LED lighting apparatus

An LED lighting apparatus comprising:

• at least one elongated substrate having a length in a first direction and a width in a second direction;
• a plurality of LED chips supported on the substrate and arranged along the first direction;
• a light guide plate including an incident surface, a reflective surface and an emitting surface and having a thickness in the second direction, the incident surface being oriented in a third direction perpendicular to both of the first and the second directions and configured such that light emitted from the LED chips is incident on the incident surface, the reflective surface spreading in the first and the third directions and causing light traveling from the incident surface to be reflected in the second direction, the emitting surface spreading in the first and the third directions and allowing light traveling from the reflective surface to exit;
• a case supporting the substrate and including a plurality of side plates and a bottom plate, the side plates surrounding the light guide plate, the bottom plate connecting the side plates to each other;
• a top plate opposite to the bottom plate with respect to the light guide plate;
• and
• a screw,
• wherein the case includes at least one projection projecting from one of the side plates toward the light guide plate,
• the projection is formed with a screw hole,
• the screw is threaded in the screw hole and includes an end held in direct contact with the light guide plate,
• the bottom plate has a single continuous flat surface area that directly faces the substrate and that extends from a position directly facing the substrate to a position directly facing the light guide plate, the single continuous flat surface area being parallel to the reflective surface of the light guide plate,
• the top plate has a single continuous flat surface area that directly faces the substrate,
• each of at least a pan of the light guide plate and the plurality of LED chips is disposed between the single continuous flat surface area of the bottom plate and the single continuous flat surface area of the top plate, and
• wherein the substrate is attached to one of the plurality of side plates, and said one of the plurality of side plates and the substrate have top surfaces, respectively, that are adjacent to the to plate and flush with each other.