Safety Light Curtain Partial Bridging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety light curtains require additional sensors for installation and maintenance, consuming space and increasing costs, while also being vulnerable to manipulation and having reduced availability and security.
Innovation Solution
A safety light curtain design that bypasses the need for additional sensors by defining partial areas within the protective field, allowing for partial bridging and enhanced object detection, increasing security and reducing maintenance and space requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If additional external muting sensors are used for partial bridging, then the safety light curtain can allow material supply and output, but the installation and maintenance costs increase, space is consumed, and the system becomes more vulnerable to manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the muting function from external sensors and integrates it directly into the safety light curtain system. The control unit identifies permissible objects (such as material) by analyzing light beam interruption patterns and activates a bridging function internally, eliminating the need for separate external muting sensors while maintaining the ability to allow material supply and output.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety light curtain is designed to perform multiple functions: it monitors the protective field for impermissible objects, identifies permissible objects through pattern recognition, and provides partial bridging capability all through the same device. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional specialized sensors for muting operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional external muting sensors are installed, then material can be moved in and out, but installation and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the muting sensor functionality with the main safety light curtain device. The control unit integrates object identification algorithms that analyze light beam patterns to distinguish permissible objects (material) from impermissible objects (persons), and combines this with the bridging function in a single integrated system, reducing the total number of components and lowering installation and maintenance costs.
3Productivity
If additional sensors are added for partial bridging, then material flow is enabled, but the system requires more space and becomes more maintenance-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the muting functionality from separate external components and integrates it into the core control unit of the safety light curtain. This eliminates the need for additional external muting sensors that would require separate installation, calibration, and maintenance, while still enabling material flow through the protective field.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the entire protective field is deactivated for bridging, then material can pass through, but security is reduced and manipulation becomes easier
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies partial bridging where only specific portions of the protective field are deactivated based on the identified position and characteristics of permissible objects. The control unit selectively disables monitoring in the region occupied by the material while maintaining active monitoring in other areas, thereby allowing material passage while preserving security and resistance to manipulation in the remaining protective field.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective field is segmented into multiple monitoring zones, and the bridging function is applied locally to specific segments rather than deactivating the entire field. This segmentation allows material to pass through designated areas while other areas remain under full surveillance, maintaining overall security and preventing manipulation.
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
The solution simplifies assembly, improves availability, reduces maintenance and space usage, and enhances security by maintaining partial activation of the protective field, making it more resistant to manipulation and ensuring continuous monitoring without deactivating the entire field.
Implementation Method 1
a transmitting unit (4) with a large number of light transmitters (5) emitting light beams (13) and a receiving unit (6) with a large number of light receivers (7) receiving light beams (13)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Safety light curtain (1) for monitoring a danger zone (19) of a machine (2) or system, comprising a transmitting unit (4) with a plurality of light beams (13) emitting light transmitters (5) and a receiving unit (6) with a plurality of light beams (13) receiving light receivers (7) for monitoring a protective field (8), a control and evaluation unit (9) which is configured to generate a shutdown signal for the machine (2) or system (3) as a safety function when an impermissible object (10) is detected in the protective field (8), wherein the control and evaluation unit (9) is configured to activate a bridging sub-area (12) when a permissible object (11) is detected and not to generate a shutdown signal as long as the permissible object (11) is within the bridging sub-area (12), wherein an interruption of a light beam (13) in at least one predetermined first sub-area (14)1) of the safety light curtain (1) is a detection of a permissible object (11).