Background Art It is known that practically every motor vehicle that leaves the assembly line is now provided with a dedicated car stereo or, if it does not have one, the user installs his own, chosen among the many commercially available ones.

Current car stereos offer multiple functions, and currently the most advanced ones provide integration with a satellite navigation system, i. e., they have a small display that allows to view maps and the like in addition to the normal car stereo functions.

However, although these car stereos combine many functions, such as for example a satellite navigation system, a GSM telephone, a television set, an address book etcetera, they can be used only in the car but not at the user's home or as a portable device.

Electronic computers are also known which can be used in the car, inserted for example in the DIN slot of the car dashboard, and on the move, by means of batteries, and even at the user's home, but still do not have the functionalities of a car stereo and TV tuner.

Disclosure of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional car stereo particularly for motor vehicles and the like that can be used equally on board a motor vehicle, with an appropriate anchoring (DIN slot, movable arm, et cetera) and in a domestic environment, and also as a portable device.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional car stereo particularly for motor vehicles and the like that can be at once a car stereo or an electronic computer, depending on the

environment in which the apparatus is placed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional car stereo that can combine the functions of TV tuner and satellite navigation system and can be powered by the car battery, by batteries and by the electrical mains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional car stereo particularly for motor vehicles and the like that can be installed in the dashboard receptacle of the car (in the DIN slot or anchored by means of another support).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional car stereo that is highly reliable, relatively simple to manufacture and at competitive costs.

This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a multifunctional car stereo, characterized in that it comprises a radio section paired with a computer section, said computer section being suitable to convert said car stereo into a portable or fixed computer.

Brief description of the Drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated only by way of non- limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram of the car stereo according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a first mode of using the car stereo according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second mode of using the car stereo according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention ; and Figure 7 is a flowchart of the algorithm for recognizing the operating environment in which the car stereo according to the present invention is located.

Ways of carrying out the Invention With reference to the figures, the car stereo according to the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a compact motherboard 2 of the type used on handheld or notebook computers, a radio section 3, which comprises a radio and optionally a TV tuner, and power supply means, constituted for example by internal batteries 4.

The car stereo is completed by means for reading compact discs, audio cassettes or optionally DVDs, designated by the reference numeral 5.

Conveniently, the car stereo 1 is provided with a display 6 suitable to display the data related to the radio section 3 and to be used as a display for portable use of the car stereo, i. e., as a computer.

The car stereo 1 further comprises data input means, constituted conveniently for example by a keyboard and/or mouse and/or touch-screen, generally designated by the reference numeral 7.

Mass storage means 8 are provided in order to store the data both of the radio section 3 both when the car stereo 1 is used as a computer and thus removed from the receptacle normally provided for it in the dashboard of a car.

The tuner means 3 are further connected to a sound card 9, which in turn drives a power amplifier 10 and controls speakers 11 which can be internal to the car stereo 1 or external, i. e., the speakers provided in the car. If the car stereo 1 is used as a computer, the presence of internal speakers allows to

use the sound card 9 built into the car stereo 1. However, if the car stereo 1 is used as a computer that is portable but usable with a docking station, therefore as a fixed station, the speakers 11 can be present in the docking station itself together with the internal batteries 4.

The car stereo 1 is further provided with a graphics card 12, which is suitable to drive the display 6.

Optionally, it is possible to provide an interface 13 for connection to a cellular telephone and a position sensing device, such as a GPS, designated by the reference numeral 14 and integrated in the car stereo 1.

In order to allow connection to external peripheral units, the car stereo 1 is provided with means 15 for the connection of said peripherals.

The connection means 15 allow to convert the car stereo 1 into a true computer, allowing its connection to serial and/or parallel units, such as for example printers, modems and the like.

Substantially, the multifunctional car stereo according to the present invention comprises, in combination with a normal radio section, a section that is suitable to convert the car stereo into a true computer, with all the elements that can be connected thereto.

Figure 2 is a view of a first embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention, wherein the car stereo 1 is connected to the dashboard 20 of a motor vehicle by virtue of an appropriately provided slide-in receptacle 21. At the rear region, the car stereo 1 is provided with a connector 22 that is connected to a corresponding connector 23 provided on the back end of the receptacle 21. By means of this or these additional connector or connectors, the car stereo 1 is supplied with power and the signals generated by the car stereo 1, for example an electrical signal designed for the speakers, signals designed to drive the display, signals for the onboard computer, signals of peripherals, antennas, etcetera, are conveyed toward the motor vehicle.

With reference now to Figure 3, the car stereo 1 can be accommodated not only in a motor vehicle dashboard, as mentioned, but also in a docking

station 25, mentioned earlier.

The docking station 25 can contain the items necessary to supply power to the computer, i. e., the car stereo 1, and connect it to the electrical mains by way of an appropriately provided cable. The docking station 25 can provide the car stereo 1 with other peripherals, which can be all the ones normally connected inside the computer, such as the storage means 8, CD/DVD players 5, speakers 11, and the like. Essentially, the car stereo according to the invention can be provided solely by the motherboard 2, the display 6 and the batteries 4, and the tuner means 3 and the sound card 9 can be provided in a fixed configuration for example within the receptacle 21 shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view of a second embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention, wherein the car stereo can be anchored to the vehicle dashboard 20, so that the display 6 can be accessed by the user because it can tilt, and so can the data input means 7, which thus allow to use the car stereo 1 as a computer even when it is anchored in the dashboard 20.

Figure 5 is a view of a third embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention, wherein the display 6 can be folded shut to occupy less space yet remain visible and the keyboard 7 can be used even in the closed configuration.

As an alternative, the display 6 can close, like a portable computer, over the keyboard 7, concealing it completely.

Figure 6 is a view of a fourth embodiment of the car stereo according to the present invention, in which there is a fixed part, again designated by the reference numeral 21, which accommodates the power amplifier means 10 and optionally the tuner means 3, which however can also be accommodated in the movable part that constitutes the portion of the car stereo 1 that is extracted by the user from the dashboard 20 and used as a stand-alone computer.

The movable part is provided with connector means 28, which are

suitable to connect to connector means 29 provided at the fixed part, in order to allow communication between the movable part and the fixed part.

Advantageously, the car stereo according to the present invention is provided with appropriate software in the CPU that is present on the motherboard 2 and allows to control all the functions of the car stereo and to adapt the car stereo structure according to the environment in which it is placed. Substantially, the car stereo is provided with sensor means 30, which are suitable to read the environment in which the car stereo 1 is located. In particular, the software of the motherboard 2 receives, as a signal, the readout of the sensor means 30 or a signal that is input directly by the user by pressing an appropriately provided button or switch.

Figure 7 is a flowchart of the application program that allows to identify the operating environment in which the car stereo 1 according to the invention is located and consequently allows to prepare it to deal with said operating environment.

The reference numeral 35 designates the reading step of the sensor means 30 for detecting a motor vehicle environment, i. e., in this case the sensor means 30 detect for example the 12-volt supply of power to the car stereo 1, which indicates that the car stereo is being used on board a vehicle.

The step 36 instead indicates the reading of the status of a button or switch, which is pressed by the user in order to indicate that he wishes to preset the car stereo for operation on board a vehicle.

Both steps 35 and 36 lead to a step 37 that checks whether the car stereo is used on board a vehicle or not. If the response is affirmative, step 38, the user interface provided by the application program contained in the CPU of the motherboard 2 of the car stereo 1 configures the user interface so as to operate as a car stereo.

If instead the response is negative, control is transferred to a step 39, in which the sensor means 30 detect that the car stereo is not on board a vehicle but is powered by the internal batteries 4 of the car stereo.

This is followed by the step 40, which checks whether the car stereo is moving or not. An affirmative response to the step 40 leads to a step 41 for reading the settings made by the user and then to a step 42 which asks whether the user wishes operation as a radio tuner or for example as an MP3 track player when the car stereo is battery-powered. A negative response to the step 42 leads to a step 43 in which the user interface is configured like the interface of a conventional computer.

An affirmative response to the step 42 instead leads to a step 44 in which the user interface is configured to work as a radio tuner and/or MP3 track player.

A negative response to the step 40 leads to a step 45 in which the settings entered by the user are read and then to a step 46 which checks whether the user wishes to have available a computer interface when he is not moving.

An affirmative response to the step 46 leads to the above-described step 43, while a negative response leads to a step 47 in which the interface of the application program is configured for purely recreational use.

Again with reference to Figure 1, the car stereo according to the invention further has means 16 for DC and AC power supply input.

In practice it has been observed that the car stereo according to the present invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, since it allows to convert a car stereo into a computer and vice versa, thus providing an instrument that is highly versatile and is configured according to the operating environment in which it works.

The car stereo thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

Thus, for example, the car stereo according to the invention can be provided with any kind of device, suitable to improve the car stereo functions or the computer functions, that is currently commercially available and with any device developed in the future.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent

elements.

In practice, the materials used, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2001A001145 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.