Patents by Inventor Mauro Pedretti-Rodi

Mauro Pedretti-Rodi 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).

  • Publication number: 20240426281
    Abstract: An elevator cage is used in an energy storage and delivery system to move blocks between a lower elevation of a tower and a higher elevation of a tower to store energy and to move blocks between a higher elevation of the tower and a lower elevation of the tower under force of gravity to generate electricity. The elevator cage removably receives a block thereon and supports the block on at least three sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2024
    Publication date: December 26, 2024
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20240417053
    Abstract: An airship includes an inflatable membrane, an upper beam attached to an outer surface of an upper end of the inflatable membrane, and a lower beam attached to an outer surface of a lower end of the inflatable membrane. When the inflatable membrane is inflated with a gas less dense than air (e.g. helium, hydrogen), the gas in a cavity of the membrane vertically separates the upper beam from the lower beam along at least a portion of their lengths. A payload carried by the airship applies a tension force on the upper beam and a compression force on the lower beam.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2024
    Publication date: December 19, 2024
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20240417161
    Abstract: A liquid storage tank with a storage unit has a flexible wall assembled from liquid-impermeable, flexible membrane sections. Due to their dimensions, these membrane sections give the liquid storage tank a predetermined operational shape when filled with the target amount of liquid. In the vertical operational position, this predetermined operational shape is drop-shaped, featuring an upper tip and a lower, bulged bottom area, where the tip is equipped with a supporting suspension for the storage unit, and a first liquid connection is provided in the bottom area. A method for manufacturing the liquid storage tank includes iterative calculations for the predetermined operational shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2024
    Publication date: December 19, 2024
    Inventor: Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 12116970
    Abstract: The method according to the invention relates to the storage of energy in the form of a compressed fluid which is pumped into a container (2) arranged below a water surface (4) to store the energy, wherein the fluid entering the container displaces an existing content, comprising water, from the container and into the surrounding water, and compressed fluid is removed from the container (2) to remove energy, wherein surrounding water flows back into the container according to the volume of the removed, compressed fluid, characterized in that the container (2) is provided with flexible walls at least in some parts and is arranged on a seabed (6) or lake bed (6) and there is covered by ballast (15) such that it is pressed against the substrate even when completely filled with compressed fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventor: Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 12037989
    Abstract: An elevator cage is used in an energy storage and delivery system to move blocks between a lower elevation of a tower and a higher elevation of a tower to store energy and to move blocks between a higher elevation of the tower and a lower elevation of the tower under force of gravity to generate electricity. The elevator cage removably receives a block thereon and supports the block on at least three sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2024
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20240035451
    Abstract: An elevator cage is used in an energy storage and delivery system to move blocks between a lower elevation of a tower and a higher elevation of a tower to store energy and to move blocks between a higher elevation of the tower and a lower elevation of the tower under force of gravity to generate electricity. The elevator cage removably receives a block thereon and supports the block on at least three sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2023
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 11761431
    Abstract: An elevator cage is used in an energy storage and delivery system to move blocks between a lower elevation of a tower and a higher elevation of a tower to store energy and to move blocks between a higher elevation of the tower and a lower elevation of the tower under force of gravity to generate electricity. The elevator cage removably receives a block thereon and supports the block on at least three sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 11746758
    Abstract: A method for energy storage and delivery includes operating a pair of elevator cages to move blocks between a first set of rows in an upper section of the frame and a corresponding second set of rows in a lower section of the frame. The elevator cages move blocks from alternating rows of the second set of rows to corresponding alternating rows of the first set of rows to store electrical energy corresponding to a potential energy of said blocks and move blocks from alternating rows of the first set of rows to corresponding alternating rows of the second set of rows under a force of gravity to generate electricity via an electric motor-generator electrically coupled to the elevator cages. The elevator cages move said blocks between each of the second set of rows and each of the corresponding first set of rows by an equal vertical distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 11719229
    Abstract: An energy storage and delivery system includes a crane operable to move blocks from a lower elevation to a higher elevation to store energy (e.g., via the potential energy of the block in the higher elevation) and operable to move blocks from the higher elevation to the lower elevation (e.g., by gravity) to generate electricity (e.g., via the kinetic energy of the block when moved to the lower elevation). The blocks remain vertically spaced from each other, and a vertical distance between the lower elevation and the higher elevation of each of the blocks is the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Patent number: 11585328
    Abstract: An energy storage and delivery system includes a crane elevator cage, where the crane or elevator cage is operable to move one or more blocks from a lower elevation to a higher elevation to store energy (e.g., via the potential energy of the block in the higher elevation) and operable to move one or more blocks from a higher elevation to a lower elevation (e.g., by gravity) to generate electricity (e.g., via the kinetic energy of the block when moved to the lower elevation). The energy storage system can, for example, store electricity generated from solar power as potential energy in the stacked blocks during daytime hours when solar power is available, and can convert the potential energy in the stacked blocks into electricity during nighttime hours when solar energy is not available, and deliver the converted electricity to the electrical grid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: Energy Vault, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20210404447
    Abstract: A method for energy storage and delivery includes operating a pair of elevator cages to move blocks between a first set of rows in an upper section of the frame and a corresponding second set of rows in a lower section of the frame. The elevator cages move blocks from alternating rows of the second set of rows to corresponding alternating rows of the first set of rows to store electrical energy corresponding to a potential energy of said blocks and move blocks from alternating rows of the first set of rows to corresponding alternating rows of the second set of rows under a force of gravity to generate electricity via an electric motor-generator electrically coupled to the elevator cages. The elevator cages move said blocks between each of the second set of rows and each of the corresponding first set of rows by an equal vertical distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20210404446
    Abstract: An energy storage and delivery system includes a crane elevator cage, where the crane or elevator cage is operable to move one or more blocks from a lower elevation to a higher elevation to store energy (e.g., via the potential energy of the block in the higher elevation) and operable to move one or more blocks from a higher elevation to a lower elevation (e.g., by gravity) to generate electricity (e.g., via the kinetic energy of the block when moved to the lower elevation). The energy storage system can, for example, store electricity generated from solar power as potential energy in the stacked blocks during daytime hours when solar power is available, and can convert the potential energy in the stacked blocks into electricity during nighttime hours when solar energy is not available, and deliver the converted electricity to the electrical grid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20210404448
    Abstract: An energy storage and delivery system includes a crane operable to move blocks from a lower elevation to a higher elevation to store energy (e.g., via the potential energy of the block in the higher elevation) and operable to move blocks from the higher elevation to the lower elevation (e.g., by gravity) to generate electricity (e.g., via the kinetic energy of the block when moved to the lower elevation). The blocks remain vertically spaced from each other, and a vertical distance between the lower elevation and the higher elevation of each of the blocks is the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi
  • Publication number: 20210404445
    Abstract: An elevator cage is used in an energy storage and delivery system to move blocks between a lower elevation of a tower and a higher elevation of a tower to store energy and to move blocks between a higher elevation of the tower and a lower elevation of the tower under force of gravity to generate electricity. The elevator cage removably receives a block thereon and supports the block on at least three sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Andrea Pedretti, Mauro Pedretti-Rodi