Method for matching color and appearance of a coating containing effect pigments
First Claim
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1. A method for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) obtaining color data of the target coating;
b) obtaining appearance data of the target coating;
c) comparing the color data and the appearance data to color characteristics and appearance characteristics stored in a coating database by calculating color difference between said color data and said color characteristics, and feature distances between said appearance data and said appearance characteristics; and
d) selecting from the coating database, one or more said matching formulas, wherein said matching formulas have color characteristics that match the color data and appearance characteristics that match the appearance data;
wherein said matching formulas are selected by selecting and ranking alternate coatings from said coating database based on the color difference, ranking said alternate coatings based on the feature distances to produce an initial appearance ranking list, adjusting said initial appearance ranking list based on said appearance data to generate a refined appearance ranking list, and selecting said matching formulas based on top ranked coatings in said refined appearance ranking list.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments. The present invention is also directed to a system for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments.
24 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) obtaining color data of the target coating; b) obtaining appearance data of the target coating; c) comparing the color data and the appearance data to color characteristics and appearance characteristics stored in a coating database by calculating color difference between said color data and said color characteristics, and feature distances between said appearance data and said appearance characteristics; and d) selecting from the coating database, one or more said matching formulas, wherein said matching formulas have color characteristics that match the color data and appearance characteristics that match the appearance data; wherein said matching formulas are selected by selecting and ranking alternate coatings from said coating database based on the color difference, ranking said alternate coatings based on the feature distances to produce an initial appearance ranking list, adjusting said initial appearance ranking list based on said appearance data to generate a refined appearance ranking list, and selecting said matching formulas based on top ranked coatings in said refined appearance ranking list. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) obtaining color data of the target coating using a color measurement device; b) obtaining one or more target images of the target coating at one or more pre-set illumination intensities using an imaging device; c) measuring characteristics of said target coating from said target images to generate appearance data; d) comparing the color data and the appearance data to color characteristics and appearance characteristics stored in a coating database by calculating color difference between said color data and said color characteristics, and feature distances between said appearance data and said appearance characteristics; and e) selecting from the coating database, one or more said matching formulas, wherein said matching formulas have color characteristics that match the color data and appearance characteristics that match the appearance data; wherein said matching formulas are selected by selecting and ranking alternate coatings from said coatings database based on the color difference, ranking said alternate coatings based on the feature distances to produce an initial appearance ranking list adjusting said initial appearance ranking list based on said appearance data to generate a refined appearance ranking list, and selecting said matching formulas based on top ranked coatings in said refined appearance ranking list. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments, said system comprising;
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a) a color measurement device for obtaining color data of the target coating; b) an appearance measurement device for obtaining appearance data of the target coating; c) a computing device comprising a processor and a memory member; d) a coating database containing coating formulas associated with color characteristics and appearance characteristics, wherein the coating database is accessible from the computing device; and e) a computing program product operatively residing in the memory member that causes the computing device to perform a computing process comprising the steps of i) receiving the color data and the appearance data of said target coating; ii) comparing said color data and said appearance data to color characteristics and appearance characteristics stored in the coating database by calculating color difference between said color data and said color characteristics, and feature distances between said appearance data and said appearance characteristics; and iii) selecting from the coating database, one or more said matching formulas, wherein said matching formulas have color characteristics that match the color data and appearance characteristics that match the appearance data; wherein said matching formulas are selected by selecting and ranking alternate coatings from said coating database based on the color difference, ranking said alternate coatings based on the feature distances to produce an initial appearance ranking list, adjusting said initial appearance ranking list based on said appearance data to generate a refined appearance ranking list, and selecting said matching formulas based on top ranked coatings in said refined appearance ranking list. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for identifying one or more matching formulas for matching color and appearance of a target coating containing effect pigments, said system comprising:
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a) a color measurement device for obtaining color data of the target coating; b) an imaging device for obtaining target images of the target coating at said pre-set illumination intensities; c) an illumination device to provide illuminations at one or more pre-set illumination intensities to the target coating and to direct a reflection of said illuminations to the imaging device; d) a computing device comprising a processor and a memory member; e) a coating database containing coating formulas associated with color characteristics and appearance characteristics, wherein the coating database is accessible from the computing device; and f) a computing program product operatively residing in the memory member that causes the computing device to perform a computing process comprising the steps of; i) receiving the color data and the target images of said target coating; ii) measuring characteristics of said target coating from said target images to generate appearance data; iii) comparing said color data and said appearance data to color characteristics and appearance characteristics stored in the coating database by calculating color difference between said color data and said color characteristics, and feature distances between said appearance data and said appearance characteristics; and iv) selecting from the coating database, one or more said matching formulas, wherein said matching formulas have color characteristics that match the color data and appearance characteristics that match the appearance data; wherein said matching formulas are selected by selecting and ranking alternate coatings from said coating database based on the color difference, ranking said alternate coatings based on the feature distances to produce an initial appearance ranking list, adjusting said initial appearance ranking list based on said appearance data to generate a refined appearance ranking list, and selecting said matching formulas based on top ranked coatings in said refined appearance ranking list. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification