US 11,942,894 B2
Photovoltaic tracker driveline joint
Benjamin C. De Fresart, Albuquerque, NM (US); Jonathan Sokol, Albuquerque, NM (US); Robert Clark Rowan, Jr., Phoenix, AZ (US); and Frank Heydrich, Albuquerque, NM (US)
Assigned to ARRAY TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Albuquerque, NM (US)
Filed by Array Technologies, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (US)
Filed on Jun. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/338,211.
Application 18/338,211 is a division of application No. 17/661,536, filed on Apr. 29, 2022, granted, now 11,683,006, issued on Jun. 20, 2023.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/181,789, filed on Apr. 29, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0336114 A1, Oct. 19, 2023
Int. Cl. F24S 30/40 (2018.01); F16C 3/02 (2006.01); F24S 50/20 (2018.01); H02S 20/32 (2014.01); H02S 30/10 (2014.01); F24S 30/00 (2018.01)
CPC H02S 20/32 (2014.12) [F16C 3/02 (2013.01); F24S 30/40 (2018.05); F24S 50/20 (2018.05); H02S 30/10 (2014.12); F24S 2030/11 (2018.05); F24S 2030/15 (2018.05)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A driveline joint, comprising:
a driveline shaft including one or more slots, the driveline shaft configured to be operatively coupled to one or more photovoltaic (PV) modules;
a shaft coupling configured to be operatively positioned within an interior of the driveline shaft, the shaft coupling including one or more openings, each of the one or more openings corresponding to a slot of the one or more slots;
one or more bearings, each bearing positioned radially between the driveline shaft and the shaft coupling; and
one or more fasteners, wherein each of the one or more fasteners extends through one of the one or more slots, through one of the one or more bearings, and through one of the one or more openings so as to operatively engage a bearing surface of the one or more bearings against the exterior surface of the shaft coupling, the bearing surface compensating for a degree of angular misalignment between the driveline shaft and the shaft coupling.