Locating fuel options and services

• US 9,103,687 B1
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Loo, William, Brandmaier, Jennifer A., Koza, Daniel, Hughes, Stephen, Gillespie, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US13/683,449
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 701/123, 701/201, 701/210, 705/4, 705/5, 705/7.11, 705/7.23, 726/28, 709/224, 700/286, 713/2, 703/8, 252/7, 307/11, 370/352, 379/102.03, 137/6, 359/237, 606/88, 345/440
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 1/04 for distribution of gas
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Systems and methods may provide for generating and using information about fuel options along a predetermined route. An optimized fuel location server may use information related to the fuel efficiency in a given vehicle and information related to the amount of fuel currently present in a fuel tank associated with the vehicle to determine where along the predetermined route fuel will be required. The optimized fuel location server may also determine where the vehicle should stop for fuel to navigate the route in the lowest cost way possible. The optimized fuel location server may further consider user preferences, such as preferred fuel providers, in determining which fuel option should be used. Finally, the optimized fuel location server may be configured to send notifications (e.g., real-time, etc.) to a user device when the user device is within the vicinity of one or more fuel options.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at an optimized fuel location server, valid access credentials for access to the optimized fuel location server;

retrieving, at the optimized fuel location server, a user profile associated with the valid access credentials;

receiving, at the optimized fuel location server, a selection of one of a plurality of vehicles associated with the user profile;

receiving, at the optimized fuel location server from an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system, an amount of fuel currently present in a fuel tank associated with the one of the plurality of vehicles;

determining, at the optimized fuel location server, a fuel efficiency of the one of the plurality of vehicles;

receiving, at the optimized fuel location server, a selection of one of a plurality of routes from a first location to a second location;

determining, at the optimized fuel location server, a plurality of fuel options along the selected route;

based on the fuel efficiency and the amount of fuel currently present in the fuel tank, determining where along the selected route fuel will be required; and

calculating an optimized, cost-effective way of navigating the selected route using at least one of the plurality of fuel options based on a result of determining where along the selected route fuel will be required.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting information related to the optimized, cost-effective way of navigating the selected route to a user device associated with the user profile.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information related to the optimized, cost-effective way of navigating the selected route is configured to allow the user device to cause display of an interactive map detailing the selected route and the at least one of the plurality of fuel options.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel efficiency is determined through communication with an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system associated with the one of the plurality of vehicles.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fuel options comprise a plurality of gas stations.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving the selection of one of the plurality of vehicles associated with the user profile, searching a database of an insurance company based on the user profile to identify a plurality of vehicles insured by the insurance company as the plurality of vehicles.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected route comprises a preexisting route stored in a memory associated with the optimized fuel location server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected route comprises a new route mapped by the optimized fuel location server.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, at the optimized fuel location server, a latitude and a longitude coordinate of the first location and the second location on the new route.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

storing the new route in a memory associated with the optimized fuel location server.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information, at the optimized fuel location server, related to prices of fuel at the plurality of fuel options.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining where along the selected route fuel will be required is further based on an average fuel level at which a user associated with the user profile refuels the fuel tank.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating the optimized, cost-effective way of navigating the selected route comprises determining to stop at a first fuel option and a second fuel option and passing a third fuel option and fourth fuel option based on a comparison of a first total cost of navigating the selected route using the first fuel option and the second fuel option with a second total cost of navigating the selected route using the third fuel option and the fourth fuel option, wherein the first fuel option, the second fuel option, the third fuel option, and the fourth fuel option are different fuel options among the plurality of fuel options.

14. A system comprising:

an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system configured to;

determine an amount of fuel currently present in a fuel tank associated with a vehicle; and

transmit the amount of fuel currently present in the fuel tank;

a processor; and

a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause an apparatus at least to;

receive a request to drive the vehicle along a new route that includes a plurality of fuel options;

access a user profile associated with a user device from which the request is transmitted;

map the new route on a map;

receive the amount of fuel currently present in the fuel tank;

based on the user profile, determine information related to a fuel efficiency of the vehicle and the amount of fuel currently present in the fuel tank associated with the vehicle;

based on the information, determine a plurality of locations along the new route where fuel will be required by the vehicle; and

determine which of the plurality of fuel options near the plurality of locations should be used by the vehicle to drive along the new route in a cost-effective way.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the determining which of the plurality of fuel options should be used by the vehicle in the cost-effective way is further based on user preferences.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user preferences include a fuel level in the fuel tank of the vehicle at which a user associated with the user profile normally stops for refueling.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the determining which of the plurality of fuel options should be used by the vehicle in the cost-effective way is based on a past history of when fuel at the plurality of fuel options is cheaper.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a selection of a destination to which a vehicle is to be navigated;

determine a route to be traveled by the vehicle to reach the destination;

obtain first information related to a plurality of fuel options along the route and a plurality of prices of fuel offered at the plurality of fuel options;

obtain second information related to a fuel efficiency associated with the vehicle and an amount of fuel present in a fuel tank associated with the vehicle, wherein the amount of fuel present in the fuel tank is provided by an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system;

compare the first information with the second information to determine where along the selected route fuel will be required by the vehicle; and

based on a result of the comparison, adjust the route to obtain a lowest cost way, using at least one of the plurality of fuel options along the route, to navigate the route with the vehicle.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the computer-executable program instructions further cause the processor to:

transmit route information detailing the lowest cost way to navigate the route to a user device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of fuel options comprises a gas station.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the adjusting the route to obtain the lowest cost way to navigate the route is further based on which of the plurality of fuel options is preferred by a user associated with the vehicle.