Manually manipulatable gyroscope-stabilized indicating apparatus and method for its use

Claim 1

A manually manipulatable instrument for solving a construction problem involving determining the orientation in space of an unknown geometrical plane with reference to a known geometrical plane, or using a known or unknown geometrical plane as a reference and either establishing in space a geometrical plane parallel to the known or unknown geometrical plane or establishing in space a geometrical plane having a predetermined orientation with reference to the known or unknown geometrical plane, such as for pipe fitters, carpenters, builders, land and road graders, and the like, the instrument comprising: a support means defining at least one straight planar surface as a reference surface; means connected to said support means for determining orientation of said support means in three different planes, each plane being at right angles with respect to each of the other two planes, said means for determining orientation including a gyroscope suitably supported to have free movement to determine orientation of the support means in one of said three different planes, a second gyroscope for determining said orientation in a second of said three different planes and a third means for determining said orientation in the third of said three different planes; means for driving said gyroscopes to a continuous stabilized condition relative to the straight planar surface of said support means in any fixed position and location assumed by the straight planar surface of the support means at the time the gyroscopes become stabilized; and means connected to said support means, to said gyroscopes and to said third means for indicating said orientation in space of the straight planar surface of said support means relative to its orientation in its fixed position when the support means is moved out of said fixed position.