Device and method for the measurement of the thickness of a wet coating
OwnerJames C. Taylorinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device and method for the measurement of the thickness of a wet coating, such as paint, on a substrate, the device comprising a frame with two legs having ends which may be pressed through the wet coating onto the substrate. A probe is mounted in the frame and is adjustable towards and away from the frame. An indicating scale is provided to show the position of the probe. The probe has a transparent or translucent tip so that the point at which contact is made with the wet coating may be observed. The method employs a calibration step by setting the device on an uncoated surface of the same shape as the coated surface, thereby avoiding errors due to wear of the device and curvature of the surface.
Claims10
A device for the measurement of the thickness of an opaque wet coating on a solid substrate, the device comprising a frame;
- at least two legs extending from the frame and having free ends which may be applied to the substrate;
- a probe movable with respect to the frame towards and away from the level of the free ends;
- and an indicator for indicating the position of the probe, the probe having a tip which is light-conducting, the tip having a bottom surface engageable with the opaque wet coating and a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom surface, the bottom surface and the sidewall being transparent to light such that the opaque wet coating is observable through the sidewall when the bottom surface is in contact with the opaque wet coating, whereby the position at which the tip makes contact with the opaque wet coating may be observed.
A method of measuring the thickness of an opaque wet coating on a solid substrate, using a device comprising a frame, at least two legs extending from the frame and having free ends which may be applied to the substrate, a probe movable with respect to the frame towards and away from the level of the free ends, and an indicator for indicating the position of the probe, the probe having a tip which is light-conducting, the tip having a bottom surface engageable with the opaque wet coating and a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom surface, the bottom surface and the sidewall being transparent to light such that the opaque wet coating is observable through the sidewall when the bottom surface is in contact with the opaque wet coating, whereby the position at which the tip makes contact with the opaque wet coating may be observed, the method comprising the steps of:
- applying the ends of the legs so that they penetrate a wet coating on a substrate and stand on the substrate, advancing the probe towards the surface of the wet coating until the tip of the probe makes initial contact with the wet coating, as observed optically via the tip, and noting the difference registered by the indicator between the position of the probe and the position of the probe when the legs and the tip are in contact with an uncoated surface of similar shape to the surface of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.