Bearing adapters for single-axis trackers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12584516-B2
Application number	US-202016810012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2020
Priority date	Mar 6, 2019
Publication date	Mar 24, 2026
Grant date	Mar 24, 2026

Abstract

Bearing adapters for use with truss foundations supporting mechanically balanced single-axis trackers. The bearing adapter joins the free ends of a pair of adjacent truss legs to form a rigid A-frame shaped foundation structure. A bearing is formed in an upper portion of the bearing adapter to allow a torque tube to be suspended from a pin in the bearing and to swing through an arc bounded by the bearing adapter. The bearing may have a catenoid shape to compensate for misalignment in multiple directions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A bearing adapter for a single-axis tracker comprising:
a main body portion having a cusp and a bearing formed proximate to the cusp wherein the main body portion defines a cardioid-shaped opening; a bearing pin in the bearing, wherein the bearing pin provides an axis of rotation for a torque tube suspended within the cardioid-shaped opening of the main body, and wherein the torque tube is suspended from the bearing pin such that the torque tube rotates about the bearing pin; and a pair of connecting portions, each connecting portion of the pair of connecting portions comprising a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the pair of connecting portions angled apart from one another at a fixed angle of separation with the proximal end portion of each connecting portion projecting away from the main body portion at respective locations at the main body portion below and offset to opposite sides of the cusp, wherein the connecting portions are adapted at the distal end portion of each connecting portion to connect to a pair of angled truss legs extending into underlying ground to form an A-framed shape foundation structure with the ground for a single-axis tracker with an integral bearing, wherein the connecting portions are oriented with respect to the main body so that a line through the center of the distal end portion of each connecting portion substantially intersects the proximal end portion and the bearing, and wherein each connecting portion of the pair of connecting portions is configured at the distal end portion to connect to a respective angled truss leg of the pair of angled truss legs to orient the line to intersect the respective truss leg, wherein the connecting portions terminate in respective crimp connectors having at least one channel circumscribing an outer surface thereof.

2 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the cardioid-shaped opening defines a first plane and the bearing is oriented substantially orthogonal to the first plane.

3 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the bearing has a catenoid shape to enable the bearing pin to compensate for lack of orthogonality between the torque tube and the first plane.

4 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the main body portion is formed from a pair of matching members joined together with clinch joints.

5 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein each connecting portion of the pair of connecting portions is configured at the distal end portion to orient a central longitudinal axis of the respective angled truss leg of the pair of angled truss legs coaxial with the line.

6 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of connecting portions are offset to opposite sides of the cusp and angled apart from one another at the fixed angle of separation in a common plane that extends between underlying ground and the bearing pin.

7 . The bearing adapter according to claim 1 , wherein the line is circumscribed by the at least one channel.

8 . A bearing adapter for a single-axis tracker having an offset drive assembly comprising:
a main body defining a cardioid-shaped opening; a bearing formed in the main body proximate to a cusp of the cardioid-shaped opening; a bearing pin in the bearing, wherein the bearing pin provides an axis of rotation for a torque tube suspended within the cardioid-shaped opening of the main body, and wherein the torque tube is suspended from the bearing pin such that the torque tube rotates about the bearing pin; and a pair of connecting portions, each connecting portion of the pair of connecting portions comprising a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the respective proximal end portion of each connecting portion projecting away from the main body in a common plane that extends between underlying ground and the bearing pin and at a fixed angle of separation, wherein the connecting portions are oriented with respect to the main body in the common plane so that a line through the center of the distal end portion of each connecting portion substantially intersects the proximal end portion and the bearing in the common plane, wherein the connecting portions are configured at the distal end portion of each connecting portion extending in the common plane to join to a pair of angled truss legs such that a central longitudinal axis of each of the pair of angled truss legs extend in the common plane and into underlying ground to form an A-framed shape foundation structure with the ground for a single-axis tracker with an integral bearing and such that the line is oriented to intersect the respective truss leg of the pair, and wherein the connecting portions terminate in respective crimp connectors having at least one channel circumscribing an outer surface thereof.

9 . The bearing adapter according to claim 8 , wherein the bearing has a catenoid shape to enable the bearing pin to compensate for lack of orthogonality between the torque tube and the bearing.

10 . The bearing adapter according to claim 8 , wherein the connecting portions are oriented with respect to the main body in the common plane so that a line in the common plane through the center of each connecting portion substantially intersects at the bearing pin in the common plane at one end of the line and substantially intersects the respective one of the pair of angled truss legs in the common plane at another, opposite end of the line.

11 . The bearing adapter according to claim 8 , wherein the line in the common plane is circumscribed by the at least one channel where the line intersects the respective one of the pair of angled truss legs in the common plane.

Assignees

• Ojjo Inc

Inventors

• Pesce Katie
• Mcpheeters Greg

Classifications

• F24S2030/15

  Bearings · CPC title

• H02S20/32 Primary

  specially adapted for solar tracking · CPC title

• H02S30/10

  Frame structures · CPC title

• Y02E10/50

  Photovoltaic [PV] energy · CPC title

• Y02E10/47

  Mountings or tracking · CPC title