A typical fueling environment includes one or more fuel dispensers which can be used by a customer to dispense fuel into a vehicle, a portable fuel tank, or other equipment. From time to time, it is necessary for service personnel, government or regulatory officials, or other parties to access special features of the fuel dispenser, such as service logs, calibration functions, diagnostic functions, and so forth. Existing fuel dispensers employ various security mechanisms in an effort to prevent unauthorized access to such features. For example, some fuel dispensers require a simple password to access certain functions of a computer system in the fuel dispenser. By way of further example, some fuel dispensers include a lockable door that covers the service portion of the fuel dispenser, or a mechanical seal that can provide evidence of tampering if the seal is broken. Most existing security systems and methods, however, can be easily circumvented by malicious parties. Accordingly, a need exists for improved systems and methods for fuel dispenser security.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds