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Coded Clock

Make sure you wake up on time.
 
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The snooze button on my alarm clock is bigger than all of the other buttons and is right in the middle of the unit. This means that turning on snooze has become a process of
-roll over
-slam the clock
-sleepy time.

This is such an easy process that it is almost a pavlovian response to the beeping of the clock. Unfortunately, this also means that I can turn the alarm off completely without being fully awake. Consequently I get to work 1.5 hours late and bad things happen (really bad things).

I propose that an alarm clock be built which has a 'snooze' trigger, and an 'off' trigger where the snooze and off buttons were and a 10 button numeric keypad.

When the alarm goes off, and I instinctively roll over and hit either the snooze or the off buttons, a code is displayed on the LCD instead of the time. A 3 digit code is displayed if the snooze button is hit and a 4 digit code for off. In order to activate the snooze/off functions, the correct code must be entered into the keypad.

This way, you need to have your eyes open and half started the long journey from sleepiness in order to make the crucial decision of "snooze or off".

3 digits, I get a snooze
4 digits, Time to get up, turn it off.

reap, Apr 27 2004

Smart alarm http://www.halfbake.../idea/Smart_20alarm
"How about an alarm clock that requires you to solve a complex cognitive task in order to stop the alarm?" [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Rubik's Clock http://www.halfbake...a/Rubik_27s_20Clock
"...would require the sleeper to solve the damn puzzle...for it to shut the hell up." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Morse Code Alarm Clock http://www.halfbake...ode_20Alarm_20Clock
[theircompetitor, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       better option would be to make a much cheaper mechanical link to press snooze button. the link would be operable only from farthest part of your room and snooze button would be cordoned off to prevent direct pressing by fingers.
vedarshi, Apr 28 2004
  

       another low cost solution [built upon reap's original idea] - put a small box around snooze button with lid & padlock arrangement. the button cannot be pressed unless key is inserted & padlock removed to open lid. of course the scheme would work only if you don't forget to use lock before going to sleep.
vedarshi, Apr 28 2004
  

       What I tend to do (similar to [phoenix's] linked "Smart Alarm" idea) is set my alarm clock to always be slightly fast, and then memorise by how much. At the moment it's 2 hours and 17mins. That way, I get the shock factor of first waking up and thinking I'm already late, which jolts me awake a little, then, after hitting the sleep button a number of times, I have to wake up a little bit more to work out what the actual time is rather than what it says on my clock.   

       I still manage to sleep in more often than not, though. Not actually being late for work (for the most part): just having sacrificed a shower and a shave for a few more minutes in bed.
lostdog, Apr 28 2004
  
      
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