Omron Corporation

Omron Tateisi Electronics Co.

Satoru Shimokawa

Toshinori Sato

Tetsuya Akagi

Kazunori Osako

Takayoshi Takahara

Kiyoshi Imai

Arata Nakamura

Takashi Kamei

Noboru Kawaike

Kazuaki Miyoshi

Kazuhiro Kudo

Fumihiko Misumi

Ichiro Kondo

Yasushi Miyake

Hayami Hosokawa

Hiroyuki Inoue

Keisaku Kikuchi

Toshiyuki Higuchi

Kohei Tomita

Kazushige Matsuoka

Yoshiharu Tani

Hisashi Takeuchi

Nobuharu Ishikawa

Paolo Viviani

Masahiro Kurokawa

Takao Nakazaki

Shunsuke Mogi

Enzo Romano

Gianmarco Grange

Norimasa Yamanaka

Shinya Tamino

Masato Hara

Shinji Mizuhata

Ikuo Matsukawa

Shunsuke Ito

Mutsuo Ito

Tetuya Akagi

Maurizio Cambursano

Pasqualino Brunetti

A method for operating a light curtain arrangement for monitoring a safety area is provided. The light curtain arrangement includes a plurality of first light emitter elements placed at an emitter side of the safety area, and a plurality of second light receiver elements placed at a receiver side of the safety area. The method includes the steps of: assigning a plurality of dedicated light emitter elements to a respective one light receiver element, wherein the assigned light emitter elements form an array; and activating the dedicated light emitter elements of a respective array to contemporaneously emit light, and at the same time, receiving the emitted light from the activated light emitter elements by the respective light receiver element.

Method for operating dedicated light emitter elements to a respective one light receiver element in a light curtain arrangement and light curtain arrangement

A monitoring system, a monitoring device, and a monitoring method are provided. The monitoring system includes a detection part that detects a position of a worker intruded into a work area, a first specifying part that specifies a worker movable area on the basis of a position of the worker, an image capturing part that captures an image of an area including at least the worker movable area and a predetermined robot occupied area, a second specifying part that specifies a robot movable area from the image of the area, a third specifying part that specifies a human body area of the worker from the image of the area, a measuring part that measures the distance between the robot movable area and the human body area, and a restricting part that restricts movement of the robot when the distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

Monitoring system, monitoring device, and monitoring method

A multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor is provided having a casing that forms an outer shape of each of a projector and an optical receiver. The casing includes a frame body having a front face and two ends opened, a pair of caps to cover both ends of the frame body, and a light transmissive plate to cover the opened front face of the frame body. In the inner surfaces of both side plates of the frame body, supports are formed extending along the corresponding side edges of the opening of the front face. Both side edges of the light transmissive plateare supported by the supports, and both ends thereof are supported by the caps. Portions of the caps that support the light transmissive plateinclude communication portions to communicate with the supports of the frame body, and a string-like elastic member is disposed around a closed loop formed by each support and each communication portion. The light transmissive plateis held between the string-like elastic member and at least one fixing member disposed for the frame body and the caps. This configuration facilitates fixing of the light transmissive plate and changing of a size of the frame body.

Multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor

To provide a multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor and a multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor system, which enable function setting by an extremely simple operation, and further make it unnecessary to increase the size of a housing or to separately prepare a PC or a function setting tool. The multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor has: a columnar housing, from one end of which in the longitudinal direction an electric cord is pulled out, and at the other end of which in the longitudinal direction a plug-in type socket is provided, and a plug piece detachably attachable to the socket of the columnar housing. Particular information to serve as a function determining element on the columnar housing side is incorporated in the plug piece in a manner referenceable from a processing circuit on the columnar housing side via the socket. Further, the processing circuit on the columnar housing side is set so as to determine a function based upon particular information in the plug piece referenced via the socket.

Multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor system

A multi-beam photoelectric sensor is disclosed which can be fabricated by selecting the length of a light projection/light-receiving columnar member and the number and pitches of optical axes in accordance with the width of a hazardous area of an object or the diameter of the minimum object to be detected. A projector string or a photo-detector string includes an optical module string having an alignment of a plurality of optical modules with an optical system for one optical axis, a light projection circuit for one optical axis and a plurality of flip-flops corresponding to one stage of a shift register, integrated with each other, and a flat cable. The flip-flops in the adjacent optical modules are connected in cascade by the adjacent module conduction wires thereby to make up a shift register. The optical modules making the optical module string are sequentially activated by the data sequentially sent by the shift register.

Area monitoring multi-beam photoelectric sensor

To provide a structure for mounting a multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor, where a multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor is mounted on the base while both ends and the back face thereof are not gripped, and thereby the space for mounting the multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor can be reduced and the multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor can be mounted from the front face thereof. The structure for mounting a multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor comprises: a rail-shaped projecting portion, formed on the side face of a columnar case along the longitudinal direction thereof, a movable-side member, having a gripping mechanism which detachably grips a rail-shaped projecting portion of the columnar case, a mounting portion, mountable on a supporting wall from the side facing the supporting wall, and a fixed-side member, rotatably supporting the movable-side member via a supporting mechanism, with the mounting portion mounted in a state where the columnar case is positioned on the side of the mounting portion.

Structure for mounting multi-optical axis photoelectric sensor

An optical multi-axis optoelectronic sensor, in which a phototransmitting sensor head having a plurality of phototransmitters arranged thereon and a photoreceiving sensor head having a plurality of photoreceivers arranged thereon are disposed opposite to each other, comprises: first device for inputting distance data equivalent to a distance between the sensor heads; second device for determining detection sensitivity based on the distance data input by the first device; and third device for setting the detection sensitivity determined by the second device.

Optical multi-axis optoelectronic sensor

A network master (M) having charge of an operation of a main device (L) and one or more network slaves (Sto S) each having charge of a safety determining device (A to C) for determining safety which is an operating permission condition of the main device (L) are connected on the network. Each network slave comprises means for selectively performing a first operation for transmitting information including data for maintenance of the safety determining device or both determination output of the safety determining device and data for maintenance of the safety determining device, to the network master and a second operation for transmitting information including the determination output of the safety determining device but not including the data for maintenance of the safety determining device at all or hardly including it to the network master. The first operation in the network slave is performed when the main device is in a stopped state and the second operation in the network slave is performed when the main device is in an operating state.

Safety network system

A sensor system includes a plurality of sensor bodies arranged aligned and adjacent to each other, each of said sensor bodies being connected to an electric cord including at least a signal line via a connector. Each connector has a power feed terminal, and a detachable fitting for electrically connecting the power feed terminals of the connectors is provided between the connectors. The power supplied to the connector of any of the sensor body through the power feed line in the electric cord is distributed to the power feed terminal of another sensor body through a row of connectors. By this configuration, the number of power feed lines for the overall system can be significantly reduced, and common bodies not distinguished for the main and sub bodies can be used as the sensor bodies, whereby the cost can be reduced and inventory management can be facilitated. Further, when any of the sensor bodies fails, it is possible to simply exchange the failed sensor body only, while maintaining the use of the electric cord that has been used.

Sensor system and connector used therefor

In a light curtain generating device comprising a pair of pillar assemblies for supporting arrays of light emitting and receiving units which are placed opposite to each other so as to form a light curtain for detecting an object between the pillar assemblies, the light emitting and receiving unit arrays each consist of a group of single-beam optical modules so that the length of the arrays of light emitting and receiving units and the pitches of the individual light emitting and receiving units can be selected at will. Therefore, the light curtain generating device can readily adapt itself to each particular application at low cost and in a highly precise manner.

Light curtain generating device including single-beam optical modules

Each of a detection sample object and a non-detection sample object is illuminated with S-polarization light, for instance. S-polarization light and P-polarization light reflected from each sample object are detected by different photodetecting elements. Glossiness values and light quantities of the detection and non-detection sample objects are judged based on detection outputs of the photodetecting elements, and a glossiness difference and a light quantity difference are calculated. An evaluation function having at least one of the glossiness and the light quantity as a variable is determined by using the glossiness difference and the light quantity difference. Thresholds for object discrimination are calculated based on evaluation function values of the detection and non-detection sample objects.

Reflection-type photoelectric sensing apparatus

A reflective-type photoelectric switch projects emitted light from a light-emitting element toward a detection zone by a light-projecting optical system, and guides reflected light from an object to be detected in the detection zone to a light-receiving element by a light-receiving optical system. A special optical element is used in part of at least one of the two optical systems. The optical element functions to diverge light in a direction parallel to a plane containing the optic axes of the light-emitting and light-receiving elements, and condense light in a direction perpendicular to the same plane. As a result, it is possible to detect, with excellent sensitivity, both an object which is far from the switch and an object very near the switch.

Reflection-type photoelectric switch, fresnel lens and method of

An electronic apparatus includes a case body having an opening in an upper side thereof, an annular groove provided on the outer periphery of the opening and an engaging hole in a portion of the case above the annular groove, an annular sealing ring inserted into the annular groove, a frame for supporting printed circuit boards on which electronic circuitry is mounted, the frame being formed to include a terminal base provided on the side of the opening of the case body, and having a resilient projection for mating with the engaging hole of the case body from an inner side thereof, and a main body cover provided with an inwardly directed projection for mating with the engaging hole of the case body from an outer side thereof, the main body cover covering the opening by mating the projection with the engaging hole of the case body.

Electronic apparatus including photoelectric switch

Growing community of inventors

Otsu, Japan

Satoru Shimokawa