Visual Basic .NET - Industrial Counter Bricklet

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Industrial Counter Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Industrial Counter Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Visual Basic .NET API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples

The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).

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
34
35
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 Industrial Counter Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for all counter callback
    Sub AllCounterCB(ByVal sender As BrickletIndustrialCounter, ByVal counter As Long())
        Console.WriteLine("Counter (Channel 0): " + counter(0).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Counter (Channel 1): " + counter(1).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Counter (Channel 2): " + counter(2).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("Counter (Channel 3): " + counter(3).ToString())
        Console.WriteLine("")
    End Sub

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

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

        ' Register all counter callback to subroutine AllCounterCB
        AddHandler ic.AllCounterCallback, AddressOf AllCounterCB

        ' Set period for all counter callback to 1s (1000ms)
        ic.SetAllCounterCallbackConfiguration(1000, True)

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

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
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
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 Industrial Counter Bricklet

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

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

        ' Get current counter from channel 0
        Dim counter As Long = ic.GetCounter(BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0)
        Console.WriteLine("Counter (Channel 0): " + counter.ToString())

        ' Get current signal data from channel 0
        Dim dutyCycle As Integer
        Dim period, frequency As Long
        Dim value As Boolean

        ic.GetSignalData(BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0, dutyCycle, period, _
                         frequency, value)

        Console.WriteLine("Duty Cycle (Channel 0): " + (dutyCycle/100.0).ToString() + " %")
        Console.WriteLine("Period (Channel 0): " + period.ToString() + " ns")
        Console.WriteLine("Frequency (Channel 0): " + (frequency/1000.0).ToString() + " Hz")
        Console.WriteLine("Value (Channel 0): " + value.ToString())

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

API

Since Visual Basic .NET does not support multiple return values directly, we use the ByRef keyword to return multiple values from a function.

All functions and procedures listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions

Class BrickletIndustrialCounter(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim industrialCounter As New BrickletIndustrialCounter("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

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

Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetCounter(ByVal channel As Byte) As Long
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • counter – Type: Long, Range: [-247 to 247 - 1]

Returns the current counter value for the given channel.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetAllCounter() As Long()
Returns:
  • counter – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Range: [-247 to 247 - 1]

Returns the current counter values for all four channels.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetCounter(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal counter As Long)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
  • counter – Type: Long, Range: [-247 to 247 - 1]

Sets the counter value for the given channel.

The default value for the counters on startup is 0.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetAllCounter(ByVal counter() As Long)
Parameters:
  • counter – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Range: [-247 to 247 - 1]

Sets the counter values for all four channels.

The default value for the counters on startup is 0.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetSignalData(ByVal channel As Byte, ByRef dutyCycle As Integer, ByRef period As Long, ByRef frequency As Long, ByRef value As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Output Parameters:
  • dutyCycle – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/100 %, Range: [0 to 10000]
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ns, Range: [0 to 264 - 1]
  • frequency – Type: Long, Unit: 1/1000 Hz, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean

Returns the signal data (duty cycle, period, frequency and value) for the given channel.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetAllSignalData(ByRef dutyCycle() As Integer, ByRef period() As Long, ByRef frequency() As Long, ByRef value() As Boolean)
Output Parameters:
  • dutyCycle – Type: Integer Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1/100 %, Range: [0 to 10000]
  • period – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1 ns, Range: [0 to 264 - 1]
  • frequency – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1/1000 Hz, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 4

Returns the signal data (duty cycle, period, frequency and value) for all four channels.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetCounterActive(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal active As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
  • active – Type: Boolean, Default: true

Activates/deactivates the counter of the given channel.

true = activate, false = deactivate.

By default all channels are activated.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetAllCounterActive(ByVal active() As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • active – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 4, Default: {true, true, true, true}

Activates/deactivates the counter of all four channels.

true = activate, false = deactivate.

By default all channels are activated.

Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetCounterActive(ByVal channel As Byte) As Boolean
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • active – Type: Boolean, Default: true

Returns the activation state of the given channel.

true = activated, false = deactivated.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetAllCounterActive() As Boolean()
Returns:
  • active – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 4, Default: {true, true, true, true}

Returns the activation state of all four channels.

true = activated, false = deactivated.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetCounterConfiguration(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal countEdge As Byte, ByVal countDirection As Byte, ByVal dutyCyclePrescaler As Byte, ByVal frequencyIntegrationTime As Byte)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
  • countEdge – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • countDirection – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • dutyCyclePrescaler – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • frequencyIntegrationTime – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Sets the counter configuration for the given channel.

  • Count Edge: Counter can count on rising, falling or both edges.
  • Count Direction: Counter can count up or down. You can also use another channel as direction input, see here for details.
  • Duty Cycle Prescaler: Sets a divider for the internal clock. See here for details.
  • Frequency Integration Time: Sets the integration time for the frequency measurement. See here for details.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3

For countEdge:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_RISING = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_FALLING = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_BOTH = 2

For countDirection:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_UP = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_DOWN = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_EXTERNAL_UP = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_EXTERNAL_DOWN = 3

For dutyCyclePrescaler:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_1 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_2 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_4 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_8 = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_16 = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_32 = 5
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_64 = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_128 = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_256 = 8
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_512 = 9
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_1024 = 10
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_2048 = 11
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_4096 = 12
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_8192 = 13
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_16384 = 14
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_32768 = 15

For frequencyIntegrationTime:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_128_MS = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_256_MS = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_512_MS = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_1024_MS = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_2048_MS = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_4096_MS = 5
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_8192_MS = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_16384_MS = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_32768_MS = 8
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetCounterConfiguration(ByVal channel As Byte, ByRef countEdge As Byte, ByRef countDirection As Byte, ByRef dutyCyclePrescaler As Byte, ByRef frequencyIntegrationTime As Byte)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Output Parameters:
  • countEdge – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • countDirection – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • dutyCyclePrescaler – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 0
  • frequencyIntegrationTime – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the counter configuration as set by SetCounterConfiguration().

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3

For countEdge:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_RISING = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_FALLING = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_EDGE_BOTH = 2

For countDirection:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_UP = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_DOWN = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_EXTERNAL_UP = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.COUNT_DIRECTION_EXTERNAL_DOWN = 3

For dutyCyclePrescaler:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_1 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_2 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_4 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_8 = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_16 = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_32 = 5
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_64 = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_128 = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_256 = 8
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_512 = 9
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_1024 = 10
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_2048 = 11
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_4096 = 12
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_8192 = 13
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_16384 = 14
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.DUTY_CYCLE_PRESCALER_32768 = 15

For frequencyIntegrationTime:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_128_MS = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_256_MS = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_512_MS = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_1024_MS = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_2048_MS = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_4096_MS = 5
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_8192_MS = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_16384_MS = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FREQUENCY_INTEGRATION_TIME_32768_MS = 8
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetChannelLEDConfig(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal config As Byte)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
  • config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Each channel has a corresponding LED. You can turn the LED off, on or show a heartbeat. You can also set the LED to "Channel Status". In this mode the LED is on if the channel is high and off otherwise.

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3

For config:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_CHANNEL_STATUS = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetChannelLEDConfig(ByVal channel As Byte) As Byte
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the channel LED configuration as set by SetChannelLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

For channel:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_0 = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_1 = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_2 = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_3 = 3

For config:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_CHANNEL_STATUS = 3

Advanced Functions

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetSPITFPErrorCount(ByRef errorCountAckChecksum As Long, ByRef errorCountMessageChecksum As Long, ByRef errorCountFrame As Long, ByRef errorCountOverflow As Long)
Output Parameters:
  • errorCountAckChecksum – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • errorCountMessageChecksum – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • errorCountFrame – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • errorCountOverflow – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

  • ACK checksum errors,
  • message checksum errors,
  • framing errors and
  • overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetStatusLEDConfig(ByVal config As Byte)
Parameters:
  • config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetStatusLEDConfig() As Byte
Returns:
  • config – Type: Byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the configuration as set by SetStatusLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetChipTemperature() As Short
Returns:
  • temperature – Type: Short, Unit: 1 °C, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1]

Returns the temperature as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.Reset()

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.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 BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetAllCounterCallbackConfiguration(ByVal period As Long, ByVal valueHasToChange As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

The period is the period with which the AllCounterCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetAllCounterCallbackConfiguration(ByRef period As Long, ByRef valueHasToChange As Boolean)
Output Parameters:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

Returns the callback configuration as set by SetAllCounterCallbackConfiguration().

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetAllSignalDataCallbackConfiguration(ByVal period As Long, ByVal valueHasToChange As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

The period is the period with which the AllSignalDataCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetAllSignalDataCallbackConfiguration(ByRef period As Long, ByRef valueHasToChange As Boolean)
Output Parameters:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • valueHasToChange – Type: Boolean, Default: false

Returns the callback configuration as set by SetAllSignalDataCallbackConfiguration().

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

AddHandler industrialCounter.ExampleCallback, AddressOf MyCallback

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

Note

Using callbacks for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

Event BrickletIndustrialCounter.AllCounterCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletIndustrialCounter, ByVal counter() As Long)
Callback Parameters:
  • sender – Type: BrickletIndustrialCounter
  • counter – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Range: [-247 to 247 - 1]

This callback is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by SetAllCounterCallbackConfiguration().

The parameters are the same as GetAllCounter().

Event BrickletIndustrialCounter.AllSignalDataCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletIndustrialCounter, ByVal dutyCycle() As Integer, ByVal period() As Long, ByVal frequency() As Long, ByVal value() As Boolean)
Callback Parameters:
  • sender – Type: BrickletIndustrialCounter
  • dutyCycle – Type: Integer Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1/100 %, Range: [0 to 10000]
  • period – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1 ns, Range: [0 to 264 - 1]
  • frequency – Type: Long Array, Length: 4, Unit: 1/1000 Hz, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean Array, Length: 4

This callback is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by SetAllSignalDataCallbackConfiguration().

The parameters are the same as GetAllSignalData().

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 BrickletIndustrialCounter.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 BrickletIndustrialCounter.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER_ACTIVE = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER_ACTIVE = 8
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER_CONFIGURATION = 11
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 13
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_SIGNAL_DATA_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 15
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG = 17
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER_ACTIVE = 7
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER_ACTIVE = 8
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_COUNTER_CONFIGURATION = 11
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_COUNTER_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 13
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_ALL_SIGNAL_DATA_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 15
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_CHANNEL_LED_CONFIG = 17
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.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.

Internal Functions

Internal functions are used for maintenance tasks such as flashing a new firmware of changing the UID of a Bricklet. These task should be performed using Brick Viewer instead of using the internal functions directly.

Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetBootloaderMode(ByVal mode As Byte) As Byte
Parameters:
  • mode – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • status – Type: Byte, Range: See constants

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

For status:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5
Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.GetBootloaderMode() As Byte
Returns:
  • mode – Type: Byte, Range: See constants

Returns the current bootloader mode, see SetBootloaderMode().

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialCounter.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4
Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.SetWriteFirmwarePointer(ByVal pointer As Long)
Parameters:
  • pointer – Type: Long, Unit: 1 B, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Sets the firmware pointer for WriteFirmware(). The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.WriteFirmware(ByVal data() As Byte) As Byte
Parameters:
  • data – Type: Byte Array, Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Returns:
  • status – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by SetWriteFirmwarePointer() before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

Sub BrickletIndustrialCounter.WriteUID(ByVal uid As Long)
Parameters:
  • uid – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

Function BrickletIndustrialCounter.ReadUID() As Long
Returns:
  • uid – Type: Long, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.

Constants

Const BrickletIndustrialCounter.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER

This constant is used to identify a Industrial Counter 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 BrickletIndustrialCounter.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME

This constant represents the human readable name of a Industrial Counter Bricklet.