The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 25, 2009
Filed:
Aug. 10, 2004
Ingolf Braune, Gundelfingen, DE;
Roland Bergbach, Kenzingen, DE;
Joerg Grabinger, Emmendingen, DE;
Sick AG, Waldkirch, DE;
Abstract
A potentially dangerous machine is secured to protect against injuries and has first and second tool parts that define an opening gap between them. At least the first tool part is movable relative to the second tool part in a movement direction during an operating cycle for deforming a workpiece between them by reducing a size of the opening gap in the movement direction. The protected zone precedes the first tool part and extends over at least a portion of the opening gap in the direction of relative movement. The protected zone is monitored with an optoelectronic sensor, and a danger signal is generated in response to a breach of the protected zone. When the size of the opening gap in the movement direction becomes smaller than the protected zone, the size of the protected zone is correspondingly reduced until during subsequent closing movements of the first tool part substantially the entire opening gap is within the protected zone.