Apparatus for monitoring and securing danger zones on power-driven textile machines

• US 20090024245A1
• Filed: 03/21/2008
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Truetzschler GmbH & Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Truetzschler GmbH & Co. KG
• Inventors: Hosel, Fritz
• Granted Patent: US 8,214,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/143
• CPC Class Codes: D01G 31/00 Warning or safety devices, e.g. automatic fault detectors, stop motions safety devices of general application F16P; indicating devices of general application G08B
• CPC Class Codes: D01G 7/06 Details of apparatus or machines
• CPC Class Codes: F16P 3/142 using image capturing devices

Abstract

In an apparatus for monitoring and securing danger zones on power-driven textile machines, in particular spinning room preparatory machines, having movable machine parts, an optical monitoring device monitors a movable danger zone to form a movable protection zone, such that a person and/or an object intruding into the danger zone triggers a switching operation. To produce an apparatus that allows guarding of danger zones in a simple and reliable manner, stationary monitoring device is present, which is selectively activatable and forms a dynamically movable protection zone around the movable danger zone.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring and securing danger zones on a textile machine, having movable machine parts with which is associated a movable danger zone, the apparatus comprising a stationary optical monitoring device;

which monitor the movable danger zone the stationary monitoring device being selectively activatable and forming a dynamically movable protection zone around the movable danger zone such that a person and/or an object intruding into the danger zone triggers a switching operation.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the monitoring means comprise at least one camera system.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, in which there are a plurality of camera systems arranged in succession in the direction of the movable danger zone, each camera system comprising at least two cameras.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, in which at least two cameras are arranged in series in the direction in which the movable danger zone is movable.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, in which the cameras are selectively activatable in dependence on the movable danger zone.

6. An apparatus according to claim 4, in which the coverage areas of cameras arranged side by side overlap one another.

7. An apparatus according to claim 3, in which the cameras or camera systems are arranged above the textile machine.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one evaluation system associated with the monitoring device, the monitoring device and evaluation systems being connected to the machine control of the textile machine from which information relating to the movement of the movable machine parts is suppliable.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the dynamically movable protection zone comprises a plurality of safety zones which are independently activatable by selective activation of the monitoring device, and the safety zones, viewed in the direction of movement of the danger areas, are arranged in succession.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, in which the safety zones are automatically adaptable to the position of the danger areas.

11. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the position of the safety zone is dependent on the position of the movable work element in a first direction and the safety zone is further alterable in dependence on the position of the work element in a second direction.

12. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the safety zone comprises an inner and an outer safety zone.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, in which the triggered response is dependent on which of the safety zones has been entered or breached.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, in which, when the outer zone is entered, the speed at which the machine is moving is reduced, the machine continuing to produce.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13, in which, when the outer safety zone is breached and subsequently vacated without the inner safety zone being breached, the textile machine automatically produces again at full speed.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, in which, when the inner zone is entered, all movement drives are stoppable.

17. An apparatus according to claim 12, in which, when one of the safety zones is breached, an acoustic and/or visual signal is given.

18. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the monitoring device and an evaluation system are also usable to detect foreign bodies, contaminants etc.

19. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which at least one three-dimensional, dynamic access area is present.

20. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which there are at least first and second general working regions of the stripping element, the respective associated danger area being guarded by a part of the monitoring device, wherein in each case after rotation of the stripping element into a different working region a signal transmitter switches over from the one part of the monitoring device associated with a first danger area to a different part of the monitoring device associated with a second danger area.