Patent ID: 8009139

Claim:
A laboratory apparatus having at least one control device disposed on an instrument body of the laboratory apparatus, the at least one control device comprising: an electric printed circuit board with at least two control elements, one of the control elements being a push-button switch and one of the control elements being an angle encoder; a first operator interface and a second operator interface different from the first operator interface, wherein the second operator interface is interchangeable with the first operator interface, wherein each operator interface includes at least one operator control selected from the group consisting of touch-sensitive membrane keys, press keys and rotary knobs; a retaining device for detachably holding either one of the first and second operator interfaces on the instrument body with the at least one operator control of the operator interface oriented to one of the control elements of the electric printed circuit board; and a mechanical and/or magnetic connection for detachably joining at least one of the control elements to the operator control.