Patents by Inventor Lief Johnson

Lief Johnson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Thermal energy storage system including a plurality of vessels each having hot and cold liquid portions separated by a floating piston
    Patent number: 12404831
    Abstract: A thermal energy storage system comprising a working fluid to store and transfer thermal energy between a heat source and a thermal load and a vessel to store the working fluid. The vessel has an interior region and a floating separator piston in the interior region to separate a hot portion from a cold portion of the working fluid. There is a first manifold thermally coupled to an output of the heat source and to an input of the thermal load and fluidly coupled to the interior region of the vessel and a second manifold thermally coupled to an input of the heat source and an output of the thermal load and fluidly coupled to the interior region of the vessel. There is a controller configured to maintain the working fluid in a liquid state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2024
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2025
    Assignee: Norwich Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Lynch, Troy O. McBride, Joel Stettenheim, Per Erik Kristoffer Edstrom, Lief Johnson, Oliver James Brambles
  • Thermal Energy Storage System Including a Plurality of Vessels Each Having Hot and Cold Liquid Portions Separated by a Floating Piston
    Publication number: 20240280074
    Abstract: A thermal energy storage system comprising a working fluid to store and transfer thermal energy between a heat source and a thermal load and a vessel to store the working fluid. The vessel has an interior region and a floating separator piston in the interior region to separate a hot portion from a cold portion of the working fluid. There is a first manifold thermally coupled to an output of the heat source and to an input of the thermal load and fluidly coupled to the interior region of the vessel and a second manifold thermally coupled to an input of the heat source and an output of the thermal load and fluidly coupled to the interior region of the vessel. There is a controller configured to maintain the working fluid in a liquid state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2024
    Publication date: August 22, 2024
    Inventors: Jonathan Lynch, Troy O. McBride, Joel Stettenheim, Per Erik Kristoffer Edstrom, Lief Johnson, Oliver James Brambles