Visual Basic .NET - Distance US Bricklet¶

Simple¶

Download (ExampleSimple.vb)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleSimple
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Distance US Bricklet

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dus As New BrickletDistanceUS(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Get current distance value
        Dim distance As Integer = dus.GetDistanceValue()
        Console.WriteLine("Distance Value: " + distance.ToString())

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Callback¶

Download (ExampleCallback.vb)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleCallback
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Distance US Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for distance value callback
    Sub DistanceCB(ByVal sender As BrickletDistanceUS, ByVal distance As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Distance Value: " + distance.ToString())
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dus As New BrickletDistanceUS(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Register distance value callback to subroutine DistanceCB
        AddHandler dus.DistanceCallback, AddressOf DistanceCB

        ' Set period for distance value callback to 0.2s (200ms)
        ' Note: The distance value callback is only called every 0.2 seconds
        '       if the distance value has changed since the last call!
        dus.SetDistanceCallbackPeriod(200)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Threshold¶

Download (ExampleThreshold.vb)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleThreshold
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Distance US Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for distance value reached callback
    Sub DistanceReachedCB(ByVal sender As BrickletDistanceUS, ByVal distance As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Distance Value: " + distance.ToString())
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dus As New BrickletDistanceUS(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Get threshold callbacks with a debounce time of 10 seconds (10000ms)
        dus.SetDebouncePeriod(10000)

        ' Register distance value reached callback to subroutine DistanceReachedCB
        AddHandler dus.DistanceReachedCallback, AddressOf DistanceReachedCB

        ' Configure threshold for distance value "smaller than 200"
        dus.SetDistanceCallbackThreshold("<"C, 200, 0)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Basic Functions¶

Class BrickletDistanceUS(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)¶

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim distanceUS As New BrickletDistanceUS("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetDistanceValue() As Integer¶

Returns:	distance – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

Returns the current distance value measured by the sensor. A small value corresponds to a small distance, a big value corresponds to a big distance. The relation between the measured distance value and the actual distance is affected by the 5V supply voltage (deviations in the supply voltage result in deviations in the distance values) and is non-linear (resolution is bigger at close range).

If you want to get the distance value periodically, it is recommended to use the DistanceCallback callback and set the period with SetDistanceCallbackPeriod().

Advanced Functions¶

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetMovingAverage(ByVal average As Byte)¶

Parameters:	average – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 100], Default: 20

Sets the length of a moving averaging for the distance value.

Setting the length to 0 will turn the averaging completely off. With less averaging, there is more noise on the data.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetMovingAverage() As Byte¶

Returns:	average – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 100], Default: 20

Returns the length moving average as set by SetMovingAverage().

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.GetIdentity(ByRef uid As String, ByRef connectedUid As String, ByRef position As Char, ByRef hardwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef firmwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef deviceIdentifier As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:

uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C] hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 216 - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.

Callback Configuration Functions¶

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetDistanceCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)¶

Parameters:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

Sets the period with which the DistanceCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

Der DistanceCallback callback is only triggered if the distance value has changed since the last triggering.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetDistanceCallbackPeriod() As Long¶

Returns:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the period as set by SetDistanceCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetDistanceCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Integer, ByVal max As Integer)¶

Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1] max – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

Sets the thresholds for the DistanceReachedCallback callback.

The following options are possible:

Option	Description
'x'	Callback is turned off
'o'	Callback is triggered when the distance value is outside the min and max values
'i'	Callback is triggered when the distance value is inside the min and max values
'<'	Callback is triggered when the distance value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>'	Callback is triggered when the distance value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.GetDistanceCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Integer, ByRef max As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1] max – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

Returns the threshold as set by SetDistanceCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
• BrickletDistanceUS.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetDebouncePeriod(ByVal debounce As Long)¶

Parameters:	debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 100

Sets the period with which the threshold callbacks

• DistanceReachedCallback,

are triggered, if the thresholds

• SetDistanceCallbackThreshold(),

keep being reached.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetDebouncePeriod() As Long¶

Returns:	debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 100

Returns the debounce period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Callbacks¶

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done by assigning a procedure to an callback property of the device object:

Sub MyCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDistanceUS, ByVal value As Short)
    Console.WriteLine("Value: {0}", value)
End Sub

AddHandler distanceUS.ExampleCallback, AddressOf MyCallback

The available callback property and their type of parameters are described below.

Event BrickletDistanceUS.DistanceCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDistanceUS, ByVal distance As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletDistanceUS distance – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by SetDistanceCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the distance value of the sensor.

The DistanceCallback callback is only triggered if the distance value has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletDistanceUS.DistanceReachedCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDistanceUS, ByVal distance As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletDistanceUS distance – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by SetDistanceCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the distance value of the sensor.

If the threshold keeps being reached, the callback is triggered periodically with the period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Virtual Functions¶

Virtual functions don't communicate with the device itself, but operate only on the API bindings device object. They can be called without the corresponding IP Connection object being connected.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetAPIVersion() As Byte()¶

Output Parameters:	apiVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Returns the version of the API definition implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.

Function BrickletDistanceUS.GetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte) As Boolean¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.

For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For callback configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by SetResponseExpected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DISTANCE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DISTANCE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_MOVING_AVERAGE = 10

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte, ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and callback configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DISTANCE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DISTANCE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
• BrickletDistanceUS.FUNCTION_SET_MOVING_AVERAGE = 10

Sub BrickletDistanceUS.SetResponseExpectedAll(ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag for all setter and callback configuration functions of this device at once.

Constants¶

Const BrickletDistanceUS.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a Distance US Bricklet.

The GetIdentity() function and the IPConnection.EnumerateCallback callback of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

Const BrickletDistanceUS.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶

This constant represents the human readable name of a Distance US Bricklet.