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2007 Winner Entry
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The Power Strip That Works |
Category: Consumer |
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Jake Zien
Carnegie Mellon University
Milwaukee, WI US
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Entered: 10/15/2007
Patented or Patent Pending
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One idea that seems key to the popular conception of the future is the shrinking size of electronic gadgets. To make their products smaller, manufacturers will often relocate a gadget’s power transformer to its outside, creating the unfortunate byproduct known as the “power brick”. As future consumers buy more products with power bricks, they will discover an exaggerated version of a current nuisance: the clogging of the power strip. It’s not uncommon to have a seven-outlet strip that can only use three of its sources, as wide power bricks impinge on adjacent holes.
Designers have attempted to solve this problem with little success. A popular solution today is the Power Squid, which is a group of short extension cords emerging from a central hub. Though it enables all outlets to be used with bricks, it creates tangled clutter, dismantles the organization and user-familiarity of the power strip, and is phenomenally ugly. My idea is far simpler. Each outlet on the strip is contained within its own pod, and these are connected in the familiar, linear fashion by an inch of rigid tubing which can be slid into each pod. This creates a telescoping power strip that can be collapsed to the normal size with each pod touching or extended in sections to twenty inches, enabling all outlets to be used, even with power bricks. The pods don’t slide along a single bar; they each contain an extendable hidden section of tube. Additionally, the face of each outlet can be rotated 360 degrees, so that a brick can be simply twisted out of the way. This design solves the power brick problem while maintaining the user’s familiarity with the idea of a power strip, creating no additional clutter, and looking very, very good.
The strip’s own plug also features several innovations. Its large, flat shape can be grasped by the whole hand, so it is more ergonomic and safer to unplug than traditional cords. It can be rotated about its plug to each of the four compass points, so that when it is on the wall, it does not block off the standard two-outlet plate’s other port (that would be rather hypocritical). Further, the cord connecting it to the strip is wide and flat. It can be wound into the plug housing around the dial, minimizing the strip’s own clutter. Finally, the strip’s “switch” does not press, but slides, and sits flush on the plug – no more shutting everything off when kicking around under the desk.
Though this product might seem technically difficult to manufacture, all that would be required is for the inner cabling to fold over itself when the pods were collapsed and extend when they were pulled out. The rotating outlets can be done; the concept is available commercially (see www.360electrical.com). This product might be slightly more expensive than some power strips, but there is a large market even for premium power management – some companies sell glorified power strips for hundreds of dollars.
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Meet the Entrant, Jake Zien
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Association: Carnegie Mellon University |
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Profession: Student |
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Number of times entering contest previously: 0
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Design Tools:
Pencil and Paper
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Software used:
SketchUp
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