Systems and methods for fueling motor vehicles

Abstract

Methods and systems can automate the delivery of motor vehicle fuel while reducing the need for operator involvement and driving to a gas station. A server with access to a database and in wireless communication with computers installed in a motor vehicle can collect data from the computers including vehicle fuel level and vehicle geographic location. The data can be compared to the data to a fuel level threshold and geographic boundary. The data can be transmitted wirelessly through a wireless network to the database. A mobile fuel tanker truck can be dispatched to the vehicle's location when at least one of: fuel service is requested by a user of the vehicle or the vehicle's fuel level falls beneath the fuel level threshold. Fuel service can be requested by a user via a smartphone running an application that enables the monitoring, management, selection, and ordering of fuel service.

1 - 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A method by a computer system for automating the delivery of fuel, the method comprising:
 determining a fuel level of a vehicle;   determining a location of the vehicle based on a location of a wireless device associated with the vehicle;   a remote server comparing the location of the vehicle to a geographic boundary;   transmitting the fuel level and the location of the vehicle to an Internet-connected database associated with the remote server;   sending to a fueling provider a fueling request to deliver fuel to the vehicle when the fuel level drops below a fuel threshold; and   dispatching a mobile fuel tank associated with the fueling provider to the location of the vehicle based on an availability of the mobile fuel tank for delivery of fuel to the vehicle.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 comparing the location of the vehicle to a variable geographic service boundary to determine when the mobile fuel tank associated with the fueling provider will be dispatched to the location of the vehicle within the variable geographic service boundary; and 
 displaying dispatch data in a graphical user interface of a wireless mobile device associated with a user, wherein the dispatch data includes an estimated time of arrival of the mobile fuel tank at the location of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 comparing the location of the vehicle to a fixed geographic service boundary to determine when the mobile fuel tank associated with the fueling provider will be dispatched to the location of the vehicle within the fixed geographic service boundary; and 
 displaying dispatch data in a graphical user interface of a wireless mobile device associated with a user, wherein the dispatch data includes an estimated time of arrival of the mobile fuel tank at the location of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the fuel level of the vehicle is determined with at least one of: a wireless electronic appliance linked to an engine control unit of the vehicle and a wired electronic appliance linked to the engine control unit of the vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the fuel level of the vehicle is determined by a liquid volume determination of the fuel level by at least one of: ultrasonic waves, a temperature sensor, and a pressure sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the fuel level of the vehicle is determined by a fuel level sensor of the vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the fuel level of the vehicle is determined by a calculation based on at least one of: a known initial fuel quantity, a fuel efficiency assumption, and mileage tracking of the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12  wherein determining the location of the vehicle further comprises determining the location of the vehicle based on a location of the vehicle provided by a GPS chipset associated with the vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the location of the wireless device is provided by a GPS chipset associated with the wireless device. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 dispensing a quantity of the fuel in a vehicle fuel tank of the vehicle from the mobile fuel tank; 
 wirelessly transmitting the quantity of fuel consumed by the vehicle to the Internet-connected database for bill processing of a payment associated with the quantity of fuel delivered to the vehicle from the mobile fuel tank; and 
 completing the bill processing based on a price of the fuel determined by a pricing algorithm. 
 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising generating with the pricing algorithm, the price of the fuel, wherein the pricing algorithm calculates the price using a plurality of pricing factors including at least one of: a local market price of the fuel, a spot market price, a future market price, a quantity of the fuel purchased, a location of the vehicle, a time of day, and a customer loyalty account associated with a user. 
     
     
         23 . A system for automating a delivery of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:
 a memory; and   a processor coupled to the memory, the processor operable to:
 receive a refueling request from a vehicle, the refueling request including a current fuel level of fuel in the vehicle and a location of the vehicle, wherein the location of the vehicle is determined by a GPS chipset included with a wireless device associated with at least one of: 
   the vehicle or a user;
 determine a delivery location based, at least in part, on the refueling request; 
 select a mobile fuel tank truck from among a plurality of mobile fuel tank trucks; 
 transmit a message to the mobile fuel tank truck through a wireless packet-based communications network, the message comprising at least the delivery location and the fueling request; 
 determine a current volume of the fuel in the vehicle based, at least in part, on the refueling request; 
 provide a price for fueling of the vehicle based on the current volume and pricing information generated by a pricing algorithm. 
   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the pricing algorithm calculates the pricing information using a plurality of pricing factors including at least one of: a local market price of the fuel, a spot market price of the fuel, a future market price of the fuel, a quantity of the fuel purchased, a location of the vehicle, a time of day, and a customer loyalty account associated with the user. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23  wherein the pricing algorithm calculates the pricing information using a plurality of pricing factors including a local market price of the fuel, a spot market price of the fuel, a future market price of the fuel, a quantity of the fuel purchased, a location of the vehicle, a time of day, and a customer loyalty account associated with the user.