Fuel dispensing home phone network alliance (home PNA) based system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A fuel dispensing system, comprising:
- at least one fuel dispenser at a fuel dispenser site for communicating using a first software protocol;
at least one point of sale terminal for communicating using a second software protocol different from the first software protocol, wherein the first protocol provides access to more dispenser functions than the second protocol; and
a site manager connected between the point of sale terminal and the dispenser for emulating the second software protocol for communicating with the point of sale terminal, translating the second software protocol to the first software protocol for communicating with the dispenser, and providing access to some additional functionality on the dispenser using the first software protocol, wherein this additional functionality cannot be accessed using the second software protocol, and wherein the site manager communicates with the dispenser using Home Phone Network Alliance (PNA).
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a fuel dispenser system and a system for managing dispenser systems. The system comprises of at least one fuel dispenser having a peripheral, a point of sale terminal for initiating dispensing transactions and for controlling the peripheral on the fuel dispenser and a processor connected between the point of sale terminal and the dispenser for translating commands between the point-of-sale terminal and the dispenser and for translating response between dispenser and the point-of sale terminal. The present invention also includes a managing processor communicating with each dispenser system for administering the activities of the dispenser system.
174 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A fuel dispensing system, comprising:
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at least one fuel dispenser at a fuel dispenser site for communicating using a first software protocol;
at least one point of sale terminal for communicating using a second software protocol different from the first software protocol, wherein the first protocol provides access to more dispenser functions than the second protocol; and
a site manager connected between the point of sale terminal and the dispenser for emulating the second software protocol for communicating with the point of sale terminal, translating the second software protocol to the first software protocol for communicating with the dispenser, and providing access to some additional functionality on the dispenser using the first software protocol, wherein this additional functionality cannot be accessed using the second software protocol, and wherein the site manager communicates with the dispenser using Home Phone Network Alliance (PNA). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for dispensing fuel, comprising the steps of:
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emulating a second software protocol for communicating with at least one point of sale terminal;
translating the second software protocol to a first software protocol for communicating with at least one fuel dispenser at a fuel dispenser site, wherein the second software protocol is different from the first software protocol, and the first software protocol provides access to more dispenser functions than the second protocol; and
providing access to some additional functionality on the dispenser using the first software protocol, wherein this additional functionality cannot be accessed using the second software protocol, and wherein the steps of emulating, translating, and providing are performed by a site manager that communicates with the dispenser using Home Phone Network Alliance (PNA). - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A fuel dispensing system, comprising:
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at least one fuel dispenser for communicating using a first software protocol;
at least one point of sale terminal for communicating using a second software protocol different from the first software protocol; and
a site manager connected between the point of sale terminal and the dispenser for emulating the second software protocol for communicating with the point of sale terminal and translating the second software protocol to the first software protocol for communicating with the dispenser, wherein the dispenser provides content from other sources than the point of sale terminal while in certain dispenser states, and wherein the site manager communicates with the dispenser using Home Phone Network Alliance (PNA). - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method for dispensing fuel, comprising the steps of:
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emulating a second software protocol for communicating with at least one point of sale terminal;
translating the second software protocol to a first software protocol for communicating with at least one fuel dispenser, wherein the first software protocol is different from the second software protocol; and
providing content from other sources than the point of sale terminal while in certain dispenser states, wherein the steps of emulating, translating, and providing are performed by a site manager that communicates with the dispenser using Home Phone Network Alliance (PNA). - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification