Patents by Inventor Steven E. Widergren

Steven E. Widergren 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).

  • Patent number: 11361392
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide flexible allocation and regulation of scheduled energy transfers between energy storage devices (“batteries”) and a power grid. Piecewise mappings having at least one sloping segment enable gradual variations in scheduled energy transfers as cleared values of a medium of energy exchange deviate from predicted values of the medium of energy exchange. Thereby deviations from a battery's predicted energy transfer schedule can be reduced, and overall smoother operation of a power grid can be achieved. Two sloping linear segments can be separated by a dead band, a portion of the mapping in which the scheduled energy transfer amount is invariant. A dead zone can increase the likelihood of a battery meeting its predicted schedule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Bishnu P. Bhattarai, Bilal Ahmad Bhatti, Robert G. Pratt, Donald J. Hammerstrom, Steven E. Widergren
  • Publication number: 20220179378
    Abstract: This document describes techniques, apparatuses, and systems for a blockchain-based transactive energy system. A blockchain-based transactive energy system receives a bid associated with a supply/demand curve of a utility from a transactive node through a smart contract. A universal identifier associated with the bid may be verified by consensus nodes of the blockchain-based transactive energy system to determine a verified set of bids. The universal identifier or other data associated with the bid may be stored in an immutable database provided by a blockchain. Based on the verified set of bids, a market-clearing price of the utility may be determined and used to satisfy the bid of the transactive node according to an actual production or consumption of the utility by the transactive node. The actual production or consumption of the utility may be stored in the immutable database for future audits or verification.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Applicant: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Sri Nikhil Gupta Gourisetti, Steven E. Widergren, Michael E. Mylrea, David J. Sebastian Cardenas, Mark I. Borkum, Bishnu P. Bhattarai, Peng Wang, Alysha M. Randall, Hayden M. Reeve
  • Publication number: 20200143489
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide flexible allocation and regulation of scheduled energy transfers between energy storage devices (“batteries”) and a power grid. Piecewise mappings having at least one sloping segment enable gradual variations in scheduled energy transfers as cleared values of a medium of energy exchange deviate from predicted values of the medium of energy exchange. Thereby deviations from a battery's predicted energy transfer schedule can be reduced, and overall smoother operation of a power grid can be achieved. Two sloping linear segments can be separated by a dead band, a portion of the mapping in which the scheduled energy transfer amount is invariant. A dead zone can increase the likelihood of a battery meeting its predicted schedule.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Applicant: BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Bishnu P. Bhattarai, Bilal Ahmad Bhatti, Robert G. Pratt, Donald J. Hammerstrom, Steven E. Widergren