BigPatents India

A safety system for use with a machine having a moving tool arranged to move through a known path of movement. The safety system is arranged to detect the presence of an obstruction in a region (20) around a portion of said path deemed to be hazardous. The safety system is characterised by comprising a light emitting means (16), a light receiving means (18) and a processing and control means. The light emitting means (16) is arranged to emit light generally parallel to the path of movement of the tool such that the region (20) is illuminated. The light receiving means (18) is arranged to receive light from the light emitting means (16) which has passed through the region (20). The processing and control means is arranged to receive information from the light receiving means (18) and determine whether an obstruction exists in the region (20) by the presence of one or more shadow regions cast on the light receiving means (18) by the obstruction and to control movement of the tool (12) dependent on the presence of obstructions in the region (12). (FIG). 4