Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
2024-01
Nowadays, not only the charging interface of many mobile phones has been replaced with a Type-C interface, but also computers and USB disks are also popularizing the Type-C interface. Compared with the previous situation of coexistence of various interfaces, the embarrassment of finding a suitable charging cable everywhere when mobile phones and computers run out of power, the unified interface is simply too friendly!
Why do people favor Type-C ports so much? The most common perception of the Type-C interface is that there is no need to distinguish between the positive and the negative, and the charging is faster, after all, who can refuse the efficiency of “charging for five minutes and talking for two hours”?
So, why doesn’t the Type-C interface distinguish between positive and negative? Does it really make charging faster?
Next, let’s take a closer look at Type-C.
1
Is the Type-C port charging faster?
Type-C is an interface standard for electronic devices, also known as USB-C. In August 2014, USBIF (USB Implementers Forum, USB standardization organization) released the USB Type-C interface standard, which has also gradually developed into a unified electronic interface with its own technical advantages.
Why can Type-C be so widely used? In fact, this is mainly due to the fact that the Type-C interface standard is an extremely important part of fast charging technology.
With the development of network technology, mobile phones are becoming more and more dependent on the network. And the faster the network speed, the more problems the phone needs to deal with in the same period of time, and the greater the power consumption. At present, if you want to reduce the power consumption of mobile phones, you can start from two aspects, on the one hand, mobile phone battery updates, and on the other hand, charging technology.
However, there has been no new breakthrough in mobile phone battery market technology, and in order to change the problem of fast power consumption of mobile phones, the development of fast charging technology is particularly important.
At present, there are two common fast charging technologies: one is to increase the output voltage of the power adapter (power supply conversion equipment for electronic appliances, commonly known as the charger head) to increase the charging power to achieve fast charging; One is to output a large current through the charger head to increase the charging power to achieve fast charging.
In recent years, the application of low-voltage fast charging technology of domestic mobile phones has developed rapidly, and low-voltage fast charging technology has gradually occupied the market. Compared with the two charging methods, the low-voltage and high-current charging method can achieve higher efficiency at the same power. However, traditional cables (charging cables) and interfaces cannot withstand large currents and cannot ensure charging safety.
In order to achieve fast charging on the premise of ensuring charging safety, the charger head of fast charging needs to convert the alternating current in our life into the specified voltage and current. At the same time, voltage and current transmission also require the use of special fast charging cables and interfaces.
The number of contacts of the Type-C interface is several times that of the traditional interface, which makes it able to withstand much more current than the traditional charging interface, which is more suitable for fast charging technology. In addition, the E-marker chip that can identify each other is added to the chip of the Type-C interface to ensure that the Type-C interface can automatically identify the charging and receiving equipment, ensure the safety of charging, and support bidirectional charging.
At present, USBPD (USB Power Delivery) is not unified, it is compatible with 5V/12V/20V different charging voltages and 1.5A/2A/3A/5A different charging currents, and USBPD sets 10W/18W/36W/60W/100W five-level charging specifications. The increase in charging power requires higher requirements for the security of interface chips. The Type-C interface with USBPD can fully achieve a maximum charging power of 100W, which ensures the safety of charging in the case of high-voltage and high-current output.
Therefore, if you want to charge your mobile phone quickly, it is not only possible to do it with the Type-C interface standard, but it is an important part of fast charging technology.
In addition, what are the advantages of the Type-C interface?
Advantages of the YPE-C interface
>>>> has no directionality
The Type-C interface has all the signal pins designed on the middle “tongue”, with 12 front and back, and the arrangement is basically symmetrical, which means that it no longer needs to distinguish between front and back.
>>>> realize the full functionality of the data cable
The Type-C interface can support data, audio, and video transmission and charging functions at the same time, so that one cable can replace multiple cables. There is no longer a need for multiple data cables with different functions, and the data cable is fully functional.
>>>> has a strong data transmission capability
The Type-C interface not only supports bidirectional charging, but also supports bidirectional data transmission. And it can support multi-screen display and 4K ultra-clear resolution transmission. Nowadays, most electronic devices have only one interface, and the Type-C interface realizes video transmission, which greatly improves the convenience of electronic devices.
>>>> small size
In fact, the Type-C interface has been applied to laptops for a long time, which can save about 2/3 of the space in laptops.
Nowadays, mobile phone design has always pursued to be thinner, and the 3.5mm audio interface has become one of the bottlenecks of mobile phone thinning. In addition, in today’s market, the pursuit of digital high-definition audio is getting higher and higher, and the traditional 3.5mm audio interface can no longer meet the demand. The Type-C interface is not only smaller than traditional audio interfaces, but it also implements digital audio interfaces. This also speeds up the obsolescence of 3.5mm legacy audio jacks.
>>>> extend the service life
Durability is an important aspect of the interface, and the Type-C interface directly solves the problem of interface wear caused by the user’s plugging and reversing interface, and prolongs the service life of the interface. Its interface uses a symmetrical arc appearance, and the stressed part is mainly in the metal shell, which improves the protection of the intermediate data channel and reduces the damage to the data channel by plugging and unplugging the interface.
As an important transmission link of fast charging technology, the Type-C interface not only realizes fast charging, but also provides people with a lot of convenience, such as not worrying about plugging in the reverse interface, and not having to look for various adaptation interfaces, so it is not unreasonable that the Type-C interface is popularized so quickly.
Post time: Feb-20-2024