Tok Took Power Plug has a silly name, smart concept

The last concept we saw from designer Soon Mo Kang was a simple but innovative power strip that, with a light press, could automatically send your bulky AC adapters flying. Kang is back with another idea for plugging in and, while it's in much the same vein, it takes easy unplugging down to the individual level. The Tok Took Power Plug takes inspiration form a retractable pen: push in the back to extend the prongs, then push the back in again to retract them. This makes unplugging very easy (as demonstrated after the break), and also means you can toss it in a bag without gouging everything else in there. It's another simple but smart idea that, sadly, we're not expecting to see in the wild any time soon.

[Boyo Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:21PM]

220 221 whatever it takes.

[Spiraling Shape Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:57PM]

Doesn't this concept already exist in plugs where the prongs fold over -- like Apple's charger for example (I'm not saying they invented it. It's just an example).

[CRA1G Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:07PM]

@Boyo Ur old. I know that because I am, too.

[Boyo Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:12PM]

@CRA1G That's why I need this plug... to charge my JitterBug

[AbSoluTc Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:24PM]

Oooh, I get to unsheathe my prong! :D

[zeec Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:35PM]

this kind of design should be applied to notebooks to unplug the power source when fully charged

[DeFlanko Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:39PM]

Great idea but i think the spring required will be under some serious pressure.

[Uncontrol Posted Apr 20th 2010 4:54PM]

@zeec my laptop unplugging itself once it is fully charged seems like basically the most irritating thing ever

[Michael Pollard Posted Apr 20th 2010 5:02PM]

@zeec
Only if it re-plugs itself when you've started using it again.

[HardToBelieve Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:36PM]

Brilliant!

[mdesign Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:37PM]

Belkin should hire this guy. Stat.

[IcerC Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:43PM]

When plugging it in it seems like you might have some premature ejections. Gotta be more careful with the sensitive tip I guess;/

[rchives Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:49PM]

@IcerC

Sexual innuendo fail.

[IcerC Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:55PM]

@(Unverified) You took it the wrong way. Hard.

[NeatOman Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:44PM]

It would be better if the wire was not in the middle of the pug so you can have more space to push :)

I take checks

[Alphathon Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:25PM]

@NeatOman Like british plugs you mean? Could work, but only if the plug sockets are side-by-side like british ones. If you plugged one in to the top the bottom one would become unusable. So the side then? I'm sure there are power stips with sockets going both ways as the standard is to have the cable out the back (I may be wrong of course, having never traveled outside the UK).

[NeatOman Posted Apr 20th 2010 6:04PM]

@Alphathon I was thinking that the wire would still go straight out, just not in the middle. Plus it would give you orientation on witch way the plug is.

[zangetsu2 Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:46PM]

Key$ha should be in the ads!

[redkamel Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:50PM]

why is this a good idea? it makes it look like plugs will take up more space, can break, and will keep trying to unplug themselves.

[dimithra Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:55PM]

Wow.. everything is getting a ikea look to it.. hehe

I like it!

[Vidikron Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:57PM]

Seems there is an obvious flaw. If you push the prongs out and then plug it in as the video shows, I can easily see people attempting to push it into the wall by pushing on the back... which would then cause the prongs to retract and immediately unplug. I guess you would used to holding the side when plugging it in, but overall I don't see how this is really easier.

[Vidikron Posted Apr 20th 2010 2:58PM]

*would get used to

[zim2411 Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:04PM]

Solution to a problem nobody really has?

[Zumadume2 Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:15PM]

Wait, doesn't the power plug itself need a power plug to be easilly plug-able where ever you go? Otherwise, what's the point of taking it with you?

[germangabriel Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:29PM]

Funny, but kinda very useless. Nevertheless, nice job on the render.

[KeegdnaB Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:40PM]

Is it me or does it sound like a Canadian Kesha song?

[AckbarsFist Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:43PM]

Did it wake up this morning feeling like P Diddy?

[whormongr Posted Apr 20th 2010 4:33PM]

@AckbarsFist first thing I thought too

[line6ix Posted Apr 20th 2010 4:20PM]

This seems pointless. Now random contact with a plug would cause it to come out of socket (a plug behind a sofa or chair, the furniture gets nudged backwards, now your floor lamp/tv is unplugged!). Are people getting so lazy that we can't pull the plug, we have to push the plug to then pull the plug?

[ed anger Posted Apr 20th 2010 4:27PM]

now combine this with the clapper for win

[bigcow05 Posted Apr 20th 2010 5:11PM]

It seems like a good idea, but I wonder how long until the spring inside gets deformed, especially for devices that are plugged in the majority of time.

[BigD145 Posted Apr 20th 2010 6:03PM]

@bigcow05 Repeat customers? Yes, indeed.

[Fanfoot Posted Apr 20th 2010 6:14PM]

Seriously, I can't find even simple shit at the stores I go to. Even something simple like a power cable with a power switch on it so you can switch off devices that don't have real power switches (Apple TV, Wii) are hard to find. We don't live in a world where this thing would be available anywhere...

[Dsi2play Posted Apr 20th 2010 7:53PM]

what ever happened to the chargers that where able to make there prongs swing to the side

[guitarguru102 Posted Apr 21st 2010 2:16AM]

Is it not obvious that in order for the spring to "pull the plug out for you", it would require at least as much force to first compress the spring before you plug it in? Doesn't do a thing for you.

[Ned Scott Posted Apr 21st 2010 8:42AM]

This is a joke, right? Engadget can't be this out of it, right? Plugs like this have existed for years.

[Sirius Posted Apr 22nd 2010 6:32AM]

@Eli Haj
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_socket#Type_C
I'm hoping like hell that you're not American.. for the sake of other Americans, of course :)