Safety interlock system
AssigneeAlcumbrella Holding B.V.
InventorJurrien Henri Pierre De Vries
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Abstract
The present invention provides a safety interlock system for mechanically securing an industrial process or appliance, including a lock which can be unlocked with a key, wherein the key comprises one or more key code elements which can be positioned in different positions and the selected position of the key code elements corresponds with a specific key code, and wherein the lock comprises one or more lock code elements which can be positioned in different positions and the selected position corresponds with a specific lock code, wherein the lock is locked except when the key code is identical to the lock code when the key is inserted.
Claims30
A safety interlock system for securing an industrial appliance operative in a safety mode or an operational mode, comprising:
- a lock including a lock housing and an operating component arranged rotatably in the lock housing, wherein the operating element is adapted to cooperate with the appliance so as to bring the appliance as a result of rotation of the operating component from the operational mode to the safety mode and wherein the operating component is provided with one or more lock code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected, wherein the selected positions of the lock code elements correspond to a specific lock code;
- a key for unlocking the lock, wherein the key comprises one or more key code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected and the selected position of the key code elements corresponds with a specific key code, the key further including a housing, at least one of the one or more key code elements include at least one pin having an element to hold the rotational position of the pin with respect to the housing, wherein the rotational position of the pin defines one of a plurality of different key codes for the pin at a same depth,
- wherein the lock is adapted so as to lock the operating component with respect to the lock housing except when the key code is identical to the lock code when the key is inserted;
- and
- wherein the length of the pin defines another of a plurality of different key codes for the pin at a same rotational position;
- and
- wherein the key codes inclued a plurality of key codes defined by an equation N=(Q*R)P, where Q is the number of axial rotation positions of each of the key pins, R is the number of different depth positions of each key pin, and P the number of key pins.
A lock for use with a safety interlock system for securing an industrial appliance operative in a safety mode or an operational mode, comprising:
- a lock housing and an operating component arranged rotatably in the lock housing, wherein the operating element is adapted to cooperate with an appliance so as to bring the appliance as a result of rotation of the operating component from the operational mode in the safety mode and wherein the operating component is provided with one or more lock code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected, wherein the selected positions of the lock code elements correspond to a specific lock code, the lock code elements including at least one lock pin, the at least one lock pin having a first end that places the at least one lock pin in a first key recieving position with respect to the operating element and a second end that places the at least one lock pin in a second key receiving position with respect to the operating element, wherein the lock pin is positionable in one of a plurality of rotational positions to select one of the plurality of key codes, wherein the key codes are defined by an equation N=(Q*R)P, where Q is the number of axial rotation positions of each of the key pins, R is the number of different depth positions of each key pin, and P the number of key pins, and
- wherein the lock is adapted so as to lock the operating component except when a key code of a key is identical to the lock code with a key in the lock housing.
A key for use with a safety interlock system, with a lock having a lock code, for securing an industrial appliance operative in a safety mode or an operational mode, comprising one or more key code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected and the selected position of the key code elements corresponds with a specific key code, wherein the key is adapted to change position of an operating component with respect to a lock housing when the key code is identical to a lock code when the key is inserted, wherein the one or more key code elements include at least one pin having an element to hold the rotational position of the pin with respect to a housing.
An assembly of one or more industrial appliances to be secured and one or more safety interlock systems, wherein the safety interlock system comprises:
- a lock including a lock housing and an operating component arranged rotatably in the lock housing, wherein the operating element is adapted to cooperate with the appliance so as to bring the appliance as a result of rotation of the operating component from the operational mode in the safety mode and wherein the operating component is provided with one or more lock code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected, wherein the selected positions of the lock code elements correspond to a specific lock code;
- a key for unlocking the lock, wherein the key comprises one or more key code elements which can be positioned in different positions to be selected and the selected position of the key code elements corresponds with a specific key code, the key further including a housing, at least one of the one or more key code elements including at least one pin having an element to hold the rotational position of the pin with respect to the housing,
- wherein the lock is adapted so as to lock the operating component with respect to the lock housing except when the key code is identical to the lock code when the key is inserted, and
- wherein the key codes are defined by an equation N=(Q*R)P, where Q is the number of axial rotation positions of each of the key pins, R is the number of different depth positions of each key pin, and P the number of key pins.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.