Patent ID: 7457301

Claim:
A vehicular communications system in a vehicle, the system comprising: a plurality of control units that are grouped into at least three groups; a plurality of networks formed by connecting the control units with respect to each of the groups via communications lines; and a plurality of gateway units that connect the networks for repeating data so that the control units connected with the networks exchange data, wherein each of the control units includes a high power consumption mode and a low power consumption mode as an operating mode, wherein each of the control units sends data relating to its operating mode to one of the networks that includes the each of the control units and receives data indicative of being in a high power consumption mode from one of the networks to thereby set its operating mode to the high power consumption mode, and wherein, when a gateway unit that is included in the gateway units and connected with certain networks of the networks receives first data relating to an operating mode from a first network of the certain networks, the gateway unit connected with the certain networks sends the first data to a network that is included in the certain networks excluding the first network.