Technical Note
Datalogic is pleased to announce that its safety laser scanner LASER
SENTINEL ENHANCED and its Graphic user interface (DL-SENTINEL)
have been upgraded in order to implement new functionalities that will
make it more flexible in installation and easier to use during
maintenance and diagnostics.
These new functionalities include the following:
• Flexible connectivity
• Increased number of scans
• Anti-interference coding
• Improved management of window calibration
• Auto-reset
• Reflective surfaces monitoring
FLEXIBLE CONNECTIVITY
Until version 3.1.0 of FW (LASER SENTINEL ENHANCED) rotating connectors of Slave models (SLS-R)
were marked as IN and OUT, since the direction of the communication was obliged: the IN connector
had to be connected towards the Master model (SLS-M), while the OUT connector had to be
connected towards the other Slave models (SLS-R).
From 3.1.1 FW version, rotating connectors are interchangeable and can indifferently be connected
towards Master or Slave models.
This new feature adds flexibility to the installation of LASER SENTINEL and reduces the possibility of
errors.
INCREASED NUMBER OF SCANS
The number of consecutive scans in which an object must be detected inside a safety (or warning)
zone before the corresponding safety (or standard) outputs activate has been extended from the
range [2,16] to the range [2,40].
This extension will allow to approach applications where small objects, dropping liquid or similar,
can pass through the monitored plane and could trigger the safety function if immediately detected.
By increasing the number of scans, they can be filtered out.
Corresponding to the increased number of scans, the response time of the device is also increased,
and for safety functions this requires to be considered during the risk analysis of the application.
ANTI-INTERFERENCE CODING
The probability of interference between scanners working in the same environment and at the same
level is extremely low, but in theory possible. It would not lead to a dangerous situation but could
stop for a while the scanning operation by causing a lockout condition.
In order to minimize this possibility, with FW 3.1.1 it is possible to configure the scanners to work
with 4 different anti-interference codes. This function is available for all devices including those
belonging at the same Master/Slave configuration.
The different codes can be selected through the GUI.
The anti-interference code is linked to the scan time of the device according to the following table
and also has an effect on the response time of the device, automatically calculated by the GUI.
IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF WINDOW CALIBRATION
During the procedure of window substitution, it is required to perform a calibration of the new
window carefully following the instructions given in the manual of the product.
This part of the procedure, monitored by the GUI, is automatically checked and the device can’t
return to operate until it is completed successfully.
REFLECTIVE SURFACES MONITORING
Sometimes reflectors are positioned in order to help localization of a vehicle using direct navigation
methods based on the measurement data coming from safety laser scanners.
Thanks to the fact that LASER SENTINEL is capable of measuring the intensity of the beams that
come back to it after having hit an object, a new functionality has been added to the GUI that allows
it to distinguish reflective objects from opaque ones.
This functionality can be activated by the monitoring window of the GUI when it is connected to a
scanner by clicking the button with the following icon:
The effect on the GUI is that the reflective surfaces will be highlighted in the monitoring window in
purple as seen in the following example:
