Small head-mounted compass system with optical display

A head mounted compass system comprising:

• means for providing a waterproof housing;
• means for engaging a headgear worn by an operator, said engaging means being mounted on said waterproof housing providing means to hold said housing in a portion of the forward field of view of the operator;
• means for securing a two-axis gimbal mechanism inside said waterproof housing providing means, said two-axis gimbal mechanism creating means having a protective housing connected to said waterproof housing providing means, said protective housing containing ring structure and two orthogonal axis structures;
• a means for sensing magnetic fields mounted on one of said axis structures, said magnetic field sensing means providing magnetic field data signals representative of the direction faced by the operator;
• and
• means for transmitting compass data images representative of said magnetic field data signals to the eyes of the operator, said transmitting means having a wide field of view to transmit said compass data images.

A method of sensing direction faced by an operator comprising the steps of:

• providing a waterproof housing;
• engaging a headgear worn by an operator by a mounting mechanism on
• said waterproof housing to position said housing in a portion of the forward field of view of the operator;
• securing a two-axis gimbal mechanism inside said waterproof housing, said two-axis gimbal mechanism having a protective housing connected to said waterproof housing, said protective housing containing ring structure and two orthogonal axis structures;
• sensing magnetic fields representative of the direction faced by the operator by a magnetic field sensor module mounted on one of said axis structures, said magnetic field sensor module providing magnetic field data signals representative of the direction faced by the operator;
• and
• transmitting compass data images representative of said magnetic field data signals to the eyes of the operator, said compass data images being over a wide field of view.