Our unique and innovative time-display is simple, minimal, and aesthetically neutral, which helps facilitate the wide range of unusually unique artistic creativity of our watches.
It is intuitively easy to use, since it utilises the same indicating positions as traditional watch dials (or clock faces).
How UnconstrainedTime watches display the time:
UnconstrainedTime watches are touch-watches, which means they display the time when the button is touched briefly.
Our watches show you the time to the nearest minute, using a 12-hour system (AM or PM is not displayed).
As soon as the working prototype of our launch watch is ready, we will add a video here to show how the time is displayed, and how to set the time on one of our watches.
The UnconstrainedTime time-display uses a ring of 12 LED display elements which correspond to the normal clock positions, with a single button at the normal 3 o’clock position.
When you briefly press and release the button:
- The hour is shown by the appropriate LED being lit for 1 second.
- Then there is a quarter-second pause (with no LEDs lit).
- Then the 5-minute-period is shown by the appropriate LED being lit for 1 second.
- Then there is a quarter-second pause (with no LEDs lit).
- Then 0 to 4 additional minutes are displayed by the appropriate number of additional quarter-second flashes of the same LED that displayed the 5-minute-period (with a quarter-second pause between each flash).
How you set the time on an UnconstrainedTime watch.
To start setting the time, hold the button in for at least 3 seconds. When the button has been in for 3 seconds, the current hour LED will start to flash (on for 1 second, off for a quarter-second, repeated) and you release the button.
Each time you press the button the hour will move to the next hour, and that LED will flash. When the hour displayed is correct, wait for 4 flashes in total, then all LEDs will be off for 1 second.
Then the 5-minute-period LED will start to flash (on for 1 second, off for a quarter-second, repeated). Each time you press the button the 5-minute-period will move to the next 5-minute-period and that will flash. When the 5-minute-period displayed is correct, wait for 4 flashes, then all LEDs will be off for 1 second.
Then the additional 0 to 4 minutes will be displayed, with the appropriate LED flashing (on for 1 second, off for a quarter-second, repeated): 12 o’clock for zero additional minutes, 1 o’clock for 1 additional minute etc.
Each time you press the button the additional minutes will move to the next additional minutes and that LED will flash. When the additional minutes are displayed correctly, wait for 4 flashes, then all LEDs will turn off and the time will be set.
The UnconstrainedTime Time-Display (Version 2.0) License Summary:
The functionality of the UnconstrainedTime time-display and time-setting processes are made freely available to anyone who wants to use them for commercial purposes (and derived projects), with applicable aspects of the functionality licensed under the:
- TAPR Open Hardware License (https://tapr.org/the-tapr-open-hardware-license/) and the
- GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html)
which both include the following provisions:
- Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, including a link to the web-page: https://unconstrainedtime.com/time-display, and indicate if changes were made, and a wording such as “UnconstrainedTime time-display” or similar in legible form on the outside of any object which uses it. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- Modified versions must be distributed under the same licence(s).
- Documentation must include any changes made to the original work.
We are happy to help others use our time-display for their own projects, in accordance with the above licenses.
For full details of the licenses and the first public release (and formal definition) of the UnconstrainedTime time-display and time-setting processes functionality, see our Time-display license web-page.
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