Nail Printing Alignment via Design Region Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The alignment between base coat and design regions on fingernails can be disrupted during the drying process, leading to misalignment and decreased printing quality, especially when the finger is moved in and out of the printing apparatus, and correcting this alignment through image processing is computationally costly.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus that uses a hardware processor to set temporary base coat and design regions, adjusts the design region to match the applied base coat region, and generates design printing data to ensure accurate alignment and printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If image processing is used to match base coat region with design region, then alignment accuracy is improved, but computational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining the design region based on the temporary base coat region before actual printing occurs. The design region is set to include the temporary base coat region and extend beyond its boundaries, ensuring that even if the nail moves during the drying process, the design ink will still cover the base coat completely. This preventive approach eliminates the need for complex post-processing image processing to correct misalignment.
2Ease of operation
If the finger is moved in and out of the printing apparatus during drying, then ease of operation is improved, but alignment between base coat and design regions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by designing the design region to extend beyond the temporary base coat region boundaries. This creates a buffer zone that compensates for potential nail movement during the drying process. When the nail is removed and reinserted, any displacement is absorbed by this extended region, ensuring the design ink remains properly aligned with the base coat without requiring precise positioning.
3Device complexity
If design region is set to match temporary base coat region exactly, then device complexity is reduced, but printing quality deteriorates due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a non-uniform design region that has different spatial relationships with the base coat region. The design region extends beyond the temporary base coat region boundaries in all directions, creating a local expansion that ensures coverage. This simple geometric expansion rule maintains low device complexity while effectively preventing misalignment issues.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a hardware processor and a printer. The hardware processor is configured to set a temporary base coat region which is a region where a base coat is to be applied, set a temporary design region which is a base design region and which includes an outer shape corresponding to a bounding polygon of the temporary base coat region, detect a base coat region of a nail where the base coat is applied, and adjust the temporary design region so that an outer shape of the temporary design region matches the outer shape of a bounding polygon of the base coat region, set a portion of the adjusted temporary design region overlapping with the base coat region as a design region, and generate design printing data. The printer prints a design on the nail based on the design printing data.