Patent ID: 7469184

Claim:
A system to provide navigational refueling assistance for a vehicle, the system comprising: a fuel sensor; a positioning device that determines a location of the vehicle and a direction of travel of the vehicle; a database of refueling stations, the database including refueling-station locations; a user interface; and a processor coupled to the fuel sensor and the user interface, and in communication with the positioning device and the database, wherein the processor estimates a remaining-fuel range of the vehicle, defines a search zone for searching for refueling stations, the search zone defined by at least (i) an axis along the direction of travel of the vehicle, (ii) the estimated remaining-fuel range of the vehicle, and (iii) an expandable angular range to either side of the axis, the angular range being initially such that the search zone is limited to an area substantially ahead of the location of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and searches the database for any refueling stations located within the search zone, wherein if the processor finds in the database one or more refueling stations located within the search zone, the processor provides information on the one or more refueling stations to the user interface for presentation to a driver of the vehicle, and wherein if the processor does not find in the database any refueling station located within the search zone, the processor expands the angular range of the search zone and returns to search the database, and if the processor does not find any refueling station after the processor expands the angular range of the search zone such that the search zone covers a substantially circular area around the location of the vehicle, the processor thereafter expands a radius of the substantially circular area corresponding to the search zone and returns to search the database, the processor expanding the radius and searching the database until the processor finds at least one refueling station.