WO2013079974A1

WO2013079974A1 - A method, apparatus and system for controlling fuel supply

Info

Publication number: WO2013079974A1
Application number: PCT/GB2012/052982
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Morris; John Mclaren
Original assignee: Barchester Group Ltd.; Ernst & Young Llp
Priority date: 2011-12-01
Filing date: 2012-11-30
Publication date: 2013-06-06
Also published as: GB2498920A; GB201120722D0

Abstract

A system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle. The system has an authorisation server coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications network to enable data to reach the authorisation server. The authorisation server is configured to communicate with the control device to receive identification data identifying a vehicle requesting fuel, consolidate data from one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for the identified vehicle based on the consolidated data and provide the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not to authorise the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

Description

A METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING FUEL SUPPLY TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to authorisation of supply of fuel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus and system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to vehicles.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Road vehicles, such as cars or the like, typically require numerous levels of authorisation in order to be used. For example, according to UK Governmental regulations and laws, road vehicles require insurance policies against damage and/or theft, a tax levy for the maintenance of vehicle-related structures such as roads (for which the tax payment is represented by displaying a road tax disc about the vehicle), a vehicle check/test certificate in order to ensure that the vehicle complies with road safety and environmental standards (Ministry of Transport (MOT) test certificate) and a vehicle licence requirement (a valid registration number plate). Often, laws and vehicle regulations are abused, resulting in what is generally known as "motoring crime". Motoring crime includes vehicle theft, illegal vehicle use such as a person driving the vehicle without insurance, an expired or non-existing MOT test certificate or an expired or non-displayed road tax disc. Road vehicles also require fuel such as petroleum in order to operate. Access to fuel is typically provided at various fixed geographical locations at designated fuel facilities such as petrol stations. A vehicle user may position their vehicle next to a fuelling pump of the petrol station. The vehicle is then fuelled to a desired amount using a fuel supply nozzle of the fuelling pump. The vehicle user may then pay for the delivered fuel at a kiosk in the petrol station. Alternatively, the access to the fuel may require a pre-authorisation to enable the petrol pump to dispense the desired amount of fuel. The authorisation can be dependent on a financial transaction being established to purchase the desired amount of fuel prior to the fuel delivery (commonly known as a "pay at pump" fuel delivery system).

Enforcement of the various motoring laws and regulations is difficult to control. In particular, aspects such as the mobility of vehicles make it difficult for any vehicles involved in motoring crime to be tracked and controlled.

A need therefore exists to alleviate some of the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment provides a system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising an authorisation server coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications network to enable data to reach the authorisation server, wherein the authorisation server is configured to:

communicate with the control device to receive identification data identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

consolidate data from one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for the identified vehicle based on the consolidated data; and provide the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not to authorise the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

This and other aspects of the invention have the advantage that the authorisation of the supply of fuel to the vehicle based on identifying the vehicle to be fuelled allows a control over the vehicle. In particular, controlling a vehicle's access to fuel enables a certain amount of control over the mobility of the vehicle itself. Thereby, motoring crime can be better controlled by exercising a control over the fuelling of vehicles via authorisation status information.

Consolidation of data may comprise reading the data and determining an authorisation status based on the data. The consolidation of the data allows more efficient on the fly interpretation of data items to improve the efficiency of the server processing. Consolidation may further comprise analysing the combined data items associated with a vehicle to determine the authorisation status for that vehicle. This allows the authorisation server to efficiently check several parameters relating to a vehicle in order to determine an authorisation status for that vehicle.

The authorisation server may be configured to request data from one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for a vehicle in response to receipt of identification data for that vehicle. The determining of an authorisation status in response to receiving identification data allows a substantially real-time operation to occur. This advantageously provides an economic system whereby a vehicle user wishing to fuel their vehicle is provided with a time efficient vehicle check and need not wait for a long period of time to obtain permission, approval or authorisation to fuel their vehicle.

The authorisation status may comprise one of: an indication to decline the supply of fuel to the vehicle; an indication to allow the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle; and an indication to limit the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle. Thus, the indication to decline, allow or limit the supply of fuel can be used by a petrol station controller or operator to control the supply of fuel to an identified vehicle. The communications between the fuelling facility and the authorisation server may be encrypted. The encryption of communications between the fuelling facility and authorisation server inhibits a tampering of the authorisation status and other such data. This thereby increases the security of the communications between the fuelling facility and authorisation server.

The identification data may comprise a registration of the vehicle. The vehicle registration is a legal requirement in countries such as the United Kingdom and therefore provides a common reference for identifying vehicle-related data. Using the vehicle registration also allows systems such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems to be used to help generate vehicle identification, for example, which can be used in software.

The data may include vehicle information comprising at least one of: insurance information, road tax, MOT and flagged vehicle information. This data allows checks to be made to ensure that a vehicle is legally provisioned.

An embodiment provides a system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising an authorisation server adapted to be coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications link, wherein the authorisation server is configured to:

access data from one or more external authority databases to determine an authorisation status for the identified vehicle; and

provide the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not to authorise the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

access data from one or more databases;

determine an authorisation status for the vehicle based on data from the one or more databases and rules relating to how data from the one or more databases should be handled; and

An embodiment provides an authorisation server configured to control a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate with a control device at a fuel station to receive identification data identifying a vehicle requesting fuel and to communicate with one or more databases via a communications network; and

a data consolidation module configured to consolidate data from the one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for a vehicle identified by received identification data; and

a controller configured to provide authorisation status data to the control device to control whether or not the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle is authorised. An embodiment provides a method of controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, the method comprising an authorisation server:

communicating with a control device at a fuelling station to receive identification data identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

communicating with one or more databases storing vehicle data;

consolidating data from the one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for the vehicle; and

providing data representing the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not fuel is supplied to the identified vehicle. An embodiment provides a method of controlling supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

receiving from a control device at a fuel station vehicle identification data for a vehicle requesting fuel;

accessing data from one or more external authority databases to determine an authorisation status for the vehicle identified by the vehicle identification data; and

providing the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not the identified vehicle is supplied with fuel.

An embodiment provides a method for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

receiving from a control device at a fuelling station vehicle identification data for a vehicle requesting fuel;

accessing data from one or more databases;

determining an authorisation status for the vehicle based on data from the one or more databases and rules relating to how data from the one or more databases should be handled; and

providing the authorisation status to the control device to control whether or not to authorise the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle. An embodiment provides a control device for a fuel station, the control device being configured to control a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle and the control device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive, from a vehicle identification system, identification data for identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

a communications interface configured to communicate with an authorisation server to provide the identification data to the authorisation server and to receive from the authorisation server authorisation data for controlling the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle; and

a fuel supply controller configured to control the supply of fuel to the vehicle in dependence on the authorisation data.

An embodiment provides a method of controlling a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising a control device at a fuel station:

receiving, from a vehicle identification system, identification data for identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

communicating with an authorisation server to provide the identification data to the authorisation server and to receive from the authorisation server authorisation data for controlling the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle; and

controlling the supply of fuel to the vehicle in dependence on the authorisation data.

Other aspects are set out in the appended dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above and other aspects of the present invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a communication network having a real-time validation server, a plurality of petrol stations and a plurality of databases; Figure 2 shows a detailed schematic of a petrol station;

Figure 3 shows the real-time validation server connected to a plurality of databases; Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing a selection of processes which occur at the petrol station;

5 Figure 5 is a flow diagram showing a selection of processes which occur at the real-time validation server; and

Figure 6 is a flow diagram showing an example of processes shown in Figure 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

10

Overview

Figure 1 shows a communications network 1 having a plurality of petrol stations 3 (PS), a real-time validation server 5 (RTVS) and a plurality of databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 (DB). The petrol stations 3 and databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 are connected to the server 5 via 15 communication channels 9. These may be fixed line communication channels such as DSL communication channels.

Data is communicated via the communication channels 9 between the server 5 and the petrol stations 3, and also between the server 5 and the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75. 20 This may for example use an http or https protocol or a web service.

Figures 1 and 3 show the real-time validation server 5 as having a memory 31 connected to a data consolidation module 33. In this example, a communications interface 35 is provided to enable communication with the petrol stations 3 and the database modules 25 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 via the communication channels 9. The communications interface 35 is also capable of communicating with a call centre (not shown) which may enable a decision to refuse or limit fuel to be overridden in response to a telephone enquiry, for example the call centre may provide data to the server 5 to cause the server 5 to revise the authorisation data to allow supply of fuel.

30

The communications on the communication channels 9 are protected, for example, by encryption. Encryption/decryption modules (not shown) at the petrol stations 3, server 5 and databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 may be employed to carry out the encryption/decryption. The encryption of communications inhibits any unauthorised access to the communications. The encryption is in this example asymmetric and uses a public-private key system. In operation, the server 5 receives identification data from a petrol station 3 identifying a vehicle to be fuelled. In response to receiving the identification data, the server 5 interrogates the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75, receives data or data items from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 and processes the data items by consolidating the data items. Consolidation includes processing the data items from different databases to determine an authorisation status associated with the vehicle identification. The server 5 then forwards the authorisation status, which is indicative of whether the vehicle is authorised for fuelling or not, to the vehicle authorisation module 17 of the petrol station 3. The authorisation is based on the data items from the databases which represent vehicle-related data, such as vehicle insurance information.

Figures 1 and 2 show a petrol station 3 having a plurality of pumps 1 1 , a pump authorisation module 13, an imaging module 15 and a vehicle authorisation module 17. The vehicle authorisation module 17 comprises a communications module 19 and an alert device 21 . The pumps 1 1 each comprise a fuel supply controller 23. Two different forms of pump are illustrated in Figure 2. Pump 1 1 a is a manual pump which would normally dispense fuel under control of a petrol station attendant located in a payment kiosk who, in response to a customer removing the pump fuel supply nozzle from its holster, activates a control switch 130 to send a fuel supply control signal to the fuel supply controller 23 to cause dispensing of fuel. Pump 1 1 b is an automatic pump providing for payment at the pump and has a "pay at pump" selection button (input) to enable a customer to elect an automatic "pay at pump" option by selecting the button or to operate the pump as a manual pump. When the automatic "pay at pump" option is selected a signal would normally be sent to the fuel supply controller 23 to allow dispensing of fuel when a finance module 26 of the pump has received approval from a finance server.

The imaging module 15 comprises an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) module 25 and a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) module 27. The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) module 25 may be integrated in the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) module 27.

The pumps 1 1 and imaging module 15 are connected to the pump authorisation module 13 via communication channels 29. The vehicle authorisation module 17 is connected to the pump authorisation module 13 via communications channel 290 and to imaging module 15 via communications channel 291. The vehicle authorisation module 17 is capable of communicating with the real-time validation server 5 via the communication channel 9. The alert device 21 can trigger an alert in the form of a visual, audible alert or a warning message.

The fuel supply controller 23 of each pump allows the dispensing of fuel by that pump to be controlled and comprises a mechanism (not shown) for enabling and preventing the dispensing of fuel.

The fuel supply controller 23 is arranged to send a fuel request signal to the pump authorisation module 13 indicating a request for fuel.

In a manual mode of operation (i.e. using the manual pump), the fuel supply controller 23 sends the fuel request signal in response to a customer removing the fuel supply nozzle from its holster. In an automatic mode of operation (i.e. using the automatic pump), the controller 23 sends the fuel request signal in response to receiving approval by the finance module 26 from the finance server. The pump authorisation module 13 is arranged to send the fuel request signal to the vehicle authorisation module 17.

In response to receipt of the fuel request signal from the pump authorisation module 13, the vehicle authorisation module 17 is arranged to activate the imaging module 15 to determine a vehicle registration/number plate using a character recognition algorithm. The imaging module 15 may do this by first capturing an image of at least a portion of the vehicle, and more particularly an imaging region comprising the vehicle registration/number plate, and then analysing the captured image in order to determine the vehicle number plate as vehicle identification data. The analysis may be carried out by a processor which uses an algorithm for carrying out image processing to decipher and recognise characters on the number plate.

The vehicle identification data is passed from the imaging module 15 to the vehicle authorisation module 17. The vehicle authorisation module 17 sends the identification data to the real-time validation server 5.

In response to receiving the identification data, the server 5 requests data from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 corresponding to that vehicle identification data, interprets the received data to determine authorisation data including an authorisation status of the vehicle (i.e. whether or not the vehicle is authorised to access fuel) and an alert status (indicating whether or not the alert device 21 should be triggered).

The server returns the authorisation data to the vehicle authorisation module 17 which then provides an appropriate fuel supply control signal to the fuel supply controller 23 via the pump authorisation module 13.

In the example shown, the plurality of databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 includes a number of external authority databases: Motor Insurance Database (MID) 71 , Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) database 72, and a Ministry of Transport (MOT) database 73.

The MID 71 is a database containing up-to-date details for all insurance companies about the insurance status of vehicles on the road. The DVLA database 72 contains vehicle licensing details, information about whether or not the relevant tax levy has been paid for that vehicle, and information about whether or not a SORN (statutory off road notice) has been submitted. The MOT database 73 can be used to check or validate whether a vehicle has a current MOT certificate. These databases can be used in combination to enable a determination as to whether a vehicle is insured, taxed and has an up-to-date MOT certificate. The plurality of databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 also includes a Police National Computer database (PNC) and/or Police National Database (PND) 74 and a validation database 75. The database 74 stores vehicle identifiers or identification data for vehicles of interest to the police, such as stolen vehicles or vehicles associated with other crimes. The validation database 75 may store an exception history (number of times a request for fuel has initially been denied for a particular vehicle but then subsequently approved by a call centre). Operation

Figure 4 illustrates a process at a petrol station 3 in which the petrol station 3 can authorise the fuelling of a vehicle based on vehicle identification.

In step 51 , the vehicle authorisation module 17 determines whether an authorisation of the supply of fuel is required. Authorisation is determined to be required if a fuel request signal is received, via communications channel 290, from fuel supply controller 23.

At step 53, the vehicle authorisation module 17 activates the imaging module 15 via communications channel 291 , in response to the fuel request signal. The imaging module 15 captures one or more images of the vehicle.

At step 55, the ANPR module 25 processes the one or more captured images of the vehicle using an image processing operation in order to determine an identification of the vehicle, such as its vehicle registration or number plate. The ANPR module 25 then sends the determined number plate information to the vehicle authorisation module 17.

The process then moves onto step 57 where the vehicle authorisation module 17 sends the number plate data as identification data, via communication channel 9, to the realtime validation server 5. The identification data also includes a petrol station identifier identifying the petrol station 3 and petrol pump 1 1 so that the server 5 knows the identity of the requesting petrol station 5 and petrol pump 1 1.

At step 59, the vehicle authorisation module 17 receives an authorisation message or authorisation data from the real-time validation server 5. The authorisation message is associated with the received identification data and comprises data indicating an authorisation status (which may indicate to allow, decline or limit the supply of fuel) for the identified vehicle and an alert status.

For example, if a vehicle is uninsured, the authorisation status indicates that fuelling should be declined or limited. The alert status could be set to indicate that an alert should either be given or prevented.

At step 61 , the vehicle authorisation module 17 parses the authorisation message in order to determine the authorisation status and alert status, which will be used to determine an output or action (allow, decline or limit) based on the authorisation message. The vehicle authorisation module 17 generates an appropriate fuel supply control signal based on the determined output. At step 63, the pump authorisation module 13 receives the fuel supply control signal from the vehicle authorisation module 17. The fuel supply control signal is, without any local operator input, passed to the relevant pump 1 1 so that the pump controller 23 can automatically control the supply of fuel to the vehicle (by allowing, preventing or limiting the supply of fuel in accordance with the fuel supply control signal). Therefore, the local operator has no control over fuel delivery. As the local operator does not have any control over the fuel delivery, the operator may not then be coerced (e.g. by a disgruntled vehicle user) into enabling any fuel delivery.

Figure 5 illustrates a process in which the real-time validation server 5 authorises the fuelling of a vehicle based on vehicle identification.

At step 65, identification data for an identified vehicle is received via the communications interface 35 from a petrol station 3. At step 67, the server 5 receives data or data items, via the communications interface 35, from the plurality of databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75. The data is "pulled" from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 (i.e. the server 5 requests the data) in response to receiving vehicle identification data from the vehicle authorisation module 17. The data items received from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 are each already associated with a vehicle and accordingly comprise identification data identifying each vehicle with which they are associated. Therefore, for example, a data item received from the MID database 71 will be associated with a particular vehicle indicating whether or not that particular vehicle is insured. As such, the data item will comprise identification data for the particular vehicle so that the server 5 can link the data item with the particular vehicle.

The data is consolidated at step 69 using data consolidation module 33. Consolidating the data means reading data values supplied by the databases, interpreting the data values and storing. For example, the databases may indicate whether or not the vehicle is in compliance with the database requirements, for example for the MID database whether the vehicle is insured, for the MOT database whether it has a valid MOT certificate, for the DVLA database whether its tax is up-to-date, and so on.

In the following, where a vehicle is determined to comply with a database requirement, then the data is interpreted as "TRUE". In contrast, where a vehicle is determined not to comply with a database requirement, then the data is interpreted as "FALSE". The data consolidation module 33 processes the received data items to determine an authorisation status and an alert status (step 71 ). For example, if all of the data items are "TRUE", than the authorisation status is set as "TRUE" (i.e. allow fuelling) and the alert status is set as "FALSE" (i.e. do not trigger alert). Data from a single database can be used for the consolidation, say, for example, from the MID 71 , or data from several databases can be used. Furthermore, the system can be augmented by other databases to in order to provide additional vehicle checks, for example, international or foreign databases for foreign registered vehicles can be used. Another possible database is a database of vehicles that have driven away without paying for fuel. Such a database may be maintained by the company owning or controlling the fuelling station.

In the case where a single database is used, the consolidation step consists of interpretation and processing by the data consolidation module 33.

The interpretation and processing of the data items to determine the statuses follows a set of programmable rules stored in the memory 31 of the server 5 which are accessible by the data consolidation module 33. At step 73, the authorisation and alert statuses are compiled as authorisation data or an authorisation message for sending to the petrol station 3 from which the identification data was received. The petrol station 3 is identified using the petrol station identifier included within the identification data sent from the petrol station 3.

The authorisation data is then used by the petrol station 3 to control the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle. The data items may be translated using the rules and Boolean values to indicate whether or not a vehicle fulfils a criterion such as being insured. A "TRUE" data value indicates that the vehicle is insured. A "FALSE" data value indicates that the vehicle is uninsured. Thus, the "TRUE" value is indicative of an authorisation status to allow a vehicle to be fuelled, whereas the "FALSE" value is indicative of an authorisation status to decline/prevent or limit the supply of fuel to the vehicle.

Figure 6 shows one example of ways in which the processes of Figure 5 may be carried out in greater detail. After data has been requested at step 80 and data from a database is received at step 83, the data consolidation module 33 applies any rules associated with data from that database (step 85) and at step 87 determines an authorisation status on the basis of the available data.

At step 89, the data consolidation module 33 checks whether it has received data from all of the available databases, and if not ("NO"), repeats steps 80 to 87 until the answer at step 89 is "YES", at which point it sends the authorisation data to the requesting petrol station 3.

The rules applied at step 85 can be programmed into the memory 31 of the server 5 and may, for example, account for a "time-lag" in processing by the databases or for delays in updating of the databases. For example, a vehicle user may renew or purchase insurance the day after their previous insurance has expired. Although the vehicle user is then insured to drive, the MID database 71 indicating valid insurance details may not have been updated to take into account the latest insurance updates. Thus, a time lag, allowance or grace period is defined by the rules, for example, to indicate that an MID data item should read "TRUE" at least one full day after expiry of an insurance policy. Other rules are also employed such as the MOT data item always should read "TRUE" if the associated vehicle is less than three years old.

The following table gives examples of authorisation and alert statuses:

Or in the case of a single database:

Table 1.2. Expanded consolidation table for single database

The real-time validation server 5 is referred to as "real-time" because the authorisation data, and hence authorisation status, can be determined in a substantially real-time period (i.e. from a fraction of a second to a few seconds) so that there is no undue delay in a vehicle user's acquisition and purchase of fuel beyond the time that it would have ordinarily taken with, for example, the aforementioned pay at pump system. Data may be cached locally by the real-time validation server 5 to increase speed of response and enable operation in the event a link to a database fails. Modifications and Alternatives

A detailed embodiment has been described above. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a number of modifications and alternatives can be made to the above embodiment whilst still benefiting from the inventions embodied therein. By way of illustration only a number of these alternatives and modifications will now be described.

In the above embodiment, the communications module 19 and alert device 21 are provided as a single vehicle authorisation module 17. However, the communications module 19 may be provided separately from the alert device 21. In some circumstances, an alert may not be needed and therefore an alert status is not necessary. This simplifies the authorisation data and also simplifies the processing that occurs at the data consolidation module 33. In the above embodiment, the petrol pump 1 1 has an integrated controller 23. Alternatively, the controller 23 may be provided outside of the pump 1 1. For example, the controller can be provided between the pump 1 1 and the pump authorisation module 13. A combination of pumps 1 1 having integrated controllers with pumps 1 1 having external controllers may be used in a petrol station 3.

In the above embodiment, the system was activated by removal of a fuel supply nozzle from its holster or activation of a pay at pump button 11. As another possibility, detection of a vehicle at a pump by the CCTV module 27 may be used to activate the system. Sensors such as pressure sensors, proximity sensors or the like could also be used within a fuelling area (an area proximal to the pump 1 1 ) in order to trigger the fuel request signal instead of or in addition to using the CCTV module 27. The various triggering mechanism may be used in conjunction with one another (i.e. all require triggering in order to actuate the signal) or independently (i.e. only one mechanism requires triggering to actuate the signal and that mechanism may be any one of the mechanisms).

In the above embodiment, the petrol station identifier was included in the identification data in order for the server 5 to identify the petrol station 3. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to using a petrol station identifier, the communications interface 35 of the server 5 may be configured to determine the identity of the petrol station 3 as and when the identification data was received (for example, by recognising a port or communications channel on which the identification data was received).

In the above embodiment, different data items (data relating to MID, DVLA, MOT, etc) are obtained from different databases. Additionally or alternatively, the data may be obtained from a single database service having multiple sectors, each sector comprising data relating to the different data items or from two or more databases one or more of which has two or more sectors. The databases may be provided by one or more database servers which may be distributed geographically. Also the server 5 may be provided by a number of distributed servers, each having the same functionality, to provide robustness and redundancy. In the above embodiment, the vehicle registration number was recognised using an ANPR module 25. Alternatively or additionally, near-field communications technology such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or other wireless communications technology may be used to automatically transmit the vehicle identification from the vehicle to the petrol station 3. Other types of vehicle identification may be used instead of the vehicle registration number as long as the data items contained within the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 are associated with the type of vehicle identification.

The imaging module at a petrol station may typically have a camera for each pump with the camera positioned to have a single perspective view. For example, the camera may be positioned to capture an image of a front of a vehicle. A motorbike, or the like, might not have a number plate at its front and therefore this could cause difficulties for an ANPR module 25 as there would be no number plate to recognise. Therefore, to alleviate this problem, the camera may be positioned so that it would capture a different perspective view of the vehicle/motorbike, and more particularly, a rear view of the vehicle so that the rear number plate of the motorbike can be imaged. More than one camera, having differing perspective views can be used in combination with the ANPR module 25 in order to assist recognition of a vehicle number plate. The petrol station 3 may provide communication with a call centre. For example, if a vehicle user is refused fuel, the user can contact the call centre from the pump 1 1 in order to discuss the refusal with a service operator. A communication terminal may be provided as a part of the pump 1 1 to allow the user to contact the call centre.

The statuses may be determined in a systematic manner, for example, by checking each data type (MID, MOT, DVLA, etc) in a specific order. If a "FALSE" value is found, a determination of the status may be made without needing to check the remaining data items for that vehicle. As another possibility, authorisation status data for vehicles may be predetermined and stored by the server 5 for access when a fuel supply request is received

In the above embodiment, the communication channels 9, 29 are wired communication channels. However, the communications channels 9, 29 may instead be wireless or a combination of hardwired and wireless.

In the above embodiment, the communications are described as being encrypted using asymmetric encryption. Alternatively or additionally, the encryption may be symmetric and uses a private-key system.

In the above embodiment, the data is requested from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 (i.e. the server 5 requests the data). Alternatively or additionally, the data may be "pushed" from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 to the server 5 (i.e. the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75 transmit the data to the server 5 without any request being signalled from the server 5 to the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75) and stored at the server.

The ANPR module may simply be imaging processing software.

As described the vehicle authorisation module 17 activates the imaging module 15. As another possibility it could be the pump authorisation module 13 or the fuel supply controller 23 that activates the imaging module 15.

As described above, the petrol pump attendant does not have any control over the supply of fuel by a petrol pump, thereby reducing the possibility of the attendant being coerced by a disgruntled customer. As another possibility, the alert may enable a display of the authorisation status to allow a local operator of the petrol station 3 to manually control the fuel supply of the pump (by allowing, preventing or limiting the supply of fuel).

Where data is cached by server 5, the data can then be received periodically, for example, every hour, once a week, once a day, or any other time interval, dependent on an update rate of the data. Where the data is "pulled" by the server 5 from the databases 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75, then the update rate of the data can be manually input or programmed into the server 5.

Authorisation and alert need not necessarily be true and false but may be descriptive control terms. The present invention also provides a computer program product to program computing apparatus to provide one or more of the RTVS and the modules shown in Figure 1. Computing apparatus maybe programmed by program instructions provided by any one or more of: downloaded from a non-transitory data carrier such as a CDROM, DVD, memory stick or the like; downloaded as a signal from another computing apparatus, for example over a network, via a wireless or wired link; input by a user using the user interface.

It should appreciated that, whilst in the above embodiments features have been referred to as modules, which may be provided separately from one another, in other embodiments, the modules may be integrated so that they form a single module and/or device. For example, the pump and vehicle authorisation modules 13, 17 may be integrated as a single module.

Claims

1. A system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising an authorisation server coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications network to enable data to reach the authorisation server,

wherein the authorisation server is configured to:

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein consolidation of data comprises: reading the data and determining an authorisation status based on the data.

3. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation server is configured to consolidate data from at least two databases, wherein data from each database comprises a plurality of data items, each data item being associated with a vehicle.

4. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the consolidation comprises combining data items associated with the same vehicle from different databases.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the consolidation further comprises analysing the combined data items associated with a vehicle to determine the authorisation status for that vehicle.

6. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation server is configured to request data from one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for a vehicle in response to receipt of identification data for that vehicle.

7. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation server is configured to receive identification data from a vehicle identifier and is configured to provide authorisation data in response to a request for fuel.

8. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation status 5 comprises one of: an indication to decline the supply of fuel to the vehicle; an indication to allow the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle; and an indication to limit the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

9. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the communications 10 between the fuelling facility and the authorisation server are encrypted.

10. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein identification data comprises a registration of the vehicle.

15 1 1. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein data includes vehicle information comprising at least one of: insurance information, road tax, MOT and flagged vehicle information.

12. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation server is 20 configured to determine the authorisation status using one or more rules for handling data from different databases.

13. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein the authorisation server is configured to take into account at least one of delays in updating databases, grace

25 periods and time delay when determining the authorisation status.

14. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein the databases are independent of the fuel provider.

30 15. A system as in any preceding claim, wherein the databases comprise external authority databases.

16. A system as in any preceding claim, further comprising image processing modules located at the fuelling station configured to use image processing to identify or determine a vehicle registration.

17. A system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising an authorisation server adapted to be coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications link, wherein the authorisation server is configured to:

18. A system for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising an authorisation server adapted to be coupled to a control device at a fuelling station via a communications link, wherein the authorisation server is configured to:

access data from one or more databases;

19. A system as in claim 17 or 18 having the features set out in any of claims 2 to 16.

20. A system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

21. An authorisation server configured to control a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

a data consolidation module configured to consolidate data from the one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for a vehicle identified by received 5 identification data; and

a controller configured to provide authorisation status data to the control device to control whether or not the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle is authorised.

22. An authorisation server according to claim 21 having the features set out in any of 10 claims 2 to 20.

23. A method of controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, the method comprising an authorisation server:

communicating with a control device at a fuelling station to receive identification 15 data identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

communicating with one or more databases storing vehicle data;

providing data representing the authorisation status to the control device to 20 control whether or not fuel is supplied to the identified vehicle.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23, wherein consolidation of data comprises: reading the data and determining an authorisation status based on the data.

25 25. A method as claimed in claim 23 or 24, wherein data is consolidated from at least two databases, wherein data from each database comprises a plurality of data items, each data item being associated with a vehicle.

26. A method as claimed in claim 23, 24 or 25, wherein the consolidation comprises 30 combining data items associated with the same vehicle from different databases.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the consolidation further comprises analysing the combined data items associated with a vehicle to determine the authorisation status for that vehicle.

28. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 27 comprising requesting data from one or more databases to determine an authorisation status for a vehicle in response to

5 receipt of identification data for that vehicle.

29. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 28, comprising receiving identification data in response to a request for fuel.

10 30. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 29, wherein the authorisation status comprises one of: an indication to decline the supply of fuel to the vehicle; an indication to allow the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle; and an indication to limit the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

15 31. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 30, wherein the communications between the fuelling facility and the authorisation server are encrypted.

32. A method as in any of claims 23 to 31 , wherein identification data comprises a registration of the vehicle.

20

33. A method as in any of claims 23 to 32, wherein data includes vehicle information comprising at least one of: insurance information, road tax and flagged vehicle information.

25 34. A method as in any of claims 23 to 33, comprising determining the authorisation status using one or more rules for data from different databases.

35. A method as in any of claims 23 to 34, comprising taking into account at least one of delays in updating databases, grace periods and time delay in determining the

30 authorisation status.

36. A method as in any of claims 23 to 35, wherein the databases are independent of the fuel provider.

37. A method as in any of claims 23 to 36, wherein the databases comprise external authority databases.

5 38. A method as in any of claims 23 to 37, further comprising using image processing to identify or determine a vehicle registration.

39. A method of controlling supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

receiving from a control device at a fuel station vehicle identification data 10 for a vehicle requesting fuel;

providing the authorisation status to the control device to control whether 15 or not the identified vehicle is supplied with fuel.

40. A method for controlling authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising:

20 accessing data from one or more databases;

providing the authorisation status to the control device to control whether 25 or not to authorise the supply of fuel to the identified vehicle.

41. A method as in claim 39 or 40 having the features set out in any of claims 23 to 38.

30 42. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

43. A control device for a fuel station, the control device being configured to control a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle and the control device comprising: a receiver configured to receive, from a vehicle identification system, identification data for identifying a vehicle requesting fuel;

44. A method of controlling a system of authorisation of supply of fuel to a vehicle, comprising a control device at a fuel station: