It’s like the federal government gave Spireon a holiday present.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Spireon a patent for its technology approach to managing an automotive dealership’s vehicle inventory by pairing a tracking device to a vehicle. Patent No. 10,089,598, “Methods and Apparatus for Monitoring and Control of Electronic Devices,” covers the technology used in Kahu, Spireon’s connected vehicle solution built for dealers.

This is the 30th patent secured by Spireon for advanced connected vehicle technologies.

“As a technology leader, our intellectual property is critically important to protect, not just for Spireon, but also for the many customers who rely on our solutions to run their businesses,” Spireon chief executive officer Kevin Weiss.

“With this patent, dealers and dealer groups who choose Kahu can be assured they are getting leading-edge technology from an innovative company who will be a long-term partner,” Weiss continued.

Kahu’s patented technology can allow franchised dealers to improve operational efficiency, sales effectiveness, service retention and customer satisfaction scores. By connecting vehicles to Spireon’s award-winning NSpire platform, Kahu can gives dealers and dealer groups the visibility they need to effectively manage lots, service customers and improve the bottom line.

Specific use cases supported by the patented technology include:

• Providing location and battery health information for every vehicle across one or more dealerships, including monitoring and reporting of vehicles with low battery charge

• The ability to search and find vehicles using a partial vehicle identification number (VIN), across multiple dealer inventories

• Managing low power behavior of a device

• Device tamper detection and disconnected battery alerts

• Managing lifecycle and inventory of tracking devices

• Integration with a dealer management system (DMS) to transfer a device from a dealer to a consumer account

“Innovation, coupled with reliability, ease of use and a flexible architecture to evolve as our customers’ needs change, is what sets Spireon apart,” said Rick Gruenhagen, chief technology officer at Spireon.

“We’re extremely proud of our growing patent portfolio, which also includes 16 pending patent applications, as it demonstrates our team’s focus on bringing cutting edge solutions to every market we serve,” Gruenhagen went on to say.