operability.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing device of the present invention has the following features:
a printing means for printing on a fingernail;
a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed;
an operation means arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged and accepts an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
Equipped with
The fingers to be printed include fingers of the same hand as the other fingers .

According to the present invention, operability can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a three-sided view of the nail printing device in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the nail printing device in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of print processing in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the operating state of the touch pad and a printing finger in the first embodiment. It is a figure showing a design selection screen in a 1st embodiment. It is a three-sided view of the nail printing device in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of a nail printing device in a second embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of print processing in the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the operation state of the operation button and the printing finger in the second embodiment.

An embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.
Note that, although various technically preferable limitations for carrying out the present invention are attached to the embodiments described below, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.
In the following embodiment, a case will be described in which the printing device is a nail printing device that prints on the fingernails of a hand.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a three-sided view showing a nail printing device 1 according to a first embodiment, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a right side sectional view.
Note that in the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and back (front and back) are directions seen from the user (operator) directly facing the nail printing device 1, and refer to the directions shown in FIG. shall be.

As shown in FIGS. 1(a) to 1(c), the nail printing device 1 includes a housing 2 that is formed into, for example, a substantially box shape and has an opening 21 on the front side. Although not particularly limited, the opening 21 is open over almost the entire front surface of the housing 2.

Inside the housing 2, a flat printing table 3 is arranged on which a finger to be printed (printing finger) is placed. The printing table 3 is arranged substantially flat at a height position in the middle of the internal space of the housing 2 so as to partition the internal space into upper and lower parts.
On the top surface of the printing table 3, a thumb is placed in the thumb printing mode in which the thumb is printed, and four fingers are placed in the 4-finger printing mode in which any of the four fingers other than the thumb are printed. . On the other hand, in the space below the printing table 3, other fingers other than the printing finger of the same hand (non-printing fingers), that is, in the case of thumb printing mode, four fingers other than the thumb are placed. In print mode, the thumb is placed.

A finger fixing section 30 is disposed on the front side of the upper surface of the printing table 3 and approximately at the center in the left-right direction. The finger fixing part 30 has an opening 31 penetrating back and forth, and prevents one printing finger inserted into the opening 31 from lifting up, and holds the printing finger in a predetermined position suitable for printing the nail. Fixed in position.

Two touchpads 41 (a right touchpad 41R and a left touchpad 41L) that receive user operations are provided on the front side of the lower surface of the printing table 3, approximately at the center in the left-right direction. The two touch pads 41 are attached to both left and right sides of a support plate 42 fixed to the lower surface of the printing table 3. The right touch pad 41R is arranged on the right side of the finger fixing section 30, and the left touch pad 41L is arranged on the left side of the finger fixing section 30.
These two touch pads 41 are operation means that accept operations using non-printing fingers, and various operations such as selecting a nail design, starting printing, and starting previewing are performed, for example. Note that it is sufficient that at least one touch pad 41 is provided that can be operated with a non-printed finger.

Furthermore, a photographing section 50 including a photographing device 51 and an illumination device 52 is arranged within the housing 2 .
The photographing unit 50 is disposed on the top surface (lower surface of the upper plate) of the housing 2 above the nail of the printed finger fixed to the finger fixing unit 30, and illuminates the nail of the printed finger with the illumination device 52. A photograph is taken by the photographing device 51 to obtain a nail image (an image of the finger including the nail) which is an image of the printed fingernail.
The photographing device 51 is, for example, a small camera configured with a solid-state photographing element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type having 2 million or more pixels, a lens, and the like. Further, the illumination device 52 is, for example, an illumination light such as a white LED, and is provided on both the left and right sides of the photographing device 51.

Furthermore, a print head 61 that prints on a printing target is arranged within the housing 2.
The print head 61 is an inkjet head that performs printing by spraying fine droplets of ink from an ink ejection section on its lower surface onto the printing surface of a printing target (nail). The print head 61 is capable of ejecting, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) ink.
The print head 61 is configured to be movable in an area above the printing table 3 in the internal space of the housing 2 along each of the front, rear, right and left directions.

A power switch 22 and a display 23 are arranged on the top surface of the housing 2.
The power switch 22 is an operation button for turning on/off the power of the nail printing device 1.
The display 23 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescent display, or other flat display, and displays various information.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the nail printing device 1. As shown in FIG.
As shown in this figure, the nail printing device 1 includes a display section 20, an operation section 40, a printing section 60, and a control device 80 in addition to the above-mentioned photographing section 50.

The display unit 20 includes a display 23 and displays various information on the display 23 based on display commands from the control device 80.
The operation unit 40 includes two touchpads 41 (a right touchpad 41R, a left touchpad 41L), and outputs input signals corresponding to the operating states of the two touchpads 41 by the user to the control device 80.

The printing unit 60 includes a print head 61 and a motor (not shown) that moves the print head 61 in each of the front, rear, left, and right directions. The printing unit 60 causes the print head 61 to eject ink, or drives a motor to move the print head 61 back and forth, left and right, based on control commands from the control device 80 .

The control device 80 is a computer including a control unit 81 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and a storage unit 82 configured by having a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. It is.

The storage unit 82 stores various programs, various data, etc. for operating the nail printing device 1.
Specifically, the storage unit 82 stores various programs such as a print program for performing print processing, and the control device 80 expands these programs into a work area of RAM and executes them. , each part of the nail printing device 1 is centrally controlled.
The storage unit 82 also includes a design storage area 821 where data such as a design pattern of a nail image to be printed is stored, and a print result storage area 822 where a print result image is stored.

The control unit 81 includes functional units such as a photographing control unit 811, a nail information detection unit 812, a print data generation unit 813, a print control unit 814, and a display control unit 815. The functions of each of these functional units are realized through cooperation between the CPU of the control unit 81 and the program stored in the storage unit 82.

The photographing control section 811 controls the photographing device 51 and the lighting device 52 of the photographing section 50, and causes the photographing device 51 to photograph a nail image of the printed finger fixed on the finger fixing section 30. The image data of the nail image acquired by the photographing section 50 is stored in the storage section 82.

The nail information detection unit 812 detects nail information about the nail of the printed finger based on the nail image. The nail information detection unit 812 of this embodiment detects at least the outline of the nail as the nail information.

The print data generation unit 813 generates print data by fitting (enlarging/reducing, etc.) the nail design selected by the user to the contour of the nail detected by the nail information detection unit 812.

The print control unit 814 outputs a control signal to the print unit 60 based on the generated print data, and controls the print head 61, motor, etc. of the print unit 60 to print on the nail according to the print data. Control.

The display control unit 815 controls the display unit 20 and causes the display 23 to display a nail image obtained by photographing a finger to be printed, an image pattern of a nail design to be printed, a print preview image for confirming the design, and the like.

Next, the operation of the nail printing device 1 when printing on nails will be explained.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process of the nail printing device 1, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the operating state of the touch pad 41 and the printing finger, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the design selection process. It is a figure showing a screen.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the printing process is executed, the control unit 81 first determines whether or not the right touch pad 41R has been touched (step S1).
When it is determined that the right touch pad 41R has been touched (step S1; Yes), the control unit 81 determines whether the touched part is the back part of the right touch pad 41R (the front part (step S2).
For example, in the hand size of a typical adult woman, if the thumb is used as the print finger, the range that can be touched by four fingers other than the thumb (for example, the index finger) is the "back part" of the touch pad 41. (See Figure 4(a)). Furthermore, the "front side" of the touch pad 41 is the area on the front side of the device from this "back side part" that can be touched by the thumb if four fingers other than the thumb are used as printing fingers (Fig. 4(b)).

In step S2, if it is determined that the back part of the right touch pad 41R has been touched (step S2; Yes), the control unit 81 determines the right thumb as the printing finger, and enters a print mode in which the right thumb is printed. is selected (step S3).
As shown in FIG. 4(a), when a touch operation is performed on the back part of the right touch pad 41R, the thumb of the right hand HR, which is a non-printing finger and is located below the top surface of the printing table 3. This is because it can be determined that the right touch pad 41R has been operated with a finger other than the finger (for example, the index finger).
After selecting the print mode, the control unit 81 moves the process to step S9, which will be described later.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the front side portion of the right touch pad 41R has been touched (step S2; No), the control unit 81 moves the four fingers other than the thumb of the left hand (any one) as the printing finger. Then, a print mode for printing the four fingers of the left hand is selected (step S4).
As shown in FIG. 4B, when a touch operation is performed on the front side of the right touch pad 41R, the thumb of the left hand HL, which is a non-printing finger and is located below the top surface of the printing table 3. This is because it can be determined that the right touch pad 41R has been operated.
After selecting the print mode, the control unit 81 moves the process to step S9, which will be described later.

In step S1 described above, if it is determined that the right touch pad 41R is not touched (step S1; No), the control unit 81 determines whether or not the left touch pad 41L is touched (step S5).
If it is determined that the left touch pad 41L is not touched (step S5; No), the control unit 81 shifts the process to step S1 described above.

Further, in step S5, when it is determined that the left touch pad 41L has been touched (step S5; Yes), the control unit 81 determines whether the touched part is the back part of the left touch pad 41L. (Is it the front side part?) (step S6).

In step S6, if it is determined that the back part of the left touch pad 41L has been touched (step S6; Yes), the control unit 81 determines the left thumb as the printing finger, and enters a print mode in which the left thumb is printed. is selected (step S7).
This is similar to step S3 described above, when a touch operation is performed on the back part of the left touch pad 41L, a non-printing finger other than the thumb of the left hand HL, which is arranged below the top surface of the printing table 3, is pressed. This is because it can be determined that the left touch pad 41L has been operated with a finger (for example, the index finger).
After selecting the print mode, the control unit 81 moves the process to step S9, which will be described later.

On the other hand, in step S6, if it is determined that the front side portion of the left touch pad 41L has been touched (step S6; No), the control unit 81 moves the four fingers other than the thumb of the right hand as the printing finger. Then, a print mode for printing the four fingers of the right hand is selected (step S8).
Similar to step S4 above, when the front side portion of the left touch pad 41L is touched, the thumb of the right hand HR, which is a non-printing finger and is located below the top surface of the printing table 3, is used to touch the left side touch pad 41L. This is because it can be determined that the touch pad 41L has been operated.

Next, the control unit 81 reads learning data corresponding to the selected print mode (step S9).
This learning data is learning data of the shape of a fingernail in the corresponding print mode, and is stored in the storage unit 82 in advance.

Next, the control unit 81 selects a design to be printed based on the user's operation using the touch pad 41, and stores it in the design storage area 821 of the storage unit 82 (step S10). The touch pad 41 here refers to the touch pad 41 that was touched in step S1 or S5. The same applies to steps S11 and S15, which will be described later.
In this step, the control unit 81 changes the design selection screen displayed on the display 23 depending on whether the selected print mode is the four-finger print mode or the thumb print mode.
Specifically, when the four-finger printing mode is selected, the selected design window W1 and the design list window W2 are displayed vertically on the display 23, as shown in FIG. 5(a). . The user slides the touch pad 41 from side to side with the thumb, which is a non-printing finger and is placed below the top surface of the printing table 3, to horizontally scroll the design list window W2 and touch the desired nail design. Operate and select. The selected nail design is displayed as a preview in the selected design window W1.
Further, when the thumb print mode is selected, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the selected design window W1 and the design list window W2 are displayed separately on the left and right sides on the display 23. The user vertically scrolls the design list window W2 by sliding the touch pad 41 up and down with four non-printing fingers placed below the top surface of the printing table 3 (for example, the index finger) to select the desired Select the nail design by touch operation. The selected nail design is displayed as a preview in the selected design window W1.

Next, the control unit 81 determines whether "start printing" has been touched by the user's operation on the touch pad 41 (step S11), and if it is determined that the touch operation has not been performed (step S11; No), the step Repeat S11. In step S11, for example, a "start printing" button is displayed on the display 23, and the user operates the touch pad 41 to move the cursor on the display 23 to operate the "start printing" button.

Further, in step S11, if it is determined that "start printing" has been touched (step S11; Yes), the control unit 81 photographs the printing finger placed on the finger fixing unit 30 with the photographing unit 50, and The shape is recognized (step S12).
Specifically, in this step, the photographing control unit 811 controls the photographing unit 50 to acquire a nail image of the printed finger, and the nail information detecting unit 812 detects the outline of the nail based on the nail image. Further, in this step, the shape of the nail is recognized while referring to the learning data read out in step S9 described above.

Next, the control unit 81 causes the print data generation unit 813 to fit the nail design selected in step S10 to the contour of the nail detected in step S12, and generates print data (step S13). ).
Then, the control unit 81 controls the printing unit 60 by the print control unit 814 based on the generated print data, and prints the fingernail (step S14).

Next, the control unit 81 determines whether or not the "data capture after printing" button on the display 23 is touched by the user's operation using the touch pad 41 (step S15), and if it is determined that the button is not touched (step S15; No), the printing process ends.
Further, if it is determined that the "data capture after printing" button has been touched (step S15; Yes), the control unit 81 acquires the printed fingernail image that has already been printed by the imaging unit 50 and prints it in the storage unit 82. After storing the results in the result storage area 822 (step S16), the printing process ends.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the touch pad 41 that accepts operations by non-printing fingers is arranged below the top surface of the printing table 3 where printing fingers are arranged.
As a result, the user can perform operations using his/her hand placed on the printing table 3, and the operability can be improved compared to the conventional method.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the printed finger is selected based on the operation received by the touch pad 41, the user can operate with the non-printed finger without having to perform a special operation to select the printed finger. A printing finger can be automatically selected simply by touching the touch pad 41.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the operation means is the touch pad 41, the user can use various touch operations such as tap, flick, swipe, and pinch-in/out.

Note that the touch pad 41 may be a button (switch). In this case, different buttons may be placed on the back side and the front side of the support plate 42. This button may be provided alongside a touch pad that allows selection of designs and the like.
Furthermore, when one of the two touchpads 41 is operated in step S1 or S5 described above, the other may be made inoperable.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A nail printing device 1A according to the second embodiment differs from the nail printing device 1 of the first embodiment mainly in that it prints fingernails of both hands. Note that the same components as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a three-sided view showing a nail printing device 1A according to the second embodiment, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a right side sectional view.
In the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and rear refer to the directions shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c), like the nail printing device 1 of the first embodiment, the nail printing device 1A is formed, for example, in a substantially box shape and has an opening 21 on the front side. The casing 2 is provided with a casing 2 having the following features.

Inside the housing 2, a flat printing table 3A is arranged on which a finger to be printed (printing finger) is placed. The printing table 3A is arranged substantially flat at a height position in the middle of the internal space of the housing 2 so as to partition the internal space into upper and lower parts.
The printing fingers of both hands are placed on the top surface of the printing table 3A. In this embodiment, as printing fingers, either four fingers other than the thumb of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand, or four fingers of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand are arranged on the printing table 3A. On the other hand, in the space below the top surface of the printing table 3, fingers other than the printing finger (non-printing fingers), that is, in the case of the hand that prints the thumb, four fingers other than the thumb are placed. In the case of the hand that prints, the thumb is placed.

Two grips 45 (a right grip 45R and a left grip 45L) to be held by a user are provided on the front side of the lower surface of the printing table 3. The two grips 45 are provided at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction at the portion of the printing table 3A where the left and right hands are placed. The right grip 45R is a right hand grip when printing the right thumb, and the left grip 45L is a left hand grip when printing the left thumb.
An operation button 46 is provided on the rear surface (inner side surface) of each grip 45. The right grip 45R is provided with a right operation button 46R, and the left grip 45L is provided with a left operation button 46L. The operation button 46 is an operation means that accepts operations by fingers other than the printing finger, and in this embodiment, when the printing finger is operated by four fingers other than the thumb (for example, the index finger) on the hand where the thumb is the thumb, printing is started. accepts operations.
Note that the operation button 46 may be able to accept input operations other than printing start.

Further, inside the housing 2, a photographing section 50 and a print head 61 are arranged, as in the first embodiment. However, like the print head 61, the photographing unit 50 may be configured to be movable back and forth and left and right.
Furthermore, a power switch 22 and a display 23 are arranged on the top surface of the housing 2. However, the display 23 of this embodiment is integrally configured with a touch panel 47 that accepts touch operations from the user, and accepts input operations other than starting printing from the user.

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of the nail printing device 1A.
As shown in this figure, the nail printing device 1A includes an operating section 40A in place of the operating section 40 in the first embodiment, and the nail printing device 1A of the first embodiment It is configured in the same way.

The operation unit 40A includes two operation buttons 46 (a right side operation button 46R, a left side operation button 46L), and when one of the two operation buttons 46 is operated (pressed) by the user, the operation button 46 is activated. The input signal corresponding to 46 is output to the control device 80.
Further, the operation unit 40A includes a touch panel 47, and outputs an input signal corresponding to the operation state of the touch panel 47 to the control device 80.

Next, the operation of the nail printing device 1A when printing on nails will be explained.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process of the nail printing device 1A, and FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the operation state of the operation button 46 and the printing finger.
The printing process in this embodiment is a process of printing fingernails of both hands. Here, it is assumed that nail designs to be printed on the nails of a plurality of fingers of both hands have been selected in advance.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the printing process is executed, the control unit 81 first determines whether the right operation button 46R has been operated (pressed) (step T1).
If it is determined that the right side operation button 46R has been operated (step T1; Yes), the control unit 81 selects the four fingers of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand as printing fingers, and selects these four fingers of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand. A print mode for printing the thumb is selected (step T2).
As shown in FIG. 9, when the right side operation button 46R is operated, a non-printing finger other than the thumb of the right hand HR (for example, the index finger) arranged below the top surface of the printing table 3A This is because it can be determined that the right operation button 46R has been operated.
After selecting the print mode, the control unit 81 moves the process to step T5, which will be described later.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step T1 that the right side operation button 46R is not operated (step T1; No), the control unit 81 determines whether the left side operation button 46L is operated (pressed) (step T3).
If it is determined that the left operation button 46L is not operated (step T3; No), the control unit 81 shifts the process to step T1 described above.

Further, in step T3, if it is determined that the left operation button 46L has been operated (step T3; Yes), the control unit 81 selects the four fingers of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand as printing fingers, and selects the four fingers of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand as printing fingers. A print mode for printing fingers and left thumb is selected (step T4).
Similar to step T2 described above, when the left side operation button 46L is operated, this is a non-printing finger other than the thumb of the left hand HL that is arranged below the top surface of the printing table 3A (for example, the index finger). This is because it can be determined that the left operation button 46L has been operated.

Next, the control unit 81 reads learning data corresponding to the selected print mode (step T5).
This learning data is learning data of the shape of a fingernail in the corresponding print mode, and is stored in the storage unit 82 in advance.

Next, the control unit 81 determines whether or not the operation button 46 has been operated by the user (step T6), and if it is determined that the operation button 46 has not been operated (step T6; No), repeats step T6. The operation button 46 here refers to the operation button 46 operated in step T1 or T3.

Further, if it is determined in step T6 that the operation button 46 has been operated (step T6; Yes), the control unit 81 determines that an input operation to start printing has been performed, and the control unit 81 determines that the input operation to start printing has been performed, and is photographed by the photographing unit 50, and the shape of the nail is recognized (step T7).
Specifically, in this step, the photographing control unit 811 controls the photographing unit 50 to acquire a nail image of the printed finger, and the nail information detecting unit 812 detects the outline of the nail based on the nail image. Further, in this step, the shape of the nail is recognized while referring to the learning data read out in step T5 described above.

Next, the control unit 81 causes the print data generation unit 813 to fit the preselected nail design to the contour of the nail detected in step T7, and generates print data (step T8).
At this time, if the print mode is a mode that prints the four fingers of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand (that is, if the right operation button 46R is operated), the print data of the plurality of print fingers is sequentially printed from the left side as "left little finger nail data". ”, “left ring finger nail data”, “left middle finger nail data”, “left index finger nail data”, and “right thumb nail data”. In addition, when the print mode is a mode that prints the four fingers of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand (that is, when the left operation button 46L is operated), the print data of the plurality of print fingers is sequentially "left thumb nail data" from the left side. , "right index finger nail data,""right middle finger nail data,""right ring finger nail data," and "right little finger nail data."

Next, the control unit 81 causes the print control unit 814 to control the printing unit 60 based on the generated print data, and prints the fingernail (step T9).
Then, after printing of all printing fingers is completed, the printing process is ended.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, since the operation button 46 that accepts operations with non-printing fingers is arranged below the top surface of the printing platform 3A where the printing finger is placed, the user can perform operations such as starting printing with the hand placed on the printing platform 3A. This makes it possible to improve operability compared to conventional methods.
Further, since the printing finger is selected based on the operation received by the operation button 46, that is, which of the right-side operation button 46R and the left-side operation button 46L is operated, the user does not need to perform any special operation to select the print finger. , the printing finger can be automatically selected simply by pressing the operation button 46 that can be operated with the non-printing finger.

Further, according to the second embodiment, since the operation button 46 is arranged on the grip 45 that is held by a finger other than the thumb, the thumb of the printing finger can be stabilized by holding the grip 45. In turn, deterioration of print quality can be suppressed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in the second embodiment, the user operates the operation button 46 of the grip 45 to input the print start, but instead of this operation button 46, a touch pad is used as in the first embodiment. may be provided. The touch pad may also allow the user to perform operations other than starting printing (for example, selecting a nail design, etc.).
Furthermore, the configuration of the touch pad 41 of the first embodiment and the operation button 46 of the second embodiment is not particularly limited as long as it is an operation means that accepts a user operation, and may be a switch, stick, wheel, or other structure. can be applied.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user inputs various instructions through the operation section and display section of the nail printing device, and the control device of the nail printing device performs these processes, so that the nail printing device can complete the printing operation by itself. I configured it so that it can be done.
However, the nail printing device is not limited to this configuration; for example, the printing system is configured in conjunction with a communicable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, and various instructions are entered on the terminal device side. The printing operation may be configured to be executed on the nail printing device side.
In this case, various data such as nail designs and photographed image data may be stored in the storage section of the terminal device, or may be stored in the storage section of the nail printing device. Alternatively, various data may be 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 can access the server device or the like and refer to this data. By doing this, it becomes possible to select a design to print from among more nail designs.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalent ranges thereof. .
Below, the invention described in the claims first attached to the application of this application will be added. The claim numbers listed in the supplementary notes are as in the claims originally attached to the request for this application.
[Additional notes]
<Claim 1>
a printing means for printing on a fingernail;
a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed;
an operation means arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged and accepts an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
A printing device comprising:
<Claim 2>
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the finger to be printed includes a finger of the same hand as the other finger.
<Claim 3>
3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determining unit configured to determine a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operating unit.
<Claim 4>
The operating means is arranged on both left and right sides of a support member provided below a surface of the printing table on which fingers are arranged as viewed from the operator,
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determining unit determines the finger to be printed based on which of the left and right operating units is operated.
<Claim 5>
The operating means is configured to be able to detect whether the near side or the far side in the finger insertion direction is operated,
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determining means determines the finger to be printed based on whether a front side portion or a back side portion of the operating means is operated.
<Claim 6>
The operating means is disposed on both the left and right sides of the support member provided below the surface of the printing table on which the finger is arranged, as viewed from the operator, and also on the front side and the back side in the finger insertion direction. is configured to be able to detect which of the
The determining means is
When the back part of the operating means on the right side as seen from the operator is operated, the thumb of the right hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
When the front side portion of the operating means on the right side as seen from the operator is operated, a finger other than the thumb of the left hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
When the back part of the operating means on the left side as seen from the operator is operated, the thumb of the left hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when a front side portion of the operating means on the left side as viewed from the operator is operated, a finger other than the thumb of the right hand is determined to be a finger to be printed.
<Claim 7>
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the operation means is a touch pad.
<Claim 8>
The operating means are respectively arranged on two grips provided below a surface of the printing table on which fingers are arranged,
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determining means determines the finger to be printed based on which of the operating means is operated.
<Claim 9>
The fingers to be printed are fingers other than the thumb of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand, or fingers other than the thumb of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand,
The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or claim 8, wherein the operation means is operated by a finger other than the thumb of the hand whose thumb is to be printed. .
<Claim 10>
10. The printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the operating means is a button arranged on a side of the grip section opposite to the operator.
<Claim 11>
A method for controlling a printing device comprising a printing means for printing on a fingernail and a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed, the method comprising:
An operating means is arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged, and receives an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
A method for controlling a printing apparatus, characterized in that a control means determines a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operation means.
<Claim 12>
A control program for a printing device comprising a printing means for printing on a fingernail and a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed,
An operating means is arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged, and receives an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
A control program for a printing apparatus, characterized in that the program causes a computer to function as a discriminating means for discriminating a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operating means.

1, 1A Nail printing device 3, 3A Printing table 40, 40A Operation unit 41 Touch pad 41L Left touch pad 41R Right touch pad 42 Support plate 45 Grip 45L Left grip 45R Right grip 46 Operation button 46L Left operation button 46R Right operation button 50 Photographing section 60 Printing section 61 Print head 80 Control device 81 Control section HL Left hand HR Right hand

Claims (11)

a printing means for printing on a fingernail;
a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed;
an operation means arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged and accepts an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
Equipped with
The printing apparatus is characterized in that the finger to be printed includes a finger of the same hand as the other finger . a printing means for printing on a fingernail;
a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed;
an operation means arranged below the surface of the printing table on which the fingers are arranged and accepts an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
Equipped with
A printing apparatus characterized by comprising: a determination unit that determines a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operation unit. The operating means is arranged on both left and right sides of a support member provided below a surface of the printing table on which fingers are arranged as viewed from the operator,
3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the determining means determines the finger to be printed based on which of the left and right operating means is operated. The operating means is configured to be able to detect whether the near side or the far side in the finger insertion direction is operated,
3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the determining means determines the finger to be printed based on whether a front side portion or a back side portion of the operating means is operated. The operating means is disposed on both the left and right sides of the support member provided below the surface of the printing table on which the finger is arranged, as viewed from the operator, and also on the front side and the back side in the finger insertion direction. is configured to be able to detect which of the
The determining means is
When the back part of the operating means on the right side as seen from the operator is operated, the thumb of the right hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
When the front side portion of the operating means on the right side as seen from the operator is operated, a finger other than the thumb of the left hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
When the back part of the operation means on the left side as seen from the operator is operated, the thumb of the left hand is determined as the finger to be printed,
3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein when a front side portion of the operating means on the left side as viewed from the operator is operated, a finger other than the thumb of the right hand is determined to be a finger to be printed. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the operation means is a touch pad. The operating means are respectively arranged on two grips provided below a surface of the printing table on which fingers are arranged,
3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the determining unit determines the finger to be printed based on which of the operating units is operated. The fingers to be printed are fingers other than the thumb of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand, or fingers other than the thumb of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand,
8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operating means is operated by a finger other than the thumb of the hand whose thumb is to be printed. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the operating means is a button disposed on a side of the grip section opposite to the operator. A method for controlling a printing device comprising a printing means for printing on a fingernail and a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed, the method comprising:
An operating means is arranged below the surface of the printing table where the fingers are arranged, and receives an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
A method for controlling a printing apparatus, characterized in that a control means determines a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operation means. A control program for a printing device comprising a printing means for printing on a fingernail and a printing table on which a finger to be printed is placed,
An operating means is arranged below the surface of the printing table where the fingers are arranged, and receives an operation by a finger other than the finger to be printed;
A control program for a printing apparatus, characterized in that the program causes a computer to function as a discriminating means for discriminating a finger to be printed based on an operation received by the operating means.

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