SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATING A PURCHASE OF FUEL, GOODS, OR SERVICES (FGS) WITHIN A RETAIL FUELING ENVIRONMENT
First Claim
1. A method for automating pre-payment for a purchase of fuel by a customer within a retail fueling environment, comprising the steps of:
- creating an automated transaction for the pre-payment purchase of fuel at an automated attendant (AA) node without intervention from a human operator of the retail fueling environment;
receiving payment for the fuel from the customer at the AA node;
after the aforementioned steps;
receiving a request from the customer to complete the automated transaction at a fuel dispenser;
retrieving the automated transaction at the fuel dispenser; and
settling the automated transaction.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for automating a purchase of fuel, goods, or services (FGS) for a customer within a retail fueling environment are disclosed. According to one method, an automated transaction is created for the purchase of a first item of the FGS at a first node of the retail fueling environment, where the retail fueling environment includes at least one fuel dispenser (FD) node and at least one automated attendant (AA) node. The automated transaction is stored. The automated transaction is recalled at a second node of the retail fueling environment. The automated transaction is completed at the second node.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A method for automating pre-payment for a purchase of fuel by a customer within a retail fueling environment, comprising the steps of:
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creating an automated transaction for the pre-payment purchase of fuel at an automated attendant (AA) node without intervention from a human operator of the retail fueling environment; receiving payment for the fuel from the customer at the AA node; after the aforementioned steps; receiving a request from the customer to complete the automated transaction at a fuel dispenser; retrieving the automated transaction at the fuel dispenser; and settling the automated transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for automating post-payment for a purchase of fuel, goods or services (FGS) within a retail fueling environment, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request from a customer to make a post-payment purchase of at least one of the FGS at a fuel dispenser (FD) within the retail fueling environment; creating an automated transaction at the FD without intervention from a human operator of the retail fueling environment; retrieving the automated transaction at an automated attendant (AA) node; receiving payment for the at least one of the FGS from the customer at the AA node; and settling the automated transaction at the AA node. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An automated attendant (AA) for providing automated transaction management for a customer within a retail fueling environment, the AA comprising:
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a communication interface adapted to communicate with at least one of a plurality of automated transaction processing nodes within the retail fueling environment; and a control system adapted to; receive a request from the customer for pre-payment of fuel within the retail fueling environment; create an automated transaction without intervention from a human operator of the retail fueling environment; receive payment for the fuel from the customer; and distribute the automated transaction via the communication interface to allow the transaction to be settled by one of the at least one of a plurality of automated transaction processing nodes. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A fuel dispenser (FD) for providing automated post-payment transaction management for a customer within a retail fueling environment, the FD comprising:
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a communication interface adapted to communicate with at least one of a plurality of automated transaction processing nodes within the retail fueling environment; and a control system adapted to; receive an indication from the customer for post-payment of fuel, goods or services (FGS) within the retail fueling environment; retrieve an automated post-payment transaction previously created at one of the plurality of automated transaction processing nodes without intervention from a human operator of the retail fueling environment; receive payment for the FGS from the customer; and settle the automated post-payment transaction. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification