METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FUEL ISLAND AUTHORIZATION FOR TRUCKING INDUSTRY
First Claim
1. A method for administering a fuel authorization program, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) using an infrared (IR) data link between a fuel vendor and a vehicle to identify a fuel lane from which the vehicle is to acquire fuel, wherein a nature of the IR data link is such that the IR data link cannot be readily established unless the vehicle is physically present in the identified fuel lane;
(b) using a radiofrequency (RF) data link between the fuel vendor and the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program; and
(c) after determining the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and is authorized to receive fuel, enabling fuel delivery at the identified fuel lane, so long as the vehicle remains in the specific fuel lane.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel authorization system enables data to be exchanged between vehicles and a fuel vendor, to verify that the vehicle is authorized to receive fuel. In an exemplary embodiment, each fuel island is equipped with a motion detector, a short range radio frequency (RF) component, and an infrared (IR) receiver. Participating vehicles are equipped with an IR transmitter and a RF component that can establish a data link with the fuel island'"'"'s RF unit. When the motion detector senses a vehicle in the fuel lane, an RF query is sent to the vehicle. Participating vehicles respond with an IR transmission. An RF data link is then established between the enrolled vehicle and the fuel vendor to verify that the vehicle is authorized to receive fuel. Once the verification is complete, the fuel dispenser is enabled. If the motion detector senses that the vehicle leaves, the fuel dispenser is disabled.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method for administering a fuel authorization program, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) using an infrared (IR) data link between a fuel vendor and a vehicle to identify a fuel lane from which the vehicle is to acquire fuel, wherein a nature of the IR data link is such that the IR data link cannot be readily established unless the vehicle is physically present in the identified fuel lane; (b) using a radiofrequency (RF) data link between the fuel vendor and the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program; and (c) after determining the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and is authorized to receive fuel, enabling fuel delivery at the identified fuel lane, so long as the vehicle remains in the specific fuel lane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for administering a fuel authorization program for a fuel vendor providing fuel for a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving an infrared (IR) transmission from a vehicle in a fuel lane with an IR receiver disposed at the fuel lane, thereby informing the fuel vendor of the identity of the fuel lane the vehicle will use to refuel; (b) receiving verification data from the vehicle over a radiofrequency (RF) data link, the verification data enabling the fuel vendor to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program; and (c) after determining the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and is authorized to receive fuel, enabling fuel delivery at the identified fuel lane, so long as the vehicle remains in the fuel lane. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A non-transitory memory medium having machine instructions stored thereon for facilitating a transaction with a vehicle, the machine instructions, when implemented by a processor, carrying out the functions of:
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(a) in response to receiving a wireless transmission from a vehicle that identifies a fuel lane in which the vehicle is present, establishing an encrypted radiofrequency (RF) communication link with the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel payment program; and (b) after verifying that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel payment program, conveying a request to enable fuel delivery at the identified fuel lane to a fuel pump controller. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for verifying that a vehicle is enrolled in a fuel authorization program, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) transmitting an infrared (IR) transmission from the vehicle to an IR receiver disposed in a fuel lane, to indicate to a fuel vendor the fuel lane in which the vehicle is present; and (b) establishing a radiofrequency (RF) communication link between the fuel vendor and the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A fuel island for refueling a vehicle, the fuel island comprising:
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(a) a fuel dispensing device; (b) an infrared (IR) receiver configured to receive an IR transmission from a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel dispensing device; (c) a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for establishing an RF data link between the fuel lane and a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel dispensing device; and (d) a controller configured to implement the following functions; (i) in response to receiving an IR transmission from a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel dispensing device, establishing an RF communication link with the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in a fuel authorization program; and (ii) after verifying that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, conveying a request to enable fuel delivery at the fueling dispensing device to a fuel pump controller. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A vehicle refueling system for authorizing enrolled vehicles to receive fuel, the system comprising:
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(a) a refueling station comprising; (i) a fuel dispenser configured to dispense fuel when enabled; (ii) a motion sensor configured to detect the presence of a vehicle proximate the fuel dispenser; (iii) an infrared (IR) receiver configured to receive IR transmitted data from an enrolled vehicle disposed proximate to the fuel dispenser; (iv) a radiofrequency (RF) component configured to communicate with an enrolled vehicle disposed proximate to the fuel dispenser; and (v) a controller configured to implement the functions of; (A) transmitting an RF query in response to detecting the presence of a vehicle proximate to the fuel dispenser; (B) in response to receiving an IR transmission from the vehicle proximate to the fuel dispenser, establishing an encrypted RF communication link with the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in a fuel authorization program; and (C) after verifying that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, conveying a request to a fuel pump controller to enable the fuel dispenser; and (b) an enrolled vehicle authorized to receive fuel, comprising; (i) an RF component capable of establishing an RF data link with the refueling station'"'"'s RF component; (ii) an IR transmitter capable of transmitting data to the refueling station'"'"'s IR receiver disposed proximate the fuel dispenser; and (iii) a controller configured to implement the following functions; (A) in response to receiving the RF query from the refueling station'"'"'s RF component, transmitting an IR transmission from the vehicle to the refueling station'"'"'s IR receiver disposed proximate the fuel dispenser, to identify a particular fuel dispenser to be used to refuel the vehicle; and (B) establishing an encrypted RF communication link between the refueling station and the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program.
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28. A vehicle configured to participate in a fuel authorization program, the vehicle comprising:
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(a) a radiofrequency (RF) transmitter capable of establishing an RF data link with a fuel vendor controlling a fuel pump that can be used to refuel the vehicle; (b) an infrared (IR) transmitter capable of transmitting IR data to an IR receiver disposed proximate a fuel pump used to refuel the vehicle; and (c) a controller configured to implement the following functions; (i) establishing an IR communication link between the fuel vendor and the vehicle to confirm in which fuel lane the vehicle is present; and (ii) establishing an RF communication link between the fuel vendor and the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for verifying that a vehicle is enrolled in a fuel authorization program, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) reading a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag disposed at a fuel lane using an RFID tag reader logically coupled to a controller in the vehicle; and (b) wirelessly transmitting data from the vehicle to a fuel vendor, the data including; (i) RFID tag data acquired from the RFID tag disposed at the fuel lane, the RFID tag data identifying the fuel lane from which the vehicle is to receive fuel; and (ii) verification data from the vehicle that can be used to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, the verification data including a data component that is acquired from a non-transitory memory in the vehicle that is not readily removable, such that receipt of the verification data by the fuel vendor indicates that the vehicle from which the verification data is received is an enrolled vehicle, rather than being a non-authorized vehicle attempting to masquerade as an enrolled vehicle by using a component readily removed from an enrolled vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. A method for administering a fuel authorization program for a fuel vendor operating a plurality of fueling lanes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) detecting the presence of a vehicle in a specific fueling lane; (b) transmitting a wireless query to the vehicle in response to detecting the presence of the vehicle; (c) receiving a wireless transmission from the vehicle, the transmission identifying the specific fueling lane in which the vehicle is present; (d) establishing a wireless encrypted communication link with the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program; and (e) after determining the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and is authorized to receive fuel, enabling fuel delivery at the identified fueling lane, so long as the vehicle remains in the specific fueling lane.
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40. A module to be installed at a fuel lane to enable the fuel lane to participate in a fuel authorization program, the module comprising:
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(a) a housing; (b) an infrared (IR) receiver configured to receive an IR transmission from a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel lane; (c) a radio frequency (RF) transmitter for establishing an RF data link between the fuel lane and a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel dispensing device; and (d) a controller configured to implement the following functions; in response to receiving an IR transmission from a vehicle disposed proximate the fuel lane, establishing an RF communication link with the vehicle to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in a fuel authorization program; and (ii) after verifying that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, conveying a request to enable fuel delivery at the fuel lane to a fuel pump controller. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A vehicle configured to participate in a fuel authorization program, the vehicle comprising:
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(a) a radiofrequency (RF) transmitter capable of establishing an RF data link with a fuel vendor controlling a fuel pump that can be used to refuel the vehicle; (b) a non-transitory memory in which verification data is stored, the verification data enabling a fuel vendor to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, the non-transitory memory being incorporated into the vehicle such that the non-transitory memory cannot be readily removed and moved to a different vehicle; and (c) a controller configured to implement the following functions; (i) access the verification data in the non-transitory memory in response to a request for verification data; and (ii) use the RF transmitter to convey the verification data to the fuel vendor, the verification data enabling the fuel vendor to verify that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, such that receipt of the verification data by the fuel vendor indicates that the vehicle from which the verification data is received is enrolled in the fuel authorization program, rather than being a non-authorized vehicle attempting to masquerade as an enrolled vehicle by using a component readily removed from an enrolled vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47)
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Specification