PD IEC/TR 61496-4 specifies requirements for the design, construction and testing of
electro-sensitive protective equipment (ESPE) designed specifically to detect persons as part of a safety-related system, employing vision-based protective devices (VBPDs) for the sensing function.
Special attention is directed to features which ensure that an appropriate safety-related performance is achieved. An ESPE may include optional safety-related functions, the requirements for which are given in Annex A of IEC 61496-1 and this technical report.
PD IEC/TR 61496-4 does not specify the dimensions or configurations of the detection zone and its disposition in relation to hazardous parts for any particular application, nor what constitutes a hazardous state of any machine. It is restricted to the functioning of the ESPE and how it interfaces with the machine.
• It is limited to automatic vision-based ESPEs that do not require human intervention for detection
• It is limited to automatic vision-based ESPEs that detect objects entering into, or present in, a detection zone(s)
• Excluded from this part are VBPD employing radiation at wavelengths outside the range 400 nm to 1 500 nm
• This technical report does not address those aspects required for complex classification or differentiation of the object detected
PD IEC/TR 61496-4 may be relevant to applications other than those for the protection of persons, for example the protection of machinery or products from mechanical damage. In those applications, additional requirements may be necessary, for example when the materials that are to be recognized by the sensing function have different properties from those of persons.
PD IEC/TR 61496-4 does not deal with EMC emission requirements.
