Patent ID: 7478747
Filing Date: 2009-01-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. At a kiosk that is network connectable to a petroleum product management system, the kiosk located at a retail location to control the dispensing of petroleum products at one or more petroleum product dispensers at the retail location, the petroleum product management system located separately from the retail location, the petroleum management system configured to remotely monitor and maintain contact with kiosks at a plurality of different geographically remote retail locations via network communication, a method for dispensing a petroleum product at the retail location, the method comprising: an act of the kiosk receiving an indication of a petroleum product that is to be purchased at the retail location; an act of the kiosk receiving account credentials corresponding to a registered petroleum purchasing account for a registered user of the separately located petroleum management system, the registered petroleum purchasing account having an account balance representing funds from previously cleared deposit transactions submitted to the separately located petroleum product management system, the previously cleared deposit transactions electronically depositing funds into the registered petroleum purchasing account, the account balance indicating funds available within the separately located petroleum management system to minimize the risks associated with settling transactions for the purchase of petroleum products without reference to external authorization networks; an act of the retail location submitting the received account credentials for the registered petroleum purchasing account to the separately located petroleum product management system; an act of the retail location receiving the account balance for the registered petroleum purchasing account from the separately located petroleum product management system, the separately located petroleum product management system handling petroleum product purchases for a variety of different, geographically remote retail locations, reception of the account balance indicating to the retail location that the registered user has an account with the fuel management system such that payment for purchased petroleum products is to be made from previously cleared funds so as to thereby further indicate to the retail location the minimized risk associated with settling transactions involving the registered user; an act of the kiosk configuring a petroleum product dispenser to dispense the petroleum product based on the account balance for the petroleum purchasing account; an act of receiving monitoring from the separately located petroleum management system to monitor the dispensing of the petroleum product in essentially real time to assure that the account balance is sufficient to pay for the dispensed petroleum product as the petroleum product is dispensed so as to prevent the account balance from going below a limit; an act of receiving an indication that the dispensing of petroleum product is completed resulting in a dispensed petroleum product quantity that was dispensed at the petroleum product dispenser, the indication being either an indication from the fuel management system that the account balance has reached the limit or an indication from the petroleum product dispenser that dispensing is complete; an act of calculating an amount for the cost of the dispensed petroleum product quantity; and an act of sending a debit message to the separately located petroleum product management system in response to and upon completion of dispensing the petroleum product quantity, the debit message sent to directly debit the calculated amount from the account balance of the registered petroleum purchasing account by transferring the calculated amount out of the registered petroleum purchasing account to settle the transaction for the purchase of the dispensed petroleum product quantity, without reference to any other external authorization networks.