Fleet refueling method and system

• US 6,481,627 B1
• Filed: 02/23/1999
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronic Warfare Associates Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Electronic Warfare Associates Incorporated
• Inventors: Guerreri, Stephen J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FUREMAN, JARED
• Application Number:
  US09/255,656
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/376, 235/387, 235/384, 235/441, 235/462.01, 235/462.13, 235/462.45, 235/470, 235/472.01, 700/232, 700/240, 702/188, 705/413
• US Class Current: 235/472.01
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/145 by wireless communication means, e.g. RF, transponders or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply

Abstract

A system and method for facilitating delivery of fuel to a customer site with a delivery truck. A hand-held device captures an identifier specific to the given customer. A zero flow of fuel being transferred from the delivery truck to a customer storage tank is sensed, and the fuel delivery is tagged for billing to the customer based upon when the zero flow is sensed in relation to when the identifier is captured. The hand-held device is used to log the identifier and an identification time at which the identifier is captured. A computer is provided on-board the delivery truck, and logs zero flow indications and the respective zero flow times. The system determines which ones of the zero flow times are after the identification time but before a next occurring identification time at which the hand-held device captures a next identifier.

Claims

1. A method for delivering fuel to plural customer sites with a delivery truck, said method comprising:

using a delivery hose to transfer fuel from a delivery tank to a customer storage tank of a given customer from among a set of customers;

capturing a given identifier specific to said given customer and capturing another identifier specific to another customer;

sensing a zero flow of said fuel from said delivery tank to said customer storage tank; and

determining that the fuel delivery is to be billed to said given customer instead of another customer from among said set of customers based upon when said zero flow is sensed in relation to when said identifier is captured,

wherein the given identifier specific to said given customer can be captured after fuel has already commenced transfer to the customer storage tank.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

using a hand-held device to log, in a memory provided within said hands-held device, said identifier and an identification time at which said identifier is captured;

using a computer on-board said delivery truck to log, in a memory provided on-board said delivery truck, zero flow indications and respective zero flow times at which said zero flow indications occur; and

determining which ones of said zero flow times are after said identification time but before a next occurring identification time at which said hand-held device captures a next identifier,

wherein said determining comprises determining that delivered fuel is to be billed to said given customer when the delivered fuel leads up to zero flow times following said identification time and preceding said next occurring identification time.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said identifier identifies a particular storage tank of said given customer, and said next identifier identifies a next storage tank of said given customer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said identifier identifies a particular storage tank of said given customer, and said next identifier identifies a storage tank of a next customer.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

designating a begin delivery time;

at said begin delivery time, setting a fuel volume measuring unit to zero; and

at each zero flow time, measuring an incremental volume value representing the total fuel delivered since said begin delivery time.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein for said given storage tank, the identifier of which was captured at said identification time, a volume delivered to said given tank is determined by subtracting, from a latest of said incremental volume values following said given identification time but preceding a next of said identification times, a latest of said incremental volume values preceding said given identification time.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said capturing of said identifier specific to said given customer comprises touching a passive ID device with a wand provided on said hand-held device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said passive ID device comprises a non-volatile RAM and said hand-held device comprises a hand-held computer.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said passive ID device comprises a touch button comprising a unique storage tank identifier stored in said non-volatile RAM.

10. The method according to claim 2, wherein said capturing of said identifier specific to said given customer comprises touching a bar code with a bar code reading wand coupled to said hand-held device.

11. The method according to claim 2, wherein said capturing of said identifier specific to said given customer comprises an operator uttering a unique identifier into a microphone coupled to said hand-held device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said unique identifier comprises a license plate number of a vehicle being refueled.

13. The method according to claim 2, wherein said capturing of said identifier specific to said given customer comprises an operator inputting a unique identifier into a touch pad of said hand-held device.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said unique identifier comprises a license plate number of a vehicle being refueled.

15. A system for delivering fuel to plural customer sites with a delivery truck, said system comprising:

a hand-held device for capturing given identifier specific to a given customer from among a set of customers, the given customer having a customer storage tank to which fuel is to be transferred from a delivery tank, and for capturing another identifier specific to another customer,

an on-board subsystem for use on-board the delivery truck, said subsystem comprising a fuel flow sensor and a measuring unit which determines a zero flow of said fuel from said delivery tank to said customer storage tank; and

an associating mechanism to determine that the fuel delivery is to be billed to said given customer instead of another customer from among said set of customers based upon when said zero flow is sensed in relation to when said identifier is captured,

wherein the given identifier specific to said given customer can be captured after fuel has already commenced transfer to the customer storage tank.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein:

said hand-held device comprises a hand-held computer comprising a local memory, said hand-held computer logging, in said local memory, said identifier and an identification time at which said identifier is captured;

said on-board subsystem comprises an on-board computer comprises an on-board memory, said on-board computer logging, in said on-board memory, zero flow indications and respective zero flow times at which said zero flow times indications occur; and

said hand-held computer and said on-board computer collectively comprise a mechanism for determining which ones of said zero flow times are after said identification time but before a next occurring identification time at which said hand-held device captures a next identifiers.

wherein said associating mechanism determines that delivered fuel is to be billed to said given customer when the delivered fuel leads up to zero flow times following said identification time and preceding said next occurring identification time.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said identifier identifies a particular storage tank of said given customer, and said next identifier identifies a next storage tank of said given customer.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said identifier identifies a particular storage tank of said given customer, and said next identifier identifies a storage tank of a next customer.