POWER TOWER - Product Idea

#1

So we got a new power tower at the college library I work in:

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It plugs in and charges itself overnight, or whenever you leave it plugged in:

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It has USB A and USB C PD outlets:

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But it looks like the USB A outlets max out at 5V:

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Even though the PD seems to work about right, providing to 45w (well, almost 44) my laptop is capable of:

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Here’s what I want to see: An ANKER battery robot, that will go home at night and charge itself (like the EUFY RoboVac), but it will come to you if you call it with an app. Imagine that! It would be like Uber, Robovoac, and Anker battery all combined! What if you could call a charging tower to your location with an app?! That would be awesome! Would you use something like this in a library, coffee shop, or airport? I would!

Also, it would need an AC outlet, which this particular tower does not have.

9 Likes
#2

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#3

I like this idea… why not make it fold laundry and do dishes too! :wink: seriously though this does seem like it could be a good product.

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#4

Careful you might get what you ask for :laughing:

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#5

This is nice concept. However, I still wonder why not our devices get charged wireless, not like Qi, something like NFC but has a wider range.

#6

I suspect that someone somewhere has tried this with disastrous results…

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Samsung looking to power wireless TV's
#7

Not sure, that is just fiction. Even if it was true, every invention was like that, there is a way to tweak and fine tune to get the end results.

#8

@ryandhazen
Note to Power tower developers: remember to keep Power tower shorter than power lines :joy:

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#9

Wireless charging has already been done.
Disney did it as did others

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#10

At the hospital things like these would always be handy too! We use computer on wheels, but there’s not always enough of them to go around. A power tower with a table modification on top would be great to keep my laptop or a tablet charged.

#11

WOAH That is nuts. But that room is not my idea of a nice place to hang out :laughing:

#12

Nice article, thanks for sharing. Wondering why it is not in works, must be too expensive.

#13

A big tall rolling power strip lol :sweat_smile:

#14

If wireless charging, I like this one!

That’s real charging!!!

4 Likes
#15

I don’t get it… Seriously, why?

It’s not an extension lead, or a wall charger.

It’s like a hat stand with usb outlets, but no good for hats, and no space to charge anything… Oh yeah, one item can sit on top, instead of coffee :coffee:

So it’s a massive powerbank? The space it takes up, and I expect the cost of it, would be simpler to give each their own powerbank.

Now, the gert power thing by Anker (name escapes me at present), now that’s portable power.

I’ll stick to good old fashioned, plug into a wall charger at my volvo (an old name for workstation). I can have proper power delivery, and it’s not restricting my work, by having a mobile hat stand next to me!

2 Likes
#16

That is “design” :joy:
Ugly, but it is!

#17

Very cool! I wonder if the batteries are just in the top portion, or if the extend down the length of the tower as well?

#18

It would need something near or.in the base for stability.

#19

True, easy to tip over if you put heavy batteries on top section.

#20

I was in the hospital over the weekend and the nurses had something similar to this. I can tell you that in the one the hospital has the batteries are housed just below the center of the shaft, there is a regulator above that and at the bottom an additional weight for stability. I have to say I was glad they had one because they were able to charge my phone for me for the three days i was there.

1 Like