Patent ID: 8902409

Claim:
An optoelectronic sensor ( 10 ) for the detection and distance determination of objects in a monitored area ( 18 ), the sensor ( 10 ) having a light transmitter ( 12 ) for transmitting a transmission light beam ( 14 ), a light receiver ( 24 ) for generating a reception signal from transmission light ( 20 ) remitted or reflected from objects in the monitored area ( 18 ), and an evaluation unit ( 30 ) configured to determine distance of an object from the sensor based on light time of flight between transmission of the transmission beam ( 14 ) and reception of remitted transmission light ( 20 ), wherein a reception path between the light receiver ( 24 ) and the evaluation unit ( 30 ) is divided into a first partial reception path ( 46 , 48 ) and a second partial reception path ( 50 , 52 ) at a splitter element ( 44 ), which comprises filtering properties to pass higher frequency parts of the reception signal as a first partial reception signal on to the first partial reception path ( 46 , 48 ) and lower frequency parts of the reception signal as a second partial reception signal on to the second partial reception path ( 50 , 52 ), and wherein the evaluation unit ( 30 ) is configured to determine whether objects are present in the monitored area ( 18 ), to determine the distance of the object from the first partial reception signal, and to determine an opacity from the second partial reception signal.