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A casing accommodates therein three primary colors of chip LEDs. The casing is disposed in a through hole of a plate-shaped light guide. The chip LEDs are mounted on both surfaces of a substrate so as to face a peripheral surface of the through hole (light incident surface). The casing is made of a

A casing accommodates therein three primary colors of chip LEDs. The casing is disposed in a through hole of a plate-shaped light guide. The chip LEDs are mounted on both surfaces of a substrate so as to face a peripheral surface of the through hole (light incident surface). The casing is made of a transparent synthetic resin accommodating therein the substrate and the chip LEDs. The light emitted from the chip LEDs can be introduced directly into the light incident surface of the light guide. The three primary color of chip LEDs are controlled so that a desired color and intensity of light can be efficiently introduced into the light guide.

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A casing accommodates therein three primary colors of chip LEDs. The casing is disposed in a through hole of a plate-shaped light guide. The chip LEDs are mounted on both surfaces of a substrate so as to face a peripheral surface of the through hole (light incident surface). The casing is made of a

A casing accommodates therein three primary colors of chip LEDs. The casing is disposed in a through hole of a plate-shaped light guide. The chip LEDs are mounted on both surfaces of a substrate so as to face a peripheral surface of the through hole (light incident surface). The casing is made of a transparent synthetic resin accommodating therein the substrate and the chip LEDs. The light emitted from the chip LEDs can be introduced directly into the light incident surface of the light guide. The three primary color of chip LEDs are controlled so that a desired color and intensity of light can be efficiently introduced into the light guide. indicia to a viewer. 7. The device of claim 2 including a light source positioned adjacent said first surface area for illuminating said embossed indicia thereby providing a neon-like glow to said embossed indicia. 8. The device of claim 1 in which said waveguide includes a third surface area juxtaposed to said first surface area, said device further including a member bearing a second set of indicia positioned adjacent said third surface area and a light source illuminating said second set of indicia so as to be visible along with said first set of indicia. 9. An illumination device comprising: an optical waveguide of predetermined length, a first housing enclosing one end of said optical waveguide, having at least one high intensity light emitting diode (LED) positioned within said housing and emitting light into said end of the waveguide, a reflecting member extending substantially the length of a waveguide with an open area juxtaposed to said flat wall causing the light to be directionally reflected out of the waveguide, and at least a portion of the surface area of said waveguide being optically treated so as to have light altering characteristics and causing a portion of said light traversing said waveguide to be reflected out of said waveguide through a second surface area located intermediate the length of the waveguide, said waveguide being rotatable relative to said housing so as to change the direction of the light reflected through the second area, and an indicia positioned adjacent to said waveguide in a region to be illuminated by said LED. 10. An illumination device comprising: an optical waveguide of predetermined length having a V-shaped notch defined by two inclining walls intermediate to each other at one end and opposite ends converging into a substantially flat wall arranged essentially parallel to a longitudinal axis of said waveguide, a first housing for enclosing one end of said optical waveguide having at least one high intensity light emitting diode (LED) positioned within said housing and emitting light into said end of the waveguide, a second housing for enclosing an opposite end of said waveguide having at least one second high intensity LED positioned within said housing and emitting light into said opposite end of said waveguide, a reflecting member extending substantially the length of said waveguide with an open area juxtaposed to said flat wall causing the light to be directionally reflected out of the waveguide, at least one third LED positioned adjacent said flat wall and said open area defined by said reflecting member for causing light to be emitted upward through said flat wall in a direction similar to light reflected by said reflecting member thereby reducing attenuation of traversely emitting light occurring intermediate said one and opposite ends of said optical waveguide and masking said V-shape notch, and at least a portion of the surface area of said waveguide being optically treated so as to have light altering characteristics and causing a portion of said light traversing said waveguide to be reflected out of said waveguide through a second surface area located intermediate the length of the waveguide, said waveguide being rotatable relative to said housing so as to change the direction of the light reflected through the second area. 11. The device of claim 10 in which said inclining walls have treated internal surfaces to reflect light back along said waveguide in a direction away from said surfaces and permitting the transmission of a portion of light from the LED positioned adjacent said flat wall in a direction out of said waveguide similar to light reflected by said reflecting member thereby reducing attenuation of traversely emitting light occurring intermediate said one and opposite ends of said optical waveguide and masking said V-shape notch. 12. An illumination device comprising: a first optical waveguide of predetermined length with a first reflec