Robotic hand tool sharpening and cleaning apparatus

An automated hand tool sharpening system for sharpening at least one cutting edge of a working surface of a hand tool at a predetermined angle, the apparatus comprising:

• (a) a supply of at least one hand tool having a handle at its first end and a working surface in an unsharpened state at its second end:
• (b) a robotic arm having a pneumatic gripper for picking up the handle of the hand tool;
• (c) a vision sensor camera and associated software for obtaining a series of two-dimensional coordinates that collectively characterize the cutting edge of the hand tool to profile the cutting edge of the working surface of the hand tool by means of transposing a series of lines over an image taken of the working surface to define a series of points along the length of the cutting edge of the working surface of the hand tool to define a data set of two dimensional coordinates;
• (d) at least one rotating wheel for grinding, sharpening, or polishing the cutting edge or working surface of the hand tool;
• (e) a controller system for regulating the operation of the rotating wheel and vision sensor camera;
• (f) a robotic controller for producing a series of machine commands for regulating the movement of the robotic arm in three-dimensional space based upon the two-dimensional data set coordinates characterizing the cutting edge of the hand tool;
• (g) wherein the robotic controller causes the robotic arm to pick up the hand tool from the supply and position the working surface of the hand tool in relation to the vision sensor camera to take the image of the working surface of the hand tool in a stationary position and transpose, in association with the software, the series of lines over the image to define the series of points along the length of the cutting edge of the hand tool to define the two-dimensional data set of coordinates characterizing the cutting edge of the hand tool;
• and
• (h) wherein the robotic controller causes the robotic arm to move the hand tool relative to the rotating grinding, sharpening, or polishing wheel and pass its working surface over the rotating wheel surface along its profiled cutting edge to sharpen the cutting edge of the hand tool at the predetermined angle based upon the two-dimensional date set coordinates characterizing the cutting edge of the hand tool.