Apertured fluorescent illumination device for backlighting an image plane

A backlighting unit for illuminating a generally planar display, comprising:

• a fluorescent lamp underlying the generally planar display, said fluorescent lamp having an interior surface thereof substantially coated with a phosphor and an aperture for emitting illumination toward the planar display;
• a reflector for collecting said emitted illumination and reflecting said collected illumination toward said planar display, said reflector being positioned intermediate said fluorescent lamp and said display;
• and
• a lens for receiving said illumination reflected by said reflector, and for aiming said received illumination toward said display, said lens being positioned between said reflector and said display;
• wherein said reflector comprises two generally planar elements, each of said planar elements extending from a respective end of said aperture to said lens, and wherein the width of said lens (den) is determined by the formula:
• d.sub.lens .times.sin (.theta.)=d.sub.aper, wherein d.sub.aper is the width of said aperture and .theta. is the viewing half angle of light emanated by the display.

A backlighting unit for illuminating a generally planar display, comprising:

• a fluorescent lamp underlying the generally planar display, said fluorescent lamp having an interior surface thereof substantially coated with a phosphor and an aperture for emitting illumination toward the planar display, said fluorescent lamp being provided with a reflective wrap for increasing the illumination gain thereof;
• a reflector for collecting said emitted illumination and reflecting said collected illumination toward said planar display, said reflector being positioned intermediate said fluorescent lamp and said display;
• and
• a lens for receiving said illumination reflected by said reflector, and for aiming said received illumination toward said display, said lens being positioned between said reflector and said display;
• wherein said backlighting unit has a total depth of less than one inch, and wherein said fluorescent lamp outputs at least 21,000 footlamberts of illumination from said aperture.