Barcode scanner

 The barcode is first of all read by a red laser or red LED

 Light is reflected back off the barcode; the dark areas reflect
little or no light, which allows the bars to be read
 The reflected light is read by sensors (photoelectric cells)
 As the laser or LED light is scanned across the barcode, a
pattern is generated, which is converted into digital data – this
allows the computer to understand the barcode
 The data is converted using ADC convertors
Digital camera
 The image is captured when light passes through the lens onto
a light-sensitive cell (charge couple devices (CCD) which convert
light into electricity)
 Each of the sensors are often referred to as pixels (picture
elements) since they are tiny components that make up the
image
 The image is converted into tiny electric charges which are then
passed through an analogue to digital converter (ADC) to form
a digital image array
 The ADC converts the electric charges from each pixel into
levels of brightness.
Keyboard
 There is a membrane or circuit board at the base of the keys
 When the key is pressed a circuit is competed
 The CPU in the computer can then determine which key has
been pressed
 The CPU refers to an index file to identify which character the
key press represents
 Each character on a keyboard has a corresponding ASCII value
Microphone
 When sound is created, it causes the air to vibrate.
 When a diaphragm in the microphone picks up the air
vibrations, the diaphragm also begins to vibrate.
 A copper coil is wrapped around the cone which is connected
to the diaphragm. As the diaphragm vibrates, the cone moves
in and out causing the copper coil to move backwards and
forwards.
 This forwards and backwards motion cause the coil to cut
through the magnetic field around the permanent magnet,
inducing an electric current.
 The electric current is then either amplified or sent to a
recording device. The electric current is analogue in nature.
Optical mouse
 Optical mouse uses tiny cameras to take 1500 images per
second. the optical mouse can work on virtually any surface.
 A red LED is used in the base of the mouse and the red light is
bounced off the surface and the reflection is picked up by a
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).
 The CMOS generates electric pulses to represent the reflected
red light and these pulses are sent to a digital signal processor
(DSP).
 The processor can now work out the coordinates of the mouse
based on the changing image patterns as it is moved about on
the surface. The computer can then move the on-screen cursor
to the coordinates sent by the mouse.
2D scanner
 The cover is first raised then the document is placed on a glass
panel and then the cover is closed.
 A bright light then illuminates the document – modern
scanners use a type of xenon lamp or LED that produces a very
bright white light.
  A scan head moves across the document until the whole page
has been scanned. An image of the document is produced,
which is then sent to a lens using a series of mirrors.
 The focused image now falls onto a charge couple device (CCD),
which converts light into an electric current. Each element
creates an electric charge when light falls on it.
 This means that the scanned image is now turned into an
electronic form.
 Software produces a digital image from the electronic form.
DLP projector
 The use of millions of micro mirrors on a small digital
micromirror device (DMD chip) is the key to how these devices
work.
 The number of micro mirrors and the way they are arranged on
the DMD chip determines the resolution of the digital image.
 When the micro mirrors tilt towards the light source, they are
ON. When the micro mirrors tilt away from the light source,
they are OFF.
 This creates a light or dark pixel on the projection screen. The
micro mirrors can switch on or off several thousand times a
second.
 creating various grey shades – typically 1024 grey shades can
be produced (for example, if the mirror switches on more often
than it switches off, it will produce a lighter shade of grey).
LCD projector
 A powerful beam of white light is generated from a bulb or LED
inside the projector body
 This beam of light is then sent to a group of chromatic-coated
mirrors (known as dichromic mirrors); these reflect the light
back at different wavelengths
 When the white light hits these mirrors, the reflected light has
wavelengths corresponding to red, green and blue light
components
  These three different coloured light components pass through
three LCD screens (each screen is composed of thousands of
tiny pixels which can either block light or let it through; this
produces a monochromatic image)
 consequently, three different versions of the same image are
now produced – one is the whole image in different shades of
red, one is the whole image in different shades of green and
one is the whole image in different shades of blue
 These images are then re-combined using a special prism to
produce a full colour image
 Finally, the image passes through the projector lens onto a
screen.

Inkjet printer

 Thermal bubble – tiny resistors create localised heat which

makes the ink vaporise.
 This causes the ink to form a tiny bubble; as the bubble expands,
some of the ink is ejected from the print head onto the paper.
 When the bubble collapses, a small vacuum is created which
allows fresh ink to be drawn into the print head.
 This continues until the printing cycle is completed.

 Piezoelectric – a crystal is located at the back of the ink

reservoir for each nozzle.
 The crystal is given a tiny electric charge which makes it
vibrate.
 This vibration forces ink to be ejected onto the paper; at the
same time more ink is drawn in for further printing.
 This continues until the printing cycle is completed.
Laser printer
 the start of the printing process involves a printing drum being
given a positive charge;
 as this drum rotates, a laser beam is scanned across it removing
the positive charge in certain areas;
 this leaves negatively charged areas that exactly match the
text/images of the page to be printed
 the drum is then coated with positively charged toner
(powdered ink);
 since the toner is positively charged, it only sticks to the
negatively charged parts of the drum
 a negatively charged sheet of paper is then rolled over the
drum
 the toner on the drum now sticks to the paper to produce an
exact copy of the page sent to the printer
 to prevent the paper sticking to the drum, the electric charge
on the paper is removed after one rotation of the drum

3D printer
 A design is made using computer aided design (CAD) software
 The finalised drawing is imported into some special software
that prepares it in a format that is understood by the 3D printer
 The 3D printer is first set up to allow the solid object to be
made
 The solid object is built up layer by layer (often only 0.1 mm
thick); this can take several hours depending on the thickness
of the layers, the material used and the size of the final object
 The object is removed from the printer and is then prepared;
for example, some use a jelly-like support that needs to be
washed away by immersion in water, some require the removal
of excess plastic powder and others require the cutting away of
unused material; in many cases, the object has to be left to
‘cure’ for a few hours.
LED screen
 An LED screen is made up of tiny light emitting diodes (LEDs).
 Each LED is either red, green or blue in colour. By varying the
electric current sent to each LED, its brightness can be
controlled, producing a vast range of colours.
 This type of screen tends to be used for large outdoor displays
due to the brilliance of the colours produced.
LCD screen
 LCD screens are made up of tiny liquid crystals.
 These tiny crystals make up an array of pixels that are affected
by changes in applied electric fields.
 But the important thing to realise is that for LCD screens to
work, they require some form of backlighting.
OLED screen
 OLED use organic materials (made up of carbon compounds) to
create semiconductors that are very flexible.
 Organic films are sandwiched between two charged electrodes
(one is a metallic cathode and the other a glass anode).
 When an electric field is applied to the electrodes, they give off
light. This means that no form of backlighting is required.
 This allows for very thin screens. It also means that there is no
longer a need to use LCD technology, since OLED is a self-
contained system.
Speaker
 The digital data is first passed through a digital to analogue
converter (DAC) where it is changed into an electric current.
 This is then passed through an amplifier (since the current
generated by the DAC will be very small); this creates a current
large enough to drive a loudspeaker.
 This electric current is then fed to a loudspeaker where it is
converted into sound.
 When an electric current flows through the coil of wire that is
wrapped around an iron core, the core becomes a temporary
electromagnet; a permanent magnet is also positioned very
close to this electromagnet.
 As the electric current through the coil of wire varies, the
induced magnetic field in the iron core also varies. This causes
the iron core to be attracted towards the permanent magnet
and as the current varies this will cause the iron core to vibrate.
 Since the iron core is attached to a cone (made of paper or thin
synthetic material), this causes the cone to vibrate, producing
sound waves.