Patent ID: 7987030

Claim:
A vehicle lighting system comprising: a passenger compartment; a steering wheel having a rim operatively connected to a hub, said rim being selectively illuminatable at any location around its circumference, by at least one light source in response to a detection of an obstacle in proximity to a vehicle having the system; a controller electrically connected to said at least one light source and configured to selectively cause said at least one light source to illuminate said rim at said location, wherein said location always directly corresponds to a relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle; and at least one sensor configured to monitor the proximity of said vehicle on all sides of said vehicle for the presence of said obstacle, and to transmit signals indicative of the presence of said obstacle; the controller being configured to determine whether the transmitted signals are indicative of the presence of said obstacle and to cause the at least one light source to illuminate said rim at said location in proportional response to the signals, wherein at least one of the size and the length of an illuminated portion of said rim is substantially proportional to at least one of the size and the proximity of the obstacle; wherein said controller automatically adjusts said location to thereby continuously display said relative position on said rim in response to a rotation of said steering wheel.