Patent ID: 7441800

Claim:
A steering wheel for a motor vehicle having a plurality of operating assemblies including a music system, an air-conditioning system, a navigation system, or a hands-free phone system, the steering wheel comprising: a hub element; a steering wheel rim; at least one steering wheel spoke for attaching the steering wheel rim to the hub element; and at least one activation device which is arranged on the hub element, on the steering wheel rim or on the steering wheel spoke and having the purpose of actively controlling or regulating a predetermined one of the plurality of motor vehicle operating assemblies, wherein the activation device is embodied as an optical reflection sensor device, the steering wheel has a plurality or sensor devices with optical reflection functional faces which are arranged on the steering wheel rim, the steering wheel spoke, or the hub element, and the functional face of at least one sensor device is arranged in a depression in the steering wheel, the functional face has a recessed region arranged in the lowest region of the depression and a first limb adjoining the recessed region on one side thereof and a second limb adjoining the recessed region on the other side thereof, the sensor device is embodied in such a way that a driver of a vehicle actuates a control function or regulating function of a motor vehicle assembly by tapping the functional face in the recessed region with a fingertip, the sensor device is embodied in such a way that the driver of the vehicle generates a first control signal or first regulating signal of an assembly of the motor vehicle by moving his fingertip onto the first limb from the recessed region, and the sensor device is embodied in such a way that the driver of the vehicle generates a second control signal or second regulating signal of an assembly of the motor vehicle by moving his fingertip onto the second limb from the recessed region.