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:
Oct. 25, 2016
Filed:
Nov. 17, 2015
Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc., Mayfield Heights, OH (US);
Richard Galera, Nashua, NH (US);
Anne Bowlby, Lowell, MA (US);
Derek W. Jones, Galloway, GB;
Nilesh Pradhan, South Grafton, MA (US);
Francis L. Leard, Sudbury, MA (US);
Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc., Mayfield Heights, OH (US);
Abstract
An industrial safety system is provided that integrates optical safety monitoring with machine control. The safety system includes an imaging sensor device supporting pixel array processing functions that allow time-of-flight (TOF) analysis to be performed on selected portions of the pixel array, while two-dimensional imaging analysis is performed on the remaining portions of the array, reducing processing load and response time relative to performing TOF analysis for all pixels of the array. The portion of the pixel array designated for TOF analysis can be pre-defined through configuration of the imaging sensor device, or can be dynamically selected based on object detection and classification by the two-dimensional imaging analysis. The imaging sensor device can also implement a number of safety and redundancy functions to achieve a high degree of safety integrity.