초록 ▼

Vehicles, systems, and methods for delivering natural gas and providing mobile fueling services are disclosed. A method of delivering natural gas includes: delivering a source vehicle to a receiving tank for receiving natural gas at a remote refueling location, the source vehicle having a natural ga

Vehicles, systems, and methods for delivering natural gas and providing mobile fueling services are disclosed. A method of delivering natural gas includes: delivering a source vehicle to a receiving tank for receiving natural gas at a remote refueling location, the source vehicle having a natural gas engine for driving the vehicle and a source tank disposed onboard the source vehicle for storing the natural gas; and transferring natural gas from the source vehicle to the receiving tank using pressure equalization between the source tank and the receiving tank and using a compressor disposed onboard the source vehicle. The onboard compressor is operatively connected to and powered by the source vehicle engine. The source tank is adapted to store a volume greater than or equal to about 200 DGE of natural gas and supplies natural gas to power the source vehicle engine.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of delivering natural gas, comprising: delivering a source vehicle to a receiving tank for receiving natural gas at a remote refueling location, the source vehicle having a natural gas engine for driving the vehicle and a source tank disposed onboard the source vehicle for storing the na

1. A method of delivering natural gas, comprising: delivering a source vehicle to a receiving tank for receiving natural gas at a remote refueling location, the source vehicle having a natural gas engine for driving the vehicle and a source tank disposed onboard the source vehicle for storing the natural gas; andtransferring natural gas from the source vehicle to the receiving tank using pressure equalization between the source tank and the receiving tank and using a compressor disposed onboard the source vehicle,wherein the source tank comprises a composite material, is configured to store greater than about 200 DGE of natural gas at about 3600 psi and at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and is configured to supply natural gas to power the source vehicle engine. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the onboard compressor is operatively connected to and powered by the source vehicle engine. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving tank is part of a customer vehicle. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank comprises a plurality of tanks for storing natural gas. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring natural gas from the source vehicle to the receiving tank uses tank equalization between the source tank and the receiving tank before using compression provided by the compressor disposed onboard the source vehicle. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring natural gas occurs at a rate of about 8 DGE/min to a pressure in the receiving tank of about 3600 psi. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring natural gas occurs at a rate of about 9 DGE/min to a pressure in the receiving tank of about 3600 psi. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring natural gas occurs at a rate of about 10 DGE/min to a pressure in the receiving tank of about 3600 psi. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring natural gas occurs at a rate of about 11 DGE/min to a pressure in the receiving tank of about 3600 psi. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank is adapted to configured to store greater than about 300 DGE of natural gas. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank is configured to store greater than about 600 DOE of natural gas. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank is configured to store about 700 DGE of natural gas. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank is configured to store about 1500 DOE of natural gas. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the source tank comprises either a Type 3 NGV2 tank or a Type 4 NGV2 tank. 15. A natural gas fueling vehicle, comprising: a source tank disposed onboard the vehicle, comprising a composite material, configured to store greater than about 200 DGE of natural gas at about 3600 psi and at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and configured to provide the natural gas to a discrete receiving tank;an engine operatively connected to the source tank for receiving natural gas from the source tank to power the engine; anda first compressor operatively connected to and powered by the natural gas engine for compressing natural gas delivered from the source tank to the discrete receiving tank. 16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the source tank comprises a plurality of tanks. 17. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a transfer case operatively connected between the natural gas engine and the first compressor for transferring power from the engine to the first compressor. 18. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the receiving tank is part of a vehicle. 19. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a second compressor removably disposed on the vehicle, the second compressor to configured to be connected between the source tank and a natural gas source. 20. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a location monitoring device for monitoring the location of the source vehicle. 21. The vehicle of claim 20, wherein the location monitoring device comprises a GPS receiver. 22. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a fuel level sensor for monitoring the volume of natural gas in the source tank. 23. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of outlets for connecting to the discrete receiving tank, wherein each outlet is operatively connected to the source tank, and wherein the plurality of outlets are disposed at one or more of: the right front portion of the vehicle, the right rear portion of the vehicle, the left front portion of the vehicle, and the left rear portion of the vehicle. 24. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the source tank is configured to store about 100 M BTUs of natural gas. 25. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the source tank comprises either a Type 3 NGV2 tank or a Type 4 NGV2 tank. 26. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the source tank is configured to store greater than about 600 DOE of natural gas.