Patent ID: 8773611

Claim:
A backlight device comprising: a light emitting section including a plurality of surface light emitters which are arranged and disposed so as to have a predetermined gap between adjacent surface light emitters; and a diffuser plate which is disposed in front of the light emitting section to diffuse light irradiated from the light emitting section, wherein: each of the surface light emitters comprises a single light irradiation surface that lies substantially in a single respective plane, each of the surface light emitters generates light and emits the light in a direction perpendicular to its light irradiation surface from substantially the entire light irradiation surface, an angle between respective light irradiation surfaces of the adjacent surface light emitters is smaller than 180 degrees, and the angle between the respective light irradiation surfaces is set so that a crossing point formed by lines, which are perpendicular to the respective light irradiation surfaces and which extend from respective first edge sections of the respective light irradiation surfaces adjacent to the gap, is positioned on a hypothetical plane surface, which is a plane connecting respective second edge sections of the respective light irradiation surfaces, wherein the first edge sections and the second edge sections are formed at opposite ends of the respective light irradiation surfaces.