Photoelectric Sensor Log Display for Output Change Diagnosis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional status notification devices, such as multiple optical axis photoelectric sensors, struggle to provide operation logs when output changes occur as normal operations, making it difficult for users to ascertain the cause of these changes.
Innovation Solution
A status notification device that includes a monitoring unit to monitor its operating status and environment, and a log output unit to generate logs upon output changes, regardless of whether the change is due to an abnormality or a normal operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If notification items are displayed in chronological order from oldest to newest, then all notification information can be conveyed to the user, but the notification screen becomes difficult to view and understanding is impaired due to excessive scroll bar operations required
Solution Approach 1:
The notification list is segmented into multiple pages, with the notification screen displaying only a subset of notifications at a time. This segmentation allows the interface to present manageable portions of information without overwhelming the user, while still providing access to all notifications through page navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to notification display by showing both the oldest and newest notifications simultaneously on the same screen. This dimensional approach allows users to understand the time span of notifications without requiring sequential scrolling through each individual notification.
2Loss of information
If the notification screen displays many notification items at once, then comprehensive information is provided, but the screen becomes difficult to view and requires excessive scroll bar operations
Solution Approach 1:
The notification interface is divided into multiple pages, each displaying a manageable number of notifications. This segmentation reduces the visual complexity on any single screen while maintaining access to the complete notification history through page navigation controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates and prepares multiple pages of notifications before user interaction, organizing them in chronological segments. This preliminary organization allows the interface to quickly switch between pages without requiring complex real-time processing during user navigation.
3Loss of information
If notification items are displayed in chronological order from oldest to newest, then all notification information can be conveyed, but the oldest notification items are located at the bottom requiring excessive scroll bar operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to the display by showing notifications from different time points (oldest and newest) simultaneously on the same screen. This allows users to quickly grasp the notification time span and locate specific notifications without sequential scrolling through entire chronological lists.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the notification list into pages and displaying multiple pages simultaneously or making them easily accessible, the system enables users to jump to specific time periods of interest without traversing the entire notification history from top to bottom.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention allows a user to easily ascertain the cause of a change in the output of a status notification device. A light receiver (10) outputs a log (Lo) indicating the operating status of a multiple optical axis photoelectric sensor (1) and/or the environment surrounding the multiple optical axis photoelectric sensor (1), at the time of an output being turned off.