Here is how charging operates more efficiently.
Improved:
- Smart power adapter is (truly) off
- Attach smartphone
- Power adapter requests “wake from off” power
- Phone provides a tiny amount of power (for a fraction of a second)
- Power adapter uses the wake from off power to light an LED within an opto-switch.
- The opto-switch turns on power to the power adapter.
- The power adapter communicates with the phone.
- The phone accordingly switches from providing power, to consuming power from the power adapter, to charge the phone.
- Detach phone
- Smart power adapter turns off (consuming zero power)
Previously:
- Dumb power adapter is in standby mode (wasting power)
- Attach smartphone
- Power adapter increases switching speed and accelerates to an operating mode
- Phone charges
- Detach phone
- Dumb power adapter returns to standby (joining billions of dumb power adapters waiting for a phone to be attached)