Drawing apparatus for highly accurate drawing on finger and toe nails

A drawing apparatus, including a placement section including a placement surface on which a printing target object having a printing target surface that curved along one direction is placed, a drawing head in which at least one drawing tool having a tip portion at one end thereof is loaded and performs drawing by making the tip portion contact with a drawing position of the printing target surface, the tip portion having a shape including a first axis as a central axis; and a control unit which tilts the first axis of the tip portion to one of a first tilt direction and a second tilt direction selectively according to the drawing position of the printing target surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-007391 filed on Jan. 20, 2014 including description, claims, drawings, and abstract are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drawing apparatus and a drawing control method thereof.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, there have been known nail print apparatuses which perform nail printing by printing nail designs on nails. Such nail print apparatuses are described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-534083, for example.

By using such nail print apparatuses, nail designs can be enjoyed casually without visiting nail salons and such like.

The nail print apparatus described in the above document uses an ink-jet system which makes ink be in the form of micro droplets and sprays the ink droplets from a print head.

On the other hand, there have been known plot type drawing apparatuses which include writing tools (pens) for drawing and perform drawing by making pen tips which are tip portions of the writing tools contact drawing targets.

Since such plot type drawing apparatuses use pens, it is possible to use various types of ink which is difficult to use in the ink jet system, such as ink including pigment (color material) with a large particle diameter, lame and such like, ink with high viscosity and such like. Thus, in a case where such drawing apparatus is adopted as a nail print apparatus, it is possible to achieve nail print having a finish close to nail art provided at nail salons or the like.

However, nails which are drawing targets for the nail print apparatuses generally have curved shapes that the central portions in the width direction are high and relatively flat and the portions closer to the both ends in the width direction are lower and slanted more.

Thus, in a case where the writing tool has a felt-like pen tip, when drawing is performed for each of the end portions in the width direction of a nail which are largely slanted, a side of the pen tip sometimes contacts the nail to make the drawing line thicker. Alternatively, in a case where the writing tool has a ballpoint pen type pen tip, when drawing is performed for each of the end portions in the width direction of a nail, the ball part which is a tip of the pen tip is difficult to contact the nail surface to make the line blur or broken, and the drawing cannot be performed successfully.

For the above reasons, the finish quality of nail print is deteriorated at both end portions in the width direction of the nail in some cases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a drawing apparatus and a drawing control method thereof that can perform highly accurate nail printing even for end portions of nails having slant shape.

In order to solve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing apparatus, including: a placement section including a placement surface on which a printing target object having a printing target surface that curved along one direction is placed, a drawing head in which at least one drawing tool having a tip portion at one end thereof is loaded and performs drawing by making the tip portion contact with a drawing position of the printing target surface of the printing target object which is placed on the placement surface, the tip portion having a shape including a first axis as a central axis; and a control unit which tilts the first axis of the tip portion of the drawing tool loaded in the drawing head to one of a first tilt direction and a second tilt direction selectively according to the drawing position of the printing target surface, the first tilt direction being a direction that tilted from a vertical direction orthogonal to the placement surface to one side of the one direction and the second tilt direction being a direction that tilted from the vertical direction to another side of the one direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing control method of a drawing apparatus, wherein the drawing apparatus includes a placement section including a placement surface on which a printing target object having a printing target surface that curved along one direction is placed, and a drawing head in which at least one drawing tool having a tip portion at one end thereof is loaded and performs drawing by making the tip portion contact with a drawing position of the printing target surface of the printing target object which is placed on the placement surface, a the tip portion having a shape including a first axis as a central axis, the method including: tilting the first axis of the tip portion of the drawing tool loaded in the drawing head to one of a first tilt direction and a second tilt direction selectively according to the drawing position of the printing target surface, the first tilt direction being a direction that tilted from a vertical direction orthogonal to the placement surface to one side of the one direction and the second tilt direction being a direction that tilted from the vertical direction to another side of the one direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiments of a drawing apparatus and a drawing control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail by showing the drawings.

Though the after-mentioned embodiments are provided with various technically preferred limitations to perform the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

In the following embodiments, the drawing apparatus performs drawing on a surface of a fingernail of a hand as a drawing target surface. However, the drawing target surface of the present invention is not limited to the surface of the fingernail of hand. The drawing target surface may be a surface of a nail of a toe, for example.

With reference toFIGS. 1 to 6, a first embodiment of a nail print apparatus (drawing apparatus)1according to the present invention will be described.

The nail print apparatus in the embodiment performs drawing on a drawing target surface that is a surface of a nail of a finger having a curved shape with the central portion raised compared to the both ends along the horizontal direction that is the width direction.

FIG. 1is a front view of the nail print apparatus.

FIG. 2Ais a lateral sectional view of the nail print apparatus inFIG. 1along the line II-II.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2A, the nail print apparatus (drawing apparatus)1includes a case main body2and an apparatus main body10contained in the case main body2.

InFIGS. 1 and 2A, the case main body2is shown by a two-dot chain line.

A pen replacement cover23which is configured to be openable and closable for replacing an after-mentioned pen (writing tool)41in a drawing unit40is provided at an end of the upper section on the front surface of the case main body2.

The pen replacement cover23is rotatable from a closed state to an open state via a hinge or the like as shown inFIG. 2A, for example.

Further, at the position on a lateral surface (left lateral surface inFIG. 1in the embodiment) of the case main body2corresponding to an after-mentioned pen test writing unit61, there is provided a medium inserting port24through which a drawing medium (not shown in the drawings) to be placed on the pen test writing unit61can be replaced.

An operation unit25(seeFIG. 5) is set on the upper surface (top plate) of the case main body2.

The operation unit25is an input unit for performing various input by a user.

The operation unit25is provided with a power switch button to turn on the nail print apparatus1, a stop switch button to stop an operation, a design selection button to select a design image to be drawn on a nail T, a drawing start button to instruct start of drawing and operation buttons (not shown in the drawings) for performing various types of input, for example.

A display unit26is set at a nearly central portion of the upper surface (top plate) of the case main body2.

The display unit26is configured by including a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic electroluminescent display and other flat display, for example.

In the embodiment, on the display unit26, a nail image (finger image including an image of a nail T) obtained by photographing a printing finger U1, an image such as the outline of the nail T included in the nail image, a design selection screen for selecting a design image to be drawn on the nail T, thumbnail images for design confirmation, instruction screens for displaying various instructions are appropriately displayed, for example.

A touch panel for performing various types of input may be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit26.

The apparatus main body10is formed in a nearly box shape and includes a lower machine casing11which is set at the lower section in the case main body2and an upper machine casing12which is set above the lower machine casing11and at the upper section in the case main body2.

First, the lower machine casing11will be described.

The lower machine casing11includes a back surface board111, a bottom board112, a horizontal pair of side boards113aand113b, an X-direction movement stage containing unit114, a Y-direction movement stage containing unit115and a dividing wall116.

The lower ends of the side boards113aand113bare connected to the left and right end portions of the bottom board112, respectively, and the side boards113aand113bare vertically provided with respect to the bottom board112.

As shown inFIG. 2A, the lower portion of the back surface board111is formed to be concave in two steps toward the front side (front side in the finger inserting direction). The lower end portion of the back surface board111is connected to the front end portion of the bottom board112, and the back surface board111divides an area, which is surrounded by the bottom board112and the side boards113aand113b, back and forth.

The X-direction movement stage containing unit114and the Y-direction movement stage containing unit115are formed back from the concave back surface board111(seeFIG. 2A).

In the X-direction movement stage containing unit114, an X-direction movement stage45of the drawing unit40is contained when the drawing unit40is moved forward (toward the front side of the finger inserting direction).

A Y-direction movement stage47of the drawing unit40is disposed in the Y-direction movement stage containing unit115.

The dividing wall116is provided inside the lower machine casing11so as to vertically divide a space at the front side inside the lower machine casing11(space at the front side of the finger inserting direction which is surrounded by the back surface board111, bottom board112and the side boards113aand113b).

The dividing wall116is provided to be nearly horizontal. The lateral end portions of the dividing wall116are connected to the side boards113aand113b, respectively, and the rear end portion of the dividing wall116is connected to the back surface board111.

A finger fixing unit30is integrally provided in the lower machine casing11.

The finger fixing unit30is configured by including a finger receiving unit31which receives a finger (hereinafter, called “printing finger U1”) corresponding to a nail T to perform drawing and a finger resting unit32in which fingers (hereinafter, called “non-printing fingers U2”) other than the printing finger U1rests.

The finger receiving unit31is disposed at a nearly central portion in the width direction of the lower machine casing11on the upper side of the dividing wall116.

The space divided by the dividing wall116to be lower side of the lower machine casing11forms the finger resting unit32.

For example, in a case where drawing is to be performed on a nail T of a ring finger, the ring finger as the printing finger U1is inserted into the finger receiving unit31and the other four fingers (thumb, index finger, middle finger and little finger) which are non-printing fingers U2are inserted into the finger resting unit32(seeFIG. 2B).

The finger receiving unit31is open at the front surface side (front side in the printing finger insertion direction) of the lower machine casing11, and defined by a finger placement unit116aforming a part of the dividing wall116at the lower side, by dividers31aand31bat both lateral sides and by a divider31cat the back side.

The finger placement unit116ais for placing the finger (printing finger U1) of the nail T to perform drawing on the X-Y plane.

The upper side of the finger receiving unit31is defined by a roof31d.

A window31efor exposing the nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31is formed in the roof31d.

A front wall31f(seeFIG. 1) which covers the front surface side of the lower machine casing11is vertically provided at each of the lateral portions of the front surface side of the lower machine casing11on the upper surface of the dividing wall116.

On the upper surface of the dividing wall116, a pair of guide walls31gis vertically provided, the guide walls31gbeing narrowing toward the finger receiving unit31from the end portions of the front walls31fwhich are near the central portion and guiding the printing finger U1into the finger receiving unit31.

The user can sandwich the dividing wall116between the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31and the non-printing fingers U2inserted into the finger resting unit32. Thus, the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31is fixed stably.

In the embodiment, a protrusion116bprotruding downward is formed at the front end portion of the dividing wall116.

The protrusion116bis a tapered portion which gradually becomes thinner toward the front side and gradually becomes thicker toward the back side as shown inFIG. 2B, for example. Alternatively, the entire protrusion116bis thick with respect to the concave at the back side of the dividing wall116.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2A, next to the finger receiving unit31(the position corresponding to the medium inserting port24of the case main body2, and the left side inFIG. 1in the embodiment) on the upper surface of the dividing wall116, the pen test writing unit61for after-mentioned test writing of a pen41is provided within a range enabling drawing by an after-mentioned drawing head42.

It is preferable that the pen test writing unit61is provided so as to be nearly as high as the nail T when the printing finger U1is inserted into the finger receiving unit31.

The pen test writing unit61has a configuration in which a flat plate-like drawing medium inserted through the medium inserting port24of the above-mentioned case main body2is placed.

The drawing medium to be placed on the pen test writing unit61may be anything as long as it allows conditioning of a drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412. The drawing medium is a sheet of paper, for example, and replaceable through the medium inserting port24.

On the drawing medium of the pen test writing unit61, test writing that is drawing a predetermined image such as “∘” and “∞” is performed by the pen41before starting the drawing on the nail T. This improves the condition of the drawing portion412tat the tip of pen tip412and suppresses the blur and break of the start of the drawing when performing the drawing on the nail T due to a dry drawing portion412t, poor ink application and such like.

In the embodiment, pen caps62made of rubber are set in front (front side of the finger inserting direction) of the pen test writing unit61.

The number of the provided pen caps62(four in the embodiment) corresponds to the plurality of pens41set in the drawing unit40. After setting the pens41in the drawing unit40and when drawing is not performed (non-drawing time), the pens41are contained in the pen caps62. The area where the pen caps62and such like are disposed is the home space where the pens41standby at the non-drawing time.

That is, at the non-drawing time, the pens41are moved directly above the pen caps62, and thereafter the pens41are lowered by after-mentioned solenoids440(seeFIG. 3A, for example), and the pen tips412are contained in the respective pen caps52.

In the embodiment, as described later, a pen tip axis SL of each of the pen tips412of pens41is tilted to either one of the left and right sides in the width direction of the nail T with respect to a pen shaft axis CL of the shaft of the pen41. Thus, each of the pen caps62is also formed in the shape along a tilt shape of the pen tip412of pen41.

When the pens41are moved to the home space providing the pen caps62, all the pens41are aligned in the direction that the pens41can be contained in the pen caps62.

By containing the pen tips412in the pen caps62in such way, the drawing portions412tof the pen tips412can be prevented from drying during the non-drawing time.

The shapes and such like of the pen caps62are not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the pen caps62may be a long groove-like pen cap which can receive all the pen tips412of a plurality of the pens41set in the drawing unit40.

In the embodiment, since the pen caps62are provided near the pen test writing unit61in such way, drawing can be started by elevating a pen41to perform test writing in the pen test writing unit61which is close to the pen caps62. Thus, it is possible to minimize the time required for moving the pen41and such like and perform the drawing operation rapidly.

The drawing unit40is configured by including the drawing head42which includes pens41that are drawing tools, a unit supporting member44which supports the drawing head42, the X-direction movement stage45for moving the drawing head42in the X direction (X direction inFIG. 1, horizontal direction of the nail print apparatus1), an X-direction movement motor46, the Y-direction movement stage47for moving the drawing head42in the Y direction (Y direction inFIG. 2A, front-back direction of the nail print apparatus1), a Y-direction movement motor48and such like.

In the embodiment, the drawing head42includes four pen carriages43each of which holds a single pen (drawing tool)41.

The pen41is a writing tool which performs drawing on the surface of nail T as a drawing target surface by contacting the surface of the nail T that is the drawing target surface with the drawing portion412t(seeFIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3F) at the tip of the pen tip412that is the tip portion of the pen41.

FIGS. 3A to 3Eare enlarged views of a pen carriage43and a pen41supported thereby, showing a state (drawing state) in which the drawing is being performed on the nail T.

FIG. 3Ais a lateral view of the pen carriage43and the pen41.

FIGS. 3B and 3Care front views of the pen carriage43and the pen41inFIG. 3Aseen from the arrow b direction.

FIG. 3Cshows a state in which the pen41shown inFIG. 3Bis rotated 180 degrees around the pen shaft axis CL that is through the center of the pen shaft411of pen41.

FIG. 3Dis a bottom view of the pen41and the pen holder431inFIG. 3Bseen from the arrow d direction;

FIG. 3Eis a bottom view of the pen41and the pen holder431inFIG. 3Cseen from the arrow e direction;

FIG. 3Fis a view showing a state in which the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412of the pen41contacts a nail T when drawing is performed on the nail T.

As shown inFIGS. 3A to 3C, each of the pens41held by the pen carriages43has a cylindrical pen shaft411, a pen tip412is provided at one end of the pen shaft411, and a drawing portion412tto contact the drawing target surface is provided at the tip of the pen tip412.

The inside of the pen shaft411is an ink containing unit which contains various types of ink.

The pen tip412has a tapered shape with a pen tip axis SL as the central axis that the tip side along the pen tip axis SL is thin and the diameter is becoming gradually larger toward the pen shaft411side from the tip side. The lateral surface of the pen tip412is an slant surface slanted with respect to the pen tip axis SL and has the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412.

The ink to be contained inside the pen shaft411is not especially limited in viscosity and particle diameter (size of particle) of a color material (pigment) and such like. As the ink, ink including gold and silver lame, ink including various color materials such as white pigment, ultraviolet curable ink, and ink for gel nail, undercoat, topcoat and manicure can also be widely used, for example.

Locking convex portions411a(seeFIGS. 4A and 4B) having shapes protruding so as to be locked into after-mentioned notches431a(seeFIGS. 4A and 4B) of the pen holder431are formed on the outer circumference of the pen shaft411.

The shapes and such like of the locking convex portions411aare not especially limited as long as they can be locked into the notches431a.

The pen41is positioned at a position that an after-mentioned pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted from the vertical direction to one side (for example, right side) or to the other side (for example, left side) in the width direction of the nail T in a state in which a locking convex portion411ais locked into a notch431a.

In the embodiment, as described later, a pair of notches431aare formed at positions facing each other in the pen holder431. The locking convex portions411aare provided at the two positions corresponding to the pair of notches431a, for example.

The pen41can be positioned as long as the locking convex portion411ais locked into either one of the notches431a. Thus, the locking convex portion411amay be provided only at a single position.

The pen41is, for example, a pen having a drawing portion412tof a ballpoint pen type which performs drawing by the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412being pressed against the surface of the nail T and the ink contained in the pen shaft411being applied to the surface of the nail T.

The pen41is not limited to the ballpoint pen type. The pen41may also be a felt pen type which performs drawing with ink sinking through the felt-like member forming the drawing portion412tor a calligraphy pen type which performs drawing with ink sinking through a tied brush forming the drawing portion412t, for example. Drawing portions412twith various types of thickness and shapes can also be prepared.

The plurality of pens41to be held by the pen carriages43may have the drawing portions412tof a same type or may have different types of drawing portions412t.

As shown inFIGS. 3B to 3E, the pen41which is a drawing tool has a shape that the pen tip axis SL through the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412and the center of the pen tip412is tilted at a predetermined angle8with respect to the pen shaft axis CL through the center of the pen shaft411.

Here, the pen41is inserted to the pen holder431of the pan carriage43to be held so that the pen shaft axis CL is in the vertical direction (in the embodiment, the direction orthogonal to the surface of the finger placement unit116ato place the nail T).

The pen41is set in an tilt direction (tilt direction shown inFIG. 3C, hereinafter, called first tilt direction) that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted at the angle θ from the vertical direction to one side (right side) in the width direction of the nail T placed on the finger placement unit116aor in an tilt direction (tilt direction shown inFIG. 3B, hereinafter, called second tilt direction) that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted at the angle θ from the vertical direction to the other side (left side).

The pen41is loaded into the pen carriage43so that the pen tip axis SL is tilted in the first tilt direction or the second tilt direction as the initial state.

In a case where the pen tip axis SL of the pen41is tilted in the first tilt direction, by the pen41being rotated 180 degrees around the pen shaft axis CL as the center, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen41is set to be the second tilt direction. On the other hand, in a case where the pen tip axis SL of the pen41is tilted in the second tilt direction, by the pen41being rotated 180 degrees around the pen shaft axis CL as the center, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen41is set to be the first tilt direction.

The tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is set according to the curved shape of the nail T to perform drawing. That is, as shown inFIG. 3F, when the drawing is performed around the right end portion of the nail T, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is set to be the second tilt direction tilted to the left side. On the other hand, when the drawing is performed around the left end portion of the nail T, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is set to be the first tilt direction tilted to the right side.

By controlling the tilted direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412in such way, the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412can easily contact even the end portions of the curved nail T and it is possible to suppress the blur and break of the line drawn on the end portions of nail T.

The L shown inFIGS. 3B and 3Cindicates the length of the pen tip412, and D indicates a shift amount of the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412with respect to the case where the pen tip axis SL is not tilted. That is, the shift amount D is the distance between a base point P and the drawing portion412t, the base point P being the intersection between the pen shaft axis CL and the horizontal plane as a reference (that is, the surface of the finger placement unit116aon which the nail T is placed, for example). Here, for example, when the L is 5 mm and the tilt angle θ of the pen tip axis SL with respect to the pen shaft axis CL (vertical line) is 20 degrees, the shift amount D is 1.82 mm.

FIGS. 4A and 4Bare views showing a state in the embodiment in which the pen41is lifted up in the pen holder431so as to be rotatable in the pen holder431, seen from the front side (right side inFIG. 2A) of the nail print apparatus1.

FIG. 4Bshows a state in which the pen41in the state ofFIG. 4Ais rotated 180 degrees around the pen shaft axis CL as the center.

When the pen41is lowered from the state shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the locking convex portion411ais locked into the notch431a.

The direction of the pen tip412is stored in an after-mentioned pen tip direction storage area824of a storage unit82.

At the other end side of the pen shaft411(that is, the opposite side to the pen tip412), a cover414including a flange413which extends outside the pen shaft411is attached.

Materials forming the pen shaft411and the cover414are not especially limited. However, the preferable material forming the pen shaft411and the cover414is resin and such like suitable for mass production of the pen41.

In the embodiment, a finger grip415is provided at the upper portion of the cover414so as to be easily pinched by a hand, a pair of tweezers and such like. A small iron piece416is further provided to the finger grip415by embedding, attachment and such like so as to be absorbed to a magnet.

Each of the pens41is held by being merely inserted into a pen holding unit437dand a pen holder431of a pen carriage43from above as described later. Thus, the pen41can be replaced easily by a method such as pinching the finger grip415with a hand or a pair of tweezers or by approaching a stick′ member (not shown in the drawings) which has a magnet attached at the tip thereof toward the finger grip415to absorb and raise the iron piece416to the magnet after opening the pen replacement cover23provided at the case main body2, for example.

Thus, the user can appropriately replace, by a simple procedure, each of the pens41set in the pen carriages43with pens41having different types of pen tips412or different types of ink according to the nail design to be drawn, and can achieve a desired nail design.

In the embodiment, as shown inFIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, a rotation gear417is provided at the upper section (between the flange413and the finger grip415in the embodiment) of the pen41.

The rotation gear417is formed to have an outer diameter which is the same as or larger than that of the portion (flange413in the embodiment) having the largest outer diameter in the pen41.

As shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, a pen rotation motor443for rotating the rotation gear417is provided around the pen41.

The pen rotation motor443is for rotating the pen41around the pen shaft axis CL as the center of the pen shaft411of the pen41(around the axis of the pen41or the pen holder431holding the pen41). The pen rotation motor443forms a part of the drawing tool driving unit which reverses the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41by rotating the pen41180 degrees around the axis.

That is in a state in which the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen41is the first tilt direction (pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction, seeFIG. 4B), when the pen rotation motor443is operated to rotate the pen41by 180 degrees around the axis of the pen41, the direction of the pen tip412is reversed and the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL becomes the second tilt direction (seeFIG. 4A) that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical direction.

The pen rotation motor443is controlled by an after-mentioned drawing control unit815(seeFIG. 5).

As the pen rotation motor443, for example, various motors such as a stepping motor which can control the rotation amount by the drawing control unit815can be applied.

The pen rotation motor443is provided with a motor gear445to engage with the rotation gear417via a shaft444.

FIG. 4Dis a plan view of the motor gear445in the embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 4D, gear portions445ato engage with the rotation gear417and detachment portions445bwhich have no gear are formed at the outer circumference of the motor gear445in the embodiment.

The length GL of the gear portions445ais nearly a half of the length of the outer circumference of the rotation gear417, and the detachment portions445bare respectively arranged at both sides of the gear portions445a.

Thus, in a case where the motor gear445is rotated while engaging with the rotation gear417, when the pen41is rotated approximately 180 degrees around its axis, a detachment portion445bhaving no gear is located at the position facing the rotation gear417. In this state, the engagement between the rotation gear417and the motor gear445is released and the rotation of pen41is stopped.

In the state in which the detachment portion445bis located at the position facing the rotation gear417, the rotation gear417is not engaged with the motor gear445. Thus, the pen41can be moved up and down. Thus, the attachment/detachment of the pen41can be performed smoothly when replacing the pen41and such like.

In the embodiment, in the state in which the detachment portion445bis located at the position facing the rotation gear417, the above-mentioned locking convex portions411aare located at after-mentioned positions corresponding to the notches431aof the pen holder431(seeFIGS. 4A and 4B).

That is, when the engagement between the rotation gear417and the motor gear445is released at the position facing the detachment portion445b, the pen41can move downward, and when the pen41moves downward, the locking convex portion411ais locked into the notch431a.

Each of the pen carriages43is provided with the pen holder431which holds the pen41with the pen shaft axis nearly vertical and a pen lifting mechanism432for moving the pen41up and down.

The pen holder431is open at top and bottom sides and has a tubular shape to hold the pen41. The pen tip412and the pen shaft411are inserted through the pen holder431.

FIG. 4Cis a schematic view showing an example of the pen holder431in the embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 4C, a pair of notches431ato which the locking convex portions411aprovided on the pen shaft411are locked is formed at the upper open part of the pen holder (drawing tool holder).

Each of the notches431ais tapered that the width is largest at the end portion near the open part and is gradually smaller downward. The lower end portion of the notch431ais a slit-like portion which has a width slightly larger than the width of the locking convex portion411a.

By the notch431abeing in the tapered shape in such way, even when the pen41falls down through the pen holder431from a position shifted from the center of the width within the range of the width of the Wend portion near the open part of the notch431a, the locking convex portion411ais guided along the slant surface in the tapered shape and engaged with the slit-like portion of the lower end portion of the notch431a, and the pen41is positioned at the appropriate position. Thus, the rotation angle of the pen41by the motor gear445may not be the exact 180 degrees as long as it is within the range of angle that the pen41is within the width of the tapered end portion near the open part of the notch431a.

Thus, in the state in which the locking convex portion411ais engaged with the slit-like portion at the lower end of the notch431a, the pen41is positioned in the first tilt direction that the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of pen tip412is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction or the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical direction.

As shown inFIG. 3A, the pen lifting mechanism432includes a solenoid440configured by including a plunger434and a coil unit435, a pin436which is attached to the moving end side of the plunger434of the solenoid440, a pen lifting lever437which is joined to the plunger434via the pin436and a stopper438which suppresses too much elevation of the pen lifting lever437.

The solenoid440has a mechanism in which the movable plunger434performs reciprocating motion like a piston in the coil unit435wound by copper wire or the like.

The plunger434is forced forward (right direction inFIGS. 2A and 3A) by the spring433, and the solenoid440is a pull type solenoid which absorbs the plunger434backward (left direction inFIGS. 2A and 3A) against the elastic force of the spring433.

The solenoid440is not limited to the pull type and may be configured to be a push type.

As shown inFIG. 3A, the pen lifting lever437is an L-shaped member in which a shorter arm437ais nearly perpendicular to a longer arm437b. A long hole437cto be locked to the pin436is formed at the end portion of the shorter arm437a.

The pen holding unit437dto insert the pen41is provided at the end portion of the longer arm437b.

The pen holding unit437dis formed in a ring shape having an inner diameter which is larger than the diameters of the pen shaft411and the pen tip412of the pen41and smaller than the diameter of flange413of the pen41. The pen shaft411and the pen tip412are inserted through the pen holding unit437d, which locks the flange413so as to support it from below.

A supporting shaft439is inserted through the intersection of the shorter arm437aand the longer arm437bin the pen lifting lever437from the pen carriage43side.

In the embodiment, when the solenoid440is being driven, as shown inFIG. 3A, the plunger434is pulled back against the elastic force of the spring433, and the pen lifting lever437locked to the pin436of the plunger434is held at a position where the longer arm437bis nearly horizontal.

In this state, the pen tip412of the pen41is lowered to be lower than the pen holder431of the pen carriage43and the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412can contact the surface of the nail T and the drawing medium, which is a drawing state.

On the other hand, in a state in which the solenoid440is released, the plunger434protrudes forward by the elastic force of the spring433. At this time, the pen lifting lever437locked to the pin436of the plunger434is rotated upward (counterclockwise direction) around the rotation shaft439as a supporting point, and the longer arm437bcontacts the stopper438to be stopped.

Thus, the flange portion413of the pen41is flipped up by the pen lifting lever437(seeFIG. 2A).

In this state, the pen tip412of the pen41is lifted up in the pen holder431of the pen carriage43and the drawing portion412tat the tip of the pen tip412does not contact the surface of the nail T and the drawing medium, which is a non-drawing state.

In such way, the force moving the plunger434forward and backward by the solenoid440is converted into a force moving the pen41upward and downward by the rotation shaft439and the pen lifting lever437which is rotated around the rotation shaft439as the supporting point.

The pen41is inserted into the pen holder431of the pen carriage43to be held and not fixed to the pen lifting lever437and such like. Thus, the pen41is forced downward by its own weight.

Thus, the pen41can move down freely along the pen holder431to the position where the flange413contacts the upper surface of the pen holding unit437d. When the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412contacts the nail T surface or the drawing medium in the drawing state, the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412is pressed against the nail T surface or the drawing medium by its own weight, and freely moves in the Z direction (that is, upward and downward) orthogonal to the X-Y plane on which the printing finger U1is placed in accordance with the surface shape (unevenness of the surface and such like) of the nail T.

The pen41is extremely light that the weight thereof is several grams to several tens of grams. Thus, the user does not feel pain when the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412contacts the nail T. Furthermore, since the writing pressure of the pen41is secured by its own weight, the user can draw a nail design on the nail T successfully.

In the embodiment, among the members forming the pen lifting mechanism432, the supporting shaft439and the stopper438are formed of metal such as stainless steel, and the other members are formed of materials such as resin which are light and do not react to a magnet.

The materials of the members forming the pen lifting mechanism432are not limited to the examples illustrated here.

In the embodiment, the solenoid440is used as an actuator for moving the pen41up and down. However, the actuator for moving the pen41up and down is not limited to the solenoid440. Since the pen41is light, the actuator for moving the pen41up and down can be formed by various types of compact driving devices as well as the solenoid.

The unit supporting member44which supports the drawing head42is fixed to the X-direction movement unit451which is attached to the X-direction movement stage45.

The X-direction movement unit451is moved in the X-direction along the guide which is not shown in the drawings on the X-direction movement stage45by the drive of the X-direction movement motor46. Thus, the drawing head42is moved in the X-direction (X-direction inFIG. 1, horizontal direction of the nail print apparatus1).

The X-direction movement stage45is fixed to the Y-direction movement unit471of the Y-direction movement stage47.

The Y-direction movement unit471is moved in the Y-direction along the guide which is not shown in the drawings on the Y-′direction movement stage47by the drive of the Y-direction movement motor48. Thus, the drawing head42is moved in the Y-direction (Y-direction inFIG. 2A, front-back direction of the nail print apparatus1).

In the embodiment, the X-direction movement stage45and the Y-direction movement stage47are formed by combining the X-direction movement motor46, the Y-direction movement motor48, and ball screws and guides which are not shown in the drawings, for example.

As the X-direction movement motor46and the Y-direction movement motor48in the embodiment, a stepping motor, which moves for a predetermined amount every time a single pulse is transmitted, is applied.

In the embodiment, a head driving unit49(seeFIG. 5) which drives the drawing head42including the pens41that perform drawing on the nail T in the X-direction and the Y-direction is formed by the X-direction movement motor46, the Y-direction movement motor48and such like.

The solenoids440for moving pens41up and down, the pen rotation motor443, the X-direction movement motor46and the Y-direction movement motor48in the drawing unit40are connected to an after-mentioned drawing control unit815(seeFIG. 5) of the control device80and controlled by the drawing control unit815.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2A, a photographing unit50is provided on the upper machine casing12.

That is, a substrate13is set on the upper machine casing12, and two cameras51as a photographing device are set at the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate13.

It is preferable that each of the cameras51is a compact camera which is configured by including a solid-state image sensing device having approximately two million pixels or more and a lens, for example.

Each of the cameras51photographs the nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger inserting unit31and obtains a nail image (finger image including an image of nail T) which is an image of nail T of the printing finger U1.

In the embodiment, the two cameras51are provided so as to be nearly parallel to each other in the width direction of the nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the printing finger receiving unit31.

Among the two cameras51, one camera51is provided so as to face to the bottom surface of the finger receiving unit31and photograph the nail T from directly above.

The other camera51is provided so as to be slightly tilted with respect to the bottom surface of the finger receiving unit31and photograph the nail T from obliquely above.

On the substrate13, lights (lighting device)52such as white LEDs are set so as to surround the cameras51. The lights52illuminate the nail T of the printing finger U1at photographing by the cameras51. The photographing unit50is configured by including the cameras51and the lights52.

The photographing unit50is connected to an after-mentioned photographing control unit811(seeFIG. 5) in the control device80and controlled by the photographing control unit811.

Image data of the image obtained by the photographing unit50is stored in a nail image storage area821of an after-mentioned storage unit82.

In the embodiment, the nail T can be photographed from at least two different positions or angles by the two cameras51as the photographing device, and at least two nail images are obtained.

Then, on the basis of the nail images, an after-mentioned nail information detecting unit812can detect nail information such as the slant angle (hereinafter, called “slant angle of nail T” or “nail curvature”) of the nail T surface with respect to the X-Y plane and a vertical position of nail T in addition to the outline (shape of nail T) of nail T.

The control device80is set on the substrate13or such like disposed on the upper machine casing12, for example.

FIG. 5is a main part block diagram showing a control structure in the embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 5, the control device80is a computer which includes a control unit81having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the storage unit82having a ROM (Read only memory), a RAM (Random access memory) and such like which are not shown in the drawings.

Various programs for operating the nail print apparatus1and various types of data are stored in the storage unit82.

Specifically, in the ROM of the storage unit82, various programs such as a nail information detecting program for detecting nail information such as the shape of the nail T from the nail image, a drawing data generation program for generating drawing data and a drawing program for performing drawing processing are stored. The control device80executes the programs to integrally control the units of the nail print apparatus1.

The storage unit82is provided with a nail image storage area821for storing a nail image of the nail T of the printing finger U1of the user obtained by the photographing unit50, a nail information storage area822for storing the nail information detected by the nail information detecting unit812and a nail design storage area823for storing image data of nail designs to be drawn on the nail. T.

In the embodiment, as described above, the initial state is the first tilt state that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412of the pen41is tilted to the right. Thus, the image data of nail design stored in the nail design storage area823is also formed so that drawing is correctly performed when performing the drawing with the pen tip412in the first tilt direction.

Further, the pen tip direction storage area824and the position correction value storage area825are provided in the storage unit82in the embodiment.

The pen tip direction storage area824is for storing the direction of the pen tip412of the pen41.

In the embodiment, as described above, the pen41can be in the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction and in the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical direction. The tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is stored in the pen tip direction storage area824as needed.

As described later, the drawing control unit815controls the operation of the pen rotation motor443appropriately with reference to the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412stored in the pen tip direction storage area824of the storage unit82.

The position correction value storage area825is for storing a correction value for correcting the drawing position by the pen41corresponding to the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412.

As described above, the shift amount of the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412from the base point P is 1.82 mm when the length L of the pen tip412is 5 mm and the tilt angle θ of the pen tip axis SL with respect to the pen shaft axis CL (vertical line) is 20 degrees. Thus, the movement distance of the drawing portion412tis 3.64 mm (=3640 μm) when the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is changed from the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the right to the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left. This movement distance (3640 μm) is stored as the correction value in the position correction value storage area825.

In the embodiment, image data of nail design is prepared setting, as a reference, the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted to the right. When the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is changed to the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left, the position of the drawing portion412tof the pen tip412when performing drawing is corrected to be shifted by the correction value (3640 μm) stored in the position correction value storage area825in the X direction so as to be located at the same position thereof when the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL is the first tilt direction.

In a functional view, the control unit81includes the photographing control unit811, the nail information detecting unit812, the drawing data generation unit813, the display control unit814, the drawing control unit815and such like. The functions as the photographing control unit811, the nail information detecting unit812, the drawing data generation unit813, the display control unit814, the drawing control unit815and such like are achieved in cooperation between the CPU of the control unit81and the programs stored in the ROM of the storage unit82.

The photographing control unit811controls the cameras51and the lights52of the photographing unit50to photograph images of a finger (hereinafter, called “nail images”) including the images of the nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31with the cameras51.

In the embodiment, the photographing control unit811obtains at least two nail images from different positions or angles (for example, from directly above the nail T and obliquely from above the nail T) with the two cameras51.

The image data of nail images obtained by the photographing unit50may be stored in the storage unit82.

The nail information detecting unit812detects the nail information for the nail T of the printing finger U1on the basis of the images of the nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31which are obtained by the cameras51.

Here, the nail information includes the outline of the nail T (the nail shape and horizontal position of the nail T) the slant angle of the nail T surface with respect to the X-Y plane (slant angle and nail curvature of nail T), and the height of the nail T (position in the vertical direction of the nail T, hereinafter, called “vertical position of the nail T” or merely called “position of the nail T”).

The slant angle (nail curvature) of the nail T is an angle with respect to the horizontal plane in the width direction of nail T surface (that is, the X-Y plane of the finger placement unit116aon which the printing finger U1is placed).

Specifically, the nail information detecting unit812detects the outline (shape and size) and position of the nail T from the nail images of the nail T of the printing finger U1which are obtained by the cameras51and obtains the outline as information represented by x and y coordinates and such like.

The nail information detecting unit812detects the outline (shape) of the nail T on the basis of the difference in color and such like between the nail T and the other finger portion from the nail images of the nail T of the printing finger U1obtained by the cameras51, for example.

The method of detecting the outline (shape) of the nail T by the nail information detecting unit812is not especially limited, and not limited to the above examples.

The nail information detecting unit812functions as an slant angle detecting unit which detects the slant angle (nail curvature) of nail T on the basis of at least two nail images obtained by the two cameras51.

The nail information detecting unit812detects the slant angle (nail curvature) for the nail T of the user from the two nail images photographed from different positions or angles (for example, from directly above and from obliquely above the nail T) with the two cameras51, for example.

The nail information detecting unit812only needs to detect the outline (nail shape) of the nail T on the basis of the nail images, and does not need to obtain all of the above nail information.

The drawing data generation unit813generates data for the drawing to be performed on the nail T of the printing finger U1by the drawing head42on the basis of the nail information detected by the nail information detecting unit812.

Specifically, the drawing data generation unit813performs a fitting process by enlarging, reducing, cutting out and such like the image data of the nail design on the basis of the shape and such like of the nail T detected by the nail information detecting unit812, and generates data for performing drawing on the nail T.

In a case where the nail information detecting unit812also obtains the slant angle of nail T (nail curvature) as the nail information, the drawing data generation unit813performs curved surface correction of the image data of nail design in accordance with the slant angle of nail T (nail curvature).

The display control unit814controls the display unit26to display various display screens on the display unit26. In the embodiment, for example, the display control unit814makes the display unit26display various screens such as a selection screen of nail design, thumbnail images for design confirmation and a nail image obtained by photographing printing finger U1including the nail T.

The drawing control unit815is a control unit which outputs drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit813to the drawing unit40and controls the solenoids440, the pen rotation motor443, the X-direction movement motor46and the Y-direction movement motor48of the drawing unit40so as to perform drawing on the nail T according to the drawing data.

In the embodiment, the drawing control unit815sets the central position (position of the central line indicted by the dashed line inFIG. 3F) in the width direction of the nail T surface (horizontal direction inFIG. 3F) as a switching position CP. Then, the drawing control unit815changes the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412from the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the right to the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left, or from the second tilt direction to the first tilt direction on the basis of the switching position CP as the boundary.

Specifically, the drawing control unit815always determines the drawing position to perform drawing on the drawing target surface. If the drawing position is in the right with respect to the central portion in the width direction of nail T surface (horizontal direction inFIG. 3F), the drawing control unit815controls the pen rotation motor443so as to set the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412to the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical direction. If the drawing position is in the left with respect to the central portion, the drawing control unit815controls the pen rotation motor443so as to set the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412to the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, when the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412of the pen41is changed from the first tilt direction to the second tilt direction, the drawing data generation unit813corrects the position of the pen tip412by the correction value stored in the position correction value storage area825.

When a continuous design part (for example, a picture such as a flower pattern and a star pattern) exists across the switching position CP, it is preferable to control so as not to change the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412until the drawing of the design part (picture) is completed. That is, if the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is changed in the continuous design part, for example, the direction to apply ink is changed at the position where the tilt direction is changed, and thus, the shape of the applied line is disturbed in some cases.

Thus, it is possible to achieve a nail print with beautiful finish by making control so as not to change the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412during the drawing of the continuous design part (picture).

Next, operations and a drawing control method of the nail print apparatus1in the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 6and others.

When drawing is to be performed by the nail print apparatus1, the user first turns on the power switch to activate the control device80.

The display control unit814makes the display unit26display the design selection screen.

The user operates an operation button or such like of the operation unit25to select a desired nail design among a plurality of nail designs displayed on the design selection screen. Thus, a selection instruction signal is output from the operation unit25to select the nail design to be drawn on the nail T.

When the nail design is selected, the control unit81makes the display unit26display an instruction screen instructing to set the pens41necessary to draw the selected nail design into predetermined pen carriages43of the drawing head42.

For example, when red ink and gold ink including lame are necessary, the control unit81indicates the inks of pens41to be set and the pen carriages43to set the respective pens41on the display unit26.

The user sets predetermined types of pens41in the predetermined pen carriages43according to the instruction displayed on the display screen.

The user may dare to set a pen41different from the instruction to achieve a nail design of preferred color or texture.

The apparatus may be configured so that the control unit81can read out the types of pens41set in the respective pen carriages43by a barcode or such like. In this case, nail designs which can be drawn by the pens41set in the pen carriages43may be displayed on the design selection screen of the display unit26to make the user select a nail design among them.

Next, the control unit81makes the display unit26display an instruction screen which instructs inserting a printing finger U1into the finger receiving unit31.

The user inserts the printing finger U1into the finger receiving unit31according to the instruction, inserts the non-printing fingers U2into the finger resting unit32to fix the printing finger U1, and then operates the drawing switch.

For example,FIG. 2Bshows an example in which the ring finger of left hand as the printing finger U1is inserted into the finger receiving unit31, and the other fingers as the non-printing fingers U2are inserted into the finger resting unit32.

When the drawing start instruction is input from the drawing switch, before starting the drawing operation, the photographing control unit811controls the photographing unit50first to photograph the printing finger U1with the cameras51while illuminating the printing finger U1with the lights52.

Thus, the photographing unit50obtains images of the nail T (nail images) of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31.

Next, as shown inFIG. 6, the nail information detecting unit812detects nail information such as the outline (nail shape) of the nail T on the basis of the nail images (step S1).

When the nail information such as the outline (nail shape) of the nail T is detected by the nail information detecting unit812, the drawing data generation unit813performs fitting of the image data of nail design into the nail T on the basis of the nail information.

The drawing data generation unit813appropriately performs curved surface correction for the image data of nail design on the basis of the nail information. Thus, the drawing data is generated (step S2).

Before starting drawing on the nail T, the drawing control unit815moves the drawing unit40toward the pen test writing unit61and drives the solenoid440of the pen carriage43holding the pen41to enable the pen41to perform drawing.

Then, test writing is performed by drawing a predetermined figure such as “∘” and “∞” on the drawing medium.

The test writing may be performed only for the pens41necessary to draw the selected nail design or may be performed for all the pens41.

When the drawing data is generated and test writing is also completed, the drawing control unit815determines whether the drawing position is in the left side with respect to the central portion in the width direction (horizontal direction inFIG. 3F) of nail T (step S3).

If the drawing position is determined to be in the left side in the width direction of the nail T (step S3; YES), next, the drawing control unit815determines whether the tilt direction is the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction (step S4).

Then, if the drawing control unit815does not determine that the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the first tilt direction (step S4; NO), the drawing control unit815operates the pen rotation motor443to set the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412to the first tilt direction (step S5).

On the other hand, if the drawing control unit815determines that the drawing position is in the right side in the width direction of the nail T (step S3; NO), next, the drawing control unit815determines whether the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left side with respect to the vertical direction (step S6).

If it is not determined that the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the second tilt direction (step S6; NO), the drawing control unit815operates the pen rotation motor443to set the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412to the second tilt direction (step S7).

Then, the drawing control unit815reads the position correction value from the position correction value storage area825of the storage unit82and corrects the position of the pen tip412according to the read value (step S8).

If it is determined that the drawing position is in the left side in the width direction of nail T (step S3; YES) and the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the first tilt direction (step S4; YES); if the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the second tilt direction and set to be the first tilt direction (step S5); if the drawing position is in the right side in the width direction of the nail T (step S3; NO) and it is determined that the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is the second tilt direction (step SE; YES); and if the tilt direction of the pen tip tilt direction SL of the pen tip412is the first tilt direction and set to the second tilt direction and the pen position is corrected (step S8), the drawing control unit815starts drawing by the drawing unit40(step S9).

During the drawing operation, the drawing control unit815determines whether the drawing operation for the nail T is finished as needed (step S10).

If it is not determined that the drawing operation is finished (step S10; NO), the processing returns to step S3to repeat the above processing until the drawing operation is finished.

If it is determined that the drawing operation is finished (step S10; YES), the drawing processing is ended.

As described above, according to the nail print apparatus1in the embodiment, when performing drawing on at least right end portion of the surface of the nail T by controlling the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412of the pen41and the drawing operation by the pen41, the drawing is performed by setting at least the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41to be in the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the left side with respect to the vertical direction. When drawing is performed on at least left end portion of the nail T surface, the drawing is performed by setting at least the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41to be in the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL is tilted to the right side with respect to the vertical direction.

Thus, when performing drawing on the nail T surface having a curved shape that the central portion is raised compared to the both end sides along the horizontal direction which is the width direction, it is possible to perform highly accurate nail printing even for the end portions by suppressing the blur and break of the line on the end portions of nail T.

In the embodiment, the direction of the pen tip412is reversed by rotating the pen41by 180 degrees around its axis with the pen rotation motor443forming the drawing tool driving unit. Thus, it is possible to achieve drawing which is beautiful even at the end portions by a relatively simple mechanism.

The drawing control unit815in the embodiment changes the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41on the basis of the central position in the width direction of the surface of nail T as the switching position CP. Thus, it is possible to achieve highly accurate nail printing by a relatively simple control.

Next, the second embodiment of the nail print apparatus and the drawing control method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 7A to 7C.

The embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the switching position for changing the tilt direction of the pen tip axis of pen tip. Thus, in the following description, the respects different from the first embodiment are mainly described.

In the embodiment, as shown inFIGS. 7A to 7C, the drawing control unit815sets, as a switching position LP, the position horizontally shifted from the left or right end portion in the width direction of nail T surface toward the central portion for a predetermined setting distance LF. Then, the drawing control unit815changes the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41on the basis of the switching position LP as the border.

The drawing control unit815sets a horizontal setting distance LF of the switching position LP from an end portion in the width direction of nail T surface according to the nail shape detected by the nail information detecting unit812.

That is, in the embodiment, the nail information detecting unit812also obtains the slant angle (nail curvature) of nail T as nail information.

Then, according to the slant angle (nail curvature), the shape in the width direction of nail T surface (shape corresponding to the nail curvature or the like) is classified as any one of a plurality of patterns which are set in advance, and the horizontal setting distance LF of the switching position LP from an end portion of nail T is set according to the classified pattern.

Specifically, a plurality of patterns which are different from each other in slant angle (nail curvature) are set in advance for the shape in width direction of nail T surface, and a table or such like specifying a horizontal distance LF of the switching position LP of pen tip412from an end portion of nail T is stored in the storage unit82for each of the patterns.

For example, as shown inFIGS. 7A to 7C, three patterns of “round type” having a large curvature, “general type” having a curvature smaller than that of the “round type” and a “flat type” having a curvature further smaller than the “general type” and being relatively flat are set in advance as the shape in width direction of nail. T surface.

Here, when the shape in width direction of nail T surface is the pattern of “round type” shown inFIG. 7A, the horizontal distance of 15% with respect to the width of nail T from an end portion is set as the setting distance LF, and the position corresponding to the setting distance LF is set as the switching position LP.

When the shape in width direction of nail T surface is the pattern of “general type” shown inFIG. 7B, the horizontal distance of 10% with respect to the width of nail T from an end portion is set as the setting distance LF, and the position corresponding to the setting distance LF is set as the switching position LP.

When the shape in width direction of nail T surface is the pattern of “flat type” shown inFIG. 7C, the horizontal distance of 5% with respect to the width of nail T from an end portion is set as the setting distance LF, and the position corresponding to the setting distance LF is set as the switching position LP.

The drawing control unit815determines which of the patterns is applied to the shape in width direction of nail T surface that is the drawing target on the basis of the nail information detected by the nail information detecting unit812. Then, the drawing control unit815sets the switching position LP to the position corresponding to the setting distance LF associated with the pattern, and controls the pen rotation motor443so as to change the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412when the drawing position crosses the set switching position LP.

Since the other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment, the explanation thereof is omitted.

Next, operations of nail print apparatus1and the drawing control method in the embodiment will be described.

First, similarly to the first embodiment, the photographing unit50obtains images (nail images) of nail T of the printing finger U1inserted into the finger receiving unit31before starting the drawing operation.

Then, the nail information detecting unit812detects the nail information such as the shape of nail T (curvature) on the basis of the nail images.

When the nail information detecting unit812detects the nail information such as shape (curvature) of nail T, on the basis of the detected nail information, the control unit81classifies the shape in width direction of nail T surface as any one of the plurality of patterns such as the “round type”, “general type” and “flat type” which are set in advance.

The drawing control unit815sets the switching position LP in the nail T by referring to a table specifying the correspondence between the plurality of patterns of nail T and the respective setting distances LF for switching positions LP of tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412which is stored in the storage unit82.

The drawing unit815makes the drawing unit40perform drawing while appropriately changing the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412according to the location of drawing position in the width direction of nail T.

That is, for example, if the nail T shape is classified as the “round type”, when the drawing position is located within the range in the left side (central portion side) with respect to the position having the horizontal distance of 15% of nail T width from the right end, the drawing control unit815performs drawing by setting the pen.41in the first tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted to the right with respect to the vertical direction.

Then, when the drawing position becomes within the range of the distance of 15% from the right end, the drawing control unit815sets the pen41in the second tilt direction that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is tilted to the left with respect to the vertical direction, and performs drawing to the right end portion.

Since the other respects are similar to those of the first embodiment, the explanation thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the embodiment, in addition to the effects similar to those of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in the embodiment, the drawing control unit815changes the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412of pen41on the basis of the position, as the switching position, shifted toward the central portion for a predetermined width from left or right end portion in the width direction of nail T surface.

Here, at the switching position for tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412, the direction to apply ink is changed, and thereby, the shape of applied line is disturbed and the shape of nail design and such like are disturbed at the position in some cases. With respect to this, in the embodiment, the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412is changed at the portion close to the end portion, not the central portion in the width direction of nail T, and thus, the position where the shape and such like of nail design are disturbed due to the switching position of tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412can be a relatively obscure position. Thus, it is possible to perform nail printing with a relatively beautiful finish.

Here, the setting distance LF of the switching position LP for tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412from an end portion of nail T is set according to the shape of nail T detected by the nail information detecting unit812.

Thus, it is possible to change the tilt direction of pen tip axis of pen tip at the position suitable for the shape of nail T of each user.

For example, when the nail T is a nail in a flat shape, drawing can be performed with little change of the tilt direction of pen tip axis of pen tip412. Thus, in such case, the setting distance LF is set to be the position closer to the end portion such as a position of 5% from an end portion of nail T. Thus, the switching position is set to be more obscure position and it is possible to achieve a beautiful finish.

Next, the third embodiment of the nail print apparatus and the drawing control method thereof according to the present invention will be described.

The embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments only in the switching position for changing the tilt direction of pen tip axis of pen tip. Thus, in the following description, the respects different from those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment are mainly described.

In the embodiment, the drawing control unit815does not perform the determination regarding the shape of width direction of nail T surface which is the drawing target as in the second embodiment, and sets, as the switching position LP, the position horizontally shifted from the left or right end portion in width direction of nail T surface toward the central portion for a distance of a fixed rate which is set in advance with respect to the width of nail T. When the drawing position crosses the switching position LP, the drawing control unit815changes the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41.

The switching position LP is set according to the nail T having the largest curvature among shapes predicted to be a shape of general nail T.

Though the distance of the switching position LP from the end portion in the width direction of nail T surface is not especially limited, for example, the distance is set to be the length of 15% of the width of nail T from an end portion of nail T.

Since the other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the explanation thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the embodiment, in addition to the effects similar to those of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in the embodiment, the switching position is set to be the position shifted toward the central portion for a predetermined distance from the left or right end portion in the width direction of the nail T surface so that the drawing control unit815changes the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of the pen tip412which is the tip portion of the pen41.

At the switching position of the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of the pen tip412, the shape of the applied line is disturbed due to the change of direction to apply the ink and such like, and the shape of nail design and such like is disturbed at the position in some cases. With respect to this, in the embodiment, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of the pen tip412is changed at the portion close to the end portion, not the central portion in the width direction of nail T, and thus, the position where the shape of nail design and such like are disturbed due to the switching position can be a position which is relatively obscure. Thus, it is possible to perform nail printing with a relatively beautiful finish.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the switching position is uniformly set according to the nail T with the largest curvature among curvatures predicted as a shape of general nail T.

Thus, drawing processing can be performed without providing processes such as detecting and classifying the shapes of nails T of respective users, and it is possible to achieve, with a relatively simple configuration, nail printing with a beautiful finish that the disturbance of the shape of nail design and such like due to the switching position for the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of pen tip412is obscure.

Next, with reference toFIGS. 8, 9A and 9B, the fourth embodiment of the nail print apparatus and the drawing control method thereof according to the present invention will be described.

The embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments only in the mechanism for changing the tilt direction of the pen tip axis of pen tip. Thus, in the following description, the respects different from the first to third embodiments will be mainly described.

FIG. 8is a sectional view showing main parts in the embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 8, in the embodiment, a gear plate member9is provided at the inner side of the front wall31fon the upper surface of the dividing wall116as a mechanism for reversing the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of pen tip412which is the tip portion of pen41.

In the embodiment, the gear plate member9is a plate-like member extending in the X direction which is the width direction of nail print apparatus, and disposed to be fixed on the wall surface at an upper section of the home space in which the pen test writing unit61and the pen caps62are provided, for example.

The gear plate member9has irregularities (gear) on the surface facing the drawing head42to be engaged with the rotation gear417which is the first rotation mechanism provided at the pen41, and the gear plate member9is a second rotation mechanism.

The pen41held by the drawing head42is moved in the longer direction of the gear plate member9(X direction which is the width direction of nail print apparatus as shown inFIG. 8in the embodiment) with the rotation gear417contacting the gear plate member9, and thereby, the rotation gear417is engaged with the irregularities (gear) of the gear plate member9to be rotated. Thus, the pen41is rotated around the axis CL of the pen shaft411, and the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412is changed.

Preferably, the irregularities (gear) of the gear plate member9are disposed at the position close to the inner side of apparatus for approximately several millimeters from the front wall31fso as to easily contact the rotation gear417, and a member having some thickness is preferable.

Though the position to provide the gear plate member9is not limited to the illustrated example, it is preferable to dispose the gear plate member9at a position where the gear plate member9can contact the rotation gear417only when the pen41is lifted up to be rotatable.

That is, in the embodiment, the pen41is held to be rotatable inside the pen holder431when the pen41is lifted up to be at the non-drawing position by the pen holding unit437d, and when the pen41is in this state, the gear plate member9can contact the rotation gear417.

The length and width of the gear plate member9are not limited to the illustrated example, and the gear plate member9only needs to have at least the length and width necessary to contact the rotation gear417to rotate the pen41by 180 degrees and to reverse the left and right tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of pen tip412.

With respect to this, in order to rotate the pen41180 degrees and reverse the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of pen tip412, the length F of the gear plate member9needs to satisfy A×π/2≦F when the diameter of the rotation gear417is A. Therefore, for example, when the diameter of rotation gear417is 10 mm, as the length F of the gear plate member9, at least 16 mm is enough.

As shown inFIGS. 9A, 9B, 12A and 12B, when the gear plate member9is long to the same degree as the width of the drawing head42, it is possible to change the directions of all the pens41at once by making the rotation gears417of all the pens41held in the pen carriages43in the drawing head42contact the gear plate member9all at once and moving the drawing head42in this state.

When tilt directions of pen tip axis413are to be changed for only a part of the pens41in a case where the long gear plate member9is provided as described above, only the pens41that the tilt directions are not to be changed may be lowered by the pen lifting mechanism432so that the rotation gears417of the pens41will not contact the gear plate member9.

Since the other configurations are similar to those of the first to third embodiments, the explanation thereof is omitted.

Next, with reference toFIGS. 9A and 9B, operations and drawing control method of the nail print apparatus in the embodiment will be described.

In the embodiment, similarly to the first to third embodiments, the drawing control unit815appropriately changes the tilt direction of pen tip axis413of pen tip412to perform drawing with the drawing unit40in accordance with the location of the drawing position in the width direction of nail T.

When determining that the tilt direction of pen tip axis413of pen tip412needs to be changed, the drawing control unit815operates the head driving unit49to move the drawing head42to the position where the gear plate member9is provided.

Then, as shown inFIG. 9A, the drawing control unit815makes the rotation gear417of pen41contact the gear plate member9in the non-drawing state that the pen41is lifted up by the pen lifting mechanism432and the locking convex portion411aof the pen shaft411is not locked into the notch431aof the pen holder431.

In this state, the drawing control unit815operates the head driving unit49to move the drawing head42in the arrow direction shown inFIG. 9Auntil the tilt direction of the pen tip axis413of pen tip412of pen41is reversed.

For example, when the diameter of rotation gear417is 10 mm, the drawing head42is moved for about 16 mm in the X direction (horizontal direction of nail print apparatus1) from the position where the rotation gear417contacts the gear plate member9.

Thus, as shown inFIG. 9B, the pen41is rotated approximately 180 degrees around the axis thereof and the tilt direction of pen tip axis413of pen tip412is horizontally reversed.

When the direction of the pen tip412is reversed, the drawing control unit815operates the head driving unit49to move the drawing head42in the back direction (back side in Y direction inFIG. 13) of the apparatus to the position where the rotation gear417does not contact the gear plate member9.

Then, at this position, or after moving the pen41to the drawing position, the drawing control unit815lowers the pen41by the pen lifting mechanism432(for example, the solenoid440of the pen lifting mechanism432is turned off to make the pen41fall down by its own weight).

Thus, the pen41is in the drawable state that the locking convex portion411aof the pen shaft411is locked into the notch431aof pen holder431, the tilt direction of pen tip axis413of pen tip412is fixed and the pen tip412protrudes from the lower end of the pen holder431. The drawing control unit815performs drawing in this state.

Since the other respects are similar to those of the first to third embodiments, the explanation thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the embodiment, in addition to the same effects as the first to third embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in the embodiment, a gear plate member9is provided to be fixed in the nail print apparatus, and by moving the drawing head42with the gear plate member9contacting the rotation gear417of pen41, the tilt direction of pen tip axis413of pen tip412can be changed.

Thus, there is no need to separately prepare a driving mechanism dedicated for rotating the pen41. Thus, it is possible to simplify the configuration of apparatus to be compact and light and suppress the apparatus cost.

In a case where a long member is used as the gear plate member9, the tilt directions of the pen tip axes413of pen tips412can be changed all at once for a plurality of pens41, and it is possible to rapidly and efficiently change the tilt directions of pen tip axes413of pen tips412.

In the above description, the gear plate member9is disposed to be fixed on the wall surface in the upper section of home space. However, the gear plate member9may be provided at any position as long as the rotation gear417of pen41can contact the irregularities (gear) of the gear plate member9. For example, depending on the shapes of drawing head42and pen holder431, the gear plate member9may be disposed on the wall surface of back surface (upper side inFIG. 8) of nail print apparatus or left or right lateral surface (left or right lateral surface inFIG. 8). Alternatively, the gear plate member9may be vertically provided from the upper side of the nail print apparatus.

In the embodiment, a gear plate member9having irregularities (gear) on the surface thereof is disposed and the rotation gear417of the pen41is engaged with the irregularities (gear) of the gear plate member9. However, the shapes and configurations of the gear plate member9and the rotation gear417are not limited to this.

For example, the surface of gear plate member9and the rotation gear417of pen41may be processed to be roughed at the outer lateral surfaces without forming irregularities (gear). Alternatively, a material such as rubber having a large friction coefficient may be attached to the surface of gear plate member9and the outer lateral surface of the rotation gear417so that the pen41is rotated by a friction force when the surface of gear plate member9contacts the outer lateral surface of the rotation gear417of the pen41.

Though the embodiments of the present invention have been described, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various changes can be made within the scope of the invention.

For example, the embodiments have been described by illustrating a case where the rotation gear417is provided between the flange413and the finger grip415. However, the position to provide the rotation gear417is not limited to this.

For example, a gear portion to be engaged with the gear of motor gear445may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the flange413without separately providing the rotation gear417.

As shown inFIG. 10, the rotation gear417may be provided around the upper end portion of the pen41above the flange413.

The shape of rotation gear417is also not especially limited. For example, as shown inFIG. 10, the rotation gear417may be formed so as to have a larger diameter downward. In this case, the motor gear445to be engaged with the rotation gear417is also formed to match the shape of the rotation gear417(that is, a slant angle of lateral surface of rotation gear417) so as to have a larger diameter upward.

As shown inFIG. 10, in a case where the rotation gear417has a larger diameter downward, by providing the detachment portion445b(seeFIG. 4D) to the motor gear445, the pen41can be lowered when the engagement between the gears is released. However, the pen41cannot be removed upward. Thus, as indicated by the two dot chain line inFIG. 10, when the pen41is to be replaced or such like, the motor gear445together with the pen rotation motor443is made to retreat to the position not contacting the pen41by providing a unit which moves the motor gear445and the pen rotation motor443connected thereto via a shaft444in the direction away from the pen41.

The configuration of the pen41which is the writing tool is not limited to that shown inFIGS. 3A to 3E.

For example, as shown inFIG. 11A, a pen410may be configured by including a pen holding shaft420and a pen main body418as a writing tool main body which has a cylindrical pen shaft418bprovided at the tip portion of the pen holding shaft420and a pen tip418aas a tip portion provided at the tip portion of the pen shaft418b.

In this case, the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip418aof the pen main body418is not tilted with respect to the axis of the pen shaft418b. That is, the pen main body418has a general shape that the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip418ais along the axis of the pen shaft418b.

The pen main body418is fixed to the pen holding shaft420by a pen fixing unit419in a state in which the pen tip axis SL is tilted with respect to the axis PL of the pen holding shaft420.

The pen holding shaft420may be a solid bar or a hollow tube.

The pen holding shaft420is inserted to be held in the pen holder431of the pen carriage43, and the drawing control unit815rotates the pen holding shaft420of the pen410inserted into the pen holder431.

In this case, as shown inFIGS. 11B and 11C, the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip418acan be reversed by rotating the pen holding shaft420of the pen410inserted into the pen holder431by 180 degrees.

In this case, since the pen main body418protrudes outside the pen holding shaft420, for example, as shown inFIG. 11B, the pen holder431may be shaped to be open at the side provided with the pen main body418so that the pen holder431of the drawing head42holds the pen410so as to sandwich the pen410from both sides.

In this case, a pen holding unit437eprovided at the tip portion of the longer arm437bof the pen lifting lever437of the pen lifting mechanism432is formed in a nearly C shape or U shape with the side provided with the pen main body418open, for example.

In this case, for example, a standby space is provided at the upper surface of the dividing wall116, a plurality of pens410are held in the standby space, and a pen410is automatically selected from the standby space to be loaded on the drawing head42.

By such configuration, the pen410can be held by the drawing head42even in the configuration that the pen main body418protrudes outside the pen holding shaft420.

In this case, only a single drawing head42is needed. Thus, it is possible to increase the number of pens410which can be held in the nail print apparatus1while making the apparatus light.

The configuration of pen holder431holding the pen410with the pen main body418protruding outside the pen holding shaft420is not limited to this.

For example, as shown inFIG. 11C, the pen holder431may include a hinge431bso that the pen holder431is operable and closable via the hinge431bto be in a closed state (seeFIG. 11A) for sandwiching therein the pen holding shaft420and in an open state (seeFIG. 11C) for releasing the pen holding shaft420.

Alternatively, the pen holder may be integrally provided with the pen410so as to be attached/detached when the pen410is replaced or the like.

As inFIGS. 11A to 11C, in a case where the pen410has a configuration of fixing the pen main body418including the pen tip418ato the pen holding shaft420so as to be tilted, a commercial pen in a normal shape can be used as the pen main body418. Thus, pens can be manufactured at low cost compared to pens having the pen tips tilted.

As shown inFIGS. 12A and 12B, the configuration of including a gear plate member9fixed in the apparatus and rotating the pen41by making the gear plate member9contact the rotation gear417and moving the pen41in the longer direction of the gear plate member9as in the fourth embodiment may be applied to the configuration in which the pen main body418is fixed to the pen holding shaft420so as to be tilted.

In this case, as shown inFIGS. 12A and 12B, the pen410can be held in the pen holder431so as to be rotatable, and it is possible to reverse the tilt direction of the pen tip axis SL of the pen tip418aonly by moving the pen410(pen holder431holding the pen410) in a state in which the rotation gear417contacts the gear plate member9.

The embodiments have been described by illustrating a case where the tilt direction of the pen tip axis of pen tip is changed according to the drawing position of nail T to perform drawing by rotating the pen41by 180 degrees around the axis thereof and thereby reversing the tilt direction of pen tip axis SL of the pen tip412which is the tip portion. However, the method for changing the tilt direction of pen tip axis of pen tip to perform drawing is not limited to this.

For example, there may be provided a first pen including a pen tip with the pen tip axis tilted to the right and a second pen including a pen tip with the pen tip axis tilted to the left, and drawing may be performed by using the first pen and the second pen depending on the drawing position.

The embodiments have been described by illustrating a configuration using solenoids as pen lifting mechanism for moving the pens41and410up and down. However, the configuration of pen lifting mechanism is not limited to this. For example, the pen lifting mechanism may be configured by a stepping motor, a DC motor, a motor and a ball screw.

The embodiments have been described by taking an example in which the X-direction movement stage45and the Y-direction movement stage47for moving the drawing head42are configured by combining the X-direction movement motor46and the Y-direction movement motor48which are stepping motors with the ball screw and the guide not shown in the drawings. However, the configuration for moving the drawing head42is not limited to this.

The X-direction movement motor46and the Y-direction movement motor48may be anything as long as they can move the drawing head42forward and backward and left and right at will. For example, the configuration may use a mechanism using a shaft, guide and wire as used in conventional inexpensive printers. Alternatively, the configuration may use a servomotor or the like.

The embodiments have been described by taking, as an example, the nail print apparatus1which performs drawing in order by inserting a single finger into the apparatus. However, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus which can perform drawing continuously with respect to a plurality of fingers without inserting and removing each of the fingers.

For example, by enlarging the movable range of pen to increase the drawable range, drawing can also be performed continuously with respect to each of the fingernails in a state in which a plurality of printing fingers U1are inserted at the same time.

Though several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes the scope of inventions, which is described in the scope of claims, and the scope equivalent thereof.