Coating applicator, coating method, and program

Abstract

To provide a coating applicator, a coating method, and a program capable of uniformly coating a curved surface with a highly viscous liquid easily.SOLUTION: A coating applicator 1 comprises: a liquid injection unit 141 that injects a liquid to a curved object to be coated; a spatula unit 142 that uniformly applies the liquid to the object; a photographing unit 13 that photographs the object; and a control unit 17. The control unit 17 controls the spatula unit 142 to calculate the curving degree of the object on the basis of image data of the object photographed by the photographing unit 13, inject the liquid from the liquid injection unit 141 to the object, and move in a prescribed direction in accordance with the curving degree to make uniform the liquid applied on the object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating apparatus, a coating method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, so-called nailing, in which nail polish, coating agents, etc. are applied to nails, nail tips, etc., has been known as a means of decorating nails. With nailing, a user applies nail polish, coating agents, etc. to nails, nail tips, etc. with a brush, but since nails, nail tips, etc. are curved, it is difficult to apply the agent evenly and without unevenness. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for acquiring screen information of a user's facial shape and applying cosmetic materials to the face by a printing means based on the information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-206752 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Nail polish, coating agents, etc. are often highly viscous liquids. When using a highly viscous liquid in a printing means, for example, the liquid cannot be ejected due to its high viscosity, or the amount of ejection is unstable because air bubbles in the liquid are difficult to remove. In order to solve these problems, a dedicated mechanism and control are required, and it is time-consuming to create the device.

[0005] Although it is possible to use a dispenser capable of precisely dispensing a constant amount of liquid to spray nail polish, coating agents, etc. onto nails, nail tips, etc., it is difficult to apply a thin layer, and the film becomes thick overall, so it takes a long time to dry. Furthermore, simply spraying the liquid will result in different amounts of liquid adhering to different parts of the nail, nail tip, etc., and on curved surfaces, dripping may occur before the liquid dries, making it highly likely that a uniform film will not be formed.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a coating device, a coating method, and a program that can easily and uniformly apply a highly viscous liquid to a curved surface. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a coating apparatus according to the present invention comprises: A liquid ejection unit that ejects liquid onto a curved application target; A spatula for spreading the liquid evenly on the object to be coated; An imaging unit that images the application target; A control unit; Equipped with The control unit determines the curvature of the target based on image data of the target captured by the image capture unit, and controls the spatula unit to eject the liquid from the liquid ejection unit onto the target while moving the spatula unit in a predetermined direction according to the curvature and to evenly distribute the liquid on the target. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a highly viscous liquid can be easily applied uniformly to a curved surface. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1A] 1 is a plan view of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the coating device shown in FIG. 1A. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the coating apparatus shown in FIG. 1A. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the coating apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A. [Figure 4A] 1B is a diagram showing a finger image captured by a capturing unit of the applicator shown in FIG. 1A. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the outline of a nail extracted from the finger image shown in FIG. 4A. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a side image of a nail generated from the finger image shown in FIG. 4A. [Figure 4D] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a front image of a nail generated from the finger image shown in FIG. 4A. [Figure 5A] FIG. 4 is a view for explaining that the coating unit of the coating device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is positioned at a coating start position. [Figure 5B] 5B is a diagram for explaining the application liquid being ejected from the application part shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. [Figure 5C] 5C is a view for explaining the operation of the spatula part of the applicator unit shown in FIG. 5B. [Figure 5D] FIG. 5D is a diagram for explaining spreading of the application liquid by the spatula part shown in FIG. 5C. [Figure 5E] 5E is a diagram for explaining the movement of the spatula part shown in FIG. 5D toward the cuticle side of the nail. FIG. [Figure 5F] 5B is a diagram for explaining that the spatula part shown in FIG. 5E has reached the cuticle of the nail. [Figure 6A] FIG. 4C is a diagram for explaining the state in which the applicator part shown in FIG. 4B is positioned at the center of the nail. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the applicator part shown in FIG. 6A is tilted along the curved surface of the nail. [Figure 6C] 6B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the spatula part of the applicator part shown in FIG. 6A is tilted along a curved surface. FIG. [Figure 7A] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an initial coating position by the coating device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7B]FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining a coating position to be coated next to the coating position shown in FIG. 7A. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a coating process performed in the coating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a coating execution process executed in the coating device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10A] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a plurality of spatula parts included in a coating unit of a coating device according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10B] 10B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the multiple spatula parts shown in FIG. 10A are positioned on a curved surface of a nail. [Figure 11A] 13 is a diagram for explaining the position of the spatula part of the coating unit when a thin film thickness is formed by the coating device according to the modified example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11B] 11B is a diagram for explaining the position of a spatula part of the coating unit when a thick film thickness is formed by the coating device shown in FIG. 11A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0011] The application device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a device capable of uniformly applying a highly viscous liquid R, such as nail polish or a coating agent, to curved surfaces of nails, nail tips, etc. In the following description, the object to which the highly viscous liquid R, such as nail polish or a coating agent, is applied is described as a user's nail.

[0012] The configuration of the coating device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1A and 1B. Fig. 1A is a plan view of the coating device 1, and Fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the coating device 1. In Fig. 1A, members visible from the outside are indicated by solid lines, and members not visible from the outside are indicated by dotted lines, one-dot chain points, and two-dot chain points. In Fig. 1B, in order to make the drawing easier to see, each member is not hatched even in the cross-sectional view, and each member is indicated by the same line type as in Fig. 1A. In addition, the user's finger F and nail N are indicated by solid lines for easier viewing.

[0013] In the following description, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, with the width direction of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1A as the X-axis direction, the height direction as the Z-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction as the Y-axis direction, and the description will be made with reference to this system as appropriate. Note that in the following description, the direction of the arrow on each coordinate axis is called the + direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow's direction of movement is called the - direction.

[0014] The application device 1 shown in FIG. 1A includes a finger insertion section 11, a finger placement section 12, an imaging section 13, an application section 14, an operation input section 15, and a display section 16. The finger insertion section 11 is a space for inserting a finger F and a nail N to be applied with a highly viscous liquid R such as nail polish or a coating agent. The finger placement section 12 is a member for placing the finger F, and is, for example, a member having a shape with a step to prevent the finger F from rolling as shown in FIG. 1B. The imaging section 13 images the user's finger F and nail N inserted into the finger insertion section 11. The imaging section 13 is a three-dimensional camera capable of capturing an image of the shape of the nail N in three dimensions.

[0015] The application unit 14 applies a high-viscosity liquid R, such as nail polish or a coating agent, to the user's nail N. The application unit 14 includes a liquid ejection unit 141, a spatula unit 142, and a spatula storage unit 143 shown in FIG. 1B. The liquid ejection unit 141 holds a high-viscosity liquid R, such as nail polish or a coating agent, and ejects it onto the user's nail N. The spatula unit 142 is a member for leveling the high-viscosity liquid R ejected from the liquid ejection unit 141 onto the user's nail N. In this embodiment, the spatula unit 142 is configured from a single thin plate. The application unit 14 also includes a spatula drive unit (not shown), and the spatula drive unit is controlled by a spatula operation control unit 175 (described later) to drive the spatula unit 142 in a predetermined direction.

[0016] The spatula storage section 143 stores the spatula part 142. The application section 14 is capable of moving three-dimensionally in each of the X, Y and Z axial directions. The spatula part 142 can extend or shorten along the curved surface of the nail N and can move three-dimensionally in each of the X, Y and Z axial directions. The operation input section 15 inputs instructions from the user. The display section 16 displays various data to be presented to the user.

[0017] Next, the configuration of the coating device 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. The coating device 1 includes a control unit 17 and a storage unit 18 in addition to the above-mentioned photographing unit 13, coating unit 14, operation input unit 15, and display unit 16. The control unit 17 includes an image acquisition unit 171, an image control unit 172, a coating control unit 173, an injection amount control unit 174, and a spatula operation control unit 175.

[0018] The image acquisition unit 171 acquires images of the user's finger F and nail N from the photographing unit 13. The image control unit 172 extracts data such as the outline and height direction of the nail N from the data of the image of the user's finger F and nail N acquired by the image acquisition unit 171, and generates coordinate data of the surface of the nail N to be coated. The coating control unit 173 controls the operation of the coating unit 14. The ejection amount control unit 174 controls the amount of liquid ejected from the liquid ejection unit 141 of the coating unit 14. The spatula operation control unit 175 controls the operation of the spatula unit 142 of the coating unit 14. The memory unit 18 stores various programs executed by the control unit 17 and various data used or generated by the control unit 17.

[0019] Each function included in the control unit 17 is realized by executing a program stored in the storage unit 18. An example of a hardware configuration of the coating apparatus 1 for executing the program will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0020] The coating apparatus 1 includes a storage device 201, a photographing device 202, a coating device 203, an operation input device 204, a display device 205, a display controller 206, a memory 207, and a processor 208. The storage device 201, the photographing device 202, the coating device 203, the operation input device 204, the display device 205, the display controller 206, the memory 207, and the processor 208 are each connected to each other via a bus 209.

[0021] The storage device 201 is a device that stores various programs executed by the processor 208, various data input from the operation input device 204, and image data of the user's finger F and nail N captured by the photographing device 202. The storage device 201 can be configured using a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage device 201 also functions as the storage unit 18 of the coating device 1 shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] The photographing device 202 is a device that photographs the user's finger F and nail N. The photographing device 202 is a three-dimensional camera that can photograph the shape of the nail N in three dimensions. The photographing device 202 can be configured with cameras of various types, such as stereo using parallax, ToF (Time-of-Flight) using the return of infrared light, and laser profiling that obtains three-dimensional data in combination with a laser and a two-dimensional camera. The photographing device 202 also functions as the photographing unit 13 of the coating device 1 shown in FIG. 2.

[0023] The application device 203 is a device including a dispenser that holds and ejects the liquid R to be applied to the user's nails N, and a spatula that spreads the liquid R on the nails N. The application device 203 functions as the application unit 14 of the application device 1 shown in FIG. 2. The operation input device 204 is a device that accepts input from a user. The operation input device 204 can be configured by a device that can input data, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a tablet. In addition, the operation input device 204 functions as the operation input unit 15 of the application device 1 shown in FIG. 2.

[0024] The display device 205 is a device for presenting various data input from the operation input device 204, various functions of the coating apparatus 1, and the like to a user. The display device 205 can be configured using a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) monitor. The display controller 206 is a controller for outputting various display data to the display device 205.

[0025] The display controller 206 can be configured using a video signal output device such as a video card, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a graphic board, etc. The display device 205 and the display controller 206 function as the display unit 16 of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 2. The operation input device 204 may be placed on the display device 205 to function as a touch panel that serves both as the operation input unit 15 and the display unit 16.

[0026] The memory 207 is a storage element for expanding the various programs stored in the storage device 201. The memory 207 can be configured using a storage element and a storage medium, such as a volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a flash memory. The processor 208 reads out the various programs stored in the storage device 201, expands them in the memory 207, and executes them. The processor 208 can be configured using a processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processing unit (MPU), etc.

[0027] Next, a method of applying liquid to a nail N by the applicator 1 in this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4A to 7B. First, a procedure for recognizing the shape of a user's nail N, which is an application target, will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a finger image captured by the imaging unit 13 of the applicator 1 shown in FIG. 1A. Specifically, when a user inserts a finger F and a nail N into the finger insertion unit 11 of the applicator 1 and gives an instruction to start the application process from the operation input unit 15 of the applicator 1 shown in FIG. 1A, the imaging unit 13 captures the finger F and the nail N. At this time, the imaging unit 13 captures the finger F and the nail N in three dimensions. This allows the applicator 1 to recognize the shapes of the finger F and the nail N in three dimensions.

[0028] Fig. 4B is a diagram showing the outline of the nail extracted from the finger image shown in Fig. 4A. The image acquisition unit 171 included in the control unit 17 of the application device 1 shown in Fig. 2 acquires image data of the finger F and the nail N from the photographing unit 13. Hereinafter, the images of the finger F and the nail N are referred to as finger images.

[0029] The image control unit 172 of the control unit 17 shown in FIG. 2 acquires finger image data from the image acquisition unit 171. The image control unit 172 extracts a contour Nf of the nail N from the finger image data. The image control unit 172 also calculates data on the shape of the nail N as viewed from the +Z axis direction from the extracted data on the contour of the nail N. The image control unit 172 determines a start position for liquid application from the calculated data on the shape of the nail N. The calculated data on the shape of the nail N will be referred to as image data of the upper surface Nu of the nail N hereinafter.

[0030] Furthermore, the image control unit 172 calculates data in the height direction, i.e., the Z-axis direction, from the finger image. The image control unit 172 then adds the calculated height direction to the data on the shape of the nail N as viewed from the +Z-axis direction described above, and calculates image data of the side surface Ns of the nail N shown in Fig. 4C and image data of the front surface Nc of the nail N shown in Fig. 4D. The image control unit 172 calculates three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N from the image data of the upper surface Nu of the nail N, the image data of the side surface Ns of the nail N shown in Fig. 4C, and the image data of the front surface Nc of the nail N shown in Fig. 4D. This allows the three-dimensional coordinates at each position of the nail N to be known, making it possible to calculate the width of the nail N and the degree of curvature at each position.

[0031] 2 includes a control unit 17 that calculates data on the height at which the applicator 14 applies the liquid R onto the nail N, the position on the nail N, and the movement distance from the tip of the nail N to the cuticle, based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N calculated by the image control unit 172. Here, the tip of the nail N is the application start position, and the cuticle is the application end position. The application control unit 173 controls the operation of the applicator 14 based on each calculated data.

[0032] Next, the flow of the liquid application operation by the applicator 14 will be described below with reference to FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F. First, when applying liquid with the applicator 14 of the applicator 1, the applicator 14 is positioned at the application start position. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the finger F is placed on the finger placement section 12 in the finger insertion section 11 shown in FIG. 1B, and the applicator 14 is positioned at the application start position. The application start position is determined from the position on the nail N calculated from the three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N by the application control section 173 shown in FIG. 2. For example, in FIG. 5A, the applicator 14 is positioned at the tip of the nail N. The height of the applicator 14 is the height calculated from the three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N by the application control section 173. In this state, the spatula section 142 of the applicator 14 is stored in the spatula storage section 143.

[0033] Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, liquid R is ejected from liquid ejection portion 141 of applicator 14. Applicator 14 moves to the cuticle side of nail N while ejecting liquid R. As shown in FIG. 5C, when applicator 14 moves a certain distance, spatula 142 extends from spatula storage portion 143. Spatula 142 can slide appropriately. Spatula 14 extends to a position away from nail N by the thickness of the film formed by liquid R. The position away by the thickness of the film is calculated by application control portion 173 from the height of applicator 14, three-dimensional coordinate data of nail N, and data on the film thickness to be formed.

[0034] When applicator 14 moves toward the cuticle while spatula 142 is extended, liquid R is spread onto nail N, as shown in Fig. 5D. For ease of understanding, liquid R ejected from liquid ejection portion 141 of applicator 14 is represented by a white circle, and liquid R spread by spatula 142 is represented by a thick black line.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 5E, liquid ejection unit 141 of applicator 14 stops ejecting liquid R when the movement distance from the application start position exceeds the calculated movement distance from the tip of nail N to the cuticle. Therefore, the cuticle becomes the application end position. As shown in FIG. 5F, application control unit 173 stops applicator 14 when spatula unit 142 reaches the cuticle of nail N. In addition, spatula operation control unit 175 of control unit 17 stores spatula unit 142 in spatula storage unit 143.

[0036] The applicator 14 can move three-dimensionally in each of the X, Y and Z axial directions along the curved surface of the nail N. The spatula 142 can extend or shorten along the curved surface of the nail N and move three-dimensionally in each of the X, Y and Z axial directions. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the applicator 14 is positioned at the center of the nail N, and the spatula 142 is brought close to the nail N. At this time, the applicator 14 and the spatula 142 overlap with the perpendicular line shown by the dotted line.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 6B, when the spatula part 142 is brought close to the curved surface of the nail N, the entire coating part 14 is tilted in the +X-axis direction along the curved surface. Also, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the spatula part 142 is brought close to the curved surface of the nail N, the coating part 14 is kept straight so as to overlap with the perpendicular line, and the spatula part 142 is tilted in the +X-axis direction along the curved surface. The coating part 14 and the spatula part 142 move in such a way that the coating part 14 goes down in the part of the nail N where the curvature is deep, that is, in the -Z-axis direction. Also, the coating part 14 and the spatula part 142 move in such a way that the coating part 14 goes up in the part of the nail N where the curvature is small, that is, in the +Z-axis direction. Therefore, the coating part 14 and the spatula part 142 repeat the movement in the XY-axis direction and the height movement in the Z-axis direction, so that the distance between the spatula part 142 and the nail N can be kept constant. This enables the coating device 1 to apply the liquid R evenly to the curved surface of the nail N.

[0038] In this embodiment, the order of applying the liquid R to the nail N is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, starting from the center of the nail N. The film applied to the center is called the first film C1. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the liquid is applied to the +X-axis side of the first film C1. The applied film is called the second film C2. Next, application is repeated up to the end of the nail N on the +X-axis side. After application up to the end of the nail N on the +X-axis side, application is repeated on the -X-axis side of the first film C1, and the liquid R is applied up to the end of the nail N.

[0039] Next, the coating process of the coating device 1 in this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in Figures 8 and 9. The coating process is stored as a coating process program in the storage unit 18 shown in Figure 2. When a user places a finger F to be coated on the finger placement unit 12 in the finger insertion unit 11 shown in Figures 1A and 1B and issues an instruction to start coating from the operation input unit 15, the coating process program is started. Specifically, the processor 208 of the coating device 1 reads out the coating process program stored in the storage device 201 of the coating device 1 shown in Figure 3, expands it into the memory 207, and executes it.

[0040] The photographing unit 13 of the coating device 1 shown in FIG. 1A photographs the finger F and nail N placed on the finger placement unit 12 (step S101). The image acquisition unit 171 included in the control unit 17 of the coating device 1 acquires finger image data, which is an image of the finger F and nail N. The image control unit 172 of the control unit 17 shown in FIG. 2 extracts a contour Nf of the nail N from the finger image (step S102). The image control unit 172 calculates data on the shape of the nail N as viewed from the +Z axis direction from the extracted data on the contour of the nail N (step S103). The image control unit 172 determines a start position for liquid application from the calculated data on the shape of the nail N (step S104).

[0041] The image control unit 172 calculates three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N (step S105). Specifically, first, the image control unit 172 calculates data in the height direction, i.e., the Z-axis direction, from the finger image. The image control unit 172 adds the calculated height direction to data on the shape of the nail N viewed from the +Z-axis direction, and calculates image data of the side surface Ns of the nail N shown in FIG. 4C and image data of the front surface Nc of the nail N shown in FIG. 4D. The image control unit 172 calculates three-dimensional coordinate data of the nail N from image data of the upper surface Nu of the nail N, image data of the side surface Ns of the nail N shown in FIG. 4C, and image data of the front surface Nc of the nail N shown in FIG. 4D.

[0042] 2 calculates control data for application unit 14 (step 106). Specifically, based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of nail N calculated in step S105, application control unit 173 calculates data on the height at which application unit 14 applies liquid R onto nail N, the position on nail N, and the moving distance from the tip of nail N to the cuticle. Application control unit 173 uses each calculated data as control data and controls the operation of application unit 14 based on this data.

[0043] The application control unit 173 moves the application unit 14 to a start position for application of the nail N to be applied (step S107). The application control unit 173 executes an application execution process (step S108). The application execution process will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0044] The ejection amount control unit 174 of the control unit 17 shown in Fig. 2 ejects a preset amount of liquid R from the liquid ejection unit 141 of the applicator unit 14 onto the nail N (step S201). The application control unit 173 ejects the liquid R from the liquid ejection unit 141 while moving the applicator unit 14 to the cuticle side of the nail N. As shown in Fig. 5C, when the applicator unit 14 moves a certain distance, the spatula operation control unit 175 of the control unit 17 shown in Fig. 2 extends the spatula unit 142 from the spatula storage unit 143 (step S202).

[0045] The spatula operation control unit 175 adjusts the height of the spatula 142 while the application unit 14 is moving (step S203). Specifically, the spatula operation control unit 175 adjusts the height so that the spatula 142 is at a position higher by the thickness of the film formed by the nail N while the application unit 14 is moving.

[0046] 5E, the application control unit 173 determines whether or not the tip of the liquid ejection unit 141 of the application unit 14 has reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S204). If the tip of the liquid ejection unit 141 has not reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S204; NO), step S204 is repeated. If the tip of the liquid ejection unit 141 has reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S204; YES), the ejection amount control unit 174 causes the liquid ejection unit 141 of the application unit 14 to stop ejecting the liquid R (step S205).

[0047] The spatula operation control unit 175 determines whether the spatula part 142 has reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S206). If the spatula part 142 has not reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S206; NO), step S206 is repeated. If the spatula part 142 has reached the cuticle of the nail N (step S206; YES), the application control unit 173 stops the movement of the application unit 14 (step S207). The spatula operation control unit 175 stores the spatula part 142 in the spatula storage unit 143 (step S208).

[0048] The coating control unit 173 determines whether coating on the +X-axis side from the center of the nail N has been completed (step S209). If coating on the +X-axis side from the center of the nail N has not been completed (step S209; NO), the coating control unit 173 shifts the coating unit 14 toward the +X-axis side by the width of the spatula unit 142 and moves it to the coating start position (step S210). The coating control unit 173 returns to step S201 and executes the processes from S201 onward. Also, if coating on the +X-axis side from the center of the nail N has been completed (step S209; YES), the coating control unit 173 determines whether coating on the -X-axis side from the center of the nail N has been completed (step S211).

[0049] If the application from the center of the nail N to the -X-axis side has not been completed (step S211; NO), the application control unit 173 shifts the application unit 14 toward the -X-axis side by the width of the spatula unit 142 and moves it to the application start position (step S212). The application control unit 173 returns to step S201 and executes the processes from S201 onward. Also, if the application from the center of the nail N to the -X-axis side has been completed (step S211; YES), the application control unit 173 causes the display unit 16 shown in FIG. 2 to display that the application has been completed (step S213). The application control unit 173 ends the application execution process. Now, return to FIG. 8. The application control unit 173 ends the application process.

[0050] As described above, with the applicator 1 according to the present embodiment, the highly viscous liquid R injected onto the nail N to be applied can be spread by the spatula part 142 of the applicator 14 spaced a certain distance from the nail N, so that the highly viscous liquid can be easily applied evenly to the curved surface. Furthermore, since the applicator 1 can form a uniform film thickness, differences in drying time after application of the highly viscous liquid R are unlikely to occur among the applied locations, and uneven drying can be reduced.

[0051] (Modification) In the above embodiment, the spatula part 142 of the application part 14 is configured of one thin plate. However, the spatula part 142 may be configured of multiple thin plates. For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the application part 14A includes a first spatula part 144a, a second spatula part 144b, a third spatula part 144c, and a fourth spatula part 144d. In the following, the first spatula part 144a, the second spatula part 144b, the third spatula part 144c, and the fourth spatula part 144d are collectively referred to as multiple spatula parts 144. The first spatula part 144a, the second spatula part 144b, the third spatula part 144c, and the fourth spatula part 144d are examples of multiple spatulas in the claims.

[0052] The spatula operation control unit 175 of the control unit 17 shown in Fig. 2 can separately control the operations of the first spatula portion 144a to the fourth spatula portion 144d. This allows the lengths of the first spatula portion 144a to the fourth spatula portion 144d to be changed along the curve of the curved surface of the nail N, as shown in Fig. 10B.

[0053] Furthermore, the spatula operation control unit 175 can configure the multiple spatula units 144 of any width by extending any of the first spatula unit 144a to the fourth spatula unit 144d and storing the remaining ones in the spatula storage unit 143. This allows the multiple spatula units 144 to be used with an appropriate width depending on the size of the area to which the liquid R is to be applied.

[0054] In the above embodiment, a uniform film is formed on the nail N, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the spatula part 142 of the application part 14 is close to the nail N, it can form a thin film. Also, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the spatula part 142 of the application part 14 is separated from the nail N, it can form a thick film. Therefore, by changing the height of the spatula part 142 from the nail N, it is possible to obtain a film thickness desired by the user. Also, by the spatula operation control part 175 of the control part 17 shown in FIG. 2 changing the height of the spatula part 142 from the nail N for each position on the upper surface Nu of the nail N, it is possible to form an arbitrary film thickness.

[0055] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0056] In the above embodiment, in FIG. 9, the procedure is such that it is confirmed that the liquid R has been applied to the +X-axis side of the nail N and then the liquid R has been applied to the -X-axis side, but the procedure may be reversed.

[0057] Also, for example, multiple types of liquid R may be loaded on the application unit 14, and the liquid R may be ejected for each position on the upper surface Nu of the nail N. In this case, multiple spatula units 142 may be provided and used for each liquid R. Also, the height of the spatula unit 142 from the nail N may be changed according to the type of liquid R, so that a film thickness according to the liquid R may be formed.

[0058] Furthermore, the application start position of the applicator 14 may be anywhere on the nail N, for example, it may be on the cuticle side of the nail N instead of the tip.

[0059] In addition, the method of applying the program in this embodiment is arbitrary. For example, the program can be applied by storing it in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or a memory card. Furthermore, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program can be posted and distributed on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network. Then, the display selection processing program can be started and executed under the control of an OS (Operating System) in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above processing to be executed.

[0060] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and the present invention includes the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents. The inventions described in the original claims of this application are listed below. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1...applicator, 11...finger insertion section, 12...finger placement section, 13...photographing section, 14...applicator, 15...operation input section, 16...display section, 17...control section, 18...memory section, 141...liquid ejection section, 171...image acquisition section, 172...image control section, 173...application control section, 174...ejection amount control section, 175...spatula operation control section, 201...memory device, 202...photographing device, 203...applicator, 204...operation input device, 205...display device, 206...display controller, 207...memory, 208...processor, 209...bus.

Claims

1. A liquid ejection unit that ejects liquid onto a curved application target; A spatula for spreading the liquid evenly on the object to be coated; An imaging unit that images the application target; A control unit; Equipped with The control unit determines the curvature of the target based on image data of the target captured by the image capture unit, and controls the spatula unit to eject the liquid from the liquid ejection unit onto the target while moving the spatula unit in a predetermined direction according to the curvature and to evenly distribute the liquid on the target. Coating equipment.

2. The predetermined direction is a height direction and a width direction from the object to be coated. The coating device of claim 1 .

3. the control unit changes the predetermined direction depending on the type of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection unit or the film thickness to be formed, and controls the spatula unit to move in the changed predetermined direction. The coating device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The spatula portion includes a plurality of spatulas, The control unit changes the width of the spatula portion by extending a part of the plurality of spatulas. The coating device of claim 1 .

5. the liquid ejection unit and the spatula unit are included in an application unit, The control unit controls the application unit to move from an application start position to an application end position of the application target. The coating device of claim 1 .

6. A coating method performed by a coating device, comprising: determining a degree of curvature of the object to be coated based on the photographed image data of the curved object to be coated; While ejecting the liquid onto the object, a spatula for leveling the liquid on the object is moved in a predetermined direction according to the degree of curvature to level the liquid on the object. Application method.

7. On the computer, A process of determining a degree of curvature of the object to be coated based on image data of the curved object to be coated that has been photographed; A process of ejecting the liquid onto the object to be coated and moving a spatula for leveling the liquid on the object in a predetermined direction according to the degree of curvature to level the liquid on the object to be coated; A program for executing the above.

Images