Retail sales and dispensing fuel management system

• US 20050192832A1
• Filed: 02/23/2005
• Published: 09/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ifuel LLC
• Original Assignee: Kristen Call, William Call
• Inventors: Call, William, Call, Kristen
• Granted Patent: US 7,478,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce

Abstract

The present invention extends to managing the dispensing of petroleum products. A kiosk (e.g., at a gas station) and fuel management system are connected over a network. The fuel management system maintains balances for fuel purchasing accounts that can be debited to purchase fuel. To purchase fuel, a customer enters credentials identifying a fuel purchasing account at the kiosk. After fueling is complete, the fuel purchasing account is debited by the amount of the fuel purchase. Embodiments of the fuel system can also include networked (e.g., Internet) based payments into a fuel purchasing account, either from a kiosk or from a personal computer. Consumers can pay for increased amounts of fuel, such as, for example, multiple tanks of gasoline, in a single payment, potentially reducing or even eliminating returned check losses and/or card fees associated with “tank-at-a-time” purchases.

Claims

1. At a kiosk that is network connectable to a petroleum product management system, the kiosk controlling the dispensing of petroleum products at one or more petroleum product dispensers, a method for dispensing a petroleum product, the method comprising:

an act of receiving account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account;

an act of submitting the account credentials to the petroleum product management system;

an act of receiving an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account from the petroleum product management system;

an act of configuring a petroleum product dispenser to dispense a petroleum product based on the account balance for the petroleum purchasing account being sufficient;

an act of receiving an indication of an amount of the petroleum product that was dispensed at the petroleum product dispenser;

an act of calculating the cost of the dispensed petroleum product; and

an act of sending a debit message to the petroleum product management system, the debit message indicating that the petroleum purchasing account is to be debited by the calculated cost.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of submitting a payment to the petroleum product management system prior to configuring the petroleum product dispenser to dispense a petroleum product, the amount of the payment being large enough to cover the price of one or more petroleum product purchases; and

an act of receiving an indication that the payment was credited to the petroleum purchasing account.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of submitting a payment to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of submitting a credit or debit card number to the petroleum product management system.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of submitting a payment to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of initiating an electronic funds transfer to the petroleum product management system.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of submitting a payment to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of submitting a cash payment to the petroleum product management system.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of submitting a payment to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of submitting a command that causes funds to be transferred from one petroleum purchasing account to another petroleum purchasing account.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account comprises an act of receiving a user-id and pass code.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account comprises an act of receiving credentials that correspond to a fleet account sub-account.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account comprises an act of receiving account credentials that were submitted from an input device, the input device being selected from among a keypad, a virtual keyboard, and a keyboard.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of submitting the account credentials to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of sending the credentials to a network address corresponding to the petroleum product management system such that the credentials are transferred across the Internet to the petroleum product management system.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving a touch screen selection indicating that payment for a dispensed petroleum product is to be debited from the petroleum purchasing account prior to receiving the account credentials.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account from the petroleum product management system comprises an act of receiving an electronic message that was transferred over the Internet to the kiosk.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving a touch screen selection indicating a fuel grade prior to configuring the petroleum product dispenser.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of sending a debit message to the petroleum product management system comprises an act of sending the debit message to a network address corresponding to the petroleum product management system such that the debit message is transferred across the Internet to the petroleum product management system.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of submitting a request for account information corresponding to the petroleum product purchasing account;

an act of receiving account information for the petroleum product purchasing account from the petroleum product management system; and

an act of presenting the account information at a touch screen.

16. At a petroleum product management system that is network connectable to one or more computer systems, the one or more computer systems including one or more kiosks, each kiosk controlling the dispensing of petroleum products at one or more petroleum product dispensers, a method for authorizing the dispensing of a petroleum product, the method comprising:

an act of receiving account credentials from a kiosk, the account credentials being indicative of an attempt to purchase petroleum products against the balance of a petroleum account;

an act of identifying a corresponding petroleum account based on the received account credentials;

an act of accessing petroleum account information for the corresponding petroleum account from an account database;

an act of sending at least an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account to the kiosk;

an act of receiving a debit message from the kiosk, the debit message indicating that a specified amount in petroleum products were purchased against the balance of the of the petroleum purchasing account; and

an act of debiting the petroleum purchasing account by the specified amount in response to receiving the debit message.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

an act of receiving a payment from a computer system, the amount of the payment being large enough to cover the price of one or more petroleum product purchases; and

an act of crediting the petroleum purchasing account by the amount of the payment.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the act of receiving a payment from a computer system comprises an act of receiving a payment from a kiosk.

19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the act of receiving a payment from a computer system comprises an act of receiving a transfer of funds from a second fuel purchasing account.

20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the act of receiving account credentials from a kiosk comprises an act of receiving an electronic message, containing the account credentials, that was transferred over the Internet.

21. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the act of receiving account credentials from a kiosk comprises an act of receiving a user-id and pass code.

22. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the act of receiving account credentials from a kiosk comprises an act of receiving credentials corresponding to a fleet account sub-account.

23. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the act of sending at least an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account to the kiosk comprises an act of sending the account balance to an electronic address corresponding to a kiosk such that the account balance is transferred across the Internet to the kiosk.

24. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the an act of sending at least an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account to the kiosk comprises an act of sending an activating command for activating advertisements at a kiosk touch screen along with the account balance.

25. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the act of debiting the petroleum purchasing account by the specified amount in response to receiving the debit message comprises an act of debiting the balance of fleet account.

26. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

an act of receiving a Web based account sign-up request from a computer system;

an act sending a Web based account sign-up screen to the computer system;

an act of receiving account information that was entered at the Web based account sign-up screen; and

an act of creating a petroleum purchasing account based on the received account information.

27. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

an act of receiving a request for account information corresponding to the petroleum purchasing account; and

an act of sending account history information in response to the request.

28. A computer program product for use at a kiosk that is network connectable to a petroleum product management system, the kiosk controlling the dispensing of petroleum products at one or more petroleum product dispensers, the computer program product of implementing a method for dispensing a petroleum product, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media have stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the kiosk to perform the following:

receive account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account;

submit the account credentials to the petroleum product management system;

receive an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account from the petroleum product management system;

configure a petroleum product dispenser to dispense a petroleum product based on the account balance for the petroleum purchasing account being sufficient;

receive an indication of an amount of the petroleum product that was dispensed at the petroleum product dispenser;

calculate the cost of the dispensed petroleum product; and

send a debit message to the petroleum product management system, the debit message indicating that the petroleum purchasing account is to be debited by the calculated cost.

29. The computer program product as recited in claim 28, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the kiosk to perform the following:

submit a payment to the petroleum product management system prior to configuring the petroleum product dispenser to dispense a petroleum product, the amount of the payment being large enough to cover the price of one or more petroleum product purchases; and

receive an indication that the payment was credited to the petroleum purchasing account.

30. The computer program product as recited in claim 29, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a payment to the petroleum product management system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a credit or debit card number to the petroleum product management system.

31. The computer program product as recited in claim 29, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a payment to the petroleum product management system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to initiate an electronic finds transfer to the petroleum product management system.

32. The computer program product as recited in claim 29, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a payment to the petroleum product management system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to receive a cash payment.

33. The computer program product as recited in claim 29, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a payment to the petroleum product management system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to submit a command for transferring funds from one petroleum purchasing account to another petroleum purchasing account.

34. The computer program product as recited in claim 28, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to receive account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to receive a user-id and passcode.

35. The computer program product as recited in claim 28, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to receive account credentials corresponding to a petroleum purchasing account comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the kiosk to receive credentials for a fleet account.

36. A computer program product for use at a petroleum product management system that is network connectable to one or more computer systems, the one or more computer systems including one or more kiosks, each kiosk controlling the dispensing of petroleum products at one or more petroleum product dispensers, the computer program product for implementing a method for authorizing the dispensing of a petroleum product, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media have stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the petroleum product management system to perform the following:

receive account credentials from a kiosk, the account credentials being indicative of an attempt to purchase petroleum products against the balance of a petroleum account;

identify a corresponding petroleum account based on the received account credentials;

access petroleum account information for the corresponding petroleum account from an account database;

send at least an account balance for the petroleum purchasing account to the kiosk;

receive a debit message from the kiosk, the debit message indicating that a specified amount in petroleum products were purchased against the balance of the petroleum purchasing account; and

debit the petroleum purchasing account by the specified amount in response to receiving the debit message.

37. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the petroleum product management system to perform the following:

receive a payment from a computer system, the amount of the payment being large enough cover the price of one or more petroleum product purchases; and

credit the petroleum purchasing account by the amount of the payment.

38. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the petroleum product management system to receive a payment from a computer system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the petroleum product management system to receive a payment from a kiosk.

39. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the petroleum product management system to receive a payment from a computer system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the petroleum product management system to receive a transfer of funds from a second petroleum purchasing account.

40. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the petroleum product management system to perform the following:

receive a Web based account sign-up request from a computer system;

send a Web based account sign-up screen to the computer system;

receive account information that was entered at the Web based account sign-up screen; and

create a petroleum purchasing account based on the received account information.

41. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the petroleum product management system to perform the following:

receive a request for account information corresponding to the petroleum purchasing account; and

send account history information in response to the request.

42. The computer program product as recited in claim 36, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the petroleum product management system to perform the following:

send an update message to update fuel prices and text messages displayed at one or more kiosks and one or more other electronic devices.