OMRON Corporation (HQ: Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto; CEO: Yoshihito Yamada) globally launched the Light Convergent Reflective Sensor "B5W-LB series" which can be embedded in industrial equipment. "B5W-LB series" adopts OMRON's unique lens structure combining four types of aspherical lenses and realizes stable detection with wide sensing range regardless of colors and materials such as shiny, black, and transparent surface.

"B5W-LB series"

Recently, as advances have been made in a wide range of industrial equipments such as packagers and coffee makers and they have become increasingly sophisticated and multifunctional, needs are growing for sensors that can accurately detect products without being affected by the design of containers and packages. Conventional reflective sensors^*1 which have been embedded in equipment have been adopted on the premise that detection is carried out under specific conditions based on the color and material of the object to be detected. However, there was a problem of unstable detection when the object was changed or added.

By adopting the "detection by light convergent reflective method"^*2 that has been used for sensors mainly for factory manufacturing facilities, "B5W-LB series" sensors are not affected by a change of object color and/or material, contributing to a reduction of malfunctions. On the other hand, sensors using the light convergent reflective method have a narrower range of distance for detecting an object, and may overlook a product that is not in its predetermined position. The "B5W-LB series" sensors adopted OMRON's unique lens structure combining four types of aspheric lenses, ensuring a wider detection range and allowing stable detection even if product positions vary.

OMRON will continue to actively promote research and development to realize automation of various applications with sensors, contributing to solving customers' problems.

Major Applications

Main Features

• Stable detection of mirror, black, and transparent objects. No need of a setting change for each object to be detected, contributing to higher usability.
• Reliable detection of the object regardless of its color and/or background, reducing malfunction and contributing to customer satisfaction.
• OMRON's proprietary lens structure combining four types of aspheric lenses ensures a wide detection range which is less susceptible to object's positional shift, and contributes to stable operation of the equipment.

Release date

Japan: June 2019
Global: July 2019

*1. A sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object by emitting light to the object and receiving the reflected light

*2. Principle of light convergent reflective sensor
The sensor receives light reflected from an object to be detected for detection of the presence of the object. It has an optical system that limits the emitting beam and the light-receiving area, and detects only an object at a certain distance from itself (the overlapping area of the emitting beam and the light-receiving area).