One of the funniest things I ever saw during my corporate design years was the tech support guy who was trying to get fired. He never confided to me that he was trying to get fired, but no other motivation could explain his behavior. One day I called him in to complain about a faulty monitor. "Let the doctor take care of it," he said, grabbing the power cord. He then suddenly, savagely yanked it out of the wall so hard it was like he was trying to start a lawn mower. (And yes, he bent the prongs.)
The tech support guy had a good grip on the cord, if not job security; but for those with arthritis, removing a power cord from a wall socket can be an ordeal. Addressing this latter fact, UK design student Glen Crombie has designed a power outlet with a sort of eject button. Press it and the plug is forced out, easy peasy.
Crombie's outlet design took first prize in a design competition sponsored by product manufacturer The Future Perfect Company and the UK's College of Richard Collyer. (No word yet on whether it will see actual production.)
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So an arthritus sufferer is supposed to push this small button are they - how? With they're fully dexterous thumb? And of course the amount of force required will be greater than that needed to remove the plug to take in to account the inefficency of the eject system itself (friction, force translation etc).
And as Nermal has mentioned - the socket will now always have a protrusion whether it be the eject prongs or the button itself. What if the button gets knocked or caught on something. How do you stop the eject prongs becoming accidently bent - rendering the socket useless? Design for use and misuse!
Don't the solutions that others have suggested make more sense? I admit the aesthetic design leaves little to be desired but they solve the problem without creating more.
http://www.procterhealthcare.co.uk/product536.html
http://www.disabledgear.com/Products/P100010.aspx
http://www.thistlehelp.co.uk/household/helpinghand_1.html
http://www.cosmetics-shop.co.uk/bargains/3193--2.html
I prefer the simpler solution you see nowadays of the power cord having a ring-pull on it. Hook a finger or other tool in there and pull.
Better is to bury the eject mechanism in the slots so that the plug's prongs push them in:
Sometimes I share Donald Norman's dissatisfaction with design contests.
http://www.core77.com/blog/columns/why_design_contests_are_bad_17024.asp