Patent ID: 8619037

Claim:
An apparatus configured as a virtual user interface, the apparatus comprising: a user-actuated control element, comprising a translucent cap configured to be depressed by a user to cause a current function of the user-actuated control element to be carried out; a display for displaying a current function of said user-actuated control element, the display being at a location spaced away from, and being viewable through said translucent cap; an image conduit disposed between said display and said translucent cap, said image conduit comprising a plurality of parallel optic fibers in fixed contact at a first end to said display; and a controller responsive to a user's actuating said user-actuated control elements and configured to cause displaying of information on said display corresponding to the current function of the user-actuated control element on the display, the controller responsive to the user's depression of said user-actuated control element to carry out the current function displayed on the display, wherein said translucent cap is disposed adjacent to a second end of said plurality of optic fibers, such that information displayed on said display, when viewed on said translucent cap, appears to the user as a focused image.