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On-vehicle image pick-up apparatus and method of setting image pick-up direction

  • US 6,657,176 B2
  • Filed: 04/09/2001
  • Issued: 12/02/2003
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2000
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An image pick-up apparatus mounted on a vehicle comprising:

  • a reflective unit provided in a front or a rear end portion of the vehicle, the reflective unit having two first reflective surfaces for reflecting rays of light incident from image pick-up directions on both of a left side and a right side of the vehicle respectively in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and

    an image pick-up unit for picking up images in the respective image pick-up directions by taking in the rays of light reflected in the reflective unit, wherein the first reflective surfaces of the reflective unit are disposed in parallel to the vertical direction of the vehicle;

    an image pick-up optical axis of the image pick-up unit is set so that incident optical axes of the rays of light tilt vertically and obliquely with respect to a horizontal plane when the rays of light reflected in the reflective unit are introduced into the image pick-up unit, wherein the image pick-up unit picks up the images in the respective image pick-up directions which are obliquely above or below the horizontal plane.

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