US6070156A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Providing transaction estimates in a fueling and retail system
Assignee: Gilbarco Inc
•
Filing: 1998-02-17
•
Granted: 2000-05-30
•
Expires: 2018-02-17
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides pre-transaction estimates of the amount of fuel required to fill a vehicle's tank along with the estimated total cost of filling the vehicle's tank. The invention includes a vehicle-mounted transponder operatively associated with a vehicle control system or, at a minimum, the vehicle's fuel tank in a manner wherein the transponder is able to receive or determine information relating to fuel tank ullage. The ullage information may include the amount of fuel required to fill the tank, tank size and/or the quantity of fuel remaining in the tank. An interrogator at the fuel dispenser will interrogate the transponder and receive the available ullage information from the vehicle. An associated control system will evaluate the ullage information to determine the amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle and, optionally, calculate the total cost to be incurred if the vehicle is filled. The control system may be associated with a fuel grade selector adapted to provide the control system with information to determine the type and cost of the fuel to be used to fill the vehicle. Optionally, the transponder may include information indicative of the desired grade of fuel.
Inventors
- 👤 Hal Craig Hartsell, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 18:09
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F7/00; G07F7/02; B; B67; B67D; B67D7/00; B67D7/06; B67D7/064; B67D7/067; B67D7/08; B67D7/14; B67D7/145; G06; G06Q; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/30; G06Q20/34; G06Q20/343; G06Q20/346; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/0283; G06Q50/00; G06Q50/06; G07C; G07C5/00; G07C5/008; G07C5/08; G07C5/0841; G07C5/085; G07C5/0858; G07F13/00; G07F13/02; G07F13/025; G07F7/08; G07F7/10; G07F7/1008
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A fueling system for providing transaction estimate comprising: a. wireless communications electronics for communicating with a remote communications unit of a vehicle having a fuel tank to be fueled, the remote communications unit capable of transmitting ullage information relating to the fuel tank; b. a fuel dispenser for delivering fuel to the fuel tank; and c. a control system associated with said communications electronics and said fuel dispenser and adapted to i. receive the ullage information from the remote communications unit through said communications electronics, and ii. determine a fueling total based on the ullage information.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
96 words
A fueling system for providing transaction estimate comprising: a. wireless communications electronics for communicating with a remote communications unit of a vehicle having a fuel tank to be fueled, the remote communications unit capable of transmitting ullage information relating to the fuel tank; b. a fuel dispenser for delivering fuel to the fuel tank; and c. a control system associated with said communications electronics and said fuel dispenser and adapted to i. receive the ullage information from the remote communications unit through said communications electronics, and ii. determine a fueling total based on the ullage information.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said control system is further adapted to display said fueling total to a customer on said display wherein the fueling total is based on the ullage information from the vehicle and is provided to a customer prior to completing fueling.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said ullage information is the ullage value of the vehicle's tank.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said ullage information is the amount of fuel in the vehicle's tank.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said fueling totals include an amount of fuel necessary to fill the vehicle's tank.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said ullage information includes the capacity of the vehicle's tank.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 6 wherein said ullage information includes the amount of fuel in the vehicle's tank.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said fueling totals include a payment amount necessary to fill the vehicle's tank.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system of claim 8 wherein said control system is adapted to determine a grade of fuel selected by the customer, determine a price per unit volume of the selected fuel grade, and calculate the payment amount based on the price per unit volume and an amount of fuel necessary to fill the vehicle's tank.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the grade of fuel selected by the customer is transmitted from the remote communications unit and received by the control system.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the dispenser has an input for selecting the grade of fuel, said output being associated with said control system and monitored to determine the selected grade of fuel.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
63 words
The system of claim 1 wherein the remote communications unit also transmits vehicle indicia relating to the vehicle and said control system is adapted to receive the vehicle indicia, access additional ullage information correlating to the vehicle indicia in an associated database, and determine the fueling totals using the ullage information from the vehicle and the additional ullage information from the associated database.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said database is in a memory located in said dispenser.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said control system is adapted to access the additional ullage information from a remote network operatively associated with the control system.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said additional ullage information includes the capacity of the vehicle's tank.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said database is in a memory located apart from said dispenser.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 16 wherein said memory is located at a fuel station store.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 16 wherein the memory is at a remote network.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
55 words
A method for providing transaction estimates for a fueling operation comprising: a. receiving ullage information from a remote communications unit of a vehicle, the ullage information containing information relating to a fuel tank of the vehicle; b. determining a fueling total based on the ullage information; and c. displaying the fueling total to a customer.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
55 words
A method for providing transaction estimates for a fueling operation comprising: a. receiving ullage information from a remote communications unit of a vehicle, the ullage information containing information relating to a fuel tank of the vehicle; b. determining a fueling total based on the ullage information; and c. displaying the fueling total to a customer.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 19 further comprising receiving additional ullage information relating to the vehicle from a database apart from the remote communications unit and wherein the determining step determines the fueling total based on the ullage information from the vehicle and the additional ullage information.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-05-30 | 2003-11-29 | 2004-05-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-05-30 | 2007-11-29 | 2008-05-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-05-30 | 2011-11-29 | 2012-05-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |