Common External Power Supply - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In 2009 several government, consumer and industry initiatives resulted in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

's definition of a common External Power Supply (EPS) for use with data-enabled

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s sold in the EU. An external power supply is the AC power adapter

AC adapter

The AC adapter, AC/DC adapter or AC/DC converter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in what looks like an over-sized AC plug. Other names include plug pack, plug-in adapter, adapter block, domestic mains adapter, line power adapter, or power adapter...

that converts household AC voltages to the much lower DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

voltages needed to charge a mobile phone's internal battery. The primary goal for creation of a standard / common external power supply is to eliminate waste by reducing the total number of power adapters manufactured and sold with mobile phones. The hope is that by creating a common external power supply specification (and then getting all mobile phone manufacturers to design their phones to be compatible with the specified power supply), EU consumers will be able to re-use the same external power supply with different phones from different manufacturers. Mobile phone manufacturers will then not feel compelled to provide a new external power supply with every phone sold.

USB battery charging specification

As USB

Universal Serial Bus

USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....

communication ports became widely available on computers/laptops, some manufacturers of small electronic devices (including mobile phone manufacturers) began to design their battery-powered

Rechargeable battery

A rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...

products to support being charged from a computer's USB port - or from a dedicated AC power adapter with an integrated USB port. The USB Implementers Forum

USB Implementers Forum

The USB Implementers Forum is a non-profit organisation to promote and support the Universal Serial Bus. Its main activities are the promotion and marketing of USB, Wireless USB, USB On-The-Go, and the maintenance of the specifications, as well as a compliance program.It was formed in 1995 by the...

, recognizing this trend, updated the USB standard to better accommodate this popular battery-charging application of USB ports. The resulting "USB Battery Charging" specification was officially released in March, 2007. The USB battery charging specification defines, "...limits as well as detection, control and reporting mechanisms to permit devices to draw current in excess of the USB 2.0 specification for charging and/or powering up..."

EU common External Power Supply (EPS)

In June 2009, many of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most new data-enabled mobile phones marketed in the European Union compatible with a to-be-specified common External Power Supply (EPS). All signatories agreed to develop a common specification for the EPS "to allow for full compatibility and safety of chargers and mobile phones." As of 2011, 14 mobile phone manufacturers and technology providers have signed the MoU — the original 10 signatories, Apple, LG, Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

, NEC

NEC

, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....

, Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

, Qualcomm

Qualcomm

Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...

, RIM

Research In Motion

Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...

, Samsung

Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...

, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....

, and Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...

as well as Atmel

Atmel

Atmel Corporation is a manufacturer of semiconductors, founded in 1984. Its focus is on system-level solutions built around flash microcontrollers...

, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies

Huawei

Huawei is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China...

and TCT Mobile (Alcatel).

In order to develop and formalize the needed technical standards, the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

issued a standardisation mandate to CEN

European Committee for Standardization

The European Committee for Standardization or Comité Européen de Normalisation , is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for...

, CENELEC

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.CENELEC is responsible for European Standardization in the area of electrical engineering...

and ETSI

European Telecommunications Standards Institute

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute is an independent, non-profit, standardization organization in the telecommunications industry in Europe, with worldwide projection...

on a common Charging Capability for Mobile Telephones. In response to this mandate, CENELEC created a task force to develop the interoperability specifications of the common External Power Supply. The resulting technical specifications were published in December 2010 as EN 62684:2010, “Interoperability specifications of common external power supply (EPS) for use with data-enabled mobile telephones." The common EPS specification references USB electro-mechanical interface standards and, in March 2011, the USB Implementers Forum agreed to allow CENELEC "...to make reference to USB technology in its European Standard EN62684:2010 and...to grant download access to USB technical specifications free of charge and at any time to manufacturers implementing this European Standard."

Cabling and adapters

Unlike some other proposed mobile phone power supply standards the EU's common External Power Supply (EPS) specification allows for chargers with either (a) a USB-A socket and detachable (USB-A connector to Micro USB-B connector) cable or (b) no socket and a 'captive' cable terminated with a Micro USB-B connector. The MoU which defines the common External Power Supply (EPS) as well as the related EU standardisation mandate both allow for the use of the common External Power Supply also with phones not equipped with a Micro USB receptacle. "...[MoU] 4.2.1...if a manufacturer makes available an Adaptor from the Micro-USB connector of a Common EPS to a specific non-Micro-USB socket in the Mobile Phone, it shall constitute compliance to this article" and, "...An Adaptor can also be a detachable cable."

Reception

The common EPS initiative was generally well received although at least one European consumer group bemoaned the voluntary nature and narrow scope of the initiative (hand-held data-enabled mobile phones only) and the fact that the EU's EPS specification does not set aggressive energy efficiency (no-load consumption) requirements.

Similar regional and global industry initiatives

Other similar power supply / charging solutions standards have been implemented in other regions (e.g. Korea and China). An industry-wide (GSMA / OMTP) proposal also exists for a common, energy efficient mobile phone charging solution although it has not yet been adopted by as many phone manufacturers as has the EU standard.

Charger and Interface standard in South Korea

In March 2001, the Korean

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) released the "Standard on I/O Connection Interface of Digital Cellular Phone." The standard describes the electromechanical interface specifications for cellular phone charging, wired data communication, analog audio, etc. and was released together with related test and certification specifications. The main feature of the standard is the specification of a 24 pin connector / socket for mobile phones to handle connections for power input (battery charging) and output, data communication (USB and other digital signals), analog audio inputs and outputs (for hands-free microphone, earphone) and other signals. The 2007 revision of the standard specified a smaller 20 pin connector to succeed the 24 pin connector and added analog (composite

Composite video

Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

) video output support, among other changes. Chargers with the new 20 pin connectors started appearing in 2008 and phone manufacturers were urged to include 24 to 20 pin adapters with new phones sold in Korea to enable the charging of new phones with the older 24 pin chargers.

Charger and Interface standard in the People's Republic of China

In December 2006, the Chinese

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MII) released a new CCSA (China Communications Standards Association) standard, "Technical Requirements and Test Method of Charger and Interface for Mobile Telecommunication Terminal Equipment." The standard describes the electromechanical requirements for a common mobile device battery charger equipped with a USB-A socket providing 5V DC power. All new mobile phones requesting network access approval in China from June 2007 are required to support charging from the new common chargers. The original 2006 regulation is flexible regarding the interface on the mobile phone itself, allowing for the use of adapter cables if the mobile device is not equipped with a standard USB connector. Among other things, the 2009 update adds references to USB On-The-Go

USB On-The-Go

USB On-The-Go, often abbreviated USB OTG, is a specification that allows USB devices such as digital audio players or mobile phones to act as a host allowing a USB Flash Drive, mouse, or keyboard to be attached.- Architecture :...

(OTG) support and the use of USB Micro B, USB Micro AB, USB Mini B, USB Mini 10 pin and cylindrical ("barrel") type connectors on the terminal (phone) for charging.

GSMA / OMTP Universal Charging Solution (UCS) / Common Charging Solution (CCS)

In February 2009, the GSM Association

GSM Association

The GSM Association is an association of mobile operators and related companies devoted to supporting the standardizing, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone system...

(GSMA), together with 6 mobile phone manufacturers and technology providers and 11 mobile service providers, announced their commitment to implementing a cross-industry standard for a common / universal charging solution for new mobile phones and chargers. The aim of the GSMA initiative is, "...to ensure that the mobile industry adopts a common format for mobile phone charger connections and energy-efficient chargers...". Universal Charging Solution (UCS) chargers are to use Micro-USB as the common universal charging interface and have a 4-star or higher efficiency

Efficient energy use

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...

rating (standby

Standby power

Standby power, also called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, or leaking electricity , refers to the electric power consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are switched off Standby power, also called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, or leaking electricity...

energy use ≤0.15W

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

).

OMTP (the Open Mobile Terminal Platform

Open mobile terminal platform

The Open Mobile Terminal Platform was a forum created by mobile network operators to discuss standards with manufacturers of cell phones and other mobile devices. During its lifetime, the OMTP included manufacturers such as Huawei, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony...

industry forum) specified the requirements of the GSMA's Universal Charging Solution and published these requirements under the title "Common Charging and Local Data Connectivity" in 2009. This document specifies the three components of a Common Charging Solution (CCS): a Charging and Local Data Connector (CLD) on the "terminal" (e.g. mobile phone) consisting of a USB Micro-B or USB Micro-AB socket; a Common Power Supply (CPS) with a USB-A socket; and a detachable USB-A to USB Micro-B cable to connect the power supply with the mobile phone. As of early 2011, an additional 10 service providers and one additional mobile phone manufacturer have joined the agreement.

In April, 2009, the industry trade group CTIA announced its support of the GSMA's Universal Charging Solution. The International Telecommunication Union

International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...

(ITU) announced in October 2009 that it had also embraced the Universal Charging Solution standard - based on input from the GSMA - as its "energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution."

External links

USB battery charging:

Battery Charging v1.2 Spec. and Adopters Agreement USB Implementers Forum, 2010-12-07.

EU common External Power Supply:

Other (non-EU) initiatives:

Universal Charging Solution Explained, GSMA UCS Project Team, 2009
OMTP: Common Charging and Local Data Connectivity V1.1 (Final) OMTP Local Connectivity Recommendations V1.1, OMTP Limited, 2010-06-08.
CCSA YD/T 1591-2006, "Technical Requirement and Test Method of Charger and Interface for Mobile Telecommunication Terminal Equipment", Published by the Ministry of Information and Industry (MII) of the People's Republic of China. 2006-12

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