USB Connector

Fig. 1: Image showing different types of USB connectors

The USB standard connectors have both male and female types. The male connectors are usually found at the cables and are commonly referred to as USB plug. The female connector usually found sitting inside the device and are commonly referred to as USB receptacles. USB connectors are polarized connectors, it is impossible to connect the USB plug to the receptacle upside down. No screws or clips are used in USB connectors since they are designed for frequent connection and disconnection. A small amount of force is only required to plug the connector in and out. USB connectors are designed for strength, durability and maximum number of mating cycle.

Let us take a look at the USB standard connectors, their applications and pin-out.

Type-A

These types of USB connectors are identified by their rectangular shaped plug. The plug is always found in the cable and the receptacle is found in the device. They are commonly used with keyboard, mouse, data-cards etc. The image of a type A connector and the pin position is shown in the following image.

Fig. 2: Representational Image of Type-A USB Connector

The pin-position of Type A USB connector

Fig. 3: Image of Type A male and female USB connector

The pin-out of the Type A USB connector

PIN 1 ——————- VBUS

PIN 2 ——————- D –

PIN 3 ——————- D+

PIN 4 ——————- GROUND

Type-B USB Connector

Type-B

The Type-B connectors are designed to be used with devices which are meant to be connected with the device having Type-A receptacle. These connectors are square shaped with beveled exterior corners. They are found in USB devices like printers, USB to serial converters, simple USB powered devices like battery chargers etc. The image of a type B connector and the pin position is shown in the following image.

Fig. 4: Image of Female Type B USB connector

Fig. 5: Image of Male Type B USB Connector and the pin position of the type B USB connector

The pin-out of the Type A USB connector

PIN 1 ——————- VBUS

PIN 2 ——————- D –

PIN 3 ——————- D+

PIN 4 ——————- GROUND

Mini USB Connectors

Mini-A and Mini-B

The Mini-A and Mini-B connectors are use with USB devices which are meant to be connected to Type A receptacles. But these connectors are smaller than the Type B connector. They are designed to be connected with small sized USB devices like camera, mobile phones etc.

Fig. 6: Image of Mini A and Mini B USB male connector and their pin positions

The pin-out of the Mini USB connector

PIN 1 ——————- VBUS

PIN 2 ——————- D –

PIN 3 ——————- D+

PIN 4 ——————- ID

PIN 5 ——————- GROUND

Micro-A Micro-B

Micro USB Connectors

The Micro-A and Micro-B connectors are introduced to replace the Mini-A and Mini-AB connectors. They are smaller in size than the Mini connectors. They have up to 10, 000 mating cycles. The Micro connectors are used with small devices like mobiles, smart phones, PDAs etc.