TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates generally to system for monitoring outside of a vehicle,
and particularly to monitoring fuel pump kiosk during the process of getting the
vehicle re-fuelled.
5 BACKGROUND
[0002] Usage of cameras for monitoring outside environment of a vehicle is quite
prevalent. Cameras may be used for assisting driver of a vehicle for providing view
of the areas around the vehicle that the driver may not be easily to, for example
during parking and reverse driving of the vehicle. The images or video captured by
10 the camera may be then displayed on a screen on that may be conveniently visible to
the driver.
[0003] Vehicles are generally refilled with fuel at refueling stations. The refueling
stations may have fuel dispensing kiosks form where the fuel may be dispensed
through hoses and nozzles. In countries like India is a practice that the vehicle is
15 parked close to a kiosk and a person operating the fuel kiosks, hereinafter called as
fuel kiosk operator, fills fuel in the vehicle. The fuel kiosk operator receives order
from the driver of the vehicle. The driver may open a fuel port of the vehicle through .
which the fuel is supplied to fill a fuel storage tank in the vehicle. The driver may
open the fuel port from inside without coming out of the vehicle. Readings about the
20 amount of fuel and other details like price of fuel are generally displayed on a
display screen on the fuel kiosks. However, during getting a refill while sitting inside
the vehicle, the driver may not be able to get a clear view of the display screen on the
fuel kiosk. The limitation of the driver to access the readings on the display screen of
the kiosk may be exploited by the kiosk operators. Instances of cheating with respect
25 to amount of fuel filled inside a vehicle are not uncommon. Hence, there exists a
need for providing the driver of a vehicle to monitor the fuel readings on the screen
of the fuel kiosk during refilling.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0004] The present subject matter relates to a monitoring system for vehicles.
5 Monitoring may be perfumed by usage of camera such that the camera cup1u1.e~
images or videos which may be displayed for access by the driver. Monitoring may
be required for a various reason for example assisting driver of the vehicle during
parking or reverse driving.
[0005] As mentioned previously, vehicles are generally refilled with fuel at refueling
10 kiosks. Generally, the driver may open the fuel port from inside the vehicle without
coming out of the vehicle. The fuel may be filled by a fuel kiosk operator. While
sitting inside the vehicle, the driver may not be able to access clearly readings about
the amount of fuel and other details that are generally displayed on display screen of
the fuel kiosks as the vision of the display screen may be blocked by various parts of
15 the vehicle and other obstructions from the surroundings. This limitation of the
driver .to access the information about the refilling of the fuel makes the driver
vulnerable to exploitation by operators of the fuel kiosks.
[0006] A system and method of monitoring outside of a vehicle is described. The
system comprises a camera installed on a side of the vehicle on which the fuel port .
20 of the vehicle is located. The camera may capture still images of the required
surrounding elements. For example in case of monetizing the vehicle for assisting ht
driver in parking, the camera may capture images of the nearby obstructions that
may be blocking the movement of the vehicle and posing dangers of the vehicle
hitting the obstnictions. The images captured by the camera may be displayed to on a
25 display screen wither as still images or as a video stream. The display screen may be
located at such a location which may be conveniently viewed by the driver.
[0007] In the present implementation, a camera is provided to capture images a fuel
kiosk, in particular to display screen mounted on the fuel kiosk. the image captured
may be displayed on a display screen so as to provide the driver of the vehicle real
time monitoring of the readings displayed on the display screen of the fuel kiosk
5 corresponding to quantity of fuel filled and price of fuel. Therefore, the driver is able
to get easily monitor the fuel parameters without coming out of the car. h i y
possibilities of cheating with respect to the amount of fuel filled or price of the fuel
is also eliminated. The present method, thus, provides for making the refueling
experience convenient while eliminating any chances of cheating by fuel kiosk
10 operator.
[0008] Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a vehicle including a camera
mounted on the vehicle body.
[0009] Figure 1 illustrates another perspective view of the vehicle including camera
mounted inside a fuel port.
15 [0010] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective of a dashboard of the vehicle including a
display screen.
[OO 1 11 Fig. 1 illustrates a vehicle 101. The vehicle may be any automobile like, but
not limited to, a car or a bus or a truck driven by a human. The vehicle 101
comprises a left and right side, and a front and a rear side. The vehicle 101 further
20 comprises a fuel port.102 mounted on one of the left or right side of the vehicle 101,
although, the fuel port 102 may be present on the front or rear side of the vehicle
10 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 101 further comprises a camera 103 mounted on
the same side on which the fuel port 102 is mounted. In one embodiment of the
invention, the fuel port and the camera are mounted on left side of the vehicle 101.
25 . [0012] When the vehicle is required to be refilled with fuel, the vehicle is parked
near a fuel kiosk of a fuel station. The vehicle is parked with the side comprising the
4
. .
fuel port facing the fuel kiosk. For purpose of monitoring the fuel kiosk, it is,
therefore, necessary that the camera is mounted on the same side of the vehicle on
which the fuel port is present.
[OO 131 The camera 103 may be mounted on the body uf tllc vehiclc 101 at a position
5 from whcrc the file1 kiosk may he easily in view of the camera 103. In one
embedment, the camera 103 is mounted on the pillar of the vehicle as shown in the
Fig. 1. In another. embodiment, the camera 103 may be mounted on a panel of the
vehicle adjacent to the fuel port 102.
[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates a vehicle 101 compesing a fuel port 102 on a side of the
10 vehicle 101. The fuel port may be present inside a cun&irtment in the body of the
vehicle. The compartment may be closeable by a gate such that the fuel port may be
accessed by opening the gate. The gate of the compartment may be openable by any
of the traditionally known means. For example, the gate of the compartment may
comprise a lock that may be opened using a key form outside. In another example,
15 the gate may be opened upon actuation by the driver from inside the vehicle. In
another embodiment, the camera 103 is present inside the compartment.
[0015] The images captured by the 'camera 103 are processed by a processor to
convert into a format which may be displayed on a display screen. The display may
be placed at any location inside the vehicle from where the display screen can be
20 easily viewed by the driver. In one embodiment, as shown on the Fig. 3 the display
screen 302 is positioned on a dash board 301 of the vehicle 101. Fig. 4 shows
another embodiment in which the display screen is positioned on the rear view
mirror positioned on the roof of the vehicle 10 1 in front of driver's seat. Further, the
camera 103 may be equipped with a zooming lens to capture the images of the
25 reading screen of the fuel kiosk wheri the fuel kiosk is at a larger distance to capture
images capable of being displayed with sufficient legibility.
[0016] In an implementation of the system, the camera 103 captures images of the
reading screen of the fuel kiosk. The camera may be used to take images only during
the time when the fuel is being filed inside the vehicle. The camera 103, therefore
may be activated only when the fuel is being filled while the camera 103 remain
5 inactive. The camera may, therefore, be switchable between an active and inactive
stage. The switching may be performed manually by the dnver or the stitching 111iiy
be actuated by the accessing of the fuel port. In one embodiment of the present
subject matter, the opening of the fuel port may actuate the active stage of the
camera. Upon closing of the fuel port, the camera may be switched again to inactive
10 stage. Corresponding to the switching to active or inactive stage of the camera, the
display screen 302 may be actuated to display the images captured by the camera. In
one embodiment, the display screen of an infotainment system or an entertainment
system of the vehicle may be configured to work as the display screen for displaying
the images captured by the camera 103.
15 [0017] The present system, thus, allows the driver of the vehicle to, view the reading
screen of the fuel kiosk during the time the fuel is being filled inside the vehicle.
[OO 181 A method of monitoring outside of a vehicle 10 1 is described. Images of a
required target are captured by a camera 103 installed on a side of the vehicle 101 on
which the fuel port 102 is located. The images captured by the camera 103 are
20 processed by a processor to convert the images captured by the camera 103 to into
digital format images. The digital format images are displayed on a display screen
302 installed on a dashboard 301' of the vehicle 101. In one implementation of the
present subject matter, the method of monitoring may be used to capture image of a
reading screen located on the fuel kiosk when the fuel port 102 of the vehicle 101 is
2.5 accessed during the process of refilling.
[0019] This description of the present subject matter is not meant to be construed in
a limiting sense. Various other modified versions of the above described
6
embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments, may be apparent to persons skilled
in the art with reference to the subject matter.
- Industrial application
5 Fuel pump kiosk monitoring mechanism during vehicle' re-fuelling finds industrial
application for the manufactures of four wheelers such as car, jeep etc., three
wheelers such as auto rickshaw, and heavy duty vehicles such as bus, truck etc.

We Claim:
10 1. A system 100 for monitoring outside of a vehicle 101, the system
comprising;
a camera 103 installed on a side 104 on which the fuel port 102 is
provided,
a display screen 302 installed on the dashboard 301 of the vehicle
15 10 1, wherein the display screen 302 is coupled to the camera 103,
a processor that converts optical images stream captured by the
camera to present on the images on the display screen 302.
2. The system 100, as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the camera 103 is capable of
20 zooming in and zooming out.
3. The system 100, as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the camera 103 is installed
on a rear side panel on the side on which the he1 port 102 is installed.
4. The system 100, as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the camera 103 is installed
inside a compartment inside which the fuel port 102 is installed.
5. The system 100, as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the camera 103 is installed
5 on a pillar on a side of the vehicle on which the fuel port 102 is installed.
6. 'The system 100, as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the .stream captured by the
camera 103 is displayed on the display screen 302 in form of still images or
video stream.
10
7. The system 100, as-claimed in claim 1, wherein, a light source is positioned
along with the camera 103 for illuminating in dark the region to be captured
by the camera 103.
15
8. A method of monitoring outside of a vehicle 10 1, the method comprising;
capturing images through a camera 103 installed on a side 104 of e
vehicle on which the fuel port 102 is provided,
processing the images captured by the camera 103 to convert the
20 optical images into digital images, and
displaying the processed images on a display screen 302 installed on a
dashboard 30 1 of the vehicle 10 1.
9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein, the camera 103 is actuated to
25 capture images when the fuel port 102 of the vehicle 101 is accessed.