FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION "APRON FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM"
We, BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED, of Bharat Bhawan, 4 6s 6 Currimbhoy Road, Ballard Estate, Mumbai - 400 001, INDIA.
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

APRON FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses an Apron Fuel Management System (AFMS) for catering to the Apron fueling requirements in Aviation Industry. The management system comprises of a mobile POS System (TPAFMS, i.e. mobile point of sales applications) installed on Vehicle and Office System (BPAFMS, i.e. office applications) accessible to the Intranet and Internet; downloading of flight chart related data; data capturing device to capture fuelled quantity without manual Intervention; integration with mechanical metering device through Pulsar; integration with safety device; integration reset switches; generation of Fuel Delivery Note; generation of Circulation Note, generation of Transfer Note; uploading of Fuel Delivery Note; updating of Flight Schedule Chart; tight coupling with web server; tight coupling with SAP © Sales and Distribution Module (hereinafter referred to as SAP or SAP SD). BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION
In the era of globalization and privatization, the Aviation industry has grown up multi-folds. With increase in apron traffic, passengers, flights and new airlines the aviation fueling business has also increased. The airlines have started reducing time an aircraft is spending on ground and increasing the flying time to maximize their profits. As a result, the time available for fueling the aircraft has also started reducing. Any delay in fueling attracts penalties from airlines.
With the privatization of airports it has become desirable that fueling of aircraft, generation of fuel tickets is done without manual intervention. It is further desired that the fueling data is exchanged among stack holders in electronic form only. Sensing the emerging trend, the inventors of the present invention started looking for various options of introducing automation in aviation fueling.
Existing Process: There are scheduled and non-scheduled flights at Airports. The Airlines/ Agents (Customers) have valid agreements with suppliers for supplying of Jet Fuels and carrying out fueling operations to their Aircrafts. Suppliers takes flight schedule from Airport /Airlines /Agents and keep a daily manual track of flights such as flight number, city arrived from, next city, final destination, scheduled arrival and departure time (hereinafter referred to as STA and STD, respectively), expected arrival

and departure time (hereinafter referred to as ETA and ETD, respectively), parking bay, estimated requirement of Jet Fuel based on past fueling. The details are normally written on White Board to ensure that no flight missed out. Besides many times there are Non-Scheduled flights for which Airlines/Agents have send their requisitions in advance and proper approval is in place at the Aviation Fueling Station (hereinafter referred to as AFS). Additionally there are flights which need fuel on cash basis. In the existing Manual System, the AFS in charge keeps a manual track of these flights.
Each AFS has been provided Fueling vehicles. Fueling vehicles with in-built storage tanks are called re-fuellers while Fueling Vehicles without storage tanks and with the ability to connect to underground fuel pipeline and deliver the fuel are called Dispensers. Based on the Parking Bay and the Fuel requirement, the officer-in-charge decides whether Dispenser or re-fueller or both are to be assigned for a particular flight. While assigning the fueling vehicle, the officer-in-charge has to ensure that the fueling vehicle is operational and not currently under maintenance.
Next a fueling team for the flight is constituted. The fueling team takes the fueling vehicle near the parking bay trying to synchronize its arrival on Apron with the expected time of arrival of the flight and connects the fueling vehicle to aircraft on its arrival and wait for instructions from the Aviation Engineer/Pilot. In the mean time the Aviation Officer/Executive satisfy the Flight Engineer/Pilot about quality of Jet Fuel. After getting the fuel requirement of the Aircraft, the team starts pumping the fuel to the Aircraft. Various fueling parameters such as density, temperature, fuel batch number etc. are noted and finally a manual Fuel Delivery Note (hereinafter referred to as FDN) is prepared by Aviation Officer/Executive and signed by the Flight Engineer/Pilot. All data required to prepare the FDN is taken by the officer in the form of manual notes/ slips.
The Data from manual FDN is keyed in at back-end office by inserting appropriate codes such as Customer Code, Ship to Party Code, Payers Code after cross-checking if the flight is domestic or international flight as both have different duty components. The FDN Data is then transferred from AFS to SAP Server. On SAP Server the data is again validated and corrections are carried out for wrong codes etc. Finally the invoice is generated in the SAP.

At the AFS, day end closings are carried out manually which accounts for daily sales, revenue collections, operational losses etc. A number of Large Integrated System (hereinafter referred to as LIS) reports are also generated at AFS level. The existing conventional technology leads to numerous problems. The conventional procedure of manually stamping paper bills and circulating hard copies of notes/slips to all the officers concerned is a time consuming and inefficient process. The conventional fuel management system is manual, cumbersome and paper-based system which further leads to inefficient record keeping. Thus, there is a requirement for an aircraft fuel management system which is complete point of sales (hereinafter referred to as POS) solution for aviation industry for increasing efficiency and cost-savings on various steps involved in this system. The present invention discloses an aircraft fuel management system which includes flight schedule management, resource management, vehicle management and sales management.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the invention is to provide for an aircraft fuel management system which is complete POS solution for aviation industry.
Another object of the invention is to provide for an aircraft fuel management system for flight schedule management, resource management, vehicle management and sales management system.
An important object of the invention is to provide for a data capturing device (Signal Converter coupled with Pulsar) without manual intervention.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide for an automated fueling operation for fueling an aircraft from dispenser/refueller.
A further object of the invention is to provide for automated fueling apron fuel management system using pulsar(s) and signal converter(s) as two chief components. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an apron fuel management system (AFMS) for fueling comprising:
(i) a mobile POS (Point of Sale) application, TPAFMS system installed on fueling vehicle comprising Pulsar(s) and Signal Converter; and

(ii) BPAFMS system installed on a Central Web Server configured to store and provide
access to master data files to the Aviation Fueling stations (AFS) (iii)one or more communication means for carrying out fueling operations and its management.
In a preferred embodiment, the said communication means of the AFMS are selected from wireless connections, Intranet connection, CDMA connectivity, port connectivity, connectivity through other mobile communications technologies between TPAFMS, BPAFMS, AFS , SAP server and with the Central Web Server for carrying out the automated fueling operations.
In another preferred embodiment, the said BPAFMS of the AFMS is an office applications based user authenticated system configured to communicate via one or more communication means for accessing, updating and maintaining records of the flights schedules, location information, customer data and the like.
In another preferred embodiment, said TPAFMS of the AFMS is a mobile POS application developed on .NET platform and SQL Express as database; wherein said mobile application is installed on a Touch PC (TPC); wherein said TPC is preferably mounted on fueling vehicle viz., refueller/dispenser.
In yet another preferred embodiment, said TPAFMS of the AFMS comprises: (i) a Pulsar which converts the movement of mechanical flow meter into electrical
pulses; (ii) a Signal Converter which converts said electrical pulses into digital pulses and further to digitized dispensed volume.
In yet another preferred embodiment, said Pulsar is integrated with the TPAFMS at the point of fuel delivery to capture the flow of fuel and is connected to mechanical register provided with a reset switch.
In yet another preferred embodiment, said Signal Converter is connected to said one or more pulsars, reset switches and a toggle switch.
In a preferred embodiment, said Signal Converter uses a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC and is based on Atmegal64L, 8-bit RISC Architecture with operating voltage 2.7V to 5.5V @ 4MHz operating frequency.

In another preferred embodiment, Signal Converter comprises internal non-volatile memory to store pulses measured and two serial ports to communicate with said TPC.
In a preferred embodiment, said digitized dispensed volume is further fed into mobile application and processed to generate Fuel Delivery Note.
In a preferred embodiment, said Fuel Delivery Note is updated on central web server through BPAFMS, in real time through internet interface.
The present invention also relates to, a method for automated fueling of an aircraft by implementation of apron fuel management system (AFMS) comprising the steps of: (i) accessing all the master data files e.g. Flight Schedule, Location Master and
Customer Master electronically stored in a Centralized Web Server at Aviation
Fueling stations through BPAFMS; (ii) starting fueling operations by downloading information from Central Web server
through BPAFMS; (iii) dispatching TPAFMS mounted on a fueling vehicle (Refuller/Dispenser) towards
the target aircraft near its expected time of arrival (ETA), wherein the TPAFMS
automatically captures the Vehicle Start Time; (iv) physically connecting the target Aircraft fuel tanks with fueling vehicle connecting
hoses, wherein the said connecting hoses of TPAFMS are installed with meter
interface; wherein said meter interface further comprises Signal Converter and one
or more Pulsar devices; (v) starting actual fuel dispensing by putting the Toggle Switch connected to the circuit
of Signal Converter to "ON" position; wherein with the start of dispensing, the
fueling start time is captured by the TPAFMS system on receiving a trigger from
the said signal converter; (vi) putting the toggle switch "OFF" at position at the end of fueling or in emergency;
wherein the fueling End time is also captured by the TPAFMS system on receiving
a trigger from the said signal converter; (vii) generation of electronic FDN and printing FDN after completion of fuel delivery. In a preferred embodiment, the method of implementing AFMS, comprises: (i) said pulsar is attached to mechanical flow meter for converting the fuel movement
captured by into electrical pulses;

(ii) said signal converter converts said electrical pulses into digital pulses and further to
digitized dispensed volume; (iii) said digitized dispensed volume is then fed into mobile application and processed to
generate Fuel Delivery Note; (iv) said Fuel Delivery Note is updated on center web server (BPFMS) in real time
through internet interface. In another preferred embodiment of the method of implementing AFMS, said printing of the FDN triggers three activities; firstly FDN data is saved locally and vehicle clearance time is captured by the TPAFMS system; secondly physical copy of FDN is printed locally and final invoicing of fueling operation is done is done centrally at the SAP server; and thirdly the FDN data is checked and transmitted to central server in real time.
The present invention also relates to, apron fuel management system and method for management of flight schedule, resources, vehicle maintenance and sales. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES ACCOMPANYING THE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of air fuel management system. Figure 2: Schematic diagram of vehicle POS system. Figure 3: Block diagram and electrical connection of signal converter. Figure 4: Wiring diagram of signal converter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES ACCOMPANYING THE COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Figure 5: Schematic drawing showing apparatus and system components of apron/air fuel management system.
Figure 6: A block diagram illustrating exemplary apron/air fuel management system activities vis-a-vis various components.
Figure 7: A flowchart indicating functionality of Signal Converter and the exemplary method by which the signal conversion takes place. Figures 8A and 8B: Actual Specimens of Manual and Automated Fuel Delivery Notes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides for an automated solution for monitoring, processing, fueling, data capturing and accounting fueling operations in the field of air fuel management system for the aviation industry. The automated apron fueling management system of the present invention comprises two main applications BPAFMS (which stands for "Bharat Petroleum Apron Fuel Management System") and TPAFMS (which stands for "Touch PC Apron Fuel Management System").
BPAFMS is an office applications based system which is accessible through the intranet and internet BPAFMS is installed on a central web server and is accessible at all AFS (aviation fueling stations) through intranet. It provides for:
• user authentication;
• maintaining all masters used in solution centrally;
• allowing users at AFS to update flight schedule as and when there is a change in schedule;
• allowing users at AFS to update status of their fueling vehicles if available for fueling or is under maintenance;
• generating daily flight chart;
• interacting with TPAFMS through internet interface or other wireless connections;
• interacting with SAP/R-3 through XI interface;
• providing central MIS;
• providing audit trail.
• In the office application "BPAFMS" final invoicing is done centrally at SAP/R-3.
TPAFMS is a mobile POS application developed on .NET platform and SQL Express as database. Mobile application is installed on a Touch PC (TPC) on fueling vehicle viz., refueller/ dispenser. In TPAFMS:
• Touch PC (TPC) is rugged industrial grade computer with touch screen working in Windows XP.
• the movement of mechanical flow meter is converted into electrical pulses with the help of a pulsar;
• electrical pulses are then converted into digital pulses with the help of a signal converter;

• these digital pulses are then converted into dispensed volume in the signal converter through a complex algorithm;
• the digitized dispensed volume is then input into the mobile application and is processed to generate the fuel ticket (fuel delivery note or FDN);
• FDN is printed on the mobile slip printer;
• the FDN data is uploaded to the central web server, in real-time, through internet interface; and
• day end reconciliation reports are generated for each mobile vehicle.
This invention is based on following two principles:
• The Kinetic energy of fuel flowing through a pipe can be used to rotate a wheel and thus an electrical pulse can be generated . This function is achieved by using a Pulsar to convert mechanical movement of sensor to electrical pulses.
• Electrical pulses are then converted into digital pulses with the help of "Signal Converter" and if the "Signal Converter" is pre-calibrated for a particular fuel pipe and for a pre-defined Pressure, the volume flowing through the fuel pipe is directly proportional to the digital signals generated.
i.e. Volume dispensed (KL) = Kx Digital Signals measured where, K. is a constant factor, value of which is determined during calibration of the Signal Converter.
Pulsar converts mechanical pulses to electrical pulses. The pulsar is attached to a Mechanical register which is a standard mechanical counter and totaliser, which provides the volume dispensed in liters. Reset switch is used to reset the mechanical counter to zero. Toggle Switch is a safety switch provided to ensure that no fueling takes place unless the toggle switch is put to "on" position. Main power distribution unit provides required DC current to the TPC, Printer and Signal Converter.
Signal converter LFSC07 installed in the TPAFMS is specially designed and developed for the present AFMS system. It is the instrument which calculates the number of pulses in the forward direction or reverse direction to measure the number of liters of fuel filled in the aircraft. It also measures the batch count to measure the number of liters of fuel filled in the vehicle. The measurements can be started only through the toggle input and each channel has a reset input which can be interfaced to the reset switch of

respective pulsars/ meters. All the three pulses viz., batch, forward and reverse pulses are stored in the internal non-volatile memory of the Converter. Signal converter LFSC07LFSC07 communicates with the PC using a serial port or USB port (using built in USB to serial converter) for various functionalities. Fuel transfer management system accurately monitors individual liquid fuel transfer transactions while providing complete and detailed records of the fuel transfer operations.
The Signal Converter LFSC07 uses a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC and is based on Atmegal64L, 8-bit RISC Architecture with operating voltage 2.7V to 5.5V @ 4MHz operating frequency. Having internal non-volatile memory to store pulses measured by Signal converter. Also, it has got two serial ports to communicate with PC.
Signal Converter LFSC07 can be interfaced to 2 Pulsars for measurement from 2 Different channels simultaneously. Each pulsar have 2 pulse output in phase shifted format, to detect the forward or reverse flow as well as to avoid tampering of the pulse input. The Signal Converter measures the two channel quadrature inputs in both forward and reverse direction in the form of Reverse Pulses and Forward Pulses for both the channels. It also measures the Batch count to measure the numbers of liters of fuel filled in the vehicle. The measurements can be started only through the Toggle Input and each channel has a reset input which can be interfaced to the Reset switch of respective pulsars/meters. These all the three (Batch, Forward, Reverse Pulses) totalizer are stored in the Internal Non-Volatile memory. LFSC07 communicates with the PC using a serial port or USB port ( using built in USB to serial Converter.) for various functionalities.
BPAFMS and TPAFMS of the aircraft/apron fuel management system of the present invention are capable of wireless connectivity,. Intranet connection, CDMA connectivity, port connectivity, connectivity through other mobile communications technologies with each other for carrying out the fueling operations. The BPAFMS is installed on a Centralized Web Server and may be accessed via Internet/Intranet or other communication mediums for downloading and uploading master data files. Due to these inter-connections between the BPAFMS and TPAFMS with each other and the Centralized Web Server the automated aircraft/apron fuel management system utilizes real-time flight information, verify fuel requirements, verify parking bay/location of the

aircraft, deliver fuel, share and store the fuel delivery information and prepare/print billing receipt for the end customer.
The aircraft/apron fuel management system of the present invention provides for downloading of flight chart related data on real time basis; data capturing device (firmware called signal converter) to capture fuelled quantity without manual intervention; integration with two or more numbers of mechanical metering device through pulsar; integration with safety device to control dead man controller (DMC); integrated reset switches; generation of fuel delivery note (FDN) on real-time basis; generation of circulation note, transfer note on real-time basis; uploading FDN on real-time basis to web server; updating of flight schedule chart on real-time basis for central monitoring; tight coupling with web server; tight coupling with SAP SD Module.
The apron fuel management system of the present invention is a complete POS solution for aviation industry, which caters to flight schedule management; resource management; vehicle maintenance management; and sales management.
FLIGHT SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT: Airlines operate their flights as per fixed schedule. The schedule is available in advance to the aviation fueling stations. The schedule has information related to flights such as flight number; scheduled time of arrival (STA); scheduled time of departure (STD); estimated time of arrival (ETA); estimated time of departure (ETD); airport from where the flight is coming; airport to which the flight is going; final destination of the flight; on which bay number the aircraft is scheduled to be parked etc. The information is useful in planning the logistic operations such as quantity of fueJ, number of refuellers /dispensers etc.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: This includes equipments such as refuellers, dispensers and management of manpower for fueling operations.
VEHICLE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT: Scheduling of maintenance of dispensers and refuellers.
SALES MANAGEMENT: Includes on-line sales at aviation fueling stations at regional as well as national level.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The apparatus, system and method of using the aircraft/apron fuel management system (hereinafter referred to as AFMS) of the present invention are further described herein with reference to the various specific embodiments set forth in the figures. While exemplary embodiments of the AFMS described herein are illustrated with respect to airport settings in the aviation industry, one of the ordinary skilled in the art would understand that automation system of AFMS can be used in numerous other fueling settings.
The AFMS described herein comprises BPAFMS (9) and TPAFMS (10). The BPAFMS (9) comprises of Flight Schedule Master (3), Location Master (4) and Customer Master (5) files. The BPAFMS is an office application based operating system capable of running an executable software programs. This executable software program contains software code capable of implementing the inventive processes described herein. One of the ordinary skilled in the art knows how to develop an executable software program to perform various functional processes. BPAFMS (9) coupled with SAP server (2) is used to perform the automated fueling operations of the AFMS in co-ordination with TPAFMS (10).
The AFMS described herein is an automated fueling operation thereby providing significant improvement over the conventional technology. Figure 5 is a schematic drawing showing apparatus and system components of AFMS. Figure 6 a block diagram further defines AFMS activities vis-a-vis various components. All the master data files e.g. Flight Schedule (3), Location Master (4) and Customer Master (5) are electronically stored in a Centralized Web Server (1) and are accessible through executable software programs using BPAFMS (9). To start a fueling operation Flight Schedule (3) is downloaded from the Central Web server (1). Near the expected time of arrival (ETA) of an aircraft, Airport Authorities are contacted to verify the parking bay number of the aircraft. Then, TPAFMS (10) mounted on a fuel delivering vehicle (Refuller/Dispenser) is started which automatically captures the Vehicle Start Time and is sent to the target Aircraft with the Jet fuel. The TPAFMS (10) is then physically connected with the aircraft fuel tanks with the help of fuel delivering connecting hoses. The connecting hoses of TPAFMS are installed with Meter Interface (14) which further comprises Signal

Converter (7) and Pulsar (8) devices of the invention; wherein one or more such pulsars are installed at the point of fuel delivery.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of TPAFMS installed on a vehicle POS system comprising Signal Converter (7) and two Pulsars (8a and 8b). Before, starting fueling activity the Toggle Switch (16) connected to the circuit of Signal Converter is put to "ON" position by virtue of which vehicle is now ready for fueling the Aircraft. The toggle switch is in series connected with the "DeadMan's switch" (21) and acts as a circuit breaker. In other words, unless toggle switch is put at "ON" position, fueling cannot happen. With the start of dispensing, the fueling start time is captured by the system. At the end of fueling or in emergency, the toggle switch is put to "OFF" position; here the fueling End time is captured by the TPAFMS system. With toggle in OFF position, no fuel can be dispensed to the Aircraft.
Further, Figures 5 and 6 illustrate that after, completion of fuel delivery, electronic FDN is generated and printed as FDN (11). FDN can be printed only after the Toggle Switch is switched OFF. Print of the electronic FDN (11) will trigger three activities, i.e. firstly FDN data is saved locally (14) and vehicle clearance time is captured by the system; secondly physical copy of FDN (11) is printed locally and thirdly the FDN data (12) is checked and transmitted to central server in real time. Following, the creation and generation of FDN the Central Web Server (1) is updated of this information; final invoicing (15) of fueling operation is done is done centrally at SAP/R-3 while interacting with SAP server (2).
As the automated fueling operation reaches its end with the FDN generation the signature of the Airline representative is taken as per the airport authority norms followed by disconnecting the hoses and removal of vehicle from the aircraft. If fuel is on cash and carry basis, payment is collected electronic receipt is printed.
Hardware Components of the AFMS which are integrated with the Software of the Signal Converter are:
a. Pulsar (8) to generate electrical pulses.
b. Signal Converter (7) to
• Initiate fueling activity with Toggle Switch (16) which is a safety device integrated with dead man's switch (21)

• Reset Counters with Reset Switch (17, 18)
• Convert electrical pulses into digital pulses, count them, and convert them into volume.
• Generate triggers for vehicle arrival time, fueling stat time, fueling end time.
• Stop fueling activity with Toggle Switch (Safety device integrated with dead man's switch)
c. Touch PC (13) to download the Master data (3, 4, 5), process data/triggers from Signal
Converter, generate Fuel Delivery Note (11), store it locally (14) and transmit (12) it
to Central web Server (1).
d. Slip Printer (22) to print Fuel Delivery Note (11) and Cash Receipts.
e. Modem to upload / download data from Central web server.
Figure 4 provides the wiring diagram of Signal Converter (7) showing its coupling with the Pulsars (8a, 8b), connections with Reset Switches (17, 18) and Toggle Switch (16). Signal Converter hardware is Microcontroller Based having a Power Supply of 10 to 30 VDC. The power supply to the pulsars is supplied through Signal Converter. The Signal Converter accepts inputs from 2 Pulse Transmitter:
a) Interface; Pulsar Interface
Input: Reset Inputs - For resetting the counter - 2 numbers
Pulse Input A -10 - 30 VDC - Individual for each Pulsar - 2 numbers
Pulse Input B - 10 - 30 VDC - Individual for each Pulsar - 2 numbers
b) Interface: Toggle Input to Start and Stop the Measurement Process - for start and stop
the fueling operation - 2 numbers. The toggle switch is in series connected with the
"DeadMan's switch" and acts as a circuit breaker. In other words, unless toggle switch is
put at "ON" position, fueling cannot happen.
Signal Converter:
• Counts the Pulses for Forward & Reverse Direction for 2 Pulse Transmitters.
• All the Functions are executable through commands from RS-232 Interface.
• Stores the Total No. of Pulses in Forward & Reverse Direction for 2 No. of Pulsars.
• DB15 Connector for Input and Output (details provided in Table 2 below).
• DB 9 Connector for Serial Port (is RS-232 port)

Table 1. Signal Converter DB - 15 Pin Connector Details

1 +12 V
2 GND(P1)
3 +12 V
4 GND (P2)
5 15-30 Volts
6 GND
7 10-15 Volts
8 GND
9 RESET-1
10 RESET-2
11 TOGGLE
12 PULSAR 1A
13 PULSAR IB
14 PULSAR 2A
15 PULSAR 2B
In conformance with the above described exemplary preferred embodiment Figure 7 illustrates method for operating the Signal Converter functions. At step (23) Signal Converter initiates fueling activity, only when the Toggle Switch is "ON" in step (24). At step (25) Reset counters are reset with Reset switches. At step (26) the converter receives pulses form the Pulsar till the fueling is over at step (27). At step (28) the converter converts electrical pulses into digital pulses, counts them, converts them into volume and computes fuel volume dispensed. And uploads data onto the TPAFMS (10).
This automated function of Signal Converter (7) is executed through programs labeled as "SignalConverterMain()" and "FlowMeterMain() along with other standard programs.
The coding for these two programs is provided herein below:

SignalConverterMainO
#define GLOBAL
//Declare Global Variables #include "main.h"
int main{void}
{
disable_interrupt(); //Disable Global Interrupt.
delay(1000000); //Power On Delay
Toggle_On = ?N*; //Power On Flag Status
Toggle_Off - 'N'; PulseStart = 'N'; PulseStop = 'Y'; Reset - 'Y';
b.Pulse_On = 0;
InitHardware(MYUBRR) ; //Initialize Hardware.
Read_EEPROM(); //Read EEPROM.
for{ ; ; )
{
Key_Scan(); //Scan Switch.
if((b.cal)/* & (StartPulses == 'Y')*/) //If 1
min over.
{
b.cal = 0; //Reset 1 min flag.
Write_IEPROM(FORWARD_PULSES,ForwardPulses,4); //Write FORWARD PULSES in EEPROM.
Write_IEPROM(REVERSE_PULSES,ReversePulses,4); //Write REVERSE PULSES in EEPROM
Write_IEPROM(BATCH_PULSES,BatchPulses,4); //Write BATCH PULSES in EEPROM.
}
if (receive) //Set Entire String Received.
{
receive = 0; //Reset Flag
if(crc_calculate{2,i-3)) //Calculate CRC
{
i=l; fbyte = 1; clear = 0; //Reset Index, first byte flag.
if(RBuffer[2] == 1) //If Channel - 1 is selected.

{
switch(RBuffer[3])
{
case 1 : PresetForwardPulsesCHl{}; //Preset Forward Pulses.
break; case 2 : PresetReversePulsesCHl()/ //Preset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 3 : PresetBatchPulsesCHl(); //Preset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 4 : ResetForwardPulsesCHl(); //Reset Forward Pulses.
break; case 5 : ResetReversePulsesCHl{}; //Reset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 6 : ResetBatchPulsesCHl(); //Reset Batch Pulses.
break; case 7 : ResetConfirmCHl(); //Confirm Reset Totalizer.
break; case 8 : ReadForwardPulsesCHl(); //Read Forward Pulses.
break; case 9 : ReadReversPulsesCHl(); //Read Reverse Pulses.
break; case 10: ReadBatchPulsesCHl(); //Read Batch Pulses.
break; case 11: ReadFlagsCHl(); //Read Status Flags.
break; default: ERR(); //Error String-break; } }
else if(RBuffer[2] == 2) //Select Meter-2
{
/*switch(RBuffer[3] )
{
case 1 :
PresetForwardPulsesCH2(void); //Set Scale
for Meter -1
break;

case 2 :
PresetReversePulsesCH2(void); //Set
Exponential for Meter-1
break;
case 3 : PresetBatchPulsesCH2(void); //Preset Total-1 for Meter-1
break;
case 4 :
ResetForwardPulsesCH2(void); //Preset Total-2 for Meter-2
break;
case 5 :
ResetReversePulsesCH2{void}; //Reset Total-1 for Meter - 1
break;
case 6 : ResetBatchPulsesCH2(void);//Confirm Total-1 Reset for Meter-1
break;
case 1 : ResetConfirmTotalCH2(void) ; //Reset Total-2 for Meter -1
break; case 8 : ReadForwardPulsesCH2(void); //Confirm Total-2 for Meter-2
break;
case 9 : ReadReversPulsesCH2(void); //Read Flow rate, Total-1 Total-2
break;
case 10: ReadBatchPulsesCH2(void); break;
case 11: ReadFlagsCH2(void) ; break;
default: ERR();
break; }V } else
ERR{);
} else
ERR() ; }
} }

FlowMeterMain()
#define GLOBAL
//Declare Global Variables #include "main.h"
int main(void)
{
disable_interrupt(} ; //Disable Global Interrupt.
delay(1000000); //Power On Delay
Toggle_On = 'N'; //Power On Flag Status
Toggle_Off - 'N'; PulseStart = 'N'; PulseStop = 'Y'; Reset = ' Y';
b.Pulse_On = 0;
InitHardware(MYUBRR); //Initialize Hardware.
Read_EEPROM(); //Read EEPROM.
for( ; ; ) {
Key_Scan{); //Scan Switch.
if((b.cal)/* & (StartPulses == 'Y')*/) //If 1
min over.
{
b.cal = 0; //Reset 1 min flag.
Write_IEPROM(FORWARD_PULSES,ForwardPulses, 4); //Write FORWARD PULSES in EEPROM.
Write_IEPROM(REVERSE_PULSES,ReversePulses,4}; //Write REVERSE PULSES in EEPROM
Write^IEPROMfBATCH^PULSES^BatchPulses,4); //Write BATCH PULSES in EEPROM.
}
if(receive) //Set Entire String Received.
{
receive = 0; //Reset Flag
if{crc_calculate(2,i-3)) //Calculate CRC
{
i=l; fbyte = 1; clear = 0; //Reset Index, first byte flag.

if(RBuffer[2] == 1) //If Channel - 1 is selected.
{
switch(RBuffer [3]) {
case 1 : PresetForwardPulsesCHl(); //Preset Forward Pulses.
break; case 2 : PresetReversePulsesCHl(); //Preset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 3 : PresetBatchPulsesCHl(); //Preset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 4 : ResetForwardPulsesCHl() ; //Reset Forward Pulses.
break; case 5 : ResetReversePulsesCHl() ; //Reset Reverse Pulses.
break; case 6 : ResetBatchPulsesCHl() ; //Reset Batch Pulses.
break; case 7 : ResetConfirmCHl() ; //Confirm Reset Totalizer.
break; case 8 : ReadForwardPulsesCHl(); //Read Forward Pulses.
break; case 9 : ReadReversPulsesCHl() ; //Read Reverse Pulses.
break; case 10: ReadBatchPulsesCHl(); //Read Batch Pulses.
break; case 11: ReadFlagsCHl(); //Read Status Flags.
break; default: ERR(); //Error String.
break; } }
else if(RBuffer[2] == 2) //Select Meter-2
{
/*switch(RBuffer[3]) { case 1 : Prei5etForwardPulsesCH2 (void) ; //Set Scale for Meter -1
break;

case 2 : PresetReversePulsesCH2(void); //Set Exponential for Meter-1
break;
case 3 : PresetBatchPulsesCH2(void); //Preset Total-1 for Meter-1
break;
case 4 : ResetForwardPulsesCH2(void); //Preset Total-2 for Meter-2
break;
case 5 : ResetReversePulsesCH2(void); //Reset Total-1 for Meter - 1
break;
case 6 : ResetBatchPulsesCH2(void); //Confirm Total-1 Reset for Meter-1
break; case 7 : ResetConfirmTotalCH2(void); //Reset Total-2 for Meter -1
break;
case 8 : ReadForwardPulsesCH2(void); //Confirm Total-2 for Meter-2
break;
case 9 : ReadReversPulsesCH2(void); //Read Flow rate, Total-1 Total-2
break;
case 10: ReadBatchPulsesCH2(void);
break;
case 11: ReadFlagsCH2(void);
break;
default: ERR{};
break; }*/ } else
ERR();
} else
ERR(); }
} }

EXAMPLES
The following examples describe preferred embodiments of the invention. The
specific examples given herein, however, should not to be construed as forming the only
genus that is considered as the invention, and any combination of the process or their
steps may itself form a genus. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims herein
will be apparent to one skilled in the art from consideration of the specification or
practice of the invention as disclosed herein.
COMPARATIVE WORKING EXAMPLE WITH AND WITHOUT THE AFMS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION COMPRISING THE SIGNAL CONVERTER
Aircraft Fueling without the AFMS System (Converter):
Before AFMS, the fueling operation was manual. Mechanical register were being used & the quantity fuelled in aircraft was manually written on a manually prepared Fuel Delivery Note (FDN) (Figure 8A).
a. Manually keep a track of arrival of flight.
b. Near the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA), call the Airport Authority to find
out parking Bay number.
c. Send the vehicle with Jet fuel (Refuiler/Dispenser) to the Aircraft.
d. Connect the hoses with the Aircraft.
e. Dispense the fuel to Aircraft.
f. Manually prepare the Fuel Delivery Note (FDN) & take the signature of the
Airline representative.
g. If fuel is on cash & carry basis, collect the payment and prepare manual
receipt.
h. Disconnect the hoses & remove the vehicle.
In the back-office, compute stock accounting, prepare invoice, raise credit note, compute credit limit of the Airline, key-in the FDN data to the back-end system

Aircraft Fueling with the AFMS System ( Converter):
After introducing AFMS, the fueling operation was automated. Fuel Volume was measured by creating electrical pulses with the help of a Pulsar, converting electrical pulses into digital pulses & counting them & converting them into volume with the help of Signal Converter. The Customer's data was downloaded from Centralized web Server & the quantity fuelled in aircraft was picked from signal converter. Arrival time of fueller/dispenser, Fueling start time, fueling end time & final clearance time of refuller/dispenser (Table 2) was picked up automatically from the AFMS system. The computerized Fuel Delivery Note (FDN) (Figure 8B) is generated & the FDN data is transmitted back to the Web Server.
a. Download Flight Schedule from a Central Server.
b. Near the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA), call the Airport Authority to find
out parking Bay number.
c. Start TPAFMS system, the System will automatically capture the Vehicle
Start time.
d. Send the vehicle with Jet fuel (Refuller / Dispenser) to the Aircraft.
e. Connect the hoses with the Aircraft & Put the Toggle Switch to ON position,
the System will automatically capture the Vehicle Arrival time. The Toggle
switch will activate the safety device & vehicle is now ready for fueling the
Aircraft.
f. Dispense the fuel to Aircraft. With the start of dispensing, the Fueling start
time will be captured by the system.
g. At the end of fueling or in emergency, put the toggle switch to OFF position,
the fueling End time is capture by the system. With toggle in OFF position, no
fuel can be dispensed to the Aircraft.
h. Print the electronic FDN will trigger three activities (A) Save FDN data locally and vehicle clearance time is captured by the system, (B) Physical copy of FDN is printed locally and (C) the FDN data gets transmitted to central server in real time . The

i. Take the signature of the Airline representative.
j. If fuel is on cash & carry basis, collect the payment & print the electronic
receipt. k. Disconnect the hoses & remove the vehicle. 1. In the back-office, automatic computation of compute stock accounting,
invoice preparation, raising of credit note, computation of credit limit of the
Airline take place. Table 2 - Unit Arrival Time is triggered when Toggle switch is put to "ON" position

# Activity Time Remarks
1 Put Toggle Switch to ON Position 14:09 Unit Arrived Time
2 Reset the Meter Reset to Zero Position
3 Start Dispensing Fuel to Aircraft 14:22 Fueling Start Time
4 Put Toggle Switch to OFF Position 14:27 Fueling End Time
5 Check for Volume Dispensed
6 Save FDN 14:28 Final Clearance Time

WE CLAIM:
1. An apron fuel management system (AFMS) for fueling comprising:
(i) a mobile POS (Point of Sale) application, TPAFMS system installed on fueling
vehicle comprising Pulsar(s) and Signal Converter; and (ii) BPAFMS system installed on a Central Web Server configured to store and
provide access to master data files to the Aviation Fueling stations (AFS) (iii) one or more communication means for carrying out fueling operations and its
management.
2. The AFMS as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communication means are selected from wireless connections, Intranet connection, CDMA connectivity, port connectivity, connectivity through other mobile communications technologies between TPAFMS, BPAFMS, AFS , SAP server and with the Central Web Server for carrying out the automated fueling operations.
3. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said BPAFMS is an office applications based user authenticated system configured to communicate via one or more communication means for accessing, updating and maintaining records of the flights schedules, location information, customer data and the like.
4. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said TPAFMS is a mobile POS application developed on .NET platform and SQL Express as database; wherein said mobile application is installed on a Touch PC (TPC); wherein said TPC is preferably mounted on fueling vehicle viz., refueller/dispenser.
5. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said TPAFMS comprises: (i) a Pulsar which converts the movement of mechanical flow meter into electrical
pulses; (ii) a Signal Converter which converts said electrical pulses into digital pulses and
further to digitized dispensed volume.

6. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said Pulsar is integrated with the TPAFMS at the point of fuel delivery to capture the flow of fuel and is connected to mechanical register provided with a reset switch.
7. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said Signal Converter is connected to said one or more pulsars, reset switches and a toggle switch.
8. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said Signal Converter uses a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC and is based on Atmegal64L, 8-bit RISC Architecture with operating voltage 2.7V to 5.5V @ 4MHz operating frequency.
9. The AFMS as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said Signal Converter comprises internal non-volatile memory to store pulses measured and two serial ports to communicate with said TPC.

10. The AFMS as claimed in claim 5, wherein said digitized dispensed volume is further fed into mobile application and processed to generate Fuel Delivery Note.
11. The AFMS as claimed in claim 10, wherein said Fuel Delivery Note is updated on centra] web server through BPAFMS, in real time through internet interface.
12. A method for automated fueling of an aircraft by implementation of apron fuel management system (AFMS) comprising the steps of:
(0 accessing all the master data files e.g. Flight Schedule, Location Master and Customer Master electronically stored in a Centralized Web Server at Aviation Fueling stations through BPAFMS;
('0 starting fueling operations by downloading information from Central Web server through BPAFMS;
(iii) dispatching TPAFMS mounted on a fueling vehicle (Refuller/Dispenser) towards the target aircraft near its expected time of arrival (ETA); wherein the TPAFMS automatically captures the Vehicle Start Time;
(iv) physically connecting the target Aircraft fuel tanks with fueling vehicle connecting hoses, wherein the said connecting hoses of TPAFMS are

(v) installed with meter interface; wherein said meter interface further comprises Signal Converter and one or more Pulsar devices;
(vi) starting actual fuel dispensing by putting the Toggle Switch connected to the circuit of Signal Converter to "ON" position; wherein with the start of dispensing, the fueling start time is captured by the TPAFMS system on receiving a trigger from the said signal converter;
(vii) putting the toggle switch "OFF" at position at the end of fueling or in emergency; wherein the fueling End time is also captured by the TPAFMS system on receiving a trigger from the said signal converter;
(viii) generation of electronic FDN and printing FDN after completion of fuel delivery.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein:
(i) said pulsar is attached to mechanical flow meter for converting the fuel
movement captured by into electrical pulses; (ii) said signal converter converts said electrical pulses into digital pulses and
further to digitized dispensed volume; (iii) said digitized dispensed volume is then fed into mobile application and
processed to generate Fuel Delivery Note; (iv) said Fuel Delivery Note is updated on center web server (BPFMS) in real
time through internet interface.
14. The method as claimed in claims 12 and 13., wherein said printing of the FDN triggers three activities; firstly FDN data is saved locally and vehicle clearance time is captured by the TPAFMS system; secondly physical copy of FDN is printed locally and final invoicing of fueling operation is done is done centrally at the SAP server; and thirdly the FDN data is checked and transmitted to central server in real time.
15. The apron fuel management system and method as claimed in claims 1 and 12, for management of flight schedule, resources, vehicle maintenance and sales.