Patent ID: 7410202

Claim:
A vehicle configuration, comprising: a vehicle component configured to move between a first position and a second position; a control element for controlling said vehicle component, said control element having a substantially flat, touch-sensitive first region, a substantially flat, touch-sensitive second region, and a substantially flat, touch-sensitive third region; said control element being configured to generate a control signal for moving said vehicle component into the first position in response to said first region of said control element being touched; said second region of said control element having subregions for allowing a variable adjustment of said vehicle component into intermediate positions between the first position and the second position, said control element being configured to generate a control signal for moving said vehicle component into a given intermediate position between the first position and the second position in response to a given one of said subregions of said second region of said control element being touched; said subregions of said second region of said control element being positioned with respect to one another such that adjacent ones of said subregions of said second region of said control element when being touched cause said vehicle component to move into corresponding adjacent intermediate positions between the first position and the second position; said control element being configured to generate a control signal for moving said vehicle component into the second position in response to said third region of said control element being touched; said vehicle component having a peripheral region; said first, second and third regions of said control element being disposed adjacent to said vehicle component and extending along said peripheral region of said vehicle component when said vehicle component is in the first position; said first, second and third regions of said control element being flexible and configured to lie flat against a curved surface; said vehicle component being a window glass configured to open and close a window opening by moving between the first position corresponding to a closed position and the second position corresponding to an opened position; said first region of said control element extending along at least a portion of an upper edge of said window opening; said second region of said control element extending substantially entirely along a side edge of said window opening; and said third region of said control element being disposed adjacent to a lower edge of said window opening.