USER SELECTABLE REMOTE PROGRAMMING FOR CASCADE-CONNECTED LIGHT CURTAINS
First Claim
1. A cascadable light curtain apparatus arranged to receive requests from a remote request generator, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing extending along a longitudinal axis between a proximal end and a distal end of a light curtain segment;
a distal electrical interface disposed at a distal end of the housing;
a proximal electrical interface disposed at a proximal end of the housing;
a processor system disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to send and receive communication signals via the distal electrical interface and the proximal electrical interface; and
,a data store coupled to the processor system and containing a program of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations to control a programming mode of one or more cascadable light curtain segments that are connected in a cascade arrangement, the operations comprising;
receive a request signal via the distal electrical interface;
determine if the received request signal contains a predetermined learn mode request;
retrieve status information that indicates whether the light curtain segment is a master or a slave in the string of cascade connected light curtain segments;
in response to determining that (i) the received request signal contains the predetermined learn mode request, and (ii) the retrieved status information indicates the light curtain segment is the master, generate a cascade learn mode signal; and
,transmit the generated cascade learn mode signal to each of the light strings in the segment via the distal electrical interface to cause each of the one or more cascadable light curtain segments that are connected in the cascade arrangement with the light curtain segment that contains the processor system to enter a predetermined learn mode.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and associated methods relate to activating a blanking programming mode, such as fixed blanking (FB) or floating blanking (FLB), for example, for at least one user-selectable light curtain segment proximally connected to a distal-most segment in a string of cascaded light curtain segments. In an illustrative example, the selective activation may be initiated in response to a request signal from a remote request generator. The remote request generator may, in some examples, communicate the request signal to initiate the programming mode via a wireless communication link. In some embodiments, a request interface module may receive the request signal while releasably plugged into a terminal end of the distal-most segment. In various implementations, the remote selective activation may advantageously empower operators to rapidly configure cascaded light curtain systems that require programming modes for functions such as, for example, FB, FLB, or reduced resolution.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A cascadable light curtain apparatus arranged to receive requests from a remote request generator, the apparatus comprising:
-
a housing extending along a longitudinal axis between a proximal end and a distal end of a light curtain segment; a distal electrical interface disposed at a distal end of the housing; a proximal electrical interface disposed at a proximal end of the housing; a processor system disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to send and receive communication signals via the distal electrical interface and the proximal electrical interface; and
,a data store coupled to the processor system and containing a program of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations to control a programming mode of one or more cascadable light curtain segments that are connected in a cascade arrangement, the operations comprising; receive a request signal via the distal electrical interface; determine if the received request signal contains a predetermined learn mode request; retrieve status information that indicates whether the light curtain segment is a master or a slave in the string of cascade connected light curtain segments; in response to determining that (i) the received request signal contains the predetermined learn mode request, and (ii) the retrieved status information indicates the light curtain segment is the master, generate a cascade learn mode signal; and
,transmit the generated cascade learn mode signal to each of the light strings in the segment via the distal electrical interface to cause each of the one or more cascadable light curtain segments that are connected in the cascade arrangement with the light curtain segment that contains the processor system to enter a predetermined learn mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A cascadable light curtain apparatus arranged to receive requests from a remote request generator, the apparatus comprising:
-
a first electrical interface disposed at a first end of a housing; a second electrical interface disposed at a second end of the housing; a processor system disposed in the housing and operatively coupled to send and receive communication signals via the first electrical interface and the second electrical interface; and
,a data store coupled to the processor system and containing a program of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations to control a programming mode of one or more cascade-connected light curtain segments that are connected in a cascade arrangement with the light curtain segment that contains the processor system, the operations comprising; receive a request signal via the first electrical interface; determine if the received request signal contains a predetermined mode request; retrieve status information that indicates whether the light curtain segment is a master or a slave in the string of cascade-connected light curtain segments; in response to determining that (i) the received request signal contains the predetermined mode request, and (ii) the retrieved status information indicates the light curtain segment is the master, generate a cascade mode signal; and
,transmit the generated cascade mode signal to each of the light strings in the segment to cause each of the one or more cascade-connected light curtain segments to enter a predetermined mode. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification