METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FUELING A VEHICLE BASED ON A VEHICLE FUEL TRIGGER

• US 20170148113A1
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Yasko, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US14/946,047
• Publication Number:
  US 20170148113A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/00 Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes general disposition of plant in stations for supplying fuel to vehicles B60S5/02; for filling or emptying locomotive water tanks, e.g. water columns, B61K11/00; for refuelling aircraft during flight B64D39/00; liquid- handling ground installations specially adapted for fuelling stationary aircraft B64F1/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply

Abstract

A computer device, located inside a vehicle, may include logic configured to detect a re-fueling trigger for the vehicle and may send a fuel bid request to a fuel auction system for fuel prices within a geographic area of the vehicle. The computer device may receive information relating to a fuel price reverse auction generated by the fuel auction system; generate a user interface that displays the received information that includes variable discount fuel prices associated with a plurality of fueling stations within the geographic area; receive information relating to the results of the fuel price reverse auction from the fuel auction system; display the results of the fuel price reverse auction in the generated user interface; and receive selection of a fueling station via the user interface based on the results.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a computer device, the method comprising:

detecting, by the computer device, a re-fueling trigger for a vehicle, wherein the computer device is located inside the vehicle;

sending, by the computer device via a network and in response to the detecting the re-fueling trigger, a fuel bid request to a fuel auction system for fuel prices within a geographic area based on a location of the vehicle;

receiving, by the computer device via the network, information relating to a fuel price reverse auction generated by the fuel auction system in response to the fuel bid request;

generating, by the computer device, a user interface that displays the received information relating to the fuel price reverse auction, wherein the information includes variable discount fuel prices associated with a plurality of fueling stations within the geographic area;

receiving, by the computer device via the network, information relating to the results of the fuel price reverse auction from the fuel auction system;

displaying, by the computer device, the received information relating to the results of the fuel price reverse auction in the generated user interface; and

receiving, by the computer device, selection of a fueling station via the user interface based on the results of the fuel price reverse auction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the re-fueling trigger for the vehicle includes at least one of:

activation of a low fuel level indicator;

activation of a re-fueling dashboard button;

activation of a fueling application;

or

detection of a fueling station geo-fence.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving advertised fuel prices associated with the fueling stations within the geographic area from the fuel auction system; and

displaying the received the advertised fuel prices in the generated user interface.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending user information associated with a user of the vehicle to the fuel auction system, wherein the user information includes information identifying one or more fuel supplier accounts associated with the user;

receiving, from the fuel auction system, personalized fuel prices associated with the fueling stations within the geographic area, in response to sending the user information; and

displaying the received the personalized fuel prices in the generated user interface.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining fuel preferences associated with a user of the vehicle; and

adjusting the user interface based on the determined fuel preferences.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the fuel auction system, a discount associated with a particular fueling station; and

applying the received discount to a price displayed in associated with the particular fueling station in the user interface.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending payment for a fueling transaction to the selected fueling station via the fuel auction system, wherein sending the payment includes billing a wireless communication account associated with a user of the computer device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer device includes:

an embedded telematics device included in the vehicle;

an on-board diagnostics device plugged into an on-board diagnostics port of the vehicle;

or

a portable wireless communication device located inside the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface includes, for a particular fueling station of the plurality of fueling stations, one or more of:

an offered price associated with the particular fueling station;

a fuel supplier associated with the particular fueling station;

a distance to the particular fueling station;

a coupon associated with the particular fueling station;

a number of unoccupied vehicle fueling spots associated with the particular fueling station;

whether the particular fueling station is on a same side of the street as the vehicle, or

whether the particular fueling station is in a direction of travel.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing vehicle telematics data to the fuel auction system, wherein the vehicle telematics data includes at least one of;

the location of the vehicle;

information relating to a most recent stop of the vehicle;

demographic information associated with a user of the vehicle;

a vehicle type for the vehicle;

or

a size of a fuel tank for the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a requested fuel price from the user;

providing the requested fuel price to the fuel auction system;

receiving, from the fuel auction system, a response indicating whether the requested fuel price was accepted by at least one of the plurality of fueling stations.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a particular fueling station within wireless communication range of the computer device;

sending a fuel price offer request to the identified particular fueling station; and

receiving, from the particular fueling station, a fuel price offer based on the fuel price offer request.

13. A computer device comprising:

logic configured to;

detect a re-fueling trigger for a vehicle, wherein the computer device is located inside the vehicle;

send, via a network, a fuel bid request to a fuel auction system for fuel prices within a geographic area based on a location of the vehicle;

receive, via the network, information relating to a fuel price reverse auction generated by the fuel auction system in response to the fuel bid request;

generate a user interface that displays the received information relating to the fuel price reverse auction, wherein the information includes variable discount fuel prices associated with a plurality of fueling stations within the geographic area;

receive, via the network, information relating to the results of the fuel price reverse auction from the fuel auction system;

display the received information relating to the results of the fuel price reverse auction in the generated user interface; and

receive selection of a fueling station via the user interface based on the results of the fuel price reverse auction.

14. The computer device of claim 13, wherein the logic is further configured to:

receive advertised fuel prices associated with the fueling stations within the geographic area from the fuel auction system;

display the received the advertised fuel prices in the generated user interface;

send user information associated with a user of the vehicle to the fuel auction system, wherein the user information includes information identifying one or more fuel supplier accounts associated with the user;

receive, from the fuel auction system, personalized fuel prices associated with the fueling stations within the geographic area, in response to sending the user information; and

display the received the personalized fuel prices in the generated user interface.

15. The computer device of claim 13, wherein the computer device includes:

an embedded telematics device included in the vehicle;

an on-board diagnostics device plugged into an on-board diagnostics port of the vehicle;

or

a portable wireless communication device located inside the vehicle.

16. A method, performed by a computer device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computer device via a network, a fuel bid request from a user device for fuel prices within a geographic area of a vehicle associated with the user device;

obtaining, by the computer device, location information for the vehicle from a vehicle telematics system;

identifying, by the computer device, a plurality of fueling stations within the geographic range based on the location information associated with the vehicle and based on a computed driving distance for the vehicle based on a fuel level for the vehicle;

identifying, by the computer device, a plurality of fuel suppliers associated with the plurality of fueling stations;

generating, by the computer device, a fuel price reverse auction for the plurality of fuel suppliers;

providing, by the computer device via the network, information relating to the generated fuel price reverse auction to the user device;

determining, by the computer device, results of the fuel price reverse auction;

providing, by the computer device via the network, the determined results of the fuel price reverse auction to the user device;

receiving, by the computer device via the network, a selection of a fueling station from the plurality of fueling stations from the user device based on the provided results of the fuel price reverse auction; and

processing, by the computer device, a fueling transaction between the selected fueling station and a user associated with the user device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

obtaining advertised fuel prices from the identified plurality of fuel suppliers; and

providing the obtained advertised fuel prices to the user device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

obtaining user information for the user from the user device, wherein the user information includes information identifying one or more fuel supplier accounts associated with the user;

obtaining, from at least one of the plurality of fuel suppliers, a personalized fuel price based on the obtained user information; and

providing the personalized fuel price to the user device.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

obtaining, from at least one of the plurality of fueling stations, a discount offer based on telematics information obtained from the telematics system, wherein the telematics information includes at least one of;

the location information for the vehicle;

historical location information associated with the vehicle;

vehicle performance data for the vehicle; and

providing the discount offer to the user device.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein processing the fueling transaction between the selected fueling station and the user associated with the user device includes at least one of:

billing an account associated with the user;

or

applying a discount to a bill for an account associated with the user based on the fueling transaction.