Photoelectric sensor and method for aiding operational checking of photoelectric sensor
First Claim
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1. A photoelectric sensor comprising:
- a light-projecting unit for projecting light;
a light-receiving unit for receiving light projected from the light-projecting unit and generating data on an amount of received light;
an output unit for outputting a detection signal indicating that a detection target has been detected; and
a signal processing unit for receiving the data on the amount of received light generated by the light-receiving unit, performing a measuring process on the data to quantify the amount of received light, comparing measurement data obtained by the measuring process with a predetermined threshold to determine whether a detection target is present or not, switching between ON and OFF states according to a result of the determination, and storing the measured received light data when in an ON state, whereinthe signal processing unit includes;
a memory that stores the data on the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or the measurement data captured by the measuring process during ON periods;
an ON period identification part for identifying when the stored data on the amount of received light reaches a threshold level to trigger an ON state,the data from the ON state taken in which the detection signal is in an ON state judged by the comparing process using the threshold level; and
an output part that outputs the data stored during the ON period, in association with the order in which the data are stored in the memory.
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Abstract
A photoelectric sensor comprises a control unit which is configured to store in a memory data on the amount of received light input from a light-receiving unit or measurement data obtained by a measuring process, and to perform a sampling process in which the data stored in the memory are read at fixed intervals as sampling data, the sampling process being performed within a limited reading period. Further, the control unit outputs the thus read sampling data so as to correspond to the order in which they are stored in the memory.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A photoelectric sensor comprising:
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a light-projecting unit for projecting light; a light-receiving unit for receiving light projected from the light-projecting unit and generating data on an amount of received light; an output unit for outputting a detection signal indicating that a detection target has been detected; and a signal processing unit for receiving the data on the amount of received light generated by the light-receiving unit, performing a measuring process on the data to quantify the amount of received light, comparing measurement data obtained by the measuring process with a predetermined threshold to determine whether a detection target is present or not, switching between ON and OFF states according to a result of the determination, and storing the measured received light data when in an ON state, wherein the signal processing unit includes; a memory that stores the data on the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or the measurement data captured by the measuring process during ON periods; an ON period identification part for identifying when the stored data on the amount of received light reaches a threshold level to trigger an ON state, the data from the ON state taken in which the detection signal is in an ON state judged by the comparing process using the threshold level; and an output part that outputs the data stored during the ON period, in association with the order in which the data are stored in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for aiding checking of a detecting operation of a photoelectric sensor, the photoelectric sensor including:
- a light-projecting unit for projecting light;
a light-receiving unit for receiving light projected from the light-projecting unit and generating data on an amount of received light during an ON period;
an output unit for outputting a detection signal indicating that a detection target has been detected; and
a signal processing unit for receiving the data on the amount of received light generated by the light-receiving unit, performing a measuring process on the data on the amount of received light, comparing measurement data obtained by the measuring process with a predetermined threshold to determine whether a detection target is present or not, and switching between ON and OFF states of the detection signal according to a result of the determination,the method comprising; operating the photoelectric sensor while a detection target is moving through a detecting area of the photoelectric sensor and simultaneously causing the signal processing unit of the photoelectric sensor to store, in a memory, data on an amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit or measurement data obtained by the measuring process during ON periods; performing an ON period when the amount of received light input from the light-receiving unit exceeds a threshold value; performing a measuring process in which the data on the amount of received light is stored at fixed intervals; and causing a two dimensional display unit integrally provided to the photoelectric sensor or a two dimensional display device externally provided to the photoelectric sensor to display values of the data read from the memory during an ON period, the values being displayed in association with the order in which the data are stored in the memory, thereby creating a two dimensional plot of the measured light intensity over a single ON period.
- a light-projecting unit for projecting light;
Specification