Patent ID: 8415609

Claim:
A photoelectric switch comprising: an optical scanner configured to optically scan a measurement area including a protection area, and obtain a light reception signal representing a position of an object at the measurement area; a memory configured to store a first protection area and at least one of a second protection area and a safety function associated with at least one of a muting function and an interlock function; a controller configured to determine either an ON state or an OFF state as a first safety signal representing permission/non-permission of operation for an external equipment based upon the position of the object and the first protection area, and determine either an ON state or an OFF state as a second safety signal representing permission/non-permission of operation for an external equipment based upon the position of the object and the at least one of the second protection area and the safety function associated with the at least one of the muting function and the interlock function; and a plurality of output systems including a first output system configured to output the first safety signal and a second output system configured to output the second safety signal.