Safety Sensor Muting via Checksum Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety systems in personal protection technologies often generate unnecessary shutdown commands due to the detection of non-safety-critical objects, reducing system availability and requiring costly and inefficient installation of muting sensors that struggle to distinguish between critical and non-critical objects.
Innovation Solution
A device with a safety sensor and controller that uses identification detectors with checksum-secured identifiers to differentiate non-safety-critical objects, allowing the safety sensor to be muted during their passage, thereby preventing unnecessary shutdowns and ensuring fail-safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If muting sensors are arranged in front of the safety sensor to detect non-safety-critical objects, then system availability is improved by avoiding unnecessary shutdowns, but device complexity and installation cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the identification detector and safety sensor into a single integrated device. The identification detector is positioned within or adjacent to the safety sensor's monitoring area, allowing both identification and safety monitoring functions to be performed by one device rather than requiring separate muting sensors and safety sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety sensor is given dual functionality: it serves both as a safety monitoring device and as an identification detector for non-safety-critical objects. By evaluating identification data with checksums, the safety sensor can distinguish between safety-critical and non-safety-critical objects, enabling muting without requiring additional dedicated muting sensors.
2Productivity
If light barrier muting sensors are used to distinguish non-safety-critical objects, then system availability improves, but measurement precision is insufficient to reliably differentiate between critical and non-critical objects
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements feedback through checksum evaluation. The identification detector reads identification data from objects, and the safety controller evaluates this data against stored checksums to verify authenticity. This feedback mechanism ensures that only properly identified non-safety-critical objects trigger muting, preventing false positives while maintaining high identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces simple optical detection (light barriers) with identification-based detection using detectors that read coded identification data. Instead of relying on optical properties alone, the system uses identification data with checksums to precisely distinguish between object types, significantly improving measurement precision in object classification.
3Reliability
If safety sensors monitor all objects in the monitored area, then safety is ensured, but system productivity decreases due to unnecessary shutdown commands for non-critical objects
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different evaluation criteria to different objects based on their identification data. Non-safety-critical objects identified through checksum verification trigger muting signals that prevent shutdown commands, while safety-critical objects without valid identification data maintain full safety monitoring. This local differentiation allows safety to be maintained for critical objects while productivity is preserved for non-critical ones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of the safety sensor based on object identification. When a non-safety-critical object is identified through valid checksum verification, the safety sensor's output parameter is changed to generate a muting signal instead of a shutdown command. This dynamic parameter change allows the same safety sensor to serve both safety and productivity functions.
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 enhances system availability by reliably distinguishing non-safety-critical objects from safety-critical ones, preventing unnecessary shutdowns and ensuring the safety of people by maintaining system operation while ensuring the safety sensor's monitoring function is deactivated only when necessary.
Implementation Method 1
an identification detector (14) which detects an identification (13)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a device (1) for safeguarding a system, comprising a safety sensor monitoring a monitoring area (11) and an associated safety controller (12). The safety sensor generates a switching signal whose switching states indicate whether an object is located within the monitoring area (11) or not. The switching signal is read into the safety controller (12), which generates a safety-relevant signal for the system depending on the switching signal. A marking detector (14) is provided, by means of which markings (13) arranged on non-safety-critical objects (6) can be detected. Each marking contains data secured with at least one checksum, by means of which the non-safety-critical object (6) can be identified.The data content and the associated checksum are supplied to the safety controller (12) and evaluated, whereby a monitoring signal for the safety sensor can be generated in the safety controller (12) depending on this evaluation.