Patent ID: 7021971

Claim:
An extended Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) connector plug for insertion into an extended USB socket or into a standard USB socket, the extended USB connector plug comprising: an extended pin substrate that has an extended length that is longer than or equal to a standard length of the pin substrate of the standard USB connector plug; plug standard metal contact pins on the pin substrate, wherein when the standard pin substrate of the extended USB connector plug is inserted into a cavity of the standard USB socket, the standard metal contact pins make physical and electrical contact with plug standard metal contact pins on a plug pin substrate; plug extended metal contact pins on the extended pin substrate; wherein when the extended pin substrate of the extended USB connector plug is inserted into a cavity of the extended USB socket, the plug extended metal contact pins on the extended pin substrate make physical and electrical contact with socket extended metal contact pins on the extended USB socket; a set of ribs on the extended pin substrate, adjacent to the plug extended metal contact pins of the extended USB connector plug; wherein set of ribs prevents the plug extended metal contact pins from making contact with a standard metal cover when the extended USB connector plug is inserted into the standard USB socket with the standard metal cover, whereby the set of ribs prevents shorting to the standard metal cover of the standard USB socket and whereby the plug extended metal contact pins make contact when the extended USB connector plug is inserted into the extended USB socket, but do not make contact when inserted into the standard USB socket.