Method of producing matched coating composition and device used therefor

A color characterizing device for producing a matched coating composition for a specified end-use, said device comprising:

• (i) a spectrophotometer of said device having a base for positioning said spectrophotometer over a target portion of a target coating, wherein said target coating is on an undamaged portion of an auto body, plastic substrate, marine substrate, and aluminum substrate;
• (ii) means for calculating target color (L,a,b or L,C,h) values of said target portion;
• (iii) a computer usable storage medium located in a computer of said device having computer readable program code means residing therein, said computer readable program code means comprising:
• (a) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to select one or more preliminary colorant combinations from a stored list of known colorants in accordance with a combinatorial selection criteria to match with said target color values, wherein said stored list of known colorants comprises pigments, dispersions, tints, dyes, metallic flakes or a combination thereof, and wherein said combinatorial selection criteria comprise avoiding shading with complementary colorants and preferring colorant combinations with a fewer number of pigments than a greater number of pigments;
• (b) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to determine concentration of each said known colorant in each of said preliminary colorant combinations in accordance with color matching criteria wherein said concentration of each said known colorant is optimized for optimal match of color values of each of said preliminary colorant combinations with said target color values;
• (c) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to balance said preliminary colorant combinations to allow for presence of non-colorant components in said matched coating composition to generate one or more viable combinations optimized in accordance with mixing and regulatory criteria developed for said specified end-use;
• and
• (d) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to select an optimal viable combination from said viable combinations In accordance with an acceptability equation for said specified end-use, said optimal viable combination having an optimal acceptability value for said specified end-use wherein said known colorants and non-colorant components when mixed in accordance with said optimal viable combination produce said matched coating composition that when applied as a matched coating visually matches with appearance of said target coating, wherein said acceptability equation is a summation of acceptability factors multiplied by a weight assigned to each said acceptability factor, wherein said acceptability factors comprise color difference, metamerism, closeness of spectral curve match, durability or cost.

A method for producing a matched resin for a specified end-use, said method comprising:

• (i) measuring reflectances of a target portion of a target substrate at a set of preset wavelengths with a spectrophotometer of a coating characterizing device to plot a target spectral curve of said target portion, wherein said target portion is on an undamaged portion of said target substrate comprising an auto body, plastic substrate or a marine substrate;
• (ii) calculating target color (L,a,b or L,C,h) values of said target portion from said target spectral curve of said target portion;
• (iii) selecting one or more preliminary colorant combinations from a stored list of known colorants in accordance with a combinatorial selection criteria to match with said target color values, wherein said stored list of known colorants comprises pigments, dispersions, tints, dyes, metallic flakes or a combination thereof, and wherein under said combinatorial selection criteria compriser avoiding shading with complementary colorants and preferring colorant combinations with a fewer number of pigments than a greater number of pigments;
• (iv) determining concentrations of each said known colorant in each of said preliminary colorant combinations in accordance with color matching criteria to generate one or more intermediate colorant combinations of said known colorants wherein each of said intermediate colorant combinations is optimized for optimal color match with said target color values;
• (v) balancing said intermediate colorant combinations to allow for presence of non-colorant components in said matched coating composition to generate one or more viable combinations of said known colorants, wherein each of said viable combinations is optimized in accordance with mixing and regulatory practices developed for said specified end-use;
• (vi) selecting an optimal viable combination from said viable combinations in accordance with an acceptability equation for said specified end-use, said optimal viable combination having an optimal acceptability value for said specified end-use wherein components in said optimal viable combination when mixed produce said matched resin that when formed as a matched substrate visually matches appearance of said target substrate, wherein said acceptability equation is a summation of acceptability factors multiplied by weight assigned to each said acceptability factor, wherein said acceptability factors comprise color difference, metamerism, closeness of spectral curve match, durability or cost;
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• (vii) displaying on a screen of a monitor of said device said optimal viable combination.

A portable computer usable storage medium having computer readable program code means stored therein for producing a matched coating composition for a specified end-use, said computer readable program code means comprising:

• (a) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause a computer to select one or more preliminary colorant combinations from a stored list of known colorants in accordance with a combinatorial selection criteria to match with target color values of a target portion on an undamaged portion of a target substrate comprising an auto body, plastic substrate, or a marine substrate, wherein said stored list of known colorants comprises pigments, dispersions, tints, dyes, metallic Rakes or a combination thereof and wherein said combinatorial selection criteria comprise avoiding shading with complementary colorants and preferring colorant combinations with a fewer number of pigments than a greater number of pigments;
• (b) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to determine concentration of each said known colorant in each of said preliminary colorant combinations in accordance with color matching criteria wherein said concentration of each said known colorant is optimized for optimal match of color values of each of said preliminary colorant combinations with said target color values;
• (c) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to balance said preliminary colorant combinations to allow for presence of non-colorant components in said matched coating composition to generate one or more viable combinations optimized in accordance with mixing and regulatory criteria developed for said specified end-use;
• and
• (d) means for configuring computer readable program code devices to cause said computer to select an optimal viable combination from said viable combinations in accordance with an acceptability equation for said specified end-use, said optimal viable combination having an optimal acceptability value for said specified end-use wherein said known colorants and non-colorant components when mixed in accordance with said optimal viable combination produce said matched coating composition that when applied as a matched coating visually matches with the appearance of a target coating, wherein said acceptability equation is a summation of acceptability factors multiplied by a weight assigned to each said acceptability factor, wherein said acceptability factors comprise color difference, metamerism, closeness of spectral curve match, durability or cost.