INPUT DEVICES

Input devices are devices that feed data into a computer. For a computer there are different types of
input devices.
1) Key board
2) Mouse
3) TrackBall,
4) TrackPad Pointing input devices
5) TrackPoint
6) Joystick
7) Light Pen
8) Touch Screen
9) GraphicTablet
Scanner, OMR (Optical Mark Reader), Bar code reader, smart Card reader, ATM (Automatic Teller
Machine), MICR (Magnetic Ink CharacterReader); OCR (Optical characterRecognition/Reader);
characterRecognition/Reader Web
camera; Digital still and videocamera
videocamera; Sound recognition device. Etc

1) Key Board

Keyboard is an input device that consists of typewriter

typewriter-like
like keys to enter data or programs into a
computer. The keys on computer keyboards are often classified as follows:
follows:-

(1) Alphanumeric keys – letters and numeric.

(2) Punctuation keys – comma, period, semicolon etc.
(3) Special keys – function keys, control keys, arrow keys, and cap lock key etc.

There are different types of keyboards. The standard layout of letters numbers and punctuation is
known as QWERTY keyboard because the first five keys on the top row of letters spell QWERTY. A
standard key board contains 101 keys.
Another type of keyboard in which letters are positioned for speedy typing is called Dvorak keyboard.
There is no standard computer keyboard, although manmanyy manufacturers imitate the keyboards of PCs.
The original PC keyboard consists of 84 keys, the AT keyboard also has 84 keys, and the enhanced
keyboard with 101 keys.
Many companies have developed ergonomic keyboard, which reduce the strain while typing
with the aim to prevent stress related injuries. Microsoft’s natural keyboard is an example.
The main component or the most visible componentso
componentsof anykey
ykey board is the key switch. These
switchesconvert out typing
ping action into proper signal for the key boar
board interface,
nterface, so
s that the interface
will know that a key being depressed. Some very common switches are:
1) Capacitive switch 2) Hall effect switch 3) Opto electronic Switch 4) Membrane switch 5) Mechanical
switch

2) Mouse(Graphical Input Devices)

Along with the keyboard, the mouse is one of the primary input devices found on
most PCs. Mouse is a device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer
on a display screen. A mouse is a small object that can roll along a hard flat
surface. That device is having the shape of mouse so it is called by that name.
When the mouse is moved, the pointer on the display screen moves in the same
direction. Mouse also contains buttons which can be clicked.
Mouse is important for Graphical User Interfaces such as Windows, because in Windows menus can
be clicked using the mouse. The mouse is also useful
for graphics programs that allow drawing pictures by
using the mouse.
The working is simple enough. A rubbery little ball
inside the mouse housing rolls against the surface of
the desktop or mouse pad as you move the mouse.
Usually the ball nudged against a pair of roller bars
inside the mouse housing so that when the ball moves,
the roller bars moving into lock step. Moving the mouse
forward or back causes the vertical roller (Y-roller) to
spin with the ball; moving it left or right causes the
horizontal roller (X-roller) to do its thing.
A motiondigitizer reads the turning of two bars,
interpret them as the increment of travel.The controller
then sends digitized signal to PC.
i) Mechanical Mouse

Mechanical mice are having a rubber or metal ball on its underneath that can roll in
all directions. Mechanical sensors within the mouse detect the direction the ball is
rolling and move the pointer in the screen accordingly.

ii) Optical Mouse

Optical mouse uses a laser to detect the mouse’s movement. The mouse must be
moved along a special mat with a grid so that the optical mechanism has a frame
of reference optical mouse has no mechanical moving parts. They respond more
quickly and precisely than mechanical and opto-mechanical mouse, but they are
also expensive.
iii) Opto-Mechanical Mouse
It is a mechanical mouse that uses optical sensors to detect motion of the ball.
iv) 3D Mouse
It is mounted on a base and recognizes pressure going from side to side,
front to back, and up and down. The result is that you can tell your application to
move the cursor upward in a 3D environment simply by pulling up on the mouse
device.
3) Track Balls
The most popular mouse alternative is track ball. They employ the
same roller bar and buttondesign found in mice, except that the roller ball is
positionedon the top of the device for the user to move. When youspin the ball
forward with your thumb or figure the track ball or Y-roller goes into action,
signaling the motion dictator to send positional data to the PC. The track balls
come in many shape and size.

4) Track Point
Track point isa mouse alternating device. This eraser-head-size nub
sits the middle of keyboard and provides good pointing controlwithout forcing
the hand from the home row. Thisdevice is pressuresensitive.

5) Track Pad
Track pads are conducting material to sense where your figure is on
the square. A steady, if small, current runs through the square. When you
drag your finger across the square, it disrupts the signal. The track pads
sensors can follow the direction and speed of disruption by identifying
which sensor has change state. The big advantage is that the track pad has
no moving parts.
The advantage of track ball over mouse is that the track ball is stationary,
so it does not require much space to use it. In addition track balls can be
placed on any type of surface. Track pads are popular pointing devices for
portable computers.

6) Joystick
A joystick has a lever that moves in all directions and controls the movement of a
pointer. A joystick is similar to a mouse, except that with a mouse, the cursor stops
moving as soon as mouse stops. But in the case of joystick, the pointer continues
moving in the direction the joystick is pointing. To stop the pointer, the joystick must be
returned to its upright position. Joysticks are mostly used in computer games and they
are also used in CAD/CAM applications.
7) Touch Screen
Touch Screen is a type of display screen that has a touch sensitive
transparent panel covering the screen. Instead of using a pointing device
such as mouse, fingers can be used to point directly to objects on the
screen. Now a day’s Touch screen are been used in ATMs.
The advantage of touch screen is that it provides a natural interface;
the drawback is that it is not suitable for most applications because the
finger is such a relatively large object. It is impossible to point accurately to small areas of the
screen.
8) Light Pen
It is an input device that utilizes a light sensitive detector to select objects
on a display screen. A light pen is similar to a mouse, except that with a light pen
we can move the pointer and select objet on the display screen and directly
pointing to the object with the pen.
9) OCR (Optical Character Reader or Recognizer)
It scans text optically character by character at a rate of 2400 character per second. The most
OCR system uses a combination of hardware and software to recognize the characters.

10) OMR (Optical Mark Reader)

OMR is a type of reader which can sense the presence or absence
of a mark, for example a pencil mark. Here the principle of reflection of
light is used. The amount of light that is reflected will be different in
different shades. For example an oval which has been shaded will reflect
the light differently from an oval which has not been shaded. Thus by
monitoring the amount of light that is reflected the mark can be sensed
OMR is widely used in objective type tests.

11) Barcode Reader

Barcode readers are photoelectric scanners that read the barcodes that is
vertical zebra striped marks, printed a product containers. Supermarkets use a
barcode system called Universal Product Code(UPC). The barcode identifies the
product to the super market’s computer, which has a description and the latest
price of the product. The computer automatically tells the POS (Point of Sales)
terminal what the price is.

12) Smart Card Reader

Smart Card Reader is a reader which can read a smart card. Smart card is
a pocket sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process
information. The card is made out of plastic and it has a magnetic strip which
certain the information. Smart Card Reader can read the information that is kept in
that magnetic strip. We can store information into a smart card chip. Bio-Metric
information and Photos can also be stored into smart card chip.

13) ATM (Automated Teller Machine)

ATM is computerized telecommunications device that provides the customs of a
financial institution a Facility to do financial transactions without the need of a
human clerk or bank teller.On most modem ATMs the customer is identified by
inserting a plastic ATM card with a magnetic strip that contains unique card
number and some security information expiry date of the card. Transaction can
be done only after entering the correct Person Identification Number(PIN).
ATMs can be used for cash withdraw, balance enquiry etc. ATM is very useful
because in effect cash can be withdrawn at any time, even if in odd hours.

14) Web cameras

A web cam is a camera that is connected to the world wide web or Internet one of the
most common types of web cam are digital cameras that are connected to a computer.
With the help of software the images are captured and can be transmitted through the
Internet. The cameras are connected through a USB port. Software connects to the
camera and grabs a frame from the camera periodically, for example, the software
might capture a still image from the camera once every 30 second. It then turns that
image into a normal JPEG image file, which can be viewed anywhere. Web cameras are commonly
used for video conferencing, traffic surveillance, bank security etc.
15) Voice input-Microphones
Voice input is very much important in the case of multimedia.
Multimedia Computers are having sound cards to procure audio
signals. Voice input and control systems are used for Voice
Recognition Systems. In Voice Recognition systems speech is
converted to text. Thus with the help of microphone and sound card the user can
directly dictate and the computer can convert the spoken words into text automatically, thus saving
typing time. This will speed up the input of information into the computer.

16) MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader)

It is mainly used in banking industries to read checks. MICR is a direct entry methodused in
banks. A related technology is the magnetic strip, used on the back of credit card and bank debit cards
that allows readers such as ATM to read account information and facilitate monetary transactions.

17) Scanners
Scanner is an input device that can read text or illustrations printed on paper and translate the
information into a form that the computer can use.
A scanner works by digitizing an image that is dividing the image into a grid of boxes and representing
each box with either a zero or one. The resultant matrix of bits, called a bit map, can then be stored in
a file
Optical scanners do not distinguish text from illustrations and they represent all images as bit
maps. So the text that has been scanned cannot be directly edited.
The denser the bit map, the higher the resolution. Typically, scanners support resolutions from
600 to 2400 dots per inch (dpi)
Scanners are basically desktop analog-to-Digitalconverters. They take analog visuals things-
Documents, Massive page photos, business cards and so on; and turn them in to digital bit more that
your PC can understand.All scanners take the same basic approach to capturing visual information. A
light source is aligned horizontally across the face of scanner and is used to illuminate the target
document, reflected light passes through a lenses, where it is detected by a raw of charge coupled
Devices (CCD). The CCDs convert the reflected light in to electrical impulses,that varying voltage
according to the intensity of the reflected light. There is one CCD per pixel of resolution, so a 2400 DPI
scanner would have 2400 CCD’s arrayed across the scanner’s sensor head. Finally one or more
analog to digital converters turn the analog electrical signals in to the 1’s and 0s that your PC can
understand. There are three types of scanner for the PC.

i) Flat bed scanner

The most popular and versatile type of scanner is the flat bread scanner.
In the same manner as a photo copier flat bedproducts can documents by
running a sensor across the length of the document. The sensor itself lies
underneath a glass scanning surface, while a top door closes over the scan
table control lighting allowing for better result flat bed scanners enjoy the
highest level of accuracy because the document is not moved during the
scanning.
ii) Sheet-Fed-Scanner
The popular alternative of flat bed scanner is Sheet-Fed-Scanner. Ituses a
motor to pull document apart a scan head that is about 8.5 inches wide. The
biggest advantage is that sheet-Fed scanner capture an entire standard page
in one pass.
Sheet-fed model can handle only loose pages.

iii) Handheld Scanner

These have been a diminishing breed in the scanner market.
Traditional handheld scanner use a scan head, allowing them to taken about
half the width of a standard page a time.

18) Digital Camera

Digital cameras are similar to scanner. When you take a digital
photograph the camera’s lens snaps open just like an ordinary camera. But
instead of silver halide based film waiting in the back of the chassis to receive a
dose of reflected light, a micro chip with the thousands of light sensitive
transistors is there. These transistors, known as CCDs.CCDs, turn light into
electric pulse. The brighter the light, the greater the charge. There are several
ways to get images from camera to the PC;
1) Serial Cable
2) USB Cable
3) Flash memory Card
4) Floppies

19) Digital Movie Camera

A digital video camera work in much the same manner as there still photo
counter parts, except that they must function much more quickly. Digital
video camera must take up to 30 snap shots each second, converting light
into electricity into binary bits. So that the individual images can be strung
together into a coherent video. These cameras must also capture analogue
sound, sampling the wave from and converting them to binary as well.