TOF Sensor Array Safety Monitoring in Dusty Machine Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Safety laser scanners in environments with particle pollution, such as dust and debris, often generate false positives, leading to unnecessary machine stoppages in the absence of actual safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A protective device employing a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor array and a controller to define a safety area and detect objects, with immunity to particle pollution, allowing flexible installation on movable machinery and reducing false positives by requiring multiple consecutive sensors to confirm an object's presence within the safety area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If safety laser scanners are used to monitor safety areas, then safety monitoring capability is provided, but false positives occur in environments with particle pollution causing unnecessary machine stoppages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the safety monitoring function into multiple independent TOF sensors arranged in an array, where each sensor provides individual measurements. This segmentation allows the system to distinguish between single particle detections (false positives) and genuine safety hazards by requiring multiple consecutive sensor detections before triggering a stop condition, thereby maintaining reliability while reducing false positives that affect productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from traditional laser scanning to time-of-flight measurements, which are less susceptible to particle pollution interference. By measuring the time it takes for light to travel to and from objects rather than relying on reflected light intensity, the system maintains accurate safety monitoring in dusty environments, improving both reliability and machine availability
2Reliability
If traditional safety scanners are installed in fixed positions, then safety monitoring is provided, but installation flexibility is limited for movable machinery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal safety monitoring system that can be installed in fixed positions or attached to movable machinery components. The TOF sensor array and controller combination provides adaptable safety monitoring that works across different machine types and installation scenarios, maintaining reliable safety coverage while enabling flexible installation on both stationary and mobile equipment
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
Enhances machine availability by reducing false stoppages due to dust and debris, maintaining operational safety with improved immunity to particle pollution and flexible placement without fixed protection installations.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor array having a plurality of time-of-flight (TOF) sensors arranged to form a sensible field for TOF measurements
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3~4A
AI summary
The invention relates to a protective device for a machine, a method of operating a protective device, and a protective system including the protective device and the machine. The protective device may include a sensor array disposed on the machine. The sensor array may have a plurality of time-of-flight (TOF) sensors arranged to form a sensible field for TOF measurements, and a controller configured to define a safety area within the sensible field, detect an object within the sensible field, and generate a safety output that controls an operation of the machine in response to the object being detected within the safety area. The machine may include woodworking machines or other machines having debris or particles in the surrounding environment during operation.