Method and apparatus for assigning attributes perceived by at least one human being to a sample coating.

Abstract

Aspects described herein generally relate to a method, and respective apparatus, or computer element, for assigning at least one human-perceivable attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to a reference coating. More specifically, aspects described herein relate to a method, and respective apparatus, or computer element, for assigning at least one human-perceivable attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to a reference coating by displaying within a user interface an image of the reference coating modified with respect to an appearance such as darkness and / or lightness and / or color and / or texture and / or gloss and / or clear coat appearance. Thereby, the deviation perceived in the physical world by a human observer can be easily and intuitively evaluated by comparing the image of the modified reference coating displayed within the user interface with the visually perceived deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating, and thus a standardized classification of the visually perceived differences in appearance between the sample coating and the reference coating layer can be provided, avoiding the use of words and terms that are subject to interpretation by a human observer.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Embodiments described herein generally relate to methods, apparatus, or computer elements for assigning at least one human-perceived attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to a reference coating. More specifically, embodiments described herein relate to methods, apparatus, or computer elements for assigning at least one human-perceived attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to a reference coating, such as darkness and / or brightness and / or color and / or texture and / or gloss and / or clear coat appearance, by displaying an image of a modified reference coating (modified reference coating) in a user interface. This allows for the easy and intuitive evaluation of the visually perceived deviation of a sample coating from a reference coating by comparing the deviation perceived in the physical world by a human observer within the user interface with an image of a displayed modified reference coating (modified reference coating). Thus, it can provide a standardized classification of the visually perceived differences between the sample coating layer and the reference coating layer in terms of appearance, and can avoid the use of words and terminology that are subject to interpretation by a human observer. [Background technology]

[0002] Surface coatings such as monocoat, clearcoat / colorcoat, and tricoat are preferred for the protection and decoration of substrates such as car bodies. Surface coatings may contain one or more pigments or effect pigments to impart a desired color or appearance to the car body, such as solid, metallic, pearlescent, gloss, or image clarity. Metallic flakes, such as aluminum flakes, are commonly used to produce coatings with a flake appearance, such as texture, sparkle, glint, or glitter, as well as enhancing the perception of depth of the coating imparted by the flakes.

[0003] When performing a visual evaluation of color matching, the observed deviations are often difficult to describe, especially for untrained individuals. Such visual comparisons are generally performed during the repair process to select the best-matching sample coating material so that the repaired area does not have a visually distinctly different color from the undamaged area. For this purpose, appearance data of the undamaged area can be obtained and used in the color matching process to identify the best-matching sample coating material. The best match is selected and can be used to prepare the sample coating. The prepared sample coating can be visually compared to the undamaged area representing a reference (e.g., a reference coating). The direction in which color deviations are perceived depends on color class, chromaticity, effect, etc. Furthermore, color perception and interpretation are highly subjective. Eye strain, age, the environment in which the color is viewed, and other factors can influence color perception. Ideally, a trained person should evaluate colors based on terms such as color space values ​​(e.g., CIELab) and defined color difference formulas. For example, the visual difference between chromatic colors is described using chromaticity and hue deviation (=dC,dH), while the difference between the red-green or blue-yellow axis (=da,db) is used for achromatic colors. However, each trained observer interprets colors based on their personal preferences. Each observer defines the color of an object differently in words. When collecting color matching evaluations from different observers, this leads to a lack of comparability and limited usefulness of the accumulated evaluations. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a standardized method for visually evaluating the deviation of a sample coating from a reference coating that is not related to the aforementioned drawbacks. More specifically, there is still a need to provide some standardization for evaluating color deviations so that evaluations by different observers can be compared and the collected evaluations can be accumulated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] definition As used herein, “determine” also includes “initiate or cause to determine,” “generate,” “query,” “access,” “correlate,” “match,” and “select” also include “initiate or cause to generate, access, query, correlate, select, and / or match,” and “provide” also includes “initiate or cause to determine, generate, access, query, correlate, select, and / or match, transmit and / or receive.” “Initiate or cause to perform an action” includes any processing signal that causes a computing node to begin performing the respective action.

[0006] "Appearance" refers to the visual impression of a coated object to the observer's eye, including the spectral and geometric aspects of the surface as perceived in conjunction with its illumination and observation environments. Generally, appearance includes color, visual texture such as roughness caused by effect pigments, shine, or other visual effects of the surface, particularly when viewed from changing viewing angles and / or changing illumination angles. The term "clear coat appearance" refers to the visual impression of a coated object having at least one clear coat layer to the observer's eye. Clear coat appearance can be characterized, for example, by the presence or absence of orange peel (reflected by short-wavelength and long-wavelength values), as well as shine and gloss (reflected by DOI or image clarity values). "Clear coat layer" refers to a transparent coating layer. "Transparent" means that the coating layer is not completely opaque, but instead has a certain degree of transparency through which the color of the underlying coating layer is visible. The clear coat layer may therefore contain no pigment at all, only transparent pigments, or an amount of pigment that does not color the clear coat layer.

[0007] The term "reference coating" may refer to a coating having defined properties, such as defined colorimetric properties. A reference coating may be prepared by applying at least one defined coating material to a surface and curing the applied coating material. In contrast, the term "sample coating" may refer to a coating that is evaluated in comparison to the reference coating with respect to at least some of its defined properties, such as colorimetric properties. A sample coating may be prepared using a mixing formula or by mixing components according to a given recipe. Such a mixing formula or recipe may be identified based on the reference coating. For example, the appearance data of the reference coating may be used to perform commonly known color matching processes to identify a mixing formula or recipe that is expected to be obtained in a sample coating that matches the appearance of the reference coating. The term "sample coating formulation" refers to the coating materials used to prepare the sample coating, while the term "reference coating formulation" refers to the coating materials used to prepare the reference coating. The terms "formulation," "color formulation," and "paint formulation" are used synonymously herein.

[0008] "Digital representation" may refer to a representation of a reference coating in a computer-readable format. In particular, the digital representation of a reference coating includes appearance data of the reference coating, which is determined by multiple measured geometries. The digital representation of a reference coating may further include color name, color number, color code, barcode, QR code (registered trademark), unique database ID, mixing formula (i.e., instructions for preparing the coating material associated with each coating), color ranking, price, coating layer structure, manufacturer of the coating material used to prepare the reference coating, manufacturer of the substrate containing the reference coating, model containing the reference coating, year of production of the substrate containing the reference coating, automotive part containing the reference coating, or a combination thereof.

[0009] The "human perceptual attributes" assigned to a sample coating refer to the attributes of the sample coating relative to the reference coating, such as differences in brightness, darkness, texture, color, gloss, and / or clear coat appearance, as perceived by a human observer, such as a repair technician, when the sample coating is visually compared to the reference coating.

[0010] "Display image" refers to the image content formed on the display. A typical display image is television broadcast content. The display image occupies all or part of the display.

[0011] "Display" refers to the screen of an output device for presenting information in a visual or tactile format (the latter may be used in tactile electronic displays for the visually impaired). A display may include a physical display, a projection area, or a combination thereof.

[0012] A “communication interface” may refer to a software and / or hardware interface for establishing communication, such as the transfer or exchange of signals or data. A software interface is, for example, a function call or an API. A communication interface may include transceivers and / or receivers. Communication may be wired or wireless. A communication interface may be based on or support one or more communication protocols. Communication protocols may be short-range communication protocols such as Bluetooth® or WiFi, or wireless protocols such as long-range communication protocols such as cellular or mobile networks such as 2G, 3G, 4G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), or 5G. Alternatively, in addition to these, a communication interface may be based on its own short-range or long-range protocol. A communication interface may support any one or more standard protocols and / or proprietary protocols.

[0013] "Hardware processor" refers to any logic circuit and / or, generally, a device configured to perform calculations or logical operations, configured to perform basic operations of a computer or system. In particular, a processing unit or computer processor may be configured to process basic instructions that drive a computer or system. As an example, a processing unit or computer processor may include at least one arithmetic logic unit ("ALU"), at least one floating-point unit ("FPU") such as a mathematical coprocessor or a numerical coprocessor, a number of registers, in particular registers configured to supply operands to the ALU and store the results of calculations, and memory such as L1 cache memory and L2 cache memory. In particular, a processing unit or computer processor may be a multi-core processor. Specifically, a processing unit or computer processor may be a central processing unit ("CPU") or may include a central processing unit. The processing means or computer processor may be a graphics processing unit ("GPU"), a tensor processing unit ("TPU"), a complex instruction set computer microprocessor ("CISC"), a reduced instruction set computer ("RISC") microprocessor, a very long instruction word ("VLIW") microprocessor, or a processor implementing another instruction set, or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing means may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices, such as an application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a field-programmable gate array ("FPGA"), a composite programmable logic device ("CPLD"), a digital signal processor ("DSP"), a network processor, or similar. The methods, systems, and devices described herein may be implemented as software in a DSP, microcontroller, or other side processor, or as hardware circuitry in an ASIC, CPLD, or FPGA.The terms "processing means" or "processor" may refer to one or more processing devices, such as a distributed system of processing devices deployed across multiple computer systems (e.g., cloud computing), and should be understood that, unless otherwise specified, they are not limited to a single device.

[0014] The term “hardware logic circuit” refers to one or more hardware processors (e.g., CPU, GPU, etc.) that execute machine-readable instructions stored in memory, and / or one or more other hardware logic components (e.g., FPGA) that perform operations using task-specific collections of fixed and / or programmable logic gates. Section C provides additional information on one implementation of a hardware logic circuit. The terms “component” and “engine” refer to parts of a hardware logic circuit that perform a particular function, respectively.

[0015] "Data storage medium" may mean physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and / or data structures. Such computer-readable media may be any available media accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer system. Computer-readable media may include physical storage media for storing computer-executable instructions and / or data structures. Physical storage media may include computer hardware such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, solid-state drives ("SSD"), flash memory, phase-change memory ("PCM"), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other hardware storage devices that may be used to store program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures, which may be accessed and executed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer system to implement the disclosed functions of the present invention.

[0016] The "computer-readable program instructions" described herein can be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to each computing / processing device, or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network. The network may include copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. The network adapter card or network interface of each computing / processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and transfers the computer-readable program instructions for storage on a computer-readable storage medium within each computing / processing device. The computer-readable program instructions for performing the operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, Smalltalk, and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. Computer-readable program instructions can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or it may be connected to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using an Internet service provider).In some embodiments, an electronic circuit including, for example, a programmable logic circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic array (PLA) may execute computer-readable program instructions by personalizing the electronic circuit using state information of computer-readable program instructions in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

[0017] A “database” can refer to a collection of related information that is searchable and retrievalable. A database may be a searchable electronic numerical, alphanumeric, or text document; a searchable PDF document; a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet; or a database commonly known in the latest technology. A database may be a set of electronic documents, photographs, images, diagrams, data, or drawings that reside on a searchable and retrievalable computer-readable storage medium. A database may be a single database, a set of related databases, or a collection of unrelated databases. “Related databases” means that there is at least one common information element in the related databases that may be used to associate such databases.

[0018] overview To address the aforementioned problem from one perspective, the following is proposed: A computer implementation method for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating to a reference coating, wherein the method is performed on a computing device equipped with a display: (i) Displaying a user interface on a display that includes at least one display image of the modified standard coating, (ii) The computing device detects user input indicating that at least one display image of the modified reference coating has been selected, (iii) In response to detected user input, the computing device assigns at least one human perception attribute to the sample coating, Includes.

[0019] A computer implementation method for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute indicating a deviation of a sample coating from a reference coating, wherein the sample coating is prepared based on a reference coating, and the human perceptual attribute is assigned to the sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to the reference coating, wherein the method is performed on a computing device equipped with a display: (i) Displaying a user interface on a display that includes at least one display image of a modified reference coating, wherein the display image of the modified reference coating is generated by modifying the appearance data associated with the reference coating and displaying the modified appearance data (modified appearance data) as the display image of the modified reference coating; (ii) A computing device detects user input indicating that it has selected at least one display image of a modified reference coating, wherein the user input is associated with a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to the reference coating; (iii) In response to detected user input, a computing device assigns at least one human perception attribute to a sample coating, the assignment including mapping the deviation associated with the detected user input to a predefined human perception attribute, Includes.

[0020] An essential advantage of the method according to the present invention is that the visually perceptible deviation between a sample coating prepared based on a provided reference coating and the reference coating is displayed using a display image within the user interface. This allows the user to easily and intuitively evaluate the deviation in a virtual world represented by the user interface by selecting a display image of the modified reference coating that best represents the difference between the prepared sample coating and the reference coating as visually perceived in the physical world. Thus, the difference between the sample coating and the reference coating in the physical world can be translated into a virtual world, for example, human-perceptual attributes associated with the sample coating, using a standardized process. Human-perceptual attributes can represent data that defines the visually perceptible difference between the sample coating and the reference coating. The standardized process does not require deep knowledge of color theory and reduces the risk of misinterpretation of words and terms commonly used to describe the color difference. This standardized process can be used during the repair of a damaged multilayer coating to describe the visually perceptible difference between a prepared sample coating, for example, a sample coating prepared from a sample coating material identified as matching during a color matching process, and a damaged reference coating. Human-perceived attributes derived from visually perceived differences can be used to identify further sample coating materials that better match the appearance of the reference coating when compared to the reference coating. Labeling images of the modified reference coating can be used to further improve the evaluation process. Display images of the modified reference coating are obtained by manipulating the appearance data of the reference coating to a predetermined extent in all possible directions, and / or optionally to a predefined range of color space using a color distance formula.

[0021] Further disclosures include: An apparatus for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating, the apparatus comprising: a display; one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon structured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of the present invention as described herein when executed by the one or more computing nodes.

[0022] Further disclosures include: A computer program element having instructions, configured to perform steps of the method of the present invention or steps provided by the apparatus of the present invention when executed by a computing device such as a computing device in a computing environment.

[0023] Any disclosures and embodiments described herein relate to the methods, systems, apparatus, and computer elements disclosed herein, and vice versa. The advantages provided by any embodiment and example provided herein apply equally to all other embodiments and examples, and vice versa.

[0024] Embodiment Embodiments of the present invention: According to the computer implementation method of the present invention, at least one human perceptual attribute is assigned to a sample coating by a computing device. The sample coating can be prepared, for example, by identifying a matching sample coating formulation based on the appearance data of a reference coating, as is commonly done during repair work, applying the matching sample coating formulation and optionally further coating formulations such as a clear coat formulation onto a substrate, and preparing the coating by curing the applied coating formulations. The computing device may be a mobile or stationary computing device such as a personal computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

[0025] In one embodiment, the human perceptual attribute indicates the deviation of the sample coating from a reference coating. The sample coating may be a sample coating prepared based on the reference coating, for example, by using a color matching process to identify the best-matching sample coating material. The reference coating may include one or more damaged areas. The reference coating may be a coating used as a reference in terms of appearance. The deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating can be visually evaluated, for example, by visually comparing the sample coating and the reference coating. The deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating is preferably selected from appearance deviations. In one example, the deviation is a deviation in lightness and / or darkness. In another example, the deviation is a deviation in color and / or texture. In yet another example, the deviation is a deviation in gloss. In yet another example, the deviation is a deviation in the appearance of the clear coat. The latter may be preferred when the sample coating and the reference coating each include at least one clear coat layer.

[0026] Step (i): Step (i) of the method of the present invention is to display at least one display image of the modified reference coating on a display within a user interface. The user interface may be generated from the user interface display and may include, separately from the display image of the modified reference coating, further icons, menus, bars, text, labels, or a combination thereof. The display may be part of a computing device or part of a separate display device connected to the computing device via a communication interface.

[0027] Display devices can be constructed according to any radiative or reflective display technology having appropriate resolution and color gamut. Appropriate resolution is, for example, 72 dots per inch (dpi) or higher, e.g., 300 dpi, 600 dpi, 1200 dpi, 2400 dpi or higher. This ensures that the generated visual data can be displayed with high quality. A sufficiently wide color gamut is a color gamut greater than or equal to the standard red-green-blue (sRGB) color gamut. In various embodiments, the display may be selected to have a color gamut close to the color gamut perceptible to human vision. In one embodiment, the display is constructed according to liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, particularly liquid crystal display (LCD) technology further including a touchscreen panel. The LCD may be backlit by any appropriate light source. The color gamut of the LCD display can, however, be widened or otherwise improved by selecting light-emitting diode (LED) backlights or multiple backlights. In another embodiment, the display is constructed according to light-emitting polymer or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. In yet another embodiment, the display device is constructed according to reflective display technology such as electronic paper or ink. Known manufacturers of electronic ink / paper displays include E INK and Xerox. Preferably, the display also has a reasonably wide field of view so that it can display an image that does not become blurry or change significantly when the user views the display from different angles. Because LCD screens operate by polarization, some models exhibit high viewing angle dependence. However, various LCD structures have a relatively wide field of view, which may be preferable. For example, LCD displays constructed according to thin-film transistor (TFT) technology can have a reasonably wide field of view. Displays constructed according to electronic paper / ink technology and OLED technology can also have a wider field of view than many LCD displays and may be chosen for this reason.

[0028] In one embodiment, the display image of the modified reference coating is modified with respect to brightness and / or darkness and / or color and / or texture and / or gloss and / or appearance of the clear coat when compared to the display image of the reference coating. The term "color" refers to the color, chromaticity, and hue of the coating. For example, the display image of the modified reference coating has darker and / or lighter colors than the display image of the reference coating. In another example, the display image of the modified reference coating may be bluer, yellower, greener, or redder than the display image of the reference coating. In yet another example, the display image of the modified reference coating may be brighter or less brighter, coarser or finer than the display image of the reference coating. In yet another example, the display image of the modified reference coating may have more or less gloss, more or less orange peel, or a lower or higher DOI than the display image of the reference coating. Modification of the reference coating is preferably carried out to a predetermined range using a defined color space and optionally commonly known color tolerance equations, or by adding further layers to the appearance data of the reference coating to modify the gloss or clear coat appearance of the reference coating display image, for example, as described later. The use of the display image makes it possible to visualize possible deviations in appearance between the sample coating and the reference coating, thus making it possible to easily determine the observed visual deviation without requiring a deep understanding of color science or applicable terminology to define the deviations of each coating type, such as solid color coatings (i.e., coatings without effect pigments), effect color coatings (i.e., coatings with effect pigments), chromatic coatings, and achromatic coatings.

[0029] In one embodiment, step (i) further includes displaying at least one display image of the reference coating within the user interface. This allows the user to directly compare the reference coating and the modified reference coating in terms of appearance within the user interface, thereby enabling the user to more appropriately determine the observed deviation. Preferably, at least one display image of the reference coating is displayed adjacent to at least a portion of the display images of the modified reference coating. Particularly preferably, the display images of the reference coating are displayed adjacent to each display image of the modified reference coating. This allows the deviation of the reference coating to be displayed in two directions, for example, by displaying the display images of the reference coating between the display images of the modified reference coatings, for example, between the display image of a modified reference coating with higher chromaticity and the display image of a modified reference coating with lower chromaticity.

[0030] In one embodiment, step (i) is: (i-1) The step of providing a digital representation of a reference coating, including appearance data determined by one or more measured geometries, to the processor of a computing device via a communication interface; (i-2) The processor generates modified appearance data (modified appearance data) of the reference coating based on the provided digital representation; (i-3) A step of generating a user interface display that displays the modified appearance display data generated in step (i-2) as a display image of the modified base coating, and displaying the generated user interface display, Includes.

[0031] The term "appearance data" includes reflectance data, color data such as color space data, texture characteristics, texture images, gloss data, short wavelength values, long wavelength values, DOI values, or combinations thereof. The term "texture characteristics" refers to the roughness characteristics and / or the gloss characteristics of an effect coating. The roughness characteristics and the gloss characteristics of an effect coating can be determined, for example, from a texture image obtained by a multi-angle spectrophotometer as known in the art. The texture image may be a black-and-white image or a color image. An example of color space data is defined by L * a * b * where L * represents luminance, a * represents the red / green appearance, and b * represents the yellow / blue appearance. Another example of color space data is defined by L * C * h, where L * represents lightness, C * represents chroma, and h represents hue. Yet another example of color space data is defined by RGB, where R represents the red channel, G represents the green channel, and B represents the blue channel.

[0032] The term "appearance display data" refers to appearance data used to present the appearance of a reference coating as a display image, while the term "modified appearance display data" refers to modified appearance data (e.g., appearance data modified with respect to the appearance data of a reference coating) used to present the appearance of a modified reference coating as a display image. The appearance display data and the modified appearance display data preferably have a standard dynamic range (SDR) format, so that no additional tone mapping is required to display the data as required for high dynamic range (HDR) data.

[0033] Apart from the appearance data, the digital representation of the reference coating provided in step (i-1) may further include the color name, color code, barcode, QR code, unique database ID, mixing formula (i.e., instructions for preparing the coating materials used to prepare the reference coating), color ranking, price, layer structure, manufacturer of the coating materials used to prepare the reference coating, manufacturer of the substrate containing the reference coating, model containing the reference coating, year of production of the substrate containing the reference coating, automotive part containing the reference coating, or a combination thereof.

[0034] Step (i-1): In step (i-1), a digital representation of the reference coating is provided to the processor of a computing device via a communication interface. The digital representation of the reference coating includes appearance data determined by one or more measured geometries. The digital representation of the reference coating can be provided in numerous ways, some of which are described below in non-limiting ways.

[0035] For example, providing a digital representation of a reference coating is possible. - Measure the appearance of a reference coating at one or more measurement geometries using a measuring device, and optionally determine appearance data from the measurement data using the measuring device. - The determined appearance data, optionally combined with measurement data and / or further metadata and / or user input, can be retrieved by a computer processor via a communication interface, or - The measured data is optionally combined with further metadata and / or user input, retrieved via a communication interface by a computer processor, and the computer processor determines the appearance data from the measured data. Includes.

[0036] The appearance of the reference coating can be measured using appropriate measuring devices, such as RGB cameras, single-angle spectrophotometers, and multi-angle spectrophotometers. Commercially available RGB cameras include smartphone cameras, digital cameras, and mirror cameras. Commercially available multi-angle spectrophotometers include, for example, the Byk-Mac® I or XRite MA®-T family spectrophotometers. Commercially available single-angle spectrophotometers include, for example, the Byk ColorView, Datacolor Spectraflash SF450, and Konica Minolta CM 3600-d.

[0037] The measuring device is preferably connected to a computer processor via a communication interface. In one example, the processor is programmed to process the measuring data, such as reflectance data and texture images, by calculating appearance data for each measuring geometry from the measured reflectance and / or by calculating the texture properties of the defined measuring geometry from the acquired texture images. The processor can be housed inside a computing device, i.e., the computing device can retrieve the measured data and optionally further metadata and / or user input from the measuring device via the communication interface and use the retrieved data to calculate the appearance data, or the processor can be located separately from the computing device, for example, within the measuring device. In this case, the computing device retrieves the determined appearance data via the communication interface, optionally combined with further metadata and / or user input. In another example, if, for example, an RGB camera is used to measure the appearance, the processor retrieves the measured data and optionally the further data described above without performing any further calculations. In this case, the measured data corresponds to the appearance data.

[0038] Appearance data can be stored in internal memory or a data storage medium such as a database before or after providing the appearance data to a computing device via a communication interface. This may involve associating the appearance data with additional data and / or metadata and / or user input before storing the appearance data so that the stored appearance data can be retrieved using additional data and / or metadata and / or user input as needed. Storing appearance data may be preferable if the data is needed multiple times so that it is not necessary to retrieve the data each time the method of the present invention is performed.

[0039] Further data and / or metadata and / or user input may include the color number / color code / barcode / unique database ID associated with each coating, the layer structure of each coating, the wet or dry film thickness of each coating, the preparation instructions for each coating material associated with each coating, the price, or a combination thereof.

[0040] As an example, appearance data is obtained from data acquired with a single measurement geometry. This may be preferable when the reference coating is a solid color or straight shade coating, or when a single-angle measuring device (i.e., a measuring device that acquires appearance data of the reference coating only with a single measurement geometry) is used. The term "solid color or straight shade coating" refers to a coating in which the colored coating layer mainly contains coloring pigments and the coating does not exhibit a visible flop or two-tone metallic effect, i.e., the visual appearance does not change with viewing angle and / or illumination angle.

[0041] In another example, appearance data is obtained from data acquired from multiple measurement geometries, which include at least one glossy measurement geometry and at least one non-glossy measurement geometry. The term “glossy measurement geometry” refers to a measurement geometry with an associated asspectural angle of up to 30°, for example, from 10° to 30°, where the asspectural angle is the difference between the observer’s direction and the glossy direction of the measurement geometry. The use of these asspectural angles makes it possible to measure the glossy color produced by the effect pigments present in the effect coating. “Non-glossy measurement geometry” refers to all measurement geometries that are not glossy measurement geometries, i.e., all measurement geometries with an associated asspectural angle greater than 30°, i.e., flop measurement geometry and intermediate measurement geometry, as described below. The use of appearance data obtained from data acquired from multiple measurement geometries may be preferred when the reference coating is an effect coating, i.e., a coating that includes an effect pigment and at least one colored coating layer containing other coloring pigments or spheres that produce an optional visual flop or two-tone metallic effect, because the appearance of the effect coating changes with the viewing angle and / or illumination angle.

[0042] In another example, the digital representation of a reference coating includes providing reference coating identification data, obtaining a digital representation of the reference coating based on the provided reference coating identification data, and providing the obtained digital representation. The digital representation of a reference coating can be obtained by searching for a digital representation of the reference coating based on the provided reference coating identification data and providing the retrieved digital representation to a computer processor via a communication interface. In one example, obtaining a digital representation of a reference coating based on the provided reference coating identification data includes accessing a database containing digital representations of the reference coating that are interrelated with the reference coating identification data, such as appearance data of the reference coating, color name, color code, barcode, or further data indicating the reference coating, and searching for a digital representation of the reference coating based on the provided data. Data indicating the reference coating may include a color name, color number, color code, barcode, ID, VIN combined with vehicle part information (bumper, trunk, etc.) associated with the reference coating. Data indicating the reference coating may be entered by the user via a GUI displayed on a display, retrieved from a database based on a scanned code such as a QR code, or associated with a predefined user action. Predefined user actions may include, for example, selecting a desired action on a GUI displayed on a screen that shows a list of saved measurements including associated images, or a list of available reference coatings based on search criteria, a user profile, etc.

[0043] The database is preferably connected to a computing device via a communication interface, and the digital representation of the reference coating can be provided to the computing device, for example, by selecting a digital representation stored on a data storage medium via a GUI displayed on the screen of a display, or by inputting data indicating the reference coating, such as a color name or color code, and searching for the digital representation of the reference coating based on the input data.

[0044] Step (i-2): In step (i-2), the modified appearance data for the reference coating is generated by the processor of the computing device based on the digital representation provided in step (i-1).

[0045] Modified appearance data can be generated by modifying at least a portion of the appearance data contained in the digital representation of the provided reference coating with respect to brightness, darkness, color, texture, gloss, clear coat appearance, or a combination thereof.

[0046] For example, modifying at least a portion of the appearance data involves using predefined color space distance values, particularly dL, da, db, dC, dH, and / or texture distance values. The appearance data of the modified reference coating can be obtained by determining the modified appearance data using the appearance data contained in the digital representation of the provided reference coating and predefined color space distance values ​​dL, da, and db or dL, dC, and dH in combination with well-known color tolerance equations, such as the Delta E (CIE1994) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (CIE2000) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (DIN99) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (CIE1976) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (CMC) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (Audi95) color tolerance equation, the Delta E (Audi2000) color tolerance equation, or other color tolerance equations. Additionally, using color tolerance equations, particularly the Audi95 or Audi2000 color tolerance equations, can be beneficial in achieving a standardized offset of modified appearance data from reference coating appearance data across the entire color space, as color space values ​​are weighted according to color and measurement geometry.

[0047] Modifying the appearance data of a reference coating using predefined color space distance values ​​makes it possible to obtain modified appearance display data that appears greener, redder, bluer, yellower, darker, brighter, more saturated, or less saturated when displayed within a user interface on a display, or modified appearance display data with a positive or negative hue shift.

[0048] Modifying the appearance data of a reference coating layer using predefined texture distance values ​​makes it possible to obtain modified appearance display data that appears less glossy, more glossy, finer, or coarser when displayed within a user interface on a display.

[0049] In another example, modifying appearance data involves adding a predefined appearance layer to at least a portion of the appearance data. Modifying the appearance data of a base coating layer by adding a predefined appearance layer, particularly a predefined clear coat appearance layer, makes it possible to obtain modified appearance display data that appears more glossy or less glossy, or has a higher or lower orange peel, within the user interface on the display.

[0050] In one embodiment, step (i-2) further: - For each pixel in the created image, the corresponding color data, especially CIEL * a * b * The value, An ordered list of measurement geometries generated from the digital representation provided in step (i-1), The generated corrected appearance data, or at least one L included in the generated corrected appearance data * If the value is greater than 90, scaled corrected appearance data and By calculating based on this, a color image is generated, - Optionally, a brightness scaling coefficient s L , asspect-dependent scaling function sf aspecular And, optionally, texture contrast scaling coefficient s c This involves adding a texture layer to each color image generated on a pixel-by-pixel basis, Includes.

[0051] The generated color image, and therefore the appearance display data corresponding to the color image or generated by adding a texture layer to the color image, preferably have a defined resolution. Suitable resolutions range from 160 × 120 pixels to 720 × 540 pixels, particularly 480 × 360 pixels. The defined resolution of the color image can be achieved, for example, by defining the number of pixels in the x and y directions and creating an empty image using an empty image created to generate the color image.

[0052] The ordered list of measurement geometries is: - Select at least one predefined measurement geometry from one or more measurement geometries included in the digital representation, and optionally, if multiple measurement geometries are selected, sort the selected measurement geometries according to at least one predefined sorting criterion. - Optionally, if multiple measurement geometries are selected, calculate the cumulative delta asymmetric angle for each selected measurement geometry, It can be generated from the provided digital representation.

[0053] In one example, at least one predefined measurement geometry includes at least one glossy measurement geometry and at least one matte measurement geometry, or at least one, in particular, exactly one, intermediate measurement geometry. The at least one intermediate measurement geometry preferably corresponds to a 45° asymmetric angle. In the first case, at least two predefined measurement geometries are selected from a plurality of measurement geometries included in each provided digital representation, i.e., at least one glossy measurement geometry and at least one matte measurement geometry. In this case, the selected measurement geometries are sorted according to at least one predefined sorting criterion. In the latter preferred case, exactly one predefined measurement geometry, i.e., an intermediate measurement geometry, is selected from one or more measurement geometries included in each provided digital representation. In this case, sorting of the predefined measurement geometries is not required.

[0054] At least one predefined sorting criterion may include a defined order of measurement geometries. This defined order of measurement geometries is preferably selected so that a visual 3D impression, such as a visual impression of a bent metal sheet, is obtained when the visual display data is displayed in the user interface. Examples of defined orders of measurement geometries include 45°>25°>15°>25°>45°>75° and -15°>15°>25°>45°>75°>110°. The use of these defined orders of measurement geometries may be beneficial to the effect coating because this order produces a color image that displays the color travel of the effect coating under directional illumination conditions. At least one predefined measurement geometry and / or at least one predefined sorting criterion may be retrieved from a data storage medium by a computer processor based on a provided digital representation of a reference coating and / or further data. Further data may include data about the user profile or data indicating the measurement device and the measurement geometry associated with the measurement device.

[0055] The delta-aspectral angle for each measurement geometry is the absolute difference angle between the asspectral angle associated with the selected measurement geometry, for example, a 45° asspectral angle, and the asspectral angle associated with the next selected measurement geometry, in this example, a 25° asspectral angle. The cumulative delta-aspectral angle can be obtained by adding the delta-aspectral angle associated with the selected measurement geometry, for example, a 25° asspectral angle, to the delta-aspectral angle associated with the next selected measurement geometry, in this case a 15° asspectral angle, and repeating this step for each measurement geometry in the ordered list.

[0056] At least one L is included in the generated corrected appearance data * If the value is greater than 90, preferably greater than 95 or 99, all L are included in the generated corrected appearance data. * The value is at least one brightness scaling coefficient s L It is scaled using and generates a scaled digital representation. The use of this scaling factor allows for the preservation of color information contained in gloss measurement geometry by compressing the color space while keeping the existing color distance constant. Without color space compression, L values ​​greater than 90 would be lost. * A value, preferably L greater than 95. * Values, especially L values ​​exceeding 99. * The values ​​are displayed as nearly white or pure white, meaning that the hue is cut off, i.e., these L * a associated with the value * Value and b * The values ​​lack equidistantness of color information that may be present. Brightness scaling coefficient s L This is CIEL included in the provided digital representation. * a * b * Maximum measurement value L * You can base it on the value.

[0057] For example, for each pixel of each created image, the corresponding color data, specifically CIEL * a * b * Calculating the values ​​involves correlating one axis of each created image with the generated ordered list of measured geometries, and mapping the ordered list of measured geometries and associated digital or scaled digital representations, particularly associated color values ​​or scaled color values, to the correlated rows of the created image. Interpolation methods, particularly spline interpolation, are used for the CIEL of pixels associated with the measured geometries. * a * b * Value and intermediate CIEL * a * b * To obtain a smooth transition between values, for pixels not associated with the measured geometry, an intermediate CIEL is used. * a * b * The value, i.e., CIEL * a * b * It may be used to calculate the value. Calculated CIEL * a * b * The values ​​are converted to sRGB values ​​and can optionally be stored on a data storage medium, particularly the internal memory of a computing device. Calculated CIEL * a * b * By converting the values ​​to sRGB values, the calculated color information can be displayed on commonly available displays that use sRGB files to display information.

[0058] A texture layer can be added to the generated color image to provide spatially decomposed texture information (e.g., distribution, size distribution, brightness distribution) or information about the texture color. This is preferable when the base coating is an effect coating that includes a visible texture. Brightness scaling coefficient s used when adding the texture layer. LPreferably, the brightness scaling coefficient s used when generating the color image. L Corresponding to, that is, the same brightness scaling coefficient s L Preferably, the brightness scaling coefficient s is used when generating a color image. L It is set to 1 if not used. By using the same brightness scaling coefficient sL, the brightness of the texture image can be adjusted to the brightness of the color image, preventing a mismatch between the color information and texture information regarding brightness. Aspect-dependent scaling function sf is used when adding a texture layer. aspecular This weights each pixel of the texture layer in correlation with the asspectral angle corresponding to the measurement geometry present in the generated ordered list of measurement geometries. This allows the pixels of the texture layer to be weighted in correlation with the visual impression of the effect coating layer under different measurement geometries, thus obtaining generated appearance data that closely resembles the visual impression of the effect coating layer when viewed by an observer from different viewing angles. In general, visual texture, i.e., roughness and gloss characteristics, are more pronounced in gloss measurement geometry than in flop geometry. Considering this, the asspectral-dependent scaling function sf aspecular Preferably, the scaling factor s is close to 1 for the gloss measurement geometry. aspec It outputs a scaling factor s close to 0 for the flop measurement geometry. aspec Outputs.

[0059] The texture layer is - Provide at least one acquired texture image (acquired texture image) or composite texture image, - Calculate the average color of each provided acquired texture image or composite texture image, and generate a modified texture image by subtracting the average color from each provided acquired texture image or composite texture image. - Brightness scaling coefficient s L , asspectual-dependent scaling function sf aspecularand optionally contrast scaling coefficient s c This involves adding each pixel-weighted modified texture image to each generated color image, It can be added on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

[0060] "Acquired texture image" refers to a texture image, such as a grayscale or color image, acquired using a multi-angle spectrophotometer, as described above. In contrast, the term "composite texture image" refers to a texture image generated from texture characteristics such as roughness and / or glossiness determined from the acquired texture image, as described above.

[0061] The composite texture image - Creating an empty image, - Target texture contrast c v To provide, - For each pixel of the created image, -c v and +c v The process involves generating random numbers using a uniform random number generator or a Gaussian random number generator, and adding the generated random numbers to each pixel of the created image. - Blurring the obtained image using a blur filter, especially a Gaussian blur filter, - To provide arbitrarily obtained composite texture images, It can be created by.

[0062] The created empty image preferably has the same resolution as the color image to prevent texture mismatch when adding the texture layer to the generated color image. This eliminates the need to downscale the texture layer before adding it to the color image. Target texture contrast c vPreferably, these correspond to gloss characteristics and / or roughness characteristics, or predefined values ​​associated with a standard coating material formulation. The predefined values ​​can be obtained from a database based on the standard coating material formulation, for example, based on the type and / or amount of effect pigments present in the standard coating material formulation.

[0063] The same resolution is used for all color images calculated in step (i-2). If the reference coating display images are displayed at different sizes, it is preferable to use a different resolution than the display image resolution; on the other hand, if all reference coating display images are displayed at the same size, it is preferable to use the same resolution.

[0064] Furthermore, it is preferable that an ordered list of identically generated measurement geometries be used during the generation of all color images in step (i-2). This allows for visual comparison of the modified appearance display data, as each line of the displayed data (e.g., the display image of the modified reference coating) belongs to the same measurement geometry (e.g., the same asspectral angle) when the generated appearance data is displayed side by side horizontally.

[0065] Same scaling coefficients L However, preferably, all L of the modified appearance data * Used to scale values. This allows for visual differences between generated modified appearance display data, particularly in areas related to gloss measurement geometry, due to different brightness scaling coefficients s. L It is guaranteed that this is not due to the use of [unspecified method], and therefore, an optimized display image is obtained for visual comparison of different coatings.

[0066] Modified appearance data of a reference coating may be generated based on a provided digital representation and user input indicating the selection of at least one category representing the visual deviation of a sample coating from the reference coating, which is detected by displaying a user interface containing the at least one category.

[0067] At least one visual deviation of a sample coating from a reference coating may include deviations in brightness, darkness, color, texture, gloss, and clear coat appearance. The category may be indicated by a text label that shows the type of deviation, such as color deviation, texture deviation, or gloss deviation.

[0068] Category selection significantly reduces the number of display images of modified reference coatings shown within the user interface, by displaying only the display images of modified reference coatings obtained by modifying the appearance of the reference coating for the selected category. This simplifies the identification of display images of modified reference coatings that match the sample coating.

[0069] Step (i-3): In step (i-3), a user interface display is generated that shows the modified appearance display data generated in step (i-2) as a display image of the modified reference coating, and the generated user interface display is shown on the display. Displaying the generated appearance display data of the reference coating in step (i-3) simplifies the selection of the display image of the modified reference coating that best matches the deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating as visually perceived in the physical world, because possible deviations between the reference coating and the sample coating are simulated in the virtual world via the user interface by using the display image of the modified reference coating.

[0070] Step (i) may include a further step (i-4) in which a processor is used to generate appearance data of a reference coating based on a provided digital representation, and the generated appearance data is displayed as a display image of the reference coating. The display image may be displayed within a user interface display generated in step (i-3). Step (i-4) may be performed before step (i-3). Step (i-4) may be performed before step (i-2). Step (i-4) may be performed after step (i-3). Step (i-4) may be, for example, the CIEL of the reference coating. * a * b * Step (i) may be performed if at least one display image of the reference coating generated from the values ​​is displayed within the user interface of step (i). If an RGB image of the reference coating is provided in step (i-1), step (i-4) may be omitted, as the provided RGB image can be used directly as the display image of the reference coating. Displaying at least one display image of the reference coating is useful for simulating in the virtual world represented by the user interface the visual comparison between the reference coating and the sample coating that takes place in the physical world, thereby facilitating the selection of a modified reference display image that most closely resembles the appearance of the sample coating or the visually perceived difference between the sample coating and the reference coating.

[0071] Step (i-4) is: - For each pixel in the created image, the corresponding color data, especially CIEL * a * b * The value, An ordered list of measurement geometries generated from the digital representation provided in step (i-1), The digital representation provided in step (i-1), or at least one L contained in the provided digital representation * If the value is greater than 90, it is a scaled digital representation; By calculating based on this, a color image is generated, - Optionally, a brightness scaling coefficient s L , asspectual-dependent scaling function sf aspecular , and optionally texture contrast scaling coefficient s c This is used to add a texture layer to each generated color image on a pixel-by-pixel basis, include.

[0072] The generation of an ordered list of measured geometry, scaled modified appearance data, and color images, as well as the addition of texture layers, can be performed as described above with respect to step (i-2).

[0073] The same resolution may be used for all color images calculated in step (i-4). If step (i-2) is performed, the same or different resolutions may be used for the color images generated in steps (i-2) and (i-4). When the display image of the reference coating is displayed at a larger or smaller size than the display image of the modified reference coating, it is preferable to use different resolutions for the display images of the reference coating and the modified reference coating. However, when the display images of the reference coating and the modified reference coating are displayed at the same size, it is preferable to use the same resolution.

[0074] The same generated ordered list of measurement geometries can be used during the generation of all color images in steps (i-4). If step (i-2) is performed, the ordered list of measurement geometries used in step (i-2) can also be used in step (i-4). This allows for a visual comparison of the reference coating's appearance data with the modified appearance data, since, when the generated appearance data is displayed horizontally, each line of the displayed data (e.g., the modified reference coating and optionally the reference coating's display image) belongs to the same measurement geometry (e.g., the same asymmetric angle).

[0075] Same scaling coefficients L However, this can be used to scale all L* values ​​of the modified appearance data. If step (i-2) is performed, the scaling coefficient s used in step (i-2) is used. L This can also be used to generate the modified appearance data in step (i-4). This allows for the use of different brightness scaling coefficients s to determine the visual difference between the generated modified appearance data and the appearance data, particularly the visual difference in areas associated with gloss measurement geometry. L It is guaranteed that this is not due to the use of [unspecified technology], and as a result, display images optimized for visual comparison of different coatings are obtained.

[0076] In one embodiment, step (i) further includes displaying a label on at least a portion of a display image of the modified reference coating, the label indicating a modification of the reference coating with respect to lightness or darkness, color or texture or gloss or clear coat appearance. The label indicates the direction of the deviation observed by the user, thus simplifying the selection of a display image of the modified reference coating that best matches the appearance of the sample coating with respect to the reference coating.

[0077] Step (ii): In step (ii) of the method of the present invention, a user input indicating the selection of at least one display image of a modified reference coating is detected by a computing device. The user input may be based on a visually perceived difference between the adjusted sample coating and the provided reference coating. The user input may be related to a visually perceived difference between the adjusted sample coating and the provided reference coating. For example, the user may visually compare the sample coating with the reference coating and select the display image of the modified reference that is closest to the appearance of the sample coating or closest to the observed visual difference between the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating. The visual comparison of the sample coating and the provided reference coating may be performed before selecting at least one display image. Selecting at least one display image may include performing a user input for each display image. Thus, the selection can be understood as performing a user input for each display image.

[0078] User input is preferably provided by an input device. “Input device” can refer to any device that provides an input signal in response to user input, i.e., any device that enables a user to perform input and, in response to that user input, provides an input signal to the computer system indicating the user input. Suitable input devices include mouse devices, touch-sensitive surfaces, keyboards, and the like. In one example, a touchscreen is present within the display, thereby allowing the display to function as an input device. User input is detected by a processor present within the display and provided to the processor of the computing device via a communication interface. In another example, the input device exists separately from the display. In this case, the input device is connected to the computing device via a communication interface, enabling the processor of the computing device to detect user input.

[0079] Step (iii): In step (iii), at least one human perception attribute is assigned to the sample coating by the computing device in response to detected user input. The human perception attribute can correspond to the difference that would be visually perceived by a human observer, such as a body shop repairer fixing a damaged reference coating, when visually comparing the provided reference coating with the adjusted sample coating. For this purpose, the computer processor determines which display image of the modified reference coating was selected in step (ii) and, based on that determination, assigns at least one human perception attribute to the sample coating.

[0080] In one embodiment, assigning at least one human perception attribute to a sample coating in response to a detected user input includes mapping the deviation associated with the detected user input to the respective human perception attribute. Each human perception attribute may include predefined human perception attributes. Thus, the deviations associated with the display image of the modified reference coating selected by the user can be mapped to the respective human perception attribute, and the human perception attribute can be assigned to the sample coating. The deviations associated with the display image of the modified reference coating are determined by determining the display image of the modified reference coating selected in step (ii) and identifying the associated deviations. The mapping can be performed using a mapping table in which each deviation, for example dL+2, is assigned to the respective human perception attribute, for example, brighter.

[0081] Further steps In one embodiment, steps (i) through (iii), or (ii) and (iii) are repeated at least once. This may be preferable if the user wants to select at least two display images of the modified reference coating. This might be the case, for example, if the sample coating deviates from the reference coating in color and texture, and the user wants to select both deviations by clicking on the display image of the modified reference coating that best reflects the observed deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating.

[0082] Step (iv): In one embodiment, the method of the present invention includes the step (iv) storing human perception attributes assigned to a sample coating and a digital representation of a reference coating in a data storage medium. This includes correlating the data with a unique ID and optionally data indicating the sample coating, thereby allowing the human perception attributes to be retrieved from the data storage medium using the ID or data. The data storage medium is preferably a database connected to a computing device via a communication interface.

[0083] Step (v): In one embodiment, the method of the present invention further includes the step (v) of determining at least one further sample coating based on assigned human perceptual attributes. For this purpose, at least one adjusted sample coating is calculated, and then it is determined whether the calculated adjusted sample coating improves at least one assigned human perceptual attribute. The at least one adjusted sample coating can be calculated using a color adjustment process well known in the art, such as that described in EP2149038B1, for example.

[0084] The determination of whether the adjusted sample coating improves at least one assigned human perceptual attribute is, for example, - Calculate the color data of the adjusted sample coating, - For each determined human perceptual attribute, the difference between the adjusted sample coating and the reference coating, and the difference between the sample coating and the reference coating, are determined based on the provided digital representations of the adjusted sample coating, the sample coating, and the reference coating. - For each determined human perceptual attribute, determine whether the difference between the adjusted sample coating and the reference coating is smaller than the difference between the sample coating and the reference coating. This can be done by executing [this command].

[0085] If the adjusted sample coating does not improve at least one, in particular all, human perceptual attributes, a list of matching sample coatings retrieved by performing a database search may be displayed to the user. If the adjusted sample coating does improve at least one, in particular all, human perceptual attributes, the formulation of the adjusted sample coating is displayed to the user.

[0086] By using the human perceptual attributes assigned to the sample coating and determining whether the adjusted sample coating improves those attributes, it is possible to provide an adjusted sample coating that more accurately matches the visual appearance of the reference coating.

[0087] Embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention: In one embodiment, the apparatus of the present invention further comprises at least one appearance measuring device, in addition to a display, one or more computing nodes, and one or more computer-readable media. The term “appearance measuring device” refers to any measuring device suitable for acquiring data relating to appearance, such as the color, texture, gloss, and / or appearance of a coating or clear coat. Such suitable measuring devices include cameras, e.g., smartphone cameras or other color cameras, single-angle spectrophotometers or multi-angle spectrophotometers, gloss meters, and measuring devices for determining orange peel (i.e., short-wave and long-wave values) and DOI.

[0088] In one embodiment, the apparatus of the present invention further comprises at least one database containing digital representations of a reference coating. The database is preferably connected to one or more computing nodes via a communication interface, allowing one or more computing nodes to retrieve each digital representation from the database. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0089] These and other features of the present invention are described more fully in the following description relating to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. To facilitate the identification of any particular element or action, the most significant digit or number of the reference number refers to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. This description is presented with reference to the accompanying drawings: [Figure 1] This is a flowchart of a first embodiment of the computer implementation method of the present invention for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of an embodiment that displays the user interface described in block 102 of Figure 1, in accordance with the implementation of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart of an embodiment for generating the appearance data of the reference coating described in block 208 of Figure 2, according to an implementation of the present invention. [Figure 4]Figures 4A to 4C are flowcharts of embodiments that generate modified appearance data for the reference coating described in block 212 or 218 of Figure 2, according to an implementation of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the present invention for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram of an apparatus for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating, according to an implementation of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a plan view of a display device that includes a screen equipped with a graphical user interface for displaying images of a standard coating and a modified standard coating. [Figure 8] This is yet another plan view of a display device including a screen with a graphical user interface that displays a display image of a standard coating and a display image of a modified standard coating. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0090] Detailed description of the drawing The detailed description below is intended to illustrate various aspects of the subject matter and not to represent the only possible configurations in which the subject matter can be implemented. The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and constitute part of the detailed description. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a complete understanding of the subject matter. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter can be implemented without these specific details.

[0091] In some cases, separating and illustrating various components in a diagram into separate units may reflect the use of corresponding separate physical and tangible components in actual implementation. Alternatively, or additionally, any single component shown in a diagram may be implemented by multiple actual physical components. Alternatively, or additionally, the depiction of two or more separate components in a diagram may reflect different functions performed by a single actual physical component.

[0092] Other figures illustrate concepts in flowchart form. In this form, a given operation is described as constituting a separate block that is executed in a predetermined order. Such embodiments are illustrative and non-limiting. A given block described herein can be grouped and executed in a single operation, a given block can be divided into multiple component blocks, and a given block can be executed in an order different from those illustrated herein (including the configuration in which blocks are executed in parallel). In one implementation, a block shown in a flowchart belonging to a processing-related function can be implemented by the hardware logic circuit described in relation to Figure 6, which can instead be implemented by one or more hardware processors and / or other logic components, including a set of task-specific logic gates.

[0093] Regarding terminology, the phrase "configured to perform" encompasses a variety of physical and tangible mechanisms for carrying out a specified operation. A mechanism can be configured to perform an operation using hardware logic circuits, as described in relation to Figure 6. The term "logic" similarly encompasses a variety of physical and tangible mechanisms for performing a task. For example, each process-related operation shown in the flowchart corresponds to a logic component for performing that operation. A logic component can perform its operation using hardware logic circuits, as described in relation to Figure 6. When implemented by a computing device, a logic component, in whatever way it is implemented, represents an electrical component that is a physical part of the computing system.

[0094] Any storage resource, or any combination of storage resources, described herein may be considered a computer-readable medium. In many cases, a computer-readable medium represents some form of a physical and tangible entity. The term computer-readable medium also includes propagated signals transmitted or received, for example, through physical conduits and / or air or other wireless media. However, the specific term “computer-readable storage medium” includes all other forms of computer-readable medium while explicitly excluding propagated signals themselves.

[0095] In the following descriptions, one or more features may be identified as "optional." This type of description is not meant to be interpreted as an exhaustive indication of features that may be considered optional; that is, other features may be considered optional even if they are not explicitly identified in the text. Furthermore, no description of a single entity is intended to exclude the use of multiple such entities; similarly, no description of multiple entities is intended to exclude the use of a single entity. In addition, while this specification may describe certain features as alternatives to performing a particular function or implementing a particular mechanism, such features may also be combined in any combination. Finally, the terms "exemplary" or "illustrative" refer to one implementation out of a potentially numerous possible implementations.

[0096] Figure 1 shows a first non-limiting embodiment of a computer implementation method 100 for assigning attributes that are perceived by at least one human (human perception) or visually perceived to a sample coating, the method being implemented by a computing device including a computer processor and a display, such as the computing device described in the context of Figure 6. The computing device may have a display and may be a mobile device having an LCD display, such as a tablet or laptop. The computing device may be a stationary device, such as a stationary computer mounted on a peripheral display, such as an LCD screen. The reference coating and the sample coating may be effect coatings containing effect pigments. The reference coating and the effect coating may be solid shade coatings containing color pigments but not effect pigments. The sample coating can be prepared by providing a reference coating (block 102) and determining the appearance of the reference coating. The reference coating may correspond to a multilayer coating containing one or more damaged areas within the multilayer coating. The appearance of the reference coating may be determined as described in the context of Figure 2. The determined appearance may be used to determine the best-matching sample coating formulation using a commonly known color matching process. One of the identified best-matching sample coating formulations is selected and can be used to prepare a sample coating using the selected sample coating formulation and optionally an additional clear coat formulation (see Block 104). The sample coating can be prepared by applying the sample coating material prepared from the selected sample coating formulation and optionally a clear coat coating material to the surface of a substrate and curing the applied coating materials co-curing or separately. After the preparation of the sample coating, the user can initiate Method 100.

[0097] In block 106, a user interface may be displayed on a display, and the user interface may include at least one display image of a modified reference coating. The user interface may be generated as described in the context of Figure 2. The display image of the modified reference coating may be generated as described in the context of Figures 4A to 4C. The user interface may further include at least one display image of a reference coating. This allows for the simulation of a visual comparison between the reference coating and the prepared sample coating in the physical world within the virtual world represented by the user interface, thus facilitating the selection of a display image of the modified reference coating that most closely resembles the appearance of the prepared sample coating. At least one display image of the reference coating may be displayed adjacent to at least a portion of the display image of the modified reference coating. This allows for the display of deviations from the reference coating in two directions, such as an increase or decrease in chromaticity, by displaying the display image of the reference coating between the display images of the modified reference coating, for example, between a display image of a modified reference coating with a higher hue and a display image of a modified reference coating with a lower hue.

[0098] In block 108, user input indicating the selection of at least one display image of the modified reference coating may be detected by the computing device. For this purpose, the computing device may be coupled with an input device via a communication interface to enable the detection of user input. Suitable input devices include a mouse device, a touch-sensitive surface, a keyboard, etc. The display may be a touchscreen and may function as an input device by detecting touchscreen gestures as user input. The input device may be connected to the computing system via a communication interface to enable the processor of the computing device to detect user input. The user input may be based on a visually perceived difference between the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating. The user input may be associated with a visually perceived difference between the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating. For example, the user may visually compare the prepared sample coating and the reference coating and select a display image of the modified reference coating that most closely resembles the appearance of the sample coating, or most closely resembles the observed visual difference between the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating. A visual comparison of the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating may be performed by the user before block 106. A visual comparison of the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating may be performed by the user after block 106. A visual comparison of the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating may be performed by the user up to block 108, for example, before performing user input.

[0099] In block 110, at least one human perception attribute may be assigned to a sample coating by a computing device in response to detected user input. The human perception attribute can correspond to the difference visually perceived by a human observer, such as a repairer at a body shop repairing a damaged reference coating, when a provided reference coating and a modified sample coating are visually compared. For this purpose, a display image of the modified reference coating selected in block 108 may be determined. Then, at least one human perception attribute can be assigned to the sample coating by matching the deviation associated with the determined display image to each or a predefined human perception attribute. For this purpose, the deviation associated with the display image of the modified reference coating selected in block 108 may be determined and mapped to each or a predefined human perception attribute in order to assign the human perception attribute to the sample coating. The mapping may be performed using a mapping table in which each deviation used to generate the modified appearance data of the reference coating, such as dL+2, is assigned to each human perception attribute, such as brighter.

[0100] Blocks 106 to 110, or blocks 108 and 110, can be repeated, for example, if further deviations of the sample coating from a reference coating are selected based on the displayed image. Blocks 106 to 110 can be repeated to allow the selection of another category when a category is selected in block 106, while blocks 108 and 110 can be repeated if deviations of different categories of the sample coating from a reference coating, such as color, texture, gloss, or clear coat appearance, are displayed in block 106.

[0101] After block 110 is completed, method 100 may terminate, or it may return to block 106.

[0102] Figure 2 shows an exemplary method 200 for generating a user interface display used within a computer implementation method for assigning at least one human-perceived or visually perceived attribute to a sample coating, such as the user interface shown in block 106 of Figure 1, which is displayed on the display of a computing device. The user interface display may present modified appearance display data (e.g., a display image of the modified base coating) and optionally appearance display data (e.g., a display image of the base coating). The user interface display may include further content such as icons, text, labels, and menus.

[0103] In block 202, routine implementation method 200 can determine whether the user wants to determine the color and / or texture of a reference coating, or whether a digital representation of the reference coating is retrieved from a database (see block 206). The color and / or texture of the reference coating may be determined, for example, by measuring the color and / or texture, as described earlier. A graphical user interface (GUI) may be displayed that allows the user to make an appropriate selection, and depending on the user's selection, routine implementation method 200 may proceed to block 204 or 206. Routine implementation method 200 may detect the acquisition of measurement data or the provision of appearance data and may automatically proceed to block 204. If it is determined in block 202 that the color and / or texture is to be determined, routine implementation method 200 may proceed to block 204. If the color and / or texture of the reference coating is not determined—for example, if appearance data is retrieved from a database—routine implementation method 200 may proceed to block 206, described later.

[0104] In block 204, the color and / or texture of the reference coating can be determined using a measuring device such as an RGB camera, a single-angle spectrophotometer, or a multi-angle spectrophotometer, as previously described. The measuring device can be connected to a computing device via a communication interface to enable data transfer. When a spectrophotometer is used, the appearance data is either determined by the spectrophotometer's processor from the acquired reflectance data and texture image, or determined by the computing device using the acquired reflectance data and texture image. When a single-angle or multi-angle spectrophotometer may be used, the appearance data is determined by the spectrophotometer and can be provided to the computing device via a communication interface. Along with the appearance data, at least the measurement geometry used, optionally further metadata, and / or user input may be provided to the computing device. When an RGB camera is used, the appearance data in the form of the RGB values ​​of each pixel may be acquired directly by the camera and transferred to the computing device as appearance data without requiring further calculation. The color and texture may be determined using a multi-angle spectrophotometer to acquire reflectance data at field-of-view angles of -15°, 15°, 25°, 45°, 75°, and 110°, with an incident angle of 45° and a texture image.

[0105] In block 206, a digital representation (hereinafter referred to as DRR) of a reference coating may be provided. Providing a DRR may include retrieving the DRR from a database based on reference coating identification data. Reference coating identification data may include the color name, color number, color code, barcode, ID, and VIN combined with vehicle part information (bumper, trunk, etc.) associated with the reference coating. Data indicating the reference coating may be entered by the user via a GUI displayed on the display, retrieved from a database based on a scanned code such as a QR code, or associated with a predefined user action. A predefined user action may include, for example, selecting a desired action on a GUI displayed on the display that shows a list of stored measurements including associated images, or a list of available reference coatings based on search criteria, a user profile, etc.

[0106] In block 208, the appearance data of the reference coating may be generated based on the appearance data provided in block 204, or on a digital representation acquired in block 206 (this block is generally optional). The appearance data of the reference coating may be generated as described in relation to Figure 3 below. Generally, this block is generated based on the appearance data of CIEL * a * b * This needs to be executed when the display image of the reference coating, rather than RGB data such as values, is displayed in block 216. For example, block 208 is CIEL * a * b *This may be done if the appearance data of the form of values ​​and texture properties is provided to enable the display of a reference coating image within the user interface display. Displaying the appearance data of the reference coating (such as a display image) next to the modified appearance display data of the modified reference coating makes it possible to simulate a visual comparison between the prepared sample coating and the provided reference coating in the physical world within the virtual world represented by the user interface, thereby making it easier for the user to select the appropriate display image of the modified reference coating that best approximates the appearance of the prepared sample coating.

[0107] In block 210, the routine implementation method 200 can determine whether to generate a user interface that includes at least one category indicating a visual deviation of a prepared sample coating from a provided reference coating. This determination may be made according to the programming of the routine implementation method 200, or based on detected user input indicating the generation of a user interface. If it is determined in block 210 whether or not such a user interface is generated, the routine implementation method 200 can proceed to block 212. Otherwise, the routine implementation method 200 can proceed to block 214.

[0108] In block 212, a user interface generation is generated and may be displayed on the display, which includes at least one category indicating the visual deviation of a prepared sample coating from a provided reference coating. The at least one visual deviation of a prepared sample coating from a provided reference coating may include deviations in brightness, darkness, color, texture, gloss, and / or clear coat appearance. The category may be indicated by a text label indicating the type of deviation, such as color deviation, texture deviation, or gloss deviation.

[0109] In block 220, modified appearance display data of a reference coating can be generated based on the data provided in block 204 or the DRR provided in block 206. The modified appearance display data of the reference coating can be generated using the method described in the context of FIGS. 4A to 4C. The modified appearance display data can be generated by modifying at least a part of the appearance data included in the digital representation provided in block 206, or the appearance data determined in block 204, with respect to lightness, darkness, color, texture, gloss, the appearance of the clear coat, or a combination thereof. The method for generating the modified appearance display data is various and mainly depends on the type of appearance data determined in block 204 or provided in block 206.

[0110] When the appearance data includes CIEL * a * b * values or CIEL * C * h * values, the modified appearance display data can be generated by modifying at least a part of the CIEL * a * b * values or CIEL * C * h * values, respectively, using predefined color space distance values dL, da, and db or dL, dC, and dh. The modified CIEL * a * b * values or CIEL * C * h * values can be used to generate the modified appearance display data as described above. Apart from the predefined color space distance values, well-known color tolerance equations such as the Audi95 color tolerance equation or the Audi2000 color tolerance equation may be used during the modification of the appearance data. Since the color space values are weighted according to the color and the measurement geometry, the use of the color tolerance equation can be beneficial and thus a standardized offset of the modified appearance display data across the entire color space can be achieved.

[0111] If the appearance data further includes a texture image and / or texture properties, the modified appearance data may be generated by modifying at least a portion of the texture image and / or texture properties using texture distance values. The modified texture properties may be used to generate a composite modified texture image, for example, as described in the context of Figures 4A to 4C below.

[0112] If the aforementioned appearance data includes RGB values, the modified appearance display data will have the RGB values ​​CIEL * a * b * Convert to a value and use the predefined color space distance value as described above in CIEL. * a * b * A modified CIEL with at least some of the values ​​corrected, and optionally modified to allow the data to be displayed on the display of a computing device. * a * b * It can be generated by converting the values ​​to modified RGB values.

[0113] In block 214, user input indicating the selection of a category may be detected by a display or a computing device equipped with a display. The user input may be used in block 214 to determine which category has been selected by the user. The selected category may be used in block 216 to determine the modified appearance display data for that category. For example, if the user selects the category "Color", the appearance data may be modified only in block 216 so that the color of the base coating is modified to obtain a display image of the base coating that exhibits a color shift with respect to the display image of the base coating, such as being greener, redder, bluer, yellower, brighter, darker, more saturated, less saturated, positive hue shift, or negative hue shift.

[0114] In block 216, modified appearance data for the base coating may be generated based on the data provided in block 204 or 206 and the user input detected in block 214. The modified appearance data for the base coating may be generated as described in the context of Figures 4A to 4C. A category selected by the user in block 214 is determined, and the appearance data provided in block 204 or 206 may be modified with respect to the determined category. For example, if the user selects the category "color," the provided appearance data may be modified with respect to color so that the color appears greener, redder, bluer, yellower, more saturated, less saturated, brighter, darker, or has a positive or negative hue shift. This is as described in the context of Figures 4A to 4C. * a * b * Value or CIEL * C * h * This may include modifying values, or modifying RGB values ​​as described above. If the user selects the category "Texture," a texture layer may be added to modify the texture so that it appears coarser or finer, or brighter or less bright, as described above or as described below in the context of Figures 4A to 4C.

[0115] In block 218, a user interface display may be generated that displays the modified appearance data generated in block 216 or 220, and optionally the appearance data generated in block 208. The generated user interface display may be displayed on the display of a computing device. The user interface display may include, for example, an image of the base coating adjacent to at least one display image of the modified base coating (i.e., the modified appearance data generated in block 216 or 220) as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The user interface display may include additional icons, text, label buttons, menus, and links to improve user guidance. After the completion of block 220, the routine implementation method 200 can proceed to block 104 in Figure 1.

[0116] Figure 3 shows an exemplary method 300 for generating appearance data of a reference coating, as described in relation to block 208 in Figure 2. The appearance data provided in block 204 or 206 is CIEL * a * b * The measurement geometry associated with the value sequence, i.e., the CIEL * a * b * It may include the measured geometry associated with the reflectance data used to determine the value.

[0117] In block 302, routine implementation method 300 can generate an ordered list of measurement geometries from the measurement geometries contained in the appearance data provided in block 204 or 206. The ordered list of measurement geometries can be generated by selecting at least one predefined measurement geometry from multiple measurement geometries provided in block 204 or 206, optionally sorting the selected measurement geometries according to at least one predefined sorting criterion if multiple measurement geometries are selected, and optionally calculating the cumulative delta asspectral angle for each selected measurement geometry if multiple measurement geometries are selected.

[0118] For example, a predefined measurement geometry could be an intermediate measurement geometry such as 45°. In this case, only one measurement geometry is selected, and sorting is not required. The selection of an intermediate measurement geometry allows for the generation of visual display data under diffuse illumination conditions (e.g., cloudy conditions).

[0119] The predefined measurement geometries may include at least one glossy geometry, such as 15° and 25°, and at least one non-glossy measurement geometry, such as 45° and / or 75° and / or 110°. The selected predefined measurement geometries may then be sorted according to a predefined sorting criterion, such as the order of the defined measurement geometries. In one example, the defined order 45°>25°>15°>25°>45°>75° may be used. In another example, the defined order -15°>15°>25°>45°>75°>110° may be used. The predefined measurement geometries and / or predefined sorting criterion may be retrieved from a database based on data provided in blocks 204 or 206 or further data such as a user profile, before generating an ordered list. After sorting the selected predefined measurement geometries according to the predefined sorting criterion, the delta asspectral angle may be calculated for each measurement geometry selected as described above (see, for example, the table above).

[0120] In block 304, the routine implementation method 300 may generate a blank image having a resolution defined for the display image of the reference coating (e.g., the appearance display data of the reference coating). The resolution can vary considerably and generally depends on the resolution of the color and texture data acquired using a multi-angle spectrophotometer. It should be noted that the order of blocks 302 and 304 may be reversed, i.e., block 304 may be executed before block 302.

[0121] In block 306, the routine implementation method 300 is provided in block 204 or 206 for CIEL * a * b * The value contains at least one L * You may determine whether the value is greater than 95. In block 306, all L provided in block 204 or 206 * At least one L among the values * If the value is determined to be greater than 95, the routine implementation method 300 may proceed to block 308. All L provided * If the value is less than 95, the routine implementation method 300 may proceed to block 310.

[0122] In block 308, routine implementation method 300 obtains a scaled digital representation (hereinafter also referred to as SDR) or scaled appearance data, using a brightness scaling coefficient s L All L provided using * The values ​​can be scaled. In this example, the brightness scaling coefficient is given by equation (1).

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[0123] The use of this brightness scaling factor allows for the preservation of color information contained in gloss measurement geometry by compressing the color space while maintaining a constant existing color distance.

[0124] In block 310, routine implementation method 300 is: - An ordered list of measurement geometries generated in block 302, - CIEL provided in block 204 or retrieved in block 206 * a * b * The value, or the scaled digital representation generated in block 308, Based on this, the corresponding CIEL for each pixel of each image generated in block 304 * a * b * By calculating the values, a color image of the reference coating can be generated.

[0125] Calculated CIEL * a * b * The values ​​can then be converted to sRGB values ​​and stored in the internal memory of the processing device performing this block. The corresponding CIEL for each pixel of the generated image. * a * b * The values ​​correlate one axis of each image generated in block 304 to an ordered list of measurement geometries generated in block 302, and the CIEL associated with the ordered list of generated measurement geometries and the reference coating. * a * b * Value or scaled CIEL * a * b* The values ​​can be calculated by mapping them to the correlated columns of each created image. For example, the CIEL determined and provided in the color image of the reference coating, i.e., block 204 or 206. * a * b * The color image of the values ​​correlates the y-axis of the image generated in block 304 with the list of measurement geometries generated in block 302, and the ordered list of generated measurement geometries and the associated CIEL provided in blocks 204 / 206. * a * b * The scaled CIEL obtained in value or block 308 * a * b * The values ​​are obtained by mapping them to correlated columns in the generated image.

[0126] In block 312, routine implementation method 300 can determine whether a texture layer is added to the color image generated in block 310. This decision may be based on appearance data provided in block 204. For example, if the provided appearance data includes a texture image and / or texture parameters, routine implementation method 300 may decide to add a texture layer and proceed to block 314. Otherwise, routine implementation method 300 may proceed to block 210 in Figure 2.

[0127] In block 314, routine implementation method 300 can determine whether the texture image is generated from the data provided in block 204 or 206. If the texture image is generated using the data provided in block 204 or 206, routine implementation method 300 may proceed to block 318. Otherwise, routine implementation method 300 may proceed to block 316, for example, if the data provided in block 204 or 206 does not include the retrieved texture image, or if the texture image cannot be retrieved from the database based on the data provided in block 204 or 206.

[0128] In block 316, method 300 is, - To generate an empty image having the same resolution as the image generated in block 304, - Target texture contrast c v To obtain, - For each pixel of the generated image, -c v and +c v The process involves generating random numbers using a uniform random number generator or a Gaussian random number generator, and adding the generated random numbers to each pixel of the created image. - Blurring the obtained image using a blur filter, especially a Gaussian blur filter, This allows for the generation of composite texture images.

[0129] Target texture contrast c v This searches for roughness and / or brightness characteristics determined from the data provided in block 204 or 206, and sets the searched roughness and / or brightness characteristics, particularly the roughness characteristics, to target texture contrast c v It may be provided by providing it as follows. If the determined or provided data does not include texture characteristics, target texture contrast c v Based on the data provided in block 204 or 206, the target texture contrast c is retrieved from the database. v This can be obtained by searching for the target texture contrast c stored in the database. v For example, the defined texture target contrast c v This is associated with the amount or range of aluminum pigment present in the coating formulation used to prepare each reference coating, and the respective texture target contrast c is based on the formulation data associated with the reference coating. v This can be obtained by searching.

[0130] In block 318, method 300 can generate texture images by retrieving the texture images from the data provided in block 204 or 206, or by retrieving each acquired texture image, particularly the texture image acquired with a 15° measurement geometry, from a data storage medium based on the data provided in block 204 or 206, thereby generating texture images from each acquired texture image, particularly the texture image acquired with a 15° measurement geometry.

[0131] In block 320, method 300 can generate a modified texture image for each acquired texture image or composite texture image provided in block 316 or 318 by calculating the average color of each acquired texture image or composite texture image provided in block 316 or 318, and subtracting the calculated average color from each provided acquired texture image or composite texture image. The average color of each provided acquired texture image or composite texture image can be calculated by summing all the pixel colors of the provided acquired texture image or composite texture image and dividing this sum by the number of pixels in the provided acquired texture image or composite texture image, or by calculating the local average color on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

[0132] In block 322, method 300 uses a brightness scaling coefficient s L and the asspectural-dependent scaling function sf aspecularThe appearance data of the base coating can be generated by adding each modified texture image generated in block 320, which is weighted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, to each color image generated in block 310. The asspect-dependent scaling function weights each pixel of the texture layer in correlation with the asspect angle corresponding to the measurement geometry present in the generated ordered list of measurement geometries. This makes it possible to weight the pixels of the texture layer in correlation with the visual impression of the effect coating layer when observed by an observer under different measurement geometries, and thus generate appearance data that closely resembles the visual impression of the effect coating when observed under real-world conditions.

[0133] You can use either of the following asspect-dependent scaling functions (2a) or (2b):

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[0134] Brightness scaling coefficient s used in block 322 L This is the brightness scaling coefficient s used in block 308.L This corresponds to the same brightness scaling coefficient s. L This may be used in blocks 308 and 322, or the brightness scaling coefficient s L It can be 1 if it is not used (i.e., block 308 is not executed). The same brightness scaling coefficient s in block 322 L Using this method allows the brightness of the texture image to be adjusted to the brightness of the color image, thus preventing inconsistencies between color and texture information regarding brightness.

[0135] The addition is equation (3)

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[0136] Figures 4A to 4C illustrate an exemplary method 400 for generating modified appearance data as described in relation to block 216 or 220 in Figure 2. The modified appearance data (i.e., the data provided in block 204 or 206 in Figure 2) is determined by the CIEL of multiple measurement geometries. * a * b * The measured geometry associated with the value and sequence, i.e., the CIEL * a * b * It may include the measurement geometry associated with the reflectance data used to determine the value.

[0137] In block 402, the routine implementation method 400 can determine whether user input has been detected, i.e., whether the user has selected a category, as described in relation to blocks 212 and 214 in Figure 2. If user input is detected, the routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 404; otherwise, it may proceed to block 406, which will be described later.

[0138] In block 404, routine implementation method 400 may generate modified appearance data based on appearance data provided in block 204 or block 206 in Figure 2 and user input detected in block 214 in Figure 2. Modified appearance data may be generated by modifying the provided appearance data using predefined color space distance values ​​dL, da and db, and / or texture distance values, as described in relation to block 216 in Figure 2, depending on the category selected by the user in block 214. Modified appearance data may be generated by modifying the provided / retrieved appearance data using predefined color space distance values ​​dL, da and db, well-known color tolerance equations such as the Audi95 color tolerance equation or the Audi2000 color tolerance equation, and / or texture distance values, as described in relation to block 216 in Figure 2, depending on the category selected by the user in block 214. The use of the Audi95 color tolerance equation or the Audi2000 color tolerance equation may be beneficial because it allows color space values ​​to be weighted according to color and measured geometry, thus enabling a standardized offset of modified appearance data from the appearance data of a reference coating across the entire color space.

[0139] In block 406, the routine implementation method 400 may generate modified appearance data based on the appearance data provided in block 204 or block 206 of Figure 2. The modified appearance data may be generated as described in relation to block 404, without considering user input. All appearance data provided in block 204 or 206 of Figure 3 may be modified. Only a portion of the appearance data provided in block 204 or 206 of Figure 2 may be modified based on predefined rules, for example, based on the appearance data of a standard coating.

[0140] In block 408, an ordered list of measurement geometries may be generated. The generation of the ordered list of measurement geometries may be performed as described in the context of block 302 in Figure 3. If the generated appearance data is presented horizontally in the user interface display, the same ordered list of measurement geometries can be generated as in block 302 in Figure 3, since each line of the display data (e.g., the display images of the modified reference coating and the reference coating) belongs to the same measurement geometry (e.g., the same asymmetric angle), allowing for comparison between the appearance display data associated with the reference coating and the modified appearance display data.

[0141] In block 410, the routine implementation method 400 may generate an image having a defined resolution. Using the same resolution as block 304 in Figure 3, a display image having the same size as the display image of the reference coating can be obtained. Using the same resolution allows for easy comparison between the display image of the reference coating and the display image of the modified reference coating. In another example, a different resolution can be used to obtain a display image that is larger or smaller than the display image of the reference coating.

[0142] In block 412, routine implementation method 400 is a modified CIEL generated in block 404 or block 406. * a * b * The value contains at least one L * It is possible to determine whether the value is greater than 95 and whether block 308 in Figure 3, as described earlier, has been executed. In block 412, all modifications L generated in block 404 or block 406 are executed. * At least one L among the values * If the value is greater than 95 and it is determined that block 308 in Figure 3 has been executed, the routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 414. All provided L * If the value is less than 95 and block 308 in Figure 3 is not executed, the routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 416.

[0143] In block 414, routine implementation method 400 obtains scaled modified appearance data (denoted as SMAP) using a brightness scaling coefficient s L Use all modifications L * The values ​​can be scaled. The brightness scaling coefficient of equation (1), described in relation to block 308 in Figure 3, may be used. Preferably, the same scaling coefficient s as in block 308 in Figure 3 is used. L However, it can be used to avoid differences in brightness due to the use of different brightness scaling factors.

[0144] In block 416, routine implementation method 400 is: - An ordered list of measurement geometries generated in block 408, - Modified CIEL generated in block 404 or block 406 * a * b * The value, or the scaled modified appearance data generated in block 414, Based on this, for each pixel of each image generated in block 410, the corresponding CIEL * a * By calculating the b-value, a color image of the modified reference coating can be generated, as described in relation to block 310 in Figure 3.

[0145] In block 418, routine implementation method 400 can decide whether to add a texture and / or clear coat appearance layer to the color image generated in block 416. This decision may be based on provided appearance data or modified appearance data. For example, if the provided appearance data or modified appearance data includes a texture image and / or texture parameters, routine implementation method 400 may decide to add a texture layer and proceed to block 422. If the texture and clear coat appearance layer are not added, routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 218 in Figure 2. This is the case, for example, when the base coating and modified base coating are solid or straight-shade coatings that do not contain effect pigments and therefore do not have a visual texture. If only a clear coat appearance layer is added, for example, if the clear coat appearance of a solid-shade coating is modified, routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 420.

[0146] In block 420 (see Figure 4B), routine implementation method 400 can determine whether the texture image is generated from the provided data (i.e., the data provided in block 204 or 206 in Figure 2) or the modified data (i.e., the modified appearance data generated in block 404 or 406). If the texture image is generated using the provided data or the modified data, routine implementation method 400 can proceed to block 422. Otherwise, for example, if the provided data or the modified data does not include the retrieved texture image, or if the texture image cannot be retrieved from the database based on the provided data or the modified data, routine implementation method 400 can proceed to block 424.

[0147] In block 422, the routine implementation method 400 can generate a texture image from each texture image, particularly the texture image obtained for the 15° measurement geometry, by obtaining the texture image from the provided data or modified data, or by searching for each texture image, particularly the texture image obtained for the 15° measurement geometry, from the data storage medium based on the provided data or modified data. The texture image may be generated as described in the context of Figure 3.

[0148] In block 424, the routine implementation method 400 can generate a composite texture image, as described in relation to block 316 in Figure 3.

[0149] In block 426, routine implementation method 400 can generate a modified texture image for each texture image generated in block 422 or 424 by calculating the average color of each texture image provided in block 422 or 424 and subtracting the average color calculated from each provided acquired texture image or composite texture image, as described in relation to block 320 in Figure 3.

[0150] In block 428, routine implementation method 400 can determine whether the texture contrast is scaled by using a texture scaling factor, for example, during the generation of modified appearance display data. This determination may be made according to programming and may be based on the type of effect pigment present in the reference coating formulation, the modifications to be displayed with respect to the texture, etc. If routine implementation method 400 determines that the texture contrast should be scaled, it can proceed to block 430. Otherwise, it can proceed to block 432, described below.

[0151] In block 430, routine implementation method 400 is the texture contrast scaling coefficient s cExcept for setting the brightness scaling coefficient s to a value greater than or less than 1, as described in relation to block 322 in Figure 3, L , asspectual-dependent scaling function sf aspecular , and texture contrast scaling coefficient s c Each modified texture image generated in block 426, weighted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, can be added to each color image generated in block 416. Preferably, the same brightness scaling coefficient s used in blocks 308 and 414 in Figure 3 is used. L The following may be used. Furthermore, the same asspect-dependent scaling function sf used in block 322 of Figure 3. aspecular However, it may be used in block 430. Texture contrast scaling coefficient s c Using this feature allows you to scale the contrast of a texture to visualize color differences by setting the texture contrast scaling factor value to a value greater than 1 (to obtain higher texture contrast) or less than 1 (to obtain lower texture contrast).

[0152] In block 432, the routine implementation method 400 uses the brightness scaling coefficient s, as described in relation to block 322 in Figure 3 and block 430 in Figure 4. L and the asspectural-dependent scaling function sf aspecular Each modified texture image generated by block 426, weighted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, can be added to each color image generated by block 416.

[0153] In block 434, routine implementation method 400 can determine whether a clear coat appearance layer is added to the image generated in block 430 or 432. This decision may be made according to user input detected in block 214 in Figure 2, or according to programming, or, for example, based on modifications displayed with respect to the clear coat appearance. If routine implementation method 400 determines in block 434 that the appearance layer is added, routine implementation method 400 may proceed to block 436. Otherwise, it may proceed to block 218 in Figure 2.

[0154] In block 436, routine implementation method 400 generates modified appearance display data by, for example, searching for a clear coat appearance image or layer from a database and adding the searched image or layer to the image obtained in block 430 or 432 on a pixel-by-pixel basis. After that, routine implementation method 400 proceeds to block 218 in Figure 2.

[0155] In block 438 (see Figure 4C), the routine implementation method 400 may generate modified appearance display data by, for example, searching for a clear coat appearance image or layer from a database, as described in the context of Figure 3, and adding the searched image or layer to the color image generated in block 416 on a pixel-by-pixel basis. After that, the routine implementation method 400 can proceed to block 218 in Figure 2.

[0156] Figure 5 shows a second non-limiting embodiment of a computer implementation method 500 for assigning attributes perceptible or visually perceptible to at least one human being to a sample coating, the method being implemented by a computing device having a computer processor and a display, such as the computing device described in the context of Figure 6. The computing device may have a display and may be a mobile device having an LCD display, such as a tablet or laptop. The computing device may be a stationary device, such as a stationary computer connected to a peripheral display, such as an LCD screen. The reference coating and the sample coating may be effect coatings containing effect pigments. The reference coating and the effect coating may be solid shade coatings containing color pigments but not effect pigments. The sample coating may be prepared from a provided reference coating, as described in the context of Figure 1. Blocks 502 to 506 in Figure 5 may correspond to blocks 106 to 110 in Figure 1. The user interface shown in block 502 may be generated in the manner described above in relation to Figures 2 to 4C. Furthermore, the method 500 may include further blocks 508 to 514, which are described in more detail below.

[0157] In block 508, the routine implementation method 500 can determine whether the user wishes to save the human perception attributes assigned to the sample coding in block 506. For this purpose, the routine can generate and display a graphical user interface display that includes a menu or selection that allows the user to indicate that they wish to save the assigned human perception attributes. If the routine determines that the user wishes to remember the human perception attributes assigned in block 506, it can proceed to block 510. Otherwise, it can proceed to block 512, described below.

[0158] In block 510, the human-perceptual attributes assigned in block 506 may be provided to a data storage medium by a routine. Before providing the attributes, the assigned human-perceptual attributes are displayed to the user, allowing the user to select which attributes they wish to save to the data storage medium. The data storage medium may be the internal memory of a computing device or a database connected to the computing device via a communication interface. A graphical user interface display may include a menu that allows the user to determine the desired storage location and assign names to the attributes to be saved. In this example, the assigned attributes are associated with a unique ID and optionally with data indicating a sample coating. This allows the data to be retrieved from the data storage medium using either the unique ID or the data indicating the sample coating.

[0159] In block 512, the routine can determine whether further sample coatings are determined based on the human perception attributes assigned in block 506. This determination may be made, for example, by generating and displaying a graphical interface display that includes a menu or selection indicating to the user that further sample coatings are being determined.

[0160] Further sample coating decisions will be made. - Calculate the sample coating adjusted using the color adjustment process, - To determine whether the adjusted sample coating improves at least one, in particular all, of the human perceptual attributes assigned in block 506, This can be done by [method].

[0161] A suitable color adjustment process for calculating the adjusted sample coating is described, for example, in EP2149038B1. The determination of the adjusted sample coating can be performed entirely or at least partially using the processor of the computing device, or using a separate processor existing independently of the computing device. For example, a separate processor existing independently of the computing device's processor can calculate the adjusted sample coating, while the computing device's processor can determine whether the adjusted sample coating improves human perceptual attributes. To enable data exchange, both processors may be connected via a communication interface. By shifting the calculation of the adjusted sample coating to a separate processor, a computing device with lower computing power can be used compared to performing the calculation of the adjusted sample coating on the computing device's processor.

[0162] The determination of whether the adjusted sample coating improves at least one, and especially all, assigned human perceptual attributes is: - Calculate the color data of the adjusted sample coating, - For each individual's determined perceptual attribute, the provided digital representation of the adjusted sample coating, the difference between the adjusted sample coating and the reference coating based on the sample coating and the reference coating, and the difference between the sample coating and the reference coating. - For each individual's determined perceptual attribute, determine whether the difference between the adjusted sample coating and the reference coating is smaller than the difference between the sample coating and the reference coating. This can be done by [method].

[0163] If the adjusted sample coating does not improve at least one, in particular all, human perceptual attributes, a list of matching sample coatings retrieved by performing a database search may be displayed to the user. If the adjusted sample coating does improve at least one, in particular all, human perceptual attributes, the formulation of the adjusted sample coating may be displayed to the user. Using human perceptual attributes assigned to the sample coating to determine whether the adjusted sample coating improves said attributes makes it possible to provide an adjusted sample coating that more accurately matches the visual appearance of the reference coating than the sample coating.

[0164] Figure 6 shows a computing device 600 equipped with a display that may be used to carry out any embodiment of the methods described in Figures 1 to 5 above. In all cases, the computing device 600 represents a physical and concrete processing canon. The computing device 600 may be a portable device such as a tablet, smartphone, or laptop, or a fixed device such as a desktop computer.

[0165] The computing device 600 may include one or more hardware processors 602. The hardware processors may include, without limitation, one or more central processing units ("CPUs") and / or one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) and / or one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). More generally, any hardware processor may correspond to a general-purpose processing unit or an application-specific processor unit.

[0166] Computing device 600 can also include a computer-readable storage medium 604 corresponding to one or more computer-readable media hardware units. The computer-readable storage medium 604 can hold any kind of information 606 such as machine-readable instructions, settings, data, etc. Without limitation, for example, the computer-readable storage medium 604 can include one or more solid-state devices, one or more magnetic hard disks, one or more optical disks, magnetic tapes, etc. As any example of the computer-readable storage medium 604, any technology for storing and retrieving information can be used. Further, as any example of the computer-readable storage medium 604, it can represent a fixed or removable component of the computing device 600. Further, as any example of the computer-readable storage medium 604, it can provide volatile or non-volatile retention of information.

[0167] Computing device 600 can utilize any example of the computer-readable storage medium 604 in different ways. For example, as any example of the computer-readable storage medium 604, it can represent a hardware memory unit (such as random access memory (RAM)) for storing temporary information during the execution of a program by the computing device 600, and / or a hardware storage unit (such as a hard disk) for holding / archiving information on a more permanent basis. In the latter case, the computing device 600 can also include one or more drive mechanisms 608 (such as a hard drive mechanism) for storing information and retrieving information from an example of the computer-readable storage medium 604.

[0168] When hardware processor 602 of computing device 600 executes computer-readable instructions stored in any example of computer-readable storage medium 604, it can perform any of the functions described above. For example, computing device 600 can execute computer-readable instructions to perform each block of the methods described in FIGS. 1 through 5.

[0169] Alternatively or additionally, computing device 600 may rely on one or more other hardware logic components 610 to perform operations using a task-specific set of logic gates. For example, hardware logic component 610 may include a fixed configuration of hardware logic gates that are created and set at the time of manufacture and thereafter cannot be changed. Alternatively or additionally, other hardware logic components 610 can include a set of programmable hardware logic gates that can be configured to perform different application-specific tasks. Devices in the latter category include, but are not limited to, programmable array logic devices (PALs), generic array logic devices (GALs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like.

[0170] Figure 6 shows that, in general, a hardware logic circuit 612 includes any combination of a hardware processor 602, a computer-readable storage medium 604, and / or other hardware logic components 610. That is, a computing device 600 can employ any combination of a hardware processor 602 that executes machine-readable instructions provided to the computer-readable storage medium 604, and / or one or more other hardware logic components 610 that perform operations using a fixed and / or programmable set of hardware logic gates. More generally, a hardware logic circuit 612 corresponds to one or more hardware logic components of any type that perform operations based on logic stored in and / or logic embodied in the hardware logic components.

[0171] The computing device 600 may also include an input / output interface 614 for receiving various inputs (via input device 616) and providing various outputs (via display device 618 with GUI 200). The display device 618 is used to display a modified reference coating and optionally a display image of the reference coating, while the input device 614 may be used to provide user input indicating that at least one display image of the modified reference coating has been selected and any further inputs as described above. Exemplary input devices may include a keyboard device, a mouse input device, a touchscreen input device and / or a digitizing pad. The display device 618 may correspond to a liquid crystal display device, a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube device, a projection mechanism, and the like. Other output devices (not shown) may include a printer, one or more speakers, a tactile output mechanism, an archive mechanism (for storing output information), and the like.

[0172] The computing device 600 may also include one or more network interfaces 622 for exchanging data with other devices via one or more communication conduits 624. The communication conduits 624 can be implemented in any way, for example, by a local area computer network, a wide area computer network (e.g., the Internet), a point-to-point connection, or any combination thereof. The communication conduits 624 may include any combination of hardwired links, wireless links, routers, gateway functions, name servers, etc., controlled by any protocol or combination of protocols. Other devices may include measuring devices such as RGB cameras, single-angle or multi-angle spectrophotometers, databases, or combinations thereof.

[0173] One or more communication buses 626 can connect the above-mentioned components in a communicative manner.

[0174] Figure 6 shows a computing device 600 composed of a discrete set of separate units. In some cases, the set of units may correspond to discrete hardware units provided to a computing device chassis having any form factor. Figure 6 shows an exemplary form factor at its bottom.

[0175] Figure 7 shows an exemplary user interface display 700 generated by a computing device, for example, the computing device of Figure 6 performing the methods described in Figures 1 and 5, and displayed on the display of the computing system. The user interface display may be generated according to the methods described in Figures 2 to 4C. In this non-limiting case, the display 700 may show a category 702 of modifications of a provided standard effect coating. In this example, the texture / effect of the provided standard effect coating has been modified. The category may be selected by the user as described in relation to Figure 2 above. The user interface display 700 may further display an overall rating 704 of the prepared sample effect coating. The overall rating may be defined by the user, for example, by selecting an appropriate number of stars by clicking on each star.

[0176] The user interface display 700 may further include a series of display images of the provided standard effect coatings 706, 712 and their associated modified standard effect coatings 708, 710, 714, and 716. In this example, two different standard effect coatings 706, 712 are displayed. In another example, only one standard effect coating may be displayed. Adjacent to each standard effect coating 706, 712, display images of the modified standard effect coatings 708, 710, 714, and 716, which are generated by modifying the texture of the standard effect coating with respect to brightness grade and roughness, may be displayed. In this example, the display images of the standard effect coatings are generated according to the method in Figure 3, and the display images of the modified standard effect coatings are generated according to the methods in Figures 4A and 4B (without the addition of an appearance layer). Labels may be displayed on each display image of the modified standard effect coating to indicate the modifications made to the standard effect coating. This enhances user comfort while selecting the display image of the modified standard effect coating that best approximates the prepared sample effect coating.

[0177] The user interface display 700 may also include a button 718 that allows the user to return to the previous menu, for example, to select a different category.

[0178] The user interface display 700 may further include a comment field (not shown) and / or additional buttons, icons, and menus.

[0179] Figure 8 shows an exemplary user interface display 800, generated by a computing device (e.g., the computing device in Figure 6), performing the methods described in Figures 1 and 5, and displayed on the computing system's display. The user interface display may be generated according to the methods described in Figures 2 to 4C. In this non-limiting case, the display 800 may show a category 802 of modifications of a provided base coating. In this example, the color of the base coating has been modified. The category can be selected by the user, as described in relation to Figure 2 above. The user interface display 800 may further display an overall rating 804 of the sample coating. The overall rating can be defined by the user, for example, by clicking each star or by selecting an appropriate number of stars.

[0180] The user interface display 800 may further include a set of display images of a provided reference coating 806 and two sets of associated modified reference coatings 808 and 810. The set of display images of the provided reference coating 806 may be displayed in the center, while each set of display images of the modified reference coatings 808 and 810 may be displayed adjacent to the set of display images of the provided reference coating 806. The display images of the provided reference coating may be generated according to the method of Figure 3, and the display images of the modified reference coatings may be generated according to the method of Figure 4A. The reference coatings may be modified in terms of dimmer / brightness, saturation, and hue shift. The color of the reference coatings may be modified to appear more green and / or more yellow and / or more red and / or more blue (not shown). Labels may be displayed on each display image of the modified reference coatings to indicate the modifications made to the reference coatings.

[0181] The user interface display 800 may also include a button 812 that allows the user to return to the previous menu, for example, to select a different category.

[0182] The user interface display 800 may further include a comment field (not shown) and / or additional buttons, icons, and menus.

[0183] The use of the user interface displays in Figures 7 and 8 greatly facilitates the proper determination of the visual deviation of the prepared sample coating from the provided reference coating. This is because the possible color deviations of the provided reference coating from the prepared sample coating are displayed within a graphical user display, and therefore, without requiring any knowledge of color science, the user can easily select a display image of the modified reference coating that best approximates the appearance of the sample coating, such as when the user must select a verbal description of the color deviation or describe the observed color deviation in their own words.

[0184] This disclosure has been described in preferred embodiments, along with examples. However, other modifications can be understood by those skilled in the art by examining the drawings, this disclosure, and the claims, and the claimed invention can be implemented. It should be noted that it is not necessary for the different steps to be performed in a given single location or on a single node of a distributed system; that is, each step may be performed on a different node using different equipment / data processing units.

[0185] In the claims and specification, the words “comprising” or “including” do not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles “a” or “an” do not exclude plurals. A single element or other unit may perform the functions of multiple entities or items described in the claims. The mere fact that certain means are described in different dependent claims does not imply that combinations of these means cannot be used in a favorable implementation.

Claims

1. A computer implementation method for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating based on a visual evaluation of the sample coating to a reference coating, wherein the method is performed on a computing device equipped with a display: (i) The step of displaying a user interface having at least one display image of a modified standard coating on a display, (ii) A step of detecting user input indicating that the computing device has selected at least one display image of the modified reference coating, wherein the user input relates to a visual evaluation of the sample coating relative to the reference coating, (iii) In response to the detection of the user input, the computing device assigns at least one human perception attribute to the sample coating; Includes, Step (i) is, (i-1) Providing a digital representation of the reference coating, including appearance data determined by one or more measured geometries, to the processor of the computing device via a communication interface; (i-2) The step of generating modified appearance data of the reference coating based on the provided digital representation using the processor; (i-3) A step of generating a user interface display that displays the modified appearance data generated in step (i-2) as a display image of the modified reference coating, and displaying the generated user interface display, Includes, Step (i-2) is further: - For each pixel in the generated image, the corresponding color data, in particular the CIEL * a * b * values, An ordered list of measurement geometries generated from the digital representation provided in step (i-1), The generated corrected appearance data, or the scaled corrected appearance data if at least one L* value in the corrected appearance data is greater than 90, By calculating based on this, a color image is generated, - Optionally, a texture layer is added pixel by pixel to each generated color image using a brightness scaling coefficient s L, an aspera-dependent scaling function sf aspecular, and optionally a texture contrast scaling coefficient s c. including, method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human perceptual attribute indicates the deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display image of the modified reference coating is modified with respect to brightness and / or darkness and / or color and / or texture and / or gloss and / or clear coat appearance when compared with the display image of the reference coating.

4. The aforementioned appearance data includes reflectance data, color data, and especially CIEL. ＊ a ＊ b ＊ Value, CIEL ＊ C ＊ h ＊ The method according to claim 1, comprising values ​​or RGB values, gloss data, texture parameters, particularly brilliance and / or roughness characteristics, texture image, short wavelength values, long wavelength values, DOI values, or a combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein generating modified appearance data includes modifying at least a portion of the appearance data of the provided digital representation with respect to brightness, darkness, color, texture, gloss, clear coat appearance, or a combination thereof, and in particular modifying at least a portion of the appearance data includes using predefined color space distance values, in particular dL, da, db, dC, dH, and / or texture distance values, or adding a predefined appearance layer to at least a portion of the appearance data.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of generating appearance data of the reference coating in the processor based on the provided digital representation, and displaying the generated appearance data as a display image of the reference coating.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the modified appearance data of the reference coating is generated based on the provided digital representation and user input indicating the selection of at least one category representing a visual deviation of the sample coating from the reference coating, the user input being detected by displaying a user interface including the at least one category.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising step (i) displaying a label on at least a portion of the display image of the modified reference coating, wherein the label indicates a modification of the reference coating relating to lightness or darkness or color or texture or gloss or clear coat appearance.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein step (i) is to display at least one display image of the reference coating, in particular, adjacent to at least a portion of the display images of the modified reference coating, in particular, adjacent to each display image of the modified reference coating.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein steps (i) to (iii) or steps (ii) and (iii) are repeated at least once.

11. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to the sample coating in response to the detected user input includes mapping the deviation associated with the detected user input to each human perceptual attribute.

12. An apparatus for assigning at least one human perceptual attribute to a sample coating, the apparatus comprising: a display; one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions thereon structured to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to claim 1 or 2 when executed by the one or more computing nodes.

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