VIB::Multiplexer Class Reference

Inheritance diagram for VIB::Multiplexer:

Detailed Description

This class controls the Multiplexer unit which connects signal sources and sinks with each other.

The following image gives a simplified overview of the signal path inside the VisionBox.

Multiplexer block diagram

Connecting sources and sinks

The multiplexer can be used to connect different FPGA units with each other. The multiplexer provides multiple independent output lines. They can be connected to different source signals, for example a trigger signal coming from the digital input module. The selected output line of the multiplexer can then be used by other FPGA units as input signal, for example by the strobe unit. Each output line can be used by multiple destinations.

Sources

The availability of source signals depends on the hardware (e.g. number of installed digital I/O modules) and support by firmware (e.g. number of I/O Schedulers). Selecting a source from a unit which is not present will set the output line to low.

The following source signals are available (see MUX_SOURCE):

• Static ON or OFF value, can to create a signal via software
• Digital input signal, see DigitalInput (the signal is after the debouncing circuitry)
• Strobe output signal coming from the Strobe unit
• SYNC signals, see Hardware, library and firmware dependencies for assignment
• Output signals coming from the TriggerGenerator unit
• Output signals coming from the IOScheduler unit

Sinks

The multiplexer output lines can be used by the following units:

• Digital outputs, see DigitalOutput::SetSource()
• Camera trigger, see CameraTrigger::Set()
• RS-422 outputs, see Rs422::SetSource()
• Trigger for the Strobe unit, see Strobe::SetTriggerSource()
• Camera Link CC lines, see CameraLinkIn::ConfigureCC()
• Trigger-over-Ethernet, see TriggerOverEthernet::ConfigureTriggerSource()
• I/O Scheduler, see IOScheduler::SetTriggerSource(), IOScheduler::SetCounterResetSource() and IOScheduler::SetEncoderSource()
• The TriggerGenerator unit uses a fixed assignment for the first eight multiplexer lines to TrigIn<0...7>

Example code

The following example creates the following connection between FPGA units by using two multiplexer lines:

                                |----------------------------------------> digitalOut(0)
  DigIn(0) --> multiplexer(0) --+
                                |--> ioScheduler(0) --> multiplexer(1) --> digitalOut(1)

The digital input 0 is directly connected to the digital output 0 by using the Multiplexer line 0.
The I/O Scheduler is using the same Multiplexer signal as trigger source. The output 0 of the I/O Scheduler is connected to the digital output 1 by using the Multiplexer line 1.

VIB::Multiplexer    multiplexer;
VIB::IOScheduler    ioScheduler;
VIB::DigitalOutput  digitalOut;
 
// Open devices:
// Multiplexer:
multiplexer.Open();
// I/O Scheduler:
ioScheduler.Open(0);
// Digital Output:
digitalOut.Open(0);
 
// Connect Multiplexer lines:
multiplexer.ConnectOutput(0, VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_DIG_IN0);
multiplexer.ConnectOutput(1, VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_0_OUT0);
 
// Configure multiplexer line 0 and 1 as source for the digital outputs:
digitalOut.SetSource(0, VIB::DigitalOutput::DIG_OUT_SRC_MUX_OUT0, false);
digitalOut.SetSource(1, VIB::DigitalOutput::DIG_OUT_SRC_MUX_OUT1, false);
 
// Configure I/O Scheduler:
// Reset I/O Scheduler:
ioScheduler.Reset();
// Select multiplexer line 0 as trigger source
ioScheduler.SetTriggerSource(0, false);

Please note that error checking was removed to keep the code as simple as possible.

Multiplexer Events

The Multiplexer supports generation of events for the first 16 Multiplexer output lines.

After the desired lines are configured with ConfigureEvent(), the function WaitForEvent() can be used to block execution until a signal change occurs.

Example code

VIB::Multiplexer multiplexer;
 
// Open the Multiplexer device:
multiplexer.Open();
 
// Connect Multiplexer lines to some useful source signals:
multiplexer.ConnectOutput(1, VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_...);
multiplexer.ConnectOutput(4, VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_...);
 
// Configure Multiplexer to generate events on rising edges for line 1 and on falling edges for line 4:
multiplexer.ConfigureEvent(1<<1, 1<<4);
 
// Check for new events in a loop:
while (1)
{
    unsigned int currentState, changedState;
 
    if (!multiplexer.WaitForEvent(1000, currentState, changedState))
    {
        printf("WaitForEvent(): timeout or abort occured.\n");
        break;
    }
    
    printf("Multiplexer event, current signals: 0x%02x, changed signals: 0x%02x\n", currentState, changedState);
}

Please note that error checking was removed to keep the code as simple as possible.

Event FIFO and event timestamps

Enhancement for RTCC version ≥ 1.0.0.52:

• Events are stored in a FIFO holding up to 256 events. This helps to avoid dropped events if they are arriving too fast.
• The time interval between events can be read with GetEventTime().

Watchdog Reset

For hardware platforms with watchdog support, the multiplexer output lines can be reset by the watchdog. If the watchdog timer expires, the output lines are reset to the source Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_OFF. The lines can then be reconfigured to different sources again.

Call Service::WatchdogSetup() with Service::SERVICE_WDT_RESET_TYPE_MULTIPLEXER to activate this mode.

Hardware, library and firmware dependencies

Available capabilities depend on the combination of hardware type, software library and FPGA version.

Click the entries below to show the dependencies:

Number of Multiplexer lines

The following table lists the number of available output lines:

Hardware	Library Version	FPGA Version	Multiplexer lines
VisionBox AGE-X5	1.6.5.6	1.0.0.42	24
VisionBox AGE-X4 / Machine Vision Controller	1.6.5.5	1.0.0.41	24
	1.6.3.0	1.0.0.28	16
VisionBox AGE-X3	1.6.2.0	1.0.0.25	16
VisionBox AGE-X2	1.6.5.5	1.0.0.40	24
	1.5.1.0	1.0.0.21	16
	1.3.0.0	1.0.0.17	8
VisionBox DAYTONA	1.6.8.3	1.0.0.46	8
VisionBox LE MANS	1.6.5.0	1.0.0.31	16
VisionCam XM	1.6.4.0	1.0.0.30	16
VisionSensor PV3 + I/O Expansion	1.7.10.0	1.0.0.75	16
Machine Vision Manager	1.6.3.0	1.0.0.27	16

The function Multiplexer::GetNumberOfOutputs() can be used to obtain the number of multiplexer lines at runtime.
The usable Multiplexer lines by CameraLinkIn and TriggerOverEthernet is limited to the first 16.

Assignment of SYNC source signals

Hardware	FPGA Version	Multiplexer::MUX_SOURCE
		MUX_SRC_SYNC_<0...3>	MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_<0...3>	MUX_SRC_SYNC_2_<0...3>
VisionBox AGE-X5	1.0.0.45	RS-422 IN (first connector)	RS-422 IN (second connector)	-
	1.0.0.44		no
	1.0.0.42	no
VisionBox AGE-X4 / Machine Vision Controller	1.0.0.33	RS-422 IN (first connector)	RS-422 IN (second connector)	RS-422 IN (third connector)
	1.0.0.28			-
VisionBox AGE-X3	1.0.0.25	-	-	-
VisionBox AGE-X2	1.0.0.17	RS-422 IN	-	-
VisionBox DAYTONA	1.0.0.46	RS-422 IN	-	-
VisionBox LE MANS	1.0.0.31	RS-422 IN (first connector)	RS-422 IN (second connector)	-
VisionCam XM	1.0.0.43	RS-422 IN	Sensor signals: MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_0: exposure MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_1: frame-valid MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_2: line-valid MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_3: trigger	-
	1.0.0.30	no
VisionSensor PV3 + I/O Expansion	1.0.0.75	RS-422 IN	Sensor signals: MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_0: exposure	-
Machine Vision Manager (MVM)	1.0.0.27	RS-422 IN (first connector)	RS-422 IN (second connector)	-

Multiplexer events

• Support for multiplexer events requires library version ≥ 1.6.8.0 and RTCC version ≥ 1.0.0.37.
  
• Reading the time interval between events with GetEventTime() requires RTCC version ≥ 1.0.0.52 and library version ≥ 1.7.3.0.
• WaitForEvent() timeout handling:
  • On Windows, the resolution of the timeout value depends on the Windows timer resolution, which defaults to 15.6 ms. A timeout value smaller than this may result in an immediate timeout. The resolution can be changed with the Windows function timeBeginPeriod().
  • For Linux SDK version < 1.7.5.0 and Windows SDK < 1.7.10.0:
    After a timeout, the function ConfigureEvent() must be called again, which results in dropping of all pending events.
  • For Linux SDK version ≥ 1.7.5.0:
    After a timeout, WaitForEvent() can be called again without losing any events between calls. Calling ConfigureEvent() after a timeout is not required.

Watchdog reset

Support for Multiplexer reset by the Watchdog requires library version 1.6.5.3 and RTCC version 1.0.0.37 or later.

Public Types
enum	MUX_SOURCE
	Source signal definitions for the Multiplexer More...

Public Member Functions
bool	AbortWaitingForEvent ()
	Aborts all threads waiting for events. More...
bool	ConfigureEvent (unsigned int SensitivityMaskRising, unsigned int SensitivityMaskFalling)
	Configures the sensitivity for Multiplexer events. More...
bool	ConnectOutput (unsigned int OutputIndex, Multiplexer::MUX_SOURCE Source)
	Selects the source signal for the specified output line. More...
bool	GetEventTime (unsigned int &time_us, bool &eventsDropped)
	Reads the event time for the received event. More...
bool	GetNumberOfOutputs (unsigned int &NumberOfOutputs)
	Returns number of multiplexer output lines. More...
	Multiplexer ()
	Default constructor for the device object More...
bool	Reset ()
	Resets the device to default settings. More...
bool	WaitForEvent (unsigned int msTimeout, unsigned int &NewState, unsigned int &ChangedState)
	Waits for a Multiplexer event. More...
Public Member Functions inherited from VIB::iDevice
bool	Close ()
	Closes a device More...
	iDevice (const iDevice &device)
	The copy constructor makes a copy of the existing device object More...
bool	isOpen (bool &state)
	Returns the open state of a device object More...
bool	Open (unsigned int Index=0)
	Opens a device More...
iDevice &	operator= (const iDevice &device)
	The assignment operator makes a copy of the existing device object More...
virtual	~iDevice ()
	Deletes the device object More...

Member Enumeration Documentation

MUX_SOURCE

enum VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SOURCE

Source signal definitions for the Multiplexer

Enumerator
MUX_SRC_OFF	static off
MUX_SRC_ON	static on
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN0	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 0.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN1	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 1.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN2	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 2.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN3	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 3.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN4	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 4.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN5	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 5.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN6	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 6.
MUX_SRC_DIG_IN7	DigitalInput unit 0, wire 7.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_0	Strobe signal 0.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_1	Strobe signal 1.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_2	Strobe signal 2.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_3	Strobe signal 3.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_0	SYNC group 0, signal 0.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_1	SYNC group 0, signal 1.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_2	SYNC group 0, signal 2.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_3	SYNC group 0, signal 3.
MUX_SRC_TRIGGEN_OUT0	TriggerGenerator output 0.
MUX_SRC_TRIGGEN_OUT1	TriggerGenerator output 1.
MUX_SRC_TRIGGEN_OUT2	TriggerGenerator output 2.
MUX_SRC_TRIGGEN_OUT3	TriggerGenerator output 3.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_0_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 0, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_0_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 0, output 1.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_1_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 1, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_1_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 1, output 1.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_2_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 2, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_2_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 2, output 1
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_3_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 3, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_3_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 3, output 1.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_0	SYNC group 1, signal 0.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_1	SYNC group 1, signal 1.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_2	SYNC group 1, signal 2.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_1_3	SYNC group 1, signal 3.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN0	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 0.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN1	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 1.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN2	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 2.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN3	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 3.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN4	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 4.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN5	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 5.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN6	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 6.
MUX_SRC_DIG_1_IN7	DigitalInput unit 1, wire 7.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_4	Strobe signal 4.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_5	Strobe signal 5.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_6	Strobe signal 6.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_7	Strobe signal 7.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_8	Strobe signal 8.
MUX_SRC_STROBE_9	Strobe signal 9.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_2_0	SYNC group 2, signal 0.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_2_1	SYNC group 2, signal 1.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_2_2	SYNC group 2, signal 2.
MUX_SRC_SYNC_2_3	SYNC group 2, signal 3.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_4_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 4, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_4_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 4, output 1.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_5_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 5, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_5_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 5, output 1.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_6_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 6, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_6_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 6, output 1.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_7_OUT0	IOScheduler unit 7, output 0.
MUX_SRC_IOSCHEDULER_7_OUT1	IOScheduler unit 7, output 1.

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

Multiplexer()

VIB::Multiplexer::Multiplexer

(

)

Default constructor for the device object

The device must be opened with Open() before it can be used.

Member Function Documentation

AbortWaitingForEvent()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::AbortWaitingForEvent

(

)

Aborts all threads waiting for events.

The function wakes up all threads waiting in WaitForEvent(), which will then return with an error.

Note

After abort, events must be configured with ConfigureEvent() before WaitForEvent() can be used again.

ConfigureEvent()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::ConfigureEvent	(	unsigned int	SensitivityMaskRising,
		unsigned int	SensitivityMaskFalling
	)

Configures the sensitivity for Multiplexer events.

This function must be called before WaitForEvent().

The parameters SensitivityMaskRising and SensitivityMaskFalling specify which of the first 16 Multiplexer output lines will be used to generate events. The signal edge can be specified for each line individually.

Note

The function will clear all pending events on the first call or after a timeout or abort of WaitForEvent().

Parameters

SensitivityMaskRising	Binary representation of Multiplexer signals that triggers an event on the rising edge
SensitivityMaskFalling	Binary representation of Multiplexer signals that triggers an event on the falling edge

Returns

true for success, use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description

ConnectOutput()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::ConnectOutput	(	unsigned int	OutputIndex,
		Multiplexer::MUX_SOURCE	Source
	)

Selects the source signal for the specified output line.

Parameters

OutputIndex	Output number, 0 ... (GetNumberOfOutputs() - 1)
Source	Source for the output

Returns

true for success, use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description

GetEventTime()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::GetEventTime	(	unsigned int &	time_us,
		bool &	eventsDropped
	)

Reads the event time for the received event.

This function can be called after an event was returned by WaitForEvent(). It returns the number of microseconds between occurance of the previous and the current event. The function also returns a flag indicating an overflow of the event FIFO.

Restrictions

• The event FIFO stores a maximum of 256 events together with the time value.
• ConfigureEvent() starts the time measurement for the first event.
• The returned time represents a 24-bit value which saturates at ~16.7 seconds.
• The function cannot be called if another thread is already waiting in WaitForEvent().

Parameters

time_us	Event time in microseconds, 0...0xffffff
eventsDropped	Indicates that events were dropped before this event

Returns

true for success, use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description

GetNumberOfOutputs()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::GetNumberOfOutputs

(

unsigned int &

NumberOfOutputs

)

Returns number of multiplexer output lines.

See also Hardware, library and firmware dependencies.

Parameters

NumberOfOutputs

Number of outputs

Returns

true for success, use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description

Reset()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::Reset

(

)

Resets the device to default settings.

• All Multiplexer lines are turned off (VIB::Multiplexer::MUX_SRC_OFF)
• Wakes up blocked threads in WaitForEvent()

Returns

true for success, use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description

WaitForEvent()

bool VIB::Multiplexer::WaitForEvent	(	unsigned int	msTimeout,
		unsigned int &	SignalState,
		unsigned int &	EventSignals
	)

Waits for a Multiplexer event.

The function waits for events on multiplexer lines which are selected with ConfigureEvent(). The function blocks until a line event occurs, the timeout expires, or AbortWaitingForEvent() gets called.

Note

• Waiting threads can be interrupted with AbortWaitingForEvent(). ConfigureEvent() must then be called before waiting again.
• Linux SDK version < 1.7.5.0 / Windows SDK < 1.7.10.0: ConfigureEvent() must be called again after a timeout has occured, pending events may be lost.
• Multiple threads can call this function simultaneously, except when using the method GetEventTime(). The first caller returns first with the next event.

Parameters

msTimeout	Timeout in milliseconds, 1 ... INFINITE The actual timeout may be twice as high if there are already other threads waiting for an event.
SignalState	After success, the function returns the current state of the first 16 Multiplexer lines (binary representation).
EventSignals	After success, the function returns the Multiplexer lines which triggered the event (binary representation).

Returns

true: success, new event
false: timeout, abort or other errors; use VIBSystem::GetLastErrorString() for an error description