Abstract:
Embodiments of a system and method for controlling illumination in a vehicle passenger compartment are disclosed. In one aspect, a display system for a motor vehicle passenger compartment, comprises: at least one indicia visible to an operator of the vehicle and configured to indicate a vehicle operating condition; an indicia light configured to illuminate the indicia; a display device visible to an operator of the vehicle; and a controller, in communication with the indicia light and the display device, programmed to: operate the display system in a first mode wherein the indicia light is activated to illuminate the indicia, and in response to a first control signal indicative of a change from the first mode to a second mode, reduce illumination of the indicia by the indicia light and control the display device to output information indicative of the vehicle operating condition.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to control over the operation of a vehicle dashboard assembly with plurality of illuminable components and an adaptable display. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The front passenger compartment of a vehicle typically includes a dashboard forward of the front seats. The dashboard includes an instrument panel having gauges and other indicia indicative of various vehicle operating conditions. Some vehicles are further configured to include one or more displays in the instrument panel in addition to the gauges. A center stack extends beneath the dashboard and can include a variety of user controls, information and entertainment systems, and other features, as non-limiting examples. 
         [0003]    Each of the above-described dashboard and center stack components can be optically coupled to a light source so that the components can be illuminated according to preset criteria or according to user preference. As these types of components increase in number and presence throughout the front passenger compartment, consumers of the vehicle may want features that can provide a more focused driving environment or a more emotional connection to the vehicle without sacrificing the convenience offered by a multitude of dashboard and center stack components. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Disclosed herein are embodiments of a system and method for controlling illumination in a vehicle passenger compartment. In one aspect, a display system for a motor vehicle passenger compartment comprises: at least one indicia visible to an operator of the vehicle and configured to indicate a vehicle operating condition; an indicia light configured to illuminate the indicia; a display device visible to an operator of the vehicle; and a controller, in communication with the indicia light and the display device, programmed to: operate the display system in a first mode wherein the indicia light is activated to illuminate the indicia, and in response to a first control signal indicative of a change from the first mode to a second mode, reduce illumination of the indicia by the indicia light and control the display device to output information indicative of the vehicle operating condition. 
         [0005]    In another aspect, a method for controlling a motor vehicle display system that includes at least one indicia configured to indicate a vehicle operating condition and a display device visible to an operator of the vehicle comprises: activating an indicia light configured to illuminate the indicia in a first mode; producing a control signal indicative of a change from the first mode to a second mode; receiving the control signal at a controller; and in response to receiving the control signal at the controller, deactivating the indicia light and outputting, at the display device, information indicative of the vehicle operating condition. 
         [0006]    In another aspect, a motor vehicle defining a passenger compartment having a dashboard facing a driver&#39;s seat comprises: an instrument panel disposed in the dashboard and housing a display device and at least one gauge configured to indicate a vehicle operating condition; a gauge light configured to illuminate the gauge; and a controller, in communication with the gauge, the gauge light and the display device, programmed to: operate in a first mode wherein the gauge is activated and the gauge light is activated to illuminate the gauge, and in response to a first control signal indicative of a change from the first mode to a second mode, deactivate the gauge and the gauge light and control the display device to output information indicative of the vehicle operating condition. 
         [0007]    These and other aspects will be described in additional detail below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The various features, advantages and other uses of the present system and method will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawings in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle passenger compartment showing an instrument panel, a center stack and a roof console; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a first cross section of the vehicle passenger compartment of  FIG. 1  taken along the line  2 - 2  and showing details of the instrument panel; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a second cross section of the vehicle passenger compartment of  FIG. 1  taken along the line  3 - 3  and showing details of the center stack; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of the instrument panel of  FIG. 1  showing an instrument panel mounted display; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  includes plan views showing example display configurations for the display of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing a control system for illumination of the vehicle passenger compartment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a flow diagram of a mode change between a normal mode and a stealth mode for the control system of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of the instrument panel of  FIG. 1  showing the instrument panel operated according to the stealth mode; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a flow diagram showing a subroutine for choosing the stealth mode in the flow diagram of  FIG. 7 ; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a flow diagram showing a subroutine for choosing the normal mode in the flow diagram of  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Disclosed herein are embodiments of a system and method for controlling the illumination of a vehicle passenger compartment to selectively provide a more focused driving environment or a more emotional connection to the vehicle, for example. 
         [0020]    An example of a front passenger compartment  10  of a vehicle interior is shown in  FIG. 1 . The front passenger compartment  10  includes a front drivers&#39; seat  12  and a front passenger seat  14 . A dash  16  extends transversely across the vehicle forward of the vehicle seats  12  and  14  and serves as a forward boundary for the front passenger compartment  10 . A steering wheel  18  extends generally rearward from the dash  16  opposite the front drivers&#39; seat  12 . The dash  16  includes an instrument panel  20  opposite the front drivers&#39; seat  12  and generally positioned above and forward of the steering wheel  18 . A center stack  22  extends downward from the dash  16 . The center stack  22  is oriented towards the vehicle seats  12  and  14  and is transversely disposed at a position generally between the front drivers&#39; seat  12  and the front passenger seat  14 . A roof  24  extends horizontally in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and serves as an upper boundary for the front passenger compartment  10 . A roof mounted counsel  26  is provided in the roof  24  above the vehicle seats  12  and  14  and is transversely disposed at a position generally between the front drivers&#39; seat  12  and the front passenger seat  14 . 
         [0021]    The front passenger compartment  10  contains features for presenting one or more vehicle operating conditions to an operator or other user of the vehicle. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the instrument panel  20  includes a number of indicia indicative of various vehicle operating conditions. In the illustrated instrument panel  20 , such indicia can include one or more gauges  30  and one or more indicators  32 . 
         [0022]    The gauges  30  are housed by the instrument panel  20  and can be configured to indicate vehicle operating conditions. These vehicle operating conditions can include, as non-limiting examples, the rotation speed of an engine powering the vehicle, the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the fill state of a fuel reservoir or the temperature of an engine coolant. While these are presented as non-limiting examples, it will be understood that many other vehicle operating conditions could be presented by a gauge  30 . In the illustrated example, the gauges  30  are shown as mechanically operated analog style gauges. However, the term “gauge” as used herein could also include, for example, a facsimile of such a gauge, a digital display or any other manner for presenting a vehicle operating condition to an operator or other user of the vehicle. 
         [0023]    The indicators  32  are positioned on or about the gauges  30  in the instrument panel  20  and are similarly configured to indicate vehicle operating conditions. The indicators  32  can include vehicle warning condition indicators that operate when a vehicle operating condition deviates from a predetermined preferred value or range of values. For example, a vehicle warning condition indicator could be configured to alert an operator or other user of the vehicle that an engine has lost a normal oil pressure, that a tire pressure is low, that a seat belt is not engaged, or that a fill state of a fuel reservoir is low. While these are presented as non-limiting examples, it will be understood that other vehicle warning conditions can be presented by an indicator  32 . 
         [0024]    In the illustrated example, the indicators  32  are shown as back lit indicators. However, the indicators could also include, for example, a facsimile of such an indicator, a digital display or any other manner for presenting a vehicle operating condition to an operator or other user of the vehicle. 
         [0025]    The front passenger compartment  10  additionally includes features for permitting interaction between the vehicle and the operator or other users of the vehicle with respect to one or more vehicle operating conditions. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the steering wheel  18  and center stack  22  each include a number of user controls  40 . The user controls  40  can be operatively coupled to respective operating conditions of the vehicle to permit the operator or other users of the vehicle to control or adjust such vehicle operating conditions. Those vehicle operating conditions that are operatively coupled with a user control  40  are termed hereafter as vehicle operating parameters for ease of understanding. The vehicle operating parameters can relate, for example, to audio, media, navigation and climate control systems, as well as to a variety of driver aids or auxiliary vehicle systems. 
         [0026]    The user controls  40  can be “hard” controls or “soft” controls, or a combination of the two. For example, the user controls  40  can be or include a variety of hard controls, such as buttons, switches, knobs, touch sensitive controls and the like. One or more of the user controls  40  could also be a soft control, that is, accessible through a graphical user interface, such as an electronic display  42  (e.g., a touch screen) of an information and entertainment system housed by the center stack  22 . 
         [0027]    The front passenger compartment  10  can be adapted to present a state of one or more of the vehicle operating parameters. For example, a state of a vehicle operating parameter could be presented by the physical position of a respective hard user control  40  with respect to some reference. A state of one or more vehicle operating parameters could also be presented by an auxiliary electronic display  44  housed by the center stack  22 . The indicators  32  could also include vehicle operating parameter state indicators, for example, indicators that are configured to alert an operator or other user of the vehicle that a cruise control is engaged, that a high beam indicator light is activated, or that a turn signal light is activated. These are presented as non-limiting examples, and it will be understood that the states of other vehicle operating parameters can be presented by an indicator  32 . 
         [0028]    The front passenger compartment  10  can further include features for providing ambient illumination to the front passenger compartment  10 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the roof mounted console  26  houses an ambient light source  50  directed downward from the roof  24  to illuminate the front passenger compartment  10 . The configuration and placement of the ambient light source  50  is presented as a non-limiting example. It will be understood that the ambient light source  50  can be or include a single lighting element or multiple lighting elements, one or more of which could be positioned elsewhere than adjacent the roof  24  to illuminate the front passenger compartment  10 . For example, the ambient light source can be positioned along any one or combination of a portion of the dash  16 , the center stack  22 , a center console, a vehicle pillar, a vehicle door, a door sill, the driver seat  12 , the passenger seat  14 , the roof  24 , and a floor of the vehicle. 
         [0029]    In addition to the ambient light source  50 , the front passenger compartment  10  houses other illuminable components, including the above described gauges  30 , indicators  32  and user controls  40 . Each of the gauges  30 , indicators  32  and user controls  40  can be optically coupled to one or more respective light sources. In the illustrated example, the gauges  30  can be backlit by a gauge light source  60 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , and an exemplary user control  40  can be backlit by a user control light source  70 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 3  and as described above, the illustrated indicators  32  can similarly be backlit by an indicator light source  62 . For the illustrated indicator  32 , the output of the indicator light source  62  can be isolated and directed with respect to a mask formed in or around a gauge  30  in the instrument panel  20  in order to a present a particular vehicle operating condition. 
         [0030]    The light sources  60 ,  62  and  70  are presented as non-limiting examples. The configuration of the gauge light source  60  can vary according to the manner chosen to present a given vehicle operating condition to an operator or other user of the vehicle. For example, a gauge light source  60  could be positioned in front of a front lit gauge  30 , or could be generally integral to a gauge  30  facsimile or an electronically displayed gauge  30 . Similarly, an indicator light source  62  could be positioned in front of a front lit indicator  32 , or could be generally integral to an indicator  32  facsimile or an electronically displayed indicator  32 . The configuration of the user control light source  70  can likewise vary according to the manner chosen to permit the operator or other users of the vehicle to control or adjust a given vehicle operating parameter. For example, a user control light source  70  could be positioned in front of a front lit user control  40 , or could be generally integral to a touch sensitive user control  40  or a soft user control  40 . 
         [0031]    In addition to the above described components, the front passenger compartment  10  includes an adaptable display  80  housed by the instrument panel  20  adjacent to a plurality of the gauges  30 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . Each of the plurality of gauges  30  is configured to present a vehicle operating condition. As described above, the gauges  30  can include a speedometer gauge  30   a  that indicates the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, a fuel gauge  30   b  that indicates the fill state of a fuel reservoir, a tachometer gauge  30   c  that indicates the rotation speed of an engine powering the vehicle, and a temperature gauge  30   d  that indicates the temperature of an engine coolant. Again, while these are presented as non-limiting examples, it will be understood that many other vehicle operating conditions in addition to or alternative to those shown and described can be presented by a gauge  30 . 
         [0032]    The illustrated display  80  can be an electronic display that is generally adaptable to display information to an operator of the vehicle. This information can be any information pertaining to the vehicle itself or any other information relevant to the operator. For example, the display can display information relating to the weather, to various vehicle settings, to audio and/or media information or to navigation functions. 
         [0033]    The display  80  is also adaptable to display one or more of the vehicle operating conditions presented by the gauges  30  and/or indicators  32 . In addition, the display  80  can be further adaptable to display the states of one or more of the vehicle operating parameters that are controlled by the user controls  40 . It will be understood that the display  80  can display the vehicle operating conditions and states of the vehicle operating parameters in the same or a different manner than the respective gauges  30 , indicators  32 , user controls  40 , electronic display  42  or auxiliary electronic display  44 . 
         [0034]    Although the display  80  is shown as a singular display  80 , the display  80  could be embodied in multiple discrete displays, for example. Further, the physical layout of the display  80  with respect to the gauges  30  and indicators  32  within the instrument panel  20  can vary according to the manner chosen to present the vehicle operating conditions to an operator or other user of the vehicle. For example, if the gauges  30  and indicators  32  are also electronically displayed in the instrument panel  20 , the display  80  could be a subset of a larger electronic display including one or more gauges  30  and indicators  32 . Further, although display  80  is shown housed by the instrument panel  20  adjacent to the plurality of gauges  30 , the display  80  could be positioned otherwise in the front passenger compartment  10  as long as the display  80  remains visible and readable by an operator of the vehicle. As one non-limiting example, the display  80  could be embodied in one or more so-called heads-up displays. 
         [0035]    Examples of exemplary configurations for the display  80  are shown in  FIG. 5 . This disclosure contemplates that certain information regarding the vehicle operating conditions and/or the states of vehicle operating parameters is preferably presented to an operator of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle. The information to be presented could be chosen according to legal or other regulatory requirements, general consumer demand, specific operator preference or a combination thereof, for instance. 
         [0036]    The display  80  is adaptable such that at least this information is presented by the display  80  when the display  80  is controlled according to a home screen  80   a . As a non-limiting and illustrative example, it may be determined that the information that should be presented during operation of the vehicle includes the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the fill state of a fuel reservoir, and, if active, information concerning a state of a cruise control system and information concerning navigation functions. It will be understood that the illustrated home screen  80   a  is merely representative of a screen that displays information that is preferably presented to an operator of vehicle during operation of the vehicle. Accordingly, any screen configuration that displays this information, regardless of any other information presented, can be termed a “home screen” as described herein. 
         [0037]    It can be seen from this example and the above description that the home screen  80   a  information can be fully or partially redundant of information otherwise presented in the front passenger compartment  10  by one or more of the gauges  30 , indicators  32  or user controls  40 , by the electronic display  42  of an information and entertainment system, or by the auxiliary electronic display  44 . 
         [0038]    When these components are otherwise operational, the display  80  can still optionally be controlled according to the home screen  80   a . However, to the extent that the home screen  80   a  information is redundant of information presented elsewhere in the front passenger compartment  10 , the display  80  can be controlled according to any other criteria or preferences. As shown in  FIG. 5 , other non-limiting possibilities for the display  80  include a performance screen  80   b , where the display  80  is adapted to display information relating to performance metrics for the vehicle, a navigation screen  80   c , where the display  80  is adapted to display information relating to navigation functions, and a media screen  80   d , where the display  80  is adapted to display information relating to audio and/or media information. It will be understood that the information presented by the respective screens  80   a  - 80   d  need not be mutually exclusive and that each of the screens  80   b  - 80   d  optionally may or may not present some, none or all of the home screen  80   a  information. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the above described components of the front passenger compartment  10  can be individually and collectively controlled as a part of a display system  100  for the front passenger compartment  10 . 
         [0040]    The logic for controlling the display system  100  is embodied in a controller  102 . The controller  102  generally receives input signals originating from sensors  104  that detect or estimate the various vehicle operating conditions, signals originating from sensors  106  that detect or estimate the states of the various vehicle operating parameters, and a signal originating from an exterior light level sensor  108  that that detects or estimates a light level exterior to the vehicle. 
         [0041]    The controller  102  can be directly or indirectly communicatively coupled to the above described components of the front passenger compartment  10 . As shown, the controller  102  is generally configured to control operation of the gauges  30 , the illumination of the gauges  30  through control of respective gauge light sources  60 , the vehicle condition indicators  32  and the display  80  of the instrument panel  20 . The controller  102  is similarly configured to control the illumination of the user controls  40  through control of respective user control light sources  70 , the electronic display  42  of an information and entertainment system and the auxiliary electronic display  44  of the center stack  22 . The controller  102  is additionally configured to control ambient illumination of the front passenger compartment  10  through control of one or more ambient light sources  50 . 
         [0042]    The controller  102  could be one or multiple microcomputers including a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM) and a central processing unit (CPU) in addition to various input and output connections. Generally, the control functions described herein can be implemented by one or more software programs stored in internal or external memory and are performed by execution by the CPU. However, some or all of the functions could also be implemented by hardware components. 
         [0043]    The display system  100  can be operated on a selective basis to generally reduce the spread of information throughout the front passenger compartment  10  that is presented to an operator or other user of the vehicle. Although this operation can be particularly advantageous at night or when an exterior light level is otherwise low, such operation of the display system  100  is not limited to these situations. 
         [0044]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the display system  100  is generally configured to operate in one of a normal mode and a stealth mode. In step S 200 , the logic of the display system  100  is initiated. In step S 202 , it is determined whether a signal has been received to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode. If the signal to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode is not received, the display system  100  is operated according to the normal mode at step  204 . 
         [0045]    In the normal mode, each of the one or more gauges  30  of the instrument panel  20  are activated at step S 206  so as to be operational and indicate a respective vehicle operating condition. At step S 208 , the gauge light sources  60  are activated so as to illuminate the gauges  30  in the instrument panel  20 , and the user control light sources  70  are activated so as to illuminate the user controls  40  of the center stack  22 . If needed, the indicia light sources  62  are also activated in the normal mode so as to selectively illuminate indicators  32  in the instrument panel  20  in accordance with the current vehicle conditions. In addition, the electronic display  42  of an information and entertainment system, the auxiliary electronic display  44  and any other illuminable components of the center stack  22  can be controlled to fully illuminate in step  5208 . It will be understood that the level of illumination of the various illuminable components described herein may vary in the normal mode according to, for example, vehicle presets and/or user preferences. That is, “full” illumination in the normal mode need not correspond to the greatest amount of operational illumination. Rater, full illumination in the normal mode is the amount of illumination that is selected for those components during normal vehicle operation. With the gauges  30  activated and illuminated, and with the center stack fully  22  illuminated, any available information regarding vehicle operating conditions and/or the states of vehicle operating parameters can be presented to an operator or other users of the vehicle by the display system  100  in the normal mode. 
         [0046]    In the normal mode, the home screen  80   a  information can be fully or partially redundant of information otherwise presented by the display system  100 . In step  5210 , the display  80  can still optionally be controlled according to the home screen  80   a , or according to some variation of the home screen  80   a . However, to the extent that the home screen  80   a  information is redundant of information presented elsewhere in the front passenger compartment  10 , the display  80  can optionally be controlled according to any other preset criteria, operator preference, or both, for example, or could be deactivated. 
         [0047]    Finally, at step  5212 , any ambient light sources  50  can optionally be activated so as to illuminate the front passenger compartment  10  to a full ambient light level. 
         [0048]    The controller  102  can determine whether the normal mode or the stealth mode is chosen at certain intervals. When a last previous determination and a current determination are the same, the current mode is maintained. When the current determination is different from the last previous determination, then the controller carries out control to switch from the current mode. Following step  5212 , it is again determined whether a signal has been received to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode at step  5202 . If the signal to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode is not received, the display system  100  continues to operate according to the normal mode at step S 204 . However, if the signal to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode is received at step S 202 , the stealth mode is selected at step S 220 . 
         [0049]    In the stealth mode, each of the one or more gauges  30  of the instrument panel  20  are deactivated at step S 222  so as to be non-operational and no longer indicate a respective vehicle operating condition. At step S 224 , the gauge light sources  60  are deactivated so that illumination of the gauges  30  in the instrument panel  20  ceases. 
         [0050]    At step S 226 , the illumination of the user controls  40  of the center stack  22  is reduced as compared to the illumination of the user controls  40  in the normal mode. As used herein, the term “reduce” and its derivatives refer to any reduction in illumination as compared to the normal mode, including cessation of illumination. Thus, the user control light sources  70  can be dimmed, for example, or can be completely deactivated, so as to cease illumination of the user controls  40 . In addition, the electronic display  42  of an information and entertainment system, the auxiliary electronic display  44  and any other illuminable components of the center stack  22  are similarly controlled to be less than fully illuminated. 
         [0051]    For the illustrated analog style gauges  30 , it is preferable to deactivate the gauges  30  at step S 222  in addition to ceasing illumination at step S 224 . This is done to prevent confusion as to whether the gauge light sources  60  are broken, which could occur if the gauges  30  remained operational while not being illuminated. However, it will be understood that it may not be necessary to separately deactivate and cease illumination of a gauge  30 . For example, if a gauge  30  facsimile or an electronically displayed gauge  30  is implemented, deactivation of the gauge  30  could also result in cessation of illumination of the gauge  30 . 
         [0052]    With the gauges  30  deactivated and not illuminated, and with the illuminable components of the center stack  22  controlled to be less than fully illuminated, much of the information regarding vehicle operating conditions and/or the states of vehicle operating parameters presented by the display system  100  in the normal mode are no longer presented or are presented without full illumination. Therefore, in the stealth mode, at step S 228  the display  80  is controlled according to the home screen  80   a  to ensure that all desired information is presented at the instrument panel  20 . As explained above, the home screen  80   a  is merely representative of a screen that displays the home screen  80   a  information. The specific configuration of the display  80  in the stealth mode could be the same or similar to a home screen  80   a  configuration in the normal mode, or, for example, the display  80  could be configured according to a home screen  80   a  that is specific to the stealth mode. 
         [0053]    At step S 230 , any ambient light sources  50  can optionally be dimmed, for example, or can be completely deactivated so as to less than fully illuminate the front passenger compartment  10 . 
         [0054]    It can be seen that the effect of a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode is a general consolidation of the information presented by the display system  100  to an operator or other user of the vehicle. As shown in  FIG. 8 , each of the gauges  30  are deactivated and not illuminated, and the display  80  is controlled according to the home screen  80   a . In the stealth mode, all desired information can be presented by the display  80  in the instrument panel  20 , resulting in a more focused driving environment in the front passenger compartment  10 . If there is a full or partial redundancy between the information presented by the display  80  in the stealth mode and the information presented elsewhere in the front passenger compartment  10  during the normal mode, a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode can eliminate the redundancy, as well as selectively reduce the presentation of undesired information. On the other hand, if there is no redundancy between the information presented by the display  80  in the stealth mode and the information presented elsewhere in the front passenger compartment  10  during the normal mode, a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode results in a full consolidation of all desired information at the display  80  in addition to the reduction in the presentation of undesired information. 
         [0055]    Following step S 230 , it is determined whether a signal has been received to change from the stealth mode to the normal mode at step S 232 . If the signal to change from the stealth mode to the normal mode is not received, the display system  100  continues to operate according to the stealth mode at step S 220 . However, if the signal to change from the stealth mode to the normal mode is received at step S 232 , the normal mode is selected at step S 202 . The determination of whether to switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode at step S 202  is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0056]    In step S 250 , any number of criteria may be evaluated to determine whether to switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode. For example, it can be determined whether an operator or other user of the vehicle has requested a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode. Such a request could be accomplished through operation of a user control  40 , for example. It is contemplated that this request could be overridden by the display system  100  in certain instances. As noted above, in the normal mode, the display  80  can optionally be controlled according to the home screen  80   a . As a non-limiting example, it may be determined that a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode should not be executed unless the display  100  is controlled according to the home screen  80   a  in the normal mode, such that a configuration of the display  80  during a switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode generally does not change, or such that any change in configuration is minimized. Thus, the after a switch from the normal mode to the stealth in this example, the gauges  30  are deactivated and not illuminated, the illuminable components of the center stack  22  are controlled to be less than fully illuminated, any ambient light sources  50  are optionally dimmed, and the display  80  remains controlled according to the home screen  80   a.    
         [0057]    In instances where it is advantageous to employ the stealth mode in low light conditions, it could also be determined in step S 250  whether an exterior light level, as determined by the exterior light level sensor  108 , has fallen below a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold could be, for example, a threshold indicative of nighttime conditions. 
         [0058]    These criteria are presented as non-limiting examples, and it will be understood that other criteria could be substituted or used in addition to those described in the determination of whether to switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode. If any of the criteria set forth in step S 250  are satisfied, a signal is produced to change from the normal mode to the stealth mode at step S 252 . The signal is read by the controller  102  at step S 202  in  FIG. 7  and the display system  100  is controlled to operate according to the stealth mode. 
         [0059]    The determination of whether to switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode at step S 232  is illustrated in  FIG. 10 . In step S 270 , any number of criteria may be evaluated to determine whether to switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode. For example, it can be determined whether an operator or other user of the vehicle has requested a switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode. Such a request could be accomplished through operation of a user control  40 , for example. The request could be made directly through operation of a user control  40  that is operatively coupled to a selection of the normal mode and/or stealth mode, for example, but could additionally be determined to arise generally through operation any of the user controls  40 . It could also be determined in step S 270  whether an exterior light level, as determined by the exterior light level sensor  108 , has risen above a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold could be, for example, a threshold indicative of daytime conditions. 
         [0060]    A switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode could also be appropriate in certain instances where an operator or other user of the vehicle initiates an exit from the home screen  80   a . For example, because the each of the gauges  30  are deactivated and not illuminated in the stealth mode, an exit from the home screen  80   a  could result in a situation where desired or required information is no longer presented in the front passenger compartment  10 . In this instance, a switch to the normal mode, where the gauges  30  are activated and illuminated, and where the center stack  22  is fully illuminated, would be desirable. A switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode could further be appropriate in instances where a vehicle warning condition indicator  32  is operated in order to bring the warning condition to the attention of the operator of the vehicle. 
         [0061]    The criteria set forth in step S 270  are presented as non-limiting examples, and it will be understood that other criteria could be substituted or used in addition to those described in the determination of whether to switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode. If any of the criteria set forth in step S 270  are satisfied, a signal is produced to change from the stealth mode to the normal mode at step S 272 . The signal is read by the controller  102  at step S 232  in  FIG. 7  and the display system  100  is controlled to operate according to the normal mode. 
         [0062]    A full switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode could be implemented in step S 270 , that is, the normal mode could be selected until a determination is made to switch from the normal mode to the stealth mode in step S 250 . Alternatively, the normal mode could be chosen for a temporary period of time, after which the display system  100  is again controlled to operate according to the stealth mode. For instance, the normal mode could be chosen for a period of time while a vehicle warning condition indicator  32  is operated, and the display system  100  could be again controlled to operate according to the stealth mode when the particular vehicle warning condition ceases and the vehicle warning condition indicator  32  is no longer operated. As a further example, where it is determined that an operator or other user of the vehicle has requested a switch from the stealth mode to the normal mode through operation of a user control  40 , the display system  100  could be again controlled to operate according to the stealth mode after a predetermined period of time. 
         [0063]    While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.