Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 December 28

= December 28 =

Power plugs with retractable pins
Are there power plugs with retractable pins so that instead of pulling out from socket you have to retract/fold the pins? Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 18:55, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * I've got one that is built like that because it supports a bunch of different sockets. I wouldn't think it's a common setup. It's one extra point of failure. 89.172.85.141 (talk) 02:31, 29 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Folding plugs are more common among portable devices, as sitting on a standard plug in your back pocket is unpleasant. I have a cell phone charger and a portable backup light/flashlight with folding plugs. I've not seen retractable plugs. NonmalignedNations (talk) 15:29, 29 December 2019 (UTC)


 * A more interesting question might be why there are none (if there are, they're well hidden). The force to retract a pin is often large (the contact force on the pin generates friction) and so the easiest way to provide this is to make the whole body of the plug a handle. We don't have many where this force is big enough to become a problem (where we do, those use rotation of the whole plug as a bayonet lock, or else a threaded clamp handle) and so individual insertion / retraction would be useful.
 * There's also an issue where connection order is often an issue (Earth / Ground makes first and disconnects last) so individual movements would need interlocks). Andy Dingley (talk) 16:36, 29 December 2019 (UTC)