Patent ID: 7656629

Claim:
A safety switch for a safety circuit adapted to interrupt the supply of power to an installation in a failsafe manner, the safety switch comprising: at least one input terminal for receiving an external input signal, a monitoring device for monitoring a current state of an actuator or a signaling device having at least two different states and providing a first signal identifying the current state of the actuator or signaling device, at least one output terminal, a control part for processing the external input signal and the first signal from the monitoring device, at least one switching element having at least one active and one inactive switching state, and a diagnostic function for identifying a functional fault, wherein the control part is configured to control the at least one switching element in order to generate an output signal at the at least one output terminal in accordance with said external input signal and said first signal, wherein the control part is further configured to transfer the at least one switching element into the inactive state when a functional fault is identified in order to generate an output signal at the at least one output terminal to effect the interruption of power to the installation, and further wherein the control part is still further configured, after a predetermined time period following interruption of power to the installation, to automatically generate a pulse-shaped data message at the at least one output terminal, which data message is dependent on the functional fault identified.