Pump lock fuel system

• US 5,156,198 A
• Filed: 02/20/1991
• Issued: 10/20/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gerald L. Hall
• Original Assignee: Gerald L. Hall
• Inventors: Hall, Gerald L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Recla, Henry J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kupferschmid, Keith
• Application Number:
  US07/657,859
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 141/94, 141/95, 141/96, 141/98, 141/DIG. 1, 340/572
• US Class Current: 141/94
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/348 by interrogating an information transmitter, e.g. a transponder B67D7/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A fuel lock and dispensing system utilizes a data transformer made up of the dispensing nozzle inserted into the fuel tank filler pipe or opening, two pairs of coils, one pair on the hose or nozzle and one pair on the fuel tank filler pipe. A vehicle on-board computer and a fuel pump computer can communicate with each other through the data transfer transformer.

Claims

1. A fuel system pump lock and identification system, wherein data from a vehicle computer is used to identify the vehicle, to transfer data to and from the vehicle computer to a fuel pump computer, and to unlock the fuel pump, the fuel pump lock system comprising:

a fuel tank having a fuel filler pipe;

a first pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on the fuel filler pipe;

a fuel pump having a nozzle for dispensing fuel;

a second pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on said nozzle;

a vehicle on-board computer connected to said first pair of electrical coils;

a fuel pump computer connected to said second pair of electrical coils;

wherein a two-way communications link is established between said vehicle on-board vehicle computer and said fuel pump computer through said first and second pair of electrical coils only when the fuel pump nozzle is inserted in the fuel filler pipe.

2. The fuel system according to claim 1, wherein said fuel filler pipe, fuel pump nozzle, first pair of electrical coils and said second pair of electrical coil form a transformer to provide signal coupling between said first and second pairs of electrical coils.

3. The fuel system according to claim 1, wherein said fuel pump computer generates one or more pulses that are coupled to said vehicle on-board computer via one of said first pair of coils on said nozzle and one of said second pair of coils on said filler pipe only when the nozzle is inserted in the fuel filler pipe of the vehicle, and said on-board computer responding to said one or more pulses to send pulses and data to said fuel pump computer via one of said first and one of second pairs of electrical coils and a communications link connected between the on-board computer, fuel pump computer, and said first and second pairs of coils.

4. The fuel system according to claim 1, wherein communications is established between the on-board computer and fuel pump computer via a RS-232C communications link.

5. The fuel system according to claim 1, wherein fuel is dispensed from said fuel pump only when the fuel pump nozzle is inserted into said fuel tank filler pipe and communications is established between the on-board computer and the fuel pump computer.

6. The fuel system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second pairs of electrical coils, said fuel filler pipe, and said nozzle form a common core data transfer transformer when said nozzle is inserted in said fuel filler pipe.

7. In a fuel system pump lock and identification system wherein data from an on-board vehicle computer is used to identify the vehicle, to transfer data to and from the vehicle computer to a fuel pump computer, and to unlock the fuel pump;

a data transfer transformer comprising;

a fuel filler pipe on a fuel tank;

a first pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on the fuel filler pipe;

a nozzle on a fuel pump for dispensing fuel;

a second pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on said nozzle;

the nozzle, only when inserted in the fuel filler pipe, the fuel filler pipe, and the first and second pairs of electrical receive/transmit coils forming a common core data transfer transformer;

wherein two-way communications is established between said on-board vehicle computer and said fuel pump computer through said common core data transfer transformer, only when the nozzle is inserted in the fuel filler pipe.

8. The fuel system according to claim 7 wherein said first pair of electrical coils includes a receive and transmit coil, and said second pair of electrical coils includes a receive and transmit coil.

9. In a fuel system lock and identification system in which data is transferred between a fuel system computer and a vehicle computer during fuel transfer from a pump nozzle through a fuel tank filler pipe, a data transfer transformer, comprising:

a first pair of coils on said pump nozzle;

a second pair of coils on said filler pipe;

said nozzle, first pair of coils, second pair of coils and filler pipe forming a data transfer transformer only when the pump nozzle is inserted in the filler pipe.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said filler pipe and nozzle form the core of the data transfer transformer.

11. A fuel system pump lock and identification system, wherein data from a vehicle computer is used to identify the vehicle, to transfer data to and from the vehicle computer to a fuel pump computer, and to unlock the fuel pump, the fuel pump lock system comprising:

a fuel tank having a fuel filler pipe;

a first pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on the fuel filler pipe;

a fuel pump having a nozzle for dispensing fuel;

a second pair of electrical transmit/receive coils located on said nozzle;

a vehicle on-board computer connected to said first pair of electrical coils;

a fuel pump computer connected to said second pair of electrical coils;

wherein a two-way communications link is established between said vehicle on-board vehicle computer and said fuel pump computer, the data to establish the communication is defined as the binary representation of bursts of magnetic noise generated into the receive coils when the magnetic field of the transmit coils collapses.