Product category:
Alarms, annunciators and safety interlocks
News Release from: Schmersal UK | Subject: Bluetooth foot controls
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 26 January 2004
Bluetooth foot controls bring safety
benefits
Custom-designed wireless foot controls from Schmersal use Bluetooth to increase safety in medical and industrial applications by eliminating unnecessary cables and the potential hazards they can cause
New Bluetooth foot controls bring safety benefits for medical and industrial applications A new range of custom-designed wireless foot controls from Schmersal uses the latest Bluetooth technology to increase operational safety in medical and industrial applications by eliminating unnecessary cables and the potential hazards they can cause
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 17 Jun 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The footswitches also bring ergonomic benefits by releasing operators from a fixed position dictated by cables, and allowing them much more freedom of movement.
The devices can be used anywhere in the world via the globally available Bluetooth ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) radio band that does not require a licence or official approval by international government and telecommunications authorities.
To meet the very highest safety standards required for medical applications and allow different devices to be operated in parallel, the footswitches automatically detect and correct transmission errors and use Bluetooth frequency-hopping techniques to avoid interference.
The coding used by hard-wired devices is replaced by configuration data that establish during the connection process whether the transmitter and the receiver are compatible and whether safe operation is possible.
Special initialisation procedures, transmitted via an infrared path, allow a transmitter and receiver to exchange data that will enable Bluetooth controls to be "connected" ad hoc to any device, whilst also ensuring that incompatibility is detected before operation begins.
To avoid incorrect operation, built-in sensors permanently monitor the location of each control and, if one is lifted off the floor for example, all functions are automatically blocked and a warning signal emitted.
If the control is not replaced within a pre-set period (configurable between 1 and 60 seconds), radio transmission automatically ceases.
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