Fueling Station Non-Fuel Item Display, Purchase, and Payment Systems

摘要

Customers purchasing fuel from a dispenser may engage in non-fuel transactions using a tablet computing system affixed on or near a fuel dispenser. A tablet computer may be used to display information regarding available items, services, charitable opportunities, or other options to a fuel customer, receive inputs requesting additional information from the fuel customer, and/or receive an input indicating a desire to engage in a transaction from a fuel customer. Purchased items may be available for pick-up by a customer inside a store, available for pick-up at a drive through window, and/or delivered to the customer at a fuel dispenser. A payment mechanism may be provided in conjunction with the tablet computer. The tablet computer provided may be constructed in such a way to be protected from physical damage and weather.

主权项

1. A system to facilitate non-fuel transactions by a fuel customer at a fuel dispenser, the system comprising:
a non-fuel item payment mechanism distinct from any fuel payment mechanism associated with the fuel dispenser; a tablet computing device having data connections with at least the non-fuel transaction payment mechanism and an external database of non-fuel transactions, the tablet computing device comprising at least a touch-sensitive display and a computer processor executing computer readable code retained in a non-transitory medium, the computer readable code causing the computer processor of the tablet computing device to coordinate the display of information to the fuel customer by the touch-sensitive display, the receipt of touch inputs from the fuel customer by the touch-sensitive display, and the processing of payments for non-fuel transactions by the non-fuel transaction payment mechanism to perform a method of:
displaying information on the touch-sensitive display describing a plurality of non-fuel transactions available,receiving touch inputs on the touch-sensitive display from the customer selecting at least one non-fuel transaction,processing a payment for the at least one non-fuel transaction selected by the customer, the payment made using the non-fuel transaction payment mechanism, andcoordinating the performance of non-fuel transactions with the fuel customer; an enclosure that seals the tablet computing device from liquids and retains the tablet computer in an orientation accessible by a customer at the fuel dispenser, the enclosure affixing the tablet computing device to the fuel dispenser; and at least one database of non-fuel transactions available to the fuel customer, the at least one database of non-fuel transactions accessible by the computer processor of the tablet computing device and used by the tablet computing device to identify non-fuel transactions available the fuel customer.