Patent ID: 8892299

Claim:
A vehicle user interface system, comprising: a touch screen centrally mounted within a vehicle passenger compartment of a vehicle, said centrally mounted touchscreen providing access from either a front left seat or a front right seat of said vehicle, wherein said touch screen is configured to simultaneously display at least two zones that are simultaneously viewable and accessible from both said front left seat and said front right seat, wherein a first vehicle subsystem is associated with a first zone of said at least two zones and a second vehicle subsystem is associated with a second zone of said at least two zones, and wherein each of said at least two zones utilize different and non-overlapping regions of said touch screen; at least one left side proximity detector mounted between a left side of said touch screen and said vehicle left front seat, wherein said at least one left side proximity detector detects objects approaching said left side of said touch screen; at least one right side proximity detector mounted between a right side of said touch screen and said vehicle right front seat, wherein said at least one right side proximity detector detects objects approaching said right side of said touch screen; and a system controller coupled to said touch screen and to said at least one left side proximity sensor and to said at least one right side proximity sensor, wherein said system controller monitors touch screen use, wherein said system controller switches an operational mode of said touch screen from a normal use mode to a sleep mode after a preset period of time with no monitored touch screen use, wherein said system controller is configured to identify which zone of said at least two zones is closest to said object approaching from either said left side or said right side of said touch screen, and wherein said system controller is configured to switch said operational mode of said identified zone from said sleep mode to said normal use mode after detection of said object approaching said touch screen from said left side of said touch screen or from said right side of said touch screen.