WO2008138049A1

WO2008138049A1 - A transmissive body

Info

Publication number: WO2008138049A1
Application number: PCT/AU2008/000658
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Edmund Arnett; Robert Bruce Charters; Chan Hong Wang; Graham Roy Atkins; Ian Andrew Maxwell; Duncan Ian Ross
Original assignee: Rpo Pty Limited
Priority date: 2007-05-11
Filing date: 2008-05-12
Publication date: 2008-11-20
Also published as: US20080278460A1; EP2156276A4; EP2156276A1; KR20100019997A; TW200912200A; AU2008251020A1; US8842366B2; CA2688214A1; CN101681222A; JP2010527100A

Abstract

An apparatus and method for transmitting, collimating and redirecting light from a point-like source to produce a collimated optical signal in a substantially planar form are provided. In one embodiment the apparatus is manufactured as a unitary transmissive body comprising a collimation element and a redirection element, and optionally a transmissive element. In another embodiment the apparatus is assembled from one or more components. The apparatus and method are useful for providing sensing light for an optical touch input device or for providing illumination for a display.

Description

A TRANSMISSIVE BODY

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from US provisional patent application No 60/917,567 filed May 11, 2007 and from US provisional patent application No 60/971,696 filed September 12, 2007. The contents of both these applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION In certain embodiments the present invention relates to input devices, and in particular, optical touch input devices. In other embodiments the present invention relates to apparatus for illuminating a display. In further embodiments the present invention relates to combined input devices and apparatus for illuminating a display. However it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these particular fields of use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

Touch input devices or sensors for computers and other consumer electronics devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and hand-held games are highly desirable due to their relative ease of use. In the past, a variety of approaches have been used to provide touch input devices. The most common approach uses a flexible resistive overlay, although the overlay is easily damaged, can cause glare problems, and tends to dim the underlying screen, requiring excess power usage to compensate for such dimming. Resistive devices can also be sensitive to humidity, and the cost of the resistive overlay scales quadratically with perimeter. Another approach is the capacitive touch screen, which also requires an overlay. In this case the overlay is generally more durable, but the glare and dimming problems remain.

In yet another common approach, a matrix of infrared light beams is established in front of a display, with a touch detected by the interruption of one or more of the beams. Such 'optical' touch input devices have long been known (see US Patent No.'s 3,478,220 and US 3,673,327), with the beams generated by arrays of optical sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and detected by corresponding arrays of detectors (such as phototransistors). They have the advantage of being overlay-free and can function in a variety of ambient light conditions (US Patent No. 4,988,983), but have a significant cost problem in that they require a large number of source and detector components, as well as supporting electronics. Since the spatial resolution of such systems depends on the number of sources and detectors, this component cost increases with display size and resolution. Usually, the optical sources and detectors oppose each other across the display, although in some cases (disclosed for example in US Patent No.'s 4,517,559, US 4,837,430 and US 6,597,508) they are located on the same side of the display, with the return optical path provided by a reflector on the opposite side of the display.

An alternative optical touch input technology, based on integrated optical waveguides, is disclosed in US Patent No.'s 6,351,260, US 6,181,842 and US 5,914,709. The basic principle of such a device is shown in Figure 1. In this design, integrated optical waveguides 10 conduct light from an optical source 11 to integrated in-plane lenses 16 that collimate the light in the plane of a display and/or input area 13 and launch an array of light beams 12 across that display and/or input area 13. The light is collected by a second set of integrated in-plane lenses 16 and integrated optical waveguides 14 at the other side of the display and/or input area, and conducted to a position-sensitive (i.e. multi-element) detector 15. A touch event (e.g. by a finger or stylus) cuts one or more of the beams of light and is detected as a shadow, with position determined from the particular beam(s) blocked by the touching object. That is, the position of any physical blockage can be identified in each dimension, enabling user feedback to be entered into the device. Preferably, the device also includes external vertical collimating lenses (VCLs) 17 adjacent to the integrated in-plane lenses on each side of the input area, to collimate the light in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the input area.

As shown in Figure 1 , the touch input devices are usually two-dimensional and rectangular, with two arrays (X, Y) of 'transmit' waveguides 10 along adjacent sides of the input area, and two corresponding arrays of 'receive' waveguides 14 along the other two sides of the input area. As part of the transmit side, in one embodiment light from a single optical source 11 (such as an LED or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)) is distributed to a plurality of transmit waveguides 10 forming the X and Y transmit arrays via some form of optical splitter 18, for example a IxN tree splitter. The X and Y transmit waveguides are usually arranged on an L-shaped substrate 19, and the X and Y receive waveguides arranged on a similar L-shaped substrate, so that a single source and a single position-sensitive detector can be used to cover both X and Y dimensions. However in alternative embodiments, a separate source and/or detector may be used for each of the X and Y dimensions. Additionally, the waveguides may be protected from the environment by a bezel structure that is transparent at the wavelength of light used (at least in those portions through which the light beams 12 pass), and may incorporate additional lens features such as the abovementioned VCLs. Usually the sensing light is in the near IR, for example around 850 nm, in which case the bezel is preferably opaque to visible light.

For simplicity, only four pairs of transmit and receive waveguides per dimension are shown in Figure 1. Generally there will be many more pairs per dimension, closely spaced so that the light beams 12 substantially cover the input area 13. Compared to touch input devices with paired arrays of sources and detectors, waveguide-based devices have a significant cost advantage because of the greatly reduced number of optical sources and detectors required. Nevertheless, they still suffer from a number of drawbacks.

Firstly, because touch functionality is being increasingly common in consumer electronics devices such as mobile phones, handheld games and personal digital assistants (PDAs), there is a continuing requirement to reduce costs. Even if relatively inexpensive waveguide materials and fabrication techniques (such as curable polymers patterned by a photolithographic or moulding process) are used, the transmit and receive waveguide arrays still represent a significant fraction of the cost of the touch input device. Secondly there is a signal-to-noise problem: because the transmit waveguides are small (typically they have a square or rectangular cross section with sides of order 10 μm), it is difficult to couple a large amount of 'signal' light into them from the optical source. Since only a fraction of this light will be captured by the receive waveguides, the system as a whole is vulnerable to 'noise' from ambient light, especially if used in bright sunlight. Thirdly, because the device uses discrete beams 12, the transmit and receive waveguides need to be carefully aligned during assembly. A similar alignment requirement applies to the older optical touch input devices with arrays of discrete sources and detectors. - A -

Inspection of the waveguide-based touch input device shown in Figure 1 reveals that positional information for a touching object is encoded on the receive waveguides 14; that is to say, the position of the object is determined from those particular receive waveguides that receive less or no light and convey that condition to the respective elements of the multi-element detector 15. The transmit side is less critical, and two sheets of light propagating in the X and Y directions can be used in place of the grid of discrete beams 12.

An alternative configuration disclosed in US Patent No. 7,099,553 and shown schematically in Figure 2 provides a sheet of light, while still using a minimal number of optical sources, by replacing the transmit waveguides with a single 'bulk optics' waveguide in the form of a light pipe 21 with a plurality of reflective facets 22. In operation, light from an optical source 11 is launched into an input face of the light pipe 21, optionally with the assistance of a lens 23, and this light is deflected by the reflective facets 22 to produce sheets of light 45 that traverse the input area 13 towards the receive waveguides 14. As shown in Figure 2, the light pipe 21 is an L-shaped item encompassing both 'transmit sides' of the input area 13, with a turning mirror 24 at its apex. In a minor variation there may be separate, substantially linear light pipes for each of the transmit sides. Advantageously, the light pipe 21 may comprise a polymer material formed by injection moulding for example, and as such will be considerably less expensive to fabricate than an array of waveguides. It will be further appreciated that since the light pipe 21 is a 'bulk optics' component, it will be relatively straightforward to couple light into it with high efficiency from an optical source 11, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio.

As mentioned in US 7,099,553, the output faces 25 of the light pipe 21 can be shaped with cylindrical curvature to form lenses 26 that collimate the light sheets 45 in the vertical (i.e. out-of-plane) direction, obviating the need for any separate vertical collimating lens. This will further reduce the Bill of Materials, and possibly also the assembly costs.

Light pipes with a plurality of reflective facets are commonly used for distributing light from a single light source for illumination purposes (see for example US Patent No. 4,068,121). Two-dimensional versions such as a substantially planar light guide plate with a plurality of reflective facets on one surface are also known for display backlighting, as disclosed in US Patent No 5,050,946 for example. In most known light pipes and light guide plates, the reflective facets are formed along an exterior edge or surface. The light pipe 21 disclosed in US 7,099,553 has a rather different form, where the facets 22 are essentially internal to the light pipe body, and are stepped in height so that each facet only reflects a small fraction of the light guided within the light pipe. An advantage with this design is that the width 27 of the light pipe is relatively small, which is important for touch input devices where the 'bezel width' around a display should not be excessive. However it has the significant disadvantage of being a complicated design, with numerous sharp corners and concave portions that will be extremely difficult to reproduce accurately via injection moulding. A second problem is that, analogous to the well-known principle of single slit diffraction, the divergence angle of a light beam reflected off a facet will depend on the height of that facet. Therefore the incremental height of the facets 22 in the light pipe 21 will cause the reflected beams to have incrementally varying divergence in the out-of-plane direction, such that a simple cylindrical lens 26 will not be able to completely collimate the light sheets 45. A much simpler optical touch input device where a minimal number of optical sources are used to generate a sheet of sensing light is disclosed in US Patent No. 4,986,662. As illustrated in Figure 2A, a touch input device includes a rectangular frame 91 with an optical source 11 and an array of detectors 56 along two sides and parabolic reflectors 92 on the opposing two sides. Light 35 emitted from each optical source propagates across the input area 13 towards a respective parabolic reflector, and is reflected back across the input area as sheets of light 45 in the X and Y dimensions. Unfortunately this simple configuration has the disadvantage that in many parts of the input area, a touch object 60 will block the outgoing light 35, complicating the detection algorithms. It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect the present invention provides a transmissive body for an input device, said body comprising: a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and a redirection element adapted to substantially redirect an optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal and collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal.

Preferably the elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal and collimate, redirect and transmit said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal. Preferably the elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal propagating in a first plane and redirect the optical signal as a substantially collimated planar signal into a second plane different from the first plane. In one embodiment the first and second planes are substantially parallel. In another embodiment the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from the first plane. In yet further embodiments the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected toward the source of the substantially planar optical signal.

In preferred embodiments according to the first aspect the transmissive body is formed from a unitary piece of plastics material substantially transparent to light of the infrared or visible region of the spectrum and optionally opaque to ambient visible light.

In one embodiment the transmissive body according to the first aspect may receive an optical signal in a substantially planar form. In another embodiment the transmissive body according to the first aspect may receive light from a plurality of light sources, such as an array of LEDs. In yet a further embodiment the transmissive body according to the first aspect may receive light from a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL).

According to a second aspect the present invention provides a transmissive body for an input device, said body comprising: (a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit an optical signal in planar form; and

(b) a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect an optical signal; wherein said elements are arranged to receive an optical signal from an optical source and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form.

According to a third aspect the present invention provides a transmissive body for an input device, said body comprising: (a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit an optical signal in planar form;

(b) a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and (c) a redirection element adapted to redirect an optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive an optical signal from an optical source and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form. Preferably the transmissive element is substantially planar, such as in the form of a slab. However it will be appreciated that the transmissive element may be in any form provided that: 1.) the transmissive element is adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source, 2.) the transmissive element is adapted to transmit the signal in planar form, and 3.) the transmissive element confines the optical signal within its outer periphery. In one preferred embodiment the optical source is a point source of diverging light (as discussed further below), optically coupled to a substantially planar transmissive element, such that the light is confined in the narrow dimension of the transmissive element but diverges freely in the broad dimension of the transmissive element. The collimation element and/or the redirection element span the full width of the transmissive element along a side opposing the optical source, and ideally the light will diverge sufficiently within the transmissive element so as to 'fill' this opposing side. If necessary a lens can be inserted to ensure that this occurs.

In one embodiment the transmitted substantially collimated planar signal is redirected in a plane substantially coplanar with the transmissive element if present or the received substantially planar optical signal. For example the collimated planar signal may be redirected to one side of the transmissive body. However, in alternative embodiments the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from the transmissive element. In this embodiment the collimated planar signal may be directed back towards the optical source or away from the optical source. Whilst it is preferable to redirect the entire substantially collimated planar signal, further embodiments are contemplated in which only a portion (or portions) of the substantially collimated planar signal are redirected. In a preferred embodiment the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into free space. In an alternative embodiment the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into a planar waveguide. If the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected in a plane substantially parallel to the transmissive element, this planar waveguide can be integrated with the transmissive element.

In preferred embodiments the collimation element and/or the redirection element are in the form of a mirror or a lens. However, the collimation element and/or the redirection element may be a plurality of collimation elements and redirection elements adapted to produce a plurality of substantially collimated signals in planar form from a single optical source.

Preferably the optical source is a point source emitting a diverging optical signal, for example an LED. In this case the collimation element is preferably a substantially parabolic reflector or a substantially elliptical lens, shaped and positioned such that its focus is substantially coincident with the optical source. The skilled person will appreciate that the aforementioned configuration enables the transmissive body of the invention to provide collimation of a diverging optical signal into substantially parallel rays of light, i.e. collimation of the optical signal. The transmissive body may be formed as either a unitary body or a plurality of bodies, depending on the embodiment. For example, for embodiments according to the first aspect, the transmissive body may be a unitary body or a pair of bodies. For embodiments according to the second or third aspects, the transmissive body may be:

1.) a unitary body comprising all three of the collimation, redirection and transmissive elements,

2.) a pair of bodies wherein one of the bodies comprises any two of the collimation, redirection and transmissive elements and the other of the bodies comprises the remaining element, or

3.) a triad of bodies, wherein each body comprises only one of the collimation, redirection and transmissive elements.

In preferred embodiments the collimation element and the redirection element are both optically downstream of the transmissive element. However, it will be appreciated that one or both of the collimation element and the redirection element may be optically upstream of the transmissive element. However, as the skilled person will be aware the relative positioning and pointing accuracy of the optical source in this latter embodiment requires significantly greater precision to ensure that a sufficient quantity of the optical signal is transmitted and that the optical signal is sufficiently collimated. In a first construction, a single optical source is provided which is optically coupled to a transmissive body according to the first aspect. It will be appreciated that the transmissive body provides a single sheet or lamina of substantially collimated planar optical signal. This substantially collimated planar signal may then be directed into one or more light detecting elements for detecting an input; the input being determined by an interruption of the collimated planar signal. In a further construction a pair of optical sources may be included and oriented substantially perpendicularly to each other on adjacent sides of a transmissive element. Pairs of collimation and redirection elements may also be provided on mutually opposing sides of the transmissive element to each of the optical sources, thereby providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals that propagate in substantially perpendicular directions. In one embodiment the collimated planar signals are coplanar, however the collimated planar signals may be in mutually spaced apart parallel planes.

In yet a further construction, a single optical source is optically coupled to the transmissive element, with pairs of collimation and redirection elements provided and positioned to produce a pair of substantially collimated planar signals that, in one arrangement, propagate in substantially perpendicular directions. Again, such collimated planar signals may be coplanar or in mutually spaced apart parallel planes.

It will be appreciated that a display may be positioned between the substantially collimated planar signal and the transmissive element or, in the case where the transmissive element is transparent, a display may be positioned on the opposite side of the transmissive element to the substantially collimated planar signal. In this latter embodiment the transmissive element itself forms the touch surface.

In yet a further construction, a single optical source is optically coupled to a transmissive element, and the collimation and redirection elements redirect the light into a planar waveguide provided on a surface of the transmissive element. In this embodiment the planar waveguide forms the touch surface, and input is determined by a reduction in the amount of light guided in the planar waveguide.

According to a fourth aspect the present invention provides a signal production device for an input device, comprising: an optical source for providing an optical signal; and a transmissive body comprising:

(a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit said optical signal in planar form;

(b) a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate said optical signal; and (c) a redirection element adapted to redirect said optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive said optical signal and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form. According to a fifth aspect the present invention provides an input device, comprising: an optical source for providing an optical signal; and

(a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit an optical signal in planar form; (b) a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and

(c) a redirection element adapted to redirect an optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive said optical signal and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form, said substantially collimated planar signal being directed to at least one light detecting element for detecting an input.

The light detecting element is adapted to receive at least a portion of the substantially collimated planar signal for detecting an input. The light detecting element preferably comprises at least one optical waveguide in optical communication with at least one detector.

In preferred embodiments the transmissive body is formed from a unitary piece of plastics material substantially transparent to the signal light. Preferably this signal light is in the infrared region of the spectrum, in which case the plastics material may optionally be opaque to ambient visible light. In these embodiments the transmissive body is preferably injection moulded. However, it will be appreciated that the transmissive body, or even portions of the transmissive body such as the transmissive element, the collimation element and/or the redirection element could be fabricated from other materials such as glass, and optically joined together. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the transmissive element is composed of glass and the collimation and redirection elements are together composed of a unitary piece of injection moulded plastics material. According to a sixth aspect the present invention provides a method for producing an optical signal in substantially collimated planar form, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting an optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating an optical signal; and redirecting an optical signal.

Preferably a substantially planar transmissive element confines and transmits the optical signal in a planar form, a collimation element collimates the optical signal in planar form, and a redirection element redirects the substantially collimated planar signal. In this aspect, the transmissive element, collimation element and redirection element define the transmissive body.

Preferably the method according to the sixth aspect further comprises the step of redirecting the substantially collimated planar signal into a plane substantially parallel to the transmissive element. The method preferably further comprises the step of redirecting the substantially collimated planar signal into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from the transmissive element. In one embodiment the method comprises the step of redirecting the substantially collimated planar signal back towards the optical source, which is a point source providing a diverging optical signal. The collimation element may include one or more substantially parabolic reflectors or one or more substantially elliptical lenses, and wherein each of the one or more substantially parabolic reflectors or elliptical lenses is shaped and positioned such that its focus is substantially coincident with the point source.

In another embodiment, the method comprises the step of providing a pair of optical sources and corresponding pairs of collimation elements and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagating in substantially perpendicular directions.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a single optical source and pairs of collimation elements and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagating in substantially perpendicular directions.

According to a seventh aspect the present invention provides a method for producing an optical signal in substantially collimated planar form, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an optical signal from an optical source; and

(b) optically coupling the optical source into a transmissive body according to the first, second or third aspects.

The present invention provides significant advantages over the prior art. For example, one significant issue with prior art devices relates to the need to align the transmitters with the receivers in the plane of the input area, whether the transmitters and receivers are discrete optical components as in US 3,478,220 or waveguides as in US 5,914,709. In contrast, since the transmit signal of the instant invention is a sheet/lamina of substantially collimated light, preferably in free space but alternatively guided within a planar waveguide, there is now no requirement to align receivers with transmitters in this plane. Each receiver simply receives a portion of light being directed at it and any of its neighbours, and registers interruption of the sheet of light as an input.

According to an eighth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body according to the second or third aspects for supplying an optical signal for said input device, and a distribution element adjacent said transmissive element for receiving and distributing light from a light source to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a ninth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar optical signal for supplying said signal for said input device, and a distribution element adjacent said transmissive element for receiving and distributing light from a light source to said display thereby illuminating said display. Preferably a cladding layer is disposed between said transmissive element and the distribution element for reducing leakage of light from the distribution element into the transmissive element, and for reducing leakage of the optical signal from the transmissive element into the distribution element.

In one embodiment, the distribution element is positioned such that the light source for supplying light to the distribution element and the optical source for supplying the optical signal to the transmissive element are positioned on the same side of the transmissive element. In an alternative embodiment, the distribution element is positioned such that the light source for supplying the light to the distribution element and the optical source for supplying the optical signal to the transmissive element are positioned on mutually opposed sides of the transmissive element.

Preferably the optical signal includes one or more predetermined wavelengths from the infrared region of the spectrum and said light includes one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum. In an alternative embodiment, the optical signal and the light each include one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum.

In one embodiment the display is positioned above the transmissive element. However, the display may be positioned beneath the transmissive element.

The light source for supplying the light may be a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or an array of LEDs, and the optical source for supplying the optical signal may be an LED or a group of LEDs.

According to a tenth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body according to the second or third aspects, and one or more light sources for producing light, said light source(s) positioned beneath said transmissive element to thereby illuminate said display through said transmissive element.

According to an eleventh aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a colliniation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar optical signal, and one or more light sources for producing light, said light source(s) positioned beneath said transmissive element to thereby illuminate said display through said transmissive element.

Preferably the assembly further comprises a cladding layer disposed between the one or more light sources and the transmissive element for reducing leakage of light from the transmissive element into the one or more light sources, or for reducing interaction between the optical signal in the transmissive element and the one or more light sources, wherein said one or more light sources are LEDs. The LEDs may produce one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum. Preferably the display is positioned above the transmissive element. According to a twelfth aspect the present invention provides a method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting said optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating said optical signal; redirecting said substantially collimated optical signal for said input device; providing light from a light source; and receiving and distributing said light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a thirteenth aspect the present invention provides a method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: optically coupling a transmissive body according to the first, second or third aspects with an optical source for supplying an optical signal for said input device; coupling a distribution element with said transmissive body; and optically coupling said distribution element with a light source for supplying light for illuminating said display. According to a fourteenth aspect the present invention provides a method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting said optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating said optical signal; redirecting said substantially collimated optical signal for said input device; providing light from one or more light sources; and distributing said light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a fifteenth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit light in substantially planar form into a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar light, and a distribution element adapted to receive and distribute said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a sixteenth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body according to the first, second or third aspects optically coupled to a distribution element adapted to distribute said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display. According to a seventeenth aspect the present invention provides a method for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in substantially planar form; substantially collimating and redirecting said light; and distributing said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to an eighteenth aspect the present invention provides a method for illuminating a display with light from a light source, said method comprising the steps of: optically coupling said light source with a transmissive body according to the first, second or third aspects; and optically coupling said transmissive body with a distribution element for distributing said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a nineteenth aspect the present invention provides a transmissive body for an input device and for illuminating a display, said body comprising: a transmission and distribution element adapted to receive, confine and transmit a first portion of a light signal in a substantially planar form to a redirection element adapted to redirect said substantially planar light signal for said input device, wherein said transmission and distribution element simultaneously distributes a second portion of said light signal to said display thereby illuminating said display.

In one embodiment of the transmissive body according to the nineteenth aspect the display may be positioned above the transmission and distribution element, however in an alternative embodiment the display may be positioned beneath the transmission and distribution element. In a related embodiment, the transmissive body for an input device and for illuminating a display may further comprise a touch surface transparent to the light signal positioned above the transmission and distribution element. According to a twentieth aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit light in substantially planar form to a redirection element adapted to redirect a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and to redirect a second portion of said substantially planar light for simultaneously supplying said light to a distribution element for illuminating said display.

In one embodiment of the assembly according to the twentieth aspect the display and the distribution element may be positioned above the transmissive element. Alternatively, the display may be positioned beneath the transmissive element and the distribution element positioned above the transmissive element. In a related embodiment, the assembly may further comprise a touch surface transparent to the light positioned above the distribution element. The light may be supplied by a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or an array of LEDs. According to a twenty-first aspect the present invention provides a method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in a substantially planar form; redirecting a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and simultaneously distributing a second portion of said substantially planar light to said display thereby illuminating said display. According to a twenty-second aspect the present invention provides a method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in a substantially planar form; redirecting a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and redirecting a second portion of said substantially planar light for simultaneously distributing said second portion to said display thereby illuminating said display.

According to a twenty-third aspect the present invention provides an assembly for an input device comprising: a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a transmissive body according to the first aspect for collimating and redirecting said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect the present invention provides a signal production device for an input device comprising: an optical source for providing a collimated signal, and a transmissive body for capturing and redirecting said collimated signal in a substantially planar form. In one embodiment the signal source is a point source. However, in another embodiment the signal source is a line source. Preferably the signal source produces a collimated optical signal. Preferably the transmissive body includes a redirection element for receiving and redirecting an optical signal. Preferably the transmissive body includes a collimation element for receiving and collimating an optical signal. Preferably the transmissive body includes a transmissive element for capturing and transmitting an optical signal in a planar form.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words 'comprise', 'comprising', and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of 'including, but not limited to'.

Other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities used herein are to be understood as modified in all instances by the term 'about'. The examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a plan view of a prior art waveguide-based optical touch input device;

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a prior art optical touch input device including a light pipe on the transmit side;

Figure 2A shows a plan view of a prior art optical touch input device including parabolic reflectors;

Figure 3 shows a plan view of a transmissive body according to a first embodiment of the invention, shown optically coupled to an optical source and a substantially collimated planar signal being produced;

Figure 4 is a side view of the apparatus as shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus as shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 A shows a plan view similar to that of Figure 3, but with the optical source recessed into the transmissive element;

Figure 5B shows a plan view similar to that of Figure 3, but with the optical source located in a slot in the transmissive element; Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing only portions of the substantially collimated planar signal being redirected;

Figure 6A shows a plan view of a transmissive body including an elliptical lens as the collimation element;

Figure 6B illustrates the geometry of refraction at an elliptical lens surface; Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the substantially collimated planar signal being redirected into two planes, one beneath and one above the transmissive element; Figure 7A is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the substantially collimated planar signal being redirected into a planar waveguide integrated with the transmissive element.

Figure 7B is a view similar to Figure 7 A but showing a cladding layer between the planar waveguide and the transmissive element.

Figure 7C is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing a slight out-of-plane divergence of the substantially collimated planar signal;

Figure 7D is a view similar to Figure 7C but showing how a cylindrical lens facet can be incorporated into a transmissive body to limit out-of-plane divergence of the substantially collimated planar signal;

Figure 7E is a view similar to Figure 7C but showing a redirection element with a different inclination;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a pair of optical sources oriented substantially perpendicularly to each other, and corresponding pairs of collimation and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals that propagate in substantially perpendicular directions;

Figure 9 is a sectional side view of the transmissive body as shown in Figure 8, showing the substantially collimated planar signals propagating in mutually spaced apart substantially parallel planes; Figure 10 is a plan view of a transmissive body having a single optical source and pairs of collimation and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals that propagate in substantially perpendicular directions;

Figure 11 is a side view of the transmissive body as shown in Figure 10, where the substantially collimated planar signals are coplanar;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 8 but showing two detector arrays and an interruption of the substantially collimated planar signals by a touch event;

Figure 13 is a side view of the apparatus as shown in Figure 12;

Figure 14 is an alternative embodiment of the embodiment as shown in Figure 12;

Figure 15 is a view similar to Figure 14 but showing an interruption of the substantially collimated planar signals by a touch event; Figure 16 is a view similar to Figure 13 but showing a display positioned on the opposite side of the transmissive element to the substantially collimated planar signal;

Figure 17 is a view similar to Figure 13, but showing a display positioned between the substantially collimated planar signal and the transmissive element;

Figures 18A, 18B and 18C are plan, side and perspective views respectively of a transmissive body according to a first preferred embodiment;

Figures 19A, 19B and 19C are plan, side and perspective views respectively of a collimation/redirection element according to a second preferred embodiment; Figure 20 is a side view of a transmissive body including the collimation/redirection element of Figures 19A, 19B and 19C;

Figure 21 is a side view of another transmissive body including the collimation/redirection element of Figures 19A, 19B and 19C;

Figure 22 is a plan view of a transmissive body with a segmented parabolic reflector;

Figure 23 is a plan view of a transmissive body with multiple parabolic reflector portions;

Figure 24 is a plan view of a transmissive body incorporating a converging lens;

Figure 25 is a plan view of a 'double pass' transmissive body incorporating a tapered portion for signal input;

Figure 26 is a side view of the transmissive body of Figure 25;

Figure 27 is a side view of a 'double pass' transmissive body where the signal light is launched through a parabolic reflector;

Figure 28 is a side view of a 'zero bezel height' transmissive body; Figure 28 A shows a plan view of a transmissive body according to an embodiment of the invention, shown optically coupled to an extended light source and a substantially planar signal being produced;

Figure 28B is a side view of the apparatus shown in Figure 28A;

Figure 28C is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in Figure 28A; Figure 28D is a similar view to that of Figure 28A, but with an array of point sources approximating an extended light source;

Figure 29 is a sectional view of a typical prior art backlighting unit, employing a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) to supply light to a distribution element; Figures 3OA and 30B are typical prior art LED backlighting systems, i.e. edge-lit and back -lit respectively;

Figure 31 is a view similar to Figure 29 however the CCFL has been replaced by a transmissive body according to the present invention; Figures 32A and 32B are perspective views of a transmissive body according to the present invention coupled with a distribution element showing how light from a single light source such as an LED may be distributed from a distribution element for illuminating a display (not shown);

Figures 33A and 33B are similar to Figures 32A and 32B, but showing multiple illumination capabilities;

Figures 34A and 34B are similar to Figures 32A and 32B, but showing an exploded view of a distribution element and transmissive bodies according to the present invention for illuminating a display (not shown);

Figure 35 is a view similar to Figure 32B but showing a transmissive element of a transmissive body according to the present invention 'rolled up' to conserve space;

Figure 36 is a sectional side view of the apparatus shown in Figure 35;

Figure 37 is a perspective view of the transmissive body shown in Figures 35 and

36, in particular illustrating the position of an LED light source (ghosted out); Figure 38 is a plan view of a transmissive body according to the present invention showing a collection of multiple point light sources that effectively act as a single point source;

Figure 39 is a plan view of a transmissive body according to the present invention showing an array of multiple light sources supplying light to corresponding collimation and re-direction elements;

Figure 4OA is a view similar to Figure 8;

Figure 4OB is a perspective view of a distribution element for use with the transmissive body as shown in Figure 4OA to provide light for illuminating a display; Figure 41 A is a view similar to Figure 10;

Figure 41 B is a perspective view of a distribution element for use with the transmissive body as shown in Figure 41 A (or Figure 40A) to provide light for illuminating a display; Figures 42 to 45 are side views of various apparatus suitable for distributing light for both display backlighting and touch detection;

Figures 46 to 49 are side views of various apparatus suitable for distributing light for both display front lighting and touch detection; and Figure 50 is a side view of another apparatus suitable for distributing light for both display backlighting and touch detection.

DEFINITIONS

In describing and claiming the present invention, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the invention only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. The terms plane , sheet and lamina may be used interchangeably herein.

These terms have been used when referring to the physical dimensions of an optical signal and are intended to denote the substantial collimation or confinement of a beam of light such that the individual rays of light are travelling together along a well-defined substantially parallel path. Preferably the light signal is collimated such that, in cross- section, the plane/sheet/lamina is substantially rectangular. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to that profile, and other profiles such as rhomboids etc are within the scope of the invention.

The term substantially when used throughout the specification, for example in the term substantially collimated signal , is intended to refer to a degree of variation that would be consistent with what a person skilled in the art would understand would arise from natural variation in optical devices as described herein. The use of the word substantially to qualify a number or an expression is merely an express indication that the number/expression is not to be construed as a precise value.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

References will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. As mentioned previously, waveguide-based optical touch screen sensors of the type shown in Figure 1 tend to suffer from a signal to noise problem, where their performance is impaired in bright ambient light conditions. There is also a need to reduce costs, especially in the arrays of transmit waveguides 10 and receive waveguides 14, and to avoid the requirement to align the transmit and receive waveguides carefully during assembly.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show plan, side and perspective views respectively of a substantially planar transmissive body 30 for an input device according to a first embodiment of the invention. The transmissive body 30 comprises a transmissive element 33 adapted to receive, confine and transmit in planar form an optical signal 35 from an optical source 38. The transmissive body 30 further comprises a collimation element 40 adapted to substantially collimate the optical signal 35, and a redirection element 42 adapted to redirect the optical signal. These elements are arranged to receive an optical signal 35 and convert and transmit it as a substantially collimated signal 45 in a substantially planar form from an exit face 67. It will be appreciated that the divergence angle of the optical signal 35 emitted from the optical source 38 and confined within the transmissive element 33 should be large enough such that the entire width of the collimation element 40 and redirection element 42 is 'filled' (i.e. illuminated).

Generally the divergence angle will be sufficiently large for the collimation element and redirection element to be somewhat 'over-filled', at the expense of some loss of light.

In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5A, the optical source 38 is located in a recess 31 formed in an edge of a transmissive element 33. If desired, the recess 31 may be specially shaped to provide a lensing action to ensure that the optical signal 35 diverges within the transmissive element 33 so as to 'fill' the collimation element 40 and redirection element 42. Alternatively or additionally, the recess 31 may also contain a transparent adhesive 32 to secure the optical source and to reduce reflection losses. In another alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5B, the optical source 38 is located in a slot 34 in the transmissive element 33, optionally filled with a transparent adhesive 32.

Preferably, the transmissive body 30 is designed such that the optical signal 35 reflects off each reflective surface (i.e. the collimation element 40 and the redirection element 42) via total internal reflection (TIR). This requires each angle of incidence to be greater than the critical angle θ_c, given by sin θ_c = mlm, where n\ is the refractive index of the material from which the transmissive body is composed and «₂ is the refractive index of the surrounding medium. Most polymers have refractive index ~ 1.5, so if the surrounding medium is air (i.e. «₂ ~ 1.0), then θ_c will be approximately 42°. If the TIR condition cannot be satisfied, then the reflective surfaces can be metallised.

In the embodiment as shown in Figure 5, a substantially collimated planar signal 45 is redirected in a plane substantially parallel to the transmissive element 33 and directed back towards the optical source 38. However, in other embodiments as shown in Figure 6 only portions of a substantially collimated planar signal 45 are redirected. In a yet further embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, a substantially collimated planar signal 45 is redirected into two planes, one beneath and one above the transmissive element 33. In a still further embodiment as shown in Figure 7A, a substantially collimated planar signal 45 is redirected into a planar waveguide 91 integrated with the transmissive element 33. To guide the planar signal, the planar waveguide 91 needs to have a higher refractive index than the transmissive element. With this refractive index relationship, a portion of the optical signal 35 guided within the transmissive element will be coupled into the planar waveguide, but this will be a small effect provided the planar waveguide is much thinner than the transmissive element. This coupling is essentially eliminated in an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 7B, where the planar waveguide 91 and transmissive element 33 are optically isolated from each other by a 'cladding' layer 92 with refractive index lower than that of both the planar waveguide and the transmissive element. The planar waveguide and cladding layer can be produced on the transmissive element by any of several methods known in the art, including liquid phase deposition methods (e.g. spin coating), vapour phase deposition methods (e.g. chemical vapour deposition) and ion diffusion.

Preferably the optical source 38 is a point-like source emitting a diverging optical signal, for example an LED. When the optical source 38 provides a diverging optical signal the collimation element 40 is preferably chosen to be a substantially parabolic reflector, shaped and positioned such that its focus is substantially coincident with the optical source. This configuration enables the transmissive body 30 of the invention to provide collimation of a diverging optical signal 35 into substantially parallel rays of light, i.e. collimation into the optical signal 45. In an alternative arrangement, shown in Figure 6A, the collimation element 40 is an elliptical lens 61 located after the redirection element 42, and with its 'further focus' substantially coincident with the optical source 38. To explain further with reference to Figure 6B, an ellipse is defined as the locus of points on a plane where the sum of the distances from any point on the curve to two fixed points is constant, the two fixed points being referred to as the foci 62 and 63. Light emanating from a point source 38 located within a planar higher refractive index medium 64 will emerge into a lower refractive index medium 66 as a beam 68 collimated in the plane of the higher refractive index medium provided that the higher refractive index medium is bounded by a surface 61 that is a portion of an ellipse with eccentricity equal to the ratio of the refractive indices of the two media, and provided the point source is located at the further focus 62. It will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that the term further focus is simply referring to the focus further away from the lens surface 61. Referring back to Figure 6A, it will be appreciated that the geometry shown in Figure 6B applies despite the fact that the optical path between the source 38 and the elliptical lens surface 61 is folded by the redirection element 42.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of a 'point source' is an idealisation, since the light-emitting surface of any real optical source will have non-zero dimensions. For the purposes of this specification, an optical source 38 will be considered to be a point-like source if its light-emitting surface is small compared to at least one dimension of the transmissive body 30.

It will be appreciated that the collimation element 40 should be angled so as to direct the light towards the redirection element 42. It will be appreciated that the order of the collimation element 40 and the redirection element 42 could be reversed. Alternatively, the collimation element and redirection element may be combined into a single 'collimation/redirection element' that performs both the collimation and redirection functions.

Preferably, a substantially collimated planar signal 45 should also be collimated in the vertical direction, as shown in Figure 4. In reality however the signal 45 will often have some divergence in the vertical direction, as shown in Figure 7C, although the divergence angle will be relatively small, of order ten degrees, because the 'exit aperture' defined by the redirection element 42 will generally be quite large (in optical terms), of order lmm. For the purposes of this specification, a signal 45 with slight divergence in the vertical direction will still be considered to be a planar signal, i.e. a lamina or sheet of light. Despite the fact that any vertical divergence will be slight, it is possible that a portion of a diverging signal 45 could reflect off the top surface of the transmissive element 33 and leak around a touch object, potentially causing problems with touch detection (as will be clear from inspection of Figure 13 for example). This vertical divergence may be reduced for example by imposing an appropriate cylindrical curvature on the exit face 67 (as shown in Figure 7D) or on the redirection element 42. Altematively, as shown in Figure 7E the inclination of the redirection element 42 may be altered such that a diverging signal 45 does not reflect off the top surface of the transmissive element 33.

Although the transmissive element 33 has been depicted as a rectangular sheet, those regions located outside the divergence angle of an optical signal 35 may be omitted, if desired.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, a pair of optical sources 38 may be provided and oriented perpendicularly to each other on adjacent sides of a transmissive element 33. Pairs of collimation 40 and redirection elements 42 may also be provided on mutually opposing sides of the transmissive element 33 to each of the optical sources 38, thereby providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals 45 that propagate in substantially perpendicular directions. In the embodiment shown in Figure 9 the substantially collimated planar signals 45 are in mutually spaced apart parallel planes. In yet a further construction as shown in Figures 10 and 11, a single optical source 38 is provided near a corner of a transmissive element 33, and pairs of collimation 40 and redirection elements 42 are provided and positioned on the transmissive element 33 for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals 45 that propagate in substantially perpendicular directions. In the embodiment shown in Figure 11 , the collimated planar signals 45 are coplanar. In some circumstances it may be desirable for two substantially collimated planar signals 45 to lie in different planes, for example if some 'Z axis' sensitivity (such as the approach velocity or angle of a touching object) is desired, or to guard against a false touch from a small object such as an insect. It will also be appreciated that the embodiment shown in Figure 8 could also be achieved by simply overlaying a pair of 'single axis' transmissive bodies (as shown in Figure 3) with a 90° rotation.

Referring now to Figures 12 and 13, the present invention also provides a touch input device where the substantially collimated planar signal(s) 45 define an input area 50 and are directed to at least one light detecting means 55 for detecting an input 60, the input being determined by interruption of the collimated planar signal(s) 45. The light detecting means 55 are adapted to receive at least a portion of the substantially collimated planar signal(s) 45 for detecting an input. A touch input device of this form may find application as, for example, a digitiser tablet. In the embodiment shown in Figures 12 and 13 there are first and second light detecting means 55, at least one of which includes at least one individual photo-detector 56 positioned adjacent to each of the two 'receive' sides of the input area. Preferably, the first and second light detecting means each include an array of photo-detectors 56 positioned adjacent to a 'receive' side. If light leakage from the optical sources 38 to the photo-detectors 56 is perceived to be a problem, it may be reduced by addition of an opaque sheet 57. It will be seen that the touch input device shown in Figures 12 and 13 offers a crucial advantage over the prior art device of Figure 2A, in that because the outgoing light 35 is guided within the transmissive element 33, it cannot be blocked by a touch object 60. Although an object contacting the transmissive element may in some circumstances interfere with the guidance of the outgoing light 35, this is in practice a miniscule effect. Because the transmissive element needs to have sufficient thickness for mechanical strength (of order 0.5mm or more), it operates as a bulk optics light pipe with only a tiny fraction of the outgoing light likely to be out-coupled. The situation is quite different if the transmissive body includes a planar waveguide 91 as shown in Figure 7A. Those skilled in the art of evanescent optical waveguide sensors will appreciate that provided the planar waveguide is sufficiently thin to be single mode or 'few-moded', of order lOμm, a significant amount of the collimated signal 45 within the planar waveguide will be out- coupled by a touch object.

Figures 14 and 15 provide an alternative embodiment to that shown in Figures 12 and 13. In this embodiment at least one of the first and second light detecting means 55 comprises at least one optical waveguide 14 in optical communication with a multielement detector 15 remote from the 'receive' sides. Preferably, the first and second light detecting means each comprise an array of optical waveguides 14 in optical communication with a common multi-element detector 15. Alternatively, each of the first and second light detecting means may have its own multi-element detector. As known in the art, each waveguide 14 may also have an associated in-plane focussing lens 16 to focus light in the horizontal plane. Alternatively, as disclosed in US Patent No 7,352,940, incorporated herein by reference, each waveguide may have an associated in-plane focussing mirror to focus light in the horizontal plane. Additionally, with reference to Figure 1, there may be an external vertical collimating lens 17 along each receive side to focus light in the vertical plane. Preferably, the waveguides 14 will be integrated optical waveguides, although optical fibres may also be used.

Irrespective of the form of the light detecting means 55, an input 60 in the form of a touch within an input area 50 will block a portion of each the two sheets of light 45, allowing its location to be determined from the position of the shadows. It will be appreciated that if the two sheets of light 45 are located a significant distance from the upper surface of the transmissive element 33, the display device will be sensitive to a 'near touch' as well as to a direct touch on the upper surface. Such 'near touch' sensitivity may be used to advantage for example to provide an additional 'hover mode' function to a touch panel that operates by some other mechanism, such as a resistive touch panel.

A display 65 such as an LCD may be positioned either on the opposite side of a transmissive element 33 to a substantially collimated planar signal 45, as best shown in Figure 16, or between a substantially collimated planar signal 45 and a transmissive element 33, as best shown in Figure 17. In the former example the transmissive element 33 needs to be transparent to visible light and forms the touch surface.

In certain preferred embodiments a transmissive body 30 is formed from a unitary piece of plastics material substantially transparent to the signal light. Preferably the signal light will be in the infrared region of the spectrum so that the transmissive body may optionally be opaque to ambient visible light. A unitary transmissive body 30 with realistic scaling is shown in Figures 18A (plan view), 18B (side view) and 18C (perspective view). This unitary transmissive body includes a transmissive element 33 with planar dimensions 65mm x 82mm and thickness 0.7mm, and having an entry face 70 for accepting light from a point-like source and a collimation/redirection portion 71 with two internally reflective facets 72, 73 and an exit face 67 through which a substantially collimated planar signal is emitted. The exit face 67 extends 0.7mm above the transmissive element 33. The internally reflective facets 72, 73 in combination have substantially parabolic curvature and serve to collimate and redirect light guided by the transmissive element 33. That is, the internally reflective facets in combination act as a collimation element and a redirection element. This unitary transmissive body is relatively simple to produce from a plastics material by injection moulding. From comparison with Figures 3, 4 and 5 it will be appreciated that the specific transmissive body shown in Figures 18A, 18B and 18C will only produce a collimated signal 45 propagating in a single direction. However this is for simplicity of illustration only and it is straightforward to produce a bi-directional version with two collimation/redirection portions 71 on adjacent sides of the transmissive element 33.

In other preferred embodiments a transmissive body is formed as a pair of bodies, with a transmissive element and a collimation/redirection element manufactured separately. As shown in Figures 19A (plan view), 19B (side view) and 19C (perspective view), a collimation/redirection element 74 produced from a plasties material by injection moulding includes an entry face 75 for receiving light from a separate transmissive element, a pedestal 76 for mounting the transmissive element, and two internally reflective facets 72, 73 and an exit face 67 that function as described with respect to Figures 18A, 18B and 18C. In one specific design, the entry face 75 and exit face 67 are each 65mm x 0.7mm and the pedestal 76 extends 3mm from the entry face. In the embodiment shown in Figure 19B the surfaces 73A and 73B are both parallel to the surface 73C, while in an alternative embodiment they are both angled slightly, of order 1°, with respect to the surface 73C, so as to be further from that surface at the end constituted by the reflective facets 72, 73. This is to assist in releasing the element 74 from a mould, and does not significantly affect the collimation/redirection performance of the element.

In one embodiment, the transmissive body as shown in Figures 19A (plan view), 19B (side view) and 19C (perspective view) comprises an entry face for receiving a divergent optical signal from an optical source; a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect the optical signal; and an exit face for transmitting the optical signal as a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form. In another embodiment the transmissive body comprises: an entry face for receiving divergent light from an optical source; a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate the optical signal; a redirection element adapted to redirect the optical signal; and an exit face for transmitting the optical signal as a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form. Preferably, the transmissive body further comprises a coupling means for optically coupling a substantially planar transmissive element to the entry face, wherein the divergent light is diverging in the plane of the transmissive element. Preferably the coupling means includes a pedestal. Preferably the substantially collimated planar signal is redirected in a plane parallel to the plane of the transmissive element.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an assembly for an input device comprising: a transmissive element 33 adapted to receive an optical signal 35 from an optical source 38 and confine and transmit the optical signal 35 in substantially planar form into a transmissive body comprising a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and a redirection element adapted to substantially redirect an optical signal, wherein the elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal and collimate and redirect the optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal. Preferably the transmissive element is an outer glass or plastic plate of a touch screen or display.

As shown in Figure 20, a transmissive body 30 is produced by joining a collimation/redirection element 74 to a transmissive element 33 using double-sided pressure-sensitive tape 77 such as a VHP transfer tape from 3M. If desired, the interface between the transmissive element and the entry face 75 can be filled with an optical adhesive. In this embodiment the transmissive element 33 consists of a simple rectangular sheet of glass that is more scratch resistant and provides more robust protection for an underlying display that if it were composed of a polymer material. However as described below there are situations where the transmissive element is preferably formed of a polymer. It will be appreciated that a bi-directional transmissive body can be produced by joining two collimation/redirection elements 74 to adjacent sides of a transmissive element 33. Alternatively, a single L-shaped collimation/redirection element could be moulded and joined to a transmissive element. In situations where a touch input device includes a display with a transparent cover such as a protective glass sheet, this cover can serve as the transmissive element. In the embodiment shown in Figure 21, a collimation/redirection element 74 is attached with double-sided tape 77 to a protective glass cover 78 of a liquid crystal display 65, such that light 35 launched into the glass cover from a point-like source 38 is collimated and redirected by the element 74 to produce a substantially collimated planar signal 45.

We turn now to consideration of bezel width when a transmissive body of the present invention is used in an input device. In the situation shown in Figure 13 where an input device includes a unitary transmissive body 30 of the type shown in Figures 18A, 18B and 18C, the input area 50 essentially overlies the rectangular transmissive element 33, with the remainder of the transmissive body 30 (i.e. the collimation/redirection element 71) located outside the input area. As such, this element 71 will be located in the bezel around a display, and may be the limiting factor in determining how narrow the bezel can be made, an important consideration for some touch screen applications such as mobile phones. The width of an element 71 will be determined by the shape of the parabola defining the internally reflective facets 72 and 73, which in turn will be determined by the size of the input area because of the necessity for the optical source 38 to be located at the focus of the parabola. Mathematically it turns out that the element 71 needs to be wider for smaller input areas, where the focal length of the parabola is smaller, which is a potential problem because bezel width is more likely to be a concern with smaller input devices. In a specific example, for a 3.5" (8.9cm) touch screen the element 71 will be approximately 7mm wide.

One possible solution, shown in Figure 22, is to use a segmented reflector, also known as a Fresnel reflector, with multiple offset parabolic reflectors 80 instead of a single parabolic reflector 81, resulting in a significant reduction 82 in the bezel width. It should be noted that each reflector 80 is a portion of a different parabola because the focal lengths are different. Potential drawbacks with this approach are that a transmissive body with a Fresnel reflector may be more difficult to manufacture by injection moulding, and stray reflections off the corners 83 may interfere with touch detection. Another solution, shown in Figure 23, is to design a transmissive body 30 with multiple parabolic reflectors 84, each with an optical source 38. The reduction in bezel width must be weighed against the additional cost of optical sources and the somewhat more complicated shape of the transmissive body. However for a 3.5" (8.9 cm) touch screen, a design with as few as two parabolic reflectors 84 and optical sources 38 reduces the bezel width from 7 mm to a much-improved 2 mm.

Yet another solution, shown in Figure 24, is to design a transmissive body 30 incorporating one or more lenses to enable a single parabolic reflector 81 to be designed with a larger focal length, and hence with less pronounced curvature. By way of example, Figure 24 shows a transmissive body 30 formed from an injection moulded plastics material, with a converging lens 85 composed of air (i.e. a lower refractive index medium) in the optical path between the optical source 38 and the parabolic reflector 81. In this example, the optical source 38 emits a highly divergent beam 86 that is partially converged by the lens 85, forming a virtual image 87 of the optical source that is further from the parabolic reflector 81 than the optical source itself, effectively simulating a larger overall device. The skilled person will realise that combinations of two or more lenses, such as a diverging lens followed by a converging lens in a beam expander configuration, could also be used for this purpose.

Still another solution is to design a transmissive body that increases the distance between the optical source and the parabolic reflector by enabling a 'double pass' propagation path of the signal within the transmissive element. One possible configuration, shown in Figure 25 (plan view) and Figure 26 (side view), is to mould a transmissive body 30 with a tapered portion 88 that allows signal light 35 from an optical source 38 to enter the transmissive element 33 and reflect off a metallised surface 89 before encountering the parabolic reflector 81. Another possible configuration, shown in Figure 27 (side view) is to launch signal light 35 through one surface 90 of the parabolic reflector 81. It will be appreciated that this particular solution is only possible if the surface 90 does not need to be metallised (i.e. if the parabolic reflector 81 operates by total internal reflection). It will also be appreciated that a double pass configuration where the optical source is simply placed in a slot proximate to the parabolic reflector and facing the metallised surface 89 is less desirable, because the optical source would lie in the optical path, causing a shadowing effect.

It will be appreciated that many of these approaches for reducing the bezel width will be equally applicable for composite transmissive bodies assembled as shown in Figures 20 and 21, and for transmissive bodies where the collimation is performed by elliptical lenses (e.g. as shown in Figure 6A) instead of parabolic reflectors. Inspection of Figure 6A shows that although the elliptical lens surface 61 curves inwards instead of outwards, a bezel will still need to be sufficiently wide so that the lens does not interfere with the touch input area.

We turn now to consideration of bezel height. Referring back to Figures 18A, 18B and 18C, it is apparent that the height of the exit face 67 (for example 0.7mm) translates directly to bezel height. In some device applications this will be acceptable, whereas for other devices it will be desirable to have the bezel essentially flush with the touch surface. For this 'zero bezel height' requirement the configurations shown in

Figures 7A and 7B, where a substantially collimated planar signal 45 is guided within a planar waveguide 91, may be desirable. As explained previously, a touch object will out-couple a significant amount of the signal from the planar waveguide, an effect that can be used to sense a touch object. In this type of touch input device, based on an effect known as 'frustrated total internal reflection' (FTIR), a touch object reduces the amount of signal propagating within the planar waveguide 91, a reduction that can be detected by a light detecting means 55 as shown in Figures 12 and 13 for example. Touch input devices that rely on FTIR are disclosed for example in US 6,972,753, US 2008/0006766 and US 2008/0088593. A potential problem with touch input devices based on FTIR is that dirt or oil (e.g. from a finger) on the surface of the planar waveguide may also out-couple signal light, interfering with touch detection. As shown in Figure 28 (side view), one means for mitigating this is to introduce an adaptation well known from resistive touch input devices. Specifically, a flexible sheet 93 separated from the planar waveguide by spacers 94 is introduced such that the planar signal 45 is only out-coupled when a touch object pushes the flexible sheet onto the planar waveguide. Irrespective of whether this flexible sheet is present, an advantage of locating the planar signal 45 within the planar waveguide 91 instead of in free space is that the principles of the present invention can be applied to flexible displays, as well as to curved displays (e.g. CRTs) with avoidance of parallax error.

The foregoing discussion has described optical elements capable of converting light from a point-like source into a sheet/lamina of light in a substantially planar form. In an alternative embodiment, illustrated in Figures 28A to 28D, an extended light source 114 in the form of a CCFL can be used instead of the point-like source 38 as the source of signal light. In this embodiment the transmissive body 140 includes a transmissive element 33 and a redirection element 42 including two reflective facets 141 and 142. A collimation element is not required to produce the substantially collimated planar signal 45, since the light 112 launched into the transmissive element by the extended light source does not diverge in the plane of the transmissive element. In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 28D, an array of point-like sources 38 is used to simulate an extended light source. In analogous fashion, a redirection element with a pedestal and two reflective facets could be used in place of the collimation/redirection element 74 shown in Figures 19A, 19B and 19C, if the source of signal light were an extended source rather than a point-like source. An advantage with using an extended light source is reduced bezel width, because the curvature of the collimation element is removed.

The components of the aforementioned transmissive bodies, whether with or without a collimation element, are of a sufficiently simple design to be readily mass- produced from injection-moulded polymer materials or from readily available materials such as plate glass. The use of such components in the construction of touch input devices has also been described. Compared to the all-waveguide devices of the prior art as shown in Fig. 1 , these touch input devices are relatively cheaper to manufacture and assemble and are much less susceptible to interference from ambient light. The combined benefits of (i) improved coupling of a light source into a transmissive element 33 instead of a planar waveguide optical splitter 18, and (ii) a larger amount of power in the collimated planar signal 45 for coupling into the receive waveguides 14, yields an improvement of two orders of magnitude in signal-to-noise at the multi-element detector 15. Consequently these touch input devices are able to operate in much greater levels of ambient light, even full sunlight. Alternatively or additionally, they can be operated with much lower optical signal powers, saving battery life when used in mobile electronic devices.

Whilst the transmissive bodies 30 and 140 according to the present invention have been described thus far with respect to optical touch input devices, the skilled person will appreciate that there are a number of other uses for them. In one example, they can clearly be used in reverse; for instance a transmissive body 30 as shown in Fig. 5 could receive a substantially planar collimated signal 45 at the exit face 67 and redirect, focus and transmit the signal to a photo-detector located at the position of the optical source 38. Another example is in the field of display illumination, for example backlighting a transmissive display or frontlighting a reflective display. To explain the backlighting application, the backlighting unit of an LCD traditionally uses a light source unit arranged in a side portion of the display. A backlighting unit of this sort is called a side lamp type backlighting unit, a typical example of which is shown in Figure 29. This backlighting unit employs a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) 99 housed in a parabolic lamp reflector 100. The lamp and reflector are held in place with a lamp cover 101. The CCFL 99 directs light into a typically wedge-shaped distribution element 102 that can take a variety of forms, as disclosed for example in US patent No.'s 5,237,641, 5,303,322, 5,914,760, 6,576,887 and 6,590,625. Typically, the distribution element is patterned on one side with elements 103 that may be in the form of prisms, for extracting light,. Other common components of a side lamp type backlighting unit include a reflector plate 104, one or more diffuser plates 105, and one or more brightness enhancement films 106 (typically composed of arrays of prisms). The components of the backlighting unit combine to direct light 107 through an LCD display (not shown). It will be appreciated that side lamp type frontlighting units (disclosed for example in US patent Nos 6,295,104 and 6,379,017) bear many similarities to the side lamp style backlighting unit shown in Fig. 29, except that the distribution element directs light 'down' onto a reflective display rather than 'up' through a transmissive display. In many applications, LEDs are being designed into lighting systems to replace existing light sources due to their lower costs, higher power efficiencies, better light gamut control and other features. However, one of the challenges in achieving this goal is that LEDs are essentially 'point' sources of light rather than 'extended' sources (such as CCFLs) that are required for many apparatus for display illumination. Current LED backlighting may be conveniently divided into two main categories, namely, edge-lit and back-lit: a.) Edge-lit: LEDs 38 replace the CCFL in an edge arrangement similar to that shown in Figure 29, as can be seen in Figure 3OA. LED edge lighting is typically employed on sub-34" displays. b.) Back-lit: arrays of spaced LEDs 38 are positioned behind a diffuser plate (not shown) to directly illuminate the LCD display, see Figure 30B. Back-lit LED arrays are typically used on large LCD displays, such as televisions.

It will be appreciated that light distributed into the display must be of the correct colour to maximise viewer perceived performance, and since LED backlights allow greater control of the colour gamut they are increasingly becoming the preferred light source for backlighting units. It will be further appreciated that the role of the backlighting unit is to take light from the light-source(s) and distribute it into an LCD with maximum efficiency. Maximum efficiency includes low optical losses in the backlighting unit itself, high uniformity of emitted light from the backlighting unit, and emitted light with characteristics most suited to acceptance by the LCD (typically light closer to being emitted perpendicular to the plane is most efficient). Inefficiencies in light use mean lower available brightness of the LCD, greater thermal issues, and higher power consumption for a required brightness. Further, it will be appreciated that the backlighting unit contributes considerably to the cost of an LCD, and may comprise fluorescent or LED light sources, the light guiding plates, any special films (such as Vikuti^® brightness enhancement films) and associated assembly and integration with the LCD stack. Further still, the backlighting unit adds considerably to both weight and thickness of a complete LCD. In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated by the skilled person that the ability of a transmissive body 30 of the present invention to receive light from a point light source such as an LED 38 and convert it into a planar 'strip' of light makes it particularly suitable for use with prior art distribution elements and associated optics that require an extended light source. In other words, the present invention is adapted to replace the CCFL/lamp reflector/lamp cover assembly in CCFL-illuminated backlighting units, for example as shown in Figures 31, 32A and 32B.

In related embodiments, such as shown in Figures 33A and 33B, a transmissive body 30 of the present invention may be used to illuminate two oppositely directed distribution elements 102. Alternatively, opposite edges of a distribution element 102 may be illuminated as illustrated in Figures 34A and 34B. In yet further embodiments the transmissive element 33 of a transmissive body 30 or 140 of the present invention may be coiled to minimise the 'footprint' of the transmissive body 30, as shown in Figures 35 to 37. It will be appreciated that a single LED 38 could be employed wjth a transmissive body 30 of the present invention, or alternatively, if a higher lux was required, a plurality of LEDs 38 could be grouped together, as shown in Figure 38. In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 39, a spaced array of LEDs may be provided along an edge of a transmissive element 33, with each LED 38 corresponding to collimation/redirection elements 40/42. It will be appreciated from Figure 28D that in the limit of an array of closely spaced LEDs, a transmissive body 140 with no collimation element could also be used. As discussed previously regarding Figure 23, these embodiments will also be advantageous if bezel width is a consideration. In further embodiments, a biaxial distribution element 102 for use with a transmissive body 30 as shown in Figure 4OA (or Figure 8) may be used to illuminate a display. A biaxial distribution element 102 may also be used with the embodiment as shown in Figures 41 A and 4 IB.

In related aspects, it will be appreciated that the light output of the distribution element 102 when optically coupled with the transmissive body 30 of the invention may be configured to be of a uniform or predetermined intensity profile. Furthermore, the skilled person will appreciate that the LED sources 38 can be white light, or multiple colours like RBG that can be 'mixed' in the distribution element 102. It will further be appreciated that the apparatus of the invention may be on one, two, three or four sides of an LCD display. Whilst the apparatus of the invention may be used to replace the fluorescent tube/reflector box in a traditional backlighting unit for an LCD, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to LCD backlighting. The present invention provides several advantages over the prior art, for example the ability to use relatively fewer high power LEDs than direct LED illumination at the back of a LCD, or an array of LEDs at the side of the backlight unit. Understandably, this will save costs and, with proper design, generate more uniform illumination of the display.

The skilled person will appreciate that because the light 45 emanating from a transmissive body 30 is substantially collimated in planar form, it will enter the distribution element 102 of a backlighting system in collimated form. Accordingly, the light emerging from the distribution element 102 may also be substantially collimated (depending on the structure of the patterned elements 103), the effect of which may be to cause a relatively small "viewing angle" of, say, 5° for a user. In certain circumstances this may be a desirable property - for example it may be possible to dispense with one or more of the brightness enhancement films 106, thereby reducing cost. However, if for the particular application this is considered undesirable, then the collimated light may be randomised somewhat by the use of diffuser plates 105 or similar. For example apart from the diffuser plate(s) 105 positioned above the distribution element 102, another diffuser plate 105 could be placed between the transmissive body 30 and distribution element 102. In another example, the exit face of the transmissive body could be roughened to diffuse the light.

In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a transmissive body capable of distributing light for both display illumination and touch detection. Figures 42 to 45 illustrate various embodiments of a transmissive body capable of distributing light for both display backlighting and touch detection, while Figures 46 to 49 illustrate various embodiments of a transmissive body capable of distributing light for both display frontlighting and touch detection.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 42, there is provided a transmissive body 110 for combined backlighting and touch detection including a wedge-shaped distribution element 102 and a redirection element 42 that accepts light 112 from an extended light source 114 such as a CCFL or an LED array. A first portion (in most cases the major portion) 116 of the light is directed through a transmissive display 118 by the distribution element 102, as in a conventional backlighting system such as that shown in Figure 29. The remaining portion 120 of the light is redirected by the element 42 in front of the display 118 for touch input purposes.

Figure 43 shows an alternative combined backlighting/touch detection embodiment with a transmissive body 110 including a substantially planar transmissive element 33 and a redirection element 42 that accepts light from an extended light source 114. In this case the redirection element directs a first portion (in most cases the major portion) of the light into a wedge-shaped distribution element 102 that distributes it through a transmissive display 118 as in a conventional backlight, and a second portion 120 of the light in front of the display 118 for touch input purposes.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 42 and 43, the transmissive body 110 does not need to have a collimation element because the light source 114 is an extended light source rather than a point source. Further, the same light is used for display illumination and touch detection, so that the touch detection light will be visible light. If this is unacceptable, some variations may be appropriate. For example if the extended light source 114 has a broad emission spectrum extending into the near infrared, an infrared pass filter 122 may be placed on the appropriate part of the redirection element 42. Alternatively, if the extended light source were an LED array, it would be possible to intersperse one or more near infrared LEDs among the visible LEDs and use an infrared pass filter 122 to remove visible light from the touch detection light. Of course if the transmissive body 110 does have a collimation element, say an elliptical lens surface associated with the infrared pass filter 122, only one (appropriately placed) infrared LED may be necessary amongst the visible LEDs.

Figure 44 shows yet another combined backlighting/touch detection embodiment, this time with a composite distribution element 102 and transmissive body 30 preferably separated by a lower refractive index cladding layer 124. In this case the distribution element 102 distributes light from an extended source 114 through a transmissive display 118 as in a conventional backlight, and the transmissive body 30 converts light from a point source 38 into a substantially collimated planar light signal 45 as described above with respect to Figures 3 to 5. The lower refractive index cladding layer 124 is preferably present to prevent mixing of the light from the extended source 114 (typically visible) and the light from the point source 38 (typically infrared). The cladding layer may for example be a layer of a curable polymer coated onto either the transmissive body 30 or the distribution element 102. Alternatively, the cladding layer may simply be an air gap.

The embodiment shown in Figure 45 differs from that of Figure 44 in that the orientation of the distribution plate 102 and the extended light source 114 is reversed. Figures 46 to 49 show various embodiments of a combined frontlighting/touch detection apparatus that are in many respects analogous to the combined backlighting/touch detection apparatus shown in Figures 42 to 45, except that the light distribution element 102 directs light 125 'down' to a reflective display 126 rather than 'up' through a transmissive display. Depending on the precise shape of the light distribution element 102, it may be necessary to add a transparent sheet 128 as a flat surface for touch input. A similar transparent sheet may also be present in a combined backlighting/touch detection apparatus, to protect the transmissive display. Figure 50 shows yet another embodiment of a combined backlighting/touch detection apparatus, this time with in the 'back-lit' style (see Figure 30B) with an array of visible LEDs (e.g. 'white' LEDs or RGB coloured LEDs) 130. Light for touch detection is provided by a transmissive body 30 and a point source 38 as described above with respect to Figures 3 to 5. The backlighting LEDs 130 are separated from the transmissive element 33 of the transmissive body 30 by a cladding layer 124 that should have a lower refractive index than the transmissive element, so that light from the point source 38 is confined therein.

For each of the embodiments shown in Figures 42 to 50, it will be appreciated that other components of conventional backlighting or frontlighting systems, such as extraction elements, diffuser plates and brightness enhancement films, can be added as required.

A person skilled in the art will understand that in some embodiments if a signal source is provided which produces a collimated signal the collimation element may not be required. In such an embodiment the transmissive body will still receive the optical signal and transmit it as a substantially planar collimated optical signal. For example the point source 38 in Figs 44, 45, 48 and 49 could be replaced by another extended light source 114.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A transmissive body for an input device, said body comprising: a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and a redirection element adapted to substantially redirect an optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal and collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal.

2. A transmissive body according to claim 1 wherein said elements are arranged to receive a substantially planar optical signal propagating in a first plane and redirect said optical signal as a substantially collimated planar signal into a second plane different from said first plane.

3. A transmissive body according to claim 2 wherein said first and said second planes are substantially parallel.

4. A transmissive body according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from said first plane.

5. A transmissive body according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected toward the source of said received optical signal.

6. A transmissive body according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said transmissive body is formed from a unitary piece of plastics material substantially transparent to light of the infrared or visible region of the spectrum and optionally opaque to ambient visible light.

7. A transmissive body comprising: (a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit an optical signal in planar form; and

8. A transmissive body comprising:

(c) a redirection element adapted to redirect an optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive an optical signal from an optical source and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form.

9. A transmissive body according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein said redirection element is adapted to redirect said substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form into a planar waveguide integrated with said transmissive element.

10. A transmissive body according to claim 9 wherein said transmissive element is flexible.

11. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein said transmissive element is substantially planar.

12. A transmissive body according to claim 11 wherein said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into a plane substantially coplanar with said transmissive element.

13. A transmissive body according to claim 11 wherein said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from said transmissive element.

14. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 13 wherein said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected back towards said optical source.

15. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 14 wherein said transmissive body includes a plurality of collimation elements and redirection elements adapted to produce a plurality of substantially collimated signals in substantially planar form from a single optical source.

16. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 15 wherein said collimation element and/or said redirection element are in the form of a mirror or a lens.

17. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 16 wherein said optical source is a point source.

18. A transmissive body according to claim 17 wherein said point source provides a diverging optical signal.

19. A transmissive body according to claim 18 wherein said collimation element includes one or more substantially parabolic reflectors or one or more substantially elliptical lenses.

20. A transmissive body according to claim 19 wherein each of said one or more substantially parabolic reflectors is shaped and positioned such that its focus is substantially coincident with said point source.

21. A transmissive body according to claim 19 wherein each of said one or more substantially elliptical lenses is shaped and positioned such that a focus of said lens is substantially coincident with said point source.

22. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 21 wherein said collimation element and said redirection element are both optically downstream of said transmissive element.

23. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 22 wherein said transmissive body is formed as either: a.) a unitary body comprising all three of said collimation, redirection and transmissive elements, b.) a pair of bodies wherein one of said bodies comprises any two of said collimation, redirection and transmissive elements and the other of said bodies comprises the remaining element, or c.) a triad of bodies, each said body comprising one of said collimation, redirection and transmissive elements.

24. A transmissive body according to any one claims 11 to 23, further comprising a second collimation element for substantially collimating said substantially collimated planar signal in the direction perpendicular to the plane of said transmissive element.

25. A transmissive body according to claim 24 wherein said second collimation element is a lens.

26. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 25 wherein only a portion of said substantially collimated planar signal is redirected.

27. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 26 adapted to receive optical signals from more than one optical source, said body comprising a pair of collimation elements and a pair of redirection elements for providing a corresponding pair of substantially collimated planar signals.

28. A transmissive body according to claim 27 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagate in substantially perpendicular directions.

29. A transmissive body according to claim 27 or claim 28 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagate in mutually spaced apart substantially parallel planes.

30. A transmissive body according to claim 27 or claim 28 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals are coplanar.

31. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 25 adapted to receive a an optical signal from a single optical source, said body comprising a pair of collimation elements and a pair of redirection elements for providing a corresponding pair of substantially collimated planar signals.

32. A transmissive body according to claim 31 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagate in substantially perpendicular directions.

33. A transmissive body according to claim 31 or claim 32 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagate in mutually spaced apart substantially parallel planes.

34. A transmissive body according to claim 31 or claim 32 wherein said pair of substantially collimated planar signals are coplanar.

35. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 34 further comprising a display positioned between said substantially collimated planar signal and said transmissive element.

36. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 34 further comprising a display positioned on the opposite side of said transmissive element to said substantially collimated planar signal.

37. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 34 further comprising a display, wherein said display includes a planar portion that functions as said transmissive element.

38. A transmissive body according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said transmissive body is formed from a unitary piece of plastics material substantially transparent to light of the infrared or visible region of the spectrum and optionally opaque to ambient visible light.

39. A transmissive body according to claim 38 wherein said unitary piece of plastics material is formed by injection moulding.

40. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 37 wherein said collimation element and said redirection element are formed from a unitary piece of plasties material substantially transparent to light of the infrared or visible region of the spectrum and optionally opaque to ambient visible light.

41. A transmissive body according to claim 40 wherein said unitary piece of plastics material is formed by injection moulding.

42. A transmissive body according to claim 40 or claim 41 wherein said transmissive element is formed from glass.

43. A transmissive body according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising at least one light detecting element adapted to receive at least a portion of said substantially collimated planar signal for detecting an input.

44. A transmissive body according to claim 43 wherein said at least one light detecting element includes at least one optical waveguide in optical communication with at least one photo-detector.

45. An assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 44 for supplying an optical signal for said input device, and a distribution element adjacent said transmissive element for receiving and distributing light from a light source to said display thereby illuminating said display.

46. An assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar optical signal for supplying said signal for said input device, and a distribution element adjacent said transmissive element for receiving and distributing light from a light source to said display thereby illuminating said display.

47. An assembly according to claim 45 or claim 46 further comprising a cladding layer disposed between said transmissive element and said distribution element for reducing leakage of said light from said distribution element into said transmissive element, and for reducing leakage of said optical signal from said transmissive element into said distribution element.

48. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 47 wherein said distribution element is positioned such that said light source for supplying said light to said distribution element and said optical source for supplying said optical signal to said transmissive element are positioned on the same side of said transmissive element.

49. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 47 wherein said distribution element is positioned such that said light source for supplying said light to said distribution element and said optical source for supplying said optical signal to said transmissive element are positioned on mutually opposed sides of said transmissive element.

50. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 49 wherein said optical signal includes one or more predetermined wavelengths from the infrared region of the spectrum and said light includes one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum.

51. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 49 wherein said optical signal and said light each include one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum.

52. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 51 wherein said display is positioned above said transmissive element.

53. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 51 wherein said display is positioned beneath said transmissive element.

54. An assembly according to any one of claims 45 to 53 wherein said light source for supplying said light is a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or an array of LEDs, and said optical source for supplying said optical signal is an LED or a group of LEDs.

55. An assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body according to any one of claims 7 to 44, and one or more light sources for producing light, said light source(s) positioned beneath said transmissive element to thereby illuminate said display through said transmissive element.

56. An assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar optical signal, and one or more light sources for producing light, said light source(s) positioned beneath said transmissive element to thereby illuminate said display through said transmissive element.

57. An assembly according to claim 55 or claim 56 further comprising a cladding layer disposed between said one or more light sources and said transmissive element for reducing leakage of light from said transmissive element into said one or more light sources, or for reducing interaction between said optical signal in said transmissive element and said one or more light sources.

58. An assembly according to any one of claims 55 to 57 wherein said one or more light sources are LEDs.

59. An assembly according to claim 58 wherein said LEDs produce one or more predetermined wavelengths from the visible region of the spectrum.

60. An assembly according to any one of claims 55 to 59 wherein said display is positioned above said transmissive element.

61. A method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting said optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating said optical signal; redirecting said substantially collimated optical signal for said input device; providing light from a light source; and receiving and distributing said light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

62. A method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: optically coupling a transmissive body according to any one of claims 1 to 44 with an optical source for supplying an optical signal for said input device; coupling a distribution element with said transmissive body; and optically coupling said distribution element with a light source for supplying light for illuminating said display.

63. A method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting said optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating said optical signal; redirecting said substantially collimated optical signal for said input device; providing light from one or more light sources; and distributing said light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

64. A signal production device for an input device, said device comprising: an optical source for providing an optical signal; and a transmissive body comprising:

(b) a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate said optical signal; and

(c) a redirection element adapted to redirect said optical signal, wherein said elements are arranged to receive said optical signal and transmit, collimate and redirect said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated signal in a substantially planar form.

65. An input device comprising: an optical source for providing an optical signal; and

(a) a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit an optical signal in planar form;

(b) a collimation element adapted to substantially collimate an optical signal; and

66. A method for producing an optical signal in substantially collimated planar form, said method comprising the steps of: providing an optical signal from an optical source; receiving, confining and transmitting said optical signal in planar form; substantially collimating said optical signal; and redirecting said optical signal.

67. A method according to claim 66 wherein a substantially planar transmissive element confines and transmits said optical signal in said planar form, a collimation element collimates said optical signal in planar form, and a redirection element redirects said substantially collimated planar signal.

68. A method according to claim 67 wherein said transmissive element, collimation element and redirection element define a transmissive body.

69. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 68 further comprising the step of redirecting said substantially collimated planar signal into a plane substantially parallel to said transmissive element.

70. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 69 further comprising the step of redirecting said substantially collimated planar signal into one or more planes substantially parallel to and spaced from said transmissive element.

71. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 70 further comprising the step of redirecting said substantially collimated planar signal back towards said optical source.

72. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 71 wherein said optical source is a point source providing a diverging optical signal and said collimation element includes one or more substantially parabolic reflectors or one or more substantially elliptical lenses.

73. A method according to claim 72 wherein each of said one or more substantially parabolic reflectors is shaped and positioned such that its focus is substantially coincident with said point source.

74. A method according to claim 72 wherein each of said one or more substantially elliptical lenses is shaped and positioned such that a focus of said lens is substantially coincident with said point source.

75. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 74 further comprising the step of providing a pair of optical sources and corresponding pairs of collimation elements and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagating in substantially perpendicular directions.

76. A method according to any one of claims 66 to 74 further comprising the step of providing a single optical source and pairs of collimation elements and redirection elements for providing a pair of substantially collimated planar signals propagating in substantially perpendicular directions.

77. An assembly for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive body comprising a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit light in substantially planar form into a collimation and redirection element adapted to substantially collimate and redirect said substantially planar light, and a distribution element adapted to receive and distribute said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

78. An assembly for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising a transmissive body according to any one of claims 1 to 44 optically coupled to a distribution element adapted to distribute said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

79. A method for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in substantially planar form; substantially collimating and redirecting said light; and distributing said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

80. A method for illuminating a display with light from a light source, said method comprising the steps of: optically coupling said light source with a transmissive body according to any one of claims 1 to 44; and optically coupling said transmissive body with a distribution element for distributing said substantially planar collimated light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

81. An assembly according to claim 77 or claim 78 or a method according to claim 79 or claim 80 wherein said light is provided from a point source.

82. An assembly according to claim 81 or a method according to claim 81 wherein said point source is an LED.

83. A transmissive body for an input device and for illuminating a display, said body comprising: a transmission and distribution element adapted to receive, confine and transmit a first portion of a light signal in a substantially planar form to a redirection element adapted to redirect said substantially planar light signal for said input device, wherein said transmission and distribution element simultaneously distributes a second portion of said light signal to said display thereby illuminating said display.

84. A transmissive body according to claim 83 wherein said display is positioned above said transmission and distribution element.

85. A transmissive body according to claim 83 wherein said display is positioned beneath said transmission and distribution element.

86. A transmissive body according to claim 85 further comprising a touch surface transparent to said light signal positioned above said transmission and distribution element.

87. An assembly for an input device and for illuminating a display, said assembly comprising: a transmissive element adapted to receive, confine and transmit light in substantially planar form to a redirection element adapted to redirect a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and to redirect a second portion of said substantially planar light for simultaneously supplying said light to a distribution element for illuminating said display.

88. An assembly according to claim 87 wherein said display and said distribution element are positioned above said transmissive element.

89. An assembly according to claim 87 wherein said display is positioned beneath said transmissive element and said distribution element is positioned above said transmissive element.

90. An assembly according to claim 89 further comprising a touch surface transparent to said light positioned above said distribution element.

91. A transmissive body according to any one of claims 83 to 86 or an assembly according to any one of claims 87 to 91 wherein said light is supplied by a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or an array of LEDs.

92. A method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in a substantially planar form; redirecting a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and simultaneously distributing a second portion of said substantially planar light to said display thereby illuminating said display.

93. A method for producing a signal for an input device and for illuminating a display, said method comprising the steps of: providing light from a light source; receiving, confining and transmitting said light in a substantially planar form; redirecting a first portion of said substantially planar light for said input device and redirecting a second portion of said substantially planar light for simultaneously distributing said second portion to said display thereby illuminating said display.

94. An assembly for an input device comprising: a transmissive element adapted to receive an optical signal from an optical source and confine and transmit said optical signal in substantially planar form into a transmissive body according to any one of claims 1 to 6 for collimating and redirecting said optical signal to produce a substantially collimated planar signal.

95. An assembly according to claim 94 wherein said transmissive element is an outer glass or plastic plate of a touch screen or display.

96. A signal production device for an input device comprising: an optical source for providing a collimated signal, and a transmissive body for capturing and redirecting said collimated signal in a substantially planar form.

97. A signal production device as claimed in claim 96 wherein said optical source is a point source.

98. A signal production device as claimed in claim 96 wherein said optical source is a line source.

99. A signal production device according to any one of claims 96 to 98 wherein said transmissive body includes a redirection element for receiving and redirecting an optical signal.

100. A signal production device according to any one of claims 96 to 99 wherein said transmissive body includes a collimation element for receiving and collimating an optical signal.

101. A signal production device according to any one of claims 96 to 100 wherein said transmissive body includes a transmissive element for capturing and transmitting an optical signal in a planar form.