Retail sales and dispensing fuel management system
US7478747B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 3, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q20/3678
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention extends to managing the dispensing of petroleum products. A kiosk (e.g., at a gas station) and fuel management system are connected over a network. The fuel management system maintains balances for fuel purchasing accounts that can be debited to purchase fuel. To purchase fuel, a customer enters credentials identifying a fuel purchasing account at the kiosk. After fueling is complete, the fuel purchasing account is debited by the amount of the fuel purchase. Embodiments of the fuel system can also include networked (e.g., Internet) based payments into a fuel purchasing account, either from a kiosk or from a personal computer. Consumers can pay for increased amounts of fuel, such as, for example, multiple tanks of gasoline, in a single payment, potentially reducing or even eliminating returned check losses and/or card fees associated with “tank-at-a-time” purchases.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.