Patent ID: 7224324

Claim:
An interactive vehicular mirror system comprising: an interior rearview mirror assembly having a mirror casing and a reflective element, said mirror casing including a bezel portion, said mirror assembly being adapted to mount at an interior portion of the vehicle, and said reflective element having a rearward field of view when said interior mirror assembly is mounted in a vehicle; a plurality of user actuatable selector elements, said plurality of user actuatable selector elements comprising touch sensitive elements; said user actuatable selector elements being provided at said bezel portion at a plurality of bezel locations; said touch sensitive elements of said user actuatable selector elements being responsive to a change in at least one of heat, electrical capacitance, electrical inductance or electrical resistance due to at least close approachment of a human finger; a plurality of display elements at said interior rearview mirror assembly at a plurality of display locations; a display element of said plurality of display elements being associated with a respective one of said touch sensitive elements at said bezel portion, said display element being selectively activated by activation of said respective touch sensitive element; wherein display information desired by a user is generated in response to said touch sensitive elements being actuated by the user and is displayed above said display elements; said display location of said display element and said bezel location of said respective touch sensitive element being one of local one another and co-located such that a cognitive relationship between said display element and said respective touch sensitive element is established.