Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2 Charging Dock: Multiple lights and magnetic “locks”

Two months ago, EDN published my teardown of Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2:

I’d mentioned in it that my dissection victim, acquired at steep discount from the original MSRP, included the “optional charging dock for both it, a wireless-charging (with MagSafe support, to boot) smartphone or other device, and a USB-tethered device (the USB charging port moved from the back of the speaker itself to the dock in this second-generation design)”:

An upfront correction before proceeding; I realize in retrospect upon re-read that my imprecise wording might have left you with the impression that the dock not only charged wireless- and USB-connected devices but also powered the Smart Clock 2 itself. Indeed, there’s an array of contacts on the underside of the Smart Clock 2:

which, as you’ll soon see, mate up to an array of spring-loaded pogo pins on the dock. However, as you may have already ascertained, given that that the Smart Clock 2 comes with a wall wart:

which mates with a barrel plug connector on the back of the device:

the power flow actually goes from the Smart Clock 2 to the charging dock and from there to its USB and wireless charging facilities for other devices’ use. One other note on the latter point, by the way…since the wall wart’s DC output is only 18W (12 V x 1.5 A) and since some of that power needs to be devoted to fueling the Smart Clock 2 itself along with whatever might be connected to the dock over USB, that explains (among other reasons) why Lenovo labels the wireless charging pad as “MagSafe-compatible”, not fully “Made for MagSafe”. Indeed, dive into the products’ tech spec minutia and you’ll find the following regarding the dock’s wireless charger:

5 W
5 W
10 W
Fast-charging

Frankly, I was surprised to see that the peak wireless charging power goes that high; I’m guessing it’s only valid if the USB charging port isn’t in simultaneous use at the time.

In that earlier writeup, I also noted that “I bought mine brand new direct from Lenovo at the end of 2022 for only $29.99, complete with the docking station (which I’ll save for another teardown to come).” That time is now if you haven’t already figured it out ;-).

Our previous allusion to the charging dock, aside from the verbiage and pictures on the outside of the combined packaging:

was intentionally titillating: a brief glimpse of a white box:

underneath the more decorative box for the Smart Clock 2 itself (which was presumably intended to be optionally placed directly on retailer shelves for standalone sale):

Here’s a fuller view of the aforementioned box o’the bottom, as-usual accompanied by a United States penny (0.75 inches/19.05 mm in diameter) for size-comparison purposes:

Riveting presentation, eh? I’ll save you six closeups of various plain white box panels, instead substituting a sole closeup of the product sticker in the previous overview shot:

Yes, the label includes the FCC ID (O57SEA61UW). And yes, if you’re impatient to see what the charging dock looks like inside you could bypass my scintillating prose and jump right to the FCC’s internal photos. But where’s the fun in that? Are you trying to hurt my feelings?

Ahem. Onward:

Here’s our first glimpse of our victim; its bottom side, to be precise:

The charging dock has dimensions of 0.93″ x 8.65″ x 3.26″ (23.66 mm x 219.65 mm x 82.77 mm). I couldn’t find a weight spec anywhere and didn’t think to weigh it myself until after it was already in pieces. Underneath it is nothing but more cardboard along with a literature sliver:

Here’s the dock again, still in its protective translucent sleeve:

First glimpse of the topside:

Finally freed from its plastic captivity:

The two oval inserts fit into matching insets on the underside of the Smart Clock 2, with the one handling power transfer obvious from the aforementioned pins-to-contacts cluster:

Let’s next look around back to get a different perspective on those pins:

Along with, refocusing slightly, that USB charging port:

Finally, flipping the dock back over (the front and sides are bland unless you’re into pictures of off-white plastic):

Let’s take a closer look at those markings and the sticker alongside them:

You probably also saw the two rubberized “feet”. If you’ve perused any of my teardowns before, you know that what’s often underneath them (screw heads, etc.) are prime candidates to get inside, therefore garnering my immediate attention. Habitual behavior rears its head again:

A-ha!

Keen-eyed readers may have already noticed that both feet left plastic film behind:

which thankfully was no match for my trusty Philips screwdriver:

That said, I’m honestly not sure how much purpose the screws served, since after I sufficiently loosened them, I was left with two enclosure halves that still stubbornly clung together. Some additional attention along the sides from my spudger followed by a screwdriver (flat head this time), along with some patience, finally convinced them to separate, however:

In the process of wrestling the bottom panel away, I’d inadvertently also dislodged a previously unknown-to-me top-side insert, which I focused my attention on next:

And after removing four screws holding the metal plate in place (underneath of which, I suspect you’ve probably already guessed, is the wireless charging coil), I was able to lift it away:

See, there’s the coil (other examples of which we’ve seen before in teardowns past)!

Revealing, in the left-behind top half of the chassis, the “MagSafe-compatible” magnets:

Next step: separate the PCB from the insert. The first four screws to be removed were obvious to my eyes, but the PCB still wouldn’t budge…until I looked again more closely and saw #5 (not the first time I’ve overlooked a screw in a disassembly rush, and likely not the last, either):

Free at last!

Speaking of magnets, here’s another (bigger) one:

Revisiting my earlier Smart Clock 2 teardown, I realized I hadn’t mentioned a metal plate on the inside of its underside, focusing instead on the mini-PCB (such an electrical engineer, aren’t I?):

This magnet, perhaps obviously, proximity-clings to the plate, thereby helping keep the Smart Clock 2 connected to the dock below it.

Finally, the closeups of the “guts” that you’ve been waiting for. Note first the black-color ground strap wire connecting the metal plate to the PCB:

Flip it over and you can see the two thick wires connecting the PCB to the coil, along with two much thinner wires that run between the PCB and the temperature sensor at the coil’s center:

Now for the PCB itself. Here’s the side you’ve already seen plenty of, which points downward when the system is assembled:

Near the center, and toward the top, is a chip marked MT581 (along with a vertical line seemingly drawn by hand with a Sharpie?) from Maxic Technology, described as a “highly integrated, high-performance System on Chip (SoC) for magnetic induction based wireless power transmitter solutions”. It’s the function equivalent of various ICs from STMicroelectronics that I’ve encountered in past wireless charger teardowns. Below and to its right is the CH552T, a USB microcontroller manufactured by Nanjing Qinheng Microelectronics. Unsurprisingly, it’s nearby the dock’s USB charging port. And in the upper right quadrant, to the right of the MT581, is a cluster of four small chips with identical markings:

RU3040
PR05078

whose function eludes my Google research (ideas, readers?). Flip the PCB over:

and the dominant feature that’ll likely catch your eye is a rectangular-ish outline near the periphery comprised of 18 small white pieces of what looks like plastic. At first, I thought they might find use in attaching the PCB to the underside of the insert, but more thoughtful analysis quickly dashed that theory. Turning the PCB sideways, however, revealed their true purpose:

They’re LEDs, implementing the charging dock’s “nightlight” function. Duh on me!

That’s all I’ve got for today, folks, although I’ll as-usual hold onto the pieces o’hardware for a while, for potential assistance in answering any questions you might have on stuff I haven’t already covered. More generally, as always sound off with your thoughts in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

<!–
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-native’); });
–>

The post Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2 Charging Dock: Multiple lights and magnetic “locks” appeared first on EDN.

Lenovo’s Smart Clock 2 Charging Dock: Multiple lights and magnetic “locks”

Become a member

Become a member

Become a subscriber

Become a sponsor