Provided is a sheet for drawing user's eyes and guiding the line of sight. A visual line guidance sheet is arranged to cover at least a part of a window for a user to look out therethrough, and configured to guide the user's line of sight, by illuminating a partial region on the visual line guidance sheet. The visual line guidance sheet includes an optically transparent substrate layer, a plurality of LED dies, and a wiring pattern. The controller receives from an imager, an image obtained by imaging a region visible by the user through the window, detects an object targeted for visual line guidance, included in the image, and illuminates the LED dies on the visual line guidance sheet, corresponding to a position of the object.

A mobile starting light signaling system for a pair of vehicles in a race having at least two units. A primary unit is connected to a primary vehicle and a second unit is connected to a secondary vehicle. Each unit has a sensor in electrical communication with a display. The display has a green light, a yellow light, and a red light. The first sensor is in bidirectional communication with the second sensor to determine whether or not the primary vehicle is in alignment with the secondary vehicle. The red light is illuminated when the primary vehicle is not in alignment with the secondary vehicle. The yellow light is illuminated when the primary vehicle is in alignment with the secondary vehicle. The green light is illuminated to indicate the start of the race when the primary vehicle is in alignment with the secondary vehicle for a predetermined time.

A steering wheel (102) having a hub portion (118), a rim (112) and at least one spoke (114) connected to the hub portion (118) and to the rim (112), the rim (112) having a groove and a surface of the steering wheel (102); a number of actuatable light sources located in or under the groove; light diffuser or lens (140) positioned in the groove above the light sources.

A steering angle display device includes a display part disposed along a ring portion of a steering wheel of a vehicle; and a controller configured, during automated driving control in which a steering angle of the vehicle is controlled in accordance with road situations without rotating the steering wheel, to cause a steering angle indication indicating the controlled steering angle to be displayed at a position of the display part in accordance with the controlled steering angle.

User input systems and vehicles having a user input system having a deformable material are disclosed. In one embodiment, a user input system includes a base, a deformable material, wherein at least the base and the deformable material define an enclosure, a sensor layer disposed on or within the deformable material, at least one actuator coupled to the base and disposed within the enclosure, and an input device coupled to the at least one actuator. The at least one actuator is configured to raise the input device to deform the deformable material at a location of a hand on the deformable material based at least in part on a signal provided by the sensor layer.

The invention relates to a steering module (8) for a motor vehicle (1), the steering module (8) comprising an optical signaling unit (14), which optically indicates an operating state of the motor vehicle (1), wherein the optical signaling unit (14) comprises at least one light source (15) and a light guide (16), by which the light emitted by the light source (15) with a main radiation direction (20) is capable of being deflected in an exit direction which is different from the main radiation direction (20) and the light exits in this exit direction (19) from an emission surface (18) from the light guide (16), wherein the light guide (16) is shaped in such a way that light rays of the coupled-in light are reflected therein at least twice so that the exit direction (19) is opposite to the main radiation direction (20).

A switch device includes a panel having a first design and a second design, a first switch configured to detect an operation performed on the first design displayed on the panel, a second switch configured to detect an operation performed on the second design displayed on the panel, and a control unit configured to set a display state in which the first design is displayed and a non-display state in which the second design is not displayed, in an initial state, and switch the second design from the non-display state to the display state based on an operation to the first switch.

A light control apparatus includes a diffuser plate, a light source, a light pipe, and a light blocker. The diffuser plate includes at least one opening therein. The diffuser plate includes feature located around the opening in the diffuser plate that exposes a portion of the diffuser plate. A light source positioned proximate a second surface of the diffuser plate is optically coupled to a light pipe positioned around a portion of the opening near the second surface of diffuser plate. A light blocker is positioned near a second portion of the at least one feature. The light blocker is positioned between the light source and the second portion of the feature, the light blocker having an opening therein to allow light to pass from the light source to the diffuser plate proximate the second portion of the feature.

A motor vehicle includes a steering wheel and an activation device operable to cause the motor vehicle to switch to an activation state, in which the motor vehicle becomes responsive to one or more specific commands of a driver, characterized in that the steering wheel comprises a transparent portion and a light emission device configured to light the transparent portion when the motor vehicle switches to the activation state by means of the activation device.

A smart functional vehicle component includes a vehicle component, a leather sheet fixed over a surface of the vehicle component, a flexible electronic circuit contacting an A-surface of the leather sheet and including a printed and cured conductive ink, a light source that emits light when electrical power is supplied to the light source, the light source being electrically connected to the circuit, and a pigmented coating arranged over the electronic circuit and over the light source. The pigmented coating inhibits or prevents the circuit and the light source form being visible through the pigmented coating. Light emitted by the light source is visible through the pigmented coating. Light emitted by the light source provides visual indicators that convey information to a vehicle occupant.