Printing device, printing method, and recording medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a printing device, a printing method, and a recording medium, which can complete good-looking nails regardless of the design printed on the nails. The printing device comprises: a camera for photographing an image of a printing object; at least one processor; and a printing head, the processor obtaining information related to the size of a front printing area recorded when the printing object is front-printed from a photographed image photographed by the camera, setting the position and size of the front printing area detected from the photographed image obtained by photographing the printing object that has been front-printed by the camera as the position and size of the back printing area to be back-printed, setting a first reference point in the set back printing area, setting a second reference point in the front printing area where the information related to the size has been obtained, correcting the back printing area based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, and the printing head performs back printing in the corrected back printing area.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with application number 202110519730.2, application date May 12, 2021, and name “Printing device, control method of printing device, and recording medium”.

[0002] Cross-references to related applications

[0003] The present disclosure claims the priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-084834 filed on May 14, 2020 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-000535 filed on January 5, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated into the present application by reference. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates to a printing device, a printing method, and a recording medium. Background Art

[0005] Conventionally, there is known a printing device (nail printing device) for printing a nail design on a nail of a human finger (fingers) or the like (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-534083).

[0006] In this type of printing device, there are cases where a base printing is performed on the nail with white ink or the like in advance, and color printing (design printing) is performed with color ink. In such a case, after the base printing, the finger is once removed from the device in order to dry the white ink, apply a receiving layer for the color ink, etc. Then, the finger is placed in the device again, and the base area is recognized by the camera, and color printing is performed in the base area.

[0007] However, in the above-mentioned printing device (nail printing device), the camera adjusts the size so that the correct size can be obtained on a given reference plane, but it is difficult to accurately place the nail to be printed on the reference plane. For this reason, the base area recognized by the camera will be larger or smaller than the actual size according to the deviation from the reference plane. As a result, the base area and the color printing area will deviate. In the case of the base exceeding, the base part will remain after the color printing, or the color printing will overflow from the nail, resulting in an ugly nail. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to complete beautiful nails regardless of the design printed on the nails.

[0009] The printing device of the present invention comprises: a camera for capturing an image of a printing object; at least one processor; and a printing head, wherein the processor obtains information related to the size of a front printing area recorded when the printing object is front-printed from a captured image captured by the camera, sets the position and size of the front printing area detected from the captured image captured by the camera of the printing object on which the front printing has been performed as the position and size of a rear printing area to be post-printed, sets a first reference point in the set rear printing area, sets a second reference point in the front printing area from which the information related to the size has been obtained, corrects the rear printing area based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, and the printing head performs rear printing in the corrected rear printing area.

[0010] Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, beautiful nails can be completed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of main parts showing the internal structure of the nail print device in the embodiment.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a control block diagram showing a schematic control structure of the nail printing apparatus and the terminal device in the embodiment.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a flowchart showing the flow of printing processing in the embodiment.

[0015] Figure 4A , Figure 4B It is a diagram for explaining the influence of the position deviation of the nail from the reference plane of the imaging device.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing in the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 6 This is a diagram for explaining an example of correction processing in the embodiment.

[0018] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing in the first modified example of the embodiment.

[0019] Fig. 8A , Figure 8B It is a diagram for explaining the correction processing in the first modification example of the embodiment.

[0020] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing in the second modification of the embodiment.

[0021] Fig.10 It is a diagram for explaining the correction processing in the second modification example of the embodiment.

[0022] Fig.11 It is a diagram for explaining another example of the correction processing in the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] refer to Figures 1 to 11 An embodiment of the printing device according to the present invention will be described.

[0024] In addition, in the embodiment described below, various technically preferred limitations are added in order to implement the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment and the illustrated examples.

[0025] In the following embodiments, the printing device is described as a nail printing device that prints on fingernails of hands as printing objects, but the printing objects of the printing device in the present invention are not limited to fingernails of hands, and for example, toe nails of feet can also be printed on. In addition, nail stickers, the surfaces of various accessories, etc. can also be printed on objects other than nails.

[0026] Figure 1 It is a perspective view showing the external structure of the main parts of the nail print apparatus 1 .

[0027] In addition, in the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and back are set as Figure 1 In addition, the X direction is set as the left-right direction, and the Y direction is set as the front-back direction.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, the nail printing device 1 has a housing 2 formed in a substantially box shape.

[0029] The housing 2 is on the front side (front side of the nail printing device 1, Figure 1 The lower side portion of the nail printing device 1 has a horizontal direction (lateral direction, Figure 1 An opening 21 is formed on substantially the entire surface (in the left-right direction, the X direction) of the housing 2. In addition, a notch 22 is formed in the substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the housing 2, continuously above the opening 21. The notch 22 functions as an entrance and exit when a print head 41 described later is attached to and detached from the device.

[0030] Although not shown, the housing 2 may include a cover member that covers the opening 21 and the notch 22. The cover member may be a separate member from the housing 2 or may be attached to the housing 2 so as to be openable and closable via a hinge or the like.

[0031] In addition, an operating unit 12 of the nail printing device 1 is provided on the upper surface (top plate) of the housing 2. The operating unit 12 is, for example, an operating button (power switch button) for turning the power of the nail printing device 1 on and off. When the operating unit 12 is operated, an operating signal is output to the control device 80 described later, and the control device 80 performs control in accordance with the operating signal to operate each part of the nail printing device 1. For example, when the operating unit 12 is a power switch button, the power of the nail printing device 1 is turned on and off in accordance with the button operation.

[0032] In addition, instead of the operation unit 12 , each unit of the nail print apparatus 1 may be operated in accordance with an operation signal input from an operation unit 91 of the terminal device 9 described later.

[0033] The shapes and configurations of the various parts of the housing 2 are not limited to the examples shown in the figures, and can be set appropriately. For example, the operating unit 12 may be provided on the side or back surface instead of the upper surface of the housing 2. In addition, the housing 2 may be provided with various other operating buttons as the operating unit 12, and various display units, indicators, etc. may also be provided.

[0034] The housing 2 contains a device body 10 .

[0035] The device main body 10 includes a base 11 , and a finger fixing unit 6 and a printing unit 40 attached thereto.

[0036] The finger fixing unit 6 is disposed at the substantially center of the apparatus front side in the left-right direction (X direction) of the base 11 and fixes the finger (printing finger) having the nail to be printed in this embodiment in an area suitable for printing.

[0037] The finger fixing part 6 has an opening 61 on the front side of the device. A finger fixing member 62 is provided inside the finger fixing part 6. The finger fixing member 62 is a member for supporting the finger inserted from the opening 61 from the bottom side, and is formed of, for example, a flexible resin.

[0038] A window portion 63 is formed on the upper surface of the finger fixing portion 6 so as to expose the nail portion of the finger inserted from the opening 61 and held by the finger fixing member 62 .

[0039] The printing unit 40 is a printing unit that performs printing on nails, which are printing targets.

[0040] The printing unit 40 includes a head moving mechanism 49 (see FIG. 4 ) for moving a printing head 41 for performing printing and a printing head assembly 42 including the printing head 41. Figure 2 ).

[0041] The print head 41 of this embodiment is an inkjet head of an inkjet method, and the surface opposite to the nail surface is an ink ejection surface (not shown) having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink, and the ink is dropletized and directly ejected from the ink ejection surface to the printed surface of the printing object (nail), that is, the nail surface, to perform printing. The structure of the print head 41 is not particularly limited, but for example, it is a cartridge-integrated head in which an ejection mechanism such as an ink ejection surface and an ink cartridge (not shown) are integrated.

[0042] The print head 41 can eject, for example, cyan (C; CYAN), magenta (M; MAGENTA), and yellow (Y; YELLOW) inks. In addition, the print head 41 of this embodiment can also eject white ink as a base coating. In inkjet printing, since the color of the base has a great influence on the color matching, if a white base is printed, a beautiful color can be obtained. In addition, the types of inks provided by the print head 41 are not limited to this.

[0043] The head moving mechanism 49 includes an X-direction moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the print head 41 in the left-right direction (X direction) of the device and a Y-direction moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the print head 41 in the front-back direction (Y direction) of the device.

[0044] The X-direction moving mechanism includes an X-direction moving motor 46 (refer to Figure 2 ), the print head 41 is moved in the left-right direction (X direction) of the device by driving the X-direction moving motor 46. In addition, the Y-direction moving mechanism includes a Y-direction moving motor 48 (refer to Figure 2 ), the print head 41 is moved in the front-rear direction (Y direction) of the device by driving the Y-direction movement motor 48.

[0045] In addition, on the inner side of the upper surface (top plate) of the housing 2, above the window 63 of the finger fixing portion 6, there is provided a shooting unit 50 for shooting the nail (including the finger of the nail) exposed from the window 63 and obtaining an image of the nail (including the image of the finger of the nail, hereinafter referred to as the "nail image").

[0046] The imaging unit 50 includes, for example, an imaging device 51 such as a camera, and an illumination device 52 such as a white LED for illuminating the nail of the imaging object (see FIG. Figure 2 ).

[0047] The imaging device 51 is, for example, a small camera having a solid imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type having more than 2 million pixels and a lens. The imaging device 51 has an optical axis Ax along the vertical direction perpendicular to the XY plane, and can adjust the size adjustment so that the size of the object can be correctly obtained from the image obtained by photographing the object on the reference plane L at a given distance (reference Figure 4A , Figure 4B ). The position of the optical axis Ax on the XY plane is fixed, and in this embodiment, is the coordinate (CX, CY).

[0048] In addition, in the present embodiment, a case is illustrated in which the photographing device 51 and the lighting device 52 are fixedly arranged on the inner side of the top surface of the housing 2 and can be positioned opposite to the nail (the surface of the nail) of the finger placed on the finger fixing portion 6, but the photographing portion 50 only needs to be arranged at a position where it can photograph the nail of the finger placed on the finger fixing portion 6, and the specific configuration is not particularly limited.

[0049] For example, the imaging unit 50 may be configured to be movable in the XY directions by a head moving mechanism 49 that moves the printing head 41 .

[0050] Figure 2 It is a control block diagram showing a schematic control structure of the nail print apparatus 1 and a terminal device 9 described later.

[0051] As shown in the figure, the nail print apparatus 1 includes a communication unit 55 and a control device 80 in addition to the printing unit 40 and the imaging unit 50 described above.

[0052] The communication unit 55 is configured to be able to transmit and receive information with a terminal device 9 described later that operates in cooperation with the nail print apparatus 1 .

[0053] The communication between the nail printing device 1 and the terminal device 9 is performed, for example, via a wireless LAN or the like. In addition, the communication between the nail printing device 1 and the terminal device 9 is not limited thereto, and may be performed in any manner. For example, it may be communication using a network line such as the Internet, or wireless communication based on a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi. In addition, the communication is not limited to wireless, and may be a structure capable of transmitting and receiving various data between the two via a wired connection. The communication unit 55 includes an antenna chip or the like corresponding to the communication method of the terminal device 9.

[0054] The control device 80 is a computer including a control unit 81 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and a storage unit 82 including a ROM (Read Only Memory) 821 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 822 .

[0055] The storage unit 82 stores various programs, various data, and the like for operating the nail print apparatus 1 .

[0056] Specifically, various programs such as a printing program for performing printing processing are stored in the ROM 821 of the storage unit 82 , and these programs are executed by the control device 80 to comprehensively control each unit of the nail print apparatus 1 .

[0057] The control unit 81 includes functional units such as a photographing control unit 811 , a printing control unit 813 , and a communication control unit 814 . The functions of these functional units are realized by the cooperation of the CPU of the control unit 81 and the program stored in the ROM 821 of the storage unit 82 .

[0058] The imaging control unit 811 controls the imaging device 51 and the lighting device 52 of the imaging unit 50 so that the imaging device 51 captures a finger image (nail image) including an image of a nail of the printing finger fixed to the finger fixing unit 6 .

[0059] The image data of the nail image acquired by the imaging unit 50 is transmitted to the terminal device 9 described later via the communication unit 55. In addition, the image data may be stored in the storage unit 82.

[0060] The printing control unit 813 outputs a control signal to the printing unit 40 based on the printing data sent from the terminal device 9 described later, and controls the X-direction moving motor 46, the Y-direction moving motor 48, the print head 41, etc. of the printing unit 40 so that printing according to the printing data is performed on the nail.

[0061] The communication control unit 814 controls the operation of the communication unit 55. In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 814 controls communication with a terminal device 9 described later, and when print data or the like is transmitted from the terminal device 9, the communication control unit 814 receives the data.

[0062] Furthermore, the nail print apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to communicate with the terminal device 9 , and to execute a printing operation and the like based on an operation command from the terminal device 9 .

[0063] The terminal device 9 is, for example, a portable terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet computer. 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 gaming terminal, or the like.

[0064] 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.

[0065] The operation unit 91 can perform various inputs, settings, etc. according to the user's operation. If the operation unit 91 is operated, an input signal corresponding to the operation is sent to the control device 95. In addition, in this embodiment, a touch panel is integrally provided on the surface of the display unit 92, and the user can also perform various inputs, settings, etc. by touching the touch panel.

[0066] The operation unit 91 for performing various input, setting and other operations is not limited to a touch panel, and various operation buttons, a keyboard, a pointing device and the like may be provided as the operation unit 91, for example.

[0067] In the present embodiment, the user can select a nail design for nail printing by operating the operation unit 91 .

[0068] The touch panel included in the display unit 92 displays various display screens in accordance with the control of a control unit 96 described later.

[0069] In the present embodiment, the display unit 92 can display a nail design input and selected by the user through the operation unit 91 , an image transmitted from the nail print apparatus 1 , and the like.

[0070] The communication unit 94 can transmit printing data to the nail print apparatus 1. When data such as nail images are transmitted from the nail print apparatus 1, the communication unit 94 receives the data. The communication unit 94 includes a wireless communication module that can communicate with the communication unit 55 of the nail print apparatus 1.

[0071] The communication unit 94 only needs to be able to communicate with the nail print apparatus 1 , and uses a communication unit that conforms to the communication standard of the communication unit 55 of the nail print apparatus 1 .

[0072] The control device 95 is a computer including a control unit 96 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, which are not shown in the figure, and a storage unit 97 including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) and the like, which are not shown in the figure.

[0073] The storage unit 97 stores various programs, various data, and the like for operating each unit of the terminal device 9 .

[0074] Specifically, in the ROM etc. of this embodiment, in addition to the action programs for overall controlling the various parts of the terminal device 9, various programs such as a nail printing application for performing nail printing using the nail printing device 1 are also stored. These programs are expanded and executed in a working area such as RAM by the control device 95 to control the terminal device 9.

[0075] In addition, the storage unit 97 of the present embodiment stores data of nail designs, images of nails, information on the shapes of nails, and the like.

[0076] The control unit 96 comprehensively controls the operation of each unit of the terminal device 9. The control unit 96 realizes various functions for printing on the nail by cooperating with the program stored in the storage unit 97.

[0077] Next, the operation of the nail print apparatus 1 when printing on a nail is performed will be described.

[0078] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of printing processing of the nail printing apparatus 1. Figure 4A , Figure 4B This is a diagram for explaining the influence of the position deviation of the nail from the reference plane L of the imaging device 51.

[0079] Here, it is assumed that the nail design to be printed is set in advance.

[0080] like Figure 3 The printing process is performed as shown. If the user configures a finger (printing finger) in the finger fixing unit 6 (step S1), the control unit 81 uses the shooting unit 50 to shoot the nail of the printing finger and obtain a nail image, recognizes (detects) the shape of the nail (nail area) from the nail image, and stores it in the storage unit 82 (step S2).

[0081] Next, the control unit 81 performs white printing of a white base coating (white ink) on the printing finger disposed on the finger fixing unit 6 (step S3). Here, the printing unit 40 performs white printing on a pre-set printing area (an area for implementing nail design) in the nail area recognized (detected) in step S2. This white printing (base) is an example of the front printing involved in the present invention. The range of the base area for white printing is not particularly limited, and may be a part of the nail or the entire nail, and may not correspond one-to-one to the detected nail area.

[0082] At this time, the control unit 81 stores the information of the base area actually printed in the storage unit 82 (step S4). In this embodiment, the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the circumscribed quadrilateral of the base area are stored (refer to Figure 6 ). The circumscribed quadrilateral is composed of sides along the X direction and the Y direction.

[0083] Thereafter, the user removes the printing finger from the finger fixing portion 6, and the white ink is dried and applied to the receiving layer for the color ink on the white ink as required (step S5).

[0084] Next, if the user re-arranges the printing finger in the finger fixing unit 6 (step S6), the control unit 81 uses the imaging unit 50 (imaging device 51) to photograph the nail of the printing finger and obtain a nail image, recognizes (detects) the white base area from the nail image, and stores it in the storage unit 82 (step S7).

[0085] At this time, when the position of the nail re-arranged in step S6 after white printing deviates up and down from the reference plane L whose correct size can be obtained by the imaging device 51, the base area recognized (detected) in step S7 (hereinafter referred to as "recognition area R1") is recognized (detected) as being changed by the distance deviated from the reference plane L compared with the actual base area (hereinafter referred to as "real area R0"). The real area R0 is an example of the front printing setting area involved in the present invention, and the recognition area R1 is an example of the rear printing area involved in the present invention.

[0086] Specifically, Figure 4A As shown in FIG. 1 , when the position of the nail (position on the optical axis Ax) M is below the reference plane L (far from the camera 51), the recognition area R1 becomes smaller than the real area R0. Therefore, when the range of the recognition area R1 is printed as it is, a white portion will remain at the end of the real area R0.

[0087] On the other hand, Figure 4B As shown, when the nail position M is above the reference plane L (closer to the imaging device 51), the recognition area R1 becomes larger than the real area R0. Therefore, when the recognition area R1 is printed as it is, the printed area overflows from the real area R0.

[0088] To this end, the control unit 81 performs a correction process to correct the position and size of the background area recognized in step S7 (step S8).

[0089] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the correction process. Figure 6 It is a diagram for explaining the correction processing.

[0090] In addition, Figure 6 In FIG. 1 , a case is exemplified in which the position M of the nail rearranged in step S6 after white printing is below (farther) than the reference plane L of the imaging device 51 .

[0091] In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the so-called "distance" is set to the distance along the optical axis Ax, the so-called "width" is set to the distance along the X direction, the so-called "length" is set to the distance along the Y direction, and the so-called "coordinate" is set to the XY coordinate.

[0092] like Figure 5 as well as Figure 6 As shown, when the correction process is executed, the control unit 81 first obtains the coordinates of the outline of the recognition area R1 and the width WW in the X direction and the length HW in the Y direction of the circumscribed quadrilateral (step S81). The circumscribed quadrilateral is composed of sides along the X direction and the Y direction.

[0093] Next, the control unit 81 sets the coordinates of the reference point P1 of the recognition area R1 (step S82). The reference point P1 is an example of a reference point of the post-printing area involved in the present invention. In the present embodiment, the reference point P1 is any vertex (XW, YW) of the circumscribed quadrilateral (each side is along X, Y) of the recognition area R1 on the XY plane. The reference point P1 can be any point (e.g., a representative point) corresponding to the circumscribed polygon of the recognition area R1, and is not limited to the present embodiment. For example, it can be the centroid (centroid) point of the circumscribed polygon of the recognition area R1.

[0094] Next, the control unit 81 reads the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the base area stored in step S4 (step S83). Since these X-direction width W0 and Y-direction length H0 are the actual dimensions of white printing, they are equal to the X-direction width and Y-direction length of the real area R0.

[0095] Next, the control unit 81 enlarges or reduces the outline of the recognition region R1 so that the X-direction width WW and the Y-direction length HW of the recognition region R1 match the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the real region R0 (step S84 ).

[0096] That is, for example, to obtain point B on the contour of the real region R0, the X-direction length BC may be obtained according to the following formula.

[0097] BC=EF×W0 / WW

[0098] Here, EF is known from point E on the circumscribed quadrilateral of recognition region R1 and point F on optical axis Ax.

[0099] Furthermore, in order to obtain the point J on the contour of the real region R0, the length JC in the Y direction may be obtained similarly according to the following formula.

[0100] JC=HF×H0 / HW

[0101] Here, HF is known from point H on the circumscribed quadrilateral of recognition region R1 and point F on optical axis Ax.

[0102] Next, the control unit 81 obtains a reference point P0 of the real area R0 corresponding to the reference point P1 of the recognition area R1 (step S85). The reference point P0 is an example of a reference point of the pre-print setting area according to the present invention.

[0103] Here, the coordinates (XW0, YW0) of the reference point P0 of the real region R0 are calculated by the following equation.

[0104] XW0 = CX - length BC

[0105] =CX-length EF×W0 / WW

[0106] =CX-(CX-XW)×W0 / WW

[0107] YW0=CY-length JC

[0108] =CY-length HF×W0 / WW

[0109] =CY-(CY-YW)×W0 / WW

[0110] Thus, the recognition area R1 is corrected to the area having the outline enlarged or reduced in step S84 and the reference point P0 (XW0, YW0) calculated in step S85, that is, the real area R0. Thus, the design printing can be appropriately performed on the actual base area.

[0111] Next, if Figure 3 As shown, the control unit 81 generates print data for printing a predetermined design on the background area (recognition area R1) corrected in step S8 (step S9).

[0112] After that, the control unit 81 causes the printing unit 40 to execute design printing (decoration printing) based on the printing data generated in step S9 (step S10), and then ends the printing process. This design printing (decoration) is an example of post-printing according to the present invention.

[0113] As described above, according to this embodiment, the base area is recognized from the image obtained by photographing the printed nail, the reference point P1 of the recognized area R1 and the reference point P0 of the real area R0 are set, and the decoration is printed on the nail area based on the information of the reference point and the real area R0.

[0114] Therefore, even if the position M of the nail deviates from the reference plane L whose accurate size can be obtained by the imaging device 51, the recognition area R1 can be corrected to have the same size as the reference plane L.

[0115] The reference point P0 and the size of the area corresponding to the real area R0. Thus, the printing area and the base area for implementing the design printing are matched, and a beautiful nail can be completed.

[0116] Next, a first modified example of the above-described embodiment will be described.

[0117] In the first modification, the correction processing of step S8 for correcting the recognized background region is different from that of the above embodiment. The following mainly describes this difference, and the same components as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

[0118] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing in the first modification example. Fig. 8A , Figure 8B It is a diagram for explaining the correction processing.

[0119] In this first variant, if Fig. 8A As shown, in step S4, the control unit 81 obtains the coordinates of the contour of the base area (i.e., the real area R0) as information of the base area actually printed, in addition to obtaining the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the circumscribed quadrilateral of the base area, and stores them in the storage unit 82.

[0120] Afterwards, if correction processing is performed, such as Figure 7 as well as Figure 8B As shown, first, the control unit 81 obtains the coordinates of the outline of the recognition region R1 and the width WW in the X direction and the length HW in the Y direction of the circumscribed quadrilateral thereof, similarly to step S81 of the above embodiment (step T81 ).

[0121] Next, the control unit 81 sets the coordinates of the reference point P1 of the recognition area R1 in the same manner as step S82 of the above embodiment (step T82 ).

[0122] Next, the control unit 81 obtains the reference point P0 of the real region R0 corresponding to the reference point P1 of the recognition region R1 in the same manner as step S85 of the above embodiment (step T83 ).

[0123] Then, the control unit 81 makes the reference position P2 (reference Fig. 8A) is consistent with the reference point P0, and the contour of the base area (i.e., the real area R0) obtained in step S4 is directly configured (step T84). Here, the so-called reference position P2 is a point in the real area R0 that is in a positional relationship corresponding to the reference point P1 in the recognition area R1. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B In the example of , it is the upper left vertex of the circumscribed quadrilateral in the figure. The reference position P2 can be obtained in step T84 or can be obtained in advance in step S4.

[0124] In this way, the recognized area R1 is corrected to the real area R0 having the outline acquired in step S4 and the reference point P0 calculated in step T83. Thus, the design printing can be appropriately performed on the actual base area.

[0125] As described above, according to the first modification example, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0126] That is, even if the position M of the nail deviates from the reference plane L whose correct size can be obtained by the camera 51, the recognition area R1 can be corrected to an area having the reference point P0 and the size (contour) corresponding to the real area R0. Thus, the printing area and the base area for implementing the design printing are matched, and a beautiful nail can be completed.

[0127] According to the first modification, the real region R0 is set by aligning the reference position P2 with the reference point P0 and directly arranging the contour of the base region. Therefore, the amount of computational processing can be reduced compared to the case where the real region R0 is set by enlarging or reducing the recognition region R1.

[0128] Next, a second modification of the above-described embodiment will be described.

[0129] In this second modification, the correction processing of step S8 for correcting the recognized base region is mainly different from that of the above embodiment. Specifically, in the above embodiment, the reference point P1 of the recognition region R1 and the reference point P0 of the real region R0 are set to print the decoration, but instead, in this second modification, the reference point P0 of the real region R0 does not need to be set, and only the reference point P1 of the recognition region R1 is set to print the decoration. The following mainly describes this difference, and the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the above embodiment, and their description is omitted.

[0130] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing in the second variant. Fig.10 It is a diagram for explaining the correction processing.

[0131] like Fig. 9 as well as Fig.10As shown, when the correction process is executed, the control unit 81 first obtains the coordinates of the outline of the recognition area R1 and the X-direction width WW and the Y-direction length HW of the circumscribed quadrilateral thereof in the same manner as step S81 of the above embodiment (step U81).

[0132] Next, the control unit 81 reads the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the base region (that is, the real region R0 ) stored in step S4 in the same manner as step S83 in the above embodiment (step U82 ).

[0133] Next, the control unit 81 enlarges or reduces the outline of the recognition region R1 so that the X-direction width WW and the Y-direction length HW of the recognition region R1 match the X-direction width W0 and the Y-direction length H0 of the real region R0 (step U83 ).

[0134] At this time, the control unit 81 sets the point C (CX, CY) on the optical axis Ax, that is, the intersection of the recognition area R1 and the optical axis Ax, as the reference point P1, and enlarges or reduces the relative position of the outline of the recognition area R1 relative to the reference point P1. The enlargement and reduction ratio can be set to W0 / WW or H0 / HW, or to their average value, and the width direction can be set to W0 / WW, and the length direction can be set to H0 / HW.

[0135] Thus, the recognized area R1 is corrected to the real area R0 having the outline enlarged or reduced in step U83 and the reference point on the optical axis Ax (which is equal to the reference point P1 because it is a point on the optical axis Ax). Thus, the design printing can be appropriately performed on the actual base area.

[0136] As described above, according to the second modification, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0137] That is, the base area is recognized from the image obtained by photographing the printed nail, the reference point P1 of the recognized area R1 is set, and the decoration is printed on the nail area based on the information of the reference point P1 and the real area R0.

[0138] Therefore, even if the position M of the nail deviates from the reference plane L whose correct size can be obtained by the camera 51, the recognition area R1 can be corrected to an area having reference points and a size (contour) corresponding to the real area R0. Thus, the printing area where the design printing is performed matches the base area, and a beautiful nail can be completed.

[0139] Furthermore, although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0140] For example, in the present embodiment and its modified example, in the correction process of step S8, the case where the position M of the nail is below the reference plane L is exemplified. Fig.11 As shown, even when the position M of the nail is above the reference plane L (close to the imaging device 51 ), the correction process can be performed in the same manner.

[0141] In addition, the base may be a color other than white.

[0142] In addition, in the present embodiment, the nail print apparatus 1 is configured to perform printing by the inkjet method, but the method of printing by the nail print apparatus 1 is not limited to the inkjet method.

[0143] For example, a pen holder for holding a printing pen for printing by contacting the pen tip with the surface of the nail may be provided, and printing may be performed using the pen. Alternatively, a configuration may be provided in which both an inkjet printing unit and a pen holder for holding the printing pen as in the present embodiment are provided, and printing may be performed using a plurality of printing units.

[0144] In addition, in this embodiment, the base is printed as the front printing, and the decoration is printed as the back printing. However, the front printing and back printing involved in the present invention are not limited to this, for example, both can be the base (the first base and the second base), or both can be the decoration (the first decoration and the second decoration).

[0145] In the present embodiment, the nail print apparatus 1 and the terminal device 9 cooperate to form a printing system, and the nail print apparatus 1 executes printing when a print start instruction is input from the terminal device 9. However, the nail print apparatus 1 is not limited to this.

[0146] For example, an operation unit for inputting various instructions, a display unit, a print data generation unit for generating print data, etc. may be provided on the nail print device 1 side, and these processes may be performed by a control device of the nail print device 1. In such a configuration, the nail print device 1 can be configured to complete the printing operation by itself without cooperating with the terminal device.

[0147] In addition, various data such as the nail design, the captured image data, and the printing inclination setting table may be stored in the storage unit of the terminal device or in the storage unit of the nail printing apparatus 1 .

[0148] Furthermore, various data may be stored in a server device or the like that can be connected via a network line or the like, and the terminal device or the nail print apparatus 1 may access the server device or the like to refer to the data.

[0149] This allows you to select a design to be printed from a wider variety of nail designs.

[0150] Several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but 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 the scope equivalent thereto.

Claims

1. A printing device comprising: a camera for capturing an image of a printing object; at least one processor; and a printing head, the processor, acquiring information related to the size of the pre-printing area recorded when the pre-printing of the printing object is performed from the captured image captured by the camera, The position and size of the front printing area detected from the captured image obtained by the camera capturing the printed object on which the front printing has been performed are set as the position and size of the rear printing area to be rear-printed, Set the first reference point in the set post-printing area. A second reference point is set in the front printing area where the information related to the size is obtained, Based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, the print area is corrected. The printing head performs post-printing in the corrected post-printing area. The first reference point is a given vertex in the circumscribed quadrilateral of the set post-printing area. The second reference point is a given vertex in the obtained circumscribed quadrilateral of the front printing area.

2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: the processor, When the size of the acquired front printing area does not match the size of the set rear printing area, a correction is performed to enlarge or reduce the size of the set rear printing area so that it matches the size of the acquired front printing area. The position of the second reference point is set based on the set position of the post-printing area and the corrected enlargement ratio or reduction ratio of the post-printing area. The print area is corrected so that the position of the second reference point coincides with the position of the first reference point.

3. A printing device comprising: a printing head for printing a printing object; and at least one processor, the processor, A post-printing area corresponding to the area where the pre-printing was performed, that is, the pre-printing setting area, is set. In the pre-print setting area, a first reference point is obtained, In the post-printing setting area, a second reference point is obtained, Based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, the print area is corrected. The printing head performs post-printing in the corrected post-printing area. The first reference point is a given vertex in the circumscribed quadrilateral of the set post-printing area. The second reference point is a given vertex in the obtained circumscribed quadrilateral of the front printing area.

4. A printing method, wherein: Acquire information related to the size of the pre-printing area recorded when the pre-printing of the print object is performed, The position and size of the front printing area detected from the captured image obtained by capturing the printed object with the camera after the front printing is set as the position and size of the rear printing area to be rear-printed. Set the first reference point in the set post-printing area. A second reference point is set in the front printing area where the information related to the size is obtained, Based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, the print area is corrected. Perform post-printing in the corrected post-printing area. The first reference point is a given vertex in the circumscribed quadrilateral of the set post-printing area. The second reference point is a given vertex in the obtained circumscribed quadrilateral of the front printing area.

5. The printing method according to claim 4, wherein: When the size of the acquired front printing area does not match the size of the set rear printing area, a correction is performed to enlarge or reduce the size of the set rear printing area so that it matches the size of the acquired front printing area. The position of the second reference point is set based on the set position of the post-printing area and the corrected enlargement ratio or reduction ratio of the post-printing area. The print area is corrected so that the position of the second reference point coincides with the position of the first reference point.

6. A non-volatile computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer of a printing device including a camera for capturing an image of a printing object and a printing head to execute the following operations: acquiring information related to the size of the pre-printing area recorded when the pre-printing of the printing object is performed from the captured image captured by the camera; The position and size of the front printing area detected from the captured image obtained by the camera capturing the printed object on which the front printing has been performed are set as the position and size of the rear printing area to be rear-printed, Set the first reference point in the set post-printing area. A second reference point is set in the front printing area where the information related to the size is obtained, Based on the position of the first reference point and the position of the second reference point, the print area is corrected. The post-printing is performed by the print head in the corrected post-printing area. The first reference point is a given vertex in the circumscribed quadrilateral of the set post-printing area. The second reference point is a given vertex in the obtained circumscribed quadrilateral of the front printing area.

7. The recording medium according to claim 6, wherein When the size of the acquired front printing area does not match the size of the set rear printing area, a correction is performed to enlarge or reduce the size of the set rear printing area so that it matches the size of the acquired front printing area. The position of the second reference point is set based on the set position of the post-printing area and the corrected enlargement ratio or reduction ratio of the post-printing area. The print area is corrected so that the position of the second reference point coincides with the position of the first reference point.

Images