Electronic apparatus, fixation determination method, and program

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus, a fixation determination method, and a program that determine whether an object is correctly fixed on an object placement table.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus 100 includes: an object placement table on which an object is placed; an object fixing unit that is disposed in a position opposite to the object placement table and fixes the object by clamping it against the object placement table; an image acquisition unit 150 that acquires an image of the object fixing unit and an object; and a control unit 110. The control unit 110 determines whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement table on a determination value, which is a brightness value at a determination position in the object image that is determined by a distance from a reference point along a direction in which the object extends.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, a fixation determination method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Electronic devices that print nail designs on fingernails have been known for some time. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a nail art device that can clearly print desired patterns on any nail by grasping the contour and shape of the nail, including its unevenness, and acquiring its three-dimensional data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3016147 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional nail art devices such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 have a target placement stage such as a groove or holder for placing a finger, and print on the nail with the finger placed on the target placement stage. However, such conventional devices cannot easily determine whether the finger is properly fixed on the target placement stage.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide an electronic device, a fixation determination method, and a program that can determine whether an object is correctly fixed to an object placement base. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device according to the present invention comprises: an object placement table on which an object is placed; an object fixing unit that is disposed at a position opposite to the object placement platform and fixes the object by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object fixing unit; an image acquisition unit that acquires an object image by capturing an image of the object fixing unit and the object; A control unit, The control unit is In the object image, it is determined whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base based on a judgment value which is a brightness value at a judgment position determined by a distance from a reference point along the direction in which the object extends. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not an object is correctly fixed to an object placement table. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of an electronic device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view of the electronic device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the camera, the fixing part, and the finger when the finger is not fixed correctly. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of how a shadow is cast on a finger when the finger is not properly fixed; [Figure 6] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the camera, the fixing portion, and the finger when the finger is fixed correctly. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which a shadow is not cast on a finger when the finger is correctly fixed; [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display unit on which a message prompting a user to place a finger on the placement base is displayed; FIG. [Figure 10]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display unit on which a state in which a finger is placed on a placement base is displayed. [Figure 11] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of an image of a fixing portion and a finger when the finger is not fixed correctly, and a graph showing the brightness value for each determined position. [Figure 12] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of an image of a fixing portion and a finger when the finger is fixed correctly, and a graph showing the brightness value for each determined position. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a dialog box that is displayed on the display unit when a finger is not fixed correctly. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 illustrates how the luminance of a given point can determine whether an object is being fixed correctly. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing that the brightness of a given point can determine whether an object is correctly fixed. 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) The electronic device 100 according to the embodiment is a nail printer capable of printing nail designs on fingernails or the like.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, electronic 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, and a communication unit 180.

[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 implementing the various functions of the electronic device 100 and a printing process (to be described later) 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 on a printing target (such as a fingernail) by the printing unit 160, 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, as well as operation guidance and error notifications.

[0015] The operation input unit 140 is a user interface such as a push button switch, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc., and receives operation input from a user. In this embodiment, the operation input unit 140 includes a touch panel integrated with the display of the display unit 130.

[0016] The image acquisition unit 150 includes a camera and a light source, and illuminates an object (e.g., a finger or a nail) with the light source, captures an image of the object with the camera, and acquires an image of the object (object image). The camera is realized by an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The light source is realized by an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The image acquisition unit 150 can acquire not only still images but also moving images.

[0017] The printing unit 160 includes an ink holding unit that holds ink, a print head that prints by ejecting ink onto a print target, and a drive unit (X-axis drive unit and Y-axis drive unit) that moves the print head. The printing unit 160 prints a nail design by applying ink to the print target. The ink holding unit includes ink cartridges that can supply ink for three colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow), for example.

[0018] Fixing unit 170 includes an object placement platform on which an object (e.g., a finger) is placed, a push-up unit that pushes up the object placement platform to press the object against the object fixing unit, and an object fixing unit that fixes the object by sandwiching it between the object placement platform and the object fixing unit. Fixing unit 170 fixes the object so that it does not move by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object fixing unit. The push-up unit includes a spring that pushes up the object placement platform, a mechanism that locks the spring, and an alternate mechanism that alternately locks and unlocks the spring each time it is pushed in.

[0019] The communication unit 180 is an interface for the electronic device 100 to communicate with other devices (such as a server). The electronic device 100 can obtain image data of a nail design from a server via the communication unit 180, for example.

[0020] Next, the structure of electronic device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (front view) and FIG. 3 (top view).

[0021] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the print head 161 of the electronic device 100 can be moved forward, backward, left and right by an X-axis drive unit 162 that moves the print head 161 in the left and right direction and a Y-axis drive unit 163 that moves the print head 161 in the front and rear direction.

[0022] 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.

[0023] Furthermore, when printing on the nail 202, the user places the finger 201 on the target placement platform 171 and presses the target placement platform 171 down. Then, the lock of the push-up unit 173 installed under the target placement platform 171 is released, and the finger is pushed up by the push-up unit 173 and pressed against the target fixing unit 172 and fixed. This adjusts the surface of the nail 202 of the finger 201 to a constant height. After printing is completed, when the finger 201 presses the target placement platform 171 down again, the push-up unit 173 is locked and cannot be raised up, and the gap between the target placement platform 171 and the target fixing unit 172 becomes wider, so that the user can easily pull out the finger 201. The target placement platform 171 and the target fixing unit 172 are included in the fixing unit 170.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, a camera 151 is installed on the ceiling of the electronic device 100, and a light source 152 is installed around the camera 151. These are included in the image acquisition unit 150. Under the control of the control unit 110, the printing target is illuminated by the light source 152 and photographed by the camera 151. This allows the control unit 110 to acquire images of the printing target (e.g., nail 202), the target fixing unit 172 existing around it, the fixing target (e.g., finger 201), and the boundary between the fixing target and the target fixing unit 172. The control unit 110 can recognize the shape of the printing target (e.g., nail 202) based on the acquired images. Note that the camera 151 and the light source 152 are omitted in FIG. 3 to prevent them from overlapping with the printing unit 160 and the fixing unit 170 and becoming difficult to see.

[0025] It is desirable that the target fixing portion 172 is photographed black when photographed by the camera 151 so that the boundary with the fixed target (for example, the finger 201) is clear. Therefore, at least the upper surface of the target fixing portion 172 (the surface photographed by the camera 151) is colored black.

[0026] Also, the spring of the push-up portion 173 of the fixing portion 170 is initially locked, widening the gap between the target placement platform 171 and the target fixing portion 172. When the user places his / her finger 201 on the target placement platform 171 in this state, a gap exists between the target fixing portion 172 and the finger 201 as shown in Fig. 4, and therefore a shadow 203 of the target fixing portion 172 is cast on the finger 201 by the light from the light source 152. Therefore, when the control portion 110 takes an image with the camera 151 in this state, an image is obtained in which the shadow 203 exists at the boundary between the finger 201 and the target fixing portion 172, as shown in Fig. 5.

[0027] On the other hand, when the user presses down on the target placement platform 171 to unlock the push-up unit 173 in order to fix the finger 201, the target placement platform 171 is pushed up by the push-up unit 173 and the finger 201 is pressed against the target fixing unit 172, as shown in Fig. 6. Then, there is no gap between the target fixing unit 172 and the finger 201, so when the control unit 110 takes an image with the camera 151 in this state, an image with a clear boundary, without any shadow at the boundary between the finger 201 and the target fixing unit 172, is obtained, as shown in Fig. 7.

[0028] Therefore, it can be seen that it is possible to determine whether or not the finger 201 is securely fixed to the fixing part 170 by determining the presence or absence of a shadow at the boundary between the finger 201 and the target fixing part 172. Note that, although the light source 152 is basically installed around the camera 151 as shown in Fig. 2, in order to easily determine the presence or absence of a shadow 203 at the boundary between the target fixing part 172 and the finger 201, it is preferable to install the light source 152 at a location closer to the target fixing part 172 than the camera 151 as shown in Fig. 4.

[0029] Furthermore, although the above description has been given using finger 201 as an example of the object to be fixed, other objects such as nail tips or paper can also be used to determine whether or not the object is fixed using the same concept, since if the object is firmly fixed there will be no gap between the object and object fixing portion 172 and no shadow will be cast.

[0030] Based on this concept, a printing process that determines whether an object is fixed or not, and warns the user when it is determined that the object is not fixed, will be described with reference to Fig. 8. When a user instructs electronic device 100 to print, execution of the printing process is started.

[0031] 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 180 a nail design selected by the user by operating another device (such as a personal computer (PC), tablet, or smartphone).

[0032] Next, the control unit 110 activates the camera 151 and the light source 152 of the image acquisition unit 150 (step S102), and starts capturing images of the vicinity of the target placement platform 171 and the target fixing unit 172 illuminated by the light source 152. Then, the control unit 110 displays a message on the display unit 130 to prompt the user to place the target (e.g., the finger 201) on the target placement platform 171 (step S103). In step S103, the control unit 110 displays a message 131 such as "Please adjust the position while checking the screen" on the display unit 130, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0033] Next, the control unit 110 displays the video captured by the camera 151 on the display unit 130 (step S104). For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 110 displays on the display unit 130 a video 132 captured by the user placing a finger 201 on the target placement platform 171. Then, it is determined whether or not an instruction to start printing has been received from the user (step S105). For example, when the "Start Printing" button 141 shown in FIG. 10 is touched, the control unit 110 determines that an instruction to start printing has been received from the user.

[0034] If a command to start printing has not been received (step S105; No), control unit 110 returns to step S104 and continues to display the moving image captured by camera 151. If a command to start printing has been received (step S105; Yes), control unit 110 causes image acquisition unit 150 to capture an image of the target and fixed unit 170, and acquires a still image of the target (step S106).

[0035] Then, the control unit 110 recognizes the boundary between the object and the object fixing unit 172 based on the still image acquired in step S106 (step S107), and judges whether the object is correctly fixed to the fixing unit 170 (step S108). This judgment is made based on the above-mentioned concept, and will be described below with reference to Figs. 11 and 12.

[0036] First, the control unit 110 converts the still image acquired in step S106 to grayscale. Then, using a reference point 133, which is a predetermined point where the object fixing unit 172 exists, as a reference, the control unit 110 extracts pixel values ​​of each pixel on a determination line 134 that extends along a direction in which the object (e.g., finger 201) extends from the reference point 133, including the boundary between the object and the object fixing unit 172, and obtains a luminance corresponding to a distance (determination position) from the reference point 133. Note that conversion to grayscale is not essential in this process, and the control unit 110 may calculate the luminance from pixel values ​​represented by RGB (Red Green Blue) values ​​of each pixel on the determination line 134 without converting the still image to grayscale.

[0037] Then, as shown in the brightness graphs of Figures 11 and 12, the brightness of the area of ​​the target fixation portion 172 (target fixation portion area) is stable at a value close to 0, and the brightness of the area of ​​the target (e.g., finger 201) (target area) depends on the color of the target, but is stable at a value of, for example, about 0.8.

[0038] The distance (judgment region) between these two stable regions (object fixing part region and object region) becomes longer as shown in Fig. 11 when the object is not correctly fixed to fixing part 170, and becomes shorter as shown in Fig. 12 when the object is correctly fixed to fixing part 170. Therefore, control unit 110 can judge whether or not the object is correctly fixed to fixing part 170 by comparing this judgment distance with a predetermined distance judgment threshold. That is, control unit 110 judges that the object is correctly fixed to object mounting base 171 if the judgment distance is less than the distance judgment threshold, and judges that the object is not correctly fixed to object mounting base 171 if the judgment distance is equal to or greater than the distance judgment threshold.

[0039] Furthermore, whether or not the luminance value is stable can be determined, for example, by whether or not the luminance value falls within a predetermined range (whether or not the difference between the maximum and minimum luminance values ​​in a predetermined area where the judgment position (distance from the reference point) is less than a predetermined threshold value). For example, in the example shown in Figures 11 and 12, the difference between the maximum luminance value (first luminance value) and the minimum luminance value (third luminance value) in the judgment position in the target fixed part area falls within a predetermined range. Also, the difference between the maximum luminance value (fourth luminance value) and the minimum luminance value (second luminance value) in the judgment position in the target area falls within a predetermined range. Therefore, the control unit 110 can determine that the luminance values ​​are stable in both the target fixed part area and the target area.

[0040] The distance (judgment distance) between these two stable regions (target fixed part region and target region) can be defined as the distance from the judgment position where the brightness value exceeds the first brightness value to the judgment position where the brightness value exceeds the second brightness value, as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0041] Returning to Fig. 8, if the control unit 110 determines that the object is correctly fixed to the fixing unit 170 (step S108; Yes), the process proceeds to step S111. If the control unit 110 determines that the object is not correctly fixed to the fixing unit 170 (step S108; No), the control unit 110 displays a message on the display unit 130 to prompt the user to perform a fixing operation (step S109). For example, a dialog box 135 as shown in Fig. 13 may be used to display a message 136 such as "Press your finger down once to fix it correctly. Do you want to continue printing?" together with a "Print" button 142 and a "Back" button 143 on the display unit 130.

[0042] Next, the control unit 110 judges whether or not the "Print" button 142 has been pressed (step S110). If the "Print" button 142 has not been pressed (i.e., the "Return" button 143 has been pressed) (step S110; No), the process returns to step S104.

[0043] When the "Print" button 142 is pressed (step S110; Yes), the control unit 110 recognizes the shape of the printing object (step S111). In this step, the control unit 110 may recognize the shape of the printing object based on an image acquired by photographing the printing object newly using the image acquisition unit 150. Also, if the object was already correctly fixed to the fixing unit 170 when photographed in step S106, the control unit 110 may recognize the shape of the printing object based on the image acquired in step S106.

[0044] Next, the control unit 110 corrects the nail design acquired in step S101 based on the shape of the printing target recognized in step S111 to create print data (step S112). Then, the control unit 110 causes the printing unit 160 to print based on the print data created in step S112 (step S113), and the printing process ends.

[0045] By the processing of steps S107 and S108 of the printing process described above, the control unit 110 can determine whether or not the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base 171 based on the brightness value (determination value) in the object image captured of the object (finger 201) and the object fixing unit 172.

[0046] Specifically, if the finger 201 is not fixed correctly, as shown in Fig. 11, a shadow 203 of the target fixing section 172 falls on the boundary between the finger 201 and the target fixing section 172, causing a gradual change in brightness at the boundary. On the other hand, if the finger 201 is fixed correctly, no shadow is cast and a steep change in brightness at the boundary between the target fixing section 172 and the finger 201 occurs, as shown in Fig. 12. Therefore, based on the distance (judgment distance) from when the brightness value changes from the first brightness value to the second brightness value, the control section 110 can judge that the finger 201 is fixed correctly to the target placement platform 171 if this distance is less than a distance judgment threshold.

[0047] In addition, this determination can be made based on an image acquired by the image acquisition unit 150, which is originally provided for recognizing the shape of the printing target, so there is no need to add any extra devices, etc. Therefore, the control unit 110 can determine whether the target is correctly fixed to the fixing unit 170 without increasing costs.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the determination of whether the target is fixed correctly in steps S107 and S108 is performed based on whether the distance from the target fixing part region (region where the luminance value is stable at a value smaller than the determination threshold) to the target region (region where the luminance value is stable at a value larger than the determination threshold), i.e., the distance (determination distance) from the first luminance value to the second luminance value, is less than the distance determination threshold, but this is merely one example of the determination method. Modified examples of the determination method are given below.

[0049] (Variation 1) For example, instead of the luminance, a moving average of the luminance may be calculated and the calculated moving average may be used for judgment. If the luminance value is used as is, it may be easily affected by noise contained in the image. For example, if the luminance value at the judgment position x is G(x) and the moving average of the judgment position x, MA(x), is calculated as the average value of a luminance values ​​after x, MA(x) can be defined by the following formula (1). MA(x)=(Σ(i=0,a-1)G(x+i)) / a …(1)

[0050] Then, the control unit 110 calculates a moving average MA(x) of the luminance value for each judgment position x, and judges whether the object is correctly fixed or not based on whether the distance from the object fixing part region (region where the moving average value is stable at a value smaller than the judgment threshold) to the object region (region where the moving average value is stable at a value larger than the judgment threshold), that is, the distance (judgment distance) from the moving average value from the first luminance value to the second luminance value, is less than the distance judgment threshold. By using the moving average, it is possible to reduce the influence of noise contained in the image.

[0051] (Variation 2) Alternatively, a change index, which is the degree to which the brightness value changes, may be used. For example, if the brightness value at the determination position x is G(x) and the brightness value at the determination position x+α (α is a predetermined integer equal to or greater than 1) is G(x+α), then the change index ΔG can be defined by the following formula (2). ΔG = G(x + α) - G(x) … (2)

[0052] The value of the change index ΔG takes a value close to 0 in the object fixing part region and object region shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, and takes a value larger than a predetermined positive value (change reference value) in the boundary region. Therefore, if the change reference value of the change index ΔG is G', the control unit 110 can determine whether or not the object is fixed correctly depending on whether the distance (determination distance) where ΔG>G', that is, the distance (determination distance) from the determination position where ΔG>G' to the determination position where ΔG≦G' is less than the distance determination threshold. According to this determination method, the control unit 110 can determine whether or not the object is fixed correctly without identifying the region (object fixing part region and object region) where the brightness value is stable.

[0053] (Variation 3) In addition, even when using the change index, the effect of noise in the image can be reduced by using a moving average. For example, when the moving average MA(x) of the luminance value at the judgment position x is calculated by the above formula (1), the moving average change index ΔMA, which is the degree of change of the moving average, can be defined by the following formula (3). ΔMA = MA(x + α) - MA(x) … (3)

[0054] Similarly to the above-mentioned change index ΔG, the value of the moving average change index ΔMA takes a value close to 0 in the object fixing part region and object region shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, and takes a value larger than a predetermined positive value (moving average change reference value) in the boundary region. Therefore, if the moving average change reference value of the moving average change index ΔMA is MA', the control unit 110 can determine whether the object is fixed correctly or not depending on whether the distance (determination distance) where ΔMA>MA', that is, the distance (determination distance) from the determination position where ΔMA>MA' becomes to the determination position where ΔMA≦MA' becomes less than the distance determination threshold. According to this determination method, the control unit 110 can determine whether the object is fixed correctly or not without identifying the region (object fixing part region and object region) where the brightness value is stable, and can be made less susceptible to the influence of noise contained in the image.

[0055] (Variation 4) 11, the determination distance can also be said to be the length of the shadow 203 of the object fixing unit 172 cast on the object (for example, finger 201). The control unit 110 may calculate the length of this shadow 203 by any method, and determine whether or not the object is correctly fixed depending on whether or not the length of the shadow 203 is less than a distance determination threshold.

[0056] (Variation 5) 14, the control unit 110 can determine that the target (finger 201) is not fixed correctly if the brightness (judgment value) of the predetermined point 137 on which the shadow of the target fixing part 172, which occurs when the target (finger 201) is not fixed correctly, is equal to or less than the judgment threshold. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the control unit 110 can determine that the shadow of the target fixing part 172 is not cast, that is, the target fixing part 172 is in close contact with the target, if the brightness (judgment value) of the predetermined point 137 exceeds the judgment threshold, so that the control unit 110 can determine that the target is fixed correctly. Note that the predetermined point 137 indicated by the x mark in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 exists on the judgment line 134, but the predetermined point 137 does not have to exist on the judgment line 134 as long as it exists within the area on which the shadow of the target fixing part 172, which occurs when the target is not fixed correctly, is cast.

[0057] (Other variations) Although the embodiment and the modified examples of the present invention have been described above, the above-mentioned embodiment and the modified examples are merely examples, 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.

[0058] For example, the control unit 110 may first attempt a judgment by the above-mentioned modified example 5, but if the difference between the brightness (judgment value) of the predetermined point 137 and the judgment threshold is less than a predetermined value, it may judge that the judgment accuracy is low and re-judgment is performed by the modified example 1, or it may perform judgment by combining several modified examples. Also, it may be possible to compare an average value of judgment distances calculated using several of the above-mentioned several judgment distance calculation methods with the distance judgment threshold to judge whether the target is correctly fixed or not.

[0059] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the printing target is mainly described by taking the nail 202 as an example, but the printing target is not limited to the nail 202. For example, when the printing target is something other than the nail 202, such as a nail tip or paper, it is possible to determine whether the printing target is correctly fixed to the fixing part 170 using a similar determination method. Furthermore, when the printing target is a nail tip or paper, an adapter for fixing them may be prepared, and the printing target may be attached to the adapter and fixed by the fixing part 170.

[0060] When the printing target is a nail 202, the fixing target is the finger 201, but when the printing target is a nail tip or paper and an adapter is used to fix them, the fixing target is the adapter. In this case, it is desirable that the color of the adapter is a high luminance color (for example, white) so that the boundary between the target fixing part 172 and the adapter can be easily recognized.

[0061] Furthermore, compared to the nails of other fingers, the nail of the thumb has a different angle with respect to the direction in which the finger grows. Specifically, the nails of fingers other than the thumb are almost parallel to the direction in which the finger grows, but the nail of the thumb (with the surface on which the nail is located facing up) is angled upward with respect to the direction in which the thumb grows. Therefore, when printing on the nail of the thumb, the thumb needs to be bent slightly to make the nail horizontal, and it may be preferable not to fix it with the fixing part 170.

[0062] Therefore, in the above-mentioned printing process (FIG. 8), when the control unit 110 recognizes that the printing target is a thumb nail based on the still image acquired in step S106, for example, it may display a dialog box including a message such as "Since printing is to be done on the thumb nail, it will not be determined whether the finger is fixed or not" on the display unit 130, skipping steps S107 and S108 and proceeding to step S111. Also, when the control unit 110 receives an instruction from the user such as "Print on the thumb nail," it may skip steps S107 and S108 and proceed to step S111.

[0063] In the above embodiment, the push-up unit 173 of the fixing unit 170 is provided with an alternate mechanism that alternately locks and unlocks each time it is pressed down, but the push-up unit 173 does not necessarily have to be provided with an alternate mechanism. Instead of the alternate mechanism, the push-up unit 173 may be provided with a mechanism that moves the object placement table 171 up and down by, for example, operating a lever. Furthermore, instead of the push-up unit 173, the fixing unit 170 may be provided with, for example, a push-down unit that presses down the object fixing unit 172 to fix the object. In any case, it is sufficient that the fixing unit 170 is provided with a mechanism that can fix the object to the object placement table 171 by sandwiching the object between the object placement table 171 and the object fixing unit 172.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the electronic device 100 is a nail printer, but the electronic device is not limited to a nail printer. In electronic devices that need to determine whether an object is fixed correctly, the electronic device is not limited to a nail printer, and a computer equipped with a control unit 110 or the like can also determine whether the object is fixed correctly using a similar concept.

[0065] 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 electronic device 100. 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 electronic device 100. 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 hardware. Also, some of the functions may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the other parts may be realized by software or firmware.

[0066] Furthermore, the electronic device 100 may be separated into a plurality of devices, rather than being a single device. For example, the electronic device 100 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 180) and a printing device (e.g., a device equipped with an image acquisition unit 150, a printing unit 160, a fixing unit 170, and a communication unit 180). 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 the target image acquired by the image acquisition unit 150 of the printing device via the communication unit 180, and to instruct the printing unit 160 to print.

[0067] Furthermore, the electronic device 100 may be separated into a fixation determination device (e.g., a device including the control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the image acquisition unit 150, and the communication unit 180) and a printing device (e.g., a device 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 fixation unit 170, and the communication unit 180). In this case, among the above-mentioned printing processes, the process related to fixation determination is executed by the control unit 110 of the fixation determination device, and the process related to printing is executed by the control unit 110 of the printing device.

[0068] For example, when it is not necessary to determine whether the object is fixed (for example, when the user instructs that this determination is not necessary), printing is performed only by the printing device. Then, only when it is desired to determine whether the object is fixed, the fixation determination device performs the determination and transmits the determination result to the printing device via the communication unit 180.

[0069] It should be noted that the separation form described here is merely one example of the separation form of the electronic device 100, and other separation forms may be adopted as necessary.

[0070] 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]

[0071] 100...electronic device, 110...control unit, 120...storage unit, 130...display unit, 131, 136...message, 132...moving image, 133...reference point, 134...judgment line, 135...dialog box, 137...point, 140...operation input unit, 141, 142, 143...button, 150...image acquisition unit, 151...camera, 152...light source, 160...printing unit, 161...print head, 162...X-axis drive unit, 163...Y-axis drive unit, 170...fixing unit, 171...target placement platform, 172...target fixing unit, 173...push-up unit, 180...communication unit, 201...finger, 202...nail, 203...shadow

Claims

1. an object placement table on which an object is placed; an object fixing unit that is disposed at a position opposite to the object placement platform and fixes the object by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object fixing unit; an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the target fixed unit and the target; A control unit, The control unit is determining whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base based on a determination value which is a luminance value at a determination position in the object image, the determination value being a distance from a reference point along a direction in which the object extends; electronic equipment.

2. The control unit is setting a first luminance value and a second luminance value indicating a luminance brighter than the first luminance value based on the determination value; determining whether or not the object is correctly fixed to the object placement platform based on a distance from the determination position where the determination value exceeds the first luminance value to a determination position where the determination value exceeds the second luminance value in the object image; 2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit is a maximum value of the judgment value in a region of the judgment position where the judgment value is within a predetermined range equal to or less than a judgment threshold is set as the first luminance value; a minimum value of the judgment value in a region of the judgment position where the judgment value exceeds the judgment threshold and falls within a predetermined range is set as the second luminance value.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2.

4. The control unit is Calculating a moving average of the judgment value for each judgment position; a maximum value of the moving average in a region of the determination position where the moving average is equal to or less than the determination threshold and falls within a predetermined range is set as a first luminance value; a minimum value of the moving average in a region of the determination position where the moving average exceeds the determination threshold and falls within a predetermined range is set as a second luminance value; determining whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement platform based on a distance from the determination position where the moving average exceeds the first luminance value to a determination position where the moving average exceeds the second luminance value in the object image; 2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

5. The control unit is determining whether or not the object is correctly fixed to the object placement platform based on a distance from a determination position at which a change index, which is the degree to which the determination value changes due to a change in the determination position, exceeds a change reference value to a determination position at which the change index becomes equal to or smaller than the change reference value; 2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

6. The control unit is Calculating a moving average of the judgment value for each judgment position; determining whether or not the object is correctly fixed to the object placement platform based on a distance from a determination position at which a moving average change index, which is the degree to which the moving average changes due to a change in the determination position, exceeds a moving average change reference value to a determination position at which the moving average change index becomes equal to or smaller than the moving average change reference value; 2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

7. The control unit is If the distance is less than a distance determination threshold, it is determined that the object is correctly fixed to the object placement platform. The electronic device according to claim 2 .

8. an object placement table on which an object is placed; an object fixing unit that is disposed at a position opposite to the object placement platform and fixes the object by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object fixing unit; an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of the target; A control unit, The control unit is determining whether or not the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base based on a length of a shadow of the object fixing part cast on the object in the object image; electronic equipment.

9. an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a target; A control unit, The control unit is determining whether the object is properly fixed to the object support platform based on a luminance value at a predetermined point of the object image; electronic equipment.

10. The control unit: an object fixing unit that is disposed at a position opposite to an object placement platform on which an object is placed and fixes the object by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object, and an object image is acquired by capturing the object; determining whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base based on a determination value which is a luminance value at a determination position in the object image, the determination value being a distance from a reference point along a direction in which the object extends; Fixed judgment method.

11. On the computer, an object fixing unit that is disposed at a position opposite to an object placement platform on which an object is placed and fixes the object by sandwiching the object between the object placement platform and the object, and an object image is acquired by capturing the object; determining whether the object is correctly fixed to the object placement base based on a determination value which is a luminance value at a determination position in the object image, the determination value being a distance from a reference point along a direction in which the object extends; The program that performs the processing.

Images