Common Building Block (CBB)

AC/DC Power Adapter for

Notebooks
Platform Design Guide

August 2006

Revision 1.0
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Copyright © 2006, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

2 Platform Design Guide

Contents
1 Introduction .....................................................................................................5
1.1 Scope ...................................................................................................5
1.2 Terminology ..........................................................................................6
1.3 Related Documents.................................................................................6

2 CBB AC/DC Power Adapter Overview ...................................................................7

3 Mechanical Design Considerations .......................................................................8

3.1 CBB AC/DC Power Adapter Physical Dimensions..........................................8
3.1.1 AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug Dimensions ...............................8
3.1.2 Platform DC Jack Dimensions .................................................... 10
3.1.3 AC/DC Power Adapter Dimensions ............................................. 10
3.2 Mechanical Reliability Considerations....................................................... 11

4 Electrical Design Considerations ........................................................................ 12

4.1 Power Requirements ............................................................................. 12
4.2 Power Rating ....................................................................................... 12
4.3 Other Electrical Considerations ............................................................... 13

5 Additional Information ..................................................................................... 15

Figures
Figure 1. AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug...........................................................8
Figure 2. AC/DC Power Adapter L-Shape and I-Shape Barrel Plugs ...........................9
Figure 3. Example of Tuning Fork in AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug......................9
Figure 4. DC Input Jack for Notebook System ..................................................... 10
Figure 5. DC Jack Polarity ................................................................................ 12

Tables
Table 1. Terminology.........................................................................................6
Table 2. Related Documents ...............................................................................6
Table 3. Example of Output Voltage and Current Requirements for Power Adapter.... 13

Platform Design Guide 3

Revision History

Revision Description Revision Date

Number

1.0 Public release. August 2006

4 Platform Design Guide

Introduction

1 Introduction
Many of today’s typical notebook systems have their own unique AC/DC power
adapter. This approach incurs additional design time, effort, and expense for each
notebook system. This issue can be overcome by utilizing a Common Building Block
(CBB) AC/DC power adapter. CBB AC/DC power adapters take an evolutionary
approach in reducing the design cycle of notebook systems, resulting in a faster time-
to-market (TTM). In addition, the use of a common specification referenced in Section
1.3 allows the AC/DC power adapter to be re-used across multiple system designs and
scalable for future generations.

From the supply chain point of view, there are several benefits to industry participants
who adopt the CBB AC/DC power adapter. From an inventory perspective, CBB AC/DC
Power Adapters can help reduce the inventory cost of excess or obsolete adapter SKUs
and prevent the sales loss due to stock shortages.

1.1 Scope
This design guide provides design recommendations for Intel Architecture based
mobile platforms that utilize the CBB AC/DC power adapter. These design guidelines
have been developed to ensure maximum flexibility for systems designers while
reducing the risk of system related issues.

Section 1 outlines the general scope, terminology, and related documents. Section 2
provides an overview of the CBB AC/DC power adapter ingredient. Sections 3 and 4
highlight the mechanical and electrical design considerations and recommendations in
designing and integrating a CBB AC/DC Power Adapter into a notebook system.

This design guide does not address any performance, quality and reliability, or safety
and regulatory aspects of the CBB AC/DC power adapter, which is beyond the scope of
this document. The performance, quality, and reliability of the adapter are areas that
may be different among suppliers. This allows the suppliers to compete and
differentiate from each other. Safety and regulatory concerns are requirements of
each government and/or geographic region. Those standards are set by those
governing bodies mentioned previously.

Platform Design Guide 5

 Introduction

1.2 Terminology
Table 1 defines the abbreviations, acronyms, conventions, and terminology that are
used throughout the design guide.

Table 1. Terminology

Terminology Description

AC Alternating Current

CBB Common Building Block

DC Direct Current

ODM Original Design Manufacturer

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

SKU Stock Keeping Unit

TTM Time to Market

1.3 Related Documents

Table 2. Related Documents

Documents Availability

Common Building Block (CBB) AC/DC Power Adapter www.mobileformfactors.org

Interface for Notebooks Specification

6 Platform Design Guide

CBB AC/DC Power Adapter Overview

2 CBB AC/DC Power

Adapter Overview
The Common Building Block (CBB) AC/DC power adapter is designed to solve the
following issues:
• AC/DC power adapter is currently an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or
an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) proprietary solution, requiring the
notebook channel to stock unique adapters for each notebook system SKU, adding
to inventory management complexity
• AC/DC power adapters are not interchangeable among notebook systems in
today’s environment.

Benefits of using a CBB AC/DC power adapter are:

• Allows ordering and stocking of a minimal number of adapter SKUs that will work
across multiple notebook platforms and potential reduction of system integration
time and effort.
• The Common Building Block (CBB) AC/DC Power Adapter Interface Specification
provides a common mechanical and electrical interface to notebooks.

Platform Design Guide 7

 Mechanical Design Considerations

3 Mechanical Design
Considerations

3.1 CBB AC/DC Power Adapter Physical Dimensions

3.1.1 AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug Dimensions

The physical dimensions of the AC/DC power adapter barrel plug are shown in Figure
1. Please refer to the latest version of the Common Building Black (CBB) AC/DC Power
Adapter Interface Specification for the most up to date critical-to-function dimensions.

Figure 1. AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug

Outer Diameter: 5.50 ± 0.05 mm

Inner diameter: 2.50 + 0.1 / – 0.0 mm

Length: 12.50 ± 0.3 mm

The dimensions listed in Figure 1 are independent of the physical shape of the adapter
barrel plug, whether it is L-shape or I-shape, as shown in Figure 2.

8 Platform Design Guide

Mechanical Design Considerations

Figure 2. AC/DC Power Adapter L-Shape and I-Shape Barrel Plugs

Intel recommends that an AC/DC power adapter with a tuning fork type of plug be
used. An example of this is shown in Figure 3. This type of barrel plug will still adhere
to the barrel diameter and length requirements shown in Figure 1. In addition, the
internal structure of the tuning fork will allow a better mechanical fit and better
electrical contact.

Figure 3. Example of Tuning Fork in AC/DC Power Adapter Barrel Plug

Platform Design Guide 9

 Mechanical Design Considerations

3.1.2 Platform DC Jack Dimensions

When selecting the Direct Current (DC) jack on the motherboard, the system designer
has to consider the thickness of the chassis and the depth of the DC jack. The
reasoning behind this is when the adapter plug is inserted into the DC jack, there
should be a good contact between the AC/DC Power Adapter plug and DC jack.

Based on the CBB AC/DC power adapter interface specification, the system DC jack
must accommodate a DC plug with a nominal outer diameter of 5.5 mm and an inner
diameter of 2.5 mm. Figure 4 illustrates an example of a DC jack. The Singatron 2DC-
G213B200 is an example of DC jack that can meet the CBB AC/DC power adapter
interface specification.

Figure 4. DC Input Jack for Notebook System

There are many different physical form factors of the DC jack, with various
motherboard footprints to be considered. Both surface mount and through-hole DC
jacks may be considered. The selection of the DC jack’s physical dimensions
(footprint) is dependent on the available motherboard’s real estate. For the adapter
application, the system designer should consider the impact that insertions and
withdrawals have on the DC jack and specify the life cycle to meet their product’s
requirements. This option is left to the system designer for each system’s specific
needs and the ODM’s or OEM’s manufacturing process.

3.1.3 AC/DC Power Adapter Dimensions

Intel recommends that 75 W and 90 W AC/DC Power Adapters be used for notebook
systems in 2006 and 2007. The exact power requirement of the system will depend on
system configuration and usage model.

The approximate size of current 75 W AC/DC Power Adapters is around 5” X 2” X 1.1”

(127 mm X 50.8 mm X 27.9 mm). The weight of 75 W AC/DC Power Adapters is
around 11 – 12 ounces.

The approximate size of current 90 W AC/DC Power Adapters is around 5.2” X 2.2” X
1.2” (132 mm X 56 mm X 30 mm). The weight of 90 W AC/DC Power Adapters is
around 14 – 15 ounces.

10 Platform Design Guide

Mechanical Design Considerations

The dimensions and weight listed are typical sizes. There are smaller form factor
designs available for most power wattage SKUs. This is a form factor vs. cost trade-
off for a system designer, OEM/ODM, or system integrator to consider when selecting
a CBB AC/DC power adapter.

The AC cable length of the CBB AC/DC Power Adapters is usually around 3 ft. (91.4
cm) long while the DC cable is usually around 6 ft. (182.9 cm) long. The system
designer can either choose these typical values mentioned previously or specify
specific values to the AC/DC power adapter supplier and AC cable supplier.

3.2 Mechanical Reliability Considerations

This document will not provide any specific requirement on the quality and reliability
of the CBB AC/DC Power Adapter and system DC jack. However, it will highlight some
items to consider.

For the DC jack, it should be able to withstand sufficient insertion and withdrawal
forces and cycles that is deemed acceptable by the ODM or OEM. Based on observed
usage model of the adapter, it is recommended that the system designer selects a DC
jack that can withstand a minimum of 5,000 insertion/withdrawal cycles for the life
time of the notebook system.

In addition, Intel recommends that the DC jack selected for a notebook be able to
withstand a maximum force of 29 N.

Platform Design Guide 11

 Electrical Design Considerations

4 Electrical Design
Considerations

4.1 Power Requirements

The power requirements for each notebook system may be different since they are
designed, manufactured, and configured differently. Every notebook system has a DC
jack input. The notebook system designer has to consider the power requirement of
the notebook system when selecting a DC jack. There are numerous DC jacks
available in the market and the designer should select one that will meet the cost,
power rating, and form factor requirements of the notebook system.

For 2006 and 2007 notebook systems, the recommended power requirements of the
CBB AC/DC power adapter are 75 W and 90 W. For notebook systems using CBB
AC/DC power adapter, it is recommended that the DC Jack input accommodate a
minimum of 7 A and 20 V.

Figure 5 illustrates the polarity of the DC jack. The outer wall (5.5 mm diameter) is
the negative terminal while the inside pin (2.5 mm diameter) is the positive terminal.

Figure 5. DC Jack Polarity

4.2 Power Rating

Each power adapter should be able to supply the necessary power that it is rated for.
Depending on the AC/DC power adapter supplier, the output voltage is usually around
5% - 10% range of the specified output.

As an example, if the DC output voltage is 19V +/- 5%,

12 Platform Design Guide

Electrical Design Considerations

Table 3 illustrates the current output that a particular power adapter output needs to
support to meet the full load.

As mentioned in Section 4.1, the DC Jack, at a minimum, should be able to

accommodate the max current output condition of the AC/DC power adapter. Based
on future platform power considerations, the decision to select a higher wattage
AC/DC power adapter in the future may require a DC Jack that can handle more
current than the recommendation provided in Section 4.1

Platform Design Guide 13

 Electrical Design Considerations

Table 3. Example of Output Voltage and Current Requirements for Power Adapter

Wattage (W) DC Output (V) Current at Full Loading (A)

65 19 +/- 5% 3.6A (18.05V)

75 19 +/- 5% 4.16A (18.05V)

90 19 +/- 5% 4.99A (18.05V)

4.3 Other Electrical Considerations

Intel recommends that the DC jack insulation resistance between any adjacent
terminals shall not be less than 100 MΩ by 500 Volts.

In addition, Intel recommends that the DC jack shall be able to withstand 250 V
between any adjacent terminals for one minute.

Intel recommends that the contact resistance be 20 mΩ or less.

14 Platform Design Guide

Electrical Design Considerations

Platform Design Guide 15

 Additional Information

5 Additional Information
The website http://www.mobileformfactors.org is the location for the latest
information regarding CBBs with links to industry specifications, lists of CBB-candidate
ingredients and CBB compliant ingredients, as well as links to system designers and
ingredient suppliers.

16 Platform Design Guide