Patent ID: 7959340

Claim:
A device for backlighting an LCD unit for at least one of a display and a control unit, the device comprising: a backlighting layer disposed below an LCD layer of the LCD unit; at least one backlight source coupled to said backlighting layer; at least one supplementary backlighting layer disposed below said backlighting layer; at least one further backlight source coupled to said supplementary backlighting layer, said supplementary backlighting layer allowing light from said at least one further backlight source to be emitted through said backlighting layer and through the LCD layer; and a cover mask having light-permeable zones and disposed between said backlighting layer and said supplementary backlighting layer, said cover mask defining masked zones and is at least one of formed and printed such that light from said further backlight source can only be emitted according to said light-permeable zones of said cover mask to the LCD layer; said light-permeable zones of said cover mask defining geometrically separate zones to be lit on the LCD unit by the further backlight source.