Automatic refueling station

Abstract

An automatic refueling station and method detects the arrival of a vehicle to be refueled at the refueling station. Upon detection of the vehicle, the vehicle is polled by the station to obtain information from the vehicle which identifies the vehicle and the customer associated with the vehicle. The information is stored on an identification transponder or tag affixed to the vehicle windshield. The system uses the identifying information to access a vehicle database and a customer database. The vehicle database can provide information about the vehicle such as the location of the vehicle's fuel filler opening, the size of the vehicle and other information related to a recommended fuel filling rate for the vehicle. The customer identifying information is used to access the customer database to obtain information such as customer billing information and the amount of fuel being purchased. Using the data retrieved from the databases, a refueling module can locate the fuel filler opening and refuel the vehicle at a optimum fuel rate. A network of sensors deployed in the refueling area facilitate the refueling procedure. A vision system aides in locating the fuel filler opening and guiding the fuel filler nozzle to the opening. Other sensors such as force, torque, infrared, sonar, magnetic and hall effect sensors aide in guiding the nozzle into a docking position with the vehicle. Other sensors in the area provide monitoring of the area to prevent hazards such as collisions between vehicles and persons and criminal activity in the area.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.