Method and apparatus for automatically monitoring fuel tank ullage in an automated fuel authorization program

• US 9,856,129 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2014
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zonar Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Zonar Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Inventors: King, Michael Charles, Fadler, Rick, McQuade, Charles Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): DETWEILER, JAMES M
• Application Number:
  US14/206,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,392 Days
• Field of Search: 705 8
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/302 using electrical or electro-mechanical means B67D7/307 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3215 using a plurality of channels network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083

Abstract

Described herein is a fuel authorization program that vehicles enrolled in the fuel authorization program to provide fuel tank sensor data in each fuel authorization request, so that an amount of fuel authorized will be limited to the amount needed to fill the vehicle'"'"'s fuel tank, reducing a likelihood that fuel will be diverted. In at least some embodiments, the fuel authorization controller at the vehicle automatically uses the fuel tank sensor data and known tank size to include in a fuel authorization request sent to a fuel vendor data defining how much fuel is required to fill the vehicle fuel tanks. In at least some embodiments, the fuel vendor consults data from a source other than the vehicle (such as records maintained by the fuel authorization program) to determine how large the vehicles fuel tanks are, and to calculate how much fuel is required.

Claims

1. A method for administering a fuel authorization program, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) automatically sending, by a vehicle fuel authorization processor at an enrolled vehicle using at least one of a vehicle radiofrequency (RF) transmitter and a vehicle directional infrared (IR) transmitter over at least one of an RF data link and an IR data link, a fuel authorization request to a vendor fuel authorization processor at a fuel vendor, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor automatically implementing the steps of;

(i) obtaining a vehicle fuel tank reading from a fuel tank sensor at the vehicle

(ii) determining an amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank using the vehicle fuel tank reading

(iii) retrieving vehicle fuel authorization credentials from a memory at the vehicle;

(iv) communicating, over the at least one of an RF data link and an IR data link, the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank and the vehicle fuel authorization credentials to the vendor fuel authorization processor;

(b) automatically analyzing, by the vendor fuel authorization processor, the vehicle fuel authorization credentials to determine that the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and to determine that the vehicle is authorized to receive fuel;

(c) after determining the vehicle is enrolled in the fuel authorization program and is authorized to receive fuel, automatically, by the vendor fuel authorization processor, enabling fuel delivery at a fuel pump the vehicle is proximate to in a quantity equal to the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank

(d) automatically determining, by the vendor fuel authorization processor, that fuel delivery was terminated early at the fuel pump to prevent spillage;

(e) in response to the determination that fuel delivery was terminated early to prevent spillage, automatically sending, by the vendor fuel authorization processor over at least one of an RF data link and an IR data link to the vehicle fuel authorization processor, a communication or indicating that less fuel was delivered than was requested, and including at least one of a percentage difference of the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank, a volumetric quantity of fuel actually delivered, or a volumetric quantity of fuel not actually delivered;

(f) in response to receiving the communication from the fuel vendor authorization processor, automatically computing, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor, a calibration factor, the calibration factor being at least one of the received percentage difference expressed as a percentage, the received percentage difference expressed as a volumetric quantity, the volumetric quantity of fuel not actually delivered, the volumetric quantity of fuel not actually delivered expressed as a percentage of the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank, the difference between the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank and the volumetric quantity of fuel actually delivered expressed as a volumetric quantity;

a percentage difference between the determined amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank and the volumetric quantity of fuel actually delivered,

(g) storing, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor, the calibration factor in a memory at the vehicle;

(h) and to applying, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor, this calibration factor to subsequent fuel tank readings when subsequently determining amounts of fuel required to fill the vehicle fuel tank so that subsequent fuel authorization requests will be more accurate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle fuel authorization processor retrieves a predetermined correction factor from a memory and adds it to the computed calibration factor before storing it.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle fuel authorization processor retrieves a predetermined correction factor from a memory and subtracts it from the computed calibration factor before storing it.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined correction factor is provided as a proportion of fuel tank capacity.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined correction factor is provided as an amount of fuel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the amount of fuel is provided in units of volume.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the units of volume are gallons.

8. A fuel authorization system to be installed in a vehicle participating in a fuel authorization program, where the fuel authorization program is based on exchanging data between the vehicle and a fuel vendor via both infrared (IR) and radiofrequency (RF) communication, the fuel vendor having a station RF transmitter, a station RF receiver, a station IR receiver, and a fuel vendor processor connected to said station RF transmitter, station RF receiver, and station IR receiver, comprising:

(a) a fuel tank sensor for measuring a quantity of fuel in the vehicle'"'"'s fuel tank;

(b) a vehicle RF transmitter and an RF receiver, the RF transmitter and an RF receiver for exchanging data between the vehicle and the fuel vendor processor over an RF data link formed between the vehicle RF transmitter and receiver and the station RF transmitter and receiver;

(c) a vehicle fuel authorization processor which, in response to receiving an RF query from the fuel vendor processor over the RF data link, automatically implements the functions of;

(i) obtaining a vehicle fuel tank reading from the fuel tank sensor at the vehicle;

(ii) establishing an RF data link between the vehicle RF transmitter and receiver and the station RF transmitter and receiver;

(iii) retrieving vehicle fuel authorization credentials from a memory at the vehicle;

(iv) communicating, to the fuel vendor processor over the RF data link, a fuel authorization request comprising the fuel tank reading and the vehicle fuel authorization credentials

(v) receiving, from the fuel vendor processor over the RF data link, a communication indicating that less fuel was delivered than was requested and including the total amount of fuel delivered

(vi) in response to receiving the communication from the fuel vendor processor automatically computing, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor, a calibration factor, the calibration factor being at least one of the difference between the total amount of fuel delivered and the fuel tank capacity minus the vehicle fuel tank reading expressed as a volumetric quantity, or the difference between the total amount of fuel delivered and the fuel tank capacity minus the vehicle fuel tank reading expressed as a percentage,

(vii) storing, by the vehicle fuel authorization processor, the calibration factor in a memory at the vehicle;

(viii) in response to receiving a subsequent RF query from a fuel vendor processor over an RF data link, automatically retrieving this calibration factor from a memory at the vehicle and applying this calibration factor to subsequent vehicle fuel tank readings so that subsequent fuel authorization requests will be more accurate.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle fuel authorization processor retrieves a predetermined correction factor from a memory and subtracts it from the computed calibration factor before storing it.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle fuel authorization processor retrieves a predetermined correction factor from a memory and adds it to the computed calibration factor before storing it.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the predetermined correction factor is provided as a proportion of fuel tank capacity.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the predetermined correction factor is provided as an amount of fuel.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the amount of fuel is provided in units of volume.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the units of volume are gallons.