Eyewire inspection station
AssigneeBausch & Lomb Incorporated
InventorsRory L. C. Flemmer, David L. Byron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An eyewinder system 10 has stations 100-108 for straightening, bending, measuring and transporting a wire 11 to form an eyewire 109. A controller 120 controls each station. Using information from tension and length measuring stations 104, 105, the controller 120 can accurately operate the second bending station 107. The eyewire 109 is inspected for accurate bends by an inspection system 140 that compares the bends in the eyewire 109 to predetermined radii of curvature.
Claims7
An inspection station for inspecting eyewires having a base curve and a shape curve comprising:
- a stage for receiving an eyewire;
- means for generating images of the eyewire along two different axes;
- means for measuring radii of curvature at selected points along the two axes;
- a controller for storing a predetermined number of values of radii of curvature for the selected points;
- and
- means for comparing the stored values of radii to the measured radii of curvature for the selected points.
An inspection station for inspecting eyewires having a base curve and shape curve comprising:
- a stage for receiving an eyewire;
- means for rotating the stage and the eyewire about a central axis;
- means for capturing planar and elevation images of the eyewire at selected rotational angles of the stage;
- means for storing data of predetermined characteristics of an eyewire;
- and
- means for comparing the planar and elevation images to the stored data in order to determine if the inspected eyewire is within a range of tolerance of the stored data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.