Display and control apparatus for the electronic systems of a motor vehicle

In a vehicle that has a plurality of electronic subsystems wherein each of the subsystems contains at least one manually adjustable feature, a control apparatus for simplifying the control of the manually adjustable features in the plurality of electronic subsystems, comprising:

• a selection panel accessible within the vehicle, said selection panel including a plurality of selection keys for selecting both a target electronic subsystem from said plurality of subsystems and a predetermined adjustable feature from the target electronic subsystem, said plurality of subsystems including predetermined adjustable features that have operational functions that can be selectively increased and decreased within a range, moved up and down, and divided between the left and right of the vehicle;
• a tactile control panel accessible within the vehicle, said tactile control panel including at least one dedicated tactile control that is both separate and distinct from said selection keys, wherein said at least one tactile control includes a LEFT/RIGHT control, a UP/DOWN control and an INCREASE/DECREASE control;
• and
• a microprocessor coupled to said selection panel, said tactile control panel and to each of the plurality of electronic subsystems, said microprocessor coupling said at least one dedicated tactile control to said target electronic subsystem wherein said INCREASE/DECREASE control controls said operational functions that can be increased and decreased within a range, said UP/DOWN control controls said operational functions that can be moved up and down, and said LEFT/RIGHT control controls said operational functions that can be divided between the left and right of the vehicle.