Method and system for determining matting agent levels of varnish formulations for repairing articles

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining matting agent levels of varnish formulations for repairing articles are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: a) providing a database having a plurality of data sets, each data set comprising a first gloss level value and a matting agent level of the sample coating determined under a first measurement geometry condition; b) determining a second gloss level value of the sample coating with the measuring device under a second measurement geometry condition; c) associating a second gloss level value with the data set of the sample coating; d) determining a third gloss level value of the target coating with the measuring device under a second measurement geometry condition; e) selecting from the database a target data set having a second gloss level closest to the third gloss level; and f) determining the matting agent level of the varnish formulation from the target data set.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method of determining a matting agent level of a varnish formulation for restoring an article. The present disclosure also relates to a system for determining a matting agent level of a varnish formulation for restoring an article. Background Art

[0002] Surface coatings containing matting agents are well known. For example, matting agents are beneficial for automobile body decoration. Matting agents can produce a desired gloss level appearance. The effect of the gloss level appearance depends on the amount of matting agent added to the clearcoat formulation.

[0003] In order to repair a previously coated substrate or article, such as an automobile body, the correct amount of matting agent must be selected to match the gloss level, and thus the color and appearance, of the coated substrate. A variety of coating formulations are available from paint suppliers to match the various vehicles and articles to be coated.

[0004] There are often multiple paint formulations for the same vehicle make and model due to differences in vehicle coating color and appearance caused by slight variability in formulation, ingredients used, paint application conditions such as paint application techniques or locations used by vehicle OEMs. These color and appearance variations make it difficult to determine the best formula to achieve the best match in a vehicle shop. Many methods have been developed to determine the formulation of the correct pigment to achieve a color and appearance match.

[0005] To determine the amount of matting required for a formulation to achieve the desired gloss level, measurements are usually taken at predetermined illumination and detection or measurement angles. For the repaired substrate, the same measurement geometry is used to measure the target coating. However, this requires that the same or equivalent type of measurement device and measuring equipment be used when measuring the sample coating as when measuring the target coating. This can be a cumbersome and expensive approach.

[0006] Therefore, there may be a need for a simplified method of determining matting agent levels in varnish formulations used to restore articles. Summary of the invention

[0007] According to one aspect, a method for determining a matting agent level of a varnish formulation for repairing an article comprises the following steps: a) providing a database having a plurality of data sets, each data set comprising a first gloss level value of a sample coating determined under a first measurement geometry and a matting agent level; b) determining a second gloss level value of the sample coating using the measuring device under a second measurement geometry; c) associating the second gloss level value with the data set of the sample coating; d) determining a third gloss level value of a target coating using the measuring device under the second measurement geometry; e) selecting a target data set having a second gloss level closest to the third gloss level from the database; and f) determining the matting agent level of the varnish formulation from the target data set.

[0008] The sample coating may also be referred to as a reference coating. The gloss level of the sample coating is measured under the first measurement geometry. The matting agent level of the sample coating is known, so the gloss level of the sample coating measured under the first measurement geometry can be assigned to the known amount of matting agent contained in the sample coating, i.e., the matting agent level.

[0009] The database includes gloss level values ​​and matting agent levels for different sample coatings and can be used as a reference to determine the amount of matting agent required for a clearcoat to achieve the desired gloss level for a target coating.

[0010] The target coating may include a basecoat and a clearcoat, with the gloss of the target coating being controlled by the amount of matting agent in the clearcoat formulation. The target coating refers to the coating in the undamaged areas of the item to be repaired. In other words, the target coating defines the appearance to be achieved when repairing the item.

[0011] In the first step, the structural repair of the object to be repaired is performed. In a subsequent step, a coating is applied that matches the appearance of the coating in the undamaged area of ​​the object. Preferably, the coating applied to the damaged and repaired areas of the object can extend beyond the repaired area to better blend with the surrounding of the repaired area.

[0012] The gloss level value of the sample coating is measured in a first measurement geometry. Measuring the gloss level value in the first measurement geometry means that the measurement device is positioned such that it measures the reflection (eg specular reflection) from the coating relative to the surface normal of the object at the measurement area.

[0013] The measuring device may include an illumination device and a detector device. The illumination device and the detector device may be arranged so that they define an illumination angle, a detection angle and / or other geometric specifications. The illumination angle and the detection angle may be symmetrical with respect to the surface normal of the object at the measuring area, for example, the illumination angle is -20 degrees and the detection angle is +20 degrees relative to the surface normal. In other words, the measurement geometry is defined at least by the measurement angle. The measurement angle defines the angle at which the illumination device and the detector device are arranged on the respective sides relative to the surface normal. For example, a measurement angle of 35 degrees means that the illumination angle is -35 degrees and the detection angle is +35 degrees relative to the surface normal, or vice versa. Preferably, the illumination angle and the detection angle are both located in a mirror plane defined by the surface normal and the illumination angle.

[0014] In order to be able to measure the gloss level values ​​of the target coating using a measurement setup (i.e., measurement geometry) and / or a measuring device that is different from those used to measure the gloss level values ​​of the sample coating, the gloss level values ​​of the sample coating are measured under a second measurement geometry and the gloss level measured under the second measurement geometry (second gloss level value) is associated with the first gloss level value already contained in the database.

[0015] Subsequently, the second gloss level values ​​are associated with the data set of the corresponding sample coating. Thus, a database comprising first gloss level values ​​acquired under a first measurement geometry and to which matting agent levels have been assigned is supplemented by the second gloss level values, so that this existing database filled with the measurement values ​​of the first measurement setup can be used together with gloss level values ​​determined under different measurement geometries.

[0016] In other words, a correlation between the first gloss level value and the matting agent level already exists in the database. The second gloss level is assigned to this existing correlation between the first and second gloss level values ​​so that the second gloss level value can be associated with the matting agent level in the initial database.

[0017] This approach, combined with an existing database that assigns gloss level values ​​to matting agent levels, provides flexibility for using different measurement setups.

[0018] According to one embodiment, step a) comprises: a1) determining a first gloss level value of a sample coating having a known matting agent level using a measuring device under a first measurement geometry; and a2) populating a database with a data set comprising the first gloss level value of the sample coating and the known matting agent level.

[0019] Steps a1 and a2 describe how to populate the database with initial correlations between first gloss level values ​​and known matting agent levels.

[0020] According to another embodiment, step a) is repeated multiple times using corresponding sample coatings having different matting agent levels, and a corresponding data set is created for each sample coating.

[0021] Therefore, the database includes a data set of sample coatings having different matting agent levels.

[0022] According to another embodiment, step e) is accomplished by determining the difference between the third gloss level and the second gloss level for each data set of the database, wherein the data set having the smallest difference between the third gloss level and the second gloss level is selected as the target data set.

[0023] When the difference between the third gloss level value and the second gloss level value is minimal, then the matting agent level assigned to the second gloss level in the database corresponds to the matting agent level in the target coating. The matting agent level can be obtained from the corresponding data set and applied to the clearcoat formulation to create a formula that matches the target coating.

[0024] According to another embodiment, the second measurement geometry is defined by a second measurement angle selected from the range between 20 degrees and 85 degrees.

[0025] As mentioned above, the measurement angle defines the relative angular orientation of the illumination device and the detector device, respectively, relative to the surface normal, while the illumination device and the detector device are arranged on different sides of the surface normal and opposite to each other, i.e. symmetrically relative to the surface normal. The illumination device is preferably oriented so that the emitted light beam is directed to the measurement area and reflected from this area to the detector device.

[0026] The measurement angle range mentioned may include 20 degrees and 85 degrees and any angle value therebetween. In one example, the second measurement angle may be selected from a range between 35 degrees (including 35 degrees) and 55 degrees (including 55 degrees). In a specific example, the second measurement angle is 45 degrees.

[0027] One aspect of the present disclosure is that gloss level values ​​of a target coating are determined or measured at a measurement geometry (a second measurement geometry) different from a first measurement geometry of measurements in an existing database, and the gloss level values ​​measured at the second measurement geometry are matched with a data set in the database acquired for the same sample coating at another measurement geometry. In other words, a sample coating with a known matting agent level (i.e., the amount of matting agent contained in the sample coating) is measured at a first measurement geometry and the measured gloss level value is assigned to the matting agent level contained in the sample coating. The same sample coating is measured at a second measurement geometry and a second gloss level value acquired at the second measurement geometry is assigned to the data set in the database belonging to the sample coating. Thus, in the database, different gloss level values ​​acquired at different measurement geometries are assigned to the sample coating and the database populated with gloss level values ​​acquired at the first measurement geometry is assigned additional gloss level values ​​acquired at the second measurement geometry, so that the database can be used to determine the matting agent level even when another measurement device is used and the gloss level values ​​are measured at a measurement geometry different from that contained in the initial database.

[0028] According to another embodiment, the second measurement geometry is different from the first measurement geometry.

[0029] According to another embodiment, the first measurement geometry is defined by a first measurement angle selected from the range between 20 degrees and 85 degrees.

[0030] The range mentioned may include 20 degrees and 85 degrees and any angle value therebetween.

[0031] According to another embodiment, each data set in the database comprises at least two first gloss level values, each first gloss level value being acquired under a different first measurement geometry.

[0032] The gloss level values ​​of the sample coating can be measured under a plurality of different geometric conditions and the corresponding gloss level measurements can be assigned to corresponding matting agent levels to create a data set (i.e., entry) in the database. The second gloss level value can then be associated with any one (or more) of the plurality of first gloss level values ​​available in the database to identify and select the matting agent level of the target coating.

[0033] According to another embodiment, each data set in the database comprises three first gloss level values ​​acquired under measurement geometric conditions with measurement angles of 20 degrees, 60 degrees and 85 degrees, respectively.

[0034] According to another embodiment, associating the second gloss level value with the first gloss level value is accomplished by a linear regression of the second gloss level value with respect to the first gloss level value.

[0035] For example, a curve fitting method may be applied to map the second gloss level measurement to the first gloss level measurement.An equation may be generated that can be used to convert the second gloss level value to the first gloss level value and subsequently establish the matting agent level.

[0036] Alternatively, a curve fitting method may be applied to generate an equation that can be used to determine the matting agent level directly by using the second gloss level value.

[0037] According to another embodiment, correlating the second gloss level value to the first gloss level value is done by ordinal regression.

[0038] In contrast to linear regression, the use of ordinal regression involves a statistical method that predicts a specific matting agent level based on the correlation between the second gloss level value and the first gloss level value.

[0039] According to another embodiment, step d) further comprises simultaneously determining at least one of reflectivity and color sparkle in addition to the gloss level value of the target coating.

[0040] Thus, the device for gloss level measurement is configured to measure several characteristics of the target coating.A benefit of this design is that the method described herein does not require a special gloss level measurement device, but can use existing multi-measurement devices.

[0041] According to another embodiment, the matting agent level is defined by a discrete scale or a continuous scale.

[0042] The matting agent level may be expressed as one of a plurality of steps of matting agent level or as a numerical value on a continuous scale. The continuous scale may be described by a numerical relationship or a mathematical formula.

[0043] According to another aspect, a system for determining a matting agent level of a varnish formulation for repairing an article is provided. The system comprises a control unit having a processor and a memory; a measuring device having an illumination device and a detector device, wherein the measuring device is operably connected to the control unit. The memory comprises a database having a plurality of data sets, each data set comprising a first gloss level value of a sample coating determined under a first measurement geometry and a matting agent level. The control unit is configured to control the illumination device to emit a light beam to the sample coating, control the detector device under a second measurement geometry to determine a second gloss level value of the sample coating, associate the second gloss level value with the data set of the sample coating, determine a third gloss level value of a target coating with the detector device under the second measurement geometry, select a target data set having a second gloss level closest to the third gloss level from the database, and determine the matting agent level of the varnish formulation from the target data set.

[0044] The systems described herein are configured to perform the steps of any aspect or embodiment of the methods described herein. The steps of any aspect or embodiment of the methods can be performed by the system and can be implemented as a function of the system or any component thereof (such as a control unit connected to an irradiation device and a detector device).

[0045] According to one embodiment, the illumination device and the detector device are both located in a mirror plane defined by the surface normal of the sample coating and the illumination angle. In other words, the illumination device and the detector device are arranged symmetrically with respect to the measurement area and, as described in more detail above, are at a given measurement angle with respect to the surface normal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The accompanying drawings are schematic diagrams and are not drawn to scale. The same or similar elements are marked with the same reference numerals as shown in the figures.

[0047] Figure 1 An article having a coating is shown;

[0048] Figure 2 A coating with damaged areas and coating repair areas is shown;

[0049] Figure 3 shows a measurement setup for measuring the gloss level value of a coating on an article;

[0050] Figure 4 A system for determining the matting agent level of a varnish formulation used to repair an article is shown;

[0051] Figure 5 A database having a plurality of data sets is shown;

[0052] Figure 6The steps of a method for determining the gloss level value of a coating on an article are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] By reading the following detailed description, it will be easier for those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the features and advantages of the present disclosure. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, some features of the present invention described above and below in the context of different embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, for the sake of brevity, the various features of the present invention described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided respectively or in the form of any sub-combination. In addition, unless the context clearly states otherwise, reference in the singular may also include plural (e.g., "a" and "one" may refer to one / kind or one / kind or more / kinds).

[0054] Unless otherwise expressly stated, the numerical values ​​in the various ranges specified in this application are approximate, as if the minimum and maximum values ​​in the ranges were preceded by the word "about". Thus, slight variations above or below the ranges can be used to achieve substantially the same results as the values ​​in the ranges. In addition, the disclosed ranges are intended to be a continuous range including every value between the minimum and maximum values.

[0055] As used in this article:

[0056] As used herein, "appearance" refers to (1) aspects of the visual experience of viewing or recognizing a coating; and (2) the perception of integrating the spectral and geometric aspects of a coating with its illumination and viewing environment. In general, appearance can include the shape, texture, sparkle, glitter, gloss, transparency, opacity, other visual effects, or combinations thereof of a coating. Appearance can change with changes in viewing angle or changes in illumination angle.

[0057] The term "gloss" refers to the angular selectivity of reflectance and relates to the light reflected from a surface, which determines the extent to which reflected highlights or images of an object can be seen as superimposed on the surface. "Gloss reflectance" is the ratio of the specularly reflected portion of the (total) flux reflected from a sample to the flux reflected from a specified gloss standard under identical geometric and spectral measurement conditions. "Specular gloss" is the ratio of the reflected flux in the specular direction to the incident flux at a specified angle of incidence and illuminant and receiver angular aperture, and can also be described as the perceived surface brightness associated with the luminous specular (regular) reflection of a surface. "Specular reflectance" is the non-diffuse reflection that conforms to the laws of optical reflection, as in a mirror. The standard test method for specular gloss is described in ASTM D523-14.

[0058] The term "database" refers to a collection of related information that can be searched and retrieved. A database can be a searchable electronic digital or text document, a searchable PDF document, a Microsoft Spreadsheet, Microsoft databases (both provided by Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington), Database (provided by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California) or Linux Database, each of which is registered under its respective trademark. A database can be a set of electronic documents, photographs, images, charts or drawings that exist in one or more computer-readable storage media that can be searched and retrieved. A database can be a single database or a group of related databases or a group of unrelated databases. "Related databases" means that there is at least one common information element in the related databases that can be used to relate such databases. An example of a related database can be Relational database.

[0059] The terms "vehicle," "automotive," "automobile," "automotive vehicle," or "automobile vehicle" refer to automobiles, such as cars, vans, minivans, buses, SUVs (sport utility vehicles); trucks; semi-trucks; tractors; motorcycles; trailers; ATVs (all-terrain vehicles); pickup trucks; heavy-duty moving machines, such as bulldozers, mobile cranes, and excavators; aircraft; boats; ships; and other modes of transportation.

[0060] The computing device used herein, for example, for realizing the function of the control unit, may refer to a data processing chip, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a palmtop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld electronic processing device, a smart phone having both PDA and mobile phone functions, or any other electronic device that can automatically process information. The computing device may be built into other electronic devices, such as a built-in data processing chip integrated into an imaging device, a color measurement device, or an appearance measurement device. The computing device may have one or more wired or wireless connections or combinations thereof with a database, another computing device. The computing device may be a client computer that communicates with a host computer in a multi-computer client-host system via a wired or wireless network (including an intranet and the Internet). The computing device may also be configured to be coupled to a data input or output device via a wired or wireless connection. For example, a laptop computer may be operably configured to receive color data and images via a wireless connection. "Portable computing device" includes a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld electronic processing device, a mobile phone, a smart phone having both PDA and mobile phone functions, a tablet computer, or any other electronic device that can process information and data and can be carried by an individual.

[0061] Wired connections, such as connections between a control unit and an irradiation device and / or a detector device, may include hardware couplers, splitters, connectors, cables or wires. Wireless connections and devices may include, but are not limited to, Wi-Fi devices, Bluetooth devices, wide area network (WAN) wireless devices, local area network (LAN) devices, infrared communication devices, optical data transmission devices, radio transmitters and optional receivers, wireless phones, wireless phone adapter cards, or any other device that can transmit signals over a wide radio frequency range including visible or invisible optical wavelengths and electromagnetic wavelengths.

[0062] The measuring device may consist of individual components such as the irradiation device, the control unit, the detection device, etc. However, the measuring device may preferably be implemented as a single device with all its components contained in a housing of the measuring device. For details of the measuring device, see Figure 3 Give a description.

[0063] The detector device may be or may include a spectrophotometer. Typically, a spectrophotometer is configured to measure the reflective or transmissive properties of a material as a function of the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave emitted to the material. In the context of the present disclosure, the reflective properties are measured. A spectrophotometer may measure the intensity of a beam of light at different wavelengths. Although reference is made to "light" and "irradiation," this does not limit the methods and apparatus described herein to visible light. A spectrophotometer may use electromagnetic waves, including X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, and / or microwaves.

[0064] Figure 1 Schematically shown is an article 5, such as a motor vehicle part or a body, having a coating 10. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the coating 10 may include a basecoat and a clearcoat.

[0065] Figure 2 Schematically, a coating 10 with a damaged area 12 is shown. The underlying article 5 is not shown. However, before repairing the coating 10, if necessary, the article 5 is first structurally repaired. The steps of repairing the article 5 are known to those skilled in the art. The damaged area 12 at least shows the area where the coating 10 is damaged and needs to be repaired. The coating repair area 14 can be larger than the damaged area, so that the new coating applied to the coating repair area 14 transitions to the target coating, and the new coating is the coating surrounding the coating repair area 14.

[0066] In order to select the appropriate matting agent level to achieve the gloss level of the target coating, the methods and systems described herein are provided so that the coating repair area 14 has a gloss level close to or equal to the target coating 10 .

[0067] Figure 3 An article 5 with a coating 10 having a surface 11 is shown by way of example. Two irradiation devices 20A, 20B of an irradiation device 20 are shown at different positions. Two detector devices 30A, 30B of a detector arrangement 30 are shown at different positions. However, it should be noted that the irradiation device may comprise a single irradiation device and / or the detector arrangement may comprise a single detector device. Preferably, the irradiation devices 20A, 20B and the corresponding detector devices 30A, 30B are symmetrical to each other with respect to the surface normal 15, i.e. both are located in a mirror plane defined by the surface normal 15 of the sample coating and the irradiation angle 22 between the irradiation devices 20A, 20B and the surface normal 15. Figure 3 In the example of , the illumination device 20B and the detection device 30B are symmetrical with respect to the surface normal 15, i.e. the illumination angle 23 (shown with reference to the surface 11 of the coating 10) and the detection angle 33 (also shown with reference to the surface 11 of the coating 10) are similar with respect to the surface 11 of the coating 10 and thus with respect to the surface normal 15. The same applies to the illumination device 20A and the detection device 30A: the illumination angle 22 (shown with reference to the surface normal 15) and the detector angle 32 (also shown with reference to the surface normal 15) are similar with respect to the surface normal 15 (and thus with respect to the surface 11 of the coating 10). The measurement geometries mentioned in this specification preferably use symmetrical measurement geometries, i.e. the paired devices 20A / 30A and / or 20B / 30B.

[0068] The measuring device may include one irradiation device 20A, 20B and one detector device 30A, 30B. However, it is readily understood by those skilled in the art that this number of devices is only an example and the principles proposed herein are applicable to any number of irradiation devices and detector devices without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0069] A plurality of illumination devices 20A, 20B may be part of the illumination arrangement 20 and the devices 20A, 20B may be located at different positions relative to the object 5, resulting in different illumination angles for the respective illumination devices 20A, 20B.

[0070] The illumination angle of the light beam 21 can be defined relative to the normal direction 15 at a reference point 40 on the surface 11 of the coating 10 of the article 5 as shown by the angle 22. However, the illumination angle can also be defined relative to the surface of the coating 10 by the angle 23.

[0071] The plurality of irradiation devices 20A, 20B located at different irradiation angles may irradiate the coating 10 simultaneously or sequentially to detect the gloss level value of the coating 10 .

[0072] Although Figure 3 Two illumination devices 20A, 20B are shown in FIG. 1 , but the present invention is not limited to two illumination devices. The systems and methods described herein may use more than two illumination devices, each illumination device being located at a different illumination angle. The illumination devices may be located on the same side of the normal 15, i.e., Figure 3 However, it is conceivable that the irradiation device is located at a different side relative to the normal direction 15 on the reference point 40 .

[0073] Now, with respect to the detector arrangement 30, similar considerations as described above with respect to the illumination arrangement 30 apply. The detector arrangement 30 may include more than one detector device 30A, 30B located at different measurement angles 32 (angle values ​​shown relative to the normal direction 15) or 33 (angle values ​​shown relative to the surface 11 of the coating 10). The detector devices 30A, 30B may be located on the same side of the normal direction 15 or on different sides of a reference point 40 on the surface 11 of the coating 10.

[0074] Although Figure 3 Different illumination devices 20A, 20B and detector devices 30A, 30B are shown, but it should be noted that Figure 3 Preferably, each of the illumination devices 20A, 20B has a corresponding detector device 30A, 30B located in the same mirror plane and symmetrical with respect to the surface normal 15, i.e., the illumination devices 20A, 20B and the detector devices 30A, 30B are arranged on different sides of the surface normal 15 and at the same relative angle to the surface normal 15.

[0075] Illumination devices 20A, 20B emit light beams 21 ( Figure 3 One illumination device is shown in FIG; however, it is worth noting that each illumination device can emit a light beam simultaneously or sequentially) and the detection devices 30A, 30B detect the corresponding reflections 31.

[0076] Based on the emitted light beam 21 and the detected reflection 31 as well as the illumination angle and the measurement angle, the control unit (see Figure 4 ) determines the gloss level value of coating 10.

[0077] Figure 4 A system 90 for determining the matting agent level of a varnish formulation for repairing an article is shown. The system 90 includes a control unit 50, an irradiation device 20, and a detector device 30. The irradiation device 20 may be Figure 3 The irradiation device 20 and the detector device 30 mentioned in the embodiment may be Figure 3 The detector device 30 mentioned in .

[0078] The control unit 50 may be a computing device having a processor 52, a memory 55, and a database 60 stored in the memory. The processor 52 executes instructions stored in the memory 55, thereby performing the steps of the method according to the present disclosure (see also Figure 6 and related descriptions).

[0079] Figure 5 A database 60 is shown having a plurality of data sets 61. Each row of the graphical representation of the database corresponds to a data set or entry in the database.

[0080] Each data set includes a plurality of values, namely at least a first gloss level value 62 measured under a first measurement geometry, a matting amount 63 to be added to the varnish formulation to achieve the first gloss level value 62, and a second gloss level value 64 measured under a second measurement geometry.

[0081] The second gloss level value 64 is measured under different measurement geometry conditions. For example, the second gloss level value 64 is assigned to the corresponding data set by measuring a sample coating with a known matting agent level. Therefore, the gloss level value 64 is assigned to the data set with the corresponding matting agent level.

[0082] The initial database may only include the value 62 and the value 63 and is therefore limited to being used by a measuring device measuring gloss level values ​​at a first gloss level value 62 under a measuring geometry. However, when the gloss level of the coating is measured with a different measuring device under another measuring geometry or by using a different measuring setup, the gloss level value measured in this way does not correspond to the database value 62. In order to use the existing database of gloss level values ​​assigned to matting agent levels, the gloss level value 64 measured under a second measuring geometry is associated with the gloss level value 62 measured under the first measuring geometry and the required matting agent level 63 can be determined even with the gloss level value 64 as a starting point.

[0083] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a method 100 for determining a matting agent level of a varnish formulation for repairing an object 5 is shown. The method 100 comprises the following steps: a) denoted by 101, providing a database 60 having a plurality of data sets 61, each data set 61 comprising a first gloss level value 62 of a sample coating determined under a first measurement geometry and a matting agent level 63; b) denoted by 102, determining a second gloss level value 64 of the sample coating with a detector device 30 under a second measurement geometry; c) denoted by 103, associating the second gloss level value 64 with the data set 61 of the sample coating; d) denoted by 104, determining a third gloss level value of a target coating 10 with the detector device 30 under the second measurement geometry; e) denoted by 105, selecting a target data set 61 from the database 60 having a second gloss level value 64 closest to the third gloss level value; and f) denoted by 106, determining the matting agent level 63 of the varnish formulation from the target data set 61.

[0084] Reference numerals list

[0085] 5 Items

[0086] 10 Coating

[0087] 11 Surface

[0088] 12 Damaged Area

[0089] 14 Coating repair area

[0090] 15 Normal direction

[0091] 20 Irradiation device

[0092] 20A irradiation equipment

[0093] 20B Irradiation Equipment

[0094] 21 Beam

[0095] 22 Illumination angle relative to the normal direction

[0096] 23 Irradiation angle relative to the coating surface

[0097] 30 Detector device

[0098] 30A Detector Equipment

[0099] 30B Detector Equipment

[0100] 31 Reflection

[0101] 32 Reflection angle relative to the normal direction

[0102] 33 Reflection angle relative to the coating surface

[0103] 40 Reference points on the coating surface

[0104] 50 Control Unit

[0105] 52 Processors

[0106] 55 Memory

[0107] 60 Database

[0108] 61 Datasets

[0109] 62 The first gloss level value measured under the first measurement geometry

[0110] 63 Extinction dose

[0111] 64 The second gloss level value measured under the second measurement geometry

[0112] 90 System

[0113] 100 Methods

Claims

1. A method for determining the matting agent level of a varnish formulation for repairing an article, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a database having a plurality of data sets, each data set comprising a first gloss level value of a sample coating and a matting agent level determined under a first measurement geometry; b) determining a second gloss level value of the sample coating using the measuring device under a second measuring geometry; c) associating a second gloss level value with the dataset of said sample coating; d) determining a third gloss level value of the target coating using the measuring device under a second measurement geometry; e) selecting a target data set having a second gloss level closest to the third gloss level value from the database; f) Determine the matting agent level of the clearcoat formulation from the target data set.

2. The method according to claim 1, Wherein step a) comprises: a1) determining a first gloss level value of a sample coating having a known matting agent level using a measuring device under a first measuring geometry; and a2) populating a database with a data set comprising first gloss level values ​​and known matting agent levels of sample coatings.

3. The method according to claim 2, Step a) is repeated multiple times using corresponding sample coatings with different matting agent levels, and a corresponding data set is created for each sample coating.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Step e) is completed by determining the difference between the third gloss level and the second gloss level of each data set in the database, wherein the data set with the smallest difference between the third gloss level and the second gloss level is selected as the target data set.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second measurement geometry is defined by a second measurement angle selected from a range between 20 degrees and 85 degrees; The first measurement geometry is defined by a first measurement angle selected from a range between 20 degrees and 85 degrees.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, The second measurement geometry condition is different from the first measurement geometry condition.

7. The method according to claim 6, Each data set in the database includes at least two first gloss level values, and each first gloss level value is obtained under different first measurement geometry conditions.

8. The method according to claim 7, Each data set in the database includes three first gloss level values ​​obtained under measurement geometric conditions with measurement angles of 20 degrees, 60 degrees and 85 degrees respectively.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Wherein step d) further comprises determining at least one of reflectivity and color sparkle in addition to the gloss level value of the target coating.

10. A system for determining a matting agent level in a varnish formulation for restoring an article, the system comprising: a control unit having a processor and a memory; a measuring device having an illumination device and a detector device, wherein the measuring device is operatively connected to a control unit; wherein the memory includes a database having a plurality of data sets, each data set including a first gloss level value and a matting agent level of a sample coating determined under a first measurement geometry; The control unit is configured as follows: controlling the irradiation device to emit a light beam toward the sample coating; controlling the detector assembly under a second measurement geometry to determine a second gloss level value for the sample coating; associating a second gloss level value with the dataset of the sample coating; determining a third gloss level value of the target coating using the detector assembly under the second measurement geometry; selecting a target data set having a second gloss level closest to a third gloss level from the database; and Determine the matting agent level of a varnish formulation from a target dataset.

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