# US 2014/0195187 A1 · Coating thickness measuring instrument and methods > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0195187 A1 - Document ID: US20140195187A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/738,809 - Filed: 2013-01-10 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-10 - Assignees: Elcometer Limited - Inventors: Michael Carrington Sellars; Joseph J. Walker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140195187A1 ## CPC - G01B 7/105: {for measuring thickness of coating} - G01B 21/08: for measuring thickness - G01B 17/025: {for measuring thickness of coating} - G06F 17/00: Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions (information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00) - G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A coating thickness measuring instrument has a probe for measuring the thickness of a coating applied to a substrate and producing an output relating to the measured thickness; a memory storing calibration data; and a processor arranged to process the output produced by the probe, together with calibration data stored by the memory, and produce a coating thickness measurement. The memory stores at least two sets of calibration data, each set associated with a different surface profile value and a user may select the set of calibration data to be used by the processor according to the surface profile of the substrate on which a measurement is to be made. This enables a user to make coating thickness measurements on substrates with at least two different, known, surface profiles without having to calibrate the instrument specifically for those surfaces. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A coating thickness measuring instrument comprising: a. a probe for measuring a thickness of a coating applied to a surface and producing an output relating to the measured thickness; b. a memory storing calibration data; c. a processor arranged to process the output produced by the probe, together with calibration data stored by the memory, to produce a calibrated coating thickness measurement; and d. wherein the memory stores at least two sets of calibration data, each set associated with a different surface profile value, and a user may select the set of calibration data to be used by the processor according to the surface profile of the surface on which a measurement is to be made. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1 wherein three or more sets of calibration data, each associated with a different surface profile, are stored by the memory. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sets of calibration data are stored in a non-volatile memory. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1 wherein a user may select a set of calibration data to be used by selecting a surface profile value from a range of values, each value associated with a different set of calibration data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1 wherein the probe is removably mounted to the remainder of the instrument enabling different probes to be used with the instrument, and the memory stores at least two sets of calibration data, each set associated with a different surface profile, for use in calibration of measurements made by one probe and at least two different sets of calibration data, each set associated with a different surface profile, for use in calibration of measurements made by another probe. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1 wherein the probe is removably mounted to the remainder of the instrument and the memory storing sets of calibration data is mounted to the probe for removal from the remainder of the instrument with the probe. ### Claim 7 A method of providing coating thickness measuring instrument comprising the steps of: a. providing a coating thickness measuring instrument comprising a probe for measuring a thickness of a coating applied to a surface and producing an output relating to the measured thickness; a memory for storing at least two different sets of calibration data; and a processor arranged to process the output produced by the probe, together with a set of calibration data stored in the memory and selected by a user, to produce a calibrated coating thickness measurement; and b. using the instrument to make a series of calibration measurements on a first surface with a first surface profile to derive a first set of calibration data and storing the first set of calibration data in the memory; and c. using the instrument to make a series of calibration measurements on a second surface with a second surface profile, different to the first surface profile, to derive a second set of calibration data and storing the second set of calibration data in the memory. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the first and second sets of calibration data are stored in the memory in association with values corresponding to the average surface profile of the first and second surfaces respectively. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of the first and second surfaces are measured using a surface profile meter to determine their average surface profile. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of the first and second surfaces are prepared by profiling the surface of a sample of material with a desired surface profile. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the surfaces are profiled by blasting with blast media. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) A method as claimed in claim 7 comprising the further step of delivering the instrument to a user. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A method of measuring the thickness of a coating on a surface with a known surface profile comprising the steps of: a. providing a coating thickness measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1; b. selecting from the surface profile values stored by the instrument in association with sets of calibration data the surface profile value closest to the known surface profile, thereby to select a set of calibration data to be used by the instrument; and c. using the instrument to measure coating thickness on the substrate. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) A method of measuring the thickness of a coating on a surface with a known surface profile comprising the steps of: a. providing a user with a coating thickness measuring instrument according to the method of claim 12 with each step of the method being performed by a person or persons other than the user; b. the user selecting from the surface profile values stored by the instrument in association with sets of calibration data the surface profile value closest to the surface profile of the substrate, thereby to select a set of calibration data to be used by the instrument; and c. the user using the instrument to measure coating thickness on the substrate. ### Claim 15 A coating thickness measuring instrument comprising: a. a probe for measuring a thickness of a coating applied to a surface and producing an output relating to the measured thickness; b. a memory that stores calibration data, including at least two sets of calibration data, each set associated with a different surface profile value; and c. a processor adapted to process the output produced by the probe, together with a selected set of calibration data stored in the memory, to produce a calibrated coating thickness measurement. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The instrument of claim 15, wherein the selected set of calibration data used by the processor is selected according to a surface profile of a surface on which a measurement is to be made. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The instrument of claim 16, wherein the selected set of calibration data used by the processor is selected responsive to user input.