Sick Ag

Trumpf Werkzeugmaschinen Gmbh + Co. Kg

Stefan Kienzler

Kai Waslowski

Ulrich Zwölfer

Martin Köhl

Jürgen Bürger

Christophe Thil

Jens Ottnad

Dennis Wolf

Johannes Eble

Günter Hirt

Frank Schwiderski

Ralf Herrmann

Frank Erdmann

Peter Steurer

Michael Burger

Christoph Blömker

Kevin Lutz

Hans-Peter Reichenbach

Matthias Krieg

Thomas JÄGER

Simon Allgeier

Gerald Siefert

A sensor apparatus for detecting a target object influenced by a process or formed in the process includes a sensor unit and an evaluation device. The sensor unit detects the target object in a detection zone of the sensor unit and generates a sensor signal that can be influenced by the target object. The evaluation device processes the sensor signal as a first input variable and generates an output signal, which indicates the detection of the target object, in dependence on the sensor signal. The evaluation device further processes a process parameter of the process, which acts on the target object, or a target object parameter, which characterizes the target object and is influenced by the process, as a respective further input variable and to generate the output signal in dependence on the process parameter and/or the target object parameter.

Sensor apparatus

An optoelectronic sensor is provided for measuring the distance from an object in a monitored zone that has a light transmitter for transmitting light signals into the monitored zone; a light receiver having at least one avalanche photodiode operated in Geiger mode for receiving the light signals reflected or remitted by the object; an individual time of flight measurement unit for determining an individual time of flight of a light signal from the sensor to the object; and an evaluation unit that is configured to generate a common measured value for the distance from a plurality of individual times of flight.

Optoelectronic sensor and method of measuring the distance from an object

An optoelectronic sensor is provided for measuring the distance from an object in a monitored zone that has a light transmitter for transmitting individual light signals into the monitored zone; a light receiver having at least one avalanche photodiode operated in Geiger mode for receiving the individual light pulses reflected or remitted by the object; an individual time of flight measurement unit for determining an individual time of flight of an individual light pulse as a duration between a transmitted point in time of the respective individual light pulse and its received point in time at the avalanche photodiode; and an evaluation unit that is configured to determine a common measured value for the distance from a plurality of individual times of flight and to estimate how many individual times of flight are to be expected in a time interval on the basis of background events.

A light grid and a method using a light grid include a transmission unit having a plurality of light transmitters for transmitting light beams and a reception unit having a plurality of light receivers for receiving the light beams of the light transmitters. The transmission unit and the reception unit are spaced apart from one another and are disposed opposite one another. A monitored field is formed by oppositely disposed light transmitters and light receivers for detecting objects. The light transmitters are activated one after the other in cycles and the light receivers are evaluated in these cycles. A programmable evaluation unit is provided for evaluating the received signals of the light receivers of a cycle with reference to predefined beam evaluation criteria and forming an intermediate result therefrom. The evaluation unit evaluates at least one intermediate result of a cycle with reference to at least one predefined sequential criterion.

Implementation of evaluation and sequence criteria in light grid

An optoelectronic sensor for measuring a distance comprises a light transmitter () for transmitting a sequence of individual light pulses () and a light receiver () for receiving the individual light pulses (). An individual time of flight measuring unit () determines a sequence of individual times of flight of the individual light pulses () as the duration between a transmission point in time and its reception point in time. An evaluation unit () accumulates individual times of flight and determines a common measurement value for the distance from the accumulated individual times of flight. The evaluation unit () comprises a filter () for accumulating an individual time of flight only if it coincides, within a time window, with a preceding individual time of flight.

Optoelectronic sensor and method for measuring a distance

A light grid () is provided having a plurality of light transmitters () for transmitting a respective monitoring light beam () and having a plurality of associated light receivers () to generate an objection detection signal (-) depending on the reception of the monitoring light beam, having a control () which is configured to divide the monitoring light beams () into groups and to consecutively activate the monitoring light beams () of the groups, wherein, in a group-wise parallel monitoring sequence, a respective monitoring light bream () of each group is activated in parallel, as well as having a first bus () over which the object detection signals can be output to the control () by the light receivers (). The light receivers () are in this respect configured to output the object detection signals to the control () in a time multiplex process.

Light grid and method of monitoring a monitored zone

Growing community of inventors

Waldkirch, Germany

Stefan Kienzler