Patent ID: 8194206

Claim:
A planar light-emitting device comprising a plurality of light-emitting units, each light-emitting unit comprising: a lightguide plate of a regular quadrangular shape having an upper surface as a light-exiting surface, a lower surface opposite to the upper surface, a peripheral side surface extending between respective peripheral edges of the light-exiting surface and the lower surface, and the peripheral side surface having a front-side surface, a rear-side surface opposite to the front-side surface, and right and left side surfaces connecting both ends of the front-side surface and the rear side surface; and a light source disposed adjacently to one part of the peripheral side surface of the lightguide plate to emit light into the lightguide plate; the light-emitting units being arranged in a plurality of rows, the upper surfaces of the lightguide plates being flush with each other, and the lightguide plates that are aligned in one row being displaced relative to the lightguide plates that are aligned in one of adjacently disposed rows of the one row.