Patent ID: 8446265

Claim:
An integrated vehicle equipment component control system for use with a motor vehicle steering wheel having an annular ring and a motor vehicle equipment component having a function, the motor vehicle equipment component being selected from the group consisting of a sound system, an entertainment system, a radio, an on-board camera, a heads-up display, a night-vision system, a compact disc player, a connected device, a cellular telephone, a navigation system, an Internet access system, and a BLUETOOTH® system, the integrated motor vehicle equipment component control system comprising: a left actuator, the left actuator attached to the steering wheel annular ring between the 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions on the annular ring; a right actuator, the right actuator attached to the steering wheel annular ring between the 3 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions on the annular ring; a controller, the controller connected to the left and right actuators, the controller further connected to the motor vehicle component; wherein the left actuator and the right actuator do not overlap; wherein the controller activates the left actuator and the right actuator when the left and the right actuators are depressed simultaneously and held for a pre-set threshold time, thus providing an activated left actuator and an activated right actuator; and wherein the function of the motor vehicle equipment component is activated when an activated actuator is depressed, the actuator selected from the group consisting of the left actuator and the right actuator.