TWELV

TWELV is an analog time display method, patented in 2006, in which neither numerals nor clock hands are used. The TWELV method indicates the current hour by one of twelve colors and the current minute by way of a moon-like image that changes during the course of an hour from a slender crescent at the beginning of an hour to a full disk at the end.

The patent-holder lists some supposed advantages, including:

• colors can be recognized at greater distances than individual characters or hands
• other images (e.g., a company logo) can be used instead of a moon
• override feature allows time to be displayed in conventional format if a user forgets The New format

Potential disadvantages include:

• TWELV appears to support only the 12-hour clock
• the colors need to be learned
• some people are color blind
• using the moon phase--typically associated with a month-long time unit--to indicate minutes May Be confusing and difficult to estimate precisely

External links

• TWELV - main site and a working demonstation
• TWELV- A New Way to Tell Time
• US Patent for "Time display system, method and device"
• Wikinews article - "New method of displaying time patented"