We are all carrying more devices that constantly need to be recharged.  How many of you have either forgotten your chargers or used that “USB” charger that did not properly work on your USB device?   Although it seems to be a simple thing to deliver power to a device, when done incorrectly it can fail to recharge, waste precious energy, or in the worst case, damage the product.  None of these scenarios lead to a satisfied consumer.  In the transportation industry, we also complicate the issue with how and what type of power is being delivered to the I/O port that will power our device.

In all these cases, it is critical that the designer be capable: have knowledge on the industry, device, and vehicle standards that will impact the needs of the charging lines.  Then and only then can they design a system that will deliver the system the way the user device wants to receive it, manage the power output to exactly what the charging device wants to see, protect the device in case of a surge or if it is non-compliant.

Molex CCP (Customer Convenience Port) design brings this expertise to our customers.  Working with current, developing or future USB standards, we offer designs today that can service the wide variety of portable devices including the need to provide 2+ A of charging power to tablets that need this to charge and function at the same time.  Today, Molex is delivering pass through, power ports and full hubs to the industry that support these wide variety of needs.

What is coming?  Some interesting features promised by USB 3.0 standards where we will be able to deliver more power more efficiently to charge devices like notebook computers in a way that does not waste energy by not matching it to the charging device’s exact needs.  It is an exciting time in the infotainment segment of the transportation industry so make sure you design it right and look to Molex to make sure you do.