The present invention relates to a remote management system for centralized
control of a network of refueling-stations comprising each at least a fuel dispenser
and to a process for controlling sale and stock of fuel of a network of refuelingstations.
A refueling-station comprises usually one or more fuel dispensers and one or
more fuel tanks feeding the fuel dispensers. Each dispenser comprises an hydraulic
module including a nozzle for delivering fuel to a vehicle, The dispenser comprises
an electronic module calculating the volume of fuel delivered to the customer,
calculating the price corresponding to this volume and enabling a communication
between the dispenser and a forecourt controller (FCC) located in the refuelingstation.
In conventional automation the refueling operations and transactions of the
dispensers are controlled by the forecourt controller. The fuel dispensers of the
refueling-station are linked to the forecourt controller by communication cables.
Eventually, each tank can comprise an automatic tank gauge (ATG) cabled to a
console which in turn is cabled to forecourt controller. The forecourt controller in turn
is cabled to back office systems for storing and accessing sales and stock
information.
The drawback of this conventional solution is that the entire refueling site
needs to be wired which invariantly means that the site has to be dug up causing
disruptions in outlet operations, loss of sale and higher civil cost.
The underground wires are subjected to wear and tear and to other issues like
rats biting off the cables, thus increasing the maintenance cost and reducing the
reliability. This also has serious implications on the maintenance time as replacing
cables requires considerable amount of man hours.
These forecourt devices are costly and require high capital investment per
dispenser, Integration and installation of these devices are time consuming and
require huge efforts.
Another drawback in remote management of conventional outlet automation
solution in fuel 'retail network operations is that it requires a separate central
management module per refueling-station.
The aim of the invention is to solve these drawbacks and to provide a wireless
remote management system for centralized control of a network of refueling-stations
comprising each at least a fuel dispenser and a process for controlling sale and stock
of fuel of several refueling-stations enabling to improve the fuel fraud detection in an
economical manner.
The invention concerns a remote management system for centralized control
of a network of refueling-stations comprising each at least a fuel dispenser arranged
to operatively provide fuel to a vehicle.
According to the invention, the remote management system comprises:
- A remote central server disposed apart from the refueling-stations, each
fuel dispenser comprising:
o A dispenser control module receiving and storing fuel sale data
relating to a refueling transaction associated with a vehicle,
o First wireless communication means enable the dispenser to send
said fuel sale data to the remote central server and to receive data
from the remote central server via a wireless communication,
At least a fuel tank located in each refueling-stations for feeding fuel to the
fuel dispensers, each fuel tank comprising a tank gauge measuring the fuel
level in the fuel tank, generating fuel stock data,
A tank control module receiving said fuel stock data,
® Second wireless communication means enable the tank control module to
send said fuel stock data to the remote central server and to receive data
from the remote central server via a wireless communication, and
Internet connection means enabling communication between the remote
central server and a remote user device.
According to various embodiments, the present invention also concerns the
characteristics below, considered individually or in all their technical possible
combinations:
the first and second wireless communication means comprise a GPRS, a
GSM, a USSR or a CDMA modem;
® the first and second wireless communication means comprise an antenna
positioned in a safe zone;
® the dispenser control module and the tank stock control module comprises
each a buffer and/or a permanent memory to store data.
The invention concerns also a process for controlling sale and stock of fuel of
a network of refueling-stations with a remote management system as defined above.
According to the invention, the process comprises the steps of:
Generating by a fuel dispenser, fuel sale data relating to a refueling
transaction associated with a vehicle,
Storing said generated fuel sale data in a dispenser control module
provided in the fuel dispenser,
® Transmitting said generated fuel sale data. to a remote central server
disposed apart from the refueling-stations via first wireless communication
means, r,
Measuring the fuel level in a fuel tank by a gauge, generating fuel stock
data,
® Transmitting said fuel stock data to a tank control module,
- Transmitting said generated fuel stock data to the remote central server via
second wireless communication means,
® -.a. Comparing the fuel sale data and the fuel stock data by the remote central
server to control if the volume of fuel delivered by the fuel dispensers
corresponds to the volume of fuel delivered by the tanks, and
Transmitting said fuel sale and stock data to a remote user device via an
internet connection means.
According to various embodiments, the present invention also concerns the
characteristics below, considered individually or in all their technical possible
combinations:
® the dispenser control module is directly controlled by the remote central
server via the first wireless communication means;
the process for controlling sales and stock of fuel comprises the step of
transmitting price update and/or fuel stock data from the rernote central
server to the dispenser control module via the first wireless communication
means;
the tank control module is directly controlled by the remote central server
via the second wireless communication means;
the fuel sale data transmitted by the dispenser control module and the fuel
stock data transmitted by the tank module control to the remote central
server are transmitted at specific intervals;
the fuel sale data of the fuel dispenser are stored in the dispenser control
module and transmitted to the remote central server after a request from
the remote central server and in that the fuel stock data of the fuel tank are
stored in the tank control module and transmitted to the remote central
server after a request from the remote central server;
a theoretical stock of fuel is calculated from the fuel sale data of the fuel
dispensers, if a difference is detected between the theoretical stock of fuel
and the fuel stock data, the remote central server sends an alert to the
remote user device via the internet connection means.
Thus the invention provides an automatic remote management system and a
process for controlling sale and stock of fuel of several refueling-stations positioned
at remote location. It is thus possible to control easily 25000 refueling-stations for
example, no matter the distance between the refueling-stations. Forecourt controllers
are avoided. All the refueling transactions, control of the sales and stock of fuel are
centralized via the remote central server and made accessible globally.
The system enables to compare fuel sale and stock and thus enabling to
detect malpractices and thefts issues. For a refueling-station, if the volume of fuel
delivered by the dispensers is different from the volume of fuel transferred from the
fuel tank to the dispensers, an alert signal is sent to a remote user connected to the
remote central server. Fuel leakage can be also detected at remote location.
Each dispenser can report separately the fueling transactions to the remote
central server. The fuel unit price update on dispenser is centralized. The fuel unit
price can be updated via the remote central server for all the dispensers of all the
refueling-stations in price clusters.
Alerts or alarms generated by dispensers are managed by a single remote
central server. If a data or alert or error signal is transmitted to the remote central
server, one can control the dispenser by stopping via remote central server command
download. The invention provides tank related alerts like high water level, low fuel
level, stock out, etc...The dispenser nozzle is stopped by the remote central server if
this oneKK receives information from the tank control module according to which the
tank is empty (low product).
Wire links between the dispenser and the server are avoided. No excavation
and underground civil work is needed leading to a low cost.
The dispensers communicate directly with the remote central server. No
intermediate is provided between the fuel dispensers and the remote central server
leading to simplify the architecture of the network of dispensers.
The network management functions include reconfiguring the fuel dispensing
equipment, downloading software updates, monitoring the status and performance of
the fuel dispensing equipment, performing diagnostic and troubleshooting
procedures, and scheduling maintenance calls and other servicing activity in
response to the diagnostic evaluations,
Each dispenser comprises a dispenser control module and wireless
communication means. It provides independent dispensers. If a dispenser control
module or a wireless communication means of a dispenser is out of order, it does not
affect the whole refueling-station.
The description of the invention is illustrated by the following drawing in which:
- Figure 1 represents the architecture of the remote management system
according to the invention;
As illustrated in figure 1, the invention concerns a remote management system
comprising a remote central server 1 or a central remote management system
disposed apart from the fuel-dispenser environment and several refueling-stations 2
(sites 1 to n) comprising each at least a fuel dispenser 3 arranged to operatively
provide fuel to a vehicle. The fuel dispenser 3 comprises a dispenser control module
4 receiving and storing fuel sale data relating to a refueling transaction associated
with a vehicle.
The fuel dispenser 3 comprises an hydraulic system including a pump, a meter
to measure the volume of fuel delivered and a hose having a nozzle at its ends. The
fuel dispenser 3 ''comprises an electronic head including the calculator linked to the
meter for calculating the volume of fuel delivered to a customer and the price
corresponding to the volume. The dispenser control module 4 is placed inside the
electronic head and can receive and store all the refueling transactions of the
dispenser. It can capture sale data like volume, price and date. The dispenser control
module 4 can receive, compute, store and transmit the dispenser errors, downtime
and alerts.
Figure 1 shows a refueling-stations 2 (site 1) comprising three fuel dispensers
3 for instance. A refueling-stations 2 can comprise more or less fuel dispensers 3.
The fuel dispenser 3 comprises first wireless communication means 5, 6
enable a direct wireless communication between the remote central server 1 and the
dispenser control module 4 of each fuel dispenser 3. The first wireless
communication means 5, 6 enable the dispenser control module 4 to send directly
fuel sale data to the remote central server 1 and to'receive data from the remote
central server I via a wireless communication. No intermediate is provided between
the fuel dispensers 3 and the remote central server 1 leading to simplify the
architecture of the network of dispensers.
The first wireless communication means 5, 6 comprise a telemetric means like
a GSM, a USSD, a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) or a CDMA (Code
Division Multiple Access) modem 5 and an antenna 6 to transmit the data coming
from the dispenser control module 4 to the remote central server 1. The antenna 6 of
the first wireless communication means 5, 6 is positioned inside a safe zone of the
fuel dispenser 3. Alternatively, the antenna 6 can be positioned on the fuel dispenser
safe zone. A safe zone is a non-explosive zone which can be defined by the ATEX
directive for instance. For instance, the antenna 6 can be positioned on the top of the
dispenser (canopy).
The transferred GPRS or CDMA data are encrypted.
The dispenser control module 4 comprises a universal asynchronous receiver
transmitter (DART) interface to send data to the modem 5.
The dispenser control module 4 comprises a buffer or a permanent memory to
store data coming from the fuel dispenser- 3.
The remote management system comprises one or more fuel tanks 7 for
feeding fuel to the dispensers 3. Each fuel tank 7 comprises a tank gauge 8 to
measure the fuel level in the tank. A refueling-station 2 can comprise one or more
fuel tanks 7, each dedicated to a specific fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel...). The tank
gauge 8 is an automatic gauge.
Figure 1 shows a refueling-stations 2 (site 1) comprising two fuel tanks 7 for
instance. A refueling-stations 2 can comprise more or less fuel tanks 7.
The remote management system comprises one or more tank control modules
9. A refueling-station 2 comprises a single tank control module 9 linked to one or
more fuel tanks 7. According to a possible embodiment, the remote management
system comprises a tank console receiving said fuel level measure from the tank
gauge 8, generating fuel stock data. The fuel stock data are transmitted to the tank
control module 9 via the tank console. The tank control module 9 is interfaced with
the tank console. The tank control module-9 and the tank console are two different
elements. The tank control module 9 comprises a memory and an interface with a
modem.
Alternatively, if the gauging is done manually , the fuel stock data of manual dip
gauge can be entered in the tank control module 9 through a hand held terminal. The
hand held terminal can be used to configure the tank control module 9 and the
dispenser control ` module 4. It can be used to enter remote price and end of day
routines.
The remote imanagement system comprises second wireless communication
means 10, 11 enable a wireless communication between the remote central server I
and the tank control module 9 of each refueling -station 2. The second wireless
communication means 10, 11 comprise a telemetric means like a GPRS, a GSM, a
USSU or a C DMA modem 11 and an antenna 10 to transmit the data coming from
the tank control module 9 to the remote central server 1. The antenna of the second
wireless communication can be installed inside the outlet office which is a safe zone.
Hardware for the tank control module 9 and the dispenser control module 4
are identical.
The tank control module 9 comprises a universal asynchronous receiver
transmitter, (DART) interface to send data to the modem.
The tank control module 9 comprises a buffer or 'a permanent memory to store
data coming from the fuel dispenser 3.
The remote ,management system comprises an internet connection means 12
enabling communication between the server and a remote user device 13. A user
can be connected to the remote central server 1 to access to sale and stock
information . The remote user device 13 and the user can be apart from the refuelingstations
2 and the remote central server 1. The remote user device 13 comprises a
terminal like a hand held terminal.
The- remote central server 1 comprises a memory to store sale and stock of
fuel information and means to compare the sale and stock of fuel (processor for
instance).
The invention concerns also a process for controlling sale and stock of fuel of
a network of refueling -stations 2 comprising each at least a fuel dispenser 3. The
process comprises the step of generating by a fuel dispenser 3 fuel sale data relating
to a refueling transaction associated with a vehicle , The fuel sale data comprise the
volume of fuel, the price and the date of the transaction for example.
The generated fuel sale data are stored in a dispenser control module 4
integrated in the fuel dispenser 3. The dispenser control module 4 can store other
data like checking operation , alerts or alarms of the dispenser or indicative down
time.
The generated fuel sale data or other data are transmitted to a remote central
server 1 disposed apart from the fuel dispenser 3 environment via a first wireless
communication.
The fuel sale data can be transmitted to the remote central server I at specific
scheduled intervals (every one hour or every one day for example).
Alternatively, the fuel sale data of the fuel dispenser 3 are transmitted to the
remote central server I either on timely basis or after a request from the remote
central server 1.
In the case of the request from the remote central server 1, a direct two ways
communication is provided between the dispenser control module 4 of the dispensers
and the remote central server 1.
The dispenser control module 4 is directly controlled by the remote central
server 1 via the first wireless communication. If the dispenser sends an error or alert
information to the remote central server 1, this can trigger a command to stop the
dispenser. The remote management system enables downloading data like price
update and/or pulling required stock/sales/alert/error data by the remote central
server to the dispenser. Price updates are centralized and sent by the remote central
server 1 to the fuel dispenser 3 of each refueling-station 2.
The process, for controlling sale and stock of fuel comprises also the step of
measuring the fuel level in a fuel tank 7 by an automatic gauge. The measured fuel
level is transmitted'to a tank console of a tank control module 9, generating fuel stock
data. The generated fuel stock data is transmitted via a second wireless
communication to the remote central server I disposed apart from the fuel stock
environment. The fuel stock data are stored in the tank control module and
transmitted to the remote central server either on timely basis or after a request from
this last.
In the case of the request from the remote central server 1, a direct two ways
communication is provided between the tank control module 9 and the remote central
server 1. The tank control module 9 is directly controlled by the remote central server
1 via the second wireless communication.
If the tank has reached the low product level, an alert is sent to the remote
central server I w rich in turn blocks the dispensers.
The fuel sale data and the fuel stock data are compared by the remote central
server 1 to control if the volume of fuel delivered by the dispensers corresponds to
the volume of fuel delivered by the tanks to the dispensers. For example, if the tank
feeds three dispensers of a refueling-station 2, the fuel sale data of the three
dispensers are summarized and compared to the fuel stock data of the tank. A
theoretical stock of fuel is calculated from the fuel sale data of the three dispensers. If
a difference is detected between the theoretical stock of fuel and the fuel stock data
(real stock of fuel), the remote central server 1 sends an alert to a remote user device
13 via an internet connection means 12. It permits to detect fraud or leakage issues.
The user can manage stock of fuel at remote location and anticipate the lack
of fuel.
CLAIMS
1. A remote management system for centralized control of a network of refuelingstations
(2) comprising each at least a fuel dispenser (3) arranged to
operatively provide fuel to a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises:
- A remote central server ( 1) disposed apart from the refueling -stations (2),
each fuel dispenser (3) comprising:
o A dispenser control module (4) receiving and storing fuel sale data
relating to a refueling transaction associated with a vehicle,
o First wireless communication means (5, 6) enable the dispenser to
send said fuel sale data to the remote central server ( 1) and to
receive data from the remote central server (1) via a wireless
communication,
- At least a fuel tank (7) located in each refueling ..stations (2) for feeding fuel
to the fuel dispensers (3), each fuel tank (7 ) comprising a tank gauge (8)
measuring the fuel level in the fuel tank (7), generating fuel stock data,
- A tank control module (9) receiving said fuel stock data,
- Second wireless communication means ( 10, 11) enable the- tank control
module (9) to send said fuel stock data to the remote central server (1) and
to receive data from the remote central server ( 1) via a wireless
communication, and
- Internet connection means (12) enabling communication between the
remote central server ( 1) and a remote user device (13).
2. A remote management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the
first (5, 6 ) and second (10, 11) wireless communication means comprise a
OSM or a USS® or a GPRS or a C DMA modem (5, 11).
3. A remote management system according to anyone of claims 1 or 2,
characterized in that the first (5, 6) and second ( 10, 11) wireless
communication means comprise an antenna (6, 10) positioned in safe zone.
4. A remote management system according to anyone of claim I to 3
characterized in that the dispenser control module (4) and the tank control
module (9) comprises each a buffer or a permanent memory to store data.
5. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel of a network of refueling -stations
(2) with a remote management system as defined in anyone of claims 1 to 4,
said process being characterized in that it comprises the steps of:
Generating by a fuel dispenser (3) fuel sale data relating to a refueling
transaction associated with a vehicle,
Storing said generated fuel sale data in a dispenser control module (4)
provided in the fuel dispenser (3),
Transmitting said generated fuel sale data to a remote central server (1)
disposed apart from the refueling-stations (2) via first wireless
communication means (5, 6),
® Measuring the fuel level in a fuel tank (7) by a gauge (8), generating fuel
stock data,
® Transmitting said fuel stock data to a tank control module (9),
® Transmitting said fuel stock data to the remote central server (1) via
second wireless communication means (10, 11),
Comparing the fuel sale data and the fuel stock data by the remote central
server (1) to control if the volume of fuel delivered by the fuel dispensers
(3) corresponds to the volume of fuel delivered by the tanks (7), and
® Transmitting said fuel sale and stock data to a remote user device (13) via
internet connection means (12).
6. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to claim 5,
characterized in that the dispenser control module (4) is directly controlled by
the remote central server (1) via the first wireless communication means (5, 6).
7. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to claim 6,
characterized in that it comprises the step of transmitting price update and/or
fuel stock data from the remote central server (1) to the dispenser control
module (4) via the first wireless communication means (5, 6).
8. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to anyone of claims 5
to 7, characterized in that the tank control module (9) is directly controlled by
the remote `.central server (1) via the second wireless communication means
(10, 11).
9. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to anyone of claims 5
to 8, characterized in that the fuel sale data transmitted by the dispenser
control module (4) and the fuel stock data transmitted by the tank module
control (4) to the remote central server (1) are transmitted at specific intervals.
10, Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to anyone of claims 5
to 8, characterized in that the fuel sale data of the fuel dispenser (3) are stored
in the dispenser control module (4) and transmitted to the remote central
server (1) after a request from the remote central server (1), and in that the
fuel stock data of the fuel tank (7) are stored in the tank control module (9) and
transmitted to the remote central server (1) after a request from the remote
central server (1).
9.
11. Process for controlling sale and stock of fuel according to anyone of claims 5
to 10, characterized in that a theoretical stock of fuel is calculated from the fuel
sale data of the fuel dispensers (3), if a difference is detected between the
theoretical stock of fuel and the fuel stock data, the remote central server (1)
sends an alert to the remote user device (13) via the internet connection
means (12).