Visual Basic .NET - Industrial Dual Relay Bricklet

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Industrial Dual Relay Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Industrial Dual Relay 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).

Simple

Download (ExampleSimple.vb)

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Imports System
Imports System.Threading
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 Dual Relay Bricklet

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

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

        ' Turn relays alternating on/off 10 times with 1 second delay
        Dim i As Integer
        For i = 0 To 4
            Thread.Sleep(1000)
            idr.SetValue(True, False)
            Thread.Sleep(1000)
            idr.SetValue(False, True)
        Next i

        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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim industrialDualRelay As New BrickletIndustrialDualRelay("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

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

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.SetValue(ByVal channel0 As Boolean, ByVal channel1 As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • channel0 – Type: Boolean, Default: false
  • channel1 – Type: Boolean, Default: false

Sets the state of the relays, true means on and false means off. For example: (true, false) turns relay 0 on and relay 1 off.

If you just want to set one of the relays and don't know the current state of the other relay, you can get the state with GetValue() or you can use SetSelectedValue().

All running monoflop timers will be aborted if this function is called.

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.GetValue(ByRef channel0 As Boolean, ByRef channel1 As Boolean)
Output Parameters:
  • channel0 – Type: Boolean, Default: false
  • channel1 – Type: Boolean, Default: false

Returns the state of the relays, true means on and false means off.

Advanced Functions

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.SetMonoflop(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal value As Boolean, ByVal time As Long)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean
  • time – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

The first parameter can be 0 or 1 (relay 0 or relay 1). The second parameter is the desired state of the relay (true means on and false means off). The third parameter indicates the time that the relay should hold the state.

If this function is called with the parameters (1, true, 1500): Relay 1 will turn on and in 1.5s it will turn off again.

A monoflop can be used as a failsafe mechanism. For example: Lets assume you have a RS485 bus and a Industrial Dual Relay Bricklet connected to one of the slave stacks. You can now call this function every second, with a time parameter of two seconds. The relay will be on all the time. If now the RS485 connection is lost, the relay will turn off in at most two seconds.

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.GetMonoflop(ByVal channel As Byte, ByRef value As Boolean, ByRef time As Long, ByRef timeRemaining As Long)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 1]
Output Parameters:
  • value – Type: Boolean
  • time – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • timeRemaining – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Returns (for the given relay) the current state and the time as set by SetMonoflop() as well as the remaining time until the state flips.

If the timer is not running currently, the remaining time will be returned as 0.

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.SetSelectedValue(ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal value As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean

Sets the state of the selected relay, true means on and false means off.

A running monoflop timer for the selected relay will be aborted if this function is called.

The other relay remains untouched.

Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3
Function BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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.

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

AddHandler industrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.MonoflopDoneCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletIndustrialDualRelay, ByVal channel As Byte, ByVal value As Boolean)
Callback Parameters:
  • sender – Type: BrickletIndustrialDualRelay
  • channel – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 1]
  • value – Type: Boolean

This callback is triggered whenever a monoflop timer reaches 0. The parameters contain the relay and the current state of the relay (the state after the monoflop).

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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_VALUE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_MONOFLOP = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_SELECTED_VALUE = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248
Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_VALUE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_MONOFLOP = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_SELECTED_VALUE = 6
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248
Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

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

For status:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5
Function BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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:

  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
  • BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4
Sub BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER

This constant is used to identify a Industrial Dual Relay 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 BrickletIndustrialDualRelay.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME

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