Patent ID: 7432459

Claim:
In combination with a vehicle seat, a seat control unit comprising: a touch sensor including a touch-sensitive fabric; a support layer for said touch-sensitive fabric, said touch-sensitive fabric being attached to said support layer, said support layer being a vehicle interior component selected from the group consisting of a vehicle seat bottom, a center armrest, a door armrest, an interior door panel, a steering wheel, a dashboard, a center console, and a remote control unit; said touch-sensitive fabric defining a two-dimensional input region allowing a two-dimensional vector input as a function of a force exerted by a sliding motion on said touch-sensitive fabric; said touch sensor generating signals in response to the force exerted on said touch-sensitive fabric; a control circuit connected said touch sensor; said control circuit receiving the signals generated by said touch sensor and determining a position of the force exerted on said touch-sensitive fabric; and said control circuit generating control signals for controlling the vehicle seat in dependence on the position of the force exerted on said touch-sensitive fabric.