Pile cap with integrated bearing housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10097134-B2
Application number	US-201615175591-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2016
Priority date	Feb 5, 2016
Publication date	Oct 9, 2018
Grant date	Oct 9, 2018

Abstract

This disclosure relates to the design of pile cap assemblies configured to rotatably couple the torque tube of a photovoltaic solar tracker to multiple support piles that elevate the torque tube above the ground. The pile cap assemblies define low friction bearings that allow the torque tube to rotate smoothly within the low friction bearings. The pile cap assemblies also include numerous mounting hole configurations that allow for adjustment of a position of the pile cap assemblies with respect to the support piles. This allows for any small variation in positioning of the support piles to be accommodated.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A photovoltaic system, comprising:
a torque tube;
a photovoltaic module coupled to the torque tube;
a support pile defining a first plurality of mounting holes distributed across a region of the support pile at a first interval;
a pile cap assembly supporting the torque tube, the pile cap assembly comprising:
a bracket portion including an integrated lateral adjustment mechanism comprising a second plurality of mounting holes distributed across the bracket portion at a second interval greater than or less than the first interval, only a subset of the second plurality of mounting holes being aligned with respective ones of the first plurality of mounting holes; and
a fastener securing the bracket portion to the support pile, the fastener extending through one of the first plurality of mounting holes and one of the second plurality of mounting holes.

2. The photovoltaic system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a bearing portion, attached to or integrated with the bracket portion, the bearing portion subtending a portion of an arc and defining an opening accommodating at least a portion of a section of the torque tube,
wherein the bearing portion includes a bearing housing and a lower bearing supported by the bearing housing, the bearing housing defining an anti-rotation feature that prevents rotation of the lower bearing with respect to the bearing housing.

3. The photovoltaic system of claim 2 , wherein the lower bearing includes a disposable alignment feature extending across a central region of the opening dimensioned to fit the torque tube.

4. The photovoltaic system of claim 3 , wherein the bracket portion defines a third plurality of mounting holes and the bearing portion defines a fourth plurality of mounting holes, wherein only a subset of the third plurality of mounting holes are aligned with the fourth plurality of mounting holes.

5. A photovoltaic system, comprising:
a support pile defining a first plurality of mounting holes proximate a distal end of the support pile, the first plurality of mounting holes being spaced apart at a first interval;
a torque tube;
a photovoltaic module coupled to the torque tube;
a pile cap assembly, comprising:
a bearing portion defining a bearing within which a section of the torque tube is positioned,
a bracket portion defining a second plurality of mounting holes spaced apart along the pile cap assembly at a second interval greater or less than the first interval, and
a locking mechanism that closes the bearing around the section of the torque tube; and

a fastener extending through a first mounting hole of the first plurality of mounting holes and through a second mounting hole of the second plurality of mounting holes to couple the pile cap assembly to the support pile, wherein only a subset of the first plurality of mounting holes are aligned with corresponding ones of the second plurality of mounting holes.

6. The photovoltaic system of claim 5 , wherein only two mounting holes of the first plurality of mounting holes are aligned with any of the second plurality of mounting holes at any given orientation between the first and second plurality of mounting holes.

7. The photovoltaic system of claim 6 , wherein the bearing portion and bracket portion of the pile cap assembly comprises a bearing housing.

8. The photovoltaic system of claim 5 , wherein a shape and size of the first and second plurality of mounting holes is such that when the fastener extends through the first and second mounting holes a position of the bracket portion relative to the support pile is fixed.

9. The photovoltaic system of claim 5 , wherein the support pile comprises a first wall and a second wall substantially parallel to the first wall and wherein the first plurality of mounting holes is distributed across both the first and second walls of the support pile.

10. The photovoltaic system of claim 8 , wherein the bearing housing comprises a lower bearing that cooperates with the upper bearing to define the bearing.

11. The photovoltaic system of claim 5 , wherein the bearing portion comprises a bearing housing that comprises a plurality of retaining hooks integrally formed with the bearing housing that engages the distal end of the support pile.

12. The photovoltaic system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of retaining hooks are configured to allow the bearing housing to slide laterally with respect to the distal end of the support pile when the fastener is removed from the first and second mounting holes while maintaining a vertical elevation of the bearing housing with respect to the support pile.

13. The photovoltaic system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of retaining hooks engage a linear edge of the support pile.

14. The photovoltaic system of claim 11 , wherein the bearing housing is formed from sheet metal.

15. A photovoltaic system, comprising:
a support pile defining a first plurality of mounting holes spaced apart by a first interval;
a pile cap assembly defining a second plurality of mounting holes spaced apart by a second interval greater than or less than the first interval such that only a subset of the first plurality of mounting holes are aligned with the second plurality of mounting holes, the pile cap assembly comprising a bearing portion defining a bearing;
a plurality of fasteners coupling the support pile to the pile cap assembly by engaging two or more of the first and second plurality of mounting holes;
a torque tube extending through the bearing and being supported by the pile cap assembly; and
a photovoltaic module supported by the torque tube.

16. The photovoltaic system of claim 15 , wherein the first and second plurality of mounting holes are arranged linearly and the first and second plurality of mounting holes are collinear with each other.

17. The photovoltaic system of claim 16 , wherein the each of the first plurality of mounting holes is separated from adjacent mounting holes by the first interval and each of the second plurality of mounting holes is separated from adjacent mounting holes by the second interval.

18. The photovoltaic system of claim 15 , wherein the support pile has a C-shaped cross-sectional geometry comprising a central wall, a first wall extending from a first end of the central wall and a second wall extending from a second end of the central wall, wherein.

Assignees

• Solarcity Corp

Inventors

• Molina David
• Almy Charles
• Jensen Soren
• Pesce Kathryn Austin
• Karkheck Johann Fritz

Classifications

• E02D2600/30

  comprising anchoring details · CPC title

• H02S20/32 Primary

  specially adapted for solar tracking · CPC title

• E02D2600/20

  comprising details of connection between elements · CPC title

• E02D5/223

  Details of top sections of foundation piles (E02D5/54 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24S2025/6002

  by using hooks · CPC title