EA035389B1 - Intelligent system for fuelling vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is directed to an increase in the level of accuracy of the vehicle fuelling process, inter alia in the absence of a driver. The technical result is achieved by that an intelligent vehicle fuelling system includes a user Internet interface; a portable fuel dispensing device equipped with a flow meter and an NFC tag; a remote data storage and transmission server; a first central controller with a navigation system, a cellular communication module, a near field communication module and a radio module, connected to an electric actuator of a fuel tank cap; a second central controller with a navigation system, a cellular communication module, a near field communication system and a radio module; a portable fuel reservoir; the first central controller is connected by a wireless connection to a fuel level sensor and the remote data storage and transmission server; the second central controller is connected to the flow meter and the remote data storage and transmission server and the fuel reservoir equipped with a radio frequency tag comprising information regarding the reservoir and fuel.

Description

Technology area

The invention relates to the provision of vehicles with fuel and can be used when refueling vehicles.

Prior art

A system and method for refueling vehicles is known from the prior art, comprising an automated system comprising a user Internet interface for interacting with a service department, automated means for notifying a service department that a customer needs to refuel and for reporting the location of a customer's car, a tracking device by a service department a refueling agent for searching and refueling the client's car and a device for sending a notification to the client about the completion of the refueling operation (US 2013282500 A1, publ. 24.10.2013, IPC G06Q 20/22). Access to the user interface is carried out using a smartphone, stationary computer, laptop, tablet, through a terminal or through a call center.

The disadvantage of this invention is that the driver must independently monitor the fuel level in the tank, as well as independently inform the service department of the coordinates of his car to direct the refueller to it, which may turn out to be inaccurate or erroneous. In addition, the driver may not always notice a drop in the fuel level in the tank below a comfortable level in time, which is fraught with various inconveniences for him and other road users.

In addition, the service employee carrying out the refueling process identifies the customer's car visually based on data such as the color of the car, make, state registration number, and parking space number received directly from the customer. With this approach, there is a high probability of errors due to the fault of the human factor: the data transmitted by the client may be inaccurate, or the service employee may inadvertently confuse similar cars.

The use of this system and method involves leaving the gas tank cap open if the car is refueled in the absence of the driver, which may entail theft of fuel from the gas tank by third parties or the ingestion of foreign objects and liquids.

A known system for refueling cars at gas stations using radio frequency (RFID) tags (website http: //www.rf-id.m/using_rfid/77.html date not specified), which is as follows: on the pistol of the fuel hose a radio tag is installed, and a receiving antenna for an RFID reader is installed in the neck of the car's tank. The reader registers the tag data, which is a signal to start a transaction to receive fuel. Having received data from the reader, the on-board controller collects the required diagnostic data about the technical condition of the vehicle, the route it has traveled from the tachograph and transmits it after authorization to the petrol station controller via a wireless interface in encrypted form.

The controller communicates with the gas station server and (if necessary) with the office of the fuel company, checks the right of this car to refuel, determines the allotted fuel limit and saves data from the vehicle controller. And then refueling takes place according to the set parameters, while the controller monitors the amount of fuel in the tank.

Although this system allows to increase the level of automation of fuel unloading, it does not guarantee the avoidance of underfilling and theft in the process of refueling and overflow of fuel into third-party containers, since the radio frequency tag from the pistol can be rearranged to another device, duplicated or reprogrammed.

In addition, the driver must independently monitor the fuel level in the tank for timely refueling, which is not always possible due to various reasons: lack of time for refueling, driver forgetfulness, being in a remote area where there are no gas stations.

In addition, when using the specified system, the automated delivery of fuel to the gas tank of the car in the absence of the driver is impossible.

The closest analogue, selected as a prototype of the claimed invention, is a mobile refueling system, including a mobile communication terminal installed under the fuel tank of a car, designed to collect information in real time and operating in two-way communication with the driver (CN 104537508 A, publ. 04/22/2015, IPC G06Q 10/68). In the event that the fuel level is below a predetermined value, the terminal sends a refueling request to the driver; upon receipt of a confirmation from the driver, the terminal sends a refueling request and the vehicle coordinates to the fuel distribution center.

The fuel distribution center notifies the nearest petrol stations that a refueller should be sent to the driver and, on the basis of the received coordinates, generates a fuel delivery route corresponding to the vehicle route.

The terminal is connected to the level gauge and GPS system.

According to the above invention, the vehicle is identified by coordinates from the GPS system. However, GPS does not always work correctly and displays the correct coordinates, in addition, in places near important industrial and military facilities, navigation does not work, and it becomes problematic to identify a car only by location. In this regard, the likelihood of failure to provide refueling or fuel delivery services to the wrong customer increases.

In addition, the specified system is not suitable for automated refueling of a car in the absence of a driver.

Often, standard fuel level sensors installed on vehicles by manufacturers display only an approximate fuel level and have an error that increases in proportion to the time the vehicle is used. The sensor's accuracy is reduced by additives and impurities in the fuel, and the longer the vehicle is used, the less accurate the fuel level data becomes, making it more difficult to refuel on time. It is necessary to create a technical solution that would solve this problem, among others.

Disclosure of invention

The technical problem to be solved by the invention is to improve the accuracy of fueling a vehicle, including in the absence of a driver.

The technical result is achieved in that in the claimed intelligent system for refueling vehicles, the first central controller is connected by wireless communication with a fuel level sensor and a remote storage and data transmission server; the second central controller is connected to a flow meter and a remote storage-transmission server and a container with dispensed fuel equipped with a radio frequency tag containing information about the container and fuel. The first and second central controllers interact with each other and exchange data via a remote storage-transfer server during the refueling process.

Brief Description of Drawings

The essence of the invention is illustrated in the figure, which schematically shows the principle of interaction between the components of an intelligent fueling system.

The system includes a user Internet interface, made in the form of a mobile application 1, associated with a remote storage-transfer server 2 further-server;

a client's vehicle equipped with a first central controller 3, further - a first controller with a built-in navigation system (not shown in the figure) and a cellular communication module 4 connected via a cellular communication module 4 to a server 2; a short-range contactless communication module 5, a radio module 6, a fuel level sensor 7 and an electric actuator 8 of the locking mechanism of the fuel tank cap 9;

a portable fuel dispenser 10, at the end of which a refueling nozzle 11 with a short-range proximity communication mark 12 is installed, equipped with a flow meter (not shown in the figure), a second central controller 13 further - a second controller with an integrated navigation system (not shown in the figure) and a cellular communication module 4, a short-range proximity communication module 5, a radio module 6, a control panel 14, a radio frequency reader 15, and connected to a fuel tank 16 equipped with a radio frequency tag 17 containing information about the capacity and fuel.

In addition, the server 2 is connected via the Internet connection with the client's bank 18, which serves the client's payment account indicated during registration in the mobile application 1.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The user installs on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, mobile application 1, in which two registration options are available: as a customer placing an order, or as an order executor. In both cases, a user account is created, where the user's personal data are entered, such as name, date of birth, address of residence, telephone, bank and payment details, car data: make, model, state registration number, type of fuel consumed.

When registering in the application as a client, the user's car is assigned a unique identification number, which is used when working in the system, including to identify the car before refueling. The client, among other conditions, can choose the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank, at which the car will start signaling the need for refueling.

When registering in Application 1 as a refueling contractor, the user has access to current customer orders indicating their location, the requested type and amount of fuel and the preferred refueling time.

The contractor is equipped with a fuel dispenser 10, at the end of which a filling nozzle 11 is installed with a short-range proximity communication mark 12, equipped with a flow meter (not shown in the figure), a second central controller 13 with an integrated navigation system (not shown in the figure) and a cellular communication module 4, a module close proximity communication 5, a radio module 6, a control panel 14, a radio frequency reader 15, and connected to a fuel tank 16 equipped with a radio frequency tag 17.

An NFC module, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth receiver-translator, as well as any other known receiver-translator modules for wireless short-range communication, can be used as a short-range contactless communication module. An NFC tag or any other short-range tag can be used as a short-range proximity communication tag.

The radio frequency tag 17 is installed on a container with fuel 16, from which the performer dispenses fuel. Such a container can be a polymer canister or other approved metal or polymer container. The numbers of all tags 17 of all containers 16 issued to the performer are read by the radio frequency reader 15 and transmitted to the server 2, which makes it possible to exclude the substitution or theft of the container 16.

A portable fuel dispenser 10 and a container with fuel 16 can be placed in the trunk of an executor's car, a trailer, on a self-propelled cart, which is convenient to use when refueling vehicles in yards and on narrow streets.

All fuel dispensers are registered on server 2 and have a unique identification number. One performer is assigned one device for a certain period of time, for example 24 and 60 hours or any other specified period, after which the data is updated.

The customer's car is equipped with the first controller 3 with an integrated navigation system and a cellular communication module 4, a radio module 6, a short-range contactless communication module 5, a fuel level sensor 7, an electric actuator 8 of the fuel tank cap locking mechanism 9, connected to the first controller 3 using a wired connection.

When the fuel level in the tank 9 reaches below the value set by the client, the fuel level sensor 7 sends a signal to the first controller 3, which, using the navigation system, transmits data about the coordinates of the client's car and the fuel level to the remote server 2. Server 2 sends the client to the mobile device via mobile application 1 push notification about the need for refueling, and also gives a command to the customer's bank 18 to check the status of the customer's payment account. If the balance is positive, a command is given to allow refueling.

The customer can confirm or reject the refueling notification received from the vehicle. Confirming the need for refueling, the client selects the amount of fuel and the desired refueling time, after which the order is automatically processed on server 2, displayed in the mobile application 1 and becomes visible to users registered as performers, and is assigned to the performer who first responded to the order , or behind the performer who is closest to the client. The filling of the order is as follows: type and type of fuel, amount of fuel, location of the customer's vehicle, desired refueling time, unique identification number of the customer's vehicle, unique identification number of the dispenser.

After a positive response to the push notification from the application 1 by the client and the assignment of the order to a specific contractor, the server 2, through the cellular communication module 4, communicates with the first controller 3 in the client's car and the second controller 13 on the fuel dispenser, transmitting to them the identification codes assigned to them at the time of registration in Appendix 1 and randomly generated passwords required to be able to automatically establish an encrypted connection between the radio communication modules 6 on the customer's vehicle and the fuel dispenser 10.

In addition, the server 2 transmits to the first controller 3 the data of the tags 17 on the containers 16 associated with the fuel dispenser 10.

When the contractor approaches the client, when the radio modules 6 are at a distance sufficient to establish a stable connection, an encrypted connection will be established automatically. After establishing an encrypted connection and exchanging data, the second controller 13, using the short-range contactless communication module 5, writes to the short-range contactless communication tag 12 located at the end of the filling nozzle 11, the data on the capacity 16 read from the radio-frequency tag 17 by means of the radio-frequency reader 15. This it is necessary to exclude the possibility of changing containers, distorting data on the fuel level in the container, as well as monitoring the calculated fuel level in the containers.

When ready to start refueling, the performer presses the corresponding button on the control panel 14, after which the second controller 13 via an encrypted channel sends a command to open the fuel tank 9. The first controller 3 on the customer's car gives a command to the electric actuator of the locking mechanism 8 to open the fuel tank cap 9.

The contractor inserts the fuel dispenser 10 into the vehicle tank 9.

The first controller 3 reads the data recorded on the proximity tag 12 located at the end of the nozzle 11, comparing them with the data transmitted by the server 2. When these data match, the second controller 13 gives a command to enable refueling via an encrypted channel.

The refueling process is terminated when at least one of the following events occurs: interruption of communication between the module and the tag of short-range proximity communication;

filling the maximum capacity of the customer's car's fuel tank;

- 3 035389 delivery of a given amount of fuel;

pressing the emergency stop button on the control panel.

Communication between the short-range contactless communication module 5 on the customer's vehicle and the short-range contactless communication tag 12 is established at a distance of 5-10 cm.When this indicator increases, for example, when a pistol falls out of the tank or attempts to drain fuel into another container, the exchange of signals between module 5 is interrupted and the mark 12, the refueling process is terminated. The amount of discharged fuel is recorded by a flow meter (not shown in the figure) mounted on the refueling nozzle 11.

The fuel level sensor 7, connected to the first controller 3, upon reaching the fuel level in the tank 9 set by the customer, gives a signal that the set level has been reached. The first controller 3 generates a command to stop the fuel supply.

After completion of refueling, the first controller 3 communicates with the server 2 via the cellular communication module 4, transmitting data on the readings of the fuel level sensor 7; the second controller 13, through the cellular communication module 4, communicates with the server 2, transmitting data on the amount of fuel dispensed recorded by the flow meter, and these readings are compared by the server 2 with the readings of the fuel level sensor 7. This allows you to control the amount of dispensed fuel and prevent underfilling or theft during refueling ...

Upon completion of refueling, the amount for the dispensed fuel is automatically debited from the client's account, and server 2 sends the client a push notification via mobile application 1 about the completion of refueling, which contains data on the type and amount of dispensed fuel, the refueling time and the amount debited from the client's account.

The remote storage-transmission server 2, in addition to the main functions of collecting, processing and storing data, accumulates and ranks statistical information by place, time and number of refueling for a certain period of time, for example, 24 hours. Based on these data, a demand map for future period.

The advantages of using an intelligent refueling system are as follows:

the refueling process is controlled by a remote server, and the client, when leaving the car, does not need to leave the fuel tank cap open or be present during refueling - thanks to the client and performer identification system, the client's car tank cap opens automatically after successful identification;

the client does not need to independently monitor the fuel level in the fuel tank, the intelligent system, upon reaching the fuel level limit set by the client, will send a signal to the client's mobile device;

the user Internet interface, made in the form of a mobile application, allows the client to independently set a comfortable threshold for the fuel level in the tank, at which the car will start signaling the need for refueling;

automated control of the refueling process excludes the possibility of erroneous delivery of fuel to the wrong customer or deliberate theft of fuel, underfilling and other deception of the customer thanks to the improved system of customer and contractor identification.

In addition, the application of the declared intelligent refueling system allows the client to free up the time previously allocated for refueling for other matters. To refuel, the client does not need to specifically call in at the gas station and wait in line, he can leave the car in any place convenient for him, for example, in the yard of his house or in the parking lot near a shopping center, and the car will be refueled in the indicated place even if the driver is not there.

Thus, the application of the above-described intelligent fueling system for the customer's vehicle can improve the level of accuracy of fueling the vehicle, including in the absence of the driver.

Claims (1)

CLAIM Intelligent vehicle fueling system, including an Internet user interface, a portable fuel dispenser equipped with a flow meter and an NFC tag; remote storage-transfer server; the first central controller with a navigation system, a cellular communication module, a short-range contactless communication module and a radio module connected to an electric actuator of the fuel tank cap; a second central controller with a navigation system, a cellular communication module, a short-range contactless communication module, a radio module, and a short-range contactless communication module; a portable container with fuel, characterized in that the first central controller is connected by wireless communication with a fuel level sensor and a remote storage-transmission server; the second central controller is connected to a flow meter and a remote storage-transmission server and a container with a supply of fuel, equipped with a radio-frequency tag containing information about the container and fuel.