Conveyor systems often contain danger zones which must be protected against unauthorized access. However, goods/product must be able to enter and exit the danger zone. Examples of systems such as this can be found in intralogistics and in the automotive and packaging industries. In practice, the safety requirements are met using optoelectronic protective devices. These protective devices must be designed so that they detect the approach of the goods/product and then temporarily bridge the protective field to allow the good/product to pass through but detect a person and emergency stop the system should they try to access the danger zone.
Until now, additional sensors were required for distinguishing between goods/product and people. These are referred to as ‘muting sensors’. The “Smart Process Gating” (SPG) principle meets the above-mentioned requirements without the need for additional sensors and therefore saves installation space. The risk of misalignment or damage to the sensors is eliminated as is the costs for their installation and maintenance.
The “Smart Process Gating” muting process is based on the MLC safety light curtains from Leuze electronic and is integrated in the MLC 530 SPG model. The MLC 530 SPG safety light curtain specification is designed in accordance with the safety-relevant, international standards and is type 4 (IEC/EN 61496), performance level PL e/ category 4 (EN ISO 13849-1) and SIL 3 (IEC 61508).
https://www.leuze.com/en/deutschland/produkte/produktneuheiten/mlc_spg.php
