In keeping with my practice of making things simple here are my thoughts:
The presence of mains voltage at an approved mains socket outlet should not involve a safety consideration - so the red led does NOT violate EN 60950. If you are challenged, continue to argue that what the end user will connect to this socket outlet is not specified. Some things left powered on could involve safety. Therefore, the red led is required. Best Regards, Lou <---- Begin Forwarded Message ----> From: Jim Eichner <[email protected]> To: "'EMC-PSTC - forum'" <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Red Indicators and EN60950 List-Post: [email protected] Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 12:11:50 -0800 Reply-To: Jim Eichner <[email protected]> Sorry - I didn't intend to be mysterious. The US standard causing the conflict is the standard for "Star-of-Life" approval on emergency vehicles (ambulances), which includes safety and EMC requirements for on-board equipment. The standard is published by the General Services Administration, is called "Federal Specification for the Star-of-Life Ambulance KKK-A-1822D", and requires a red LED on the dashboard indicating that a DC-to-AC inverter (our product) on board is turned on. The conflict with EN60950 arises because the European standard applicable to inverters (EN50091) calls out EN60950 for most of its requirements. The red LED requirement is specific to inverters, and won't be an issue for ITE manufacturers. Regards, Jim Eichner Statpower Technologies Corporation [email protected] http://www.statpower.com Any opinions expressed are those of my invisible friend, who really exists. Honest. > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [SMTP:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, January 26, 1998 11:14 AM > To: 'EMC-PSTC - forum'; Jim Eichner > Cc: Rob Cameron; Jim Eichner > Subject: Re: Red Indicators and EN60950 > > > Jim, > > Can you identify the U.S. standard that insists on a red LED > indicator? > > Thank you, > > Tania Grant, Lucent Technologies, Octel Messaging > Division > [email protected] > > ______________________________ Reply Separator > _________________________________ > Subject: Red Indicators and EN60950 > Author: Jim Eichner <[email protected]> at P_Internet_Mail > Date: 1/26/98 10:05 AM > > > Clause 1.7.8.2 of EN60950 says: > > "Where safety is involved, colours of controls and indicators shall > comply with IEC73. Where colours are used for functional controls or > indicators, any colour, including red, is permitted provided that it > is > clear that safety is not involved". > > There has been a thread on this in the past so I looked it up at RCIC > and found that we never really talked about what exactly 950 means > when > it says "Where safety is involved" and "provided that it is clear that > safety is not involved". > > The situation I am considering is an LED used in conjunction with a > user-operable switch that is located in a control circuit (not a true > on-off switch) and controls the output of a DC-to-AC inverter. When > the > switch is "on" the output of the inverter is enabled and 230Vac is > present on the output receptacle of the inverter. Allowing the user > to > know at a glance whether or not there is 230Vac present on the output > could be construed as a safety function. On the other hand, the user > has no access to the 230Vac in terms of shock hazard (standard Schuko > outlet for example), so one could argue that safety is not a function > of > this indicator. > > Q: What are your opinions? Can this LED be red and still satisfy the > intent of EN60950? > > The problem is a conflicting U.S. standard that insists on a red > indicator. We don't want to have to have a second version of the > control panel to cover both standards. > > Thanks for your help. > > Regards, > > Jim Eichner > Statpower Technologies Corporation > [email protected] > http://www.statpower.com > Any opinions expressed are those of my invisible friend, who really > exists. Honest. << File: cc:Mail note part >> <---- End Forwarded Message ----> Best Regards, Lou Aiken 27106 Palmetto Drive Orange Beach, AL 36561 USA tel 1 334 981 6786 fax 1 334 981 3054
