System for customizing lighting and sound effects in a vehicle
A vehicle includes a passenger compartment, a touch-screen for receiving an input signal from an occupant when the occupant touches the touch-screen, an output device, and a controller. The controller changes a characteristic of an electromagnetic wave in the form of visible light and/or an audible sound, which is transmitted into the passenger compartment via the output device in response to the input signal. The output device includes light sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LED) or electro-luminescent (EL) ribbon and a speaker. The controller presents a predetermined set of lighting and/or sound options on the touch-screen which the occupant can touch to generate the input signal, thus selectively illuminating the light sources or playing a particular sound file. The controller can also play a digital sound file whenever a corresponding vehicle condition is detected.
1. A vehicle comprising:
a body defining a passenger compartment;
a screen mounted with respect to the body inside the passenger compartment and configured to selectively display a plurality of colors;
a light source operable for transmitting light into the passenger compartment; and
a lighting customization system including a controller operatively connected to the display and the light source for controlling the color of the light and the color displayed by the screen;
wherein the lighting customization system is characterized by first and second selectable themes; wherein the controller causes the screen to display a first color and the light source to transmit light of a second color when the first theme is selected; and wherein the controller causes the screen to display a third color and the light source to transmit light of a fourth color when the second theme is selected.
2. The vehicle of claim 1 ,
wherein the controller is configured to cause the screen to display a plurality of icons and a background;
wherein the background is the first color when the first theme is selected; and
wherein the background is the third color when the second theme is selected.
3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the light source includes at least one of a light-emitting diode (LED) device and an electro-luminescent (EL) light ribbon.
4. The vehicle of claim 3 , further comprising a center console mounted within the passenger compartment, wherein the light source is mounted to the center console.