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Vol: 57(71) No: 1 / March 2012      

Evolution of Mobile Phone Chargers
Viktor Rébay
Department of Informatics, University of Pécs, Faculty of Sciences, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary, phone: (+36-72) 503-697, e-mail: rebay@ttk.pte.hu


Keywords: mobile phone charger, universal charging solution, UCS, no-load consumption, energy efficiency, external power supply.

Abstract
Charger is the primary and indispensable accessory of any mobile phone, which converts the line power into the necessary low voltage during the charging process. Despite the same goal, these devices are quite different. There is a tremendous difference between the energy efficiency and the environmental impact of an old and a modern device. In this article the charger information of new GSM phones sold between 1998 and 2011 in the European market by the leading manufacturer have been collected and categorised by no-load consumption, to help notifying the trends clearly. The other major problem is the difference of the charging connectors, of which incompatibility results in large amount of e-waste with many useless chargers. To solve both issues, ten companies with the support of the European Commission started the Universal Charging Solution (UCS) project, harmonising mobile phone chargers based on the Micro-USB connector. This article presents the base objectives of this ongoing effort, demonstrates the mandatory and optional parts of the UCS, and evaluates the project state in late 2011, emphasizing the achievements made so far, like the increased energy efficiency and the common Charging and Local Data Connector on all new, data ready mobile phones. The potentials and further goals of the project have also been examined, aiming the next evolution step.

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