Power Strip Cable-Winding Blocks for Compact Cord Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power strips lack an effective cable-winding structure, leading to loose cables and irregular surfaces, making them difficult to position and increasing production complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
A power strip design featuring pivotally connected cable take-up blocks that unfold to allow cable winding around their sides, enabling compact storage and easy production with a simple structural modification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cable is wound around the power strip body, then the cable can be stored, but the power strip thickness is greatly increased and the structure becomes more complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The cable take-up device is divided into multiple cable take-up blocks that can be independently folded and unfolded. Each block has cable-winding portions that can be separately deployed, allowing the cable to be wound in segments rather than requiring a single large storage compartment, thus reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining storage functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The cable take-up blocks are designed to fold outward from the bottom surface of the power strip body, utilizing the space below the main body rather than increasing thickness in the vertical dimension. This dimensional change allows cable storage without significantly increasing the power strip's profile height
2Ease of operation
If the cable is wound around the power strip body, then the cable can be stored, but the power strip production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented cable take-up blocks can be manufactured as separate components and assembled onto the power strip body, allowing for standardized production of modular parts. This segmentation enables easier manufacturing and assembly compared to creating a single complex integrated cable storage mechanism, thereby reducing production costs
Solution Approach 2:
The cable take-up blocks incorporate pivot connections that allow them to rotate between folded and unfolded states. This dynamic design uses simple mechanical hinges rather than complex locking mechanisms or motors, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while providing functional cable storage
3Ease of operation
If the cable is wound around the power strip body, then the cable can be stored, but the power strip cannot be positioned well due to irregular curved surface
Solution Approach 1:
The cable take-up blocks are designed to be folded against the bottom surface of the power strip body when not in use, maintaining a flat and regular external shape. When cable storage is needed, the blocks can be unfolded outward to provide winding surfaces. This dynamic configuration allows the power strip to maintain its positioning stability on surfaces while providing cable storage functionality when required
Data Source
AI summary
A power strip having a cable-winding structure includes a power strip body and a cable. The power strip body includes a casing. The casing has a casing panel portion and a casing bottom portion that are disposed on opposite sides of the casing. The casing panel portion has electrical outlets thereon. The cable has a plug on an outer end thereof. The casing bottom portion has a first cable take-up block, a second cable take-up block spaced apart from the first cable take-up block, and a non-electrical outlet for the plug to be plugged and positioned in the non-electrical outlet. The cable can be wound around cable-winding portions of the first cable take-up block and the second cable take-up block.