Automotive courtesy display

An electronic courtesy message display system comprising:

• an elongated display unit for positioning in the rear windshield of automotive vehicle and having a display screen for displaying a linear array of alphanumeric characters,
• a sunshield that casts a shadow on said display screen,
• an audio speaker,
• a message selection device containing a plurality of preselected electronically encoded messages, each formed of a different set of selected alphanumeric characters in a selected sequence, and a receiver for responding to remotely generated signals to display a set of selected alphanumeric characters in a selected sequence,
• a touch-sensitive operator panel for positioning on the steering wheel of an automotive vehicle and containing touch-sensitive selectors for alternatively selecting one of said plurality of encoded messages for display, and a transmitter for generating a signal recognized by said receiver as specifying said selected one of said messages, and
• a display driver unit separate from said elongated display unit and coupled thereto to respond to said receiver by actuating said display screen to display said selected message on said display screen and by actuating said audio speaker to audibly announce said selected message.

An electronically operated visual message display system for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• a message display screen positionable for viewing through the rear window of an automotive vehicle from the exterior thereof,
• a display screen hood for shading said display screen,
• an operator console for mounting on the center of a steering wheel of an automotive vehicle and including an array of a plurality of individually actuable, touch-sensitive selectors, each of which, upon actuation, provides a unique identifying electronic signal, and indicia on each of said touch sensitive selectors for visually identifying to an operator a unique alphanumeric message associated with each of said selectors,
• an electronic storage memory in remote communication with said operator console and containing a plurality of displayable visual alphanumeric messages in electronically encoded form and responsive to each of said unique identifying electronic signals to recall a corresponding one of said alphanumeric messages from memory and provide it in electronically encoded form,
• a controller for detecting and decoding said alphanumeric messages as they are generated,
• a display driver unit connected to said controller and responsive thereto to provide actuating signals to said display screen to visually display said alphanumeric messages as they are designated by corresponding ones of said selectors, and
• a speaker responsive to said selectors to audibly and contemporaneously announce each message as it is recalled by said electronic storage memory.