Modular Safety Mat With Homogeneous Sensor Coverage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety mats are limited in their ability to monitor large areas around technical installations, particularly in modern systems like automated robots, as they can only detect presence in defined access areas and have inconsistent sensitivity, leading to unreliable detection at transitions between mats.
Innovation Solution
A modular safety mat design featuring a rigid carrier body with a flexible, tactile sensor that covers the entire surface, allowing for continuous detection and reliable actuation across the entire area, with a signal processing unit inside the carrier body to provide output signals and ensure homogeneous sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional safety mats with separate current-carrying plates and separators are used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the effective monitoring area is limited and detection reliability is poor at transition zones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensor system from the housing structure, allowing the sensor to be arranged independently on the carrier body. This separation enables the sensor's active surface to cover the entire upper side of the carrier body without being constrained by housing limitations, thereby improving detection reliability across the full monitoring area including transition zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid carrier body serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, ensures homogeneous sensitivity across the sensor surface, compensates for ground unevenness, and protects the evaluation unit. This multi-functionality improves reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Area of stationary object
If the sensor active surface is limited by housing structure, then manufacturing is easier, but the effective monitoring area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the sensor system from the housing structure, the sensor's active surface is no longer constrained by housing dimensions. The sensor can be designed to cover the entire upper side of the carrier body, maximizing the monitoring area while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety mat is divided into modular components (carrier body, sensor, evaluation unit) that can be manufactured separately and assembled. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, enabling large sensor areas without complicating the overall manufacturing process.
3Reliability
If sensitivity is not homogeneous over the safety mat surface, then the structure can be simpler, but detection reliability fails at edge areas and transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid carrier body ensures homogeneous sensitivity across the entire sensor surface by providing uniform structural support and compensation for ground unevenness. This homogeneity extends detection reliability to edge areas and transition zones between adjacent mats, justifying the increased structural complexity.
4Area of stationary object
If multiple safety mats are used to cover large areas, then the monitoring coverage increases, but detection reliability decreases at transition zones between mats
Solution Approach 1:
The homogeneous sensitivity achieved through the rigid carrier body and full-surface sensor arrangement ensures consistent detection performance across all areas of each mat, including edge areas. This homogeneity eliminates unreliable detection zones at transitions between adjacent mats, maintaining high reliability even when multiple mats are combined to cover large areas.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables comprehensive area protection with reliable detection, even in transition zones, and allows for flexible placement and connection of mats, adapting to uneven surfaces and varying environments, thus enhancing safety and operational flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
the sensor having an active surface which covers the upper side of the carrier body... the sensor is also not dependent on the structure of the housing and can be designed as desired. A flexible, tactile sensor is advantageously used, which is arranged on the carrier body, so that the active sensor surface essentially completely covers a surface of the carrier body
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A pressure-sensitive mat (10) for securing an electrically driven system (14) with a sensor (66), a rigid carrier body (48), and an evaluation unit (46). The carrier body (48) has a top surface (50), a bottom surface (160), and first and second side surfaces (52a, 52b) that connect to the top surface (50) and the bottom surface (160). The evaluation unit (46) is arranged inside the carrier body (48) and is configured to provide an output signal depending on the actuation of the sensor (66). The sensor (66) has an active surface (44) that covers the top surface (50) of the carrier body (48). The bottom surface (160) has an opening (164) for contacting the evaluation unit (46) inside the carrier body. Furthermore, the first side surface (52a) has a first recess (176a) and the second side surface (52b) has a second recess (176b).Furthermore, the underside (160) has a first and second cable guide (166, 168). The first cable guide (166) connects the opening (164) with the first recess (176a) and the second cable guide (168) connects the opening (164) with the second recess (176b).