The USB-C revolution is underway, like first your new phone, then your single-board computer, and now your laptop is likely to have the familiar reversible round-corner connector. We’re still in the cross-over period of needing to have micro USBs, a proprietary laptop, and USB-C power supplies on hand, but the promise of a USB-C-only world is tantalizingly close. by [Purkkaviritys] That’s a bit closer now, as you’ve tweaked your Thinkpad T440s to carry a USB charger instead of Lenovo’s proprietary square plug part. (Video, embedded below).
At its heart is a USB-PD emulator module that does all the hard work of negotiating with the power supply, giving the laptop the DC voltage it needs. However, it is not that simple, because a resistor is required to assure the laptop that it has a genuine power supply. The module is enclosed in a carefully designed environment that takes up the space of the original connector, and since this laptop has its internal power connector on a short cable, it is very easy to fit into the case. If you didn’t know it was a home upgrade, you might be forgiven for thinking that this laptop shipped from the factory with a USB-C power outlet.
The USB-C module used here is a versatile part. We have seen this before in a welder conversion.
