Vehicle imaging apparatus, vehicle monitoring apparatus, and rearview mirror

A vehicle monitoring apparatus for monitoring a predetermined area outside a vehicle having a rearview mirror, wherein the rearview mirror has a housing and is located on the passenger side of the vehicle, wherein the housing includes an opening located at a lower portion of the rearview mirror and extending from our rear side to a front side of the housing, and wherein the opening is covered by a transparent cover, the vehicle monitoring apparatus comprising:

• a vehicle imaging apparatus arranged in the rearview mirror, wherein the vehicle imaging apparatus includes a reflection mirror arranged in the housing of the rearview mirror and having a curved surface and an imaging device arranged in the opening of the housing of the rearview mirror, for generating a picture from an image reflected on the reflection mirror, wherein the reflection mirror is arranged in the opening of the housing of the rearview mirror so that an upper portion of the reflection mirror is covered by the housing and a portion excluding the upper portion is exposed, and wherein the reflection mirror is generally conical, has an apex facing a basal portion of the rearview mirror, in is located closer to a distal end of the rearview mirror than the imaging device;
• a processor for receiving the picture from the imaging device and processing the picture;
• and
• a display connected to the processor to display a processing result of the processor;
• wherein the processor selects a certain section of the picture in accordance with a driving condition of a vehicle and shows the selected section on the display.

A rearview mirror located on the passenger side of a vehicle comprising:

• a housing including an opening located at a lower portion of the rearview mirror and extending from a rear side to a front side of the housing;
• a transparent cover for covering the opening;
• a reflection mirror arranged in the housing and having a curved surface;
• and
• an imaging device arranged in the opening of the housing, for generating a picture from an image reflected on the reflection mirror, wherein the reflection mirror is arranged in the opening of the housing so that an upper portion of the reflection mirror is covered by the housing and a portion excluding the upper portion is exposed, and wherein the reflection mirror is generally conical, has an apex facing a basal portion of the rearview mirror, and is located closer to the distal end of the rearview mirror than the imaging device.