Patent ID: 9610628
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: A61C,B21C,B21F,B25J,G01B,G05B,Y10T

Claim:
1. A machine vision system forming part of a bending apparatus for bending an archwire, comprising: a first vision component; wherein said first vision component is positioned proximate to a first manipulator of said bending apparatus; and a second vision component; wherein said second vision component is positioned proximate to a second manipulator of said bending apparatus; wherein said first manipulator and said second manipulator are movable relative to each other in six degrees of freedom; wherein said first and second vision components perform scanning of said archwire during bending of said archwire by said bending apparatus, so as to detect the actual shape of a bend; wherein said machine vision system derives measurements of actual shape of said archwire; whereby movement commands are generated for said first manipulator and said second manipulator based on said actual shape of said archwire measured by said machine vision system, thereby enabling said bending apparatus in precisely bending said archwire from an initial shape into a desired new shape.