Mobile Vehicle Refueling System

• US 20170362076A1
• Filed: 06/21/2016
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vanderhall Motor Works Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hall Labs, LLC
• Inventors: Hall, David R., Hall, Stephen, Lott, Haley, Magleby, Eric, Fox, Joe
• Granted Patent: US 10,046,962 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 5/02 Supplying fuel to vehicles; General disposition of plant in filling stations apparatus for transferring measured quantities of petrol, oil, or the like from storage space to vehicles B67D
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2007/0442 interface for orders and payments
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/02 for transferring liquids other than fuel or lubricants
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/04 for transferring fuels, lubricants or mixed fuels and lubricants
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/0401 arrangements for automatically fuelling vehicles, i.e. without human intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/145 by wireless communication means, e.g. RF, transponders or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/42 Filling nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/426 including means for displaying information, e.g. for advertising B67D7/425 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/845 Trolleys or like movable supports
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/025 wherein the volume is determined during delivery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]

Abstract

A system whereby a mobile fuel station may refuel vehicles is disclosed. Fuel reservoirs are provided in a mobile fuel station that may store fuel and dispense fuel through a hybrid fuel line. Fuel nozzles are provided which can be detachably connected to the hybrid fuel line and can measure and display fuel dispensed from the mobile fuel station. Communication devices and a network are provided that allow a vehicle and a mobile fuel station to communicate location and status information wirelessly with the network. Refueling services and maintenance services that may be carried out using the mobile fuel station are also disclosed and claimed herein.

Claims

1. A mobile vehicle refueling system comprising:

a vehicle comprising a first communication device, the first communication device being capable of wirelessly transmitting data to and receiving data from a network;

a mobile fuel station comprising a second communication device, the second communication device being capable of wirelessly transmitting data to and receiving data from the network, the mobile fuel station further comprising a plurality of fuel reservoirs suitable for storing liquid, gaseous, and electric fuel and dispensing at least one type of fuel from the list of types consisting of liquid, gaseous, and electric fuel through a hybrid fuel line;

a plurality of fuel nozzles which can be detachably connected to the hybrid fuel line; and

wherein

the first communication device transmits to the network a vehicle location and a vehicle fuel status, the second communication device receives the vehicle location and the vehicle fuel status, and the mobile fuel station travels to the vehicle location to perform a refueling service.

2. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the refueling service comprises one or more services from the list of services consisting of inserting liquid fuel into the vehicle, inserting gaseous fuel into the vehicle, and electrically charging a battery in the vehicle.

3. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 2, wherein the refueling service is at least partially carried out by one or more human operators.

4. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 2, wherein the refueling service is at least partially carried out by a pre-programmed autonomous system.

5. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the mobile fuel station further comprises one or more cantilevered columns, said cantilevered columns being attached to a hinge, said hinge being attached to a side of the mobile fuel station, and wherein the combined fuel hose extends along a length of the cantilevered column.

6. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the mobile fuel station further comprises one or more replacement fuel modules, the vehicle comprises one or more fuel modules, and wherein the refueling service comprises replacement of one or more fuel modules with a replacement fuel module.

7. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 6, wherein the refueling service is carried out by one or more preprogrammed robotic arms attached to the mobile fuel station.

8. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 6, wherein the refueling service is carried out by one or more human operators.

9. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the network further comprises a computer, said computer being capable of using vehicle location data and vehicle status data to create a vehicle travel history and a vehicle fuel consumption history, the computer also being capable of creating a predicted vehicle location.

10. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 9, wherein the vehicle location comprises the predicted vehicle location.

11. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 9, wherein the computer is also capable of storing and retrieving one or more vehicle user profiles.

12. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 11, wherein the vehicle user profiles comprise one or more vehicle user data sets from the list of data sets consisting of name, birth date, user picture, home address, work address, phone number, occupation, bank account, payment service account, credit card, debit card, payment schedule, refueling schedule, preferred refueling location, vehicle year, vehicle make, vehicle model, vehicle color, vehicle VIN number, license plate number, fuel type, and fuel company.

13. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the refueling service further comprises a service selection, the service selection being capable of displaying to a vehicle user one or more service options from the list of service options consisting of future refuel date, fuel company, fuel cost, refuel location, refuel time, payment method, and payment receipt method.

14. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1 further comprising one or more maintenance services from the list of maintenance services consisting of oil change, transmission fluid change, windshield washing fluid top-off, vehicle cleaning, windshield replacement, rock chip repair, headlight cleaning, surface polishing, tire inflation, and wiper replacement.

18. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device use electromagnetic communication to communicate with the network.

19. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device use Sure-Fi to communicate with the network.

20. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fuel nozzles each comprise a measurement device and a display, the measurement device capable of measuring a quantity of fuel dispensed through the fuel nozzle and the display capable of displaying the quantity of fuel dispensed.

15. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle status comprises one or more indicators from the list of indicators consisting of oil change indicator, transmission fluid change indicator, windshield washing fluid top-off indicator, vehicle cleaning indicator, windshield replacement indicator, rock chip repair indicator, headlight cleaning indicator, surface polishing indicator, tire inflation indicator, wiper replacement indicator, and fuel level indicator.

16. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 16, wherein one or more of the indicators are automatically triggered by vehicle sensors.

17. The mobile vehicle refueling system of claim 16, wherein the vehicle further comprises manual controls and one or more of the indicators are capable of being triggered by a vehicle user by means of the manual controls.