System and method to purchase and dispense fuel and other products using a mobile device with improved user experience

• US 9,582,792 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2014
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Inventors: Bonk, Rodney A., Miller, Devin F., Russell, Bryant, Bown, Stephen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): ADE, OGER GARCIA
• Application Number:
  US14/341,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20150032558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 705/21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/02 by volume

Abstract

The system to facilitate purchase and dispense fuel from a dispensing site using a mobile device employs a site connector computer that administers a site database and provides a secure connection to the point-of-sale system. The site database stores site-specific information about the dispensing site including the site location and pump identifying information from which the number of pumps at the dispensing site may be ascertained. A mobile app server communicates with the mobile device and issues queries to the site database to obtain the pump identifying information. The mobile app server communicates the pump identifying information to the mobile device for use in making a pump selection. After pump selection by the user, the mobile app server issues a fuel purchase instruction that includes the pump selection identifier to a financial processing computer network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented fuel dispensing system to facilitate use of a mobile device to purchase and dispense fuel from a dispensing site having an electronic point-of-sale system that mediates operation of at least one fuel dispensing pump using funds administered by a financial processing computer network, comprising:

a site connector computer programmed to administer a site database and to provide a site connector interface adapted to be coupled securely to the point-of-sale system of at least one site each of a plurality of geographically disparate dispensing sites;

the site connector computer being programmed to define in said site database a data structure that stores site-specific information about the dispensing sites including the site location and pump identifying information from which the number of pumps at each dispensing site may be ascertained;

the site connector computer being programmed to communicate with the electronic point-of-sale system and populate a record in said site database according to said data structure using information obtained from said at least one site dispensing sites; and

a mobile app server computer programmed to support Internet communication with the mobile device and also to communicate securely with the financial processing computer network;

the mobile app server computer being further programmed to communicate with the site connector computer to thereby communicate queries to and receive information from the site database;

the mobile app server computer being further programmed to ascertain a site location from the mobile device upon user interaction via the mobile device and to use said site location to issue a query to the site database to acquire the pump identifying information from the site database;

the mobile app server computer being further programmed to communicate the pump identifying information to the mobile device for use in making a pump selection based on the pump identifying information;

the mobile app server computer being further programmed to receive from the mobile device a pump selection identifier and to issue a fuel purchase instruction that includes the pump selection identifier to the financial processing computer network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the site connector computer communicates with the point-of-sale system of at least one site independent of the mobile app server and the mobile app server receiving information from the site database.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the site connector computer is programmed to pull said site-specific information from the electronic point-of-sale system.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising an electronic point-of-sale system that pushes said site-specific information to the site connector computer.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the site connector computer is programmed to define in said site database a data structure that stores site-specific information about the dispensing site selected from the group consisting of site IP address, operational status of the point-of-sale system, operational status of pumps, identity of products and services other than fuel being offered at the site, and indication of the site'"'"'s participation in promotional programs.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein user preferences are stored in a mobile app database.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising an electronic point-of-sale system that supports at least one of:

financial tenders, credit card transactions, debit card transactions and ACH funds transfers and wherein the site connector is coupled to the electronic point-of-sale system and programmed to forward credit card transaction information to the financial processing network.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a financial processing network computer that is programmed to issue first pump authorization information to the site connector computer and the site connector computer is further programmed to issue second pump authorization information to the electronic point-of-sale system in response to receipt of said first pump authorization information.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a mobile device programmed with a mobile payment app that generates a display of plural individual pump designators based on the pump identifying information.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the site connector computer is programmed to pull said site-specific information from the electronic point-of-sale system before performing a financial transaction.