electronic machines

Abstract

To keep a finger stable during printing, when printing is performed on the nail of a user.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus 1 being an electronic apparatus comprises: a second arrangement part 161, which is an arrangement on which a second finger U2 other than a first finger U1 corresponding to a nail T being a printing object, of a user, is arranged; multiple light emission parts 17 (17a-17f); and a lighting control part 116 being a control part 11 for controlling lighting of the light emission parts 17 (17a-17f). The lighting control part 116 causes the light emission part 17 corresponding to a position where the second finger U2 other than the first finger U1 corresponding to the nail T being the printing object should be placed, to emit light, out of the light emission parts 17 (17a-17f).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to electronic equipment the following.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a printing device that prints on human nails as a printing target is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic device (printing device, nail art device in Patent Document 1) including a recognition unit that recognizes the outline of a nail and a printing unit that performs printing on the recognized nail.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] If the printing target moves or shakes during printing, it is impossible to perform printing with a nice finish. However, when printing on human nails, if the fingers are set one by one for printing, the fingers are likely to wobble and may rotate around the axis of the finger, making it difficult to maintain a stable posture during printing in some cases.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide electronic equipment a means for stabilizing a finger during printing when printing on a nail.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the electronic device of the present invention is an arrangement unit that arranges a second finger other than the first finger corresponding to the nail of the printing target, and Multiple light-emitting parts are provided, A lighting control unit that controls the illumination of the light-emitting part, A camera unit for photographing the position of the first finger or the second finger, Equipped with, The lighting control unit controls the second finger of the light-emitting unit, other than the first finger corresponding to the nail to be printed. Place The light-emitting part corresponding to the position should be illuminated. height, The light-emitting unit is positioned such that when the second finger is positioned where it should be placed, the second finger covers the light-emitting unit, so that the light directed from the light-emitting unit towards the imaging unit is blocked by the second finger. It is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, when printing on a nail, it is possible to keep the finger stable during the printing process. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the main parts of the external configuration of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of the main components showing the control configuration of a printing apparatus and a terminal device that works in conjunction with it according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a plan view of the main parts of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment, showing the first and second placement sections for fingers as viewed from above. [Figure 4] This is a plan view of a key part showing a modified example of the first and second placement sections for positioning fingers in the printing apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the print control process in this embodiment. [Figure 6] The following are plan views of the base of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment, showing examples of the illumination and extinguishing of the light-emitting parts, with (a) being a plan view of the state in which the three light-emitting parts on the right side of the first arrangement are illuminated, (b) being a plan view of the state in which the two light-emitting parts on the right side and the one on the left side of the first arrangement are illuminated, and (c) being a plan view of the state in which the three light-emitting parts on the left side of the first arrangement are illuminated. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] An embodiment of the electronic device, control method, and program according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6(a) to 6(c). While the embodiments described below are subject to various technically preferred limitations for carrying out the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples. Furthermore, in the following embodiments, the electronic device will be described using a printing device (nail printing device) that prints on fingernails as the printing target. However, the electronic device in the present invention is not limited to a printing device (nail printing device) that prints on fingernails, and may also be used to print on toenails, for example. In addition, it may be possible to print on nail-like objects other than human nails, such as nail tips or the surfaces of various accessories, or on various other objects.

[0010] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the main parts of the printing apparatus in this embodiment. In the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and back refer to the directions shown in Figure 1. Also, the X direction and Y direction refer to the directions shown in Figure 1.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the printing apparatus 1, which is an electronic device of this embodiment, has a housing 2 that is formed in a substantially box shape. An operating section 13 is provided on the top surface of the housing 2 (main housing 20) for the user to input operating instructions. The operating section 13 is, for example, a power button to switch the power ON / OFF. However, the operating section 13 is not limited to a power button, and may also be a button for inputting various instructions or an input section such as a touch panel that accepts user input.

[0012] On the lower part of the front side of the housing 2 (housing body 20) (the front side of the printing device 1, the front side in FIG. 1), an opening 21 is formed over substantially the entire surface in the left-right direction (the lateral direction of the printing device 1, the left-right direction, X direction in FIG. 1). As will be described later in this embodiment, the entire hand can be inserted into the device, and the opening 21 has a width and height that allow the fingers U of one hand (for example, the four fingers from the index finger to the little finger excluding the thumb) to be inserted and removed. Also, the upper part of the front side of the housing 2 (housing body 20) is a front wall portion 22, and a notch 23 is formed continuously above the opening 21 at substantially the central portion of the housing 2 in the left-right direction on the front wall portion 22. The notch 23 functions as an entrance and exit when attaching and detaching the printing head (cartridge) 41, which will be described later, to and from the device.

[0013] The housing 2 also has a front cover 25 that covers substantially the entire front wall portion 22 including the notch 23. The front cover 25 is connected to the housing body 20 so as to be rotatable via a hinge mechanism 24 provided at the upper end portion of the front wall portion 22 or the front end portion of the upper surface (top plate) of the housing body 20. The front cover 25 is rotatable from a closed state covering the front side of the front wall portion 22 of the housing body 20 to an open state in which the front side of the housing body 20 is opened (in this embodiment, the front wall portion 22 including the notch 23 is exposed). Note that FIG. 1 shows the case where the front cover 25 is in the open state.

[0014] Inside the housing 2 and inside the opening 21, a device body including a printing mechanism 4 and the like is accommodated. In this embodiment, the inside of the housing 2 is substantially divided vertically by a base 16, and the printing mechanism 4 and the like are arranged in the space above the base 16. On the base 16, at substantially the central portion in the front side of the housing 2 (the front side in the Y direction in FIG. 1) and the left-right direction of the device (the X direction in FIG. 1), a first arrangement portion 6 for arranging the finger U (refer to "first finger U1" in FIG. 3 and the like) corresponding to the claw T to be printed is provided. The first arrangement section 6 includes a case section 60 (see Figure 3) having an opening 61 on the front side of the device. Inside the case section 60, there is a finger receiving section 62 that receives the pad portion of the first finger U1 inserted through the opening 61 and supports it from below. The finger receiving section 62 may be provided with a cushioning member made of a flexible material such as resin. At least a part of the first arrangement section 6 (for example, the finger receiving section 62 that receives the first finger U1) may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0015] On the upper surface of the rear side (rear side of the device) of the first placement section 6, a window section 63 is formed that exposes the nail portion T of the finger U (first finger U1) when the finger U (first finger U1) is inserted through the opening 61 and held by the finger receiving section 62. Furthermore, a frame-like portion 64 is provided on the front side of the first placement portion 6 (the front side in the Y direction in Figure 1) that surrounds the upper part of the finger U (first finger U1). The upper part of the finger U (first finger U1) placed in the first placement portion 6 is configured to abut against the top surface of this frame-like portion 64. As a result, the top surface of the frame-like portion 64 functions as a finger restraint that restricts the upward position of the finger U (first finger U1), preventing the first finger U1 from rising too high and positioning the height of the first finger U1. The finger U (first finger U1) inserted through the opening 61 is placed on the finger receiving portion 62 of the first placement portion 6, and the upper surface of the finger U (first finger U1) is defined by the top surface of the frame-shaped portion 64, thereby holding the claw T in an appropriate position suitable for printing by the print head 41 described later.

[0016] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a placement guide portion 67 is provided that indicates the position of the first placement portion 6 where the first finger U1 is placed. Figures 1, 3, etc. illustrate the case where the placement guide portion 67 is located on the surface of the finger receiving portion 62. The placement guide section 67 includes a light source (not shown), such as an LED, and when the light source is lit, the finger receiving section 62 and the entire first placement section 6 light up. The placement guide section 67 (the light source of the placement guide section 67) is controlled to light up by the control unit 11, which functions as the lighting control unit 116 described later. The placement guide unit 67 is not limited to being located within the first placement unit 6. For example, an arrow or the like indicating the position of the first placement unit 6 may be provided inside the housing 2 (housing body 20), above the first placement unit 6. In this case, the arrow may be an actual sign, or it may be a display that appears when a light source provided inside the housing 2 (housing body 20) is turned on.

[0017] Furthermore, the left and right sides of the first placement section 6 on this base 16 are second placement sections 161 for placing a second finger U2, which is a finger U other than the first finger U1. In this embodiment, as described above, the four fingers U from the index finger to the little finger, excluding the thumb, are positioned on the first placement section 6 and the second placement section 161 on the base 16. Up to three second fingers U2 can be placed on each of the second placement sections 161 on the left and right sides of the first placement section 6. The arrangement of the second finger U2 placed in the second placement section 161 differs depending on the type of finger U (first finger U1) placed in the first placement section 6. That is, for example, if the ring finger of the right hand is placed in the first placement section 6 as the first finger U1 to print on the nail T, then, as shown in Figure 3, one finger U (the little finger of the right hand) is placed on the right side of the first placement section 6, and two fingers U (the index finger and middle finger of the right hand) are placed on the left side of the first placement section 6.

[0018] The second arrangement section 161 is provided with multiple light-emitting sections 17 that emit light. The number of light-emitting units 17 is equal to the number of second fingers U2 that may be positioned on the left and right sides of the first arrangement unit 6, specifically three on each side. For example, Figure 3 shows a case where three light-emitting units 17a, 17b, and 17c are positioned on the left side of the first arrangement unit 6, from left to right, and three light-emitting units 17d, 17e, and 17f are positioned on the right side of the first arrangement unit 6, from left to right. Note that when simply referred to as light-emitting unit 17, it includes light-emitting units 17a to 17f. Furthermore, when the light-emitting part 17 is positioned to correspond to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed, it may be provided such that the second finger U2 covers the light-emitting part corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed. The location where the light-emitting unit 17 is provided is not limited to the second placement section 161, but may also be on the exterior of the housing 2, etc. For example, the light-emitting unit 17 may be provided on the top surface or front cover 25 of the housing 2 (housing body 20) so as to correspond to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed.

[0019] The configuration of the light-emitting section 17 is not particularly limited. For example, each of the light-emitting sections 17a to 17f includes a light source such as an LED that can be individually controlled to light up. The light source of each light-emitting section 17 is controlled to light up by the control unit 11, which functions as a lighting control unit 116, as described later.

[0020] The light sources provided in the light-emitting sections 17a to 17f may emit light in a single color. In this case, for example, when the placement of the second finger U2 is determined from the type of finger U (first finger U1) placed in the first placement unit 6, the system controls the lighting up of only the light-emitting units 17 corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed (for example, light-emitting units 17b, 17c, and 17d in Figure 3), and the other light-emitting units 17 are not lit. Furthermore, the light sources provided in the light-emitting sections 17a to 17f are not limited to a single color. For example, they may emit light in different colors, such as red and green. In this case, as shown in Figure 4 for example, the light-emitting units 17 corresponding to the positions where the second finger U2 should be placed (for example, light-emitting units 17b, 17c, and 17d in Figure 3) are controlled to light up in a first color (for example, green), and the other light-emitting units 17 are controlled to light up in a second color (for example, red) that is different from this first color.

[0021] The printing mechanism 4 prints on the fingernail T of a person's finger U (first finger U1), which is the object to be printed. The printing mechanism 4 includes a holder 42 that holds the print head 41 and a head moving mechanism 49 that moves the print head 41 held in the holder 42. In this embodiment, the print head 41 is an integrated print head that incorporates an ink reservoir (not shown) and an inkjet ink ejection mechanism (not shown) that ejects the ink from the ink reservoir as fine droplets to print on the surface to be printed.

[0022] An ink ejection surface (nozzle surface, not shown) is integrally formed on the surface of the print head 41 that faces the surface to be printed (in this embodiment, the surface of the claw T). On the ink ejection surface, nozzle outlets (nozzle openings, ink ejection openings, not shown) of a nozzle array consisting of multiple nozzles that eject ink of each color are formed in a row. The print head 41 is configured such that the control unit 11, which functions as a print control unit 115, controls the ink ejection mechanism to eject a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle opening as needed, thereby performing printing. The print head 41 is not limited to the configuration exemplified herein. For example, it may have a separate ink reservoir, and when used for printing, the ink reservoir, which is configured as a separate unit, may be connected to the ink ejection mechanism. Furthermore, the specific configuration for printing, such as how the print head 41 ejects ink, is not particularly limited.

[0023] The print head 41 provided in the printing mechanism 4 of this embodiment has ink reservoirs corresponding to, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) color inks, and is a print head 41 for design printing that prints designs (nail designs) in color. However, the inks that can be printed by the print head 41 are not limited to those listed above. It may also have inks of other colors that can be ejected. In addition to the print head 41 for design printing as described above, the printing mechanism 4 may also include a print head for base printing, for example, to form a base layer of white or a similar color (white or a pink or blue, etc.) on the claw T before design printing. The print head for base printing has an ink reservoir inside for storing base ink.

[0024] In this embodiment, the print head 41 is movable in the left-right direction (X direction) and the front-back direction (Y direction) of the device, and the head movement mechanism 49 includes an X-direction movement motor 46 for moving the print head 41 in the X direction and a Y-direction movement motor 48 for moving the print head 41 in the Y direction. The X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48 are, for example, stepping motors, and their operation is controlled by a control unit 11 which functions as a print control unit 115, described later.

[0025] Furthermore, the printing mechanism 4 of this embodiment includes an optical sensor (origin sensor) 411 that detects when the print head 41 reaches the origin position (for example, the front end on the left side in the X direction as shown in Figure 1). The specific configuration of the optical sensor 411 is not particularly limited. For example, the X-direction moving motor 46, which is a stepping motor, detects the origin position of the print head 41 using an optical sensor 411. Then, by counting the number of pulses supplied to the stepping motor, the position of the print head 41 is continuously determined by the control unit 11 (printing control unit 115). However, the method for determining the position of the print head 41 is not limited to this.

[0026] The shooting unit 5 includes a camera 51 and a light source 52. Camera 51 photographs the area around the first placement section 6, including the window section 63, thereby photographing the finger U (first finger U) and its nail T placed in the first placement section 6, and acquiring images of the finger U (first finger U) and its nail T (referred to as nail images). Images such as nail images acquired by camera 51 are sent to the control unit 11. Furthermore, the light source 52 is, for example, a lighting lamp such as a white LED. When a finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the nail T to be printed is placed in the first placement unit 6, the camera 51 of the imaging unit 5 photographs the nail T and the finger U (first finger U1) containing the nail T, and acquires a nail image (not shown). In this embodiment, the control unit 11, which will be described later, detects the nail contour that defines the nail region, which is the printing area, from the nail image acquired by the camera 51. In this embodiment, the camera 51 is used to capture images of the base 16 and determine whether or not fingers U (first finger U1 and second finger U2) are positioned at predetermined locations. For this reason, it is preferable that the camera 51 is equipped with a lens with a relatively wide field of view that can capture images of the first finger U1 positioned in the first positioning section 6 in high definition, and can broadly cover the entire second positioning section 161 (i.e., the left and right sides of the first positioning section 6 on the base 16) where the second finger U2 may be positioned.

[0027] The communication unit 14 is a communication means for communicating with an external device. In this embodiment, the "external device" refers to the terminal device 7 described later. Communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7, etc., is performed, for example, by wireless LAN. However, the method of communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7, etc., is not limited to this and may be any method. For example, it may use a network line such as the Internet, or it may use wireless communication based on short-range wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi. Furthermore, this communication is not limited to a wireless connection method, and a configuration that allows the transmission and reception of various data between the two is also possible via a wired connection. The communication unit 14 is equipped with an antenna chip, etc., that corresponds to the communication method and communication standards of various external devices that are expected to communicate.

[0028] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of this embodiment. The control device 10 mounted on the printing device 1 is a computer comprising a control unit 11 (see Figure 2) composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and a storage unit 12 (see Figure 2) composed of ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (neither shown). The control device 10 is mounted on a circuit board (not shown) or the like, which is located, for example, on the inside (bottom side) of the top surface (top panel) of the housing 2.

[0029] The storage unit 12 has a program storage area 121 in which various programs for operating the printing device 1 are stored. Specifically, the memory unit 12 stores various programs, such as printing programs for performing printing operations. The control unit 11 then loads these programs into, for example, the RAM's work area, and the programs are executed in the control unit 11, thereby enabling the overall control of each part of the printing device 1. Furthermore, the memory unit 12 has a nail information storage area 122. Various information about the nail T detected by the nail information detection unit 113, which will be described later, is stored in the nail information storage area 122. The memory unit 12 may store data such as nail images acquired by the imaging unit 5, or it may store various other types of data.

[0030] Functionally, the control unit 11 includes an image capture control unit 111, a finger information acquisition unit 112, a nail information detection unit 113, a print data generation unit 114, a print control unit 115, a lighting control unit 116, a communication control unit 117, and the like. The functions of these components, such as the image capture control unit 111, the finger information acquisition unit 112, the nail information detection unit 113, the print data generation unit 114, the print control unit 115, the lighting control unit 116, and the communication control unit 117, are realized through the cooperation of the control unit 11 and the program stored in the program storage area 121 of the storage unit 12.

[0031] The shooting control unit 111 controls the camera 51 and light source 52 of the shooting unit 5 to perform shooting and acquire images. In this embodiment, the shooting control unit 111 causes the shooting unit 5 (camera 51 of the shooting unit 5) to photograph the fingernail T (finger U including the fingernail T) of the finger U (first finger U1) placed in the first placement unit 6, and acquires a fingernail image. In this embodiment in particular, the shooting control 111 causes the shooting unit 5 (camera 51 of the shooting unit 5) to photograph the upper surface of the base 16 including the first arrangement unit 6 and the second arrangement unit 161, and acquires an image of the base 16. The camera 51 may capture either still images or video. If the camera 51 captures video, the shooting control unit 111 may, for example, extract frames from the captured video and acquire them as still images. The shooting control unit 111 may store the acquired image data in the storage unit 12.

[0032] The finger information acquisition unit 112 functions as a determination unit that determines the type of the first finger U1, and also functions as a determination unit that determines the placement of the second finger U2 to be placed in the second placement unit 161 based on this determination result. The method by which the finger information acquisition unit 112 determines the type of finger U1 is not particularly limited. For example, in this embodiment, when a user inputs (selects) a finger U to be printed on the nail T as the first finger U1 in a terminal device 7 that is linked with the printing device 1, this input information is sent to the printing device 1, and the control unit 11, acting as the finger information acquisition unit 112, acquires this input information and determines which finger U will be placed in the first placement unit 6 as the first finger U1. Then, when that finger U is placed in the first placement unit 6, the control unit 112 determines how the other fingers U (the second fingers U2 other than the first finger U1, from the index finger to the little finger of the hand on the same side as the first finger U1) will be placed. For example, if the ring finger of the right hand is the first finger U1, then one second finger U2 will be positioned to the right of the first positioning section 6 and two second fingers U2 will be positioned to the left (see Figure 3). Thus, once the first finger U1 is determined, it is possible to determine how the fingers U (second fingers U2) will be positioned to the left and right of the first finger U1 based on the arrangement of the fingers U. The arrangement patterns of the second finger U2 for each type of finger of the first finger U1 may be stored in a table, for example, in a storage unit 12, and the finger information acquisition unit 112 may refer to the stored arrangement patterns of the second finger U2 to determine how the second finger U2 will be arranged.

[0033] The nail information detection unit 113 acquires information about the nail T. The detection results from the nail information detection unit 113 are stored in the nail information storage area 122, etc. Specifically, the nail information detection unit 113 detects nail information about the nail T of finger U (first finger U1) by performing various image processing, such as image analysis, on the nail image acquired by the shooting control unit 111. The specific method by which the nail information detection unit 113 acquires nail information is not particularly limited. For example, the nail information detection unit 113 extracts the nail region (the area inside the nail contour that separates the nail from the skin of the finger) from differences in color, brightness, etc., in the captured nail image, and detects nail information including the shape of the nail region. The nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 113 is not limited to the shape of the nail contour or nail region. For example, the nail information may include the inclination angle of the nail surface T with respect to the XY plane (inclination angle of the nail T, nail curvature). Also, if the height of the nail T (vertical position of the nail T) can be obtained from an image captured by the camera 51, the height of the nail T may also be included in the nail information.

[0034] The print data generation unit 114 generates print data by aligning the desired design with the nail region (the inner region of the nail contour) detected by the nail information detection unit 113 and stored in the nail information storage area 122. Specifically, the print data generation unit 114 extracts image data of the nail design (design) selected by the user, resizes it as needed, adjusts its position, and fits it within the nail contour detected from the nail T image. Furthermore, if the claw information detection unit 113 acquires the curvature of the claw T, the print data generation unit 114 may perform appropriate surface correction on the print data based on this curvature of the claw T. Performing surface correction makes it possible to generate print data that better matches the shape of the claw T.

[0035] The printing control unit 115 controls the printing mechanism 4 to print on the claw T according to the printing data generated by the printing data generation unit 114. Specifically, the printing control unit 115 outputs a control signal to the printing mechanism 4 based on the printing data, and controls the X-direction moving motor 46, Y-direction moving motor 48, print head 41, etc. of the printing mechanism 4 to print on the claw T according to this printing data.

[0036] The lighting control unit 116 appropriately turns on / off the light source of the placement guide unit 67 of the first placement unit 6, and appropriately turns on / off each of the light-emitting units 17 (light-emitting units 17a to 17f) provided in the second placement unit 161. Specifically, the lighting control unit 116 controls the lighting / extinguishing of the light sources of the light-emitting units 17 (light-emitting units 17a to 17f) so that, based on the determination result of the finger type determination result of the first finger U1, the finger information acquisition unit 112 determines the placement of the second finger U2 to be placed in the second placement unit 161, and turns on the light-emitting unit 17 corresponding to the position of the second finger U2 placed in the second placement unit 161, and turns off the other light-emitting units 17. When the placement of each finger U is complete and printing begins, the camera 51 of the imaging unit 5 captures the nail T of the first finger U1, and a nail image is acquired. If the placement guide unit 67 or the light-emitting unit 17 are lit when the nail image is being captured, their light interferes with the capture, making it difficult to obtain a good nail image suitable for detecting nail information. For this reason, before the capture to acquire the nail image is performed, the lighting control unit 116 controls the light source to turn off the placement guide unit 67 and the light-emitting unit 17.

[0037] The communication control unit 117 controls the operation of the communication unit 14 of the printing device 1. The communication unit 14 is equipped with a wireless communication module that can communicate with the communication unit 75 of the terminal device 7, and the communication control unit 117 controls the operation of the communication unit 14 when sending and receiving various data between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7. The printing device 1 of this embodiment is configured to print nail designs (hereinafter also simply referred to as "designs") in cooperation with a terminal device 7, which will be described later. For example, the design data to be printed on the nail T is stored on the terminal device 7 side (for example, in the design storage area 722 of the storage unit 72 of the terminal device 7), and the communication control unit 117 controls communication by the communication unit 14 as appropriate and obtains the design data from the terminal device 7 side via the communication unit 14. Furthermore, data such as nail images acquired by the imaging unit 5 may be transmitted to the terminal device 7 via the communication unit 14.

[0038] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the printing device 1 of this embodiment performs printing on the fingernail in cooperation with the terminal device 7. Terminal device 7 is, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone. However, terminal device 7 is not limited to smartphones. For example, it may be a tablet-type personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC"), a notebook PC, a stationary PC, a gaming terminal device, etc. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device 7 includes an operation unit 73, a display unit 74, a communication unit 75, and a control device 70, etc.

[0039] The operation unit 73 is designed to allow various inputs and settings to be made in response to user operations, and is, for example, a touch panel integrally provided on the surface of the display unit 74. When the operation unit 73 is operated, an input signal corresponding to that operation is transmitted to the control unit 71. The touch panel configured in the display unit 74 displays various operation screens according to the control of the display control unit 712, which will be described later, and the user can perform various input and setting operations by touching the touch panel. Note that the operation unit 73 that performs various input and setting operations is not limited to being a touch panel.

[0040] In this embodiment, input information received from the operation unit 73 is sent to the printing device 1 and acquired by the control unit 11 of the printing device 1. For example, in this embodiment, when a user operates the control unit 73, various instructions such as starting printing are output from the terminal device 7 to the printing device 1, and the terminal device 7 also functions as the control unit for the printing device 1. Furthermore, by operating the control unit 73, the user can select a nail design to be printed on the nail T, or select which finger T (which finger U) the nail design will be printed on.

[0041] The display unit 74 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescent display, or other flat display. As mentioned above, a touch panel for various inputs may be integrally configured on the surface of the display unit 74. In this case, the touch panel functions as the operation unit 73. In this embodiment, nail designs entered and selected by the user from the operation unit 73, as well as various guidance screens, warning screens, etc., can be displayed on the display unit 74. However, the content displayed in the display unit 74 is not limited to this.

[0042] The communication unit 75 is configured to communicate with the communication unit 14 of the printing device 1. Communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7 may be via a wireless or wired connection, and the specific method is not limited. The communication unit 75 only needs to be capable of communicating with the printing device 1, and one that conforms to the communication standard of the communication unit 14 of the printing device 1 is applicable.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the control device 70 of the terminal device 7 in this embodiment is a computer comprising a control unit 71 composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and a storage unit 72 composed of ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) (not shown).

[0044] The memory unit 72 stores various programs and data necessary for operating each part of the terminal device 7. Specifically, the ROM of this embodiment stores various programs, including an operation program 721a for overall control of each part of the terminal device 7, and a nail print application program 721b (hereinafter referred to as "nail print AP") for performing nail printing using the printing device 1. The control unit 71 loads these programs into, for example, the working area of ​​the RAM, and the programs are executed by the control unit 71, thereby enabling overall control of each part of the terminal device 7.

[0045] Furthermore, the storage unit 72 of this embodiment is provided with a design storage area 722, etc., for storing nail design (design) data. The nail designs (designs) stored in the design memory area 722 may be pre-prepared existing designs or designs created by the user. Furthermore, if the terminal device 7 is connectable to various networks, it may be possible to retrieve nail designs (designs) stored in network-connectable server devices (not shown).

[0046] Functionally, the control unit 71 of the terminal device 7 includes a communication control unit 711, a display control unit 712, and the like. The functions of these communication control unit 711, display control unit 712, etc., are realized through the cooperation of the CPU of the control unit 71 and the program stored in the ROM of the storage unit 72. However, the functions of the control unit 71 of the terminal device 7 are not limited to these, and it may also include various other functional units. The communication control unit 711 controls the operation of the communication unit 75. Furthermore, the display control unit 712 controls the display unit 74 to display various display screens on the display unit 74.

[0047] Next, the printing control method of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the print control process in this embodiment. When performing nail printing using the printing device 1 of this embodiment, the user operates the operation unit 13 (operation buttons), etc., of the printing device 1 to turn on the power and start it up. As a result, the lighting control unit 116 of the printing device 1 lights up the placement guide unit 67 of the first placement unit 6 where the finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the nail T to be printed is placed (step S1).

[0048] The terminal device 7 is also powered on, and the operation panel 73 of the terminal device 7 is selected to execute the nail print process. This starts the nail print AP721b. When the nail print AP721b is started in the terminal device 7, the display control unit 712 of the terminal device 7 displays a design selection screen (not shown) on the display unit 74, allowing the user to select which design to print, and to select the finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the nail T on which the design will be printed. The user's selection result for the finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the nail T on which the design is printed is sent to the printing device 1 and acquired by the control unit 11 (finger information acquisition unit 112) (step S2).

[0049] The control unit 11 (finger information acquisition unit 112), acting as a determination unit, determines the type of finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the nail T on which the design is printed, based on the information acquired from the terminal device 7 (step S3). Then, acting as a judgment unit, it determines the placement of the other fingers U (second finger U2) based on the determination result of the type of finger U1 (step S4). For example, if the ring finger of the right hand (or the middle finger of the left hand) is selected as the first finger U1, it is determined that, as shown in Figure 3, one second finger U2 will be placed on the second placement section 161, to the right of the first placement section 6 and two second fingers U2 to the left. Then, based on this determination, the light-emitting unit 17 to be lit is set (step S5), and the light-emitting unit 17 (the light source of the light-emitting unit 17) set as the lighting control unit 116 is lit (step S6).

[0050] In other words, in the example shown in Figure 3, the light-emitting parts 17b, 17c, and 17d are illuminated to guide the user to place the second finger U2 at each position. Similarly, if, for example, the index finger of the right hand (or the little finger of the left hand) is selected as the first finger U1, the light-emitting units 17d, 17e, and 17f are illuminated as shown in Figure 6(a) to guide the user to position the second finger U2 at each location. Furthermore, if, for example, the middle finger of the right hand (or the ring finger of the left hand) is selected as the first finger U1, the light-emitting units 17c, 17d, and 17e are illuminated as shown in Figure 6(b), guiding the user to position the second finger U2 at each location. Furthermore, if, for example, the little finger of the right hand (or the index finger of the left hand) is selected as the first finger U1, the light-emitting units 17a, 17b, and 17c are illuminated as shown in Figure 6(c), guiding the user to position the second finger U2 at each location.

[0051] The control unit 11 has the camera 51 photograph the first placement section 6 and the second placement section 161 (i.e., the upper surface of the base 16), acquires the captured images, and performs analysis (step S7). Based on the results of this image analysis, it determines whether or not the placement of the first finger U1 and the second finger U2 to the appropriate positions on the first placement section 6 and the second placement section 161 has been completed (step S8). If the placement of fingers U (first finger U1 and second finger U2) is not complete (step S8; NO), the process returns to step S7 and is repeated. In this case, a message such as "Please place your fingers correctly" may be displayed on the display unit 74 of the terminal device 7 to prompt the user to correctly place their fingers U. At that time, an image showing the correct placement of each finger U, such as that shown in Figure 3, may be displayed along with the message.

[0052] On the other hand, if the placement of finger U is completed correctly (step S8; YES), the control unit 11 further determines whether or not there has been a print start command from the user (step S9). If there is no print start command (step S9; NO), the control unit 11 repeats this determination until a command is received. In this case, a message prompting the user to input a print start command (for example, "Please press the print start button") may be displayed on the display unit 74 of the terminal device 7 to prompt the user to input a print start command. On the other hand, if a print start instruction is given (step S9; YES), the control unit 11, acting as a lighting control unit 116, turns off all the light sources of the placement guide unit 67 of the first placement unit 6 and the light-emitting unit 17 of the second placement unit 161 (step S10).

[0053] Then, the shooting control unit 111 controls the shooting unit 5 to have the camera 51 photograph the nail T of the first finger U1 placed in the first placement unit 6 and acquire a nail image (step S11). Furthermore, the control unit 11, acting as a nail information detection unit 113, detects nail information such as the nail outline from the nail image (step S12), and generates print data based on this nail information. The control unit 11 then outputs the generated print data to the printing mechanism 4 and controls the printing mechanism 4 to print the nail design onto the nail T (step S13).

[0054] The control unit 11 (printing control unit 115) periodically determines whether the printing process for the claw T has been completed (step S14). If it has not yet been completed (step S14; NO), it returns to step S13 and repeats the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the printing process is complete (step S14; YES), the control unit 11 determines whether there are any other nails T that it wants to print (step S15). If there are no other nails T that it wants to print (step S15; NO), the process ends. If there are other fingers U that it wants to print on the nails T (step S15; YES), the process returns to step S2, prompts the user to select the finger U (first finger U1) corresponding to the next nail T to be printed, obtains the selection result of the first finger U1, and repeats the subsequent process. This allows for high-definition nail printing to be applied to the nails T of all fingers U that are desired, while keeping the finger U (first finger U1) stable.

[0055] As described above, the printing apparatus 1, which is an electronic device of this embodiment, includes a second placement section 161 for arranging the second finger U2 other than the first finger U1 corresponding to the nail T to be printed, a plurality of light-emitting sections 17 (light-emitting sections 17a to 17f), and a lighting control section 116 for controlling the lighting of the light-emitting sections 17 (light-emitting sections 17a to 17f). The lighting control section 116 lights up the light-emitting section 17 that corresponds to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed. This allows the user to correctly position the fingers U (first finger U1) other than the finger U (first finger U1) on which printing is to be applied to the nail T, without any confusion. By arranging not only the finger U (first finger U1) on which printing is to be applied to the nail T, but also all the fingers U on the same side of the hand (for example, if printing is to be applied to the index finger of the right hand, then the middle finger through the little finger of the right hand) alongside the first finger U1, the first finger U1 can be kept stable and not wobble or shake during printing. This makes it possible to apply high-definition nail prints to the nail T.

[0056] In this embodiment, the placement section for the finger U is composed of a first placement section 6 for the first finger U1 and a second placement section 161 provided on the side of the first placement section 6 for the second finger U2. As a result, the first finger U1 that prints on the nail T is supported by the second finger U2 positioned on its side, and remains stable without wobbling. Furthermore, it includes a finger information acquisition unit 112 that functions as a determination unit for determining the type of the first finger U1, and also functions as a determination unit for determining the placement of the second finger U2 to be placed in the second placement unit 161 based on the determination result, and a lighting control unit 116 that lights up the light-emitting unit 17 corresponding to the position of the second finger U2 to be placed in the second placement unit 161 based on the determination result of the finger information acquisition unit 112 as a determination unit. As a result, if the type of the first finger U1 is known, the light-emitting unit 17 located at the position where the second finger U2 should be placed will light up based on the judgment of the finger information acquisition unit 112, thus guiding the placement of the second finger U2 without requiring any user settings or other trouble.

[0057] Furthermore, if the lighting control unit 116 controls the light-emitting unit 17 to light up the light-emitting unit 17 corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed, and does not light up the other light-emitting units 17, then the light-emitting units 17 other than the one corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed can be kept off, thereby reducing power consumption due to the lighting of the light sources.

[0058] Furthermore, if the light-emitting unit 17 can emit light in multiple colors, such as red and green, the lighting control unit 116 may control the light-emitting unit 17 to light up the light-emitting unit 17 corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed in a first color (for example, green), and light up the other light-emitting units 17 in a second color different from this first color (for example, red). This makes it possible to clearly distinguish between cases where a part of the light-emitting section 17 has turned off due to a malfunction or other reason, and allows the user to accurately position the second finger U2. Furthermore, the light-emitting section 17 lights up in various colors, allowing users to enjoy the nail printing process.

[0059] Furthermore, when the light-emitting part 17 is positioned to correspond to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed, it may be provided such that the second finger U2 covers the light-emitting part 17 corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed. In this configuration, the user can easily confirm whether the second finger U2 is positioned correctly simply by checking whether the illuminated light-emitting unit 17 is no longer visible. Furthermore, if the light-emitting unit 17 is covered by the second finger U2 when it is correctly positioned, reducing the amount of light from the light-emitting unit 17 to a level that does not affect the camera 51's shooting, it becomes possible to take a picture of the fingernail T of the finger U1 even while the light-emitting unit 17 is illuminated. In this case, the control step of turning off the light-emitting unit 17 each time a print start command is issued can be omitted.

[0060] In this embodiment, the device also includes a placement guide 67 that indicates the position of the first placement section 6 where the first finger U1 is placed. If only the light-emitting section 17 indicating the placement position of the second finger U2 lights up, the user may be confused about where to place the first finger U1 corresponding to the nail T to be printed, or may mistakenly place the first finger U1 in the area where the light-emitting section 17 is lit (the placement position of the second finger U2). In this regard, the presence of the placement guide section 67 clearly indicates the location for the first finger U1, which is the most important finger U for printing on the nail T, thus preventing placement errors of the first finger U1.

[0061] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0062] For example, in this embodiment, we have illustrated the case where each light-emitting section 17 (17a to 17f) is equipped with a light source such as an LED, but the light source is not limited to cases where it is received according to each light-emitting section 17. For example, a light source capable of corresponding to all light-emitting parts 17 is provided below the light-emitting part 17, and each light-emitting part 17 (17a to 17f) may be a simple hole or a window covered with a light-transmitting material such as transparent plastic or glass. In this case, each light-emitting part 17 may be provided with a shutter that can take on a state of transmitting light and a state of blocking light, and the lighting control unit may light up the light source and open and close the shutters of each light-emitting part 17 to illuminate only the light-emitting part 17 corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed. In this case, at least one light source is sufficient to emit light from the light-emitting section 17.

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example was given in which a user selects the finger U to be printed on the nail T in a terminal device 7 that is linked to the printing device 1, this input information (selection information) is sent to the printing device 1 for acquisition, and based on this, the finger information acquisition unit 112 determines which finger U will be placed in the first placement unit 6 as the first finger U1. However, for example, the finger U placed in the first placement unit 6 may be photographed by the camera 51 of the shooting unit 5, and the finger information acquisition unit 112 may determine which finger U was placed in the first placement unit 6 from the acquired image. Note that the only thing to be input (selected) is whether to print on the left or right finger U nail T from the operation unit 13 of the printing device 1 or the operation unit 73 of the terminal device 7, or it may be automatically determined by analyzing the image, including whether it is the left or right hand. By making it possible to determine the type of the first finger U1 from the image in this way, the effort required for user input can be reduced, and simply by placing either finger U in the first placement unit 6, the system can correctly guide the position where the second finger U2 should be placed.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example was given in which the printing device 1 works in cooperation with the terminal device 7 to print on the nail. However, the printing device 1 is not limited to the one shown herein and may be configured to complete the printing operation on its own. For example, in this embodiment, the input of the print start command, the selection of the nail design (design), and the selection of the first finger U1 to be printed on the nail T are shown as being performed from the operation unit 73 on the terminal device 7. However, the input of various commands may also be performed from the operation unit 13 on the printing device 1. In this case, the printing device 1 may be equipped with a touch panel operation unit. The printing device 1 may also be equipped with a display unit, in which case a touch panel may be integrally provided on the display unit.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the example given is that a nail design storage area 722 for storing nail design (design) data is provided in the storage unit 72 of the terminal device 7. However, the nail design data is not limited to being stored in the storage unit 72 of the terminal device 7, but may also be stored in the storage unit 12 of the printing device 1. Alternatively, image data of nail designs may be stored on a server device that can be connected via a network line, and the server device may be accessed to refer to the nail design data. By doing this, it becomes possible to select a design to print from a wider range of nail designs without increasing the capacity of the memory unit 12, etc.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a nail information detection unit 113 and a print data generation unit 114 are provided in the printing device 1, and the control device 10 of the printing device 1 is configured to detect nail information from the nail image and generate print data. However, the configuration of the printing device 1 is not limited to this. For example, the printing device 1 may consist only of a printing mechanism 4 and an imaging unit 5, and the detection of nail information and the generation of print data may be performed by an external terminal (e.g., a terminal device 7 such as a smartphone). In this case, when the camera 51 of the imaging unit 5 captures the fingernail T and acquires a fingernail image (an image of the fingernail T including the finger U), the fingernail image acquired by the imaging unit 5 is sent to the control device 70 of the terminal device 7 via the communication unit 14. In this case, the configuration of the printing device 1 can be simplified.

[0067] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 17 indicates the position where the user should place their finger U. However, instead of the light-emitting unit 17, a guideline for where to place the finger U may be printed or a sticker attached to the position where the finger U should be placed. In this case, it is desirable to print or attach stickers with different colors or shapes corresponding to each type of finger of the first finger U1 to indicate the position where the second finger U2 should be placed, corresponding to the type of finger of the first finger U1. Furthermore, in this case, it is desirable that the printing or sticker indicating the position for placing the second finger U2 be positioned such that, when the second finger U2 is positioned to correspond to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed, the printing or sticker corresponding to the position where the second finger U2 should be placed is covered by the second finger U2. With this configuration, the position where the second finger U2 should be placed can be guided with a simpler and less expensive device configuration than providing a light-emitting unit 17, and printing can be performed with the first finger U1 in a stable state.

[0068] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes the scope of the invention as described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1 Printing device 4 Printing mechanism 41 Printhead 411 Optical Sensor 49 Head movement mechanism 5. Photography Department 51 Camera 6 1st placement part 67 Placement guide 7 Terminal devices 11 Control Unit 12 Storage section 16 base 161 2nd placement part 17 Light-emitting part 115 Printing Control Unit 116 Lighting Control Unit

Claims

1. A placement section for positioning the second finger other than the first finger corresponding to the nail to be printed, Multiple light-emitting parts are provided, A lighting control unit that controls the illumination of the light-emitting part, A camera unit for photographing the position of the first finger or the second finger, Equipped with, The lighting control unit lights up the light-emitting unit corresponding to the position where the second finger, other than the first finger corresponding to the nail to be printed, should be placed. The light-emitting unit is positioned such that when the second finger is positioned where it should be placed, the second finger covers the light-emitting unit, so that the light directed from the light-emitting unit towards the imaging unit is blocked by the second finger. An electronic device characterized by the following features.

2. The arrangement portion comprises a first arrangement portion for positioning the first finger, and a second arrangement portion provided on the side of the first arrangement portion for positioning the second finger. A determination unit for determining the type of the first finger, A determination unit that determines the arrangement of the second finger to be placed in the second placement unit based on the determination result of the determination unit, Equipped with, Based on the determination result of the determination unit, the lighting control unit lights up the light-emitting unit corresponding to the position of the second finger located in the second arrangement unit. The electronic device according to feature 1.

3. The lighting control unit controls the light-emitting unit to light up the light-emitting unit corresponding to the position where the second finger should be placed, and to keep the other light-emitting units from lighting up. The electronic device according to feature 2.

4. Further comprising a positioning guide that indicates the position of the first finger, The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images