Method for measuring the thickness of coating material

Abstract

To provide a method capable of measuring a coating thickness which is precise in an area without using a measuring pin after construction of a coating material, and a measurement reference body used for the measurement method.SOLUTION: A measurement reference body 30 measures a thickness of a coating material constructed on a target surface, in which the measurement reference body has a bottom surface 31 having the same function as the coating material and being fixed to the target surface, and a height H from the bottom surface to a top part 32 is greater than a thickness of the coating material to be constructed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for measuring the thickness of a coating material applied to planar parts such as the walls, floors, ceilings, and roofs of buildings.

Background Art

[0002] Various functional layers are formed on the walls of buildings and the like by means such as painting, plastering, spraying, etc. For example, a foaming raw liquid with a foaming agent added to the main raw material is sprayed and foamed and solidified to construct a heat insulating material. To keep the thickness of the heat insulating material within a predetermined range, after spraying and foaming and solidifying the foaming material on the construction target surface, the thickness is checked, and for parts that are too thick, the excess is cut, and for parts that are too thin, additional correction processing is required. Conventionally, at the construction site, after construction, a needle-shaped measuring gauge was inserted into various parts of the foamed and solidified heat insulating material, its thickness was measured, and it was checked whether correction processing was required at each part. However, the thickness of the heat insulating material could only obtain scattered measurement values at the positions where the measuring gauge was inserted, and it was not possible to perform surface quality control.

[0003] Regarding the above problems, Patent Document 1 describes a method for measuring the thickness of a coating material applied to a target surface. Using the three-dimensional coordinates on a reference marker installed on or near the coating material as the reference three-dimensional coordinates, a virtual plane is calculated based on three or more reference three-dimensional coordinates with known and the same distances from the target surface, and the thickness of the coating material is calculated based on the three-dimensional coordinates of the surface of the coating material and the virtual plane. Patent Document 2 describes a measuring pin for measuring the thickness of a heat insulating material applied to a target surface, and a measuring pin that can use a pressing part provided on the head as a reference marker at a predetermined distance from the target surface.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes a method for applying fire-resistant coatings, in which a target thickness object, made of the same components as the object to be coated, is placed on the surface of the object to be coated, and the fire-resistant coating is applied using this target thickness object as a guide. This allows the application to be carried out while visually confirming the target thickness, thus reducing variations in thickness. Furthermore, it describes a painting process in which image information of the unevenness of the painted surface is acquired using a 3D scanner, and it is determined that a coating of the predetermined thickness has been formed when the unevenness of the target thickness object disappears. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO2020 / 179336 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-143965 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-125620 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 had the problem that when the pins were removed after measuring the thickness of the coating material, pinholes remained in the coating material, and the number of holes increased when many pins were used to improve the accuracy of the thickness measurement.

[0007] Furthermore, while the method described in Patent Document 3 allows for the determination of a predetermined thickness of coating material by focusing on the unevenness of the painted surface, it was difficult to precisely measure the coating thickness across the surface. In particular, in the spray application method, since a target thickness object of the same thickness as the planned thickness of the coating material is used as a guideline for the thickness of the coating material, it was difficult to apply the material without embedding the target thickness object in the coating material, making it even more difficult to precisely measure the coating thickness across the surface.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a method for precisely measuring the thickness of a coating material over a surface area without using measuring pins that are installed after the coating material has been applied, and a measuring reference body to be used in such a measurement method. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The measurement reference body of the present invention is a measurement reference body for measuring the thickness of a coating material applied to a target surface, having the same function as the coating material, having a bottom surface that is fixed to the target surface, and the height from the bottom surface to the top surface is greater than the planned thickness of the coating material to be applied. Here, the same function as the coating material that the measurement reference body has refers to the function that is the purpose of applying the coating material.

[0010] The present invention relates to a method for measuring the thickness of a covering material using the above-described measurement reference bodies, comprising the steps of: fixing three or more of the measurement reference bodies, each having the same height from the bottom to the top, to the target surface; obtaining the construction shape, including the three-dimensional shape of the surface and top of the covering material, after the covering material has been applied to the target surface on which the measurement reference bodies are fixed; setting measurement reference points on the tops of the three or more measurement reference bodies; and calculating the thickness of the covering material based on the three-dimensional shape of the surface of the covering material and the three-dimensional coordinates of the measurement reference points. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention's measurement reference body or coating material thickness measurement method, after the coating material has been applied, the absolute value and distribution of the thickness of the coating material can be precisely measured in a surface manner based on the three-dimensional shape of the coating material surface and the three-dimensional coordinates of the measurement reference point set at the top of the measurement reference body. Furthermore, since the measurement reference body has the same function as the coating material, there is no need to remove the measurement reference body from the coating material after measuring the thickness, and unlike when using measurement pins, there is no problem of pinholes remaining in the coating material. In addition, since the thickness of the measurement reference body is greater than the planned thickness of the coating material, the measurement reference body is not embedded in the coating material, enabling accurate thickness measurement. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is an example of the configuration of a measurement system used in a method for measuring the thickness of a coating material according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a measurement reference body according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a process flow chart of a coating material application operation, including a method for measuring the thickness of the coating material according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] A to E: These are diagrams illustrating the steps of a method for measuring the thickness of a coating material according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] One embodiment of the measurement reference body and coating material thickness measurement method of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

[0014] The method for measuring the thickness of a covering material in this embodiment involves fixing a measurement reference body to the surface to be covered, and after the covering material is applied, measuring the covering material and the measurement reference body in three dimensions, and calculating the thickness of the covering material based on a measurement reference point set at the top of the measurement reference body. In the following description, we will assume that the wall surface of a building is the target surface and the insulation material sprayed onto it is the covering material, and will explain the method for measuring the thickness of the insulation material.

[0015] Referring to Figure 1, the measurement system 10 used in this embodiment comprises a 3D measuring device 11, a control unit 14, and a display unit 17. The control unit 14 comprises a storage unit 15 and a data processing unit 16. The storage unit 15 stores the construction shape and other information measured by the 3D measuring device 11. The data processing unit 16 performs calculations for 3D measurement and various calculations to calculate the thickness of the insulation material, and creates an image to be displayed on the display unit 17. The display unit 17 is, for example, a liquid crystal monitor that displays the image created by the data processing unit 16.

[0016] The 3D measuring device 11 measures the construction shape. The construction shape includes the 3D shape of the surface of the insulation material (covering material) 21 installed on the wall surface (target surface) 20, and the 3D shape of the top of the measuring reference body 30 fixed to the wall surface that protrudes from the insulation material.

[0017] The type of the three-dimensional measurement device 11 is not particularly limited, and devices such as a LIDAR method that irradiates a laser beam onto the measurement target surface and calculates the three-dimensional shape of the target surface based on the reflected light, a TOF method that measures the distance based on the time until the irradiated light is reflected and returned, a stereo method that calculates the three-dimensional shape using the principle of triangulation from images captured by two cameras, and an active stereo method in which one of the two cameras of the stereo method is replaced with a projector that projects a linear or other pattern light can be used.

[0018] The three-dimensional measurement device 11 preferably uses an active stereo type one. This is because the stereo method has high measurement accuracy when the distance to the measurement target is short, such as in indoor measurements. And by projecting a pattern, stereo corresponding points can be easily searched in the pattern even in a place where there are few characteristic parts such as walls, floors, and roofs. FIG. 1 shows an active stereo type three-dimensional measurement device 11 that projects a pattern such as infrared light from the projection unit 13 and is imaged by the imaging unit 12.

[0019] The three-dimensional measurement device 11 preferably uses a handy type one that can perform three-dimensional measurement while shifting the measurement area and sequentially synthesize the measurement results to obtain the three-dimensional shape of the entire target surface. In a narrow and obstacle-rich indoor construction site, a handy type with higher operability than an installation type is suitable.

[0020] Also, it is preferable that the construction shape includes color information. For example, if a three-dimensional measurement device that can acquire a color image simultaneously with three-dimensional coordinates is used, point cloud data with added color information can be generated. Thereby, the measurement reference body 30 in the image can be identified based on the color information.

[0021] Fig. 2 shows an example of a measurement reference body. The measurement reference body 30 includes a bottom surface 31 and a top surface 32. The bottom surface 31 is fixed to the target surface 20 prior to the application of the coating material 21. The bottom surface is preferably a flat surface. The measurement reference body 30 uses one with a height H greater than the thickness of the coating material after construction as planned. As a result, the top surface 32 will protrude from the heat insulating material even after the heat insulating material is constructed. The top surface 32 is preferably a flat surface that is parallel to the target surface when the measurement reference body is fixed to the target surface. A measurement reference point that serves as a reference for measurement is set on the top surface during the three-dimensional measurement of the construction shape. By making the top surface a flat surface parallel to the target surface, the position of the measurement reference point can be accurately calculated. Preferably, the color of the top surface is different from that of the coating material and other parts of the measurement reference body. This is for easier identification by images. For example, the top surface can be colored.

[0022] The overall shape of the measurement reference body 30 can be determined in consideration of ease of manufacturing, ease of applying the coating material 21 in a state fixed to the target surface 20, and difficulty of falling off after construction. From the perspective of ease of manufacturing, the measurement reference body preferably has various column shapes such as a prism or a cylinder, and more preferably has a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a cube. If the shape of the measurement reference body is a rectangular parallelepiped, in addition to being able to be manufactured only by cutting without the need for cutting processing, there is no waste of material during manufacturing, and the filling efficiency during packing and transportation is good. On the other hand, when emphasizing not to interfere with the construction work, the measurement reference body preferably has a column shape without corners on the side such as a cylinder, or various frustum shapes such as a frustum of a pyramid or a frustum of a cone, more preferably has a frustum shape, and particularly preferably has a frustum shape without corners on the side such as a frustum of a cone. If the shape of the measurement reference body is a frustum of a cone, it is easy to construct without leaving a gap around the measurement reference body even when the coating material is a site-foamed spray urethane heat insulating material for which construction work is relatively difficult. Also, when the measurement reference body has a frustum shape, if the larger of the two parallel planes of the frustum is used as the bottom surface and fixed to the target surface, even if the fixing of the measurement reference body to the target surface comes off or loosens due to changes over time after construction, the measurement reference body will not fall out of the coating material.

[0023] The measurement reference body 30 has the same function as the covering material. Here, "same function" refers to the function for which the covering material is intended to be applied. For example, if the covering material is an insulating material, it has an insulating function; if it is a fire-resistant covering, it has a fire-resistant function; and if it is a waterproof covering, it has a waterproof function. This allows the measurement reference body to remain in the covering material without being removed after the covering material has been applied.

[0024] The material of the measurement reference body 30 is preferably substantially the same as that of the covering material 21. "Substantially the same material" means that the components and structure of the measurement reference body are similar to those of the covering material, and even if the components and structure differ, the differences are within a range that does not impair the function intended for the above-mentioned construction. This ensures that the measurement reference body has the same function as the covering material, and also provides good adhesion between the measurement reference body and the covering material. For example, if the covering material is a field-foamed spray polyurethane insulation material, it is preferable that the measurement reference body is made of foamed polyurethane material. However, even in this case, it is not necessary to cut and manufacture the measurement reference body from the insulation material foamed by spraying; for example, the hardness of the measurement reference body and the covering material may differ due to different foaming ratios.

[0025] Preferably, the measurement reference body 30 is equipped with a protective film 33 on its top 32. Since the height of the measurement reference body is greater than the thickness of the covering material, the top will not be buried in the covering material when it is applied. However, when the covering material is sprayed on, splashes may adhere to the top, causing errors in 3D measurement. By providing a protective film on the top of the measurement reference body, when the protective film is peeled off after the covering material has been applied, a flat and clean top free of splashes and other unwanted contaminants will be revealed. Furthermore, if a colored protective film is used as the protective film, it becomes easier to detect if the protective film has been forgotten to be peeled off.

[0026] Next, the method of this embodiment will be explained following the flowchart in Figure 3, with reference to Figure 4. In the following, the direction in which the target surface extends will be referred to as the "surface direction," and the direction perpendicular to it will be referred to as the "thickness direction." Also, anything that is in front of the target surface when viewed from the thickness direction will simply be referred to as being "within the plane" of the target surface. The same applies to the coating material.

[0027] The coating thickness measurement method of this embodiment involves (S1) fixing a measurement reference body to the target surface 20, (S2) applying the coating material, (S3) acquiring the application shape, (S4) setting a measurement reference point at the top of the measurement reference body to calculate a virtual plane, and (S5) calculating the coating thickness. The application work continues, after which (S6) an image of the coating material is displayed, and (S7) it is determined whether correction processing is necessary. If it is determined that correction processing is necessary, (S8) the correction processing is performed, and then the process from S3 onwards is repeated. If it is determined that correction processing is not necessary, (S9) finishing processing is performed, (S10) the required data is saved, and the work is completed.

[0028] (S1) The bottom surface 31 of the measurement reference body 30 is fixed to the wall surface 20 which is the target surface (Figure 4A). The measurement reference body in Figure 4A is equipped with a protective film 33 on its top 32. The method of fixing the bottom surface 31 to the wall surface is not particularly limited, and various known adhesives and sealants such as acrylic, urethane, and silicone, or double-sided tape having adhesive layers on both sides can be used. If the covering material is a field-foamed spray polyurethane insulation material, it is preferable to use an acrylic adhesive or sealant that has heat resistance to the heat generated during construction.

[0029] The measurement reference body 30 is fixed at three or more locations that are not on a straight line within the target surface. This allows a virtual plane parallel to the target surface to be defined, passing through the measurement reference point, when a measurement reference point is later set at the top 32. Preferably, the measurement reference body is fixed at four or more locations. As will be described later, the more measurement reference bodies there are, i.e., the more measurement reference points there are, the more accurate the measurement of the coating thickness can be improved. Furthermore, it is preferable to distribute the measurement reference body across the entire surface of the target surface. As will be described later, this improves the accuracy of the measurement of the coating thickness.

[0030] (S2) The insulation material 21, which is the covering material, is applied to the wall surface 20, which is the target surface (Figure 4B). The method of application is not particularly limited. For example, rigid polyurethane foam for building insulation specified in JIS A9526 can be applied by spraying. When applying the covering material by spraying, splashes 22 of the raw material may adhere to the top 32 of the measurement reference body 30. To address this problem, a protective film 33 can be attached to the top of the measurement reference body and peeled off before obtaining the application shape in the next step S3. The type of covering material is not particularly limited and may form various layers such as an insulation layer, a fireproof covering layer, a fire-resistant covering layer, a waterproof covering layer, a moisture-proof covering layer, and a corrosion-resistant covering layer. The covering material can also be applied by various methods such as spraying, coating, etc.

[0031] (S3) The construction shape C is obtained using the 3D measuring device 11 (Figure 4C). The construction shape includes the 3D shape of the surface of the covering material 21 and the 3D shape of the top 32 of the measurement reference body 30 protruding from the covering material. If the measurement reference body has a protective film 33 on its top, the protective film is removed before obtaining the construction shape. The method of representing the 3D shape is not particularly limited as long as it can be processed on a computer. For example, it may be represented as point cloud data which is a set of 3D coordinates of the surface, or as a polygon mesh, a mathematical formula or parameter representation of a plane / curved surface, or as volume data representation of the target part (voxel, etc.), or a combination thereof.

[0032] (S4) A measurement reference point R is set on the top 32 of the measurement reference body 30, and the virtual plane V is calculated (Figure 4D). If the top 32 is a plane, setting the measurement reference point R at its centroid allows the position of the measurement reference point to be easily and accurately calculated by image processing. However, if splashes of coating material or other debris are attached to the top 32, this can cause errors in the calculation of the position of the measurement reference point R. To address this problem, as mentioned above, a measurement reference body equipped with a protective film 33 on its top can be used.

[0033] If multiple reference points have the same height H, then the distance from the target plane 20 to the reference point R set at the top of each reference point will be equal. Therefore, by connecting multiple reference points, a virtual plane V parallel to the target plane can be determined. A virtual plane V can be calculated with three reference points. If there are four or more reference points, the virtual plane V can be determined with higher accuracy by fitting using the least squares method or similar.

[0034] (S5) The thickness of the covering material is calculated based on the three-dimensional shape of the surface of the insulating material 21, which is the covering material, and the three-dimensional coordinates of three or more measurement reference points R (Figure 4E). The distance between the virtual plane V and the target surface 20 is known and equal to the height H of the measurement reference body 30. Therefore, by calculating the distance t1 between the virtual plane V and the surface of the covering material 21 and subtracting it from H, the distance from the target surface 20 to the surface of the covering material, i.e., the thickness of the covering material t2, can be obtained as t2 = H - t1.

[0035] Based on the above, the absolute value and distribution of the thickness of the coating material can be determined spatially across the entire surface. Details of the method for calculating the thickness of the coating material are disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0036] (S6) A covering material image is created and displayed on the display unit 17. Here, the covering material image refers to an image in which the thickness t2 of the insulating material 21, which is the covering material, can be recognized. The covering material image can be, for example, a contour map in which the insulating material is divided into multiple regions by thickness and shown with different colors or shades. This makes it easy to identify parts of the covering material whose thickness falls outside the predetermined range based on the required specifications.

[0037] (S7) Based on the image of the covering material, if there is an area where the thickness of the covering material does not meet the required specifications, it is determined that correction processing is necessary; otherwise, it is determined that correction processing is not necessary.

[0038] (S8) If it is determined in step S7 that correction processing is necessary, the coating material is corrected. Specifically, in areas where the coating material is too thick, the excess is cut off, and in areas where it is too thin, additional coating material is applied on top. After the correction processing is performed, the construction shape is acquired again (S3), measurement reference points are set (S4), the thickness of the coating material after the correction processing is calculated (S5), the image of the coating material is displayed (S6), and it is determined whether further correction processing is necessary (S7).

[0039] (S9) If it is determined that no correction is necessary in step S7, the process proceeds to the finishing stage. In the finishing stage, any portion of the measurement reference body 30 that protrudes from the covering material is cut off. In addition, if necessary, a topcoat is applied to protect the entire surface of the covering material.

[0040] (S10) Various data such as the thickness of the covering material, images of the covering material, and construction shape are saved. Specifically, the data stored in the storage unit 15 is copied to a storage medium or copied to a server in another location via the network. By saving data such as the thickness of the covering material, it can be used later for quality assurance to the client.

[0041] Of the above steps, the application of the coating layer (S2), the correction treatment (S8), and the finishing treatment (S9) may be carried out by a different business operator than the other steps that constitute the coating layer thickness measurement method of this embodiment.

[0042] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0043] For example, the target surface is not limited to the walls of a building, but may also be a surface area such as a floor, roof, ceiling, or rooftop. Furthermore, the covering material is not limited to spray-applied insulation, but may also be a material other than insulation that has waterproofing, fire-resistant, fireproofing, non-combustible, flame-retardant, or a combination of these functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10 Measurement Systems 11. Three-dimensional measuring device 12 Imaging Unit 13 Projection section 14 Control Unit 15 Storage section 16 Data Processing Unit 17 Display 20 Wall surface (target surface) 21. Insulation material (covering material) 22. Splashes of insulation material raw materials 30 Measurement reference body 31 Bottom 32 Top 33 Protective film C Construction shape H Height of the measurement reference body R measurement reference point t1 Distance between the surface of the coating material and the virtual plane t2 Thickness of the covering material V Virtual Plane

Claims

1. A method for measuring the thickness of a coating material applied to a target surface, A step of preparing a measuring reference body having the same function as the intended function of the application of the aforementioned covering material, having a bottom surface fixed to the target surface and a top portion equipped with a curing film, and having a height from the bottom surface to the top portion greater than the planned thickness of the covering material to be applied, A step of fixing the bottom surfaces of three or more of the measurement reference bodies, each having the same height from the bottom surface to the top surface, to the target surface, After the covering material is applied to the target surface on which the measurement reference body is fixed, a step is taken to obtain the construction shape including the three-dimensional shape of the surface and top of the covering material, A step of setting measurement reference points on the tops of three or more of the aforementioned measurement reference bodies, A step of calculating the thickness of the coating material based on the three-dimensional shape of the surface of the coating material and the three-dimensional coordinates of the measurement reference point, A method for measuring the thickness of a covering material.

2. The measurement reference body is made of substantially the same material as the covering material, The method for measuring the thickness of a coating material according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned covering material is an insulating material. The method for measuring the thickness of a coating material according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The aforementioned insulation material is a spray-on foamed polyurethane. The method for measuring the thickness of a coating material according to claim 3.

5. The top of the measuring reference body is a plane parallel to the bottom surface, A method for measuring the thickness of a covering material according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The measuring reference body has a columnar shape or a frustum shape, A method for measuring the thickness of a covering material according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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