The IEC 61496 standard, published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), describes the requirements and presents test methods for electro-sensitive protective equipment within the scope of machine safety.
Essentially, the IEC 61496 standard consists of the following subsections under the main heading "Machine safety - Electro-sensitive protective equipment":
The IEC 61496-1 standard describes the requirements for the design, construction and testing of non-contact electro-sensitive protective equipment specifically designed to detect persons or a part of a person as part of a safety-related system. Emphasis is placed on functional and design requirements that ensure an appropriate safety performance. This standard is intended to be used in conjunction with the other substandards described above. In cases where this standard does not contain all the necessary principles, the IEC TS 62998-1 standard is used. The IEC 61496-1 standard may relate to applications other than those intended for the protection of persons, such as the protection of machines or products from mechanical damage. In these applications, different requirements may be appropriate, for example, materials that must be recognized by the sensing function have properties different from those of persons. This standard does not address requirements for electro-sensitive protective equipment functions that are not related to personal protection. It also does not address electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) emission requirements.
The IEC 61496-2 standard describes requirements for the design, construction and testing of electro-sensitive protective equipment specifically designed to detect people as part of a safety-related system, using active opto-electronic protective devices for detection. This standard does not specify the dimensions or configurations of the detection zone and the arrangement of hazardous parts for any particular application or what constitutes a hazardous condition of any machine. Active opto-electronic shielding devices that use radiation at wavelengths outside the range of 400 nm to 1.500 nm are excluded from this standard. This standard may relate to applications other than those intended for the protection of persons, such as the protection of machines or products from mechanical damage. In these applications, additional requirements may be necessary, for example, when materials to be recognized by the sensing function have properties different from those of persons. This standard also does not address electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) emission requirements.
The IEC 61496-3 standard describes additional requirements for the design, construction and testing of electro-sensitive protective equipment specifically designed to detect persons or parts of persons as part of a safety-related system, using active opto-electronic protective devices that respond to diffuse reflection for the detection function. . This standard does not specify the dimensions or configurations of the detection zone and the arrangement of hazardous parts for any particular application or what constitutes a hazardous condition of any machine.
The IEC 61496-4-2 standard defines the relevant clauses in the IEC 61496-1 standard to specify specific requirements for the design, construction and testing of electro-sensitive protective equipment for the protection of machinery using vision-based protective devices using passive reference pattern techniques for the sensing function. This standard should be read together with the IEC 61496-1 standard.
The IEC 61496-4-3 standard describes requirements for the design, construction and testing of electro-sensitive protective equipment that uses vision-based protective devices that use stereo vision techniques for the detection function, specifically designed to detect persons or parts of persons as part of a safety-related system. This standard should be read together with the IEC 61496-1 standard. Active opto-electronic protective devices sensitive to diffuse reflection are devices with either:
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