Designer creates Infinite USB concept

Posted on 23 Mar 2010 at 16:16

If you're always running out of USB ports, you might want to check out a new innovation: the Infinite USB.

A design concept created by Gonglue Jiang and showcased over on Yanko Design - via UberGizmo - the Infinite USB connector is a relatively simple invention: a male USB plug which features a female socket on the rear side.

The general idea is that as well as providing connectivity for your USB device, the Infinite USB plug acts as a single-port hub - allowing another USB device to be daisy-chained behind it. If that device also uses the Infinite USB connector, a third device can be added to the chain - and so on.

While the design doesn't scale beyond three or four devices - as the stress on the original connection will get too great - and it doesn't provide too much scope for devices which require vast amounts of power from the USB ports, it's a neat idea for low-power devices - and one which owners of Apple's MacBook Air, which features a single USB port, will find particularly exciting.

The concept - which sadly is not planned for production just yet - includes a colour coding system for figuring out which connector is for which device, although if you want to disconnect the first device in the chain you're going to have issues. Despite its drawbacks, it's a design which could find its way into products in the future.

Author: Gareth Halfacree

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