| Protective equipment A safety measure applied to protect individuals from immediate or threatening danger. Safety category A categorisation of the safety-related parts of a control unit with respect to their resistance to faults and their behaviour in the event of a fault that results from the structural arrangement of the components and/or their reliability. Separating protective equipment Part of a machine that is used specifically as a guard or physical barrier for protection purposes. Depending on the design, this may be a housing, shield, door, panelling, flap or hood. Separating protective equipment with a lock such that • The dangerous machine function cannot be executed while the protective equipment is not closed, locked and held closed. • The separating protective equipment will remain closed, locked and held closed until the risk of injury has passed. Locking device without 'interlocking' Separating protective equipment in combination with a guarding device such that • The dangerous machine function cannot be executed while the protective equipment is not closed. • A halt command is given if the protective equipment is opened during dangerous machine functions. Access time The time required for access to dangerous machine parts after triggering of the halt command by the locking mechanisms; calculation based on a speed approximation, the value for which can be selected for individual cases, taking into consideration the parameters in EN 999. Linked contact NC and NO contacts mechanically linked together in a device so that they can never be closed at the same time. Positive opening The forced contact separation as a direct result of a specified movement of the operating part of the switch over non-springing parts. |