So, all these little bastards nowadays play too many damned video games and watching too much TV. Go outside and play! you yell at them.

Well, this should make it easier. For chandeliers, they have a key-operated switch in the wall to control the winch to lower the chandelier. It's a typical electrical fixture in houses. You put in they key, and turn one way to lower, another to raise. So anyway the point is locks can be used to power switches.

So, wire a switch like that to turn on or off a receptacle ("outlet" for you laymen), and only set up the TV and video games at that outlet. You have the key, you control whether or not they can play or watch. Also good because older people who have kids might not know how to turn off the game. And either way it makes turning it off easy and final.

There's really no R & D needed or patentability here. If you'd want to do it, you'd just tell your electrician. It might be a little weird to represent in the plans or in permit applications, but would make a good conversation topic when shooting the shit with the inspector.
-- EdwinBakery, Dec 30 2010

Locking Mains Plug Locking_20mains_20Plug
Similar to [csea]'s ancillary idea. [Wrongfellow, Dec 31 2010]

Switched outlets are widely known to exist, although key-switched outlets aren't standard in houses.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but what's stopping the little bastards from moving their systems to another, non-switched outlet?
-- gisho, Dec 30 2010


that would be completely verboten. If they move their game you take it away completely for an extended period.
-- EdwinBakery, Dec 30 2010


I love this idea as it also childproofs in the best way possible.
-- MisterQED, Dec 30 2010


Without wishing to be mean-spirited...if key-controlled sockets are well-known, and if this is just a suggestion to use them more widely, how much of an invention is it? Does it not drift close to being a "household tip"?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 30 2010


I never said it was a "proper invention". It's just that I've never heard of anyone doing it, and they might want to, but maybe they haven't thought of it.

It's definitely not patentable. And like I said no "baking" is needed; both fixtures are pretty regular in housebuilding. The most complication you'd get is from the building codes and inspectors.
-- EdwinBakery, Dec 30 2010


Here you go: I'll walk you right through it. Create an out of the house reward system that uses tokens or quarters. This may require the small ones to wear monitors, I had a harness to keep me tied up, and I enjoyed it. The kids get the tokens for being outside, and then can get specific time on specific programing spending the tokens in the TV or computer switch appliance. This is self regulation extra special. Kids may watch a math show for free. If they grow up with it they'll not even know they're being brutally manipulated towards their own success. But to watch cheap entertainment they may need the one to one time outside for that, and those tokens. So the kids have an equation to work on. This is actually one of my own half baked projects, but I do like it and think it will work. The wall switch to the power of the TV is good, but may seem arbitrary, unreasonable, and capricious to the average six year older.
-- Steven J Scannell, Dec 31 2010


An ancillary idea (I can't at present be bothered to look it up or make it a separate idea) would be to have the key lock physically prevent plugs from being either introduced or removed from socket / receptacle. Good for baby-proofing and annoyance factor reduction, e.g. "Who the %$!# unplugged my phone charger!"
-- csea, Dec 31 2010


There are some seriously good ideas on this page. Who wants a bun? (+) (+) (+).....
-- Boomershine, Dec 31 2010


//"outlet" for you laymen)//

And for Slippery Pete, the holes.
-- ldischler, Dec 31 2010


Who bought the stuff for the little bastards? Who created the little bastards in the first place? Nope, bad idea.
-- cudgel, Dec 31 2010


...for when you are convinced that your children are to dumb, or to lazy, to get an extension cord or move the tv.

It's either head in the sand parenting, or gross negligence in modeling basic motivation and problem solving. Also, keyed switches are baked.

[marked-for-deletion] Widely known to exist.
-- WcW, May 23 2012



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