{
  "patent_number": "US 1242065",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Elmer Sperry Invented the Gyroscopic Compass for Ships",
  "original_title": "Ship's gyroscopic-compass set.",
  "summary": "A 1917 patent for a navigation tool that uses a spinning wheel to find true north without relying on magnetic compasses.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes a device using a rapidly spinning gyroscope to maintain a fixed orientation in space. Because the Earth rotates, a gyroscope mounted on a ship will naturally align itself with the Earth's axis, pointing toward true north rather than magnetic north. The mechanism includes a gimbal system that allows the gyroscope to remain stable even as the ship pitches and rolls on rough seas. This provides a reliable, constant heading reference that does not suffer from the interference caused by the steel hulls of modern ships.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover magnetic compasses that rely on the Earth's magnetic field.",
    "Does not cover electronic or GPS-based navigation systems.",
    "Does not cover gyroscopes used for stabilization rather than directional finding."
  ],
  "filed": "1909-09-25",
  "granted": "1917-10-02",
  "expires": "1934-10-02",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Sperry Gyroscope Co Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/sperry-gyroscope-co-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Elmer A Sperry",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/elmer-a-sperry"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 2,
  "tags": [
    "mechanical",
    "aerospace"
  ],
  "abstract": null,
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1242065/gyrocompass-sperry",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1242065/gyrocompass-sperry/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US1242065",
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}