Patent ID: 11904665
Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 21:
22. A method, comprising:
providing at least one vehicle glass panel that comprises a PDLC that includes at least one ITO layer;
selectively applying power to the vehicle glass panel to change the vehicle glass panel from opaque to clear;
forming markings within the ITO layer to identify user input areas by carving the markings out of the at least one ITO layer to leave open gaps that show up in white on the at least one vehicle glass panel, and energizing an area around the markings when the vehicle glass panel turns opaque to create a reverse image to allow the markings to be visible, and/or carving the markings out of the at least one ITO layer to leave open gaps forming an opaque area that acts as a reflector for a light source that provides illumination along an edge of the at least one vehicle glass panel allowing the markings to illuminate; and
controlling a circuit to allow the at least one vehicle glass panel to act as a capacitive sensor such that user input to the user input areas is able to change the at least one vehicle glass panel between opaque and clear modes.