Microsoft is always looking to innovate on their own products, but a new patent hints that the company is also looking to change up a key connection on many modern devices. As spotted by Windows Latest, a freshly released Microsoft patent shows that the Redmond giant wants to make USB C ports thinner.
This patent was originally filed back on May 22, 2017, and was just published yesterday on June 21. It includes many diagrams and a detailed explanation of the slimming down parts of a USB C connection including locking mechanisms, housings, and wiring. Perhaps the most interesting part, though, is the language and phrasing the abstract.
A USB-C connector includes a plug tip and a cable. The USB-C connector includes a single, seamless, continuous thin housing protecting a wire termination and contacts within the housing. The housing has a uniform thickness along the entire length of the housing. The housing may provide strain relief to the cable and an aesthetically pleasing USB-C connector. The connector may include an over-mold residing inside the housing and over the wire termination and contacts.
Ironically, none of Microsoft’s devices had USB C ports at the time when this patent was filed. This hints that the tech in this patent may never come to fruition, but here’s to hoping that the rumored new Surface devices could have slimmer ports mentioned in this patent.
