| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 705413000 | Fluid | 14 |
| 20080249965 | System and Apparatus for Collecting and Distributing Voluntary Environmental Impact Offset Payments on Fuel Purchases at Point of Sale - Systems and methods are described for collecting and distributing environmental impact offset payments at the point of sale of a fuel. An exemplary method presents a user interface at a point of sale of a purchase of a fuel, receives via the user interface a user-selection indicating an intention of the user to pay an environmental impact offset fee associated with the purchase, presents a choice to the user of making a custom offset payment or of buying a fuel that has the offset fee included in the price of the fuel, and calculates a custom offset payment for the purchase. The custom offset payment can be based on such considerations as an energy equivalency of the fuel purchased, volume or weight of the fuel being purchased, fuel type, fuel grade, e.g., octane level, oxygenation level, temperature of the fuel, fuel composition, climatic data, regional variation in fuel composition, efficiency of a vehicle receiving the fuel, pollution control capability of the vehicle receiving the fuel, and life-cycle environmental impacts of fuels, such as costs for extraction, processing, delivery, and combustion. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20090125457 | SELF-SERVICE, MONITORED AND CONTROLLED BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTION AND DISPENSING SYSTEM - A beverage distribution system is offered for the purpose of self-service beverage dispensing, capable of providing customers real-time feedback on beverage consumption levels. The system includes a network of control stations and patron stations which are in constant communication via a wired or wireless network. The system is capable of detecting low beverage levels in beverage containers when or before they occur and can inform wait staff of such events. Furthermore, wait staff is provided with the tools to perform intelligent control of the self-service consumption according to local laws as well as paying visits to patrons at the appropriate time resulting in a very efficient system. A novel valve control scheme is also offered that is energy efficient, that does not generate undesirable heat in the presence of cooled beverages. Also, a generic flow control for beverage distribution is presented. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20100049669 | PUMP OPERATING CHIP WITH GAS PRICE SELECTION CAPABILITY - A fuel dispensing system which sets the price for fuel to be dispensed based on the mileage/fuel consumption history of a vehicle for which fuel is being purchased. A key is used both to enable vehicle operation and to transfer mileage data to the dispenser computer. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100191674 | Method and System for Assessment, Collection, and Disbursement of Funds Related to Motor Vehicles - The assessment of funds related to motor vehicles includes: receiving a vehicle identification for a motor vehicle from an identification system at a fuel station as part of a fueling transaction; obtaining vehicle information and a funds calculation method from a vehicle assessment database using the vehicle identification, where the funds calculation method comprises variables for the vehicle information; calculating funds to be collected during the fueling transaction using the vehicle information according to the funds calculation method; and determining a total cost of the fueling transaction, the total cost comprising the funds to be collected. Other types of funds or non-fund related functions may be taken into account, such as driver socio-economic data, insurance status data, license status data, fees and fines data, law enforcement data, and data collection for research, analysis, and planning, thus providing a tool for customizing the assessment of funds related to motor vehicles. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100228688 | OPTICAL DETERMINATION AND REPORTING OF GAS PROPERTIES - A chemical composition analyzer may be used to optically determine and report chemical compositions associated with gases within a gas collection and transmission infrastructure. This analyzer includes a number of optical sensors which may be used to perform spectroscopic spectrographic analysis in order to determine the chemical composition of the gas. Additionally other sensors may be used to measure other physical properties associated with the gas. These sensors are tied to a data collection system wherein the output of the optical sensors and sensors used to measure the physical properties of the gas may be combined and processed in order to determine in a nearly continuous fashion the chemical composition associated with the gas at various locations within the gas collection and transmission infrastructure. This real time compositional analysis may be used to determine valuations of the gas or to optimize other processes or equipment configurations. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100250468 | SYSTEM TO FORM AN ACTUAL SALES OR DELIVERY VALUE FOR ALL COMPONENTS OF A COMMINGLED HYDROCARBON FLUID STREAM - A system to form an actual sales value or actual delivery value for all components of a commingled hydrocarbon fluid stream using mass, volume and energy, to create a theoretical commingled hydrocarbon fluid stream molecular composition and present the information on individual components in the commingled hydrocarbon fluid stream instantaneously to a buyer and a seller. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20110060700 | WIRELESS MEDICAL GASES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - The present invention generally provides methods and systems for managing a medical gas system by using wireless sensors located at the point of use. In one embodiment, a wireless sensor is fixed to a gas outlet, and is configured to measure gas flow, and to detect whether the gas outlet is connected to a medical device. The gas flow and connection data is included in a wireless signal that is transmitted to a remote server. The data received by the server may be analyzed to determine if any local or system leaks are occurring. In addition, the data may be used to monitor patient therapies, to calculate costs, and to determine replenishment points. | 03-10-2011 |
| 20110137827 | Irrigation water management system - The efficiency of an irrigation system on a property is determined as a difference between the actual water usage at a property and the irrigation water need of the plant on the property. Data for the property are received including at least the location and irrigation area of the property. A reference evapotranspiration value for the property is determined using the solar radiation data derived from the location of the property. The irrigation water need of the property is then calculated from the reference evapotranspiration value and area. The irrigation water need is compared to the actual water use at the property to determined the efficiency of the irrigation system operating thereon. | 06-09-2011 |
| 20110246396 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ISOBUTYL ALCOHOL (IBA) RECOVERY - Methods and systems for creating dynamic performance measures (DPMs) for an IBA manufacturing process. Included is a method for monitoring an Isobutyl Alcohol (IBA) recovery system that includes computing at least one of an amount of IBA recovered from the IBA recovery system and an amount of waste material produced from the IBA recovery system, and displaying at least one of the recovered IBA and the waste material produced based on time. The method also includes computing a cost saved based on a cost of virgin IBA and the amount of IBA recovered. Computing an amount of waste material includes measuring waste material flow, and computing a cost of waste material management based on the measured waste material flow and a cost per unit volume to dispose of waste material. The IBA recovery system can include an evaporation IBA recovery system and/or a distillation IBA recovery system. | 10-06-2011 |
| 20120233095 | Analyzing Fluid Release Properties of a Subterranean Area of the Earth - A method for estimating a fluid volume in a subterranean area of the earth. The method includes performing a preliminary analysis on a first geological sample and placing the first geological sample inside a chamber. The method may then include monitoring pressure change over time data inside the chamber and crushing the first geological sample. After crushing the first geological sample, the method may estimate the fluid volume based on the pressure change over time data and the preliminary analysis. | 09-13-2012 |
| 20130066813 | SYSTEM FOR PRICING INDIVIDUALLY QUOTED WHOLESALE FUEL PURCHASES - A computer-implemented method of generating fuel price data for at least one fuel type of a plurality of fuel types, the method being implemented in a computer comprising a memory in communication with a processor. The method comprises receiving, as input to the processor, unassigned delivery capacity data, the unassigned delivery capacity data indicating delivery capacity available for any one of the plurality of fuel types, receiving, as input to the processor, assigned delivery capacity data, the assigned delivery capacity data indicating, for each fuel type of the plurality of fuel types, delivery capacity only available for the fuel type of the plurality of fuel types and processing, by the processor, the assigned delivery capacity data and the unassigned delivery capacity data to generate the fuel price data for the at least one fuel type. | 03-14-2013 |
| 20130110744 | SYSTEM FOR CALCULATING COST FOR PRINTING | 05-02-2013 |
| 20130144811 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMPUTING A VARIABLE FUEL PRICE BASED ON EXHAUST GAS EMISSIONS OF A VEHICLE - The present invention provides a system and method of computing a variable fuel price based on exhaust gas emission of a vehicle. In one embodiment, a system includes an onboard unit fitted in a vehicle for measuring amount of exhaust gas emissions by the vehicle and a remote server communicatively connected to the onboard unit for computing a discount or surcharge on a base fuel price based on the amount of exhaust gas emissions by the vehicle. The system also includes a fuel station communicatively coupled to the remote server for filling fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle at the discounted or surcharge fuel price. | 06-06-2013 |
| 20130179374 | CUSTODY TRANSFER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GAS FUEL - A system includes a custody transfer system configured to transfer a gas fuel from a gas supply to a gas turbine. The custody transfer system includes a plurality of small flow meters running in parallel with each other, each of the small flow meters configured to obtain a measurement of a portion of a flow rate of the gas fuel flowing through the custody transfer system. Further, the custody transfer system includes a large flow meter in series with the plurality of small flow meters, configured to obtain a measurement of a flow rate of the gas fuel flowing from the plurality of small flow meters. Additionally, the custody transfer system includes communications circuitry coupled to each of the small flow meters and the large flow meter, configured to provide metering metrics to a flow computer. | 07-11-2013 |
