Vehicle servicing and monitoring method and system

• US 9,707,806 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2015
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores Incorporated
• Inventors: Edwards, Matthew Thomas, Coyne, Kenneth Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): MAUST, TIMOTHY LEWIS
• Application Number:
  US14/616,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20160229233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 141 18, 141 38, 141 94, 141 95, 141 98, 141192, 152415, 73146, 731462
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/001 Devices for manually or automatically controlling or distributing tyre pressure whilst the vehicle is moving
• 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: B60S 5/046 using electrical or electronical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means

Abstract

A method and system for servicing a vehicle in accordance with pre-determined maintenance settings is provided. Maintenance settings can be communicated to a vehicle maintenance tool via a communication device and the vehicle maintenance tool can interact with the vehicle in accordance with the maintenance settings.

Claims

1. A system that allows for the capture of data related to the current air pressure of a tire and the correction of said air pressure using automatic tire measuring and tire inflation equipment for use at a tire inspection lane at an on-highway retail facility, comprising:

a database containing vehicle pre-determined maintenance settings;

vehicle identifying information;

a communication device, wherein said communication device is configured to receive said vehicle identifying information from said vehicle and, based on said thus received vehicle identifying information, receive said vehicle pre-determined maintenance settings through an electronic network;

a plurality of tire inflation units, wherein each said tire inflation unit is configured to communicate with said communication device and interact with a vehicle in accordance with said vehicle pre-determined maintenance settings.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a fuel pump wherein said fuel pump is positioned to allow the fuel pump to pump fuel into said vehicle at the same time said tire inflation unit interacts with said vehicle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said fuel is diesel fuel.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said vehicle pre-determined maintenance settings further comprise tire pressure preferences.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said tire inflation unit is configured to measure the pressure of a tire.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the tire inflation unit interacts with said vehicle by inflating said tire to a pressure indicated by said pressure preferences.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said tire inflation unit is configured to measure the pressure of said tire and inflate said tire simultaneously.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the tire inflation unit is configured to communicate the pressure of said tire to said communication device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle pre-determined maintenance settings comprise tread depth preferences.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a tread depth gauge.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the tread depth gauge interacts with said vehicle by indicating whether a tire has the minimum tread depth indicated by the tread depth preferences.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the tread depth gauge is configured to communicate a tread depth of a tire to the communication device.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined maintenance settings include data on tire pressure and include data on one or more of maintenance, condition or replacement of vehicle equipment.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of tire inflation units comprise a first tire inflation unit configured to interact with at least one tire on a first side of said vehicle and a second tire inflation unit configured to interact with at least one tire on a second side of said vehicle such that said first tire inflation unit and second tire inflation unit measure the pressure and pressurize said at least one tire on the first side and said at least one tire on the second side simultaneously.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said first tire inflation unit is configured to interact with a first plurality of tires on said first side and said second tire inflation unit is configured to interact with a second plurality of tires on said second side such that the plurality of tire inflation units measure the pressure and pressurize simultaneously all said tires in said first plurality of tires and said second plurality of tires.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of tire inflation units are configured to measure the pressure and pressurize multiple sets of tires simultaneously.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said multiple sets of tires include a first set of tires and a second set of tires on a first side of said vehicle, and a third set of tires and a fourth set of tires on a second side of said vehicle.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein each set of said multiple sets of tires comprise multiple tires, and wherein said plurality of tire inflation units are configured to measure the pressure and pressurize each tire of said multiple tires simultaneously.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein said vehicle has a radio frequency identifier and said communication device is configured to receive said vehicle identifying information from said vehicle by said radio frequency identifier.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein said vehicle is labeled with a scannable bar code and said communication device is configured to receive said vehicle identifying information from said vehicle by scanning said scannable bar code.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said plurality of tire inflation units are configured to measure the pressure and pressurize multiple sets of tires simultaneously.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said multiple sets of tires include a first set of tires and a second set of tires on a first side of said vehicle, and a third set of tires and a fourth set of tires on a second side of said vehicle.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein each set of said multiple sets of tires comprise multiple tires, and wherein said plurality of tire inflation units are configured to measure the pressure and pressurize each tire of said multiple tires simultaneously.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the pre-determined maintenance settings include data on tire pressure and include one or more of data on maintenance, condition or replacement of vehicle equipment.