Electronic level instrument

Claim 1

An electronic instrument for indicating the inclination of an axis, said instrument including: an elongated C-channel member; first, second and third electric indicators mounted in said channel member and observable through a side thereof, said first electrical indicator being mounted intermediate the ends of said C-channel member, and said second and third electric indicators comprising indicating lights mounted in positions displaced from the center of said C-channel member towards the respective ends thereof; an electronic circuit unit mounted in said channel member; a battery unit removably mounted in said C-channel member; a switch mounted on said C-channel member and actuable to connect electric circuitry on said electronic circuit unit to a battery in said battery unit; a gear assembly unit mounted in said channel member and including an actuating knob extending through one side of said channel member and a calibrated indicating dial observable through the side of said channel member; a pendulum mounted in said gear assembly unit for pivotal movement around a particular pivot axis; gear means included in said gear assembly unit intercoupling said actuating knob and said calibrated dial and said pendulum to enable said pendulum to be rotated about said pivot axis to selected angular positions indicated by said calibrated dial; first and second electrical contact pins mounted in said gear assembly unit to be selectively engaged by said pendulum; electric circuitry interconnecting said contact pins, said electric circuitry on said electronic circuit, and said electric indicators to cause said first indicator to be energized when the axis of said C-channel member corresponds to the selected angular position of said pendulum, and to cause said second and third indicators to be selectively energized when the inclination of the axis of said C-channel member is greater or less than the selected angular position of said pendulum.