Image forming device and image forming program

Abstract

To enable creation of a design suited to the shape or the size of a user nail by using a registration form extracting a contour of a nail reflecting the shape or the size of the user nail and an image of a nail design.SOLUTION: This image forming device for forming a nail design drawing image on a medium comprises: image storage means for storing a nail design image; nail shape information storage means for storing nail shape information indicating the shape of a nail; and forming means for forming the nail design drawing image by using a plurality of nail design images when the size of the nail included in the nail shape information is larger than those of the nail design images.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming program, and is applicable to an image forming apparatus that forms an image to be used on a nail seal or the like on a medium such as a seal member. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, nail stickers are created by printing images of nail designs on the surface of a seal material. In such nail sticker printing, it is required to create nail stickers that match the shape and size of the user's own nails.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that estimates changes in the nail over time based on information such as when the user has cut or not cut their nails, and then enlarges or reduces an image of the nail design based on the estimation results to display a nail design that fits the shape of the nail. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-180561 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when creating a nail design by enlarging or reducing an image, as in the technology described in Patent Document 1, the original design may be distorted, making it difficult to create a design that suits the shape and size of the user's individual nails.

[0006] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming program that can create a design that matches the shape and size of a user's individual nails. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve such problems, the first invention is an image forming device that forms a nail design drawing image on a medium, characterized in comprising: (1) an image storage means that stores a nail design image; (2) a nail shape information storage means that stores nail shape information that indicates the shape of the nail; and (3) a creation means that creates a nail design drawing image using multiple nail design images when the size of the nail included in the nail shape information is larger than the size of the nail design image.

[0008] The second invention is characterized in that, in an image forming program for forming a nail design drawing image on a medium, the computer is made to function as (1) an image storage means for storing nail design images, (2) a nail shape information storage means for storing nail shape information indicating the shape of the nail, and (3) a creation means for creating a nail design drawing image using multiple nail design images when the size of the nail included in the nail shape information is larger than the size of the nail design image. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, a design can be created that suits the shape and size of a user's nails. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for registering overlay data in a printer according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for setting an overlay according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the registered contents of overlay data according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a nail design printing process according to an embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface (setting screen) of a nail design creation application according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating image repetition according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining position correction for correcting the position of an image according to an embodiment; FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) for explaining image repetition of a nail design according to a modified embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) for explaining image repetition of a nail design according to a modified embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an overlay registration form according to the embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] (A) Embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus and an image forming program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] In this embodiment, nail shape information indicating the shape of a user's personal nails is registered in the printer as overlay data. When the application prints a nail design image on a medium such as a sticker, the application specifies drawing position information for drawing the nail design image on the sticker. The printer receives the nail design data and the drawing position information data, and prints the nail design image on the medium such as a sticker at the position specified based on the drawing position information data.

[0013] Here, the nail shape information includes at least information for identifying the nail shape (contour) and information for identifying the nail size (either or both of the vertical length and width length), and in this embodiment refers to information registered as overlay data. Note that overlay refers to a function that preregisters frequently used print formats and overlays application data at the time of printing.

[0014] The nail design image may be an image stored in advance. For example, the nail design image may be an image registered in advance, an image downloaded from the Internet, or an image created by the user. In any case, for ease of explanation, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the nail design image that the user wishes to use for the nail sticker is stored in advance in the information processing device. The nail design drawing image is an image used when printing on a seal member as a medium, and is an image to be drawn at a position specified by the drawing position information data.

[0015] In this embodiment, the image forming program of the present invention is applied to a printer driver installed in an information processing device, and the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to a printer, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the image forming apparatus and the image forming program of the present invention may be applied to a label printer that can create nail stickers.

[0016] (A-1) Configuration of the embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment.

[0017] In FIG. 1, a printing system 1 according to the embodiment includes an information processing device 100 and a printer 200.

[0018] The information processing device 100 may be, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like, and has an operation unit 170 operated by a user, such as a keyboard or a mouse, and a display unit 180, such as a liquid crystal display. Note that, although the operation unit 170 and the display unit 180 are described here as being physically different components, the operation unit 170 and the display unit 180 may be physically integrated, such as a touch panel.

[0019] The information processing device 100 has an operating system 110, and has a print application 120, a nail design creation application 130, and a printer driver 160 installed therein.

[0020] The operating system 110 is software for controlling the information processing device 100, and provides a function for notifying the printing application 120, the nail design creation application 130, and the printer driver 160 of the operating status of the information processing device 100, as well as a function for generating a spool file 151.

[0021] The operating system 110 also has a GDI (Graphic Device Interface) 140, which is a drawing engine that processes drawing calls for printing from the printing application 120, a printer driver 160 that performs processing to send printer commands to the printer 200 when it receives a drawing call from the printing application 120 or the nail design creation application 130, and a print spooler 150 that holds print commands from the printing application 120 or the nail design creation application 130 as a spool file 151 and processes them as a print job.

[0022] The print application 120 is software for viewing, editing, and printing document files, graphic files, etc., and an appropriate application is selected and used for each type of target print document 121. Types of print applications 120 include, for example, label creation applications, word processors, spreadsheet software, etc. In this embodiment, the print application 120 is used to send images of the user's hands and feet to the printer 200 and to register a registration form indicating the shape and size of the individual's nails as overlay data.

[0023] The nail design creation application 130 is software for creating a nail design, and includes a creation unit 134 that creates the nail design, and a print data storage unit 131 that stores various data.

[0024] The print data storage unit 131 has nail design image data 132, which is drawing data of the nail design, and drawing position information data 133 for specifying a position for drawing the nail design image data 132. The print data storage unit 131 functions as a nail shape information storage unit and an image storage unit for storing nail design images.

[0025] The printer driver 160 is software for providing printer commands to the printer 200. Various print settings are performed on the operating system 110, and the printer driver 160 provides the printer 200 with commands related to the various print settings.

[0026] The printer driver 160 includes a UI (User Interface) control unit 161 , a print processor 162 , a drawing control unit 163 , a PDL file 164 , a language monitor 168 , and a port monitor 169 .

[0027] The UI control unit 161 is called when print settings are changed from the print application 120 or the nail design creation application 130 via the operation unit 170 or the display unit 180, and accepts settings such as paper size and overlay.

[0028] The print processor 162 is called by the print spooler 150, and in response to drawing commands contained in the spool file 151, appropriately calls and processes drawing functions provided in the printer driver 160.

[0029] The drawing control unit 163 is called in response to a drawing command from the print processor 162, and converts the page data constituting the print document into printer commands that can be interpreted by the printer 200 to generate a PDL (Page Description Language) file 164.

[0030] Here, the PDL file 164 includes the print document 121, drawing command data 165 converted into printer commands stored in the print data storage unit 131, drawing position information data 166 specifying the position at which to draw the nail design, and overlay designation data 167 specifying overlay data to be overlaid when printing.

[0031] The language monitor 168 performs command control through communication with the printer 200 .

[0032] The port monitor 169 manages the state of communication with the printer 200 .

[0033] The printer 200 is a color printer that employs an electrophotographic system and forms a color image on the surface of a medium such as a seal member, etc. The printer 200 has firmware 210 that interprets the PDL file 164 and creates a CMYK bitmap.

[0034] Furthermore, the firmware 210 includes a PDL editing unit 211, which has a creation unit 215 that edits the PDL data based on the drawing position information data 166 and the overlay designation data 167 included in the PDL file 164, and generates a PDL file 212. That is, the creation unit 215 of the PDL editing unit 211 compares the size of the nail design image with the size of the nail frame in the overlay data, and if the nail frame is larger, duplicates the nail design image and uses the multiple nail design images to create a nail design drawing image to be printed on a medium.

[0035] The creation unit 134 compares the size of the nail frame as overlay data with the size of the image in the nail design image data, and if the size of the nail frame is larger than the size of the nail design image, it copies the nail design image and uses the multiple nail design images to create a nail design drawing image to be printed on a medium.

[0036] The printer 200 also has an overlay data storage unit 213 that stores registered overlay data 214. For example, the data indicating the shape and size of the nails of the individual user to be registered as the overlay data 214 can be selected for all or any of the user's right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot, and includes data (e.g., images, etc.) specifying the shape of the nails of each finger (each of the five fingers) for each hand and foot, and further data specifying the size of the nail (length in the vertical and horizontal directions) for each nail.

[0037] The vertical direction is the direction from the base of the nail to the tip (or from the tip to the base of the nail), and the horizontal direction is the width direction of the nail, i.e., the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction on the same plane.

[0038] (A-2) Operation of the embodiment Next, the processing operation of the printer 200 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0039] (A-2-1) Overlay data registration process FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the process of registering overlay data in the printer 200 according to this embodiment.

[0040] Here, we will show an example of registering data indicating the shape and size of the five nails on one of a user's personal hands as overlay data from an image of that hand, but the nails on the other hand, right foot, and left foot can also be registered as overlay data.

[0041] [Step S100] First, the process starts with the print application 120 running on the information processing device 100 (step S100). In order to register data indicating the shape and size of the user's nails as overlay data, the user prepares an image of the hand taken with a camera or the like.

[0042] [Step S101] In information processing device 100, a print setting screen of printer driver 160 is displayed on display unit 180, and registration settings for overlay data are performed on the print setting screen (step S101).

[0043] [Step S102] An image of the user's personal hand, which has been prepared in advance, is imported into information processing device 100, and the image of the hand is printed by printer 200 (step S102). At this time, when printing is executed from print application 120, an overlay registration form for inputting information on data to be registered as an overlay is displayed, and the user enters the user name of the hand to be registered in the overlay data and whether it is the left or right hand in the registration form.

[0044] Here, an example of a method for setting overlay data will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method for setting an overlay according to an embodiment.

[0045] The driver print setting screen 300 in Fig. 3(A) shows a UI screen when used as overlay data showing the contours of the user's personal nails. When a button 301 is selected (clicked) on the driver print setting screen 300 in Fig. 3(A), an overlay print setting screen 400 in Fig. 3(B) or Fig. 3(C) for setting the overlay is displayed.

[0046] When newly registering print data as an overlay, when the user selects new registration button 401 on overlay print setting screen 400 in Fig. 3(B) and executes printing from print application 120, overlay registration form 404 as shown in Fig. 11 is displayed, and the content to be registered as overlay data 214 is entered and the setting is completed by clicking the OK button. After that, the printing process proceeds, and information 250 for each registration of overlay data and drawing data 260 to be overlaid on the print data when printing are registered in printer 200.

[0047] When specifying an overlay that has already been registered, the user selects the overlay print button 402 on the overlay print setting screen 400 in Fig. 3(C) and specifies the overlay ID to be reflected in the print from the list box 403. In this setting state, when printing is executed from the nail design creation application 130, the drawing data 260 corresponding to the specified overlay ID is applied to the print.

[0048] [Steps S103 and S104] The overlay data 214 is registered in the overlay data storage unit 213 of the printer 200 (step S103), and the process ends (step S104).

[0049] Here, the information processing device 100 needs image analysis processing to detect the nail part from the image of the user's hand, extract the outline of the nail from the detected nail part, and generate the nail frame, but the image analysis processing can be widely applied to existing technologies. In other words, image analysis technology that extracts objects (nail parts) from an image showing a hand can be widely applied.

[0050] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the registered contents of the overlay data 214 according to the embodiment.

[0051] 4, the overlay data storage unit 213 holds information 250 registered as the overlay data 214 for each registration. The information 250 as the overlay data 214 has an overlay ID for uniquely identifying the overlay data and an overlay name.

[0052] In addition, detailed setting information such as whose nail frame the overlay is to represent and the settings to be used when printing are managed using a "setting ID" and "setting name," and the appropriate "data type" and "value" are stored for each setting.

[0053] Furthermore, the overlay data 214 holds drawing data 260 to be overlaid on the print data when printed, together with information 250 for each registration of the overlay data.

[0054] The overlay data 214 may be specified by the user when printing is executed from the nail design creation application 130, or the printer driver 160 may automatically select the appropriate overlay data at that time based on information such as the season and weather that the operating system 110 can acquire spontaneously.

[0055] (A-2-2) Nail design printing process Next, a nail design printing process for printing a nail design in accordance with overlay data will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0056] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the nail design printing process according to the embodiment.

[0057] [Step S200] In the information processing device 100, the process starts with the nail design creation application 130 running (step S200).

[0058] [Step S201] The nail design creation application 130 selects the nail design image data 132 (step S201).

[0059] Here, various methods can be widely applied as a method for selecting the nail design image data 132. For example, the user may select a design image that he or she likes, or the nail design creation application 130 may suggest an image to be used from among images held by the user based on information such as the season and weather that the operating system 110 can acquire spontaneously.

[0060] The latter is an example of selecting nail design image data 132 based on external factors different from the registered information about the user. External factors include, but are not limited to, events, seasons, weather, the relationship between the registered user and people with whom the user spends time, the fashion of the people with whom the user spends time (color scheme, material, type of clothing, etc.), and the age of the people with whom the user spends time. For example, assuming that sandals will be worn in summer, overlay data of a mold of toenails may be selected for the purpose of creating nail stickers to be attached to toenails.

[0061] The method of suggesting the nail design image data 132 may be such that the nail design creation application 130 infers and suggests the nail design image data 132 using an algorithm such as a machine learning algorithm or a deep learning algorithm.

[0062] [Step S202] The nail design creation application 130 sets the drawing position of the selected nail design image data 132 as drawing position information data 133 (step S202).

[0063] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface (setting screen) of the nail design creation application 130 according to the embodiment.

[0064] The setting screen 500 illustrated in FIG. 6 has a file reference button 501. When the user selects the file reference button 501, nail design image data 132 that has been saved in advance in a file is read out, and the user can select the nail design image data 132 to be used from among the nail design image data 132.

[0065] 6 shows the state where the frame forms of the five nails (hereinafter referred to as "nail frames") 502 of the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of the right hand are superimposed on the image of the nail design as overlay data. The five nail frames 502 are frames of a general nail size, so it is assumed that they will not match the size of an individual's nails.

[0066] When repeating an image of a nail design for overlay data 214 showing the nail frame 502 of the user's individual, this is set using an image repetition setting checkbox 503. In this case, the base point for the image repetition can be set to any of "top base point," "bottom base point," and "center base point" from a base point setting list box 504, and printing is executed using a print button 505.

[0067] In this example, examples of methods for setting the drawing position information data 133 of the nail design image data 132 include an image repetition setting for setting whether or not to repeat the nail design image, and an image base point setting for setting the base point for the image repetition of the nail design, but are not limited to these.

[0068] The image repetition setting, for example, when the nail design is patterned, not only repeats the pattern of the image, but also sets the position of the pattern. In other words, it is possible to set the position at which the image repetition starts in the patterned nail design. This allows the creation of a nail design that is well designed and matches the user's preferences.

[0069] When repeating a nail design image, the image base point setting can be set to, for example, an "upper base point" that repeats the image downward (i.e., toward the base of the nail) using the top position of the nail frame as the overlay data (i.e., the tip position) as the base point, a "lower base point" that repeats the image upward (i.e., toward the tip of the nail) using the top position of the nail frame as the overlay data (i.e., the tip position) as the base point, a "center base point" that uses the center point of the nail frame as the overlay data as the base point, etc. This allows nail design images to be created according to the type of nail design image and the user's preferences.

[0070] The method of setting the drawing position may include other setting methods in addition to the image repeat setting and the image base point setting.

[0071] [Step S203] The nail design creation application 130 executes printing (step S203). For example, the nail design creation application 130 executes printing based on identification information for identifying the overlay data 214 to be used, identification information for identifying the image of the nail design, and information indicating the drawing position.

[0072] [Step S204] Taking into consideration that the user's nails will grow, the PDL editing unit 211 compares the registration date of the overlay data 214 with the creation date of the nail sticker to derive the number of days that have passed (step S204).

[0073] [Step S205] If the number of elapsed days is greater than 0 days (step S205 / YES), the process proceeds to step S206. If the number of elapsed days is 0 days or less, that is, if the number of elapsed days is 0 days (step S205 / NO), the process proceeds to step S207.

[0074] [Step S206] If the number of days elapsed is greater than 0, for example, the PDL editing unit 211 assumes that a nail grows 0.1 mm per day and calculates the nail growth length according to the number of days elapsed. Then, the PDL editing unit 211 adds the nail growth length according to the number of days elapsed to the vertical length of the nail frame 502 as overlay data, and elongates the image of the nail design in the vertical direction (step S206).

[0075] This allows the PDL editing unit 211 to estimate the shape and size of the grown nail by adding the length of the growth to the original length of the nail, even if the nail grows and the shape and size of the nail changes. Therefore, the PDL editing unit 211 can generate a nail design that matches the shape and size of the grown nail.

[0076] Since the length that a nail grows may differ from user to user, the length that the nail grows per day may be set for each user. It may also be set for each finger. Details of the nail design image generation process will be described later.

[0077] [Step S207] The PDL editing unit 211 derives the vertical length of the image data of the nail design and the vertical length of the overlay data (step S207). At this time, if the number of days elapsed is 0 days or less (i.e., the number of days elapsed is 0 days), the vertical length of the registered overlay data is derived. On the other hand, if the vertical length of the overlay frame was changed in step S205, the changed vertical length is derived.

[0078] [Step S208] Then, the PDL editing unit 211 calculates the difference between the vertical length of the image data of the nail design and the vertical length of the overlay data, and determines whether the difference is greater than "0" (step S208).

[0079] If the difference value is greater than "0" (step S208 / YES), the process proceeds to step S209. If the difference value is less than or equal to "0", that is, if the difference value is "0" (step S208 / NO), the process proceeds to step S210.

[0080] [Step S209] If the vertical difference value is greater than “0” (step S208 / YES), the vertical length of the user's nail frame as overlay data is longer than that of the image data of the nail design, so the PDL editing unit 211 adds a command to repeat the image of the nail design (step S209).

[0081] [Steps S210 and S211] The printer 200 draws an image, in which the image data of the nail design and the overlay data are superimposed, on paper (step S210), and printing ends when the paper is ejected from the printer 200 (step S211).

[0082] (A-2-3) Repetition of nail design images FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating image repetition according to the embodiment.

[0083] Image repetition is performed when the difference between the vertical length of the nail design image data and the vertical length of the overlay data is greater than 0. In other words, image repetition is performed when the vertical length of the nail design image (the direction in which the nail grows) is less than the vertical length of the nail frame as the target overlay data.

[0084] Here, a process for repeating an image and creating a nail design with the image repeated will be described.

[0085] The image repetition can be automated by the nail design creation application 130 according to the process flow in Fig. 6, but is not limited to this and can also be performed by user operation. Since user operation is possible, a nail design according to the user's preference can be created.

[0086] In the printer driver 160 of the information processing device 100, the drawing control unit 163 copies drawing command data for drawing an image of a PDL file 164 that can be interpreted by the printer 200. In addition, in order to draw a repeated image obtained by repeating the nail design image, the drawing control unit 163 changes the coordinate position based on the drawing position information data. Note that a PCL command can be exemplified as an example of the drawing command.

[0087] 7A is an example of the configuration of PCL commands in the PDL file 164. The PCL commands as drawing commands have drawing commands for each finger, such as a thumb nail design drawing command, an index finger nail design drawing command, a middle finger nail design drawing command, a ring finger nail design drawing command, and a pinky finger nail design drawing command.

[0088] 7B shows an example of the configuration of PCL commands in the modified PDL file 164 for repeatedly drawing images. The modified PCL commands also have drawing commands for each finger, such as a thumb nail design drawing command, an index finger nail design drawing command, a middle finger nail design drawing command, a ring finger nail design drawing command, and a pinky finger nail design drawing command.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 7(C), the drawing commands for each finger include job control commands of the printer 200, such as "set coordinates," "set image information," "image data entity," and "end image command," and among these job controls, the "set coordinates" command includes data indicating the changed coordinate position.

[0090] Figure 7(D) is an example of image repetition in the case of an "upper base point", Figure 7(E) is an example of image repetition in the case of a "lower base point", and Figure 7(F) is an example of image repetition in the case of a "central base point".

[0091] Here, the image of the nail design is a square, and the coordinates of the top left vertex in the image are (x, y). The length of the image in the vertical y-axis direction is "a." The overlay data is a frame in the shape of a nail.

[0092] In such a case, the difference value h between the vertical length of the image of the nail design and the vertical length of the nail frame as overlay data is greater than "0", and image repetition is performed. For ease of explanation, the up-down and left-right directions are based on the images in Fig. 7(D) to Fig. 7(F).

[0093] In Fig. 7(D), it is assumed that the "upper base point" has been set. In this case, the top position of the nail frame as overlay data becomes the base point. Therefore, in order to match the vertical position of the image with the vertical position of the overlay data, the coordinate position of the image is changed to (x, ya) (the image whose coordinate position has been changed is also called the "first image"). This makes it possible to use the top edge position of the nail frame as overlay data as the base point.

[0094] Next, because the vertical length of the nail frame is longer than the vertical length of the image, the image is duplicated to generate a second image, and the second image is placed so that it is continuous with the bottom edge of the first image. In other words, the second image is placed so that the top left vertex of the second image is (x, y-h+a).

[0095] In this way, by repeating the image in the direction of the base of the nail, it is possible to generate and print an image of the nail design (first image and second image) that is longer than the vertical length of the nail frame as overlay data.

[0096] In Figure 7(E), it is assumed that the "bottom base point" is set. In this case, the bottom position of the nail frame as overlay data becomes the base point. Therefore, the position of the bottom side of the image is aligned with the bottom position of the nail frame as overlay data.

[0097] And because the vertical length of the nail frame is longer than the vertical length of the image, the image is duplicated to generate a second image, and the second image is placed so that it is continuous with the top side of the first image. In other words, the second image is placed so that the top left vertex of the second image is (x, ya).

[0098] In this way, by repeating the image in the direction of the tip of the nail, it is possible to generate and print an image of the nail design (first image and second image) that is longer than the vertical length of the nail frame as overlay data.

[0099] In Figure 7(F), it is assumed that the "center base point" is set. In this case, the center point of the nail frame as overlay data becomes the base point. Therefore, the center point of the nail design image is set to the position of the center point of the nail frame as overlay data.

[0100] For example, if the image is a square with one side measuring "a", then the midpoint of the image is (x+a / 2,y+a / 2) and the midpoint of the nail frame is (x+a / 2,y+h+a / 2), so the midpoint of the image should be (x+a / 2,y+h+a / 2).

[0101] At this time, since no image is attached to the top and bottom of the nail frame, for example, the image portion obtained by dividing the difference between the top position of the nail frame and the top edge position of the image by 2 (i.e., the "b1" part on the top edge of the image in Figure 7(F)) is duplicated and the duplicated partial image is positioned so that it is contiguous with the top edge of the image.

[0102] Similarly, for the bottom of the nail frame, the image portion obtained by dividing the difference between the bottom position of the nail frame and the bottom edge position of the image by 2 (i.e., the portion "b2" on the bottom edge of the image in Figure 7(F)) is duplicated, and the duplicated partial image is positioned so that it is contiguous with the bottom edge of the image.

[0103] In this way, in the case of the "center base point", partial images can be repeated in both the tip and base directions of the nail to generate and print an image of the nail design.

[0104] Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the position of the image may be corrected toward the tip or the base of the nail. For example, in FIG. 8(A), the main image of the nail design is located in the center of the nail frame. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 8(B), the position of the main image of the nail design may be moved toward the tip of the nail to allow the position of the main image to be corrected. Conversely, as illustrated in FIG. 8(C), the position of the main image of the nail design may be moved toward the base of the nail to allow the position of the main image to be corrected.

[0105] (A-3) Effects of the embodiment As described above, according to this embodiment, the design image can be repeatedly drawn to fit the shape and size of the user's nail without changing the size of the design image, thereby making it possible to create nail stickers that fit the shape and size of the user's nail.

[0106] (B) Other embodiments Although the modified embodiments of the present invention have been mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to the following modified embodiments.

[0107] (B-1) The above-described embodiment illustrates a case in which an image of one nail design is duplicated and multiple nail designs are combined in the vertical direction of the image (also called the "first direction") to draw an image that matches the size of an individual's nail frame as overlay data.

[0108] Alternatively, multiple nail design images may be arranged and combined in the horizontal direction of the image (also called the "second direction"), or in both the vertical and horizontal directions.

[0109] For example, Fig. 9 illustrates a case where a plurality of nail design images are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions of an image. Here, the image has a vertical length of "a1" and a horizontal length of "a2".

[0110] FIG. 9 is applicable when the vertical length of the nail frame as overlay data is greater than the vertical length of the image, and the horizontal length of the nail frame as overlay data is greater than the horizontal length of the image.

[0111] In this example, the case where the "bottom base point" is set is illustrated, and the second image is joined vertically to the first image, the third image is joined horizontally to the first image, and the fourth image is joined vertically to the third image.

[0112] This makes it possible to create nail stickers that fit the size of the nail even if the nail frame registered as overlay data is relatively large or the size of the nail design image is relatively small.

[0113] (B-2) The image of the nail design may also be rotated by coordinate conversion. For example, by rotating the image of Fig. 10(A) 90 degrees clockwise, a rotated image as shown in Fig. 10(B) can be obtained. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 10(C), a combined image obtained by combining a total of four images before and after rotation may be used as a new nail design image.

[0114] This allows a larger image to be created by combining multiple nail design images, even if the original nail design image is small in size.

[0115] In addition, by combining multiple nail design images, a new design that matches the user's taste can be created. The new design can be used as a unit image of the nail design as nail design image data 132. In other words, the image can be repeated using the image of the new design.

[0116] (B-3) In the above-described embodiment, PCL commands are used as drawing commands, but the PDL type is not limited to this.

[0117] (B-4) In addition to the above-described embodiment, in order to deform the image to be drawn according to the curvature of the nail surface, curved surface correction may be performed using nail design image data to be used as a nail sticker. The curved surface correction method may be a wide range of existing technologies. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 1...printing system, 100...information processing device, 110...operating system, 120...printing application, 121...print document, 130...nail design creation application, 131...print data storage unit, 132...nail design image data, 133...drawing position information data, 150...print spooler, 151...spool file, 160...printer driver, 161...UI control unit, 162...print processor, 163...drawing control unit, 164...PDL file, 165...drawing command data, 166...drawing position information data, 167...overlay designation data, 168...language monitor, 169...port monitor, 170...operation unit, 180...display unit, 200...printer, 210...firmware, 211...PDL editing section, 212...PDL file, 213...overlay data storage section, 214...overlay data, 215...creation section, 260...drawing data, 300...driver print setting screen, 301...button, 400...setting screen, 401...new registration button, 402...overlay print button, 403...list box, 404...registration form, 500...setting screen, 501...file reference button, 502...nail frame, 503...repeat setting checkbox, 504...base point setting list box, 505...print button.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming a nail design drawing image on a medium, an image storage means for storing nail design images; a nail shape information storage means for storing nail shape information indicating a shape of a nail; a creating means for creating the nail design drawing image by using a plurality of the nail design images when the size of the nail included in the nail shape information is larger than the size of the nail design image; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein when the length from the base to the tip of the nail in the nail shape information is greater than the length in a corresponding first direction in the nail design image, the creation unit combines a plurality of the nail design images along the first direction to create the nail design drawing image.

3. 3. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein when the width of the nail in the nail shape information is greater than the length in the corresponding second direction in the nail design image, the creation unit combines a plurality of the nail design images along the second direction to create the nail design drawing image.

4. 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein a base point for repeatedly arranging the multiple nail design images is either an upper base point that is the tip of the nail in the nail shape information, a lower base point that is the base of the nail, or a central base point that is the center point of the nail in the nail shape information.

5. 2. The image forming device according to claim 1, wherein the creation means changes the size of the nail in the nail shape information based on the length of the growing nail, compares the changed size of the nail with the size of the nail design image, and creates the nail design drawing image according to the size of the grown nail.

6. An image forming program for forming a nail design drawing image on a medium, Computer, an image storage means for storing nail design images; a nail shape information storage means for storing nail shape information indicating a shape of a nail; a creating means for creating the nail design drawing image by using a plurality of the nail design images when the size of the nail included in the nail shape information is larger than the size of the nail design image; and a program for performing the image forming process.

Images