Patent Application
20240135427
The automobile industry has seen an increase in manufacturing and sales of electric vehicles. It is anticipated that at some point in the future, electric vehicles will have displaced many of the gasoline-powered vehicles and by extension, demand for petroleum fuel such as gasoline. Although this displacement of gasoline-powered vehicles by electric vehicles is anticipated to be gradual, it is reasonable to expect that the general availability of petroleum fuels will decline and that at least a certain small number of car collectors will continue to demand petroleum fuels on at least a sporadic basis. It will therefore be needed in the future to deliver petroleum fuels to car collectors.
Disclosed herein is an example method of placing and fulfilling an order for fuel delivery. The method comprises receiving a fuel delivery request with an integrated system comprising one or more processing devices, a network, and one or more servers. The one or more processing devices communicate via the network with the one or more servers. A request to order fuel along with purchaser information and a location is sent to the one or more servers. An order to purchase the requested fuel is generated, based at least in part on the request, purchaser information, and the location. Instructions are generated by a computer-implemented software based at least in part on the order to purchase the requested fuel. Instructions are relayed to one or more couriers, and location of a fuel recipient is identified by the one or more couriers. The method further comprises fulfilling the generated order to complete the purchase of the fuel by delivering at least the requested fuel to the fuel recipient at the identified location, wherein the delivered fuel comprises one or more combustible fuels.
Also disclosed herein is an example method of placing and fulfilling an order for fuel additive delivery. The method comprises receiving a fuel additive delivery request with an integrated system comprising one or more processing devices, a network, and one or more servers. The one or more processing devices communicate via the network with the one or more servers. A request to order one or more fuel additives along with purchaser information and a location is sent to the one or more servers. An order to purchase the requested one or more fuel additives is generated, based at least in part on the request, purchaser information, and the location. Instructions are generated by a computer-implemented software based at least in part on the order to purchase the requested one or more fuel additives. Instructions are relayed to one or more couriers, and location of a fuel additive recipient is identified by the one or more couriers. The method further comprises fulfilling the generated order to complete the purchase of the fuel additive by delivering at least the requested one or more fuel additives to the fuel additive recipient at the identified location.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory in nature and are intended to provide an understanding of the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In that regard, additional aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detailed description.
These drawings illustrate certain aspects of some examples of the present disclosure and should not be used to limit or define the disclosure.
This disclosure may generally relate to systems and methods for marketing, selling, reserving, and delivering products or services. More particularly, certain aspects of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for a fuel delivery service.
As mentioned previously, it is anticipated that the general availability of fuel will see a gradual decrease at some point in the future due to a preponderance of electric and/or hybrid vehicles having lower fuel consumption. Certain embodiments of the present disclosure possess an improved ability to provide “on-demand” fuel delivery services at the convenience of buyers. Systems and methods related to such embodiments may also have improved mobility as compared to current fuel delivery systems (e.g., gas stations), for example, by delivering fuel directly to a location specified and/or elected by a user on a graphical user interface. Additionally, certain embodiments may have an improved ability to allow service providers to send fuel to customers, to deliver fuel at variable locations with manned or autonomous vehicles, and/or to provide a greater selection of specialty fuels to customers on demand.
The purchaser may trigger using, for example, a processing device 106, the generation of an order 110 for fuel and/or fuel additive(s). That order 110 may be accompanied with additional information and may be sent to a server 102. A purchaser using a processing device 106 to make a request may be the same, or different from, fuel recipient 118. Types of fuel for selection may comprise gasoline, diesel fuel, bio-diesel fuel, ethanol, butanol, synthetic fuel, electro-fuel, e-fuel, carbon-captured fuel, premium fuel, a race gas, a treated gas, a high octane rated fuel, a low octane rated fuel, a zero-ethanol rated fuel, a high-grade fuel, a low-grade fuel, diesel, unleaded gasoline, natural gas (e.g., compressed natural gas, liquified natural gas, methane, ethane, propane, butane, etc.), jet fuel, liquid hydrogen, alternative fuels, etc., and/or combinations thereof. “Carbon-captured fuel” refers to fuel, which is derived from carbon capture technologies, e.g., combustible fuel formed from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Types of additives to the fuel for selection may comprise octane, acetone, ether, nitrous oxide, fuel stabilizers, fuel injector cleaners, diesel exhaust fluid, nitromethane, a detergent, a ring sealer, butyl rubber, ferox, oxyhydrogen, ferrous picrate, tetranitromethane, anti-foaming agents, antioxidants, hybrid compound blends, oxygenates, antiknock agents, lead scavengers, fuel dyes, metal deactivators, corrosion inhibitors, and any combinations thereof. It should be understood that each and every teaching herein provided with respect to fuel delivery may be substituted with, or performed in conjunction with, delivery of one or more types of fuel additives. In operation, server 102 may receive additional information that may have been previously stored for the purchaser. Such additional information received by the server 102 may comprise, without limitation, the user's name, location, vehicle, purchase history, personal preferences, and personal settings, for example. An order 110 to purchase the requested fuel may be generated and may be based on the request, purchaser information, and any additional information.
In operation, instructions 112 are generated, for example, by a computer-implemented software using the order 110 and any additional information. Instructions 112 generated by a computer may comprise, to use non-limiting examples, routing information, an address, estimated time of arrival, fuel delivery information, purchase information, user identifier information such as license plate, make and model, and/or car color, identity and/or quantity of fuel, identity and/or quantity of fuel additives, mapping information, fuel description, identity or location of one or more fuel sources 108, purchaser's name, purchaser's location, purchaser's address, purchaser's vehicle, purchaser's purchase history, traffic information, turn-by-turn directions, and any combination thereof. While shown in
Instructions 112 may be relayed to at least a courier 114. The instructions 112 may comprise any suitable data including, without limitation, turn-by-turn instructions to a drop-off or delivery location, routing instructions, mapping information, an address, purchase details, order details, delivery instructions, an amount of fuel, user-identifiers such as make and model of a vehicle, license plate number, vehicle color or condition, contact information, cell phone number, GPS coordinates, photographic data, proximity to another courier 114 or fuel recipient 118, etc. In embodiments wherein a courier 114 comprises an autonomous vehicle (e.g., unmanned vehicle, drone, etc.), delivery of fuel may be automated upon arrival of a courier 114 to a delivery location.
Data transmitted from computational hardware linked to a fuel source 108 to a network 104 may comprise available fuel information, confirmation receipts of a transaction, such as a purchase, status, estimated time of arrival, real-time location data of a courier 114, fuel status of a vehicle, real-time or stored location of a fuel recipient 118, combinations thereof, and so forth.
In operation, a fuel delivery system 100 may be used to transport and deliver fuel from a fuel source 108 to a fuel recipient 118 (e.g., a vehicle), such as by deploying fuel from a fuel source 108 to a stranded vehicle, fuel-depleted vehicle, or simply a parked vehicle, to use non-limiting examples. A fuel source 108 may comprise any entity configured to provide pumpable fuel, such as a fuel vendor or gas station. Alternatively, a fuel source 108 may comprise a storage unit, vessel, drum, pipeline, tank, truck (e.g., large tank truck), etc., and/or combinations thereof. The fuel source 108 may comprise, or be systemically coupled to, a fuel generation unit. A fuel generation unit may comprise, for example, a refinery, or one or more industrial components for converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to combustible fuel. This may involve, in some examples, a carbon dioxide collector, which may use electrical energy to collect, isolate, and/or react the atmospheric carbon dioxide to form combustible fuel. A single fuel source 108 may be used in a fuel delivery system 100, or multiple. For example, a fuel source 108 may comprise both a high-grade petroleum fuel comprising gasoline with zero ethanol and a low-grade petroleum fuel comprising gasoline and ethanol. Alternatively, a fuel source 108 may comprise two types of fuels having differing octane ratings.
A fuel recipient 118 may comprise any vehicle configured to accept fuel, such as an automobile, a motorboat, a jet ski, a plane, a go-kart, a golf-kart, a motorcycle, a lawnmower, motorized machinery, a tractor, off-roading vehicles, recreational vehicles, combinations, and/or the like. Fuel may be delivered via a fuel delivery pathway 122. Fuel delivery pathway 122 may comprise, for example, a route (e.g., as determined by server 102) between a location of a courier 114 and a location of fuel recipient 118. Conceivably, fuel may be delivered to a fuel recipient 118 while fuel recipient 118 is moving. As illustrated, fuel delivery pathway 122 may comprise multiple delivery pathways, such as from a first courier to a second courier at a first location and a second courier to the fuel recipient 118 at a second location.
Non-limiting examples of suitable types of delivery locations may include, a garage, a side of a road or highway, a road, a driveway, a cul-de-sac, a parking garage, a parking lot, a dirt road, an offroad location, a pin-point on a map, a lake, a bay, the ocean, the beach, and the like. One or more couriers 114 may deliver fuel from a fuel source 108 to a fuel recipient 118 at any location, provided that the location is within travel range of the one or more couriers 114.
Deployment of fuel by a fuel delivery system 100 may be reactionary or anticipatory. In either, data may be transmitted from a mobile device, such as a cell phone, a device built-in or attached or coupled to a vehicle, or the like. Data may or may not be user-specified. Data may include location, purchase information, fuel level, user profile information, photographic data, audio data, user activity data, billing information, user status, fuel level, and/or simply an indication of a need of service, etc. Data may be deliberately conveyed, both automatically monitored and deliberately conveyed, or otherwise both automatically monitored and automatically conveyed.
A courier 114 may comprise an autonomous vehicle, or more simply, may comprise a manned or unmanned vehicle capable of transporting fuel, such as a vehicle driven by a person. In embodiments that include manned vehicles, a person driving a vehicle may receive instructions 112 for a fuel delivery system 100 via a mobile device application, mobile device, and/or an additional graphical user interface, display, or by any other suitable method for relaying communication from one component or system to another or to a person. In other embodiments, an autonomous vehicle may receive instructions 112 from a network 104 seamlessly without a need for human intervention and/or discretion. In yet another embodiment, the courier 114 may comprise a drone, whereby the drone is configured to receive one or more instructions, lift, and transport the fuel, and deliver the fuel to the specified delivery location, for example.
For embodiments wherein deployment is reactionary, data is conveyed to a service provider and/or a server 102, such as by populating one or more fields of a graphical user interface of a mobile device application on a mobile device and subsequently transmitting of a signal through a network. In some a system may be configured for vehicle/home integration to allow for self-ordering gas, such as by automatic deployment upon sensing of a low fuel level in a vehicle.
For embodiments wherein deployment is anticipatory, data such as activity data may be automatically monitored and conveyed. In such embodiments, one or more predictive models may be used to generate a probability of fuel depletion, probability of a need of service, predicted vehicle activity, etc. Predictive models and/or processing algorithms may be based on one or more artificially intelligent algorithms, artificial neural networks, random tree classifiers, machine learning models (e.g., trained using one or more training datasets) or plurality, ensemble, serial arrangement, etc., thereof, and/or the like. Data used in a predictive model may include vehicle fuel gauge information, regional windspeeds, vehicle-estimated gas mileage, driving mode of a vehicle, traffic data, user activity, braking frequency, start-to-stop ratio, accelerometer data, GPS data, user-specified destination in a navigational system, vehicle speed, speed limit, etc. Artificially intelligent algorithms may be used in combination with the present disclosure, such as to predictively model customer demand in one or more regions, to optimize route organization, to automatically deploy couriers 114, and so on. However, in either embodiment, where deployment is reactionary or anticipatory, information 116 may be conveyed to server 102 and/or server 102 via network 104 from a fuel recipient 118, courier 114, and/or fuel source 108. Such information 116 may comprise, for example, purchase information, location data, fuel level (e.g., of a fuel recipient), activity, fuel availability, and/or other data. In addition, information 126 may also be relayed to a fuel recipient in some examples, which may include purchase information, purchase confirmation, ETA of a courier 114, real-time location of a courier 114, fuel availability of a courier 114, combinations thereof, and the like.
Information may be transmitted to a network and subsequently relayed to one or more servers 102. A server 102 may comprise or be otherwise coupled to a computer to convey information thereto. A computer may store information, such as data, within a database 120. Data stored by the database 120 may comprise any of the aforementioned types of data as well as, without limitation, information about a fuel source 108, information about fuel availability, information about a status or location of one or more couriers 114, information about one or more autonomous vehicles, routing and/or mapping information, traffic data, user status, information about previous purchases, information about a vehicle, past order information, fuel source information, driver information, courier information, order processing information, grouping information, predictive modeling data and/or software, other types of data, etc., and/or combinations thereof.
As illustrated in
In addition to being equipped with hardware to transport and deliver one or more types of fuel, couriers 114 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be additionally equipped with a mobile convenience store. Additional services may also be included with or substituted for fuel delivery and/or fuel additive delivery, such as oil changes, inspections, appraisals, insurance adjustments, car washes, car maintenance services, a filter change (e.g., air filter, oil filter, etc.), a wiper change, a fluid change (e.g., transmission fluid, brake fluid, wiper fluid, etc.), combinations thereof, and the like. For example, an additional service may comprise one or more services typically performed at or during car shows.
In one example, a courier 114 may be instructed to receive fuel from a fuel source 108. Accordingly, a courier 114 may obtain fuel from or at a fuel source 108 via a fuel acquisition pathway 124. Fuel acquisition pathway 124 may comprise any suitable distance, such as any of the distances described below for delivery pathway 122. Instructions 112 to a courier 114 may, in some examples, include routing information (e.g., generated by a server 102 or 102) to a fuel source 108. An amount of fuel transferred from a fuel source 108 to a courier 114 may comprise any amount, such as less than 1 gallon, less than 2 gallons, less than 5 gallons, less than 25 gallons, less than 50 gallons, less than 100 gallons, less than 200 gallons, more than 200 gallons, and ranges therebetween. The courier 114 may then travel from the fuel source 108 to a fuel delivery location directly or may roam, or park, for one or more intermittent amounts of time until, for example, a fuel deliver order is received by the fuel delivery system 100 of the present disclosure and the instructions to deliver fuel to a fuel recipient relayed to the courier 114. The distance traveled by the courier 114 to a fuel delivery location from a fuel source 108, another courier 114, or an intermittent location may be any suitable distance, for example, between about 0.1 miles and 500 miles. Alternatively, from about 0.1 miles to about 30 miles, about 30 miles to about 90 miles, about 90 miles to about 150 miles, about 150 miles to about 300 miles, about 300 miles to about 500 miles, or any ranges therebetween. Similarly, where the courier 114 is allowed to roam, or otherwise stay put (e.g., parked) in a waiting location until a fuel order is received, any suitable amount of time may elapse between the time at which the courier first obtains fuel from the fuel source 108 and delivers the fuel to either a fuel recipient or another courier. For example, between 1 minute and 36 hours, or alternatively, from about 1 minute to about 30 minutes, about 30 minutes to about 1 hour, about 1 hour to about 3 hours, about 3 hours to about 12 hours, about 12 hours to about 36 hours, or any ranges therebetween.
As alluded to above, a second courier 114 may be instructed to receive fuel from a first courier 114. An amount of fuel transferred from a first courier 114 to a second courier 114 may be any amount, such as less than 1 gallon, less than 2 gallons, less than 5 gallons, less than 25 gallons, less than 50 gallons, less than 100 gallons, less than 200 gallons, more than 200 gallons, or any ranges therebetween.
Further illustrated in
In embodiments involving a graphical user interface 300, a user may specify a status, need of service, anticipated need of service, anticipated location of a need of service, current location, quantity of fuel desired, type of fuel desired, etc., and/or any data field suitable to trigger generation of a fuel deliver order, fuel deployment, and/or fuel delivery. In some embodiments, a graphic user interface 300 may be tailored for a target user, such as by increasing font sizes and/or adjusting graphical display to accommodate elderly people.
As illustrated, a processing device may employs storage device 412, which may be a hard disk or other types of computer-readable storage devices 412 which may store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks (DVDs), cartridges, random access memories 410 (RAMs), read only memory 408 (ROM), a cable containing a bit stream and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. Tangible computer-readable storage media, computer-readable storage devices, or computer-readable memory devices, expressly exclude media such as transitory waves, energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.
As illustrated, each individual component describe above is depicted and disclosed as individual functional blocks. The functions these blocks represent may be provided through the use of either shared or dedicated hardware, including, but not limited to, hardware capable of executing software and hardware, such as a processor, that is purpose-built to operate as an equivalent to software executing on a general-purpose processor. For example, the functions of one or more processing units 402 presented in
The logical operations of the various methods, described below, are implemented as: (1) a sequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or procedures running on a programmable circuit within a general use computer, (2) a sequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or procedures running on a specific-use programmable circuit; and/or (3) interconnected machine modules or program engines within the programmable circuits. A processing device may practice all or part of the recited methods, may be a part of the recited systems, and/or may operate according to instructions in the recited tangible computer-readable storage devices 412. Such logical operations may be implemented as modules configured to control processing unit 402 to perform particular functions according to the programming of software modules.
In examples, one or more parts of an example processing device, up to and including the entire processing device, may be virtualized. For example, a virtual processing unit may be a software object that executes according to a particular instruction set, even when a physical processing unit 302 of the same type as the virtual processing unit is unavailable. A virtualization layer or a virtual “host” may enable virtualized components of one or more different computing devices or device types by translating virtualized operations to actual operations. Ultimately however, virtualized hardware of every type is implemented or executed by some underlying physical hardware. Thus, a virtualization compute layer may operate on top of a physical compute layer. The virtualization compute layer may include one or more virtual machines, an overlay network, a hypervisor, virtual switching, and any other virtualization application.
Chipset architecture 500 may also interface with one or more communication interfaces that may have different physical interfaces. Such communication interfaces may include interfaces for wired and wireless local area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying, and using the graphical user interface disclosed herein may include receiving ordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machine itself by processing unit 402 analyzing data stored in storage device 412 or RAM 410. Further, a processing device may receive inputs from a user via user interface components 502 (e.g., input device 416 of
In examples, a processing device may also include tangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable storage devices 412 for carrying or having computer-executable instructions 112 or data structures stored thereon. Such tangible computer-readable storage devices 412 may be any available device that may be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, including the functional design of any special purpose processing unit 302 as described above. By way of example, and not limitation, such tangible computer-readable devices may include RAM 410, ROM 408, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices 412, or any other device which may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of computer-executable instructions, data structures, or processing unit chip design. When information or instructions are provided via a network (e.g., instructions 112 of
Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in the design of special-purpose processors, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps.
In additional examples, methods may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processing unit systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Examples may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by local and remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices 412.
Although specific examples have been described above, these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, even where only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature. Examples of features provided in the disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive unless stated otherwise. The above description is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combination of features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or any generalization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of the problems addressed herein. Various advantages of the present disclosure have been described herein, but embodiments may provide some, all, or none of such advantages, or may provide other advantages.
The present application is a non-provisional application of provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 63/417,766 filed Oct. 20, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63417766 | Oct 2022 | US |
