Standardized Laptop Charger Approved By IEC

Sockatume writes "The IEC, the standards body which wrote the phone charger specification used in the EU, has approved a standardised laptop charger. While the 'DC Power Supply for Portable Personal Computer' doesn't have a legal mandate behind it, the IEC is still optimistic that it will lead to a reduction in electronics waste and make it easier to find a replacement charger. Unfortunately the technical documentation does not seem to be available yet, but previous comments indicate that it will be a barrel plug of some kind." I wish they'd push a yank-resistant and positive-connecting plug along the lines of Apple's MagSafe.

So Would Apple

[Kagato]

"I wish they'd push a yank-resistant and positive-connecting plug along the lines of Apple's MagSafe."

So would Apple since they have a patent on the MagSafe design. I suspect it would be quite the patent windfall.

Re:There's probably patents involved

[tysonedwards]

There is a single patent on the connector, filed September 26, 2005 and issued December 25, 2007.
In 2001 UL created and released to market - as a standard enforced by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission - a magnetic reversible plug for use on electric fryers that would disconnect if pulled.

Apple's offering is technically different in the sense that the cord can also "attach itself" to an electronic device, and where it will not provide power should it not be acted upon by another magnetic field.

Re:patented

[Anonymous Coward]

It's interesting actually... I genuinely wondered why you don't get mildly electrocuted when you touch the completely exposed connectors end of it, until I actually saw what they'd patented: What they've patented is that it won't provide power until it's acted on by exactly the right magnetic field to indicate that it's plugged into the laptop already.

At least for me, that passes all the tests of non-obviousness and first people to think of it.

Re:Safe disconnection!

[SuricouRaven]

Be warned: The hardware in the Retinas is somewhat dubiously EFI and ACPI complient. You can get it running linux, but it takes a fair amount of hackery to deal with the weirdness.

Re:patented

[Jeff Flanagan]

> genuinely wondered why you don't get mildly electrocuted when you touch the completely exposed connectors end of it

Why would you expect to get mildly electrocuted by a low-power DC plug? The only danger w/o the magnetic control is that you'd fry the charger by shorting the plug.

Electrocution is death caused by electric shock

[dhaen]

Electrocution = Electro + execution = dead! There's nothing mild about dead!