Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6543687
-
Patent Number
6,543,687
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, January 30, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 8, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A gasoline dispensing unit method according to which two displays are providing in an overlaying relationship and display information relating to the dispensing and sale of the gasoline. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure; and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims under 37 CFR §1.72.
Description
This invention relates to a gasoline dispensing unit and method of dispensing gasoline, more particularly, to such a unit and method utilizing an improved display.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an isometric view of a gasoline dispensing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B
are enlarged, front elevational view of a portion of the display of the gasoline dispensing unit of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a diagrammatic view of a control unit for controlling the display.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to
FIG. 1
of the drawing, the reference numeral
10
refers, in general, to a gasoline dispensing unit consisting, in general, of a dispenser housing
12
and a hose tower
14
extending to one side of the housing.
The housing
12
includes a front bezel, or panel,
12
a
, a side portion of which overlaps a portion of the hose tower
14
. A display
16
in the upper portion of the panel
12
a
for displaying information relating to the sale of the gasoline as will be described.
A recessed display
18
is provided below the display
16
and displays miscellaneous information not connected with the sale for viewing by the customer. A credit card reader
20
extends to one side of the display
18
and between a bar code scanner
22
and a numerical keypad
24
. A receipt dispenser
26
extends below the keypad
24
and a bill acceptor
27
extends on the other side of the display
18
. A series of octane select buttons
28
are mounted below the customer information display
18
.
It is understood that a compartment (not shown) is provided in the lower portion of the housing
12
below the panel
12
a
, and receives hydraulics which include a conduit (not shown) that extends to an underground storage tank for the gasoline to be dispensed. A door
30
encloses a portion of the above compartment and can be detachably connected to the housing
12
in any known manner such as by hinges, screws, bolts, or the like, all of which are removable to permit access to the compartment.
A hose
32
extends from the upper portion of the hose tower
14
and the above-mentioned conduit extends to the hose tower and is connected to one end of the hose. The other end of the hose
32
is connected to a nozzle
34
for dispensing the gasoline to a vehicle. A boot
36
is provided on a side wall of the hose tower
14
for receiving the nozzle
34
during non-use.
A boot
36
a
, identical to the boot
36
, is provided on the other side wall of the hose tower
14
, and receives a nozzle
34
a
which is identical to the nozzle
34
. The nozzle
34
a
is connected to one end of a hose
32
a
which is identical to the hose
32
, and the other end of the hose
32
a
also extends from the upper portion of the hose tower
14
. Although not shown in the drawing, it is understood that the dispenser housing
12
has a rear panel, or bezel, that receives components that are identical to the components on the front panel
12
a
, as described above. It is also understood that a hose tower, identical to the hose tower
14
, can be provided at the other side of the housing
12
.
As shown in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
, the display
16
includes two display modules
40
and
42
indicating GALLONS and SALE, respectively. The numerical keypad
24
(
FIG. 1
) is used to input numerals which are displayed on the modules
40
and
42
in a conventional manner. To this end, a control unit
46
, in the form of a microprocessor, a CPU, or the like, is mounted behind the front panel
16
and is shown in FIG.
3
. The control unit
46
is electrically connected to the display modules
40
and
42
as well as to the keypad
24
for receiving the input signals from the keypad, making all required calculations and comparison, and activating the modules to display the information to be displayed.
The displayed numbers shown in
FIG. 2A
are for the purposes of example and are preset by the customer by engaging the keypad
24
as described above before the dispensing operation commences. These numbers are represented in phantom lines since they are formed by an overlay to the regular display, as will be discussed in detail later. In the example shown, the customer has preset the gallons display module
40
by engaging the keypad
24
to preset the desired amount of ten gallons. Assuming the cost per gallon is $1.40, the above-mentioned control unit
46
responds to this input and activates the cost display module
42
to display the total cost of $14.00 for the anticipated transaction.
The customer then completes the pre-dispensing steps, inserts the nozzle
32
into the vehicle and activates the nozzle to commence the dispensing operation. The regular displays associated with the modules
40
and
42
are activated by the control unit
46
in response to the dispensing of the gasoline, and, as shown in
FIG. 2B
, begin to display the actual amount of gallons dispensed and the total accumulated cost, respectively. For the purpose of illustration, the latter numbers are shown in solid lines and are an example of the numbers that would be displayed during the dispensing process and before the preset values discussed above are reached.
When the actual amount of gallons dispensed, and the accumulated cost of same, reach the preset values of 10 gallons and $14.00, respectively, as displayed by the overlay portion of the modules
40
and
42
, the control unit
46
deactivates the overlay displays which disappear to signal the customer that the preset amounts have been reached. Also, the control unit
46
shuts off the dispensing system to terminate any further dispensing past the preset amounts.
It is understood that the customer can also initially set the cost module
42
to a preset amount of cost, rather than gallons, before commencing the dispensing operation and the system will function in the same manner as discussed above.
It is also understood that the display
16
can display additional information such as cost per gallon, the grade of gasoline (in terms of octane rating) being dispensed, etc., while the display
18
can display instructions to guide the customer through the various predispensing and dispensing steps such as type of payment, octane selection, etc., and including the above presetting of the displays of the modules
40
or
42
.
The display
16
and the modules
40
and
42
can be of any conventional type such as those manufactured by Planar Systems, Inc., W7514 Hwy V, Lake Mills, Wis.
Other variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the keypad
24
can be provided with buttons to advance the numerical values displayed on the display
16
until the desired figures are reached and/or provide for direct entry of same. Also, spatial references, such as “above”, “below”, “side”, “front”, and “rear” are for the purpose of illustration only and does not limit the specific orientation or location of the structure described above.
Since other modifications, changes, and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.
Claims
- 1. A gasoline dispensing unit comprising a housing having a front panel; a first display unit for displaying numerical information corresponding to amount of gasoline to be dispensed, and a second display unit for displaying numerical information corresponding to the amount of gasoline actually dispensed, one of the display units overlaying the other display unit; and means mounted on the housing for enabling the numerical information displayed by the first display to be preset.
- 2. The unit of claim 1 wherein the means comprises at least one button which, when engaged, changes the numbers on the display.
- 3. The unit of claim 1 wherein the means is a numerical keypad mounted on the front panel.
- 4. The unit of claim 1 wherein the displays are identical when the amount of gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 5. The unit of claim 1 wherein the dispensing is terminated when the amount of gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 6. A gasoline dispensing unit comprising a housing having a front panel; a display unit mounted on the front panel and comprising a first display for displaying numerical information corresponding to cost of the gasoline to be dispensed, and a second display for displaying numerical information corresponding to the cost of gasoline actually dispensed, one of the displays overlaying the other display; and means mounted on the housing for enabling the numerical information displayed by the first display to be preset.
- 7. The unit of claim 6 wherein the means comprises at least one button which, when engaged, changes the numbers on the display.
- 8. The unit of claim 6 wherein the means is a numerical keypad mounted on the front panel.
- 9. The unit of claim 6 wherein the displays are identical when the cost of the gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 10. The unit of claim 6 wherein the dispensing is terminated when the cost of the gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 11. A method for dispensing gasoline comprising the steps of displaying numerical information corresponding to amount of gasoline to be dispensed, presetting the numerical information displayed as a result of the step of displaying, and displaying numerical information corresponding to the amount of gasoline actually dispensed, one of the displays overlaying the other display.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of presetting comprising the step of manually actuating at least one button which, when actuated, changes the numbers on the display.
- 13. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of deactivating one of the displays when the amount of gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of terminating the dispensing of the gasoline when the amount of gasoline actually dispensed equals the preset amount.
- 15. A method for dispensing gasoline comprising presetting on a first display numerical information corresponding to the cost of the gasoline to be dispensed, and displaying on a second display numerical information corresponding to the cost of the gasoline actually dispensed, and overlaying one of the displays over the other display.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of presetting comprising the step of manually actuating at least one button which, when actuated, changes the preset numerical information on the first display.
- 17. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of terminating the dispensing of the gasoline when the displays display the same numerical information.
- 18. A method for dispensing gasoline comprising the steps of providing a first display displaying numerical information corresponding to the dispensing of the gasoline, and overlaying the first display with a second display that displays additional information relating to the dispensing of the gasoline.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first display displays the amount of gasoline dispensed, and wherein the second display displays a preset amount of gasoline to be dispensed.
- 20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of presetting the amount of gasoline to be dispensed.
- 21. The method of claim 18 wherein the first display displays the cost of the gasoline dispensed, and wherein the second display displays a preset amount of cost of the gasoline to be dispensed.
- 22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of presetting the cost of the gasoline to be dispensed.
- 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of presetting comprising the step of manually actuating at least one button which, when actuated, changes the numbers on the display.
- 24. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of terminating the dispensing of the gasoline when the displays display the same numerical information.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5962829 |
Yoshinaga |
Oct 1999 |
A |
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0442390 |
Feb 1992 |
JP |