Patent ID: 8330571

Claim:
A vehicle electronic portable key system comprising: an electronic portable key capable of performing wireless communication and comprising a plurality of keys including a master key and a sub-key; a retainer arranged in a vehicle to retain the sub-key in the vehicle; and a control unit which monitors wireless communication performed between each of the plurality of keys and the vehicle to determine whether the master key or the sub-key is located in an interior wireless communicatable area formed inside the vehicle or an exterior wireless communicatable area formed outside the vehicle; wherein in a state in which the master key or the sub-key is detected as being located in either one of the wireless communicatable areas, the control unit is programmed to permit various operations of the vehicle to be performed in accordance with the communicable area in which the detected master key or the sub-key is located; wherein the control unit is programmed to determine that the sub-key is in a lent state when removal of the sub-key from the retainer is detected in a state in which the master key is located in the interior wireless communicatable area; and wherein in a state in which the sub-key is detected as being located in the interior wireless communicatable area or the exterior wireless communicatable area after removal from the retainer, the control unit is programmed to limit the operations of the vehicle that can be performed in accordance with the communicable area in which the sub-key is located unless the sub-key is determined as being in the lent state.