Patent ID: 7866873

Claim:
A planar illumination device provided with a light guide plate; point-like light sources arranged on a side end face of the light guide plate; and a frame holding the light guide plate and the point-like light sources, wherein: the frame comprises an inner frame formed substantially in a U-shape in the plane of the light guide plate and an outer frame having a plate-state seat portion and a plurality of side walls installed upright on an outer edge portion of the seat portion so as to accommodate the inner frame; the light guide plate is accommodated in the inner frame and mounted on the seat portion together with the inner frame; the point-like light source is held between the side end face on an open side of the inner frame in the light guide plate and at least one of the plurality of side walls of the outer frame that is opposite the side end face; and an inner face side of each side constituting the inner frame is formed in a shape according to each side end face of the light guide plate, and an elastic action portion is provided at each of two sides of the inner frame, the elastic action portion being elastically deformed by making partial contact with at least one of the plurality of side walls of the outer frame and energizing the light guide plate toward the point-like light source, each elastic action portion comprises a cantilever beam extending with inclination from the respective side of the inner frame toward the open side of the inner frame so as to expand outward of the inner frame, and the inner frame being arranged in the outer frame so that a free end of each of the cantilever beams is in contact with an upper end portion of at least one of the plurality of side walls of the outer frame which oppose a respective one of the two opposing sides of the inner frame.