Patent Description:
The conventional method for refuelling a vehicle can be a cumbersome task at times for most people. Most fuel dispensing stations are at a measurable distance from the people who wish to use them. This measurable distance demands both time and money, in the form of fuel costs, from the people who intend to travel to a nearby fuel dispensing station to fill their vehicles with fuel. In addition, as fuel dispensing stations can be busy, stress may be induced in the people waiting an extended period of time to carry out the act of filing their vehicle with fuel.

Many people in today's society work a typical work week of 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, with many of these people having to commute to work using their vehicles. This results in many people not having the time to refuel their vehicles during the work week and are often forced to refuel their vehicles at undesirable times such as late at night or during the weekend. At times, people may run the risk of operating their vehicles on low fuel as they do not have the time to refuel them. For these people, this may result in their vehicles running out of fuel on the road which is extremely undesirable and can also be extremely dangerous.

The present invention aims to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the problems set out above.

According to the invention, there is provided apparatus for a portable fuel distribution system comprising a vehicle, pump, fuel tank and controller, wherein the vehicle is modified to further comprise divided units, the divided units comprising: a dispenser unit, tank unit, driver unit, whereby the pump, fuel tank and controller of the portable fuel distributed system are housed and integrally mounted within units, wherein the pump is in fluid communication with the fuel tank and arranged to receive commands from the controller to dispense fuel from the fuel tank, and fuel can be dispensed accurately from the fuel tank down to a quantity of <NUM> litres; and wherein the electrical interlock system is arranged to disable the electrical systems of the driver unit and enable the electrical systems of the dispenser unit once the electrical interlock system is activated.

The fuel can be dispensed accurately from the fuel tank. In this way, the portable fuel distribution system can accurately deliver a precise amount of fuel to an external vehicle, for example, a customer who wishes to purchase a precise amount of fuel.

Preferably, the vehicle further comprises air vents that are arranged to ventilate the inside of the vehicle. The air vents expel fuel vapours from within the vehicle to the ambient atmosphere outside of the vehicle preventing a build up of unwanted hazardous fuel vapour.

Advantageously, the dispenser unit and tank unit are sealed from one another using a structural lining between both units such that liquids cannot inadvertently travel between both units. The sealing of the tank unit from the dispenser unit prevents unwanted hazardous events in one unit from affecting the other unit as the unit seal physically prevents the unwanted transfer of liquids between the two units.

Favourably, the dispenser unit further comprises resilient dispenser mounts, wherein the resilient dispenser mounts are arranged to house and support the fuel dispenser such that the effects of vibrations on the fuel dispenser electronics are dampened. The fuel dispenser becomes more resilient to vibrations from the road which offers more protection to the integral electronics of the fuel dispenser by dampening all road vibration effects experienced by the fuel dispenser.

Preferably, the dispenser unit further comprises an upturned lip to create a bund, wherein the bund is arranged to contain any spilt and/or leaking fuel from the fuel dispenser and/or pump; this prevents any spilt and/or leaked fuel, from the fuel dispenser, pump and/or dispensing hoses, from spilling to the ground outside of the vehicle.

Advantageously, the vehicle further comprises an emergency stop control, wherein the emergency stop control is in electronic communication with the controller; and
wherein the emergency stop control is arranged, via the controller, to stop a flow of electrical power to the dispenser unit and/or the tank unit once the emergency stop control is activated. The emergency stop control can stop the dispenser unit operating in the case of an emergency to prevent potential hazardous and dangerous events from occurring.

Favourably, the vehicle further comprises a wound metallic cable, wherein the wound metallic cable can be attached to an external vehicle to equalise the electrical potential between the two vehicles and preventing discharge sparks from occurring.

According to the invention the vehicle further comprises an electrical interlock system, wherein the electrical interlock system is arranged to disable the electrical systems of the driver unit and enable the electrical systems of the dispenser unit once the electrical interlock system is activated; this prevents the vehicle from moving when dispensing fuel to avoid potential dangerous events whereby the vehicle is accidently moved while dispensing fuel.

Advantageously, the electrical interlock system further comprises a gas detection sensor to detect a pre-defined gas, wherein the gas detection sensor is arranged to activate the electrical interlock system upon sensing a pre-determined level of the ambient pre-defined gas. The interlock system would only activate the dispenser unit's electrical systems if a sufficiently low and safe level of pre-defined ambient gas is detected and vice versa; this allows potentially hazardous events, such as fuel vapour poisoning, to be avoided.

Favourably, the vehicle further comprises additional light beacons, wherein the light beacons are arranged to flash when the fuel dispenser is dispensing fuel to alert people within close proximity of the vehicle that fuel is being dispensed; this allows potentially hazardous events, such as physical interference of the hose dispensers while in use, to be avoided.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which:-.

With reference to <FIG>, apparatus for a portable fuel distribution system <NUM> comprises a vehicle <NUM>, pump (not shown), fuel tank (not shown) and fuel dispenser <NUM> to transport and dispense fuel stored onboard the vehicle <NUM>.

The vehicle <NUM> is able to function as a conventional vehicle in that it is able to be driven, and contains most electronic apparatus found in conventional vehicles. The vehicle <NUM> is modified to further comprise divided units, whereby the various components of the portable fuel distribution system <NUM> are housed and mounted within a particular unit section; these sections include a driver unit <NUM>, a tank unit <NUM> and a dispenser unit <NUM>.

The driver unit <NUM> encompasses the front end of the vehicle <NUM> and comprises the conventional vehicle components of the vehicle <NUM>. Here, a driver can enter the driver unit <NUM> to operate and drive the vehicle in a conventional manner. Adjacent to the driver unit <NUM> is the tank unit <NUM>. The tank unit <NUM> comprises a fuel tank (not shown) which is mounted within the tank unit <NUM> and used to store dispensable fuel.

Alternatively, the tank unit <NUM> and dispenser unit <NUM> may be affixed such that they form a separate unit from the driver unit <NUM>, whereby the affixed separate unit can be retrospectively fitted with other vehicles comprising only the driver unit <NUM> to form the portable fuel distribution system <NUM>.

The fuel tank may be a petrol storage tank and store petrol within it. Alternatively, the fuel tank may be a diesel storage tank and store diesel within it. There may be a plurality of different types of fuel tanks mounted within the tank unit <NUM>. Additionally, there may be different types of storage tanks also mounted within the tank unit <NUM> alongside the fuel tank, for example, an engine oil storage tank. In this way, the tank unit <NUM> is able to store a plurality of useful products which are pertinent to vehicle operation; ideally and primarily petrol and/or diesel fuel.

The vehicle <NUM> further comprises air vents <NUM> which are arranged to ventilate both the tank unit <NUM> and dispenser unit <NUM> from potentially hazardous fuel vapor. The air vents <NUM> extend from within each unit (<NUM>,<NUM>) to the roof of the vehicle <NUM> as shown by the air vents (8a, 8b). The input of each air vent <NUM> is at a low level with respect to the height of each unit; this is due to fuel vapour being heavier than air. In this way, the air vents are better positioned to expel fuel vapours from within the vehicle <NUM> to the ambient atmosphere outside of the vehicle <NUM> preventing the unwanted build up of hazardous fuel vapor.

The dispenser unit <NUM> is adjacent to the tank unit <NUM> and encompasses the rear end of the vehicle <NUM>. The dispenser unit <NUM> houses the pump and fuel dispenser <NUM> and further comprises a controller which are mounted within the dispenser unit <NUM>. The fuel tank, pump and fuel dispenser <NUM> are in fluid communication such that when the fuel dispenser <NUM> is prompted to dispense fuel, via the controller, the pump can drive the transport of fuel from the fuel tank to the fuel dispenser <NUM> to be dispensed. The pump in this case is ideally, but not limited to, a forecourt style pump.

The pump and fuel dispenser <NUM> are able to accurately dispense fuel from the fuel tank at both higher and lower volumes of fuel. The portable fuel distribution system <NUM> can accurately dispense anywhere from, but is not limited to, <NUM> - <NUM> litres of fuel. In this way, the system <NUM> can accurately dispense high or low volumes of fuel to an external vehicle, for example, a customer may wish to purchase a small volume of fuel, whereby the portable fuel distribution system <NUM> would be able to accurately deliver the small, purchased amount.

With reference to <FIG>, the tank unit <NUM> and dispenser unit <NUM> may be sealed from one another using the structural unit seal <NUM> such that any inadvertent spillage and/or leaked fuel from the fuel tank, mounted within the tank unit <NUM>, may not enter the dispenser unit <NUM>. The same is true for inadvertent spilled and/or leaked fuel from the pump and/or fuel dispenser; this spilt and/or leaked fuel may not enter the tank unit <NUM>. Advantageously, the sealing of the tank unit <NUM> from the dispenser unit <NUM> prevents unwanted hazardous events in one unit from affecting the other unit as the unit seal <NUM> physically prevents the unwanted transfer of liquids between the two units (<NUM>,<NUM>).

The fuel dispenser <NUM> further comprises dispensing hoses <NUM> which are in fluid communication with the fuel dispenser <NUM>. Here, an operator can dispense fuel stored in the fuel tank by initialising the fuel dispenser <NUM>, via the controller, with the controls found on the fuel dispenser <NUM> to dispense fuel through the dispenser hoses <NUM>. As the operator inputs a dispensing signal to a dispenser hose <NUM>, typically done by squeezing the mechanical handle of the dispenser hose, the fuel dispenser <NUM> stimulates the fuel pump to begin pumping fuel from the fuel tank, through the pump, into the fuel dispenser <NUM> and subsequently through and out of the dispenser hose <NUM> and into an external vehicle. Here, the operator is able to dispense fuel in a similar fashion to that of conventional stationary fuel filing stations to refuel external vehicles.

The fuel dispenser <NUM> may only dispense petrol or diesel and may only have one dispensing hose <NUM>. Alternatively, as shown by <FIG>, the fuel dispenser <NUM> is able to dispense both petrol and diesel and comprises a dispenser hose (16a, 16b) for each fuel type.

Advantageously, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise a keypad which allows an operator to input the amount, or value, of fuel to be dispensed by the fuel dispenser <NUM>. Here, the keypad is connected to the controller and receives an operator's key inputs such that the controller may relay these instructions to the fuel dispenser <NUM>. Prompted by the operator's instructions, via the controller, the fuel dispenser can now dispense the prescribed amount, or value, of fuel. The keypad may be mounted on the fuel dispenser <NUM>. Alternatively, the keypad may be mounted on the side of the vehicle <NUM> or inside the driver unit <NUM> or any such place on or within the vehicle <NUM> that is suitable.

Optionally, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise resilient dispenser mounts (not shown) that can be mounted within the dispenser unit <NUM> to encompass and support the fuel dispenser <NUM>. In this way, the fuel dispenser <NUM> becomes more resilient to vibrations from the road, for example, by cars driving past the vehicle <NUM>; this offers more protection to the integral electronics of the fuel dispenser <NUM> by dampening all road vibration effects experienced by the fuel dispenser <NUM>.

Favourably, at the rear of the vehicle <NUM>, the dispenser unit <NUM> may further comprise an additional structural upturned lip (not shown). The upturned lip would create a bund to surround the contents of the dispenser unit <NUM>. The now bunded dispenser unit <NUM> would prevent any spilt and/or leaked fuel, from the fuel dispenser <NUM>, pump and/or dispensing hoses <NUM>, from spilling to the ground outside of the vehicle <NUM>.

Optionally, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise an emergency stop control; this control may be mounted anywhere in/on the vehicle but is ideally mounted within the dispenser unit or driver unit. The vehicle <NUM> may comprise multiple emergency stop controls. The emergency stop control is operable to stop a flow of electrical power to the dispenser unit <NUM> and or tank unit <NUM> in the case of an emergency to prevent potential hazardous and dangerous events from occurring.

Desirably, the fuel dispenser <NUM> may comprise a hose roller (not shown) to provide a rotatable platform for the dispensing hoses <NUM> to be wound upon. In this way, the hose roller is a convenient platform for the dispensing hoses <NUM> to be stored. The dispensing hoses <NUM> can be extracted and retracted from the hose roller easier with respect to storing the dispensing hoses <NUM> on the ground of the dispenser unit <NUM> as the dispenser hoses <NUM> may become jumbled up and obstruct their own pathway.

Optionally, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise an earth bonding reel and connectors (not shown). Static electricity on the vehicle <NUM> may build up such that the electrical potential of the vehicle <NUM> becomes different to that of the electrical potential of the external vehicle. In this case, when the two vehicles become connected, i.e. when using the dispensing hose <NUM> to dispense fuel to the external vehicle, a discharge spark may occur; this could be potentially hazardous as it could injury the operator and/or ignite spilt fuel. Here, the earth bonding reel is connected to the body of the vehicle <NUM> and, prior to fuelling, the connector may be connected to the tail pipe of the external vehicle, from the bonding reel, thus equalising the electrical potential between the two vehicles and preventing discharge sparks from occurring.

Advantageously, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise an electrical interlock system (not shown) which may be integrally mounted within the driver unit <NUM>. Here, the electrical interlock system is arranged to disable the electrical systems of the driver unit <NUM> and enable the electrical systems of the dispenser unit <NUM> once activated. In this way, once the vehicle <NUM> has been parked, activating the electrical interlock will disable both the vehicle <NUM> from moving and the electrical systems associated with the driver unit <NUM>, for example, the rear lights etc. Subsequently, the electrical systems associated with the dispenser unit <NUM>, the fuel dispenser <NUM> etc, will become enabled and fuel can begin to be dispensed to an intended external vehicle.

Once the operator has dispensed the desired amount of fuel, the electrical interlock system can be disabled to disable the dispenser unit's <NUM> electrical systems and enable the driver unit's <NUM> electrical systems such that the operator can subsequently drive the vehicle <NUM> as desired.

Favourably, the electrical interlock system may further comprise a gas detector sensor (not shown) that is in electronic communication with the electrical interlock system such that the sensor may provide electrical signals to the interlock system. Here, the sensor is used to determine the level of an ambient pre-defined gas. Accordingly, the type of sensor integrated with the interlock system can be chosen depending on the desired type of gas to be detected. The sensor may be calibrated such that it sends an electrical signal to the electrical interlock system when a pre-defined level of ambient gas is detected. The electrical interlock system may comprise a plurality of gas detector sensors to detect a plurality of pre-defined gases.

On receiving the electrical signal from the sensor, the interlock system can determine whether to activate or remain disabled. A threshold level of pre-defined ambient gas is calibrated within the sensor such that the sensor alerts the interlock system if the ambient levels of gas are at the defined threshold level. In this way, the interlock system would only activate the dispenser unit's <NUM> electrical systems if a sufficiently low and safe level of pre-defined ambient gas is detected and vice versa; this allows potentially hazardous events, such as fuel vapour poisoning, to be avoided.

Preferably, the vehicle <NUM> may further comprise additional beacon lights such that when the fuel dispenser <NUM> is dispensing fuel, the beacon lights begin to flash. The flashing mode of the beacon lights helps to alert people within close proximity of the vehicle <NUM> that fuel is being dispensed. Again, this allows potentially hazardous events, such as physical interference of the hose dispensers <NUM> while in use, to be avoided.

Claim 1:
Apparatus for a portable fuel distribution system (<NUM>) comprising a vehicle (<NUM>), pump, fuel tank and controller, the vehicle (<NUM>) being modified to further comprise divided units, the divided units comprising:
a dispenser unit (<NUM>);
a tank unit (<NUM>); and
a driver unit (<NUM>),
whereby the pump, fuel tank and controller of the portable fuel distribution system (<NUM>) are housed and integrally mounted within units (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
wherein the pump is in fluid communication with the fuel tank and arranged to receive commands from the controller to dispense fuel from the fuel tank, and fuel can be dispensed accurately from the fuel tank down to a quantity of <NUM> litres; and
characterised in that the vehicle also comprises an electrical interlock system, wherein the electrical interlock system is arranged to disable the electrical systems of the driver unit (<NUM>) and enable the electrical systems of the dispenser unit (<NUM>) once the electrical interlock system is activated.