To understand how this watch looks and works, imagine three pieces of Teflon-coated film formed as loops. The first, hour loop is marked 1-12 and the other two, minute and second loops are indexed 0-59. To complete the bracelet, imagine the loops draped over your wrist, next to each other and enclosed in a plastic shell with a clasp or with ends that don’t meet.
The loops are driven at their ends at different speeds by a battery powered motor. As the hour, minute and second markings pass downward from an opaque end of the bracelet and into the clearer middle and under a hairline, one can continuously read the time. See schematic:
=------------==-----25-----==--5---------==---------10-==------------==------------==--4--20-----==------------==----------5-=>------------<=--3---------==-----15-----==------------==--------- 0-==--2---------==------------==-----10-----==------------==--1------55-==------------=
hour min sec = 3:17:04-- FarmerJohn, Aug 23 2002 An interpretation http://bz.pair.com/fun/time_bracelet.html48Kb image [bristolz, Aug 25 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004] Jumping Hour http://www.watchbuy...ges/RNJumpFront.JPGHere's another alternative-format wristwatch. [panamax, Aug 25 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Kewell-- thumbwax, Aug 23 2002 Yeah, providing it doesn't give you a Chinese burn. I think I've seen a clock like this - a (solid) cylinder with marked segments that rotate.-- DrCurry, Aug 23 2002 I think I may need some personal tuition with this - it looks so complex for my simple mind. Farmer.-- po, Aug 23 2002 I've never needed a schematic to read time...oh wait...yes i have...I like it-- gniterobot, Aug 23 2002 I like. Perhaps just the outer surface of the bracelet could spin, to avoid that Indian burn thing.
po, look for the arrows in the center, and then read across. It's sorta like reading a micrometer...
The only real trick will be the sizing problems, unless you manufacture several sizes.-- RayfordSteele, Aug 23 2002 Sorry, it's real hard to convey its appearance. I mean that you flatten the loops, form them in a "C" shape and enclose them completely in the bracelet - no burns. It might take a little practice to read it. Instead of an analogue watch's one set of markings and three hands, this would have three sets and one "hand".-- FarmerJohn, Aug 23 2002 This is excellent. Both this and the Around-the-Clock Hourglass Clock would make fantastic real-life products. A new career as a clockmaker beckons, non?-- calum, Aug 24 2002 I went from lost to dazzled...FarmerJohn and Bris should think about a joint venture-- gniterobot, Aug 25 2002 Bris: Perfect! I didn't know you could read minds, too.-- FarmerJohn, Aug 25 2002 Hmm, a new format for analog watches... possibly you could make the numerals trace around on an LCD medium, thereby virtually eliminating the need for moving parts (solves the Indian burn possibility, and the related power issue). That would also make it a new format in *digital* watches. Other alternative formats for the analog (non-digital) watch exist. The Jump-Hour, usually found in high-end Swiss watches, exhibits the hour in a date-type window. The minutes may be displayed along a 90-degree arc centered on the "noon" position. When the minute hand reaches the end of it's sweep along the arc, it jumps back to the starting point and traverses the 60 minute range once again. Or the minute hand may simply sweep the full 360°. Seconds may appear in a sub-dial like push-button split-second chronos have, or simply sweep the 360°.-- panamax, Aug 25 2002 Exquisite, FJ. Touche, bris.-- waugsqueke, Aug 26 2002 I was wondering how you plan to transmit power to the flattened, c-shaped loops, though. I almost drew little sprocket holes in the edge of the "time-loop" but reconsidered as the design is yours.-- bristolz, Aug 26 2002 panamax: Yes, another variant, which might be baked, would be to have only one immobile hand/hairline at the 3 o'clock position as three dials (hour, minute, second) rotate under it.
bristolz: I can't come up with anything better than sprocket holes for the slippery film loops.-- FarmerJohn, Aug 26 2002 wait a minute...am i missing something here? when the numbers reach the end they don't continue because it's an open clasp...how does it reset?-- gniterobot, Aug 26 2002 quantum leap.-- po, Aug 26 2002 The time loop is much shorter than the entire bracelet. In the drawing the time loop only spans slightly longer than the transparent blue window. I was hoping that the time loop section detail shown outside of the bracelet would explain. It shows the flattened, c-shaped loop as described by [FarmerTime].-- bristolz, Aug 26 2002 If it's worthy of a conteptualization by [bristolz] I doubt I could do anything _but_ croissant it. Thanks, by the way-- helped me to visualize this a great deal better.-- watermelancholy, Aug 26 2002 Ohhhhh i get it...so it's a date stamp-- gniterobot, Aug 31 2002 Its open clasped so you put it on and take it off at 000 say. You need to be able to set the time so you can take it off.-- madness, Jan 14 2003 random, halfbakery