Abstract: A lighting apparatus for irradiating a liquid crystal display panel from the back includes a light guiding plate having at least an end which is bent in a direction opposite to the liquid crystal display panel, and a light source disposed on the back surface of the light guiding plate with respect to the liquid crystal display panel. Light from the light source is incident on the bent section of the light guiding plate, reflected by a reflector covering the outside surface of the bent section, and then falls on a section corresponding to a data display space of the liquid crystal display panel. This structure enables an increase in the ratio of the area of a light emitting section to the area of the entire lighting apparatus.

Abstract: A back light device of a liquid crystal display device includes fluorescent tubes on both ends of a light guiding plate. When viewed from a section which is perpendicular to the fluorescent tubes, shapes or internal constitution of the light guiding plate are asymmetrical in order to prevent irregularity of the luminance of a display area of a liquid crystal display panel caused by, e.g., a different in optical characteristics between the fluorescent tubes, a difference between positioning of each fluorescent tubes and the light guiding plate. In other words, a border of the shapes or of the internal constitution of the light guiding plate is set in a position that is nearer to the section where a quantity of incident light is relatively small according to a ratio of the quantities of incident lights on each section obtained by cutting a face that intersect a circumferential end of the display area on the light guiding plate at right angels.