Patent Application
20090167083
The present invention relates to electrical apparatuses, and more particularly, to electrical connectors.
Today, different kinds of portable electronic apparatuses (e.g. laptop computer, cell phone, digital still camera (DSC), digital video camera (DVC), personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.) have become indispensable in people's life. Although these portable electronic apparatuses can use dry cell batteries (e.g., AAA alkaline batteries) as a power source, some portable electronic apparatuses tend to use a rechargeable battery. The energy used to recharge the rechargeable battery can come from mains electricity supply using an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter. The AC to DC converter transfers an AC voltage (e.g., AC voltage of 110V) of the mains electricity supply to a DC voltage (e.g. DC voltage of 5.5V) to power a particular portable electronic apparatus.
However, different portable electronic apparatuses may require different AC to DC converters to charge their rechargeable batteries. As such, to solve the power shortage problem of portable electronic apparatuses, travelers may have to bring various AC to DC converters respectively for the portable electronic apparatuses with them. The AC to DC converters may not only occupy extra room of the luggage but also increase the luggage weight. Furthermore, the AC to DC converter is plugged into a socket to receive the AC voltage from the mains electricity supply. If the socket number is limited, the portable electronic apparatuses may have to be charged one by one, which can be time-consuming.
Embodiments in accordance with the present invention provide apparatuses and methods for providing multiple output voltages. In one embodiment, an electrical connector apparatus providing multiple output voltages comprises an input terminal, a DC to DC converter, and a plurality of output terminals. The input terminal receives a DC input voltage. The DC to DC converter converts the DC input voltage to at least one DC output voltage. The output terminals provide the DC output voltage to a number of loads simultaneously. The output terminals have a number of terminal structures configured to be matched to a number of structure requirements of the loads respectively.
Advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The input terminal 108 is coupled to an input pin 102 of the DC to DC converter 104 for providing the DC input voltage VIN. In one embodiment, a voltage level of the DC input voltage VIN is in the range of 3V to 24V. The DC input voltage VIN is converted to a DC output voltage VOUT of a particular voltage level by the DC to DC converter 104. In one embodiment, the particular voltage level of the DC output voltage VOUT can be 5.5V. In practice, the DC to DC converter 104 can be O2 Micro's OZ818 chip (by way of example), which is capable of converting an input voltage in the range of 9V to 24V to an output voltage of 5.5V.
The output terminals 110, 112, and 114 are coupled to an output pin 106 of the DC to DC converter 104 for transferring the DC output voltage VOUT to multiple loads simultaneously. Advantageously, even if the socket number is limited, multiple loads attached to the output terminals 110, 112, and 114 can still be powered/charged simultaneously via the electrical connector apparatus 100 by a single DC voltage source (e.g., an AC to DC converter), rather than being powered/charged one by one in a conventional way.
Furthermore, multiple loads may have various structure requirements for terminals attached to them. In this instance, the output terminals 110, 112, and 114 can be specially constructed to mechanically match the various structure requirements of multiple loads. In other words, the output terminals 110, 112, and 114 can have structures to mechanically match the structure requirements of multiple loads, respectively. For example, multiple loads comprise a first portable electronic apparatus, a second portable electronic apparatus, and a third portable electronic apparatus. The first portable electronic apparatus can be attached to an output terminal with a universal serial bus (USB) plug, while the second and third portable electronic apparatuses can be attached to the output terminals with a mini USB plug and an IEEE 1394 cable plug, respectively. In this instance, the output terminals 110, 112 and 114 can be constructed to be a USB port, a mini USB port and an IEEE 1394 cable port, respectively, so as to mechanically match the structure requirements of the first, second and third portable electronic apparatuses.
As such, the electrical connector apparatus 100 can mechanically match the structure requirements of multiple loads (e.g., a cell phone, a digital still camera, and a laptop computer) so as to power/charge multiple loads by a single DC voltage source (e.g., an AC to DC converter). Advantageously, travelers can now bring one voltage source (e.g., an AC to DC converter) with the electrical connector apparatus 100 to power/charge multiple portable electronic apparatuses simultaneously, rather than bringing different AC to DC converters. Furthermore, since the electrical connector apparatus 100 has a relatively small size, the luggage room can be saved and the luggage weight can be reduced. For example, the length and width of the electrical connector apparatus 100 (e.g., O2 Micro Cool Traveler) can be 59 mm and 35 mm respectively.
The input terminal 108 is coupled to an input pin 202 of the DC to DC converter 224. The DC to DC converter 224 converts the DC input voltage VIN to a number of DC output voltages with different voltage levels. For example, the DC output voltage VOUT1 can have a first voltage level of 5.5V, and the DC output voltage VOUT2 can have a second voltage level of 10V. In practice, the DC to DC converter 224 can be O2 Micro's Robin Hood II chip (by way of example), which is capable of converting an input voltage in the range of 9V to 24V to an output voltage of 5.5V and an output voltage of 10V.
The output terminals 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220 are coupled to a number of output pins, e.g., shown as an output pin 204 and an output pin 222, of the DC to DC converter 224 for transferring the DC output voltage VOUT1 and the DC output voltage VOUT2 to multiple loads. When the output terminals 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220 attach to multiple loads, these loads can be respectively powered/charged by the DC output voltages simultaneously. Similarly, the output terminals 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220 can be specially constructed to mechanically match the various structure requirements of multiple loads. As such, even if multiple loads may require different DC voltages and different terminal structures, the electrical connector apparatus 200 can still power/charge multiple loads simultaneously by providing different DC voltages and different terminals using a single DC voltage source.
The electrical connector apparatus 200 receives the DC input voltage VIN from the DC voltage source 348 via the input terminal 108. In one embodiment, the input adapter 342 is coupled between the DC voltage source 348 and the input terminal 108 for transferring the DC input voltage from the DC voltage source 348 to the electrical connector apparatus 200. The adapter terminal 344 of the input adapter 342 is coupled to the DC voltage source 348, and the adapter terminal 346 of the input adapter 342 is coupled to the input terminal 108. Advantageously, the adapter terminals 344 and 346 have structures mechanically matched to an output terminal of the DC voltage source 348 and the input terminal 108, respectively.
As discussed above, the output terminals 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, and 220 can be specially constructed to mechanically match the various structure requirements of loads 332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 respectively. In one embodiment, the various structure requirements of loads 332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 can be respectively determined by the output transformation devices attached to these loads. For example, the output adapter 302 is coupled to the output terminal 206 at the adapter terminal 312 and coupled to the load 332 at the adapter terminal 322 so as to transfer a first DC output voltage VOUT1 (e.g., 5.5V DC voltage) from the electrical connector apparatus 200 to the load 332. As such, the output terminal 206 has a structure mechanically matched to the adapter terminal 312. Also, the adapter terminal 322 is mechanically matched to an input terminal of the load 332. Similarly, the output adapter 304 and the output adapter 306 provide the first DC output voltage VOUT1 to the load 334 and the load 336 respectively. The output adapter 308 and the output adapter 310 provide a second DC output voltage VOUT2 (e.g., 10V DC voltage) from the electrical connector apparatus 200 to the load 338 and the load 340 respectively.
Furthermore, loads 332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 can be portable electronic apparatuses of different manufacturers, functions, and types. In one embodiment, the load 332 can be a cell phone manufactured by N Company, the load 334 can be a digital still camera (DSC) manufactured by P Company, the load 336 can be a digital personal assistant (PDA) manufactured by H Company, the load 338 can be a cell phone manufactured by M Company, and the load 340 can be a digital video camera (DVC) manufactured by S Company (company names shown here are just for illustration purposes). Since the electrical connector apparatus 200 provides a number of DC output voltages of different voltage levels via different output terminals, the portable electronic apparatuses can be powered/charged simultaneously by a single DC voltage source 348.
In block 502, a DC input voltage is received at an input terminal. In one embodiment, the input terminal 108 of an electrical connector apparatus 200 receives the DC input voltage provided by a DC voltage source 348.
In block 504, the DC input voltage is converted to at least one DC output voltage. In one embodiment, the DC input voltage VIN is converted to a first DC output voltage VOUT1 and a second DC output voltage VOUT2 by a DC to DC converter 224.
In block 506, the DC output voltage is provided to one or more output terminals. In one embodiment, the DC output voltage VOUT1 is transferred from a first output pin 204 of the DC to DC converter 224 to output terminals 206, 208, 210, 212, and 214. The DC output voltage VOUT2 is transferred from a second output pin 222 of the DC to DC converter 224 to output terminals 216, 218, and 220, in one embodiment.
In block 508, the at least one DC output voltage is transferred to a number of loads via the output terminals simultaneously. In one embodiment, the DC output voltages are transferred to the loads 332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 via output terminals 206, 208, 210, 216, and 218. Furthermore, the output terminals 206, 208, 210, 216, and 218 can have various structures configured to be matched to a number of structure requirements of the loads 332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 respectively.
Furthermore, the DC input voltage from the DC voltage source 348 can be provided to an input transformation device. In one embodiment, the DC input voltage from the DC voltage source 348 is transferred to the input terminal 108 of the electrical connector apparatus via the input transformation device 406. Moreover, the input voltage from the DC voltage source 348 can be transferred to an electronic device so as to enable the electronic device to share the DC input voltage with the input terminal 108 of the electrical connector apparatus. In one embodiment, the input transformation device 406 transfers the DC input voltage from the DC voltage source 348 to the electronic device 402 and the input terminal 108 of the electrical connector apparatus simultaneously. As such, the electronic device 402 and the electrical connector apparatus 200 can share the DC voltage source 348.
To summarize, the electrical connector apparatus provides multiple output voltages from one DC input voltage, in one embodiment. The multiple output terminals of the electrical connector apparatus are capable of providing DC output voltages of different voltage levels and being mechanically matched to different adapter terminals of different loads. As such, the electrical connector apparatus is capable of powering/charging a number of portable electronic apparatuses of different manufacturers, functions, and types by a single DC voltage source simultaneously. Furthermore, the electrical connector apparatus can also be adapt to different DC voltage sources, which makes the electrical connector convenient to use in different situations.
The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Other modifications, variations, and alternatives are also possible. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents.
