Patent ID: 8473012

Claim:
A multimedia and hands-free phone equipment for a motor vehicle, comprising: a) a pilot box ( 10 ), adapted to be removably attached to the vehicle dashboard, near the driver, comprising: a signal processing and equipment control digital processor ( 18 ); and, coupled to said processor: an information display screen ( 20 ); means for applying user commands; and means ( 26 ) of wireless coupling with a remote phone ( 28 ), b) an offset box ( 12 ), distinct from the pilot box and adapted to be mounted in the vehicle, remote from the pilot box, and comprising: an audio amplifier ( 52 ) adapted to be linked to a loud-speaker ( 54 ) located in the passenger compartment; and a power supply ( 46 ), adapted to be linked to the vehicle electrical network ( 48 ), and c) a link ( 14 ) for coupling the pilot box to the service box, said equipment being characterized in that: the coupling link is consisted of a bidirectional digital bus adapted to convey concurrently digital signals and power supply currents; the pilot box further comprises an interface ( 32 ) coupling the processor to the digital bus; and the offset box further comprises: an audio codec ( 56 ) coupling the digital bus to the audio amplifier; and an interconnection arrangement ( 38 , 50 , 58 , 60 , 64 ) for wire connection to a plurality of peripheral devices ( 40 , 42 , 44 , 62 , 68 , 72 ) of the equipment, and the power supply is adapted to supply (i) directly the offset box circuits, and (ii) indirectly, via the digital bus, the pilot box circuits.