US 11,999,608 B2
Product delivery systems for liquid product transport vehicles and methods of loading liquid products using the same
Randy Donald Robinson, Smithville, MO (US); Mark William Dudley, Kansas City, MO (US); Steven D. Gramling, Olathe, KS (US); Richard Lee Henderson, Leawood, KS (US); and Francis V. Stemporzewski, Jr., Salem, NH (US)
Assigned to Knappco, LLC, Hamilton, OH (US)
Appl. No. 17/997,083
Filed by Knappco, LLC, Hamilton, OH (US)
PCT Filed Apr. 12, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/026829
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 25, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/221889, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 4, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/018,741, filed on May 1, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0174366 A1, Jun. 8, 2023
Int. Cl. B67D 7/14 (2010.01); B60P 3/22 (2006.01); B67D 7/04 (2010.01); B67D 7/30 (2010.01); B67D 7/32 (2010.01); B67D 7/34 (2010.01); B67D 7/78 (2010.01); H04W 4/021 (2018.01)
CPC B67D 7/145 (2013.01) [B60P 3/228 (2013.01); B67D 7/04 (2013.01); B67D 7/303 (2013.01); B67D 7/3209 (2013.01); B67D 7/342 (2013.01); B67D 7/78 (2013.01); H04W 4/021 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A product delivery system for a product transport vehicle, comprising:
a product transport vehicle comprising a tank compartment for containing a liquid product;
a valve coupled to the tank compartment, the valve regulating a flow of the liquid product into the tank compartment and having a normally locked state;
a network interface device operable to establish a communication path with one or more external systems;
a system controller communicatively coupled to the valve and the network interface device, the system controller comprising a processor and a storage medium containing computer readable and executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the system controller to automatically:
establish a communication path between the network interface device and a loading system at a loading station, a fleet management system, a cloud system, or combinations of these;
receive a shipping volume from the loading system, the fleet management system, or the cloud system, wherein the shipping volume is a volume of a liquid product scheduled to be loaded into the tank compartment;
compare the shipping volume to a tank compartment volume of the tank compartment, wherein the tank compartment volume is a total volume of the tank compartment and the tank compartment volume is stored in the storage medium;
maintain the valve in the normally locked state based on the comparison of the shipping volume and the tank compartment volume to prevent the flow of the liquid product to be loaded into the tank compartment; and
transition the valve from the normally locked state to an unlocked state based on the comparison of the shipping volume and the tank compartment volume, thereby permitting the flow of the liquid product to be loaded into the tank compartment.