Patent Publication Number: US-2009229955-A1

Title: Multi-function control assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to a control assembly for a system of a vehicle. More specifically, this invention relates to a multi-function control assembly for controlling the interior lighting system of an automotive vehicle that combines mechanical switch technology with touch or proximity sensing technology. 
     Control assemblies are provided in motor vehicles for controlling various vehicle systems and accessories including lighting systems. The control assemblies may be mounted to an instrument panel (i.e., dashboard), console, headliner, or other vehicle trim components. Examples of these control assemblies include switches, knobs, and other mechanical controls. 
     Recently, there has been an increased use of control assemblies without moving parts. Touch sensitive or proximity switches using various technologies that detect a user request for a control action by sensing the presence of a user&#39;s appendage (e.g., finger) adjacent to a target area on the control panel are becoming increasingly common. Examples of such switches can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,886, U.S. Pat. No. 7,269,484, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,051, which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Currently, mechanical and touch sensitive switches are generally used independent of one another to control separate vehicle systems. This results in multiple control assemblies for individual systems or controls in the vehicle which can be costly and time consuming to manufacture and install. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a multi-function control assembly that integrates mechanical and touch switch technology to efficiently control vehicle systems and functions. The multi-function control assembly includes a housing, first light, and a second light. A switch body movable between first and second positions is movably mounted on the housing for regulating power supplied to the first light. A touch sensitive sensor is mounted relative to the switch body. The touch sensor controls a first characteristic of one of the first light and the second light when the switch body is in its first position. The touch sensor controls a second characteristic of one of the first light and the second light when the switch body is in its second position. 
     Various aspects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an overhead console for a vehicle incorporating the multi-function control switch of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the multi-function control switch of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of a printed circuit board assembly used to control the multi-function control switch of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart block diagram of the functionality of an embodiment of the multi-function control switch that controls a single light source. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart block diagram of the functionality of an embodiment of the multi-function control switch that controls multiple light sources. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1  an interior cabin of an automotive vehicle, indicated generally at  10 . The interior cabin  10  includes a passenger or driver compartment, indicated generally at  12 . The driver compartment  12  includes various controls for operating the vehicle, including but not limited to a steering wheel, gauges, and other control assemblies for various systems of the vehicle. The cabin  10  also includes a center dash assembly  14 . The center dash assembly  14  may include a variety of control assemblies for the various systems of the vehicle, such as but not limited to radio/entertainment controls and heating and cooling controls. The cabin  10  also includes an overhead console assembly, indicated generally at  20 . The console assembly  20  is attached to a roof  22  that is preferably covered by a headliner material, although such is not required. It will be appreciated that some aspects of the illustrated vehicle cabin  10  are, in large measure, known in the art, and these aspects are intended merely to illustrate one environment in which this invention may be used. Thus, the scope of this invention is not intended to be limited for use with the specific vehicle cabin illustrated in  FIG. 1 . On the contrary, as will become apparent below, this invention may be used with any style or type of vehicle for the purposes described below. It should also be appreciated that the scope of this invention is not intended to be limited to use in a vehicle in general. On the contrary, as will become apparent below, this invention may be used in any desired environment for the purposes described below. 
     The overhead console  20  extends generally along a longitudinal axis X of the roof  22 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . It will be appreciated, however, that the overhead console  20  may be situated in any suitable position within the interior cabin  10 . The overhead console  20  may include a variety of compartments  23  for storing items or enclosing system components and controls for vehicle systems, although such is not required. Examples of such system component and controls include, but are not limited to, entertainment system monitors and controls, heating controls, and lighting controls. The overhead console  20  may extend along the axis X into the interior cabin  10  as needed to contain the desired number of storage compartments, accessories, and system controls. The overhead console  20  may be made from any suitable material, and is preferably formed from a rigid plastic material. The overhead console  20  may be formed using any suitable method as well, and the console may be formed in any suitable number of component pieces depending upon the overhead console  20  design. 
     The overhead console  20  preferably includes components for the interior lighting system of the vehicle. This interior system may include various types of lighting, including but not limited to spot or reading lights, cabin illumination, and/or ambient lighting. In the illustrated embodiment, the console  20  contains a pair of reading lights  18 , one for the driver compartment  12  of the interior cabin  10  and one for the passenger compartment of the interior cabin  10 . It will be appreciated that the console  20  may contain any number of spot or reading lights. It will also be appreciated that the interior cabin  10  may contain additional spot lighting at various positions throughout the interior cabin  10  such as in proximity to the entry doors, at the rear of the interior cabin  10  or at the floor level of the interior cabin  10 . These reading lights  18  may be any suitable size and shape for the application environment, and any suitable light source may be used, including but not limited to incandescent lighting sources or light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s). The reading lights  18  may be of any suitable style and may have any suitable control mechanism. In the illustrated embodiment, the reading lights  18  may be covered by a transparent or translucent lens  19  or other material, such as a mounting surrounding the reading light  18  that leaves the light source of the reading light  18  exposed. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the reading lights  18  in the overhead console  20  is controlled by a corresponding multi-function control assembly  24  of the present invention. The control assembly  24  may be located at any suitable location on the overhead console  20 , such as located in close proximity to the reading light  18  that the control assembly  24  controls. It will be appreciated that the control assembly  24  may also be integrated into the lens  19  or mounting for the reading light  18 , although such is not required. It will also be appreciated that the reading light  18 , regardless of the type of light source used, may be capable of multiple levels of illumination, including a maximum illumination level. The details of the control of the reading light  18  by the control assembly  24  will be discussed in greater detail below. 
     The interior cabin  10  may also contain mood, or ambient lighting. The ambient lighting may be located at various locations of the vehicle, including but not limited to the overhead console  20 , at the floor level, and/or integrated into other body trim panels such as the door panels. In the illustrated embodiment, an ambient lighting source, indicated generally at  30 , is located around the perimeter of the overhead console  20 . The ambient lighting  30  can be any suitable type and style of lighting, including light pipes, fiber optic cables, LED string lighting, LED spot lighting, or incandescent light sources. The ambient lighting  30  can be controlled by any suitable control mechanism, such as a mechanical control switch or a touch sensor control switch. The controls for the ambient lighting  30  may be located at any suitable location, such as the overhead console  20  or on the instrument panel. It will be appreciated that the control switch for the ambient lighting may also be integrated with other control switches, such as the control assembly  24  of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the ambient light  30 , regardless of the type of lighting source used, may be capable of multiple levels of illumination as well as multiple colors of illumination. The details of the control of the ambient light  30  by the control assembly  24  will be discussed in greater detail below. 
       FIG. 2  schematically illustrates the control assembly  24  of the present invention. The control assembly  24  includes a housing, or bezel,  32  for containing a switch body  34 . The housing  32  is shown and described as a component of the overhead console assembly  20 , but it should be understood that the control assembly  24  may be mounted at any suitable location in the cabin  10 . It will be appreciated that the housing  32  may be a separately formed component or an integral component of the overhead console  20 . The housing  32  may be made of any suitable material, and is preferably formed from a rigid plastic material. The housing  32  supports the switch body  34  in position relative to the overhead console  20 , as well as the other components of the control assembly  24 . 
     The switch body  34  can be of any suitable style, including but not limited to a push button assembly or a rotatable knob. The switch body  34  can be formed in any suitable shape using any suitable material. In the illustrated embodiment, the switch body  34  is a push button style switch that includes a key cap  34   a  that may protrude beyond the housing  32 , and two side portions  34   b  that position the switch body  34  relative to the housing  32 . It will also be appreciated that the side portions  34   b  may also be formed as a circular flange. One of the side portions  34   b  includes a tab  34   c  that extends from the bottom surface of the side portion  34   b  such that the tab  34   c  contacts a mechanical switch  36  located on a printed circuit board assembly, which is indicated generally at  40 , for the control assembly  24 . The mechanical switch  36  is generally operable between an “on” and an “off” position, and will be discussed in greater detail below. The switch body  34  can be made from any suitable material. As discussed above, the key cap  34   a  of the switch body  34  can serve as a separate control switch for the reading light  18  and/or ambient light  30 , or alternatively can be constructed such that the switch body  34  acts as a lens for the reading light  18  and is integrated into the reading light  18  itself. It will also be appreciate that the switch body  34  can also be integrated into the housing  32  as well to provide a seamless fascia for controlling the reading light  18  and/or ambient light  30 . 
     The control assembly  24  also includes a touch sensitive sensor, shown schematically at  38 , mounted relative to the switch body  34 . The touch sensitive sensor  38  can be made using any suitable touch sensor technology, such as capacitance sensing or proximity sensing technology, such as the sensor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,886 incorporated by reference herein. An example of a suitable touch sensor operates by generating an electric field in a region above the surface of the sensor  38  when energized by an AC voltage signal. An object (e.g., a finger) selectively placed within the detection region changes the electric field. The sensed change in the electric field is associated with a request to actuate a corresponding accessory function. The touch sensor  38  senses the characteristics of the request, such as the motion of the object, the length of time the object disrupts the electric field, and the position of the object within the electric field, which determines the operation performed by the control assembly  24 . It will be appreciated that the touch sensor  38  described above does not include movable components. 
     The touch sensor  38  is mounted relative to a bottom surface of the key cap  34   a  of the mechanical switch  34 . Thus, the touch sensor  38  moves with the key cap  34   a  during the operation of the switch body  34 . The touch sensor  38  is also connected to the printed circuit board assembly  40 . It will be appreciated that the touch sensor  38  may be mounted to the printed circuit board assembly  40  such that the touch sensor  38  is in close proximity to the key cap  34   a  of the mechanical switch  34  without being directly mounted thereon. Any suitable type of connector may be used to connect the touch sensor  38  to the printed circuit board assembly  40 , such as a flexible conductor strip that connects the touch sensor  38  to the sensing electronics of the printed circuit board assembly  40 . It will also be appreciated that the touch sensor  38  may be mounted to the key cap  34   a  and connected to the printed circuit board assembly  40  in any suitable manner, such as by a flexible wire connection connecting the touch sensor  38  to the printed circuit board assembly  40 . The sensing electronics will be discussed in greater detail below. The touch sensor  38  can be mounted to the mechanical switch  34  and/or printed circuit board assembly  40  using any suitable mounting method. In the illustrated embodiment, the touch sensor  38  is elevated relative to surface of the printed circuit board assembly  40  so as to be located in an adjacent position relative to the key cap  34   a  of the mechanical switch  34 . 
     As discussed above, the switch body  34  is movably mounted on the housing  32 . The switch body  34  is movable between a first position and a second position for regulating power supplied to the reading light  18 . In the first position, shown in  FIG. 2 , the tab  34   c  of the switch body  34  contacts the mechanical switch  36 , which is located on the printed circuit board assembly  40 . To achieve the second position, force is exerted on the key cap  34   a  by a user, causing the switch body  34  to move toward the printed circuit board assembly  40 . This in turn causes the tab  34   c  to depress the mechanical switch  36  on the printed circuit board assembly  40  and supplies power to the reading light  18 . The switch body  34  may be movably mounted by a support element, schematically shown at  45 . The support element  45  may include a spring element for biasing the switch body  34  in one of the first and second positions. 
     The touch sensor  38  of the control assembly  24  is operable to control one or more characteristics of both the reading light  18  and the ambient light  30 . It will be appreciated that in embodiments that do not include ambient light sources, the touch sensor  38  may operate to control one or more characteristics of the reading light  18 . The touch sensor  38  is capable of controlling different characteristics of the reading light  18  and ambient light  30  depending upon the position of the switch body  34 , and consequently the state of operation of the mechanical switch  36 . Examples of the characteristics capable of being controlled by the touch sensor include, but are not limited to, the level of illumination (intensity) and the color of illumination. The specific functions controlled by the control assembly  24  will be discussed in greater detail below. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the printed circuit board assembly  40  controlling the control assembly  24 . It will be appreciated that numerous elements of the printed circuit board assembly  40  are the same because the printed circuit board assembly  40  controls multiple control assemblies  24  depending upon the overhead console  20  design. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the printed circuit board assembly  40  controls a pair of control assemblies  24 , a pair of reading lights  18 , and an ambient light  30 . The printed circuit board assembly  40  controls the control assembly  24  positioned in the driver&#39;s compartment  12  of the interior cabin  10  as well as the control assembly  24  positioned in the passenger compartment. More specifically, the elements of the printed circuit board assembly  40  controlling the driver&#39;s control assembly  24  are described in  FIG. 3  as “LH”, or “left hand” components, while the elements controlling the passenger&#39;s compartment control assembly  24  are described as “RH”, or “right hand” components. However, it will be appreciated that these “left hand” and “right hand” descriptions are for reference purposes only. Those components that are similar will be described with like reference numerals. It will also be appreciated that the printed circuit board assembly  40  may include fewer control components depending upon the option trim level of the vehicle. The illustrated printed circuit board assembly  40  is designed for a vehicle including both reading lights  18  and an ambient lighting system  30 . It will be appreciated that some aspects of the illustrated printed circuit board assembly  40  are, in large measure, known in the art, and these aspects are intended merely to illustrate one control system for the multi-function control assembly  24  of the present invention. Thus, the scope of this invention is not intended to be limited for use with the specific printed circuit board assembly configuration in  FIG. 3 . On the contrary, this invention may be used with any suitable printed circuit board assembly configuration for the purposes described below. 
     The components of the printed circuit board assembly  40  include a connector  46  for connecting the printed circuit board assembly  40  for the control assembly  24  to the electrical system of the vehicle. The printed circuit board assembly  40  also includes a connection for a first light  42 , which in the illustrated embodiment is the reading light  18 . Note that the printed circuit board assembly  40  may contain two or more lights  42 , such as a right hand (RH) and a left hand (LH) for the interior cabin  10 . As discussed above, the reading light  18  can be any suitable type of light, including LED or incandescent lights. The illustrated embodiment shows a connection for an LED reading light  18 . The printed circuit board assembly  40  may also include a connection for a second light  48 , such as the ambient light  30  of the illustrated embodiment. The connection for the second light  48  supplies light to the ambient light assembly  30 . It will be appreciated that in certain embodiments of the present invention, such as lower vehicle trim levels, the second light, and subsequently the second light connection  48  may be omitted. 
     The printed circuit board assembly  40  also includes a manual switch  36  for regulating the power supplied to the reading light  18 . The manual switch  36  is conventional in the art and can have any suitable design that regulates the supply of power to the reading light  18  when the switch body  34  is depressed. More specifically, when the switch body  34  is in a first position relative to the manual switch  36 , the control assembly  24  is operable to control a first characteristic of one of the reading light  18  and the ambient light  30 . When the switch body is in a second position relative to the manual switch  36 , the control assembly  24  is operable to control a second characteristic of one of the reading light  18  and the ambient light  30 . Examples of the characteristics capable of being controlled by the control assembly  24  dependent upon the position of the switch body  34  relative to the mechanical switch  36  include, but are not limited to, power regulation to the reading light  18  and/or ambient light  30 , the level of illumination of the reading light  18  and/or ambient light  30 , and the color of illumination of the ambient light  30 . 
     The printed circuit board assembly  40  also includes a current control mechanism  44 . The current control mechanism  44  regulates the current flow through the reading light  18 . In the illustrated embodiment, the reading light  18  is an LED light and the current control mechanism  44  controls the current through the LED. The current control mechanism  44  can be any electrical component or combination of components that is suitable for controlling and regulating the current that flows to the reading light  18 . 
     The printed circuit board assembly  40  includes a number of components associated with the touch sensor  38  of the control assembly  24 . The touch sensing electronics  52  places an alternating current or voltage wave form on the touch sensor  38  and detects the change in charge time or charge current caused by the contact of the user&#39;s finger on the touch sensor  38 . The touch sensing electronics  52  can be any electrical component or circuitry that is suitable for performing the functions described above. 
     The printed circuit board assembly  40  includes a regulator  56  that converts the voltage supplied from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system to a suitable voltage for the touch sensing electronics  52 . In the illustrated embodiment, the regulator  56  converts the voltage supplied from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system from twelve volts to five volts for operating the touch sensing electronics  52 . The regulator  56  can be any electrical component or combination of components that is suitable for converting the voltage supplied from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. The printed circuit board assembly  40  may also include a power filter  50  that filters out high voltage transients and electromagnetic currents from the voltage input supplied from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. In the illustrated embodiment, the power filter  50  operates to filter out voltage transients and electromagnetic currents from the twelve volt input of the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. It will be appreciated that the power filter  50  can be any suitable electrical component or combination of components that is suitable for filtering the input voltage provided by the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. 
     The printed circuit board assembly  40  may also include a dimming control circuit  54 . The dimming control circuit  54  is used to pulse width modulate the voltage supplied to the reading light  18  where an LED light is used, which controls the brightness of the LED light in conjunction with the command executed by the operator using the touch sensor  38 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a flow chart for one control scheme for the multi-function control assembly  24  of the present invention. The scheme illustrated in  FIG. 4  is for a vehicle equipped with only a first light source (i.e. a reading light  18 ) but not ambient lighting. For the purposes of description, the term “tapping motion” will be used herein to describe a motion by the user&#39;s appendage that contacts the key cap  34   a  of the switch body  34  without depressing the key cap  34   a  and subsequently does not actuate the mechanical switch  36 . The duration of the contact between the user&#39;s appendage and the key cap  34   a  may vary; however, the overall period of contact between the user&#39;s appendage and the key cap  34   a  is relatively short. In contrast, the term “proximity motion” will be used herein to describe a prolonged contact motion by the user&#39;s appendage that contacts or nearly contacts the key cap  34   a  of the switch body  34  without depressing the key cap  34   a  and the mechanical switch  36 . The “proximity motion” may be longer in duration than the tapping motion, and it will be appreciated that the user&#39;s appendage in a proximity motion may move around the surface of the key cap  34   a  in any suitable pattern, such as a straight line motion or a circular motion, which may be sensed by the touch sensor  38 . Finally, the term “manual switch operation” is used herein to describe the movement of the switch body  34  relative to the mechanical switch  36  by the user&#39;s appendage such that the tab  34   a  on the switch body  34  actuates to activate or deactivate the mechanical switch  36  depending upon the mechanical switch&#39;s  36  initial state of operation. 
     One particular advantage of the multi-function control assembly  24  of the present invention is that the control assembly  24  is capable of controlling multiple functions of one or more vehicle lighting systems depending upon the type of motion applied to the switch body  34  by the user. This advantage is achieved by the location of the touch sensor  38  relative to the switch body  34  in conjunction with the control circuitry included on the printed circuit board assembly  40 . For example, in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , manual switch operation of the switch body  34  controls the regulation of power to the reading light  18  such that the reading light  18  is turned on to a predetermined illumination level. This is illustrated by block  66 , which shows the predetermined illumination level for this embodiment to be the maximum illumination level of the reading light  18 . It will also be appreciated that the reading light  18  could be activated at any level of illumination other than the maximum illumination level as well. A second manual switch operation of the switch body  34  disengages the mechanical switch  36 , causing the reading light  18  to be turned off. This is illustrated by block  70 . 
     The touch sensor  38  of the control assembly  24  may be used to control additional characteristics of the reading light  18  following the manual switch operation  66 . When the mechanical switch  36  has been operated and the reading light  18  is lit at its predetermined illumination, a proximity motion to the key cap  34   a  of the control assembly  24  can be used to control the intensity (or other desired characteristic) of the reading light  18 . For this embodiment, the proximity motion, as sensed by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the dimming control circuit  54  to decrease the level of illumination incrementally from the predetermined maximum illumination level as the duration of the proximity motion continues. This is illustrated by block  68 . 
     The touch sensor  38  may also be used independent of the manual switch operation, which is also illustrated in  FIG. 4 . When the mechanical switch  36  has not been operated (i.e. the reading light  18  is off), a tapping motion to the key cap  34   a  will be sensed by the touch sensor  38 , causing the touch sensing electronics  52  to illuminate the reading light  18  to a first illumination level. This is illustrated by block  60 . It will be appreciated that the first illumination level can be any desired illumination level. In the illustrated embodiment, the first illumination level is the minimum illumination level of the reading light  18 . Successive tapping motion to the key cap  34   a  or a prolonged proximity motion to the key cap  34   a , as sensed by the touch sensor  38  and interpreted by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the dimming control circuit  54  to change the level of illumination incrementally as the tapping motion is repeated or the duration of the proximity motion continues. This is illustrated by block  62 . In the illustrated embodiment, successive tapping motions or a proximity motion causes the dimming control circuit  54  to increase the level of illumination from the initial minimum illumination level until the reading light  18  reaches its maximum illumination level. As discussed above, it will also be appreciated that the initial tapping motion  60  and successive tapping or proximity motion  62  may be used to control any illumination scheme, such as initial illumination to a maximum illumination level with successive operation of the control assembly  24  causing incremental decreases to the illumination level of the reading light  18 . Once the reading light  18  has reached its threshold minimum or maximum illumination level, an additional tapping motion or continuation of the proximity motion, as sensed by the touch sensor  38  and interpreted by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the touch sensing electronics  52  to turn the reading light  18  on or off. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a control scheme for the multi-function control assembly  24  where the control assembly  24  is controlling multiple characteristics of multiple vehicle lighting systems. In the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle includes both reading lights  18  and an ambient lighting system  30 . The reading lights  18  are capable of having multiple levels of illumination, where the ambient light  30  is capable of having both multiple colors of illumination as well as multiple levels of illumination for each color of illumination. For the purposes of description, the definitions for the terms “tapping motion”, “manual switch operation”, and “proximity motion” set forth above will be used to describe the control scheme illustrated in  FIG. 5  as well. 
     As discussed above, one advantage of the multi-function control assembly  24  of the present invention is that the control assembly  24  is capable of controlling multiple functions of one or more vehicle lighting systems depending upon the type of motion used by the user. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the manual switch operation of the switch body  34  controls the reading light  18  in the same manner as the embodiment described in  FIG. 4 . The manual switch operation of the switch body controls the regulation of power to the reading light  18  such that the reading light  18  is turned on to a predetermined illumination level. This is illustrated by block  78 , which shows the predetermined illumination level selected for this embodiment to be the maximum illumination level of the reading light  18 . It will also be appreciated that the reading light  18  could be activated at any level of illumination other than the maximum illumination level as well. A second manual switch operation of the switch body  34 , illustrated by block  82 , disengages the mechanical switch  36 , causing the reading light  18  to be turned off. 
     The touch sensor  38  of the control assembly  24  may be used to control additional characteristics of the reading light  18  following the manual switch operation  78 . When the mechanical switch  36  has been operated and the reading light  18  is lit at its predetermined illumination, a proximity motion to the key cap  34   a  of the control assembly  24  can be used to control the intensity (or other desired characteristic) of the reading light  18 . For the illustrated embodiment, the proximity motion, as sensed by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the dimming control circuit  54  to decrease the level of illumination incrementally from the initial maximum illumination level as the duration of the proximity motion continues. This is illustrated by block  80 . 
     The touch sensor  38  may also be used to operate the ambient lighting system  30  independent of the manual switch operation, which is also illustrated in  FIG. 5 . When the mechanical switch  36  has not been operated (i.e. the reading light  18  is off), a tapping motion will activate the ambient lighting system  30 . The tapping motion to the key cap  34   a  will be sensed by the touch sensor  38 , causing the ambient electronics  48  to illuminate the ambient light  30  according to one or more predetermined characteristics, including but not limited to the color of illumination and the level of the selected color of illumination of the ambient light  30 . In the illustrated embodiment, shown by block  72 , the initial tapping motion to the key cap  34   a  and touch sensor  38  prompts the ambient electronics  48  to illuminate the ambient light  30  to the last color of illumination selected by the user prior to turning off the ambient light  30  during the previous use. It will be appreciated that the ambient light  30  may include only a single color of illumination as well. Additionally, in this embodiment, the level of illumination will be controlled by the initial tapping motion. It will be appreciated that this initial illumination level can be any desired illumination level. In the illustrated embodiment, the first illumination level is the minimum illumination level of the ambient light  30 . Successive tapping motion to the key cap  34   a , as sensed by the touch sensor  38  and interpreted by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the ambient electronics  48  to change one of the characteristics of the ambient lighting system  30 . In the illustrated embodiment, successive tapping motion to the key cap  34   a  changes the color of illumination of the ambient light  30 , although it will be appreciated that the tapping motion may be used to control any other characteristic as well. This control step is illustrated by block  74 . 
     In addition to controlling a first characteristic of the ambient lighting system  30  using a tapping motion, a second characteristic of the ambient lighting system  30  may also be controlled using the control assembly  24 . The second characteristic may be controlled by applying a different motion to the control assembly  24 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , once the color of illumination for the ambient light  30  has been selected by the user using the tapping motion, the second characteristic controlled using the control assembly  24  is the level of illumination of the selected color of illumination. The level of illumination is controlled by using a proximity motion on the key cap  34   a  of the control assembly  24 . The proximity motion by the user, as sensed by the touch sensing electronics  52 , will prompt the dimming control circuit  54  to change the level of illumination incrementally from the initial illumination level as the duration of the proximity motion continues. This is illustrated by block  76 . In the illustrated embodiment, the initial tapping motion  72  activates the ambient lighting system  30  to its minimum illumination level. Therefore, subsequent proximity motion  76  by the user will increase the level of illumination from this minimum illumination level incrementally until the ambient light  30  reaches its maximum illumination level. It will also be appreciated that the tapping motion  74  and proximity motion  76  can be used interchangeably to control the first and second characteristics of the ambient light  30 . For example, successive tapping motions  72  may be used to change the color of the ambient light  30  illumination, followed by a proximity motion  76  to increase the level of illumination of the selected color of illumination. Then, after the proximity motion  76  has ceased by the user, the user may again utilize a tapping motion  74  to again change the color of illumination of the ambient light  30 . It will also be appreciated that once the user has cycled through all the available options for a selected characteristic, the ambient light  30  will be turned off. For example, once a user has used the tapping motions  72  to cycle through all of the options for the color of illumination of the ambient light  30 , an additional tapping motion  72  would turn off the ambient light  30 . Similarly, when the user utilizes the proximity motion  76  to increase/decrease the level of illumination of the ambient light  30 , a continuation of the proximity motion  76  on the key cap  34   a  will turn off the ambient light  30  once the ambient light  30  has reached its minimum or maximum illumination. 
     It will also be appreciated that the touch sensor  38  may also be able to sense additional characteristics of the motion utilized by the user. For example, the touch sensor  38  may be able to sense the pressure of the tapping motion or proximity motion and operate the system accordingly. A “hard” or forceful tapping motion could more rapidly change the incremental level of change of a selected characteristic compared to a lighter tapping motion on the key cap  34   a . For example, in an embodiment where a tapping motion is used to control the level of illumination of either the reading light  18  or the ambient light  30 , a harder tapping motion would increase or decrease the level of illumination more rapidly than a lighter tapping motion on the key cap  34   a . Alternatively, it will also be appreciated that a more forceful pressure applied to the key cap  34   a  that does not actuate the mechanical switch  36  may also be interpreted to turn the respective lights fully on or fully off as well. 
     The principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.