Patent ID: 8441467

Claim:
A multi-touch sensing display, comprising: a light source; a display element having a viewer side and a rear side; an optical waveguide, the optical waveguide having a contact surface, a non-contact surface, and one or more edge surfaces, the non-contact surface facing and covering at least a portion of the viewer side of the display element, at least one of the one or more edge surfaces of the optical waveguide being adapted to receive light emitted by the light source, the optical waveguide being adapted to cause some of the received light to undergo total internal reflection within the optical waveguide; a compliant surface overlay having a touch surface and a display-side surface, the display-side surface facing the contact surface of the optical waveguide and being spaced apart from the contact surface by a gap, the optical waveguide, the compliant surface overlay and the gap therebetween being configured to promote total internal reflection of light in the optical waveguide, the compliant surface overlay being disposed sufficiently close to the optical waveguide to enable depression of the compliant surface overlay by an external force against the touch surface of the compliant surface overlay to cause the display-side surface of the compliant surface overlay to contact the contact surface of the optical waveguide, the optical waveguide and the compliant surface overlay being adapted to cause the total internal reflection within the optical waveguide to be frustrated upon contact of the contact surface of the optical waveguide by the display-side surface of the compliant surface overlay, the optical waveguide adapted to allow some of the light undergoing total internal reflection to escape through its non-contact surface when the total internal reflection is frustrated; and at least an imaging sensor positioned opposing the non-contact surface of the optical waveguide and adapted to detect light escaping the optical waveguide toward the display element, wherein the compliant surface overlay includes a component that rejects ambient light of the same wavelengths as the light source, a component that reduces friction at an interaction surface, and a component that reduces glare.