Drying device, drying control method and program

Abstract

To perform drying treatment according to features of a printing object.SOLUTION: A drying device includes a drying part 180 for drying ink printed on a plurality of types of printing objects, and a control part 110, wherein the control part 110 acquires object type information which is information on the type of the printing object, sets a drying control content which is a content of operation performed by the drying part 180 on the basis of the acquired object type information, and makes the drying part 180 perform the set drying control content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying device, a drying control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Printing devices that print nail designs on fingernails have been known for some time. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that can print nail designs not only on nails but also on recording media such as paper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-17991 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is equipped with an imaging device, detects information about the printing target (nail, recording medium) based on an image captured by the imaging device, and corrects the print data taking into account the three-dimensional shape of the printing target, so that printing can be performed according to the printing target. However, the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot perform a drying process according to the characteristics of the printing target after printing.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a drying device, a drying control method, and a program that are capable of performing drying processing suited to the characteristics of a printing object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the drying device according to the present invention comprises: a drying unit that dries ink printed on a plurality of types of printing targets; A control unit, The control unit is Obtaining object type information, which is information on the type of the print object; setting a drying control content, which is a content of an operation to be performed by the drying unit, based on the acquired target type information; The drying control content that has been set is performed by the drying section. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out a drying process suited to the characteristics of the printing object. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a printing device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of a printing device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a top view of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of the drying control. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a color conversion table according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining a color conversion table and an ink holding unit of the printing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining ink-specific drying control data according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) The printing device 100 according to the first embodiment is an inkjet printer capable of printing nail designs on fingernails, nail tips, paper, and the like.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 100 includes, as its functional components, a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a display unit 130, an operation input unit 140, an image acquisition unit 150, a printing unit 160, a fixing unit 170, a drying unit 180, and a communication unit 190.

[0012] The control unit 110 is configured with a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 110 executes processes for realizing each function of the printing device 100 and a printing process, which will be described later, by using a program stored in the storage unit 120.

[0013] The storage unit 120 stores the programs executed by the control unit 110 and necessary data. The storage unit 120 may include, but is not limited to, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 120 stores the programs executed by the control unit 110, image data of nail designs to be printed by the printing unit 160 on a printing target (nails, nail tips, paper, etc.), drying control contents to be described later, a color conversion table, etc. The storage unit 120 may be provided inside the control unit 110.

[0014] The display unit 130 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and displays the nail design to be printed, and displays error notices for operations and settings.

[0015] Operation input unit 140 is a user interface such as a push button switch, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc., and accepts operation input from a user. When operation input unit 140 includes a touch panel, it may be a touch panel integrated with the display of display unit 130.

[0016] The image acquisition unit 150 includes a camera and an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and illuminates the printing target with the LED, captures the image with the camera, and acquires the captured image.

[0017] The printing unit 160 includes an ink holding unit that holds ink (ink set) corresponding to each of a plurality of types of printing objects, a print head that prints by ejecting ink onto the printing object, and a drive unit (X-axis drive unit and Y-axis drive unit) that moves the print head. The printing unit 160 applies ink to the printing object to print a nail design. The ink holding unit includes ink cartridges that can supply ink of at least three colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow). In addition, inks suitable for each type of printing object (nails, nail chips, paper, etc.) are prepared. That is, the ink holding unit holds an ink set consisting of three colors of ink for printing on nails, an ink set consisting of three colors of ink for printing on nail chips, and an ink set consisting of three colors of ink for printing on paper. An ink set refers to a plurality of inks that are used simultaneously, and in this embodiment, the ink set is composed of three types of ink: cyan, magenta, and yellow.

[0018] Fixing unit 170 includes a first object fixing part, which is a platform on which the printing object is placed, and a second object fixing part that holds the printing object from above. Fixing unit 170 clamps the printing object between the first object fixing part and the second object fixing part, thereby fixing the printing object so that it does not move. Note that, when the printing object is a nail tip or paper, an adapter for fixing them may be prepared, and the printing object may be attached to the adapter and fixed by fixing unit 170.

[0019] The drying unit 180 includes a fan and a heater for blowing hot air to dry the ink printed on the printing target. The control unit 110 can control the rotation speed of the fan and the temperature of the heater, and can blow hot air at a set temperature at a set wind speed.

[0020] The communication unit 190 is an interface for the printing device 100 to communicate with other devices (such as a server). The printing device 100 can obtain image data of a nail design from a server via the communication unit 190, for example.

[0021] Next, the structure of the printing device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (front view) and FIG. 3 (top view).

[0022] 2 and 3, the print head 161 of the printing device 100 can be moved back and forth and left and right by an X-axis drive unit 162 that moves the print head 161 left and right and a Y-axis drive unit 163 that moves the print head 161 in the front and back directions. When printing on a nail 202, the user places the finger 201 on a first target fixing part 171 made of a cushioning material and presses it down from above with a second target fixing part 172. The first target fixing part 171 and the second target fixing part 172 adjust the surface of the nail 202 of the finger 201 to a constant height. The first target fixing part 171 and the second target fixing part 172 are included in the fixing part 170.

[0023] The print head 161 is moved by the drive units (X-axis drive unit 162 and Y-axis drive unit 163) under the control of the control unit 110, and prints a nail design on the printing target (such as the nail 202) by ejecting ink supplied from the ink holder onto the printing target. The print head 161, X-axis drive unit 162, and Y-axis drive unit 163 are included in the printing unit 160.

[0024] 2, a camera 151 is installed on the ceiling of the printing device 100, and LEDs 152 are installed around the camera 151. These are included in the image acquisition unit 150. By illuminating the printing target with the LEDs 152 and photographing it with the camera 151 according to the control of the control unit 110, the control unit 110 can recognize the type of printing target (nail, nail tip, paper, etc.), the shape, size, position, etc. of the printing area. Note that the camera 151 and LEDs 152 are omitted in FIG. 3 to prevent them from overlapping with the printing unit 160 and the fixing unit 170 and making it difficult to see.

[0025] 2 and 3, the drying unit 180 is installed on the back of the printing device 100, and the fan of the drying unit 180 draws in air from the outside and blows the air onto the printing target. As described above, the drying unit 180 is equipped with a heater whose temperature can be adjusted and a fan whose rotation speed can be changed, and the temperature (drying temperature) and wind speed of the air blown onto the printing target can be changed by control of the control unit 110.

[0026] 2 and 3, the drying unit 180 is installed on the back of the printing apparatus 100, but the installation position of the drying unit 180 does not have to be the back of the printing apparatus 100. The drying unit 180 may be installed in multiple positions (for example, on the back and the top surface, etc.). When the drying unit 180 is installed in multiple positions, the control unit 110 can change the direction of the wind blowing on the printing target by controlling which of the multiple drying units 180 the fan of which is to be rotated. Even when only one drying unit 180 is installed, if the drying unit 180 has an oscillation function that can change the direction of the fan, the control unit 110 can change the direction of the wind by changing the direction of the fan using the oscillation function.

[0027] In addition, while Figures 2 and 3 show the drying section 180 equipped with a drying fan that blows air onto the printing object, an exhaust fan that exhausts air from inside the printing device 100 to the outside may be provided on the bottom or side of the printing device 100, and the airflow rate of the drying fan and the exhaust fan may be combined to improve air circulation inside the printing device 100 and increase the drying efficiency.

[0028] Next, the print process of the printing device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. When a user instructs the printing device 100 to print, execution of the print process begins.

[0029] First, the control unit 110 acquires a nail design selected by the user (step S101). In step S101, the control unit 110 may display a list of nail designs on the display unit 130 and acquire the nail design selected by the user from the list, or may acquire via the communication unit 190 a nail design selected by the user by operating another device (such as a personal computer (PC), tablet, or smartphone).

[0030] Next, the control unit 110 determines whether the print target is fixed to the fixing unit 170 (step S102). In step S102, the control unit 110 may display a message such as "Please set the print target. Once set, press the OK button" on the display unit 130, and determine that the print target is fixed to the fixing unit 170 when the OK button is pressed. In addition, for example, the fixing unit 170 may be equipped with a sensor such as a pressure sensor, and the sensor may be capable of detecting whether the print target is fixed. In this case, the control unit 110 can determine whether the print target is fixed to the fixing unit 170 based on a detection value by the sensor. In addition, the determination in step S102 may be performed after step S103, and the control unit 110 may determine whether the print target is fixed to the fixing unit 170 based on an image acquired in step S103.

[0031] If the printing target is not fixed to the fixed portion 170 (step S102; No), the control unit 110 returns to step S102 and repeats the determination in step S102 until the printing target is fixed to the fixed portion 170.

[0032] If the printing target is fixed to the fixing unit 170 (Step S102; Yes), the control unit 110 photographs the printing target with the image acquisition unit 150 and acquires an image of the printing target (Step S103).

[0033] Next, the control unit 110 acquires information on the type of the printing object (object type information) based on the acquired image (for example, by performing image recognition) (step S104). Note that the information on the type of the printing object (object type information) is information indicating whether the printing object is a nail, a nail tip, paper, etc.

[0034] Then, the control unit 110 selects an ink set to be used for printing (used ink set) from among the multiple ink sets held in the ink holding unit, based on the acquired target type information (step S105).

[0035] Furthermore, the control unit 110 sets the drying control contents based on the acquired target type information (step S106). Note that it may take several minutes for the heater of the drying unit 180 to reach the set temperature. Therefore, if the drying control contents include information on the drying temperature, the control unit 110 turns on the power of the heater and preheats the heater to the drying temperature included in the drying control contents.

[0036] Then, the control unit 110 recognizes the printing area of ​​the printing target based on the image etc. acquired in step S103, and corrects the nail design acquired in step S101 using the curvature and inclination of the printing target (step S107). The curvature and inclination of the printing target may be input by the user using a separate dedicated application software (for example, software that allows the user to easily input the curvature and inclination using a GUI (Graphical User Interface)). The method by which the control unit 110 corrects the nail design is not particularly limited. Any method may be used for correction as long as the curvature and inclination of the printing target in the printing target are taken into consideration and the nail design is corrected so as to fit (map) properly to the printing target in the printing target.

[0037] Next, the control unit 110 selects as a reference table a color conversion table corresponding to the ink set selected in step S105, and converts the RGB (Red Green Blue) values ​​of the image data of the nail design into CMY (Cyan Magenta Yellow) values ​​using the selected reference table (step S108).

[0038] Then, the control unit 110 controls the printing unit 160 to print the image data of the nail design on the printing target using each of the three colors of ink (cyan, magenta, and yellow) included in the ink set selected in step S105 at the CMY value density obtained in step S108 (step S109).

[0039] Then, the control unit 110 controls the drying unit 180 according to the drying control contents set in step S106 to dry the ink applied to the printing target (step S110), and the printing process ends.

[0040] The drying control content set in the above-mentioned step S106 is the content of the operation that the control unit 110 causes the drying unit 180 to perform when drying the ink applied to the printing object in the drying unit 180, and includes at least one piece of information among the drying temperature, drying time, wind speed, and wind direction.

[0041] The control unit 110 can control the drying temperature by changing the set temperature of the heater included in the drying unit 180. The control unit 110 can also control the drying time by increasing or decreasing the time for which the fan included in the drying unit 180 rotates. The control unit 110 can also control the wind speed by changing the rotation speed of the fan included in the drying unit 180. Furthermore, when multiple drying units 180 are installed in the printing device 100 or when the fan of the drying unit 180 has an oscillating function, the control unit 110 can control the wind direction as described above.

[0042] The drying conditions differ according to the characteristics of the printing object, whether it is a nail, a nail tip, or paper. For example, when the printing object is paper or a nail tip, it can be dried at a high temperature because there is no risk of the user being burned during drying. On the other hand, when the printing object is a nail, it is necessary to dry it at a relatively low temperature (for example, 40°C or less) so as not to cause discomfort or burns to the user.

[0043] Regarding the wind speed, when the printing object is a nail, it is possible to dry it with a strong wind since there is no risk of it being blown away from the fixing part 170. On the other hand, when the printing object is a nail tip, it is necessary to suppress the wind speed since there is a possibility that it may not be firmly fixed to the fixing part 170. When the printing object is paper, it is possible to set a slightly stronger wind speed since it can be fixed to the fixing part 170 more firmly than a nail tip.

[0044] Therefore, the drying control contents are set in consideration of the above-mentioned drying conditions according to the printing object (object type information). One example of the drying control contents is the setting example shown in Fig. 5. In the example of Fig. 5, the drying control contents are set to "wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 44°C, drying time 3 minutes" in drying conditions 302 when the printing object is paper, set to "wind speed 10 cm / sec, drying temperature 48°C, drying time 3 minutes" in drying conditions 301 when the printing object is nail chips, and set to "wind speed 60 cm / sec, drying temperature 38°C, drying time 3 minutes" in drying conditions 303 when the printing object is nails.

[0045] In this example, the drying time among the drying control contents is set to the same value of "3 minutes" for all printing objects, but the drying time may be changed depending on the printing object. It is up to the user to decide which of the drying control contents to change depending on the printing object and which to keep the same value, and the settings should be made taking into consideration the characteristics of each printing object described above.

[0046] Drying conditions may vary depending on the type of ink as well as the printing object. For example, the more water an ink contains, the higher the temperature, the stronger the wind, and the longer the time required to dry it. Also, there are color materials that dry easily and color materials that do not dry easily.

[0047] For example, when the printing target is a nail, the nail is exposed to ultraviolet rays and is immersed in hot water and detergent in daily life. Therefore, the ink for nails is required to be weather resistant and durable against these. Moreover, safety is more important. Since the ink for nails is applied to human nails and skin, it is most important that it does not cause allergic reactions or carcinogenicity. Also, the drying temperature after printing needs to be set at a low temperature to avoid the risk of burns. Furthermore, it must be safe to remove from the nail when it is no longer needed. Also, generally, the nail design (nail art display) printed on the nail needs to be retained for several tens of hours after printing. Therefore, taking these into consideration, the ink for nails is a dye-based ink that has the same safety as cosmetics, can be dried at a relatively low temperature (for example, 40°C or less), and can be easily removed. Dye-based ink contains a lot of water as a solvent, so it is difficult to dry. However, when drying the ink printed on the nail, it cannot be heated to a high temperature, so it is necessary to dry it for a long time with strong winds to a degree that does not cause discomfort.

[0048] Also, when the printing object is paper, nail art printed on paper is almost always a test print and is rarely exposed to ultraviolet rays or water. However, since it is often printed to check the nail design, it is important that the color develops well. The storage period depends on the purpose (a few hours for a test print, several years for a collection) and the storage conditions. Also, since the paper itself can be discarded when it is no longer needed, the ink for paper does not need to be removable from the paper, and it can be dried at high temperatures. Therefore, taking these factors into consideration, dye-based inks that can be dried at high temperatures (50°C or higher) and have good color development are often used for paper inks. In the case of paper, drying at high temperatures does not cause discomfort or burns to the user, so it is possible to dry at high heat.

[0049] Furthermore, when the printing subject is a nail tip, the nail tip is exposed to ultraviolet light and water after being attached to the fingertip. Furthermore, nail tips may be prepared by printing many different types of nail tips several months or weeks in advance. Therefore, it is important that the ink for the nail tip is highly weather resistant and can be stored for a long time (can be kept for several months after printing). However, since the nail tip itself can be discarded when it is no longer needed, the ink for the nail tip does not need to be removable from the nail tip, and can also be dried at high temperatures. Therefore, taking these into consideration, pigment-based inks that can be dried at high temperatures (50°C or higher) and have high weather resistance are often used as ink for nail tips. Pigment-based inks dry easier than dye-based inks, and can be dried at high temperatures.

[0050] As described above, since the drying conditions differ depending on the ink (ink set) used for printing, in step S106, the control unit 110 may set the drying control contents based not only on the type of printing target (target type information) but also on the ink set selected in step S105.

[0051] Moreover, the color conversion table 121 used in step S108 is a table that converts three RGB values ​​into three CMY values, for example, as shown in Fig. 6. In general full-color image data, each RGB value is represented by 8 bits (256 levels from 0 to 255), but in this embodiment, each RGB value is represented in increments of 16 as shown in Fig. 6, thereby suppressing the size (number of data) of the color conversion table 121 to 4096. For an RGB value that does not exist in the color conversion table 121, the control unit 110 obtains a corresponding CMY value by interpolating using multiple values ​​that are close to that value and exist in the color conversion table 121.

[0052] As described above, the type and characteristics of ink suitable for a particular type of printing object may vary, and the coloring of each ink may also differ. Therefore, by using the color conversion table 121 that takes into account the coloring of each ink, it is possible to improve the reproducibility of the printed colors.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the printing device 100 of this embodiment 1 is capable of performing printing tailored to the characteristics of the printing subject by having the ink retaining section 164 of the printing section 160 retain an ink set 165A consisting of three colors of ink (cyan, magenta, and yellow) for nails, an ink set 165B consisting of three colors of ink for nail tips, and an ink set 165C consisting of three colors of ink for paper.

[0054] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the printing device 100 has a memory unit 120 that stores color conversion tables 121 for each ink set, including color conversion table 121A that converts the RGB values ​​of the nail design data into CMY values ​​of the nail ink set 165A, color conversion table 121B that converts the RGB values ​​of the nail design data into CMY values ​​of the nail tip ink set 165B, and color conversion table 121C that converts the RGB values ​​of the nail design data into CMY values ​​of the paper ink set 165C. By using these color conversion tables 121 during printing processing, the color reproducibility when printing the nail design can be improved.

[0055] The ink retaining unit 164 of the printing device 100 described above retains ink sets consisting of three colors of ink, CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow), for the types of printing objects, but the ink sets retained by the ink retaining unit 164 are not limited to the ink sets consisting of three colors of ink, CMY. For example, printing may be performed using black (K) ink in addition to the three colors of CMY. In this case, the ink retaining unit 164 of the printing device 100 retains ink sets consisting of four colors of ink, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), according to the type of printing object, and the color conversion table 121 also includes a color conversion table 121 that converts RGB values ​​into CMYK (cyan magenta yellow black) values. In this way, if black ink is included in the ink set, the black coloring is improved and color reproducibility is improved, so the printing quality of the nail design can be further improved.

[0056] (Embodiment 2) As described above, the drying conditions change depending on the target type information and the ink set used. However, when examined in more detail, the drying conditions also change depending on the amount of ink used for printing. Therefore, a second embodiment will be described in which the drying control details are set taking into account the amount of ink used for printing.

[0057] The functional configuration of a printing device 101 according to the second embodiment is similar to that of the printing device 100 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.

[0058] However, as shown in FIG. 8, the memory unit 120 of the printing device 101 stores, as drying control data 122 for each ink, cyan data for nails 122AC which is the drying control content of cyan ink for nails, magenta data for nails 122AM which is the drying control content of magenta ink for nails, yellow data for nails 122AY which is the drying control content of yellow ink for nails, cyan data for nail chips 122BC which is the drying control content of cyan ink for nail chips, magenta data for nail chips 122BM which is the drying control content of magenta ink for nail chips, yellow data for nail chips 122BY which is the drying control content of yellow ink for nail chips, cyan data for paper 122CC which is the drying control content of cyan ink for paper, magenta data for paper 122CM which is the drying control content of magenta ink for paper, and yellow data for paper 122CY which is the drying control content of yellow ink for paper.

[0059] For example, as ink-specific drying control data 122 for dye-based inks for nails, data 122AC for cyan nails stores "wind speed 60 cm / sec, drying temperature 38°C, drying time 3 minutes," data 122AM for magenta nails stores "wind speed 70 cm / sec, drying temperature 38°C, drying time 3 minutes," and data 122AY for yellow nails stores "wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 38°C, drying time 3 minutes."

[0060] In addition, as the ink-specific drying control data 122 for pigment-based inks for nail tips, the data 122BC for cyan nail tips stores "wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 44°C, drying time 3 minutes," the data 122BM for magenta nail tips stores "wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 44°C, drying time 4 minutes," and the data 122BY for yellow nail tips stores "wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 44°C, drying time 2 minutes."

[0061] This ink-specific drying control data 122 indicates the content of drying control required to dry the ink when that ink is applied to the entire printing area of ​​the printing target (i.e., when the ratio is 100%). The control unit 110 sets the drying control content based on the ink-specific drying control data 122 and the amount of ink actually used for printing.

[0062] The amount of ink used for printing is determined by the percentage of cyan, magenta, and yellow used within the printing area. For example, if the entire printing area of ​​the print target is printed in black, the percentages of cyan, magenta, and yellow used will each be 100%. Also, if 70% of the printing area is printed in red (the remaining 30% remains white), the percentage of cyan used will be 0%, magenta used will be 70%, and yellow used will be 70%.

[0063] In the following, the percentage of cyan used in the printing area is represented as pc, the percentage of magenta used as pm, and the percentage of yellow used as py. These are all values ​​between 0% and 100%.

[0064] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned ink-specific drying control data 122, the drying temperature and drying time for dye-based inks are fixed values ​​(drying temperature 38°C, drying time 3 minutes), and the wind speed and drying temperature for pigment-based inks are fixed values ​​(wind speed 30 cm / sec, drying temperature 44°C), so the control unit 110 adjusts the drying control content using non-fixed drying control data (wind speed for dye-based inks, drying time for pigment-based inks) according to the proportion of each ink.

[0065] Specifically, when the printing target is a nail, the control unit 110 sets the drying control contents as follows: drying temperature = 38 (°C), drying time = 3 (min), air speed = 60 x pc + 70 x pm + 30 x py (cm / sec). Also, when the printing target is a nail tip, the control unit 110 sets the drying control contents as follows: air speed 30 (cm / sec), drying temperature 44 (°C), drying time = 3 x pc + 4 x pm + 2 x py (min).

[0066] Note that the control unit 110 may appropriately change the drying control content if the calculated result is too small. For example, if the calculated wind speed is less than 10 cm / sec (if it is difficult to reduce the fan rotation speed to that extent), the naturally occurring wind may be sufficient, and forced airflow by a fan or the like may not be performed. Also, if the calculated drying time is less than 0.5 minutes (if there is a concern that the drying time will not be sufficient if it is shortened to that extent), the drying time may be set to 0.5 minutes.

[0067] The print processing according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. As in the first embodiment, when a user instructs the printing device 101 to print, execution of the print processing starts.

[0068] The processes from step S201 to step S205 are similar to the processes from step S101 to step S105 in the printing process (FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted. Also, the processes from step S206 and step S207 are similar to the processes from step S107 and step S108 in the printing process (FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0069] In step S208, control unit 110 calculates the amount of each ink to be used in the current printing based on the CMY values ​​converted in step S207.

[0070] Next, the control unit 110 calculates the usage ratio (the above-mentioned pc, pm, py) of each ink used in printing based on the usage amount of each ink calculated in step S208, and sets the drying control content based on this usage ratio (step S209). As described above, it may take several minutes for the heater of the drying unit 180 to heat up to the set temperature. Therefore, if the drying control content includes information on the drying temperature, the control unit 110 turns on the power of the heater and preheats the heater to the drying temperature included in the drying control content.

[0071] Furthermore, if it is expected that the time it takes for the heater to warm up will be longer than the printing time in step S210 due to the specifications of the drying unit 180 or printing unit 160 (for example, if the heater temperature adjustment speed is slow or the printing speed of the printing unit 160 is fast), preheating of the heater may be started at a stage prior to step S209 (for example, immediately after starting the printing process). However, since it takes time for the heater temperature to drop (because natural cooling is relied upon) even if the heater power is turned off, when preheating is started at a stage prior to step S209, it is desirable to preheat to the lowest expected drying temperature (for example, 38°C).

[0072] Then, the control unit 110 controls the printing unit 160 to print the image data of the nail design on the printing target using each of the three colors of ink (cyan, magenta, and yellow) included in the ink set selected in step S205 at the CMY value density obtained in step S207 (step S210).

[0073] Then, the control unit 110 controls the drying unit 180 according to the drying control contents set in step S209 to dry the ink applied to the printing target (step S211), and ends the printing process.

[0074] Through the printing process described above, the printing device 101 sets the drying control contents taking into consideration not only the characteristics of the printing subject and the characteristics of each ink, but also the amount of each ink used, thereby enabling the ink to be dried under more appropriate drying conditions.

[0075] In the above-mentioned second embodiment, the ink retaining unit 164 is described as having ink cartridges capable of supplying three colors of ink, CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow), but the inks used for printing do not need to be limited to the three colors of CMY. For example, if an ink cartridge capable of supplying black (K) is provided in addition to the above, the storage unit 120 stores ink-specific drying control data including data for black for nails, data for black for nail tips, and data for black for paper, and in step S209 of the printing process (FIG. 9), the proportion pb of black ink is also calculated and the drying control content is set.

[0076] Furthermore, the same can be considered when special inks such as gold ink can be used, not limited to three-color CMY ink sets or four-color CMYK ink sets, and the drying control contents can be set to correspond to the special drying conditions for each special ink.

[0077] Also, even for the usual three colors of CMY ink, the drying conditions may differ slightly due to variations in ink lots, etc. Even in such cases, by preparing ink-specific drying control data 122 suitable for each ink (taking into account the lot, etc.), the printing device 101 can dry the ink under more appropriate drying conditions even if there are variations in the ink.

[0078] Incidentally, variations due to ink lots, etc., can also affect color development. By preparing a color conversion table 121 that corresponds to the variations in each ink (taking into account the lot, etc.), the printing devices 100 and 101 can print with more appropriate color development even if there are variations in the ink.

[0079] (Modification) Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-mentioned embodiment is merely an example, and the scope of application of the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the embodiment of the present invention can be applied in various ways, and all embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0080] For example, in the above embodiment, the ink retaining unit 164 holds all ink sets that may be used, but the ink retaining unit 164 may hold only the ink set to be used for printing. In reality, when printing, the user has already decided what to print (the printing object), and can set the ink set for the printing object in the ink retaining unit 164 in advance. In this case, the control unit 110 of the printing device does not need to determine the type of the printing object from the image of the printing object in step S104 of the above-mentioned printing process (FIG. 4). If identification information is embedded in the ink cartridge of each ink and the control unit 110 is able to acquire the identification information, the control unit 110 can acquire the type of the printing object together with the ink to be used by acquiring the identification information from the ink cartridge in step S104. For example, if the control unit 110 acquires the identification information of the ink cartridge and finds that the ink for nails is held in the ink retaining unit 164, it can know that the ink to be used for printing is the ink for nails and the printing object is a nail.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the ink retaining unit 164 retains different ink sets (for example, an ink set for nails, an ink set for nail chips, and an ink set for paper) according to the type of printing object, but the ink retaining unit 164 may retain only one ink set that is commonly used for all printing objects. In this case, the control unit 110 may set the drying control contents based on the type of printing object, or may set the drying control contents based on the type of printing object and the amount of each ink used. In this way, even if an ink set is not prepared for each printing object, the control unit 110 can perform a drying process that matches the characteristics of the printing object.

[0082] In the above embodiment, the color conversion table 121 is used when converting the RGB values ​​of the print data into CMY values, but a formula for converting the RGB values ​​into CMY values ​​may be used instead. When the control unit 110 converts the RGB values ​​into CMY values ​​using a formula, the storage unit 120 does not need to store the color conversion table 121.

[0083] In the above embodiment, the printing objects are described by taking nails, nail tips, and paper as examples, but the printing objects are not limited to these three types. Sheet-shaped printing objects can be not only paper, but also acrylic sheets, metal plates, etc., and nail tips can be made of various materials such as plastic, ceramic, urethane, etc. Therefore, the control unit 110 may set the drying control contents so that drying can be performed under drying conditions suitable for each of these. In addition, an ink set may be formed using ink suitable for each of these, and a color conversion table corresponding to the ink set may be prepared.

[0084] In this case, it is necessary to distinguish the print objects more precisely, but if the print objects cannot be accurately distinguished by recognizing the photographed image of the print object, the user may input the type of print object.

[0085] In this manner, the control unit 110 can perform drying processing suited to the characteristics of a greater number of printing objects, and can also perform printing suited to the characteristics of a greater number of printing objects.

[0086] In the above embodiment, the printing devices 100 and 101 are inkjet nail printers, but the printing device is not limited to inkjet nail printers. In a printing device that uses different inks depending on the printing subject, a drying process that matches the characteristics of the printing subject can be performed using a similar concept, and multiple color conversion tables can be used to perform printing with improved color reproducibility. In addition, the printing devices 100 and 101 are also drying devices because they include the drying unit 180.

[0087] In the above embodiment, the CPU of the control unit 110 executes the program stored in the storage unit 120 to control each unit of the printing device 100, 101. However, in the present invention, the control unit 110 may include dedicated hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and various control circuits instead of a CPU, and the dedicated hardware may control each unit of the printing device 100, 101. In this case, each function of the control unit 110 may be realized by individual hardware, or each function may be collectively realized by a single piece of hardware. Also, some of the functions may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the other parts may be realized by software or firmware.

[0088] Furthermore, the printing apparatus 100, 101 may be separated into a plurality of devices, rather than being a single device. For example, the printing apparatus 100, 101 may be separated into a control device (e.g., a PC, a smartphone, a tablet, or the like, a device equipped with a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a display unit 130, an operation input unit 140, and a communication unit 190) and a printing device (e.g., a device equipped with an image acquisition unit 150, a printing unit 160, a fixing unit 170, a drying unit 180, and a communication unit 190). In this case, the above-mentioned printing process is performed by the control unit 110 of the control device, and it is possible to acquire an image to be printed acquired by the image acquisition unit 150 of the printing device via the communication unit 190, or to instruct the printing unit 160 to print.

[0089] Furthermore, the printing apparatuses 100 and 101 may be separated into a drying apparatus (e.g., an apparatus including the control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the display unit 130, the operation input unit 140, the drying unit 180, and the communication unit 190) and a printing apparatus (e.g., an apparatus including the control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the display unit 130, the operation input unit 140, the image acquisition unit 150, the printing unit 160, the fixing unit 170, and the communication unit 190). In this case, among the above-mentioned printing processes, the process related to drying is executed by the control unit 110 of the drying apparatus, and the process related to printing is executed by the control unit 110 of the printing apparatus. However, when it is necessary to exchange information between the two apparatuses, such as setting the drying control contents using information related to printing, as in the process of step S106 in FIG. 4 and the process of step S209 in FIG. 9, the respective control units 110 communicate information via the communication unit 190.

[0090] For example, when the control unit 110 of the drying device sets the drying control contents based on information about the ink set used, the control unit 110 of the drying device acquires information about the ink set used from the printing device via the communication unit 190. Similarly, when the drying control contents are set based on the ink usage amount and target type information, the control unit 110 of the drying device acquires the ink usage amount and target type information from the printing device via the communication unit 190. However, with regard to the ink usage amount, the control unit 110 of the drying device may acquire print data from the printing device via the communication unit 190 and calculate the usage amount of each ink from the print data.

[0091] It should be noted that the separation form described here is merely one example of the separation form of the printing apparatuses 100 and 101, and other separation forms may be adopted as necessary.

[0092] Although the above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 100, 101...printing device, 110...control unit, 120...storage unit, 121, 121A, 121B, 121C...color conversion table, 122...ink-specific drying control data, 122AC, 122AM, 122AY, 122BC, 122BM, 122BY, 122CC, 122CM, 122CY...data, 130...display unit, 140...operation input unit, 150...image acquisition unit, 151 ...camera, 152...LED, 160...printing unit, 161...print head, 162...X-axis drive unit, 163...Y-axis drive unit, 164...ink holding unit, 165A, 165B, 165C...ink set, 170...fixing unit, 171...first target fixing unit, 172...second target fixing unit, 180...drying unit, 190...communication unit, 201...finger, 202...nail, 301, 302, 303...drying conditions

Claims

1. a drying unit that dries ink printed on a plurality of types of printing targets; A control unit, The control unit is Obtaining object type information, which is information on the type of the print object; setting a drying control content, which is a content of an operation to be performed by the drying unit, based on the acquired target type information; The drying control content that has been set is performed by the drying unit. drying equipment.

2. The control unit is As the drying control content, at least one of a drying temperature, a drying time, a wind speed, and a wind direction is set.

2. The drying device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit is Obtaining information regarding a used ink set selected for use in printing from a plurality of ink sets; setting the drying control content based on the information regarding the ink set to be used; 3. The drying device according to claim 2.

4. an ink holding unit that holds the ink sets corresponding to the plurality of types of printing targets, the control unit selects the ink set to be used from the ink sets held in the ink holding unit based on the acquired target type information.

4. The drying device according to claim 3.

5. The control unit is setting the drying control content based on the target type information and the information regarding the ink set to be used; 5. The drying device according to claim 4.

6. Further, a printing unit that applies ink to perform printing is provided, The control unit is Obtaining print data to be printed on the print target; setting the drying control content based on the usage amount of each ink calculated from the acquired print data, the target type information, and the usage ink set; 6. The drying device according to claim 5.

7. The control unit is controlling the printing unit to print on the printing target using the selected ink set; 7. The drying device according to claim 6.

8. Further comprising a plurality of color conversion tables; The control unit is selecting a color conversion table corresponding to the selected ink set to be used as a reference table from the plurality of color conversion tables; controlling the printing unit to print on the print target using the ink set to be used and the selected look-up table; 8. The drying device according to claim 7.

9. A drying control method for a drying device including a drying unit and a control unit, The control unit: Obtain target type information, which is information on the type of the print target; setting a drying control content, which is a content of an operation to be performed by the drying unit, based on the acquired target type information; The drying control content that has been set is performed by the drying unit. Drying control method.

10. A control unit provided in a drying device including a drying unit and a control unit, Obtain target type information, which is information on the type of the print target; setting a drying control content, which is a content of an operation to be performed by the drying unit, based on the acquired target type information; The drying control content that has been set is performed by the drying unit. The program that performs the processing.

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