Patent ID: 7145519

Claim:
An image display apparatus for an automotive vehicle, comprising: a photographing section that photographs a field near the vehicle, the photographing section including a plurality of cameras disposed to photograph respective fields near the vehicle; a display image generating section that includes an image synthesizing section configured to synthesize video images photographed by the plurality of cameras and that generates a top view display image looking down a whole part of the vehicle through an approximately vertical angle from a first viewing point on an upper sky of the vehicle and bird's eye view display images looking down the whole part of the vehicle through a predetermined looking-down angle from a second viewing point at which the first viewing point is moved toward a front portion of a vehicular running direction and from a third viewing point at which the first viewing point is moved toward a backward portion of the vehicular running direction; a display section configured to display one of the images generated by the display image generating section; a display image switching section that switches the displayed image to another one of the generated display images; and a running information receiving section that receives running information of the vehicle, the display image switching section switches the displayed image in accordance with the received information of the vehicle; wherein: the running information receiving section is configured to receive the running information related to a detected direction toward which the vehicle moves; and the display image switching section is configured to switch the displayed image from a bird's eye view image when the vehicle is running in a forward direction, to a top view image when the vehicle is running in a backward direction.