Lighting apparatus having low profile

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One aspect of the present invention relates to a lighting apparatus for illuminating an illumination area of a display.
The lighting apparatus comprises a waveguide adapted for mounting adjacent the display so as to illuminate the illumination area of the display.
The waveguide comprises a top surface having an optical output area corresponding in size to the illumination area, a bottom surface spaced apart from the top surface, and a side surface extending between the top and bottom surfaces.
Reflective material is positioned adjacent the bottom and side surfaces of the waveguide.
At least one light source is mounted to input light proximate to a periphery of the waveguide between the top and bottom surfaces.
The waveguide further comprises a light ejector on one of the top and bottom surfaces configured to redirect light propagating between the surfaces towards the top surface for transmission therethrough.
The light ejector is arranged to provide a preselected illumination profile across the optical output area of the top surface.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a lighting apparatus comprising a waveguide having pair of opposed surfaces.
Each of the surfaces is at least partially reflective and at least one of the surfaces is partially transmissive.
Each of the surfaces have a reflectivity greater than the transmissivity of the at least one surface.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a lighting apparatus comprising a planar waveguide having a peripheral edge and a light source mounted proximate to the peripheral edge so as to direct light into the waveguide along a path extending from the light source towards an optical diverter in the waveguide.
The optical diverter in the path redirects light rays away from the path towards the periphery of the waveguide.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a lighting apparatus comprising a top surface, a bottom surface in spaced relationship to the top surface and cooperating with the top surface to form a waveguide having a thickness defined by the distance between the top and bottom surfaces, and at least one solid state point light source mounted to input light into the waveguide between the surfaces