Safety switch for guarding accesses

1 . A safety switch for guarding access to industrial machines and plants, comprising:

a switching device ( 2 ) adapted to be anchored to a fixed part of the access to be guarded and housing switching means for the control of one or more control and/or service circuits of the machine or plant;

a driving device ( 3 ) adapted to be anchored to the movable part of the access and to interact with said switching means upon the opening/closing the access for opening/closing one or more circuits;

signaling means comprising one or more sources of light signals adapted to emit one or more light and/or visible signals representative of the state of said one or more circuits;

wherein said switching device ( 2 ) has at least one portion or cap ( 6 ) made of a transparent or translucent material which encloses one or more of said sources of light signals to make them visible from the outside at least in the powered condition,

wherein said portion or cap ( 6 ) made of transparent or translucent material extends at least partially on at least two faces of said switching device ( 2 ), to be visible from at least two sides with respect to said switching device ( 2 ) when in the anchored position,

wherein said switching device ( 2 ) comprises a casing ( 4 ) housing thereinside switching means for controlling one or more control and/or service circuits of the machine or plant, and

wherein said portion or cap ( 6 ) is arranged at an end face of said casing ( 4 ).

2 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said portion or cap ( 6 ) made of transparent or translucent material extends at least partially on at least three faces of said switching device ( 2 ) to be visible from at least three sides with respect to said switching device ( 2 ) when in the anchored position.

3 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 2 , characterized in that said portion or cap ( 6 ) encloses one or more LED lights adapted to emit respective light signals differentiated by color and/or on/off frequency.

4 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that said portion or cap ( 6 ) made of transparent or translucent material extends at least partially on at least two faces, preferably on at least three faces of said casing ( 4 ).

5 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that said housing ( 4 ) comprises an upper head ( 5 ) designed to interact with said actuator device ( 3 ) for the activation of said switching means, said cap ( 6 ) being associated with said head ( 5 ).

6 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 5 , characterized in that said cap ( 6 ) is placed on the upper face ( 7 ) of said head ( 5 ).

7 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 6 , characterized in that said cap ( 6 ) extends at least partially on at least two faces, preferably on at least three faces of said head ( 5 ).

8 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 7 , characterized in that said driving device ( 3 ) comprises an anchoring body ( 14 ) for anchoring to the movable part of the access and an actuator ( 17 ) having a first end ( 18 ) fastened to said anchoring body ( 14 ) and a second end ( 19 ) projecting transversely from said anchoring body ( 14 ) and housing at least one first remote communication element ( 21 ) of the transmitting or receiving type adapted to interact remotely with said switching means by sending or receiving a presence signal.

9 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 8 , characterized in that said head ( 5 ) houses thereinside at least one second remote communication element ( 22 ) of the receiving or transmitting type adapted to communicate with said first remote communication element ( 21 ) through the exchange of said presence signal.

10 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 9 , characterized in that said head ( 5 ) is provided with at least one slot ( 20 ) made in at least one of said front faces ( 10 - 13 ) to allow the insertion of said actuator ( 17 ) thereinside and the approach of said first remote communication element ( 21 ) with respect to said second remote communication element ( 22 ).

11 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 10 , characterized in that said casing ( 4 ) houses locking/unlocking means ( 23 ) of said actuator ( 17 ) provided with a locking pin ( 24 ) movable along a predetermined axis (A) to engage said actuator ( 17 ) and retain it into said head ( 5 ).

12 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 11 , characterized in that said actuator ( 17 ) is provided with a seat ( 25 ) for the insertion of one end of said locking pin ( 24 ), said seat ( 25 ) being arranged in such a position as to be axially aligned with said locking pin ( 24 ) when said actuator ( 17 ) is completely inserted in said head ( 5 ).

13 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 12 , characterized in that said locking/unlocking means ( 23 ) comprise at least one auxiliary unlocking control associated with at least one of the front faces ( 10 - 12 ) of said casing ( 4 ) adapted to remain visible during use.

14 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 13 , characterized in that said first remote communication element ( 21 ) is arranged at said seat ( 25 ) and said second remote communication element ( 22 ) is positioned in said head ( 5 ) in such a position as to interact with said first remote communication element ( 21 ) when said actuator ( 17 ) is completely inserted into said head ( 5 ).

15 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 14 , characterized in that said first anchoring means ( 9 ) are associated exclusively with said head ( 5 ).

16 . The safety switch as claimed in claim 15 , characterized in that said first anchoring means ( 9 ) comprise at least one pair of through holes made in at least one of the front faces ( 10 - 13 ) of said head ( 5 ) for the insertion of respective fastening members.