Providing transaction estimates in a fueling and retail system

Abstract

The present invention provides pre-transaction estimates of the amount of fuel required to fill a vehicle's tank along with the estimated total cost of filling the vehicle's tank. The invention includes a vehicle-mounted transponder operatively associated with a vehicle control system or, at a minimum, the vehicle's fuel tank in a manner wherein the transponder is able to receive or determine information relating to fuel tank ullage. The ullage information may include the amount of fuel required to fill the tank, tank size and/or the quantity of fuel remaining in the tank. An interrogator at the fuel dispenser will interrogate the transponder and receive the available ullage information from the vehicle. An associated control system will evaluate the ullage information to determine the amount of fuel required to fill the vehicle and, optionally, calculate the total cost to be incurred if the vehicle is filled. The control system may be associated with a fuel grade selector adapted to provide the control system with information to determine the type and cost of the fuel to be used to fill the vehicle. Optionally, the transponder may include information indicative of the desired grade of fuel.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.