Alarm clock

An alarm clock is a clock that will make a loud to a previously adjusted time from sleep or remember a specific date. This is usually done by an acoustic signal.

• 3.1 Digital Alarm Clock
• 3.2 travel alarm clock
• 3.3 Light Alarm Clock
• 3.4 alarm clock for the deaf and hard of hearing
• 3.5 Radio Alarm Clock
• 3.6 Sleep.Phase.Alarm.Clock
• 3.7 Action Alarm Clock 3.7.1 Portable versions

History

Before industrialization, people were awakened to the land of the sun, animals or earlier awakening members of the court. In the cities, this worried the noise of the city, church bells or night watchman. In the absence of accurate clocks any time planning was handled relatively easy.

In the military since ancient times emergency services had ( non-commissioned officer on duty, guard ) watches Watch (initially sand, later mechanical watches ) to ensure the awakening of the remaining soldiers. In Imperial Rome, this was - in wealthy households - the task of slaves. As the developing Business fixed appointments and the emerging industrialization brought the compliance of fixed working hours with it, reliable Weckmethoden became increasingly important.

The invention of the alarm clock is attributed partly Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire (USA). However, his first alarm clock from 1787 could only ring at 4 clock in the morning - this was the time, got to the Hutchins. However, a diary of Samuel Pepys is apparent that this early as 1665 an alarm clock to wake operated.

The French inventor Antoine Redier (1817-1892) had in 1847 patented a mechanical alarm with adjustable alarm time.

The importance of pure Alarm Clock takes in the era of mobile phones and smartphones from significantly because the functionality can be taken with these and they often anyway as the alarm clock on the bedside table ready lie. The voice control of smartphone is even a new functionality ( for turning off the alarm tone ), which hardly existed before that.

Differentiation

A distinction alarm clock with mechanical movement, electric alarm clock with electromechanical battery movement, sleep phase alarm clock that select the alarm time taking into account the stage of sleep, and timer, which emit a signal after a preset period of time from mostly a maximum of 60 minutes. In addition there are special variants will be discussed in more detail below. Alarm clock, as an additional function, even in many devices available that contain a clock. A good example are compact stereos and mobile phones. In remote sense, timed special coffee machines fall under the concept alarm clock, as they prepare coffee at a preset time. The awakening effect can take place by the sounds of grinding the coffee beans, or by an additionally integrated alarm after completion of Kaffeeaufbrühens depending on the design of the device.

Special Features

Snooze button

The snooze button (English: snooze button ) is often found in electronic alarm clocks and clock radios - usually at the top of the device. It is especially great running in order to find them easily in the dark. Pressing it interrupts the alarm, to start it five to ten minutes later, depending on the device.

The constant snooze function can only be terminated by switching off the alarm. Thus, the 24 -hour alarm is not cleared to continue to provide any extra settings daily awakening. From manufacturers often called Snooze, snooze from different kind of timer Sleep Timer ( Sleep timer Snooze or ) of devices in consumer electronics is how to distinguish, for example, television sets, since in this case there is the reverse functionality.

24 -h Weckzeitskala

For analog alarm clocks is given by the dial with 12 hours, the problem is that the active alarm clock wakes every 12 hours. The user should be in the evening before the alarm switch to use the alarm function can. For this reason, some analog alarm clock either a 24 - hour dial (such as analog switches ) or at least a 24 -hour scale for alarm. These had to be set correctly on the 12-hour time scale (similar to wristwatches and day display ).

Radio module

Many sorts of electronic alarm clock equipped with a radio module for automatically adjusting and calibrating the time via the DCF77 radio signal by the Physikalisch- Technische Bundesanstalt. This mainly operator error by the (possibly forgotten ) conversion are avoided in the summer time.

Shutdown

In addition to a button on the alarm clock Brown has introduced in the 1980s, various models, the wake-up call by call ( voice control) or Wave ( reflex control) can be disabled.

Special types of alarm clocks

Digital Alarm Clock

Digital Alarm Clock have an electronic timepiece. This makes it possible to integrate numerous additional functions that were not or only at great effort in mechanical alarm clocks. Besides the usual additional functions of digital watches, there are additional alarms that can be weekdays dependent, or an automatic wake-up earlier falling below a predetermined outdoor temperature.

Travel Alarm Clock

Travel alarm clock are characterized by their compact design and also have a (mostly integrated into the housing ) box, so you can transport them easily and without damage.

Light Alarm Clock

Light Alarm Clock are that awaken by a stepwise or continuous brightening of the room. Through the simulated sunrise, the human organism is to be slowly prepared to stand up. According to the manufacturer, the increasing brightness of the bedroom will unconsciously perceived by sleepers and causing increased serotonin production. In addition, at the same time melatonin levels would be reduced. Both favor the natural awakening.

Alarm clock for the deaf and hard of hearing

This alarm clock possess, in addition to or instead of the acoustic signal generator flash lamps that emit strong flashes of light, or a device that causes vibrations to arouse people with impaired hearing.

The successive depending on the setting of up to several minutes or until the cut-off pulses of light in darkened rooms usually sufficient to awaken a sleeping person even with closed eyes, to the extent not covered eg by pillows or blankets. Also, timers or timer in special designs can be connected to light switches.

A equipped with a built-in vibration alarm clock is mounted under the mattress or the pillow. Other models deliver with a vibrating pad or to be attached to the bed frame vibration motor, which is connected by cable to the alarm clock.

Alternatively, the built-in alarm clock can be used in mobile phones, where the phone vibrate mode enabled and it is placed in the pillow.

Radio Alarm Clock

Radio Alarm Clock (also Clock radios ) are mostly digital alarm clock that activate a buzzer or, alternatively, a radio receiver to wake up. Luxurious equipped models also include, for example, a built-in cassette recorder or CD or DVD player (some with MP3 music compatibility), so that one is not exclusively dependent on the radio program. However, there are also devices that can play MP3 files directly from memory cards. In addition, the playing of the radio signal at the alarm can be in almost all equipment must be replaced by a buzzer. Less common are clock radio with pure battery or battery power, which are usually designed as a portable transistor radio with clock and alarm function.

To sleep clock radios often have an additional so called sleep function (Sleep Timer), through which the radio after a desired time is automatically turned off.

There are devices with built-in power supply or with a separate power supply, which can be inserted at some distance from the dormitory into a socket. This should contribute to the reduction of electrosmog in the sleeping area. The power consumption for clock and alarm function is constant comparable to the standby consumption of other products. Often a battery used additionally serves as a power failure backup.

Sleep.Phase.Alarm.Clock

Sleep phase alarm clock (also biorhythm clock ) wake up at the right moment of light REM phase ( REM sleep ). Due to the agitation and movement in bed, the sensor detects the light sleep phase and wakes fit in a predefined time window. Corresponding tests show positive effects when the day begins to match the biorhythm.

Action Alarm Clock

Action Alarm clocks are alarm clocks that to be the active call on to Awakening to turn off the alarm clock. Below is one of finding the alarm clock in the mobile versions ( see below), the practice of sports activities with an alarm clock in dumbbell - shape or targets with a phaser on an alarm clock with a target.

Portable versions

• Clocky: 2005 was approved by the student Gauri Nanda built an alarm clock that hides after waking. Clocky is to go away thanks to its two large rubber wheels capable when alarm to hide from its owner, so that it is forced to get up and search to stop the alarm. Nanda designed this clock during her graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005 she was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Economics. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nanda founded the company " Nanda Home " to sell Clocky.

• Rotor Alarm Clock: Clocky followed a similar concept as the rotors Flying Alarm Clock: Wake up to the rotor lifts accompanied by a beep; the alarm can be turned off again only by attaching the rotor.