Hello Bostjan,

There are a number of considerations regarding power from standard USB ports. 
There are USB ports designed to supply power over an additional set of 
contacts. I would recommend using one of these connector types where you intend 
to deliver more power than normally supplied by a USB port. The powered USB 
ports are designed for up to 30W at 5V.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_USB

The standard USB connector will typically be designed for a maximum continuous 
current of 1.5A. Drawing more current through a standard connector may raise 
temperatures beyond what IEC 60950-1 would allow. The temperatures of the 
plastics of the connector body may exceed their RTI, or the temperatures of the 
circuit board supporting the connector might exceed the board's maximum rating.

Although the USB standard doesn't limit the size of conductors in USB cables, 
the specification recommends making cable conductors as small as possible to 
enhance the flexibility of the cable. If you have a standard USB port, you have 
no control of what the user connects beyond instructional safeguards. The 
designers of many USB devices presume a limited current from USB ports. Their 
designs assume that under fault conditions, the USB port will limit the current 
enough that a short circuit in their device will not result in overheating or 
other issues. This could be a problem if such a device experiences a fault when 
connected to the USB port you propose.

Ted Eckert
Compliance Engineer
Microsoft Corporation
ted.eck...@microsoft.com

The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my 
employer.

-----Original Message-----
From: Boštjan Glavič [mailto:bostjan.gla...@siq.si] 
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2013 5:30 AM
To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG
Subject: USB output limitation

Dear experts,

What would be the limit of USB output?  I know IEC 60950-1 requires only that 
it complies with limited power source, but there might be some other 
requirements to limit power from USB?

In particular, I am talking about power supply with USB connector. Can it go up 
to 5Vd.c./3A?

Best regards,
Bostjan Glavic
SIQ

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