Automated Machine Safety Rule Checking for Sensor-Device Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated machine systems lack effective mechanisms to ensure safety compliance with safety standards, as they fail to autonomously assess and enforce safety rules across interacting technical devices and safety-sensor devices, leading to potential malfunctions and safety breaches.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a database device for storing machine safety rules and a control device that retrieves and compares safety-sensor device and technical-device description data to determine compliance with safety rules, using machine learning and pattern recognition to autonomously assess and enforce safety standards, and generate alerts or amendments as necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automated machine systems operate without autonomous safety assessment mechanisms, then device complexity is reduced, but safety reliability deteriorates due to inability to enforce safety rules
Solution Approach 1:
The automated machine system performs self-assessment of safety compliance by autonomously evaluating its own configuration against stored safety rules. The control device automatically determines whether the machine meets safety requirements without external intervention, enabling the system to serve its own safety verification needs and improving reliability while managing complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where the control device monitors the automated machine's configuration, compares it against safety rules stored in the database device, and generates alerts or amendments when non-compliance is detected. This feedback mechanism ensures ongoing safety verification and enables real-time corrections to maintain safety reliability.
2Productivity
If manual safety assessment methods are used, then device complexity is low, but productivity deteriorates due to time-consuming safety checks
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual safety assessment processes with automated electronic evaluation. The control device automatically retrieves machine configuration data, compares it against safety rules in the database, and determines compliance without human intervention. This substitution of manual mechanical processes with automated electronic systems dramatically increases safety assessment speed while managing complexity through standardized digital workflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary safety assessments during machine configuration and setup phases, before the machine begins operational work. By evaluating safety compliance in advance and generating alerts or amendments beforehand, the system prevents safety issues from arising during operation, thereby improving overall productivity by avoiding work stoppages for safety corrections.
3Reliability
If comprehensive safety monitoring is implemented, then safety reliability improves, but loss of information increases due to extensive data processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential safety-relevant parameters and configuration data from the automated machine for evaluation against safety rules. Rather than processing all machine data, the control device selectively retrieves and analyzes only those specific parameters that are necessary for safety compliance determination. This extraction approach maintains high safety detection accuracy while minimizing unnecessary data processing and reducing information loss.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of operating an automated machine include: a database device for storing a plurality of machine safety rules (SRj) in terms of relationships between safety-sensor devices and technical devices, in particular requirements between safety-sensor device description data (DSDi) and technical-device description data (DDi); and a control device implemented: to retrieve the safety-sensor device description data (DSDi) and the technical-device description data (DDi) associated to the technical devices and the safety-sensor devices comprised in the automated machine, to retrieve, from the database device, safety rules (SRj) corresponding to the retrieved safety-sensor device description data (DSDi) and the technical-device description data (DDi), to determine as to whether the retrieved safety-sensor device description data (DSDi) and the technical-device description data (DDi) comply with retrieved safety rules (SRj).