SMSC Introduces First Programmable USB Power Controller
SMSC announced that it is breaking new ground in USB port power charging with the industry’s first programmable USB power controller. The controller comes in three models – the UCS1001-1, UCS1001-2, and UCS1002 – and offers advanced USB based charging capabilities for engineers designing host devices such as notebook or desktop computers, monitors, docking stations, printers as well as dedicated ac-dc products such as wall adapters.
"USB ports are now considered global charging sources, but the technology has not yet reached its full potential because many portable devices have unique charger requirements. Without products such as the UCS1001 and UCS1002, sub-standard or no charging can result," said Mitch Polonsky, Director of Product Marketing for Analog Products and Technology at SMSC. "The UCS1001 and UCS1002 enable electronics designers to emulate virtually any charger, promoting fast and efficient power charging regardless of which brand of portable device is plugged into the USB port. Our programmable UCS port power controllers finally enable USB to converge on its promise as a universal charging source for billions of devices around the world."
The UCS1002 allows users to conceive, create and implement custom charger emulation profiles and customized current limiting for the USB charging port that can be updated later to accommodate portable device signatures that don’t yet exist, virtually future-proofing a system. The UCS1002 features SMBus and I²C communication and current sensing which permit it to measure and actively manage the amount of charge being supplied via a USB port. With the UCS1002, a designer can dynamically allocate system power. Users can set a milliampere-hours limit on how much power the host device can provide and the UCS1002 can automatically shut down power to the port when the set limit is reached.
The UCS1001 and UCS1002 both provide a single USB port power switch capable of up to 2.5A of continuous current as well as a USB 2.0 compliant data switch. For stand-alone mode, there is the choice of a portable device Charging or Attach Detection output to provide the system host valuable information on portable device activity. When a portable device is plugged in, it can auto-cycle through up to nine preloaded charger emulation profiles until charging commences. The embedded profiles are compatible with BC1.2 CDP, DCP, YD/T-1591 as well as most Apple® and RIM® portable devices. Included in these devices are today’s popular tablets such as the iPad™ and iPad2™. It also allows portable device charging when an application or host is in standby or in a sleep state. A designer can now treat a battery as a captive power source, providing the UCS100x secondary power from a coin cell battery for instance.
Besides providing protection features traditional to legacy USB Port Power Switches, the UCS models offer additional features such as dynamic thermal management, precise over-current protection, and over-voltage lockout, protecting a portable device from host power glitches. To assure compliance with multiple standards, UCS1001 and UCS1002 come with integrated USB charging emulation profiles so the portable device recognizes it is attached to its native charger.
The UCS1001 and UCS1002 are both available in a 20-pin QFN 4 by 4mm package. Samples of these models are currently available.
