System for viewing the area rearwardly of a vehicle

In a viewing system for observing the area rearward of an automotive vehicle having a cabin area forward of an enclosed cargo section, a substantially flat panel adjacent the rear end of said cargo section, said panel being substantially vertically disposed and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said vehicle, and a television circuit comprising a camera positioned at the rear of said vehicle and connected by electrical wires to a display device positioned within said cabin area, the improved features comprising:

• (a) a camera assembly comprising a television camera body and associated lens housed within a protective enclosure having a first transparent window optically aligned with said lens,
• (b) said protective enclosure being mounted to an inside surface of said panel in a manner such that the axis of said lens lies horizontally in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said vehicle,
• (c) light deflecting means positioned in front of said lens to cause light coming from behind the vehicle to bend 90 degrees to enter said lens, and further causing left-to-right reversal of the image entering said lens, and
• (d) an aperture within said panel admitting light onto said light deflecting means and positioned at a location between 20% and 70% of the total height of said vehicle.