AbrahamOriginally introduced in the mid-1990s, USB connectors evolved in shape, size, power constraints, and data transfer capabilities over the years. Because of its increased bandwidth, bidirectionality, and reversibility, Type C’s most recent physical standard can transfer much more high power than previous generations.
The physical USB connector, the power delivery standards, and the data transmission protocol are all associated with USB connectors. The physical connector standard is followed to a tee by a USB Type C connector. This physical standard has been developed to meet the power delivery standard of up to 100 watts that opens up USB to new power possibilities. Type C can now transfer up to 240 W of power thanks to the USB PD 3.1 standard released in 2021.
The Advantages of USB Type C for Power Delivery
The standard type C USB connector has 24 pins, including 16 pins data transfer, four power pins, and four grounding pins. Now that it’s capable of delivering up to 240 W of power, USB Type C is an attractive alternative to traditional dc power connectors for a wide range of power-intensive applications.
When it comes to power delivery, the most important factor is standardization. Now that USB plugs are ubiquitous, the move to Type C connectors is picking up steam, too. A growing number of new smartphones and mobile devices are already being sold with USB Type C ports, and the European Union is expected to adopt Type C as the standard for charging in the near future.
End users are very interested in the convenience of using a single, off-the-shelf cable type for various products. The standardization of these connectors, both data-only and data-plus-power, ensures a certain level of interoperability from an OEM perspective. The Type C connector has a smaller footprint than many barrel connectors, making it easier to integrate into a product’s design. The USB Type C connectors’ robustness ensures a long and useful life, which is rated at 10,000 mating cycles.
The USB Type C Power Only Connector
For designs where charging or power delivery is the only function, the ugreen store has created USB Type C receptacles that only supply power. For the 60 W USB Type C receptacles, a total of 16 pins for data transfer and two ground pins are removed, leaving only four power pins and two ground pins for a total of eight pins.
The cost of the connector is greatly reduced because of the simplified design of the connector itself, which has only 6 or 8 pins instead of the standard 24. It also eliminates the risk of failure by reducing the complexity of the system most of the pins and their solder points. There is no way for the end-user to interact with the product without using a standard USB Type C cable, which is capable of both data transfer and power transfer.
USB Type C Future
We’ve seen a paradigm shift in how we think about power management and transmission thanks to USB Type C connectors and the Power Delivery standard. The global standardization with high-power capabilities make it an excellent choice for a wide range of products.
For the time being, UGREEN is one of the companies that offer a 60 W USB Type C power only receptacle that can deliver up to 3 A of current and 20 Vdc of voltage. There is a 100 W power-only USB Type C receptacle with the full 5 A current rating and 20 Vdc voltage rating supported by USB Type C connectors available today.