Patent · US Active

Method to increase the bandwidth of a USB-C connector

US11055253B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
2References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 17, 2018
Grant dateJul 6, 2021
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 17, 2038

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/38
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method that allows connector pins of a USB-C connector to be dynamically repurposed between low bandwidth USB2 traffic and high bandwidth USB3 traffic. USB-C devices can negotiate the use of these pins for a dynamic transition to another function or functions. The pins can be the four center connector pins of a USB-C connection, pins A6, A7, B6, B7, that are originally designated as USB 2.0 differential pairs Changing the function of the pins provides flexibility for communicating using USB-C connectors. For example, the disclosed method/device/system can be used to support high-resolution cameras and sensors in high-resolution virtual reality headsets via a single USB-C connection instead of a user having to connect multiple cables.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.