GB2155437A

GB2155437A - Fuel supplying apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2155437A
Application number: GB08506385A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kazuhisa Yamashita
Original assignee: Tokico Ltd
Current assignee: Tokico Ltd
Priority date: 1984-03-12
Filing date: 1985-03-12
Publication date: 1985-09-25
Also published as: JPS60193892A; MY101496A; GB8506385D0; GB2155437B

Abstract

A fuel supplying apparatus comprises a main body 11 with a fuel supplying nozzle 19 provided on the end of a fuel supply hose 18, a pump 13 and a flowmeter 14 for measuring the flow rate of fuel pumped from the pump. A price operation circuit 35 calculates the price of supplied fuel based on the flow rate of fuel measured by the flowmeter and preset unit price of fuel. A supplemental fuel supply switch 7 controls a supplemental fuel supply; a supplemental fuel; supply setting circuit 39 responsive to the supplemental fuel supply switch rounds the price of supplied fuel calculated by the price operation circuit before the supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated, so that a predetermined one or plurality of lower digits of the price become equal to zero, and a fuel supply control circuit supplied a supplemental fuel supply until the total quantity of fuel supplied reaches a quantity corresponding to the rounded price obtained in the supplemental fuel supply setting circuit 39. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fuel supplying apparatus The present invention generally relates to fuel supplying apparatuses, and more particularly to a fuel supplying apparatus which carries out such a fuel supplying operation that the price of the supplied fuel is rounded by supplementing a predetermined quantity of fuel so that a lowermost digit or a plurality of lower digits of the price are rounded to zero.

Conventionally, there is a fuel supplying apparatus which comprises a display device for displaying the price of supplied fuel, in addition to displaying the quantity of supplied fuel. In such a fuel supplying apparatus, the unit price of the fuel is preset, and the price of supplied fuel is calculated by multiplying the preset unit price and the quantity of supplied fuel. On the other hand, the fuel supplying apparatus generally has the socalled automatic stopping function so that the supply of fuel through an open nozzle valve is automatically stopped when the fuel is supplied to the capacity of a tank of a vehicle and a fluid surface is detected. When the supply of fuel is stopped automatically in these kinds of fuel supplying apparatus, a lowermost digit or a plurality of lower digits of the price of supplied fuel are not zero in most cases from the probability standpoint.The lowermost digit or the plurality of lower digits of the price of supplied fuel are not equal to zero from the probability standpoint, also in a case where the nozzle valve is closed manually at an arbitrary time during the fuel supplying operation. In such cases, the price of supplied fuel includes odds (fractions), and it is inconvenient for the customer in that the customer must pay the price which includes the odds. It is also inconvenient for the service station in that the service station must keep a large supply of small change for cases where the customer does not have the exact change.Hence, it is usual practice for an operator to repeat a sequence in which the nozzle valve is manually opened and closed after the fuel supply is stopped automatically or stopped manually at the arbitrary time, while monitoring the price of supplied fuel displayed on the display device, until the lowermost digit or the plurality of lower digits of the price become equal to zero. However, it is troublesome for the operator to supply the fuel in terms of small quantities while monitoring the price of supplied fuel displayed on the display device. Further, it requires skill on the part of the operator to stop the supply of fuel in small quantities at the point when the lowermost digit or the plurality of lower digits of the price of supplied fuel become exactly equal to zero.

On the other hand, there conventionally is a preset type fuel supplying apparatus. According to this preset type fuel supplying apparatus, a fixed price of fuel to be supplied is preset, which fixed price has a lowermost digit or a plurality of lower digits thereof exactly equal to zero, and the fuel supplying operation is automatically stopped when the quantity of supplied fuel reaches a quantity corresponding to the preset fixed price. However, the preset type fuel supplying apparatus is disadvantageous in that it is impossible to preset arbitrary fixed prices having the lowermost digit or the plurality of lower digits thereof exactly equal to zero. In other words, it is only possible to preset a certain number of fixed prices, and the operator cannot select an arbitrary fixed price.There conventionally is another kind of preset type fuel supplying apparatus comprising an input device such as a ten-key device. A desired price of fuel to be supplied is preset by manipulating the ten-key device, and the fuel supplying operation is automatically stopped when the quantity of supplied fuel reaches a quantity corresponding to the preset desired price. However, there is a disadvantage in that the operator must manipulate keys of the tenkey device to preset the desired price every time a fuel supplying operation is to be carried out. In addition, since the ten-key device is usually provided on a side of a main body of the fuel supplying apparatus, the operator must carry out a trouble operation of manipulating the keys of the ten-key device while facing the side of the main body of the fuel supplying apparatus every time the desired price is to be preset.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful fuel supplying apparatus in which the disadvantages described heretofore are eliminated.

The present invention provides a fuel supplying apparatus comprising, a main body comprising a fuel supplying nozzle provided on a tip end of a fuel supplying hose, a pump for pumping fuel to said fuel supplying hose, and a flowmeter for measuring the flow rate of fuel pumped from said pump, a price operation circuit for calculating a price of supplied fuel based on the flow rate of fuel measured by said flowmeter and a unit price of fuel, said unit price being preset, a supplemental fuel supply switch for instructing a supplemental fuel supply, a supplemental fuel supply setting circuit responsive to the manipulation of said supplemental fuel supply switch for rounding the price of supplied fuel calculated by said price operation circuit before the supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated so that predetermined one or a plurality of lower digits of the price become equal to zero, and a fuel supply control circuit for starting a supplemental fuel supply from a quantity of fuel supplied before said supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated and for stopping the supplemental fuel supply when a quantity of supplied fuel reaches a quantity corresponding to the rounded price obtained in said supplemental fuel supply setting circuit.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supplying apparatus in which a small quantity of fuel is supplemented until a lowermost digit or a plurality of lower digits of the price of supplied fuel become exactly equal to zero when a fuel supplement switch is manipulated after the supply of fuel is once stopped. According to the fuel supplying apparatus of the present in vention, a small quantity of fuel is supplemented until the lower digits of the price of supplied fuel become equal to zero and the price of supplied fuel is rounded, regardless of a desired quantity of fuel to be supplied. As a result, the lower digits of the price of supplied fuel are always equal to zero.

Hence, the customer is not inconvenienced in that the customer need not pay a price which includes odds, and the service station is not inconvenienced in that the service station need not keep a large supply of small change for cases where the customer does not have the exact change. Further, there is no need to carry out a troublesome operation of manipulating a ten-key device nor carry out a troublesome operation of repeating a sequence in which the nozzle valve is manually opened and closed to supply the fuel in small quantities as in the case of the conventional fuel supplying apparatus.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supplying apparatus in which the fuel supplement switch is provided in a vicinity of a fuel supplying nozzle. According to the fuel supplying apparatus of the present invention, the operation of supplementing a small quantity of fuel so as to round the price of supplied fuel can be carried out by simply manipulating the fuel supplement switch provided in the vicinity of the fuel supplying nozzle, without the need to make access to a main body of the fuel supplying apparatus.

Hence, the operation of supplementing the small quantity of fuel can be carried out swiftly with extreme ease.

Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a general front view, with a part cut away, showing an embodiment of the fuel supplying apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a general system diagram showing the fuel supplying apparatus shown in FIG.1; Figure 3 is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a control circuit within the system shown in FIG.2 together with parts related thereto; and Figure 4 is a system block diagram showing an embodiment of a supplementing fuel setting circuit within the block system shown in FIG.3.

In FIG.1, a main body 11 of a fuel supplying apparatus 10 comprises a pump 13 which is connected to an underground fuel storage tank (not shown) by way of a pipe arrangement 12, a flowmeter 14 connected to an output side of the pump 13 and the like. The pump 13 is driven by a motor 15. The flowmeter 14 comprises an oscillator 16 which generates a flow rate pulse for every predetermined flow rate (0.01 liters, for example) of fuel.

An output side of the flowmeter 14 is connected to a fuel supplying nozzle 19 by way of a pipe arrangement 17 and a fuel supplying hose 18. A nozzle case 20 is provided on the main body 11 for hooking the fuel supplying nozzle 19 thereon. A nozzle switch 21 is provided on the nozzle case 20.

The nozzle switch 21 opens when the fuel supplying nozzle 19 is hooked onto the nozzle case 20 and closes when the fuel supplying nozzle 19 is unhooked from the nozzle case 20. A control and display unit 22 is provided on the upper part of the main body 11. The control and display unit 22 comprises a display device 23, a control circuit 24 which will be described later on in the specification in conjunction with FIG.2 and the like. The display device 23 comprises an indicator 23a for indicating a quantity (liters) of supplied fuel, an indicator 23b for indicating a price ( or Yens) of supplied fuel and an indicator 23c for indicating the unit price (/ liter) of fuel.

When the operator unhooks the fuel supplying nozzle 19 from the nozzle case 20, the nozzle switch 21 closes and the motor 15 starts to rotate.

As a result, the fuel in the underground fuel storage tank is sucked up into the main body 11. When the operator handles a lever 19a of the fuel supplying nozzle 19 to open a nozzle valve, the sucked up fuel is ejected through a nozzle opening 19b of the fuel supplying nozzle 19 and is supplied to a tank of a vehicle or the like. In this case, the quantity of supplied fuel and the price of supplied fuel are indicated on the respective indicators 23a and 23b.

In the general system diagram shown in FIG.2, the control circuit 24 controls the indications of the quantity of supplied fuel and the price of supplied fuel, controls supplementing of fuel so that the price of supplied fuel is rounded, and the like. The control circuit 24 receives outputs of the oscillator 16, the nozzle switch 21, a unit price setting switch 25 provided at such a position within the control and display unit 22 that the unit price setting switch 25 is not accessible by the customer, a price selecting switch 26 provided at a suitable position on the main body 11, and a switch 27 mounted in a vicinity of the fuel supplying nozzle 19. The price selecting switch 26 is used to select which of the lower digits of the price of supplied fuel is to be rounded to zero, that is, whether the price is to be rounded to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000, for example.The switch 27 is used to instruct a supplement fuel supplying operation.

A more detailed description will now be given by referring to FIGS.3 and 4.

First, when the operator unhooks the fuel supplying nozzle 19 from the nozzle case 20, the nozzle switch 21 closes and an output nozzle signal of the nozzle switch 21 is supplied to a nozzle signal input circuit 30. An output signal of the input circuit 30 is supplied to a counting circuit 31, a motor drive control circuit 32 and a price operation circuit 35.

As a result, the counting circuit 31 and the price operation circuit 35 are initialized, and the indicators 23a and 23b are reset to zero through indicator driving circuits 36 and 38. At the same time, the motor drive control circuit 32 which receives the nozzle signal through the input circuit 30, drives the motor 15 through a motor driving circuit 33.

When the operator handles the nozzle lever 19a of the fuel supplying nozzle 19 and opens the nozzle valve, the fuel pumped out from the pump 13 is ejected through the nozzle valve and the oscillator 16 starts to generate the flow rate pulses. The flow rate pulses are passed through a flow rate puise input circuit 34 and are supplied to the counter 31 and the price operation circuit 35. The counting circuit 35 counts the flow rate pulses, and a counted output signal of the counting circuit 35 is supplied to the indicator driving circuit 36. Hence, the quantity of supplied fuel is indicated on the indicator 23a in terms of 0.01 liters, for example. An output unit price signal of the unit price setting switch 25 is supplied to the price operation circuit 35 through a unit price signal input circuit 37.The price operation circuit 35 calculates the price of supplied fuel from the output flow rate pulses of the input circuit 34 and the output unit price signal of the input circuit 37, and produces a price signal indicative of the calculated price of supplied fuel. The output price signal of the price operation circuit 35 is supplied to the indicator driving circuit 38. Therefore, the price of supplied fuel is indicated on the indicator 23b in Yens (or in an appropriate currency). In addition, as will be described later on in the specification, the price operation circuit 35 supplies a price signal SI to a supplementing fuel supply setting circuit 39.

Next, it will be assumed that the operator releases the nozzle lever 19a as the quantity of supplied fuel approaches a desired quantity, or that the fluid surface reaches the nozzle opening 19b and the automatic stopping function is triggered. In this case, the nozzle valve closes and the fuel supply is stopped. It will be assumed that the price of supplied fuel indicates a price of 3,563 Yens, for example. When the operator wishes to supplement a small quantity of fuel so that the lower digits of the price of supplied fuel become equal to zero and the price is rounded, the operator manipulates the switch 27 and thereafter handles the nozzle lever 19a again to start a supplementary fuel supplying operation. When the switch 27 is pushed, an output supplement signal of the switch 27 is supplied to a supplement signal input circuit 40.An output preset signal S2 of the input circuit 40 is supplied to the supplementing fuel supply setting circuit 39.

In FIG.4, the preset signal S2 from the input circuit 40 is passed through an input terminal 41b and is supplied to an adding price setting circuit 42 and a price rounding circuit 43 within the supplementing fuel supply setting circuit 39. The adding price setting circuit 42 produces an adding price signal indicating a price of supplied fuel corresponding to a minimum quantity of fuel which can be supplemented under correct control. The minimum quantity of fuel which can be supplemented under correct control is related to an oversupply quantity which is supplied from a time when the motor 15 is stopped until a time when the fuel supply actually stops, and indicates a price of 3 Yens, for example.The adding price setting circuit 42 supplies the adding price signal to an adding circuit 44 when the preset signal S2 is supplied to the adding price setting circuit 42.

The adding circuit 44 adds the adding price signal (indicating 3 Yens in this case) from the adding price setting circuit 42 and the price signal SI (indicating 3,563 Yens in this case) which is obtained from the price operation circuit 35 through an input terminal 41a. An output added signal (indicating 3,566 Yens in this case) of the adding circuit 44 is supplied to the price rounding circuit 43. On the condition that the preset signal S2 is supplied to the price rounding circuit 43, the price rounding circuit 43 rounds the lower digits of the added signal (indicating 3,566 Yens) to zero. When the lowermost digit is selected by the price selecting switch 26, the price rounding circuit 43 rounds the price of "3,566 Yens" into "3,570 Yens", that is, rounds the price in terms of 10 Yens so that the lowermost digit of the price is zero.On the other hand, when the two lowermost digits are selected by the price selecting switch 26, the price rounding circuit 43 rounds the price of "3,566 Yens" into "3,600 Yens", that is, rounds the price in terms of 100 Yens so that the two lowermost digits of the price are zero. Further, when the three lowermost digits are selected by the price selecting circuit 26, the price rounding circuit 43 rounds the price of "3,566 Yens" into "4,000 Yens", that is, rounds the price in terms of 1000 Yens so that the three lowermost digits of the price are zero. In a case where the price signal S1 indicates a price of "3,569 Yens", for example, the added signal described before indicates a price of "3,572 Yens". Thus, in this case, the price rounding circuit 43 rounds the price of "3,572 Yens" into "3,580 Yens", "3,600 Yens" or "4,000 Yens".

Next, a difference calculating circuit 45 calculates the difference between the rounded signal (indicating 3,570 Yens, for example) and the price signal SI (indicating 3,563 Yens, for example) from the input terminal 41a, and produces a difference signal indicative of the difference (7 Yens in this case) between the two prices. The output difference signal of the difference calculating circuit 45 is supplied to the motor drive control circuit 32.

Returning now to the description of the block system shown in FIG.3, the motor drive control circuit 32 calculates a quantity of fuel which is to be supplemented based on the difference signal (indicating 7 Yens) and the unit price signal (indicating 150 Yens, for example) by performing an operation 7/150 . 0.05 liters, for example. Accompanied by the supplemental fuel supply, the motor drive control circuit 32, receives the output flow rate pulses of the oscillator 16 through the input circuit 34.

Based on the flow rate pulses, the motor drive control circuit 32 makes the motor driving circuit 33 inoperative after a time which is required to supply the calculated quantity of fuel to be supplemented and stops the motor 15 so as to automatically terminate the supplemental fuel supply. The time corresponding to the quantity of fuel to be supplemented, during which time the motor 15 is driven, is determined by making reference to a table memory (not shown) within the motor drive control circuit 32 The table memory stores the relationship between the quantity of fuel to be supplemented and the time during which the motor 15 is to be driven.It is possible to store the relationship between the difference obtained from the dif ference calculating circuit 45 described before and the time during which the motor 15 is to be driven, and determine from the table memory the time in which the motor 15 is to be driven to supplement a given quantity of fuel.

As indicated by a phantom line L in FIG.3, the counted output of the counting circuit 31 may be supplied to the motor drive control circuit 32. In this case, the motor 15 is stopped when an increase in the counted output coincides with the quantity of fuel to be supplemented. An even more accurate supplemental fuel supply can be carried out in this case.

In the embodiment described heretofore, the quantity of fuel to be supplemented is controlled by controlling the motor 15 which drives the pump 13. However, a magnetic valve 46 may be inserted in the pipe arrangement 17 between the flowmeter 14 and the fuel supplying hose 18 as indicated by phantom lines in FIGS.2 and 3. In this case, the driving time of the magnetic valve 46 is controlled to control the quantity of fuel to be supplemented.

In a case where the driving and stoppage of the motor 15 or the magnetic valve 46 can be performed with a satisfactory response characteristic and it is possible to supply an extremely small quantity of fuel, that is, in a case where the re sponse at the time of stopping the fuel supply is extremely good and the oversupply quantity of fuel is negligible, it is not essential to provide the add ing price setting circuit 42 and the adding circuit 44. In such a case, the price signal SI can be sup plied directly to the price rounding circuit 43.

It is possible to increase the price of supplied fuel in terms of the selected lower digits of the price, that is, in terms of 10 Yens, 100 Yens, or 1,000 Yens, by repetitively pushing the price select ing switch 26. In addition, although the embodi ment is described for the case where the present invention is applied to a ground-installed type fuel supplying apparatus, it is perfectly possible to ap ply the present invention to a hanging type fuel supplying apparatus.

Further, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but various variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fuel supplying apparatus comprising: a main body comprising a fuel supplying nozzle provided on a tip end of a fuel supplying hose, a pump for pumping fuel to said fuel supplying hose, and a flowmeter for measuring the flow rate of fuel pumped from said pump; a price operation circuit for calculating a price of supplied fuel based on the flow rate of fuel meas ured by said flowmeter and a unit price of fuel, said unit price being preset; a supplemental fuel supply switch for instructing a supplemental fuel supply; a supplemental fuel supply setting circuit re sponsive to the manipulation of said supplemental fuel supply switch for rounding the price of supplied fuel calculated by said price operation circuit before the supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated so that predetermined one or a plurality of lower digits of the price become equal to zero; and a fuel supply control circuit for starting a supplemental fuel supply from a quantity of fuel supplied before said supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated and for stopping the supplemental fuel supply when a quantity of supplied fuel reaches a quantity corresponding to the rounded price obtained in said supplemental fuel supply setting circuit.

2. A fuel supplying apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a lower digit selecting switch for selecting a lowermost digit or a plurality of lower digits of the price to be rounded with respect to said supplemental fuel supply setting circuit, and said supplemental fuel supply setting circuit comprises a price rounding circuit for rounding the price of supplied fuel calculated by said price operation circuit before said supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated so that the lowermost digits or the lower digits selected by said lower digit selecting switch become equal to zero, and a difference calculating circuit for calculating a difference between the rounded price obtained in said price rounding circuit and the price of supplied fuel calculated by said price operation circuit before said supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated.

3. A fuel supplying apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said fuel supply control circuit stops the supplemental fuel supply after a time corresponding to said difference calculated by said difference calculating circuit from the start of the supplemental fuel supply.

4. A fuel supplying apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said supplemental fuel supply setting circuit further comprises an adding circuit for obtaining an added signal by adding the price of supplied fuel calculated by said price operation circuit before said supplemental fuel supply switch is manipulated and a price corresponding to an oversupply quantity of fuel which is supplied from a time when an instruction is supplied to stop a motor for driving said pump and a time when the fuel supply is actually stopped, said adding circuit supplying the added signal to said price rounding circuit.

5. A fuel supplying apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said supplemental fuel supply switch is provided in a a vicinity of said fuel supplying nozzle.