A personal computer requires a compact and reasonably fast I / O port to communicate with other devices. At one time, this function was performed by the so-called COM port, which has several disadvantages. First of all, the developers were not satisfied with its dimensions, while the performance faded into the background. Also a good option at that time was the use of LPT, which has remained unchanged so far. This is where the printer connects. Imagine what size a flash drive needed to be created in order to use this connector? Nevertheless, it has been preserved to this day and is distinguished by its high speed due to the use of the parallel data transfer protocol.
To solve this problem, the so-called mini USB port was created, which is used when working with compact and small-sized devices. They are equipped with mobile phones, camcorders, chargers, programmers, video surveillance systems, etc. Due to its small size, it easily “fits” into the design of these devices and perfectly copes with its duties.
According to the principle of operation, the mini USB port is no different from its large "brother." Structurally, it is made of two power wires and two, designed for data transmission. The wires are twisted into twisted pairs for
reduce interference during operation. For the same purpose, they are placed in a special screen. Usually the adapter cord is short in length, designed for the location of the electronic device near the computer. This also has its own meaning. The shorter the connection, the more stable the mini
USB port is in data transfer / reception mode. Since the devices work with low-current circuits, it makes sense to place the cord itself away from network or other sources of interference.
The data transfer protocol is sequential, and the process itself is controlled using a special controller. The speed of this communication method is enough to ensure stable operation of the electronics.
The power wires embedded in the mini USB connection perform two useful functions at once:
- Firstly, they stabilize the process of data transfer. This is due tothat the magnetic field that creates the twisted pair from the power source has a constant component. It prevents the penetration of extraneous interference into the "information" wires.
- Secondly, the mini USB connector allows you to “power” low-power devices, for example, recharge a mobile phone.
An alternative to such a connection is a wireless connection, for example, Bluetooth or Red Port, but they all lose to a wired connection in speed and noise immunity.
A fairly promising direction in the development of mini USB-connection is the development of new controllers that work with increased clock speed. This increases the data transfer rate. Further miniaturization will depend on the design features of the devices. It should also be noted that the optimal port sizes are directly related to the maximum current for the power wires. The maximum power when recharging electronic devices depends on this.