Patent ID: 8345095

Claim:
A blind spot image display apparatus for a vehicle, which displays an image of a blind spot area to which a driver's view is obstructed by a structural component of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising: an image displaying device having a display screen which is disposed on a part of the structural component of the vehicle and creates a blind spot area together with the part of the structural component, the display screen being constituted by screen pixels arranged thereon; an imaging device configured to take an image of a peripheral area of the vehicle, the imaging device having a field of view such that the peripheral area includes at least the blind spot area which is created by the part of the structural component and the display screen; and an image converting device configured to convert the image taken by the imaging device, and to create an output image to be displayed on the image displaying device, based on first space coordinates of a reference point at which the driver's eye point is assumed to exist and second space coordinates of each of the screen pixels, the first and second space coordinates being given in a coordinate system fixed to the vehicle, wherein: the image converting device sets a spherical reference surface defined as a surface of a sphere around the reference point, in a predetermined position in the peripheral area, the image converting device obtains positions respectively of intersecting points at which half-lines extending from the reference point as a start point and passing respectively through the screen pixels, intersect with the spherical reference surface, the image converting device identifies pixels of the image taken by the imaging device corresponding to the respective intersecting points, based on parameters of the imaging device, and the image converting device creates the output image by using data of the respective identified pixels of the taken image.