Patent ID: 7176885

Claim:
An integrated automotive switch-indicator unit, comprising: a light emitting diode structure for providing a plurality of indicators, wherein the light emitting diode structure is one of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) structure and a polymer light emitting diode (PLED) structure; an overlay input device integrated with the light emitting diode structure, the overlay input device comprising: a non-conductive substrate; a plurality of conductive electrode pairs formed on the substrate, wherein each of the electrode pairs forms a proximity sensitive region and includes a first electrode that receives an input signal and a second electrode that provides an output signal, and wherein the first and second electrodes of each of the electrode pairs are capacitively coupled and the capacitance of each of the electrode pairs changes when a conductive member is located near a given one of the electrode pairs; and a first non-conductive cover formed on the substrate over the electrode pairs; and an integrated controller/bus access integrated circuit (IC) coupling the light emitting diode structure and the overlay input device to an automotive bus, the IC controlling the illumination of the light emitting diode structure to identify a location and function of a switch and sensing when the capacitance of one of the electrode pairs changes to indicate a switch input.