HST Trapped Key Interlocking System

タイトルまたは説明

Hazardous machines and systems are frequently equipped with safety elements (safety doors) with a locking mechanism to protect the operator. Their function is:
a) to prevent hazardous machine functions if the safety door is not closed and locked,
b) to keep the safety door closed and locked until the risk of injury has passed.
A general example: A machine has one or more maintenance openings (part-body access) or is accessible through one or more doors (full-body access). On the one hand, it has to be secured that the machine is switched off, before one of these openings or doors can be opened.
On the other hand, the machine must only be reset into operation, if all openings and doors are closed, and nobody is present inside the machine. Such guard locking devices are for instance key-operated mechanical interlocks, also called trapped-key systems. They are based on the easy-to-understand premise that a key cannot be in two places at the same time - it can for instance be inserted in a switch OR be used for opening a guard. Another safety-relevant feature is that a key can only become free in a safe condition, when there are no hazards - a switch is turned off, a guard interlock is closed and locked.
The big advantage of the system is the fact that a certain sequence of steps can be pre-determined when designing the system. It is not possible to deviate from this sequence - thus a high degree of integrity is achieved. So virtually any hazard can be eliminated. The system consists of a central electrical part (for instance in the control panel) and mechanical units at the guards.
Therefore, the devices are very often used in areas, where due to space conditions or other environmental conditions and explosion hazards electrical components are not suitable or expensive to integrate. The devices can be supplied with individual codes (engraving up to 5 digits). Thus a higher degree of safety and a better protection against tampering is obtained.