
US
8,212,386
B2
3
FIG.
8(0)
shows
a
bottom
perspective
view
of
the
power
adapter
shown
in
FIG.
8(b)
when
it
is
changing
states.
FIG.
9
shows
a
system
including
a
cable
end,
a
connector,
and
a
portable
electronic
device
such
as
a
portable
computer.
FIGS.
10(a)
and
10(b)
show
perspective
views
of
?rst
and
second
connectors
coupled
to
the
end
of
a
cable
connector.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION
Embodiments
of
the
invention
are
directed
to
power
supply
systems.
An
exemplary
power
supply
system
comprises
a
power
adapter
which
may
house
a
power
circuit.
The
power
circuit
may
output
a
plurality
of
voltages
(e.g.,
16
VDC
or
19.5
VDC).
The
voltages
may
be
output
simultaneously
from
the
power
circuit
or
may
be
output
independently
from
the
power
circuit
depending
on
the
state
of
an
external
switch.
Various
connectable
connectors
such
as
connector
tips
can
be
mechanically
and
electrically
coupled
to
an
output
connector
in
the
power
adapter.
The
various
connectable
connectors
may
be
used
with
different
electronic
devices.
Any
suitable
type
of
electronic
device
can
be
powered
by
the
power
supply
systems
according
to
embodiments
of
the
invention.
Examples
of
electronic
devices
comprise
notebook
computers,
cell
phones,
MP3
players,
televisions,
etc.
The
output
connector
coupled
to
the
power
circuit,
and
the
connectable
connectors
that
are
connectable
to
the
output
connector
may
have
any
suitable
shape
and/or
con?guration.
Each
connectable
connector
may
be
cooperatively
structured
with
the
output
connector
so
that
it
can be
easily
connected
to
and
separated
from
the
output
connector.
For
example,
the
output
connector
may
be
a
female
type
connector,
and
may
mechanically
mate
with
male-type
?rst
and
second
connect
able
connectors
(or
vice
versa).
Each
connectable
connector
and
each
output
connector
can
also
have
a
plurality
of
elec
trical
conductors
with
corresponding
electrical
contacts.
The
connectable
connectors
may
be
in
any
suitable
form.
For
example,
connectable
connectors
may
be
in
the
form
of
connector
tips,
connector
wires,
connection
apparatuses,
etc.
A
preferred
connectable
connector
may
be
in
the
form
of
a
connector
tip,
which
would
be
in
between
the
power
adapter
and
the
electronic
device
being
powered.
As
noted
above,
conventional
power
adapters
require
some
method
of
feedback
from
the
tip
to
the
power
circuit
to
cause
it
to
output
a
particular
voltage.
Embodiments
of
the
inven
tion
do
not
require
this.
In
embodiments
of
the
invention,
a
power
circuit
in
a
power
supply
system
outputs
a
plurality
of
voltages
(e.g.,
two
voltages
—16V
and
19V),
and
the
selection
of
a
connector
tip
or
the
like
can
determine
which
voltage
will
be
ultimately
output.
The
power
circuit
in
the
power
supply
system
may
also
output
different
voltages
depending
on
the
state
of
a
power
switch.
The
connector
tips
can
be
used
to
charge
electronic
devices
such
as
notebook
computers.
It
has
been
determined
that
a
universal
power
supply
can
output
at
least
two
discrete
voltages
of
about
+16
VDC
(+/—1
or
2
Volts)
and
about +19.5
VDC
(+/—1
or
2
Volts)
and
can
be
used
to
provide
power
to
most
notebook
computers
on
the
market
today.
In
preferred
embodiments,
the
power
circuit
in
the
power
supply
is
adapted
to
provide
only
two
discrete
voltages
to
simplify
the
design
of
the
power
supply
and
power
circuit.
Although
a
notebook
computer
may
be
designed
to
work
with
a
speci?c
input
voltage
such
as
20
V,
it
has
been
determined
that
the
notebook
computer
may
tolerate
a
slight
deviation
from
20V.
The
typical
deviation
could
be
+/—1
or
2
Volts.
Therefore,
if
a universal
power
supply
could
use
a
connector
tip
to
output
19.5
VDC,
it
would
be
able
to
supply
power
to
notebook
computers
that
are
designed
to
accept
19
V,
19.5
V,
and
20V.
Thus,
one
connector
tip
type
may
be
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
4
provided
to
provide
power
to
a
number
of
brands
of
notebook
computers,
instead
of
one
brand of
notebook
computers
as
long
as
the
mechanical
tip
type
can
?t
into
the
power
ports
of
such
notebook
computers.
Current
universal
power
supplies
may
have
as
many
as
37
connector
tips
that
work
with
a
single
power
brick.
Having
too
many
connector
tips
can
be
cumber
some
as
well
as
confusing.
Having
too
many
connector
tips
with
too
may
different
voltage
ratings
can
also
increase
the
chances
that
the
consumer
may
use
the
incorrect
one
and
damage
his
notebook
computer.
Too
many
connector
tips
with
too
many
different
voltages
may
also
increase
the
overall
cost
of
the
universal
power
supply
system.
In
preferred
embodiments,
there
can
be
two
(or
more)
connector
tip
types
that
can
connect
to
the
output
connector
coupled
to
a
power
circuit
con?gured
to
generate
at
least
two
discrete
voltages.
The
connector
tip
types
would
respectively
output
about
+16
VDC
and
about
+
1
9
.5
VDC
when
connected
to
the
output
connector.
The
connector
tip
types
would
be
compatible
with
mo
st
commercially
available
notebook
com
puters.
For
example,
a
?rst
connector
tip
type
may
provide
an
output
voltage
at
about
19.5
V
when
connected
to
the
output
connector
and
may
have
relative
dimensions
(OD/
ID)
of
4
.75/
1.7,
5.5/1.7,
55/21, 55/25,
6/1.4,
7.4/0.6
corresponding
to
6
connector
tips.
A
second
connector
tip
type
may
output
a
voltage
of
16V
when
connected
to
the
output
connector
and
may
have
relative
dimensions
(OD/ID)
of
5.5/
2.5,
6/1.4,
6.3/3
corresponding
to
3
connector
tips.
Thus,
in
an
exemplary
power
supply
system
according
to
an
embodiment
of
the
invention,
there
can
be
(i)
a
power
adapter
comprising
a
power
circuit
and
an
output
connector,
(ii)
a
?rst
type
of
connector
tip
and
multiple
physical
con?gurations
of
that
?rst
type
of
connector
tip,
and
(ii)
a
second
type
of
connector
tip
and
multiple
physical
con?gurations
of
that
second
type
of
connector
tip.
To
enable
the
power
supply
system
to
charge
multiple
devices
and/or
low
powered
devices,
the
power
adapter
can
include
a
low
powered
female
USB
port
(at
least
one)
on
the
body
of
the
adapter
or a
combination
of
ports
(e.g.,
a
female
USB
port
and
a
female
FireWire
port).
The
ports
can
be
selected
based
on
available/common
charging
cables
for
devices.
In
one
embodiment
of
the
invention,
the
power
supply
system
comprises
a
power
circuit
adapted
to
generate
a
?rst
output
voltage
and
a
second
output
voltage
at
the
same
time,
and
an
output
connector
coupled
to
the
power
circuit.
The
output
connector
includes
a
plurality
of
electrical
contacts
including
a
?rst
set
of
contacts
adapted
to
provide
the
?rst
output
voltage
and
a
second
set
of
electrical
contacts
adapted
to
provide
the
second
output
voltage
at
the
same
time
as
the
?rst
output
voltage.
The
?rst
and
second
sets
of
contacts
are
different.
A
?rst
connector
(e. g.,
a
?rst
connector
tip)
can
be
con?gured
to
connect
to
the
output
connector
and
electrically
couple
to
the
?rst
set
of
contacts
to
provide
the
?rst
output
voltage
to
a
?rst
electronic
device
(e.g.,
a
portable
computer
made
by
manufacturer
A).
Alternatively,
a
second
connector
(e.g.,
a
second
connector
tip)
can
be
con?gured
to
connect
to
the
output
connector
and
electrically
couple
to
the
second
set
of
contacts
to
provide
the
second
output
voltage
to
a
second
electronic
device
(e.g.,
a
portable
computer
made
by
manu
facture
B).
In
a
speci?c
example,
there
can
be
three
conductive
con
tacts
in
an
output
connector
that
is
coupled
to
the
power
circuit.
The
three
conductive
contacts
could
have
the
values:
GND,
+16
VDC,
and
+19
VDC.
In
preferred
embodiments,
the
different
output
voltages
that
can
be
provided
by
the
contacts
in
the
output
connector
can
range
from
about
15-17
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