UnloadPlate method

Description

VWorks software calls the UnloadPlate method to tell the plugin to present the specified labware to the robot. Then the robot unloads the labware from the specified location or from the device’s transfer station. VWorks software calls this method each time an Unload task is executed during a protocol run.

IMPORTANT VWorks software always calls the LookupLocations method before the LoadPlate and UnloadPlate methods. See “LookupLocations method” and “LoadPlate method” .

Syntax

 

HRESULT UnloadPlate( [in] BSTR Labware, [in] enum PlateFlagsType PlateFlags, [in] BSTR UnloadPlateLocationXML, [out,retval] enum ReturnCode *retVal );

Parameters

 

Labware	[in] The labware name.
PlateFlags	[in] Specifies whether the labware has a lid, is sealed, or neither. Possible values: 0 = The labware does not have a lid and is not sealed 1 = The labware has a lid 2 = The labware is sealed
UnloadPlateLocationXML	[in] A StorageLocation XML block that contains information about the location on the storage device from which the robot is to unload the specified labware.
retVal	[out, retval] Returns an error code. For more information, see “ReturnCode enumerated type” . Possible values: 0 = The request was completed (RETURN_SUCCESS) 1 = Something was wrong with the input, so the request was not completed (RETURN_BAD_ARGS) 2 = The request was not completed (RETURN_FAIL)

UnloadPlate method input

VWorks software passes a StorageLocation XML block into the UnloadPlateLocationXML parameter of the UnloadPlate method.

StorageLocation XML block

The StorageLocation XML block contains the StorageLocation element and all its children. This XML block provides information about the location on the storage device that is used for a Load or Unload task.

XML structure

The value of the file attribute for the Velocity11 element is MetaData. See “Velocity11 element” .

 

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'> <Velocity11> <StorageLocation> <Coordinates> <StorageLocationCoordinate Name='Cassette' ... /> <StorageLocationCoordinate Name='Slot' ... /> </Coordinates> <Location /> </StorageLocation> </Velocity11>

StorageLocation element

The StorageLocation element has two children: Coordinates and Location.

Coordinates element

The Coordinates element contains two StorageLocationCoordinate elements.

StorageLocationCoordinate element

Each StorageLocationCoordinate element has one of the following pairs of Name and Value attributes.

 

Name	Value
Name Value	The value Cassette. The name of the cassette. Note: The cassette name was received with a previous call to the GetMetaData method. See IWorksDriver “GetMetaData method” .
Name Value	The value Slot. The name of the slot. Note: The slot name was received with a previous call to the GetMetaData method. See IWorksDriver “GetMetaData method” .

Location element

The Location element contains information about the location on the storage device. The Location element is defined in “Location element” .

Example of UnloadPlate method input

The following sample code is a StorageLocation XML block that is received by the plugin from VWorks software as a string in the UnloadPlateLocationXML parameter of the UnloadPlate method. VWorks software tells the plugin to accept a labware from the robot. Then the robot is to unload the specified labware to the location named Primary (Load/Unload) Pad, which is one of the StoreX device’s external locations.

 

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII' ?> <Velocity11 file='MetaData' md5sum='3787f34ae05399b617f2cf072129fb4a' version='1.0' > <StorageLocation > <Coordinates > <StorageLocationCoordinate Name='Cassette' Value='1' /> <StorageLocationCoordinate Name='Slot' Value='1' /> </Coordinates> <Location Group='0' MaxStackHeight='460' Name='Primary (Load/Unload) Pad' →Offset='0' Type='4' /> </StorageLocation> </Velocity11>

Related information

 

For information about...	See...
LoadPlate method	“LoadPlate method”
LookupLocations method	“LookupLocations method”
MakeLocationAvailable method	“MakeLocationAvailable method”
ReturnCode enumerated type	“ReturnCode enumerated type”