Patent ID: 8892593

Claim:
An in-vehicle communication system comprising: an in-vehicle apparatus mounted to a vehicle; and a portable device capable of being carried by a passenger, wherein: the in-vehicle apparatus and the portable device are configured to be directly communicable with each other at least when the portable device is carried into the vehicle; the portable device is further configured to be communicable with a center apparatus; the portable device includes a data storage area for storing information received from the center apparatus; when the portable device receives from the in-vehicle apparatus, through direct communication with the in-vehicle apparatus, a data request specifying a specific data, the portable device determines whether the portable device is capable of receiving, from the center apparatus, a data reply containing the specific data specified by the data request; when the portable device determines that the portable device is capable of receiving the data reply containing the specific data from the center apparatus, the portable device receives the data reply containing the specific data from the center apparatus through communication with the center apparatus, and transmits the data reply containing the specific data to the in-vehicle apparatus, by direct communication with the in-vehicle apparatus, such that the in-vehicle apparatus receives the specific data from the center apparatus via the portable device and outputs the specific data; when the portable device determines (i) that the portable device is not capable of receiving, from the center apparatus, the data reply containing the specific data specified by the data request, and (ii) that the specific data specified by the data request was received from the center apparatus and recorded in the data storage area of the portable device before the portable device had been carried into the vehicle, the portable device transmits the specific data stored in the data storage area to the in-vehicle apparatus through direct communication with the in-vehicle apparatus, and the in-vehicle apparatus outputs the specific data when the in-vehicle apparatus receives the specific data from the portable device.