Patent ID: 7298462
Filing Date: 2007-11-20
Classification: G01B,G01J,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for the mobile on-line and off-line monitoring of colored and high-gloss automobile component surfaces, said method comprising: storing electronically automobile component surface classes in a first electronic databank, the first electronic databank being an optical neuro-fuzzy structured image databank; optically scanning the automobile component surfaces with a camera system to produce a pixel image of the automobile component surface; storing the pixel image of the optically scanned automobile component surface in the first electronic databank; electronically comparing the stored pixel image of the automobile component surface to the automobile component surface classes stored electronically in the first electronic databank to identify the automobile component surface; initiating an angle-dependent spectrophotometer based on the identified automobile component surface; optically scanning the automobile component surface with a polarized measuring beam of the angle-dependent spectrophotometer, the beam being formed with polarized light of different wavelengths; combining the reflected depolarized measuring beam at the automobile component surface with a reference beam from the angle-dependent spectrophotometer to generate optical surface signals, wherein the optical surface signals contain reflection, interference, polarization, and phase information for defining the automobile component surface with respect to color, gloss, layer thickness, and wave values; detecting the optical surface signals generated at the automobile component surface with a charge-coupled diode (CCD) array; generating a detector output signal that characterizes the automobile component surface based on the detected optical surface signals; storing electronically predetermined values representing desired color, gloss, layer thickness, and wave values for automobile component surfaces in a second electronic databank, the second electronic databank being a computer-aided optical quality (CAOQ) databank; transmitting the detector output signal to the second electronic databank; generating measured output information based on the detector output signal; comparing electronically the measured output information to the predetermined values; and generating compared output data.