Fuel theft detection

• US 10,334,022 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2014
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, Joel Aaron, Giera, Steven Jarrett, Kobres, Erick
• Primary Examiner(s): Coyer, Ryan D.
• Application Number:
  US14/264,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20150309488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,883 Days
• Field of Search: 700283, 426283
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/00 Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

Various embodiments each include at least one of systems, methods, and software to detect possible fuel theft and to provide notification thereof. In a simple embodiment, data from a fuel pump is obtained, either directly or via a fuel pump controller, by a fuel station site controller and stored. The stored data includes a measure of a total amount of fuel dispensed from the fuel pump, such as may be measured by a fuel pump feedstock meter. At a time when the site controller reestablishes data communication with the fuel pump controller after a loss, the site controller receives a fuel pump data update. The updated data is then compared to the stored measure. When there is a mismatch, a possible fuel theft has occurred and an alarm process may be triggered.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, upon reestablishment of data connectivity, via a data interface device, with a fuel controller after a loss of a continuous data connectivity with the fuel controller, data representative of a second amount of dispensed fuel;

triggering an alarm process when the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel does not match stored data representative of a first amount of dispensed fuel, the alarm processing including;

requesting data from the fuel controller via the data interface device of an amount of fuel dispensed in a current transaction;

determining whether the amount of fuel dispensed in the current transaction accounts for the mismatch between the first and second dispensed fuel amounts; and

performing a remedial action when the amount of fuel dispensed in the current transaction does not account for the mismatch; and

wherein;

the data representative of the first and second dispensed fuel amounts includes data representative of measurements taken by a feedstock meter of a fuel pump of the first and second dispensed fuel amounts, the feedstock meter measuring a total amount of fuel dispensed from the fuel pump without regard to a specific transaction, the fuel pump being one of a plurality of fuel pumps monitored by the fuel controller; and

the method is performed by a computing device located remotely from a location where the fuel is dispensed and remotely from the fuel controller.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggered alarm process is executable according to at least one configuration setting to provide a notification of potential fuel theft.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the remedial action includes transmitting a command to the fuel controller via the data interface device to terminate the current transaction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel is stored in a database and wherein the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel, when received, is stored to the database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

data representative of amounts of dispensed fuel received via the data interface device from the fuel controller includes data with regard to a plurality of fuel pumps associated with the fuel controller, the received data including data identifying a fuel pump for which the data is associated; and

the triggering of the alarm process is performed with regard to the first and second dispensed fuel amounts dispensed by a particular fuel pump.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel is:

stored with regard to each fuel pump for which the fuel controller is associated;

updated for a respective fuel pump at conclusion of a transaction involving the respective fuel pump.

7. A system comprising:

at least one computer processor, at least one memory device, and at least one data interface device;

a dispensed fuel monitoring module, stored on the at least one memory device and executable by the at least one processor to;

establish continuous data connectivity with at least one fuel controller via the at least one data interface device;

store, on the at least one memory device, data representative of a first amount of dispensed fuel dispensed from a fuel pump, the first amount of dispensed fuel measured by a feedstock meter of the fuel pump, the feedstock meter measuring a total amount of fuel dispensed from the fuel pump without regard to a specific transaction, the fuel pump being one of a plurality of fuel pumps monitored by the dispensed fuel monitoring module;

upon a loss of the continuous data connectivity with the at least one fuel controller, reestablish a second continuous data connectivity and receive data representative of a second amount of dispensed fuel dispensed from the fuel pump, the second amount of dispensed fuel measured by the feedstock meter of the fuel pump;

trigger an alarm process when the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel does not match the stored data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel, the alarm process including performing at least one remedial action; and

wherein the system is located remotely from a location of any fuel controller or fuel pump.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the triggered alarm process is executable by the at least one processor according to at least one configuration setting stored on the at least one memory device to provide a notification of potential fuel theft.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one configuration setting identifies an address to which an alarm notification is to be sent via the at least one data interface device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the address of the at least one configuration setting is a telephone number to which a text-based message is to be sent upon the triggering of the alarm process.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel is stored in a database stored on the at least one memory device and wherein the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel, when received, is stored to the database.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein:

data representative of amounts of dispensed fuel received via the at least one data interface device from the fuel controller includes data with regard to a plurality of fuel pumps associated with the fuel pump controller, the received data including data identifying a fuel pump for which the data is associated; and

the triggering of the alarm process is performed with regard to the first and second amounts of dispensed fuel dispensed by the same fuel pump.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the data interface device is a network interface device.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, with instructions stored thereon that are executable by at least one computer processor to cause a device to:

receive, upon reestablishment of data connectivity, via a data interface device, with a fuel controller after a loss of a continuous data connectivity with the fuel controller, data representative of a second amount of dispensed fuel;

trigger an alarm process when the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel does not match stored data representative of a first amount of dispensed fuel, the alarm processing including;

requesting data from the fuel controller via the data interface device of an amount of fuel dispensed in a current transaction;

determining whether the amount of fuel dispensed in the current transaction accounts for the mismatch between the first and second dispensed fuel amounts; and

performing a remedial action when the amount of fuel dispensed in the current transaction does not account for the mismatch; and

wherein;

the data representative of the first and second dispensed fuel amounts includes data representative of measurements taken by a feedstock meter of a fuel pump of the first and second dispensed fuel amounts, the feedstock meter measuring a total amount of fuel dispensed from the fuel pump without regard to a specific transaction, the fuel pump being one of a plurality of fuel pumps monitored by the fuel controller; and

the method is performed by a computing device located remotely from a location where the fuel is dispensed and remotely from the fuel controller.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel is stored in a database and wherein the data representative of the second amount of dispensed fuel, when received, is stored to the database.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein:

data representative of amounts of dispensed fuel received via the data interface device from the fuel controller includes data with regard to a plurality of fuel pumps associated with the fuel controller, the received data including data identifying a fuel pump for which the data is associated;

the triggering of the alarm process is performed with regard to the first and second dispensed fuel amounts dispensed by a particular fuel pump.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the data representative of the first amount of dispensed fuel is:

stored with regard to each fuel pump for which the fuel controller is associated; and

is updated for a respective fuel pump at conclusion of a transaction involving the respective fuel pump.