Device Window

The figure shows typical device window components for a charging device with device area (1), figure (2), live data (3), and status bar (4). For each connected device a separate window is generated by the application which is displayed as separate window next to the main window by default. The window may be displayed by the dock as well.

The device window components vary depending on the supported device:

Charging Device

     

The device window shows 4 areas for charging devices (here: Charge Manager 2010):

After connecting a new device it is recommended to apply the basic settings first. If the device window has been created by the device wizard or manually some settings can be made from within the device area. Please click on the title or the plus symbol in order to expand the area. After you have completed the setup this area should be collapsed again since it not required for the operation and since the other components figure and live data require the availabe space on the monitor.

First of all please choose the connected device. Since devices are stored in the database a connection must have been established in the session window. The device list may be refreshed using the button right to the chooser. If you like to change the configuration of the selected device please click the blue Edit link. The appropriate type is automatically selected if a device has been selected. If you have not already deposited a device in the database you can set a type for your charging device here. Logging of measurements is not possible then. It is recommended to configure a device in the database and to select it in the device window.

Below this the serial settings are listed (like Baud Rate). The area with charging options contains the following options: 

These settings let's you control the interaction with RFID readers which can be used for a quick battery identification. If an RFID tag has been recognized and a battery is deposited then the RFID reader device window shows this battery. With the Use latest RFID battery automatically option this battery is used automatically once it is inserted into a charging bay so that manual setting is not necessary and logging may start immediately. The option Reset RFID tag ID afterwards may be set in order to reset the tag after it has been transferred from the RFID device window into the charging device window (default).

The logging options currently consist of the following options:

Once a battery has been inserted into the charging device and has been identified by a RFID tag the logging of measurement data may be started. In order to do this automatically please enable the Start logging automatically option. Enable Stop logging automatically to get this done automatically if a battery is removed from a charging bay. The Log raw data from device option can be selected if you like the raw data from the device be logged in addition to the standard values for voltage, current etc. (default: off). The interval for the loggin is controlled using the Log datasets every n seconds option where a value in seconds is specified.

Since device data logging may produce many, many datasets to be stored the interval should not be set too small. A reasonable value for logging is 60 seconds.

 

The figure (2) shows a schematic representation of the connected device. The charging bays may be clicked in order to select a battery from the database. Measurement data may only be logged if a battery has been identified from the database.

The live data (3) area is devied into sections for each charging bay. For each bay the sections display the measurement data from the device. The currently executed charging program of the device is printed on the right side (e.g. CHA=Charge). Like the bay buttons of the figure also the live data section contain buttons to select a battery from the database. If logging is not started/stopped automatically then this can be done separately for each bay using the ball buttons. The header of each bay section displays the duration, the battery name, as well as the executed charging program and the number of log datasets.

On the status bar (4) of the device window prints notices, warnings, or error messages from time to time. The symbol on the right side shows the current status (i.e. connected or not connected).

RFID Reader

     

The device window shows 3 areas for RFID readers (here: A30A-RS232):

After connecting a new device it is recommended to apply the basic settings first. If the device window has been created by the device wizard or manually some settings can be made from within the device area. Please click on the title or the plus symbol in order to expand the area. After you have completed the setup this area should be collapsed again since it not required for the operation.

First of all please choose the connected device. Since devices are stored in the database a connection must have been established in the session window. The device list may be refreshed using the button right to the chooser. If you like to change the configuration of the selected device please click the blue Edit link. The appropriate type is automatically selected if a device has been selected. If you have not already deposited a device in the database you can set a type for your RFID device here. In the case of RFID readers a device in the database is required since the settings like tag format are stored in the database. Choosing a type only is not possible here.

Below this the serial settings are listed (like Baud Rate). The area with RFID device settings contains the following options: 

The tag format specified the data format used for tag IDs recognized by the device. Common values are hexadecimal 10 or decimal 10. Please consult the documenation of your RFID reader to determine the supported format. For each tag format an appropriate regular expression must be deposited which in combination with the group serves to recognize tag IDs. It is recommened to use the available tag formats since expressions and groups are already deposited here. Both values may also be specified manually using the device management in order to support rarely used tag formats. The Convert To option may be used to normalize tag IDs generated by different readers.

The RFID Settings include the following options:

Since not all RFID readers may produce sounds you can let your PC create a beep with the Beep when new tag ID is recognized option once a new tag ID has been recognized. In order to share tag IDs with other programs please enable the Copy tag ID to clipboard option, the tag IDs are then copied to clipboard after recognition. A recognized tag ID may be reset after a certain time period by setting a value in seconds for the Reset tag ID after n seconds option.

The Live Data (3) area shows the recognized tag ID, the button to the right may be clicked to reset the ID. If a database connection exists and a battery has been deposited for the recognized tag ID then this battery is displayed by the Battery chooser. Simultaneously the battery foto is displayed if configured.

On the status bar (4) of the device window prints notices, warnings, or error messages from time to time. The symbol on the right side shows the current status (i.e. connected or not connected).

UniControl 4.36

     

The device window shows 4 areas for programmable plug devices UniControl 4.36:

After connecting a new device it is recommended to apply the basic settings first. If the device window has been created by the device wizard or manually some settings can be made from within the device area. Please click on the title or the plus symbol in order to expand the area. After you have completed the setup this area should be collapsed again since it not required for the operation and since the other components figure and Live Data require the availabe space on the monitor.

First of all please choose the connected device. Since devices are stored in the database a connection must have been established in the session window. The device list may be refreshed using the button right to the chooser. If you like to change the configuration of the selected device please click the blue Edit link. The appropriate type is automatically selected if a device has been selected. If you have not already deposited a device in the database you can set a type for your UniControl 4.36 device here.

Below this the serial settings are listed (like Baud Rate). The area with UniControl settings contains the following options: 

The device password always consists of 4 ASCII characters, the UniControl 4.36 device uses 1234 as default password. To display the password as cleartext (not masked) please click on the button right next to the input field. With the pencil symbol you can change the password by specifying the old and the new passwords first, the confirmation helps to avoid input failures. After storing the new password in the device a message is displayed on the status bar, the new password is displayed by the input field automatically.

The option Refresh states every n seconds causes the window to read the states of the plugs from time to time. If you like to do this manually then please leave this input field empty. By default an interval of 60 seconds is deposited here. Right to the input field you'll find several buttons to display the device software version as well as the configured initial device states. If you like to adjust the states then please set the plugs as desired (ON/OFF) and click the Store initial device states button.

In addition to the initial device states you can configure certain state configurations here to be automatically activated if the Battery Manager gets started or exited. With States on start you can configure which of the 4 plugs shall be turned on or off, with States on exit you can configure which of the 4 plugs shall be turned on or off if the Battery Manager is terminated. With these functions you can turn the other devices controlled by Battery Manager like chargers or RFID readers on or off if the software gets started and exited (energy saving). If you do not like to use these functions please deselect the States on start and/or States on exit check boxes.

The figure (2) shows a schematic representation of the connected device. The plugs may be clicked in order to toggle the current states (ON/OFF). If the device is not connected or a wrong password is used then the buttons are not visible.

The live data (3) area is devied into sections for each plug. For each plug the sections display the state data from the device where each plug can be given a name to reflect the connected devices. Like the plug buttons of the figure also the live data section contain buttons to turn the plugs on/off. In cases of emergency the four plugs can be turned off at once with the ALL OFF button.

On the status bar (4) of the device window prints notices, warnings, or error messages from time to time. The symbol on the right side shows the current status (i.e. connected or not connected).

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