SALE I l SELECT
Contents
1. at least one remote input device further comprising a sufficient amount of computer hardware software peripherals and necessities outside the FBO office capable of communicating with at least one host com puter further comprising a sufficient amount of com puter hardware software peripherals and necessities inside the FBO office US 2005 0246275 A1 at least one database accessible to the host computer and the remote input device a means for communicating in real time between the remote input device and the host computer and a means for communicating in real time between the host computer and a credit card payment authorization and or approval source and or any other medium of com merce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to seller the FBO office 72 The apparatus of claim 71 further comprising a data interface and means of communicating between said remote input device and at least one fuel flow counter output either in real time or not 73 The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said remote input device further comprises a viewing and touch screen 74 The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said remote input device further comprises a printer and credit card or any other type magnetic card swiper 75 The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said means for communicating in real time between the remote input device and the host computer comprises a wireless network 76 The apparatus of claim 72 wherein the means2. 0080 2 Install PocketFuel applications software into iPAQ hardware per user s manuals 0081 5 Install CE Receive into PC per user s manu als 0082 6 Start CE Receive on the PC per user s manu als 0083 7 Locate and configure iPAQ synchronization folders per user s manuals 0084 8 Synchronize the iPAQ with the host computer PC 0085 9 Start PocketFuel on the iPAQ 0086 10 First time use only initial start accept default location designated by PocketFuel of synchro nization 0087 11 Configure IP address in host computer PC where CE Receive is running 0088 System is now installed and operational 0089 Alternately a customer inside customer may con tact inside staff of the FBO office in person via phone facsimile FAX email on line connection radio pager or other means of communication When a customer engages the FBO office in any of the above referenced manners and requests fuel services and or products the request starts an Inside Sales Cycle ISC by the FBO staff 0090 Referring now to FIG 4 a drawing of the Inside Sales Cycle ISC is shown schematically as viewed by the US 2005 0246275 A1 inside operator also referred to as staff or Customer Service Representative CSR The inside operator 80 accepts inside customer s 81 request for fuel services and or products The FBO host computer 14 with previously described hardware specifications is accessible to
3. a com puter readable medium having code thereon The program product includes a program and a signal bearing media bearing the program 0022 As an APPARATUS the present invention may include at least one processor a memory coupled to the processor and a program residing in the memory which implements the methods of the present invention via a communication means For example the apparatus may include a remote input device with a sufficient amount of computer hardware software peripherals and necessities outside the FBO office capable of communicating with at least one host computer with a sufficient amount of computer hardware software peripherals and necessities inside the FBO office 0023 at least one database accessible to the host com puter and the remote input device a means for communi cating in real time between the remote input device and the host computer and 0024 a means for communicating in real time between the host computer and a credit card including branded cards marketed by the avgas companies payment authori zation and or approval source and or other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to seller the FBO office 0025 The apparatus may further include a data interface and means of communicating between said remote input device and at least one fuel flow counter output either in real time or not The apparatus may also include the remote input device with
4. a viewing and touch screen and a printer and credit card or other type magnetic card swiper 0026 The host computer may also include a computer network accessible to and in communication with a plurality of computers either wired or wireless The data and means for communication may be encrypted or un encrypted plaintext or ciphertext The new method and system can track multiple remote users from multiple FBO offices if desired 0027 It is an object of the invention to increase effec tiveness and efficiency of manpower to FBO aviation busi nesses by allowing the fuel truck driver to provide aviation fuel products and or services to include real time live remote payment via credit cards or other billing payment types e g open invoice monthly billings to established customers etc or any other payment type based on user defined criterion 0028 It is another object of this invention to streamline business processes by increasing field workforce productiv US 2005 0246275 A1 ity and accuracy Another object of this invention is to reduce administration and data entry costs for those in the FBO aviation industry Yet another object of this invention is to increase aircraft customer satisfaction by allowing pilots to receive fuel products and or services and afforded the convenience to pay at the remote aircraft location This invention eliminates the pilot s need to spend more time and inconvenience by having to go to t
5. ce unload close database and exit 0097 The POS point of sale menu opens a form to make data entry easier for the inside operator 0098 The Operations menu offers shop orders which contains a plurality of sub group items quote flight search parts price tail number on field tracking re curring items which contains a plurality of sub group items and invoice related reports which contains a plurality of sub group items 0099 The Inventory Accounting menu offers inven tory which contains a plurality of sub group items lease back which contains a plurality of sub group items cus tomer account management which contains a plurality of sub group items chart of accounts which contains a plurality of sub group items and applied tax relation ships which contains a plurality of sub group items US 2005 0246275 A1 0100 The Concierge menu offers new reservation view reservation reports which contains a plurality of sub group items and configure 0101 The Fuel Management menu offers fuel trans fers and purchases physical stock readings recircula tion filter entry aunch FuelSentry which tracks all fuel inventory reports which contains a plurality of sub group items edit readings which contains a plurality of sub group items and configuration 0102
6. comprise any combination of the above elements and Nov 3 2005 variations thereof many of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art Additionally the acts and actions of fabricating assembling using and maintaining the pre ferred embodiment of this invention are well known by those skilled in the art Instead the invention is limited and defined solely by the following claims 0108 The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential charac teristics thereof The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein 0109 A customer may request any or all of the types of fuel or products or services Thus herein fuel products and or services is hereby defined as any or all of at least one unit or partial unit of the types of fuel product or service offered by the FBO office seller For example the customer may request only fuel only product or only service or any combination or permutation of all or none of each of the fuel product or service offered by the FBO seller Whenever and or is used in the following claims it means any com bination or permutation of all one some a pl
7. drawing of the apparatus and system components 0033 FIG 2 is a schematic drawing of a typical Remote Sales Cycle RSC method as viewed by the remote opera tor 0034 FIG 3 is a schematic drawing of a typical Remote Sales Cycle method relative to the system components and interaction 0035 FIG 4 is a schematic drawing of the Inside Sales Cycle ISC method as viewed by the inside operator 0036 FIG 5 is a schematic and flowchart for the remote input device software PocketFuel and method 0037 FIG 6 is a schematic and flowchart for the host computer software FBO Manager 2004 and method 0038 FIG 7 is a schematic and flowchart for the host computer software and method for a typical application such as a flight school 0039 FIG 8 is a schematic and flowchart for the host computer software and method for a typical application such as a maintenance A amp P shop 0040 FIG 9 15 a schematic and flowchart for the host computer software CE Receive and method for a typical transaction via the remote input device and interaction with the database Nov 3 2005 0041 FIG 10 is a schematic of the host computer software FBO Manager 2004 CE Receive and the remote input device remote input device software PocketFuel and interaction with the database and each of the three software programs 0042 Itshould be understood that in certain situations for reasons of computational efficiency or ease of m
8. if applicable regarding the requested fuel product and or service d accepting payment subject to authorization and or approval by the inside operator either personally or via the host computer in communication with any medium of commerce including cash or credit card debit card check commercial account or any other type value for payment acceptable to seller FBO office for the requested fuel product and or service from the aircraft customer e communicating by the inside operator with the host computer inside the FBO office to receive authorization and or approval of said payment from the appropriate payment authorization and or approval source and or medium of commerce f accepting authorized and or approved payment if authorized and or approved by the inside operator either personally or via the host computer g obtaining written signature on printed receipt or digital signature or other type approval method from aircraft customer to certify payment received by the inside operator either personally or via host computer and medium of commerce whereby the sale payment billing and or accounting of the transaction is accom plished in real time 82 Asystem for real time FBO management operations at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising at least one remote input device further comprising a sufficient amount of computer hardware software peripherals and necessities outside the FBO
9. municating between said remote input device and said fuel flow counter output comprises a wireless network 88 The system of claim 82 wherein the host computer further comprises a computer network accessible to and in communication with a plurality of computers either wired or wireless 89 The system of claim 82 wherein all data and means for communication are encrypted or un encrypted 90 The system of claim 83 wherein all data and means for communication are encrypted or un encrypted
10. of communicating between said remote input device and said fuel flow counter output comprises a wireless network 77 The apparatus of claim 71 wherein the host computer further comprises a computer network accessible to and in communication with a plurality of computers either wired or wireless 78 The apparatus of claim 72 wherein all data and means for communication are encrypted or un encrypted 79 The apparatus of claim 77 wherein all data and means for communication are encrypted or un encrypted 80 A method for real time FBO management operations at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office said method comprising the steps of a receiving a request from an aircraft customer to purchase at least one unit of fuel product and or service to a remote operator outside the FBO office b selling and providing to the aircraft customer from the remote operator the requested fuel product and or service c communicating with a host computer and database inside the FBO office by the remote operator via a remote input device to obtain pricing taxing discount information and or other information if applicable regarding the requested fuel product and or service d accepting payment subject to authorization and or approval by the remote operator either personally or via the remote input device in communication with the host computer via any medium of commerce including cash or credit card debit card chec
11. of claim 53 further comprising a means for determining the price using taxable or tax exempt status 64 The apparatus of claim 53 further comprising a means for determining the price using appropriate pre determined customer discount or any other user operator defined crite rion 65 The apparatus of claim 54 further comprising wherein said payment type selection is limited by said customer type 66 The apparatus of claim 58 further comprising a means for automatically accessing credit card verification and obtaining authorization when said payment type of credit card is selected 67 The apparatus of claim 58 further comprising a means for storing an invoice for said purchase at the FBO office when said payment type of open account is selected 68 The apparatus of claim 58 further comprising a means for billing the customer s account when said payment type of direct bill is selected 69 The apparatus of claim 58 further comprising gener ating a receipt when receiving cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to said FBO office 70 The apparatus of claim 50 further comprising said transaction initiated inside said FBO office and said cus tomer identification information purchase type and payment type is inputted directly to said host processor 71 An apparatus for real time FBO management opera tions at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising
12. of reliability Petersen Aviation So Cal is currently using the system No live credit card processing is available and no other products may be sold with the system 0013 Earlier versions of this method and system were developed by this same inventor in 1997 1999 and 2003 but those versions do not include real time live wireless credit card processing or other medium of commerce authoriza US 2005 0246275 A1 tion and approval for payment system for use by the fuel truck operator lineman to complete a sales transaction at the fuel truck for aircraft fuel products and or services remotely at the aircraft location on the airport ramp nor does it allow multi user applications as does the present inven tion 0014 U S Pat No 6 415 219 discloses Technique of real time tracking and management of land based vehicles LBV of the airport but the system uses GPS technology to keep track of the locations of fuel trucks buses baggage trucks etc and is designed mainly for security and safety collision avoidance of the LBV with aircraft on the ramp SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0015 The present invention solves the needs in the art by providing an apparatus method and system to accomplish transactions between aircraft customers buyers and FBO office seller to be sold paid billed and accounted in real time both remotely at the aircraft location on the airport and inside the FBO office 0016 Features of the inv
13. office capable of communicating with at least one host com puter further comprising a sufficient amount of com puter hardware software peripherals and necessities inside the FBO office at least one database accessible to the host computer and the remote input device a means for communicating in real time between the remote input device and the host computer and US 2005 0246275 A1 a means for communicating in real time between the host computer and a credit card payment authorization and or approval source and or other medium of commerce payment system for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to seller the FBO office whereby the sale payment billing and or accounting of the transaction via the remote input device is accomplished in real time 83 The system of claim 82 further comprising a data interface and means of communicating between said remote input device and at least one fuel flow counter output either in real time or not 84 The system of claim 82 wherein said remote input device further comprises a viewing and touch screen 85 The system of claim 82 wherein said remote input device further comprises a printer and credit card or other type magnetic card swiper 12 Nov 3 2005 86 The system of claim 82 wherein said means for communicating in real time between the remote input device and the host computer comprises a wireless network 87 The system of claim 83 wherein the means of com
14. printer credit card swipe 13 or other type magnetic card able to be used for payment which is transmitted via wireless network 15 back to FBO host computer 14 which contacts credit card payment authorization and approval source 7 obtains approval for credit card payment and sends back to remote input device 2 invoice to be printed by remote input device printer credit card swipe 13 and signed by remote customer 5 debiting remote customer s credit card for 142 53 and crediting FBO office s merchant ACH automated clearing house checking account 142 53 less the merchant pro cessing fee Remote operator then provides auxiliary start for remote customer s aircraft and she embarks on her next flight Credit card payment authorization and approval source 7 or other medium of commerce i e pay orders Nov 3 2005 and funds transfer per U C C Article 4A for example and customer payment may be via modem phone line Internet WWW World Wide Web corporate intranets commercial networks electronic funds transfer networks telecommunications networks satellite means radio means fiber optic cable or any other suitable medium of commerce All data transmitted and received between the remote input device 2 and host computer 14 and or between the host computer and or credit card payment authorization and approval source or other medium of commerce may be encrypted or un encrypted as the user desires Payment may be made by remote o
15. the inside operator 80 with the previously described software already installed set up and configured for use Typically FBO Manager 2004 software is the main viewing page on the monitor and preferably has the optional module Front Desk installed which uses Graphic User Interfaces for ease of use GUIs 0091 The development and proliferation of GUIs has greatly enhanced the ease with which users interact with databases both in the searching stage and in the display of information A conventional GUI display includes a desktop metaphor upon which one or more icons application win dows or other graphical objects are displayed Typically a data processing system user interacts with a GUI display utilizing a graphical pointer which the user controls with a graphical pointing device such as a mouse trackball or joystick For example depending upon the actions allowed by the active application or operating system software the user can select icons or other graphical objects within the GUI display by positioning the graphical pointer over the graphical object and depressing a button associated with the graphical pointing device In addition the user can typically relocate icons application windows and other graphical objects on the desktop utilizing the well known drag and drop techniques By manipulating the graphical objects within the GUI display the user can control the underlying hardware devices and software objects represen
16. 3 to record the start and stop units of measure gallons etc of fuel dispensed into US 2005 0246275 A1 remote customer s aircraft 5 All communications and means of communicating concerning the invention are either one way i e able to transmit or receive only or two way communications i e able to transmit and receive data as needed 0046 The remote input device also utilizes an remote input device printer credit card swipe 13 preferably the Oneil 2tSCR a 2 thermal transfer printer with a card swipe that supports serial communications via RS 232 or irDA or the Citizen CMP 10 also a 2 thermal transfer printer with a card swipe that also supports serial commu nications via RS 232 or irDA in communication preferably wireless communication using Enterasys Networks Roam About R2 wireless access platform with credit card or other means of commerce payment authorization and approval source 7 In the FBO office 6 the FBO host computer 14 has FBO Manager 2004 software 10 CER 16 and database 9 installed and can output user defined reports 11 via a printer and or interact with independent outside vendor accounting software QuickBooks etc for example for output accounting 12 and or via a printer 0047 Referring now to FIG 2 the Remote Sales Cycle RSC is schematically shown as viewed by the remote operator 1 The method and system invention disclosed herein allows a remote sale payment from start to fin
17. 9 further comprising a means for calculating a price for said purchase based on purchase type and customer type 54 The apparatus of claim 49 further comprising a means for selecting payment type for said purchase Nov 3 2005 55 The apparatus of claim 49 further comprising a means for accepting payment for said purchase based on payment type 56 The apparatus of claim 51 further comprising wherein said customer type comprises one of commercial account transient aircraft flight school or any other user operator defined criterion 57 The apparatus of claim 52 further comprising wherein said purchase type comprises fuel purchase or non fuel purchase 58 The apparatus of claim 54 further comprising wherein said payment type comprises one of credit card open account direct bill cash check or any other medium of commerce acceptable to said FBO office 59 The apparatus of claim 50 further comprising wherein customer identification information comprises an aircraft identification number or any other user operator defined criterion 60 The apparatus of claim 57 further comprising wherein said non fuel purchase comprises products or services 61 The apparatus of claim 57 further comprising a means for receiving a start gallons amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 62 The apparatus of claim 57 further comprising a means for receiving a stop gallons amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 63 The apparatus
18. HEAT US 20050246275 1 United States a2 Patent Application Publication ao Pub No US 2005 0246275 A1 Nelson 43 Pub Date Nov 3 2005 54 REAL TIME FBO MANAGEMENT METHOD Related U S Application Data amp SYSTEM 60 Provisional application No 60 567 395 filed on Apr 30 2004 76 Inventor John Robert Winfred Nelson New er Smyrna Beach FL US Publication Classification Coresbond tce Address o2 D p O FRANK ARENAS ee E es 2327 TAYLOR AVENUE COLEMAN FL 33521 US An apparatus system and method is disclosed that solves the needs in the art by providing an apparatus method and system to accomplish transactions between aircraft custom 21 Appl No 10 862 697 ers buyers and FBO office seller to be sold paid billed and accounted in real time both remotely at the aircraft location on the airport by a remote operator and inside the 22 Filed Jun 7 2004 FBO office by an inside operator NO ENTER TAIL GET lves SHOW NUMBER HISTORY FOUND HISTORY SALE SELECT CARD TYPE ENTER FUEL GALLONS SWIPE CARD HOST ENTER ITEMS COMPUTER FOR SALE NO APPROVED LEFT OPEN GET PRICE gt 715 YES CE RECEIVE DATABASE FBO MANAGER LEAVE SELECT CREDIT PRINT NO OPEN INVOICE PAYMENT RECEIPT IN FBO OPEN METHOD CARD 4 UNT Ia ACCOUNT BRIT RECEIPT ACCOUNT IN FBO Patent Application Publication
19. IT DATE BASED A C MAINT PASSED DISPATCH NO EVALUATE AGAIN TACH BASED A C MAINT YES US 2005 0246275 A1 ADD MORE ITEMS PRINT DISPATCH SHEET ADD ITEMS AS NEEDED PILOT FEIES AND RECORDS TIMES ACCEPT PAYMENT CHECKIN SELECTING TAIL FILL IN FLIGHT INFORMATION HOBBS TIME TACH TIME TIME IN OUT _ RATES HOURS FUEL REIMBURSMENT SAVE RECORD GO TO SALE INVOICE FIG 7 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 8 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 ADD A RECORD ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMS ENTER CUSTOMER ID PAYMENT ENTER SQUAWKS WORK TO DO ADD PARTS TO WORK ORDER SAVE WORK ORDER YES FIG 8 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 9 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 START PROGRAM REQUESTS WIRELESS CONNECTION HAND PROGRAM RUNS MINIMIZED ON USER S DESKTOP DEVICE PROGRAM EXECUTES REQUESTS FROM HAND HELD DEVICE FIG 9 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 10 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 FBO MANAGER DATA BASE REMOTE INPUT DEVICE CE RECEIVE FIG 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 REAL TIME FBO MANAGEMENT METHOD amp SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 0001 This Nonprovisional application for patent incor porates by reference and claims the benefit of pending Provision
20. Nov 3 2005 Sheet 1 of 10 US 2005 0246275 1 lt B io LI 2 13 FIG 1 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 2 of 10 US 2005 0246275 1 FIG 2 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 3 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 FIG 3 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 4 of 10 US 2005 0246275 1 FIG 4 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 5 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 NO ENTER TAIL GET sHow NUMBER HISTORY OUND HISTORY RECEIVE 5 DATABASE FBO MANAGER SELECT ENTER CARD TYPE FUEL GALLONS SWIPE CARD HOST ENTER ITEMS sre ca COMPUTER FOR SALE NO APPROVED LEFT OPEN GET PRICE i YES NO LEAVE SELECT CREDIT _ PRINT OPEN INVOICE PAYMENT RECEIPT IN FBO OPEN METHOD CARD ACCOUNT ee a PRINT E ACCOUNT IN FIG 5 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 ENTER ENTER CUSTOMER ES TAIL MUST HAVE CUSTOMER PRESS GO TO SALE SELECT BUTTON FOR ITEM TO SELL SAVED CAN EDIT Sheet 6 of 10 US 2005 0246275 A1 SELECT METHOD OF PAYMENT NO CREDIT CARD YES SWIPE CARD YES PRINT APPROVED RECEIPT NO Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2005 Sheet 7 of 10 SELECT DISPATCH AIRCRAFT ENTER TAIL ENTER PILOT ENTER INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM CHECKS MEDICAL B R CURRENCY CHECKOUT IN A C CREDIT LIM
21. The Flight Activities menu offers set up block plans which contains a plurality of sub group items dis patch which contains a plurality of sub group items edit add flights which contains a plurality of sub group items reports which contains a plurality of sub group items pilots which contains a plurality of sub group items pilot currency which contains a plurality of sub group items flight instructors CFI which contains a plurality of sub group items flight school aircraft which contains a plurality of sub group items and two options concerning student pilots objectives and grades E 0103 The Set Up menu offers customers which con tains a plurality of sub group items suppliers mechan ics and discount codes 0104 The Reports menu offers aircraft which con tains a plurality of sub group items which contains a plurality of sub group items instructors which contains a plurality of sub group items accountant report cus tomer info sales reports which contains a plurality of sub group items i suppliers and customer lists user ID security lists inventory user defined reports which con tains a plurality of sub group items and edit save que ries 0105 The Help menu offers manual load navigator tin of the day calculator special maintenance func tions
22. aintenance the ordering of the blocks of the illustrated flow charts could be rearranged or moved inside or outside of the illustrated loops by one skilled in the art While the present invention will be described with reference to the details of the embodi ments of the invention shown in the drawings these details are not intended to limit the scope of the invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 0043 The apparatus system and method of using the invention will now be further described and exemplified by reference to the various specific embodiments set forth in the drawings FIG 1 depicts in symbolic form the system components and the interaction of the components in the preferred embodiment and best mode which will now be explained 0044 For example FIG 1 shows schematically the system components a FBO office 6 engages a service call by a remote customer with or without aircraft 5 for fuel products and or services from the remote operator 1 with or without fuel truck 3 All fuel products and or services are based in user defined units i e gallons liters etc for fuel per service rendered i e auxiliary start ramp fee per night tie down fee or other user defined criterion and or per product sold quart of oil etc or other user defined crite rion The customer type purchase type and payment type of the invention may be any user operator defined criterion User operator defined criterion is h
23. al Application having Ser No 60 567395 filed Apr 30 2004 for Real Time FBO Management Method and System commonly owned with the instant application COPYRIGHT NOTICE 0002 A portion of the disclosure of this patent document including Appendices contains material which is subject to copyright protection The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent docu ment or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0003 1 Field of the Invention 0004 The present invention relates generally to Fixed Based Operators FBO and management methods for day to day operations of a FBO on an airport The invention particularly relates to sales payment management and accounting systems for selling fuel services and products to aircraft owners or pilots of aircraft from fuel trucks on the airport ramp The invention more particularly relates to using real time computer based methods for the above referenced sales to include real time wireless credit card authorization for payment and other types of payment billing systems for payment from aircraft customers directly to the fuel truck operator Other features of the invention include aircraft tracking aircraft dispatching generation of work orders shop orders and many other features as dis closed in these s
24. all types are disclosed in the FBO Manager 2004 owner s user s and other printed manuals administrators guide and related documents all incorporated by reference herein CER 16 and database 9 also determines if any sales are taxable 61 or tax exempt 62 The price used for that particular sale is the price with or without discounts and taxable non taxable determined by CER 16 in conjunction with the database 9 CER 16 transmits back 63 to remote input device 2 the appropriate price subtotal and taxes if applicable and displays to remote operator 1 the Grand Total 64 on the viewing touch screen 8 0054 The remote operator 1 then accepts payment via 3 payment options a credit card 65 b leave open 66 for Nov 3 2005 future charges and or to pay inside the FBO Office 6 or c direct bill 67 for established commercial accounts 0055 If the operator selects credit card from the above referenced options a pull down menu allows the remote operator 1 to select credit card type 68 i e Master Card Visa etc Upon selection of credit card type the remote operator 1 pushes a button Outside Credit Card 69 on the remote input device 2 with viewing touch screen 8 which opens a message box with instructions 70 to remote operator 1 who follows said instructions Next the remote operator 1 swipes the appropriate credit card 71 into the remote input device printer credit card swipe 13 and the remote input devic
25. an invoice for said purchase at the FBO office when said payment type of open account is selected 46 The system of claim 36 further comprising billing the customer s account when said payment type of direct bill is selected 47 The system of claim 36 further comprising generating a receipt when receiving cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to said FBO office 48 The system of claim 33 further comprising said transaction initiated inside said FBO office and said cus tomer identification information purchase type and payment type selection is inputted directly to said host processor 49 An apparatus for real time FBO management opera tions at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising a remote device in communication with a central host processor 50 The apparatus in claim 49 further comprising a means for remotely initiating a transaction for a purchase by an aircraft customer comprising receiving customer identifica tion information and communicating said customer identi fication information to a host processor at a central FBO office 51 The apparatus of claim 49 further comprising a means for determining customer type based on said customer identification information or other user operator defined cri terion 52 The apparatus of claim 49 further comprising a means for remotely selecting purchase type 53 The apparatus of claim 4
26. at are more fully disclosed below Search results are graphically textually and or numerically displayed showing needed information perti nent to the FBO business and industry 0019 As a METHOD of displaying data on a display device of a computer system the data being obtained from a relational database associated with the computer system the display having windowing capability to provide a plurality of display areas an embodiment of the invention includes the operations of remote and inside sales for an FBO office The method further includes real time sales and payment to a remote operator by a remote customer with or without an aircraft remote from the FBO office for example on the airport ramp or other location on the airport premises Nov 3 2005 0020 As a COMPUTER READIBLE MEDIA contain ing program instructions for displaying data on a display device of a computer system the data being obtained from a relational database associated with the computer system the display having windowing capability to provide a plurality of display areas an embodiment of the invention includes computer readable code devices for operator input manipulation and output The invention s database and transmission of data may also include an encryption means and password access to prevent access or interception from unauthorized users 0021 The methods of the present invention may be implemented as a computer program product with
27. comprises fuel purchase or non fuel purchase US 2005 0246275 A1 36 The system of claim 33 wherein said payment type comprises one of credit card open account direct bill cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to said FBO office 37 The system of claim 33 wherein customer identifica tion information comprises an aircraft identification number or any other user operator defined criterion 38 The system of claim 33 wherein said non fuel pur chase comprises products or services 39 The system of claim 33 wherein step c further comprises receiving a start gallons amount when said pur chase type is fuel purchase 40 The system of claim 33 wherein step c further comprises receiving a stop gallons amount when said pur chase type is fuel purchase 41 The system of claim 33 wherein step d further comprises determining the price using taxable or tax exempt status 42 The system of claim 33 wherein step d further comprises determining the price using appropriate pre determined customer discount or any other user operator defined criterion 43 The system of claim 33 wherein said payment type selection is limited by said customer type 44 The system of claim 36 further comprising automati cally accessing credit card verification and obtaining autho rization when said payment type of credit card is selected 45 The system of claim 36 further comprising storing
28. customer acceptable to said FBO office Nov 3 2005 21 The system of claim 17 wherein customer identifica tion information comprises an aircraft identification number or any other user operator defined criterion 22 The system of claim 19 wherein said non fuel pur chase comprises products or services 23 The system of claim 19 wherein step c further comprises receiving a start unit amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 24 The system of claim 19 wherein step c further comprises receiving a stop unit amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 25 The system of claim 17 wherein step d further comprises determining the price using taxable or tax exempt status 26 The system of claim 17 wherein step d further comprises determining the price using appropriate pre determined customer discount or any other user operator defined criterion 27 The system of claim 17 wherein said payment type selection is limited by said customer type 28 The system of claim 20 further comprising automati cally accessing credit card verification and obtaining autho rization when said payment type of credit card is selected 29 The system of claim 20 further comprising storing an invoice for said purchase at the FBO office when said payment type of open account is selected 30 The system of claim 20 further comprising billing the customer s account when said payment type of direct bill is selected 31 The system of cla
29. e 2 automatically sends Grand Total and credit card information number expiration date etc 72 to CER 16 CER 16 and FBO Manager 2004 10 then validate the data internally in FBO host computer 14 and transmits credit card data via appropriate hardware soft ware to credit card payment authorization and approval source 7 Credit card payment authorization and approval source 7 automatically accesses the credit card merchant authority and approval verification 7 via phone land line Internet radio satellite or any other transmissions means and obtains authorization for payment and then may if credit card is accepted 73 and payment obtained CER 16 transmits OK 74 to remote input device 2 to print a receipt imme diately from the remote input device printer credit card swipe 13 if yes 75 is answered to print receipt request on the viewing screen and obtain the customer s signature on the printed receipt to finish payment at that time CER 16 generates and formats receipt 76 and sends formatted receipt to remote input device 2 which uses the appropriate device drivers to read credit card approval data and format ted receipt to print receipt 0056 Another embodiment uses digital signatures on the remote input device 2 to obtain customer s signature and transmits via wireless network 15 to CER 16 to conclude the sale and payment Typically the remote input device 2 is coupled with the appropriate printer credit card swipe via i
30. ention can be implemented in several ways including as system a method and or com puter readable media having code devices for implementing the methods of the invention The invention preferably includes a wireless communications infrastructure wherein remote communications between the FBO office and FBO remote operator can be achieved Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below The invention can be implemented in other ways including as a system including a computer processing or database system a method including a computerized method of constructing a tree data structure and a method for evaluating queries an apparatus a computer readable medium a computer program product and or a data structure tangibly fixed in a computer readable memory 0017 As a COMPUTER SYSTEM an embodiment of the invention includes a database containing tables of data a display device and a processor unit The display device has a plurality of display areas windows The processor unit operates to access the database to retrieve the data from the corresponding associated tables and then display the retrieved data in the display areas 0018 Asa GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE GUI for a display screen of a computer an embodiment of the invention includes a number of display areas windows for searching and displaying data A variety of formats for searching and displaying data is provided Searches can be performed by many parameters th
31. ereby defined as types of customers purchases and or payments modified or unmodi fied by other attributes as defined by the user or operator of the apparatus system and method of the invention This starts the Remote Sales Cycle RSC The remote operator 1 communicates via a wireless network 15 with the FBO office 6 and FBO host computer 14 with FBO Manager 2004 software 10 and CE Receive software 16 installed using a handheld communication input device 2 with viewing and touch screen 8 with PocketFuel software 17 installed FBO Manager 2004 10 CE Receive 16 and PocketFuel 17 are computer software programs developed by this same inven tor and may be used as part of the disclosed method and system herein in best mode Some aspects of the preferred embodiment of the invention are written in Microsoft Visual Basic one skilled in the art may use any some or all of the following Microsoft Visual Basic VB Net Delphi Embed ded Visual Basic Embedded Visual C Turbo Pascal C CE NET or any other programming tool 0045 Said remote input device may be a laptop com puter a Fujitsu Pencentra a Windows CE computer using the H PC version of Windows CE or in best mode an iPAQ or another equivalent PocketPC or other suitable device Remote at the aircraft location the input device 2 communicates with the fuel flow counter output 4 prefer ably a Veeder Root electronically enabled fuel meter via cable or wireless on the fuel truck
32. ersion to support a laptop computer directly 0064 1 Fujitsu Pencentra a Windows CE computer using the H PC version of Windows CE 0065 2 iPAQ or another equivalent PocketPC best mode 0066 The Handheld device runs a software application developed by this inventor PocketFuel coded in Microsoft Embedded Visual Basic 3 0 The Handheld device supports 802 11 network connections The Handheld device has serial Comm port capability 0067 Printer at the fuel truck 0068 Oneil 2tSCR A 2 thermal transfer printer with card swipe Supports serial communications via RS 232 or irDA or 0069 best mode Citizen CMP 10 a 2 thermal transfer printer with a card swipe Supports serial communications via RS 232 or irDA This inventor is currently as of Jan 20 2004 Citizen s first beta tester for their Bluetooth version of this printer 0070 Electronically enabled fuel meters best mode 0071 Veeder Root is a supplier of meters for aviation fuel trucks Veeder Root has provided a specification to connect to their meters The handheld input device connects to the meter via serial communications via cables or wireless networks 0072 Wireless networks 0073 Preferably using 802 11 protocols the handheld computer accesses the wireless network via Enterasys Networks RoamAbout R2 wireless access platform At the FBO office there is a Wireless Access Point Nov 3 2005 WAP attached to the FBO s hos
33. he FBO physical office location to pay 0029 The objects of this invention are achieved and the present invention provides a new and useful apparatus method and system for real time FBO payment billing management and accounting This new and useful real time FBO management apparatus method and system invention solves this and other aviation FBO industry payment bill ing management and accounting problems in a safe eco nomical and more efficient manner than that of the prior art 0030 All patents patent applications provisional appli cations and publications referred to or cited herein or from which a claim for benefits of priority has been made are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0031 Inthe manner in which the above recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which 0032 FIG 1 is a schematic
34. im 20 further comprising generating a receipt when receiving cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to said FBO office 32 The system of claim 17 further comprising said transaction initiated inside said FBO office and said cus tomer identification information purchase type and payment type selection is inputted directly to said host processor 33 Asystem for real time FBO management operations at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising a remote device in communication with a central host processor with a a means for remotely initiating a transaction for a purchase by an aircraft customer comprising receiving customer identification information and communicat ing said customer identification information to a host processor at a FBO office b a means for determining customer type based on said customer identification information c a means for remotely selecting purchase type d a means for calculating a price for said purchase based on purchase type and customer type e a means for selecting payment type for said purchase and f a means for accepting payment for said purchase based on payment type 34 The system of claim 33 wherein said customer type comprises one of commercial account transient aircraft flight school or any other user operator defined criterion 35 The system of claim 33 wherein said purchase type
35. ish to be completed by the fuel truck 3 remote operator 1 18 select input tail number into remote input device 2 19 manually select or talk automatically to fuel flow counter output 4 20 record meter readings 21 send data via wireless network 15 inside to FBO host computer 14 to get pricing taxes and discounts and send back data 22 remote operator verifies information and swipes credit card 23 data trans mitted inside and sent via in this example credit card payment authorization and approval source 7 24 send back approval to hand held device 25 optionally print receipt and get remote customer s signature or obtain customer s digital signature to complete payment For example remote cus tomer 5 requests 40 gallons of fuel 2 quarts of oil and auxiliary start for her aircraft Remote operator follows above referenced sales procedure using both fuel and services products functions and inputs aircraft N number pumps requested fuel quantity 40 gallons adds 2 quarts of appropriate type oil and enters the product service ID iden tification number letter s or symbol for 2 quarts oil and auxiliary start service The remote input device communi cates with and gets prices and taxes if applicable from FBO host computer 14 which transmits back the appropriate total amount assume for example 142 53 to be paid by remote customer 5 Remote operator 1 verifies price information swipes credit card into remote input device
36. k commercial account or any other type value for payment acceptable to seller FBO office for the requested fuel product and or service from the aircraft customer e communicating with the host computer inside the FBO office by the remote operator via the remote input device to receive authorization and or approval of said payment from the appropriate payment authorization and or approval source and or medium of commerce Nov 3 2005 f accepting authorized and or approved payment if authorized and or approved by the remote operator either personally or via the remote input device g obtaining written signature on printed receipt or digital signature or other type approval method from aircraft customer to certify payment received by the remote operator either personally or via the remote input device and or medium of commerce whereby the sale payment billing and or accounting of the transaction is accomplished in real time 81 The method of claim 80 said method further com prising the steps of a receiving a request from an aircraft customer to purchase at least one unit of fuel product and or service to an inside operator inside the FBO office b selling and providing to the aircraft customer the requested fuel product and or service c communicating with the database inside the FBO office by the inside operator via said host computer to obtain pricing taxing discount information and or other information
37. nfrared Bluetooth or RS 232 for example Or if no 77 is selected payment is also charged to the remote customer s credit card but no paper receipt is generated nor signature obtained by the remote operator 1 from remote customer 5 0057 If the operator selects leave open 66 the cus tomer s purchased fuel products and or services informa tion invoice number and message to FBO office staff that customer will pay inside is transferred 78 to CER 16 in the FBO office 6 and engages the database 9 and FBO Manager 2004 software 10 so that the invoice may be kept open or paid inside the office by the customer to inside FBO staff staff 0058 If the operator selects direct bill 67 the cus tomer account information is transferred 79 to the FBO office 6 and engages CER 16 database 9 and FBO Manager 2004 software 10 and the account may be billed to estab lished customers as needed generating an invoice and posts a pending account receivable in the accounting software 12 0059 Close out the system may be closed out all cus tomer sales payments reported by either the remote opera tor or inside operator staff at times chosen by the operator or staff every 24 hours per staff or operator shift times or at other time intervals designated 0060 Output after close out the system generates reports 11 containing different data such as total sales sales US 2005 0246275 A1 by product service category profi
38. nput device 2 queries the fuel meter directly 47 for the start amount upon activating the start button on the input device 2 viewing touch screen 8 Remote operator 1 then pumps desired amount of fuel into remote customer s aircraft 5 from the fuel truck 3 and pushes the stop button on the input device 2 touch screen which enters 48 stop gallons amount into input device 2 automatically from fuel flow counter output 4 0052 Selection of Products Sale 39 presents the remote operator 1 with a pull down menu of Products Services for example ramp fee 49 catering 50 rental car 51 auxiliary start 52 etc and oil 53 etc Remote operator 1 selects desired products service designated by product ID numerical alphabetic symbol graphic or any other type designation and the remote input device 2 defaults 54 to show quantity of one Remote operator 1 may increase quantity as needed to reflect products and or services as requested and or purchased by the customer It can be used either with or with out the Fuel Sale option 0053 Both Fuel Sale and Products Services Sale options via Get Price 55 button on remote input device 2 viewing screen trigger a Get Price function 56 via CER 16 and database 9 to determine the customer type For example commercial account 57 transient aircraft 58 flght school 59 or any other type customer 60 as defined by the system user operator some but not
39. ny other user operator defined criterion 6 The method of claim 3 wherein said non fuel purchase comprises products or services US 2005 0246275 A1 7 The method of claim 3 wherein step c further com prises receiving a start unit amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 8 The method of claim 3 wherein step c further com prises receiving a stop unit amount when said purchase type is fuel purchase 9 The method of claim 3 wherein step d further com prises determining the price using taxable or tax exempt status 10 The method of claim 3 wherein step d further comprises determining the price using an appropriate pre determined customer discount or any other user operator defined criterion 11 The method of claim 4 wherein said payment type selection is limited by said customer type 12 The method of claim 4 further comprising automati cally accessing credit card verification and obtaining autho rization when said payment type of credit card is selected 13 The method of claim 4 further comprising storing an invoice for said purchase at the FBO office when said payment type of open account is selected 14 The method of claim 4 further comprising billing the customer s account when said payment type of direct bill is selected 15 The method of claim 4 further comprising generating a receipt when receiving cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to
40. o remote input device 2 viewing touch screen 8 the aircraft owner s name address US 2005 0246275 A1 and other pertinent information registered in the FAA database or no 36 which returns to the previous screen 37 0050 The remote input device 2 viewing touch screen 8 then presents the operator with 2 options tabbed layers Fuel 38 or Products 39 which includes services Fuel Sale 40 enters into the remote input device 2 the fuel flow counter output 4 via cable or wireless start gallons or liters or other unit of measure either manually or automati cally 41 using wireless Veeder Root Interface in the best mode Manual option 42 requires the remote operator 1 to select a particular fuel meter from a plurality of fuel meters designated by numbers or symbols This fuel meter selection sends 43 to CER 16 to query the database 9 for that particular fuel meter last known quantity reading CER 16 sends data 44 to remote input device 2 and uses such reading for the fuel start amount Remote operator 1 then pumps desired amount of fuel into remote customer s aircraft 5 and can then manually enter ending fuel meter reading 45 or net amount pumped 45 which equals amount sold in that par ticular transaction and shown on viewing touch screen 8 0051 Alternately in automatic and best mode with Veeder Root electronically enabled fuel meters the remote operator 1 selects meter as previously described but the remote i
41. ort ramp 0010 Other systems of the prior art include Touch PC www touchpc com TouchStar Solutions LLC 5147 S Garnett Suite D Tulsa Okla 74146 USA This system links to the fuel meter on the truck and controls fuel flow This system also allows the sale of other merchandise such as oil There is no live real time wireless capability to the software in this system data are recorded and then synchro nized at the end of the day There is no credit card autho rization capability with this system 0011 Another system is offered by Contrec USA http www contrec usa com 916 Belcher Dr Pelham Ala 35124 USA The device is in a box in the fuel truck and controls and tracks flow at the fuel truck The fuel truck driver can print a ticket enter a tail number and track other aircraft information It can receive data and store the fuel transaction as an open invoice in another software program No live credit card processing is available with the device No other products may be sold with the system nor is it hand held 0012 Yet another system is offered by Fuel Master Wingtip Fueler http www syntech fuelmaster com 100 Four Points Way P O Box 5258 Tallahassee Fla 32305 In 1997 Fuel Master was only promoting their self serve fueling system By 2000 Fuel Master had developed a competitive very similar system to Contrec s application Avitat Tallahassee made attempts to use the system but dropped it due to lack
42. pecifications 0005 2 Description of the Prior Art 0006 Since the early 1900s the FBO industry has been to airplanes and aircraft what the gas station and car garage mechanic repair services industry has been to automobiles cars Like cars aircraft need fuel and oil to operate Typically aviation fuel consists of Avgas 100 LL for example for piston engine powered aircraft similar to car gas or Jet A fuel for turbine or jet powered aircraft more similar to kerosene Other types of fuels are sometimes used for aircraft e g different octane ratings etc but virtually all are generally based on petroleum products Also like cars aircraft engines airframes and other aircraft systems break or malfunction and need repairs and maintenance periodi cally and as needed when the specific break down or mal function occurs The FBO typically offers repair services to aircraft from their A amp P airframe and powerplant shops Other services are also sometimes offered by the FBO such as a school for flight training primary instruction for students to obtain their own pilot s license under the Federal Aviation Regulations FAR or advanced training for licensed pilots in classroom ground schools and actual flight instruction in real aircraft and or simulators aircraft rentals food catering auxiliary starts for engines car rentals hotel reservations etc and all related services Nov 3 2005 0007 When aircraf
43. r inside customer by cash credit card debit card check commercial account or any other type value acceptable for payment to the FBO seller All customer types purchase types and payment types may be based on any user defined criterion as desired by the system s user operator 0048 A customer may request any or all of the type s fuel products or services Thus herein fuel products and or services is hereby defined as any or all of at least one unit or partial unit of the type s fuel product or service offered by the FBO office seller For example the customer may request only fuel only product or only service or any combination or permutation of all or none of each of the fuel product or service offered by the FBO seller Whenever and or is used in this patent application it means any combination or permutation of all one some a plurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned which is not intended to be limiting but merely for example and illustra tion 0049 FIG 3 depicts a schematic of the apparatus method and system in operation relative to the components in more detail upon request of a remote customer with or without aircraft 5 for fuel products and or services start of sale 26 the system remote operator 1 uses input device 2 handheld PC w wireless capability or the like to input aircraft s N identification number to initiate a transaction Remote Sales Cycle of FBO fuel products or se
44. rvices The input device 2 preferably uses a viewing touch screen 8 with or without stylus with a tabbed and layered screen one tabbed fuel and the other layer tabbed products services are treated as a type of product Remote operator 1 is then presented with a plurality of selections menu on the remote input device 2 In this particular embodiment there are 4 selections history 27 of that aircraft reprint receipts 28 of a previous transaction look up 29 searches FAA database to identify aircraft owner address etc or sale 30 Initial entry of the remote customer aircraft s 5 N number transmits the N number from the remote input device 2 via wireless network 15 to CE Receive CER 16 software which has been installed in the FBO host computer 14 CER 16 queries database 9 for that N number and its history of previous sales with the FBO office 6 If CER data query results in prior sales CER 16 sends history data 31 to remote input device 2 and viewing touch screen 8 If no prior history data is found i e a new customer CER 16 sends message to remote input device 2 conveying no history 32 and remote operator 1 is presented in this embodiment with 2 options to search database 33 yes 34 which searches database 9 via CER 16 which contains a copy of the FAA Federal Aviation Administration database for all known registered aircraft in the United States US updated regularly and returns 35 t
45. said FBO office 16 The method of claim 1 further comprising said trans action initiated inside said FBO office and said customer identification information purchase type and payment type selection is inputted directly to said host processor 17 Asystem for real time FBO management operations at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising a remote device in communication with a central host processor for a remotely initiating a transaction for a purchase by an aircraft customer comprising receiving customer iden tification information and communicating said cus tomer identification information to a host processor at a FBO office b determining customer type based on said customer identification information c remotely selecting purchase type d calculating a price for said purchase based on purchase type and customer type e selecting payment type for said purchase and f accepting payment for said purchase based on payment type 18 The system of claim 17 wherein said customer type comprises one of commercial account transient aircraft flight school or any other user operator defined criterion 19 The system of claim 17 wherein said purchase type comprises fuel purchase or non fuel purchase 20 The system of claim 17 wherein said payment type comprises one of credit card open account direct bill cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft
46. send database sends to inventor the user s database to assist with trouble shooting user problems get version numbers language selection allows the system to be used in other languages other than English German Spanish etc for example and about general information of various aspects of the system 0106 The above referenced menus lists options func tions instructions commands sub commands applications interactions items products services fuel groups and sub groups are merely intended as illustration and examples and are not intended by the inventor to in any way limit the addition deletion or modification of any said menus lists options functions instructions commands sub commands applications interactions items products services fuel groups and sub groups as might be desirable or useful to someone skilled in the art 0107 As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art such as computer software programmer in the FBO aviation industry various modifications and adaptations of the struc ture and method of use above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention the scope of which is defined in the claims Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by way of illustration and example it will be under stood that the present invention is not limited to the par ticular description and specific embodiments described but may
47. t etc for staff manage ment review directly on the computer monitor or via com puter printer and or integrates directly into outside vendor accounting software QuickBooks etc 12 for income tax and other purposes 0061 To make the invention in its preferred embodiment one skilled in the art would assemble install and connect appropriately the following components in the ordinary and customary practice of the art all owner s manuals user s manuals technical specifications and or other printed docu ments available concerning the following hardware and or software components peripheral devices and or necessities are hereby incorporated by reference The host computer may be any suitable type computer but the preferred hard ware includes a personal computer PC which is a 100 IBM compatible machine with typical monitor keyboard etc with a Pentium processor or higher a hard disk with at least 20 MB free space a CD Rom Drive a Mouse 16 megabyte of memory RAM an EGA VGA 8514 Her cules or compatible display and Windows 95 or later as the FBO office host computer 0062 The following is recommended to improve system performance extra extended memory expanded memory math co processor rninimum Pentiumn processor 32 MB RAM 0063 Input device handheld computer used by remote operator with or with out fuel truck two types of handheld computers are currently used the inventor has also devel oped a v
48. t arrive at the ramp the main FBO contact with the aircraft owners and or pilots is the lineman line service agent sometimes referred to as a Customer Service Representative CSR who also usually operates the fuel trucks to take fuel to the aircraft parked on the airport ramp apron The location of the aircraft to be fueled is usually remote from the FBO office This requires the aircraft pilot to walk to the FBO office to pay for fuel products and or services rendered by the lineman This is time consuming and inconvenient for the pilot especially when on a tight flight schedule 0008 Over the years the sales billing payment and accounting methods of the FBO industry have progressed from a simple paper form that is filled out by the lineman and given to the pilot who then walks to the FBO office to pay to newer methods These newer methods include com puter based software to track the above transactions and acceptance of credit cards for payment in addition to cash and commercial accounts for known customers with estab lished credit at the FBO office 0009 In the aviation FBO industry however there cur rently exists no real time live wireless credit card process ing or other medium of commerce authorization and approval for payment system for use by the fuel truck operator lineman to complete a sales transaction at the fuel truck for aircraft fuel products and or services remotely at the aircraft location on the airp
49. t computer 14 Then one would set up the chart of accounts general ledger Next one would set up desired items to be sold fuel services products with each associated designated ID Additional sub modules with specific input display and product service ID codes for example aircraft rental labor parts etc as disclosed in the previously incorporated manuals may be added as well as other FBO profit centers flight school A amp P shop charter flights etc for example Then one would configure appli cable or non applicable taxes and or other fees charges Next the customer base existing valued new or other user defined type customer would be configured Lastly special prices discounts are configured on user defined cri teria type customer quantity old inventory etc Another embodiment allows multiple site locations At this point the inside sales apparatus system and method is fuily opera tional 0096 Further explanation of the use of the system fol lows The main page has a blank screen but in best mode uses the Front Desk module allowing touch screen or mouse interaction to allow access to the invention s fea tures For example in this embodiment the File pull down menu offers the user a plurality of options such as new access database open access database open SQL database enter password log out configure business which contains nine sub group items system maintenan 2766
50. t computer or com puter network Data are transferred via TCP IP Blue tooth wireless protocols can be used on the handheld at the truck and can communicate via Bluetooth with the above referenced Veeder Root electronically enabled fuel meter in an alternative embodiment Any other appropriate type wireless network such as cell phone radio etc may be used 0074 Software developed by this inventor FBO Man ager 2004 CE Receive and software by Microsoft ActiveSync is installed inside the FBO office on the FBO host computer Another software program developed by this inventor PocketFuel is installed on the handheld remote input device All software is installed according to the developer s or manufacturer s instructions procedures and specifications 0075 CE Receive is a TCP IP listening device The system may use other modules from FBO Manager 2004 which allows multiple locations CE Receive manages inventory truck names credit card names and communi cates to process credit cards and performs other functions 0076 With the above components one skilled in the art would proceed as follows 0077 1 Install FBO Manager 2004 on the suitable host computer or computer network PC capable with Windows 95 or higher 0078 2 Install Microsoft ActiveSync on the PC 0079 3 Put the hand held iPAQ Pocket PC h5555 with wireless capability in the cradle containing USB or serial port connections
51. ted by the graphical objects in a graphical and intuitive manner 0092 User interfaces used with multi tasking processors also allow the user to simultaneously work on many tasks at once each task being confined to its own display window The interface allows the presentation of multiple windows in potentially overlapping relationships on a display screen The user can thus retain a window on the screen while temporarily superimposing a further window entirely or partially overlapping the retained window This enables the user to divert the attention from a first window to one or more secondary windows for assistance and or references so that overall user interaction may be improved There may be many windows with active applications running at once Oftentimes the windows may be dynamically or statically related such that modifying a query in one window results in changes to the displayed data in the other related windows thereby propagating the changes throughout 0093 For this typical inside sale the inside operator 80 IO would click on the POS Point of Sale button on the GUI A screen window opens to add new record for this inside customer 81 IC Next the IO would enter the IC s aircraft N number and or customer identification ID numerical alphabetic symbol graphic or other type des ignation if the IC is an existing customer or make a new customer ID if the IC is a new customer 82 If this is a f
52. uel purchase IO would push the fuel GUI button which shows fuel truck meter selections and enter start and stop selected meter readings to determine amount sold 83 From a pull down menu on the FBO Manager main viewing page the IO may sell add to IC s purchase all other desired products services requested by IC via product service ID Nov 3 2005 numerical alphabetic symbol graphic or other type des ignation 84 per user s manual instructions 0094 When all fuel products and or services desired by IC are sold per above actions the IO activates enter save invoice the IO is presented in this embodiment 2 options pay later 85 which keeps invoice open for future sales or accept payment 86 Accept payment offers in this embodiment 4 choices cash 87 credit card 88 check 89 or on account 90 Payment is then accepted from the IC per the above choices 91 and that transaction invoice is stored in the database 9 and the system returns to the FBO Manager 2004 software main viewing page One embodiment of the invention eliminates the conventional card processor hardware software i e Veriphone etc commonly used and replaces it with FBO Manager 2004 software modem and a magnetic card reader commonly referred to as a swiper 0095 To make this aspect of the invention one skilled in the art would first install load the FBO Manager 2004 software into the FBO hos
53. urality or none of the units of each item or list mentioned which is not intended to be limiting but merely for example and illustra tion What is claimed is 1 A method for real time FBO management operations at an airport between an aircraft customer and a FBO office comprising a remotely initiating a transaction for a purchase by an aircraft customer comprising receiving customer iden tification information and communicating said cus tomer identification information to a host processor at a FBO office b determining customer type based on said customer identification information c remotely selecting purchase type d calculating a price for said purchase based on purchase type and customer type e selecting payment type for said purchase and f accepting payment for said purchase based on payment type 2 The method of claim 1 wherein said customer type comprises one of commercial account transient aircraft flight school or any other user operator defined criterion 3 The method of claim 1 wherein said purchase type comprises fuel purchase or non fuel purchase 4 The method of claim 1 wherein said payment type comprises one of credit card open account direct bill cash check or any other medium of commerce for any payment type from aircraft customer acceptable to said FBO office 5 The method of claim 1 wherein customer identification information comprises an aircraft identification number or a
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