Keyence Corporation

Masashi Kawanaka

Tsuyoshi Tagashira

Koji Fukumura

Motohiro Kudo

Shinya Kameoka

The present invention provides a mechanism capable of creating, in a simplified manner, a safety program in accordance with a safety use. A program creation assistance device assists in creation of the safety program to be executed by a safety controller. The program creation assistance device selects a safety use of the safety program to be created in accordance with user input, determines, based on the safety use selected, an input block to which a safety input signal from an input device is assigned and a functional block that implements a safety function suitable for the safety use selected, the input block and the function block making up the safety program, provides an unfinished safety program in a programmable manner, the unfinished safety program including the blocks determined, and supplements the unfinished safety program to create the safety program in accordance with user input.

Program creation assistance device

The present invention provides a mechanism for adding a disabling function that satisfies a safety standard to a safety program in a simplified procedure. A program creation assistance device that assists in creation of a safety program to be executed by a safety controller creates a safety program including an input block to which a safety input signal from an input device is assigned, a functional block that implements a safety function, and an output block that outputs a safety output signal, and adds, to the safety program created, a plurality blocks and connections between the plurality of blocks in accordance with an instruction from a user, the plurality of blocks and the connections between the plurality of blocks being configured to implement a disabling function that disables the safety input signal when a predetermined condition is satisfied in the safety program.

There is provided an area monitoring sensor, an operating state of which a user can be checked without approaching a hazard source. An area monitoring sensor, which detects an intruding object in a monitoring area to generate a stop signal for stopping an operation of an external device, is configured of: a measurement unit; a display unit that includes a screen display part for displaying an operating state of the measurement unit on a screen; and a wiring cable for detachably connecting the measurement unit and the display unit, to supply electric power between the measurement unit and the display unit.

Area monitoring sensor

There is provided an area monitoring sensor, an operating state of which a user can be checked without approaching a hazard source. An area monitoring sensor, which detects an intruding object in a monitoring area to generate a stop signal for stopping an operation of an external device, is configured of a measurement unit; a display unit that includes a screen display part for displaying an operating state of the measurement unit on a screen; and a wiring cable for detachably connecting the measurement unit and the display unit, to supply electric power between the measurement unit and the display unit.

A continuously-arranged sensor system is provided that can recognize a time of a determination signal provided by each sensor unit so that a host control apparatus can use the time to perform timing control. The continuously-arranged sensor system includes a network unit and a plurality of sensor units, which are connected by a serial transmission line. In accordance with a command sent from the network unit, each sensor unit transmits the determination signal to the network unit via the serial transmission line. The network unit stores the time information and the determination information to a table memory.

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Osaka, Japan

Masashi Kawanaka