Redundant Sensor-Controller Safety Architecture for 3D Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety systems struggle to implement complex safety functions, such as human-robot collaboration and autonomous vehicle applications, due to performance limitations in real-time systems caused by waste heat, cost, and size constraints, making it difficult to integrate high-quality safety functions that require image or 3D data processing.
Innovation Solution
A staggered, redundant, and diverse security architecture is implemented using single-channel sensor systems and programmable controllers, where both components process safety functions sequentially and compare results to ensure agreement within specified limits, avoiding the need for duplicate hardware and reducing waste heat issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If complex safety functions are implemented on a single sensor with internal processing, then integration ease is improved, but performance is limited by waste heat, cost, and size constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the safety system into two separate segments: a sensor that collects data and a controller that processes safety functions. This segmentation allows the sensor to remain simple and integrated while the controller handles complex processing with adequate cooling and computational resources, resolving the contradiction between integration ease and performance quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the complex processing function from the sensor dimension to the controller dimension in the system architecture. By distributing functions across different system components rather than concentrating them in one location, the system achieves both easy sensor integration and high-quality safety processing.
2Reliability
If redundant or diverse implementation of safety functions is used on the sensor, then error control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the redundant and diverse implementation of safety functions from the sensor and relocates them to the controller. This allows the sensor to remain simple while the controller implements comprehensive error control mechanisms including redundant processing and diverse algorithm execution, resolving the contradiction between error control and device complexity.
3Reliability
If high-quality safety functions requiring image or 3D data processing are implemented, then safety function quality is improved, but waste heat and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a controller as an intermediary component between the sensor and the safety output. The controller acts as a dedicated processing unit that can handle computationally intensive image and 3D data processing with proper thermal management, while the sensor remains a simple data collection device. This intermediary approach allows high-quality safety functions to be implemented without excessive waste heat in the sensor itself.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Method with a safety system and safety system (1) with at least one sensor system (2) with at least one sensor (7) in a first housing (3) and at least one programmable controller (4) in a second housing (5), wherein the sensor system (2) has a first control and evaluation unit (6), wherein the first control and evaluation unit (6) is configured to evaluate sensor data from the sensor (7) of the sensor system (2) and to generate first result signals, the programmable controller (4) has a second control and evaluation unit (8), wherein the sensor system (2) is configured to transmit sensor data to the second control and evaluation unit (8), wherein the second control and evaluation unit (8) is configured to evaluate sensor data from the sensor (7) of the sensor system (2) and to generate second result signals, wherein a comparison unit (9) is provided, wherein the comparison unit (9) is configuredto compare the first result signals and the second result signals with each other and generate reliable output signals.