Truss foundations for frost-heave environments
AssigneeOjjo, Inc.
InventorCharles Almy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A truss foundation for single-axis trackers that are installed in climates that experience significant frost heave. Truss legs are oriented to be substantially plumb, to eliminate adfreeze moment on below-ground components in the frost zone. Different truss caps may be used depending on the type of single-axis tracker and/or tracker component is supported. In some cases, truss legs may curve just before entering the ground. In others, below-ground and above-ground components may extend along the same axis and remain plump with the truss cap providing additional elevation to for the tracker to clear the wider truss legs.
Claims17
A truss foundation for a single-axis tracker comprising:
- a pair of truss legs extending into underlying ground;
- and
- a truss cap interconnecting the pair of truss legs, wherein the truss cap provides an elevated mounting surface for a tracker component and includes a pair of connecting portions angled apart from one another that extend below the elevated mounting surface that set a fixed leg separation angle and are received in respective ones of the truss legs, each truss leg comprising an upper leg portion sleeved over a coupler attached to an upper end of a driven screw anchor extending below a frost line of the underlying ground.
A truss foundation for supporting a single-axis tracker above underlying ground comprising:
- a pair of adjacent truss legs;
- and
- a truss cap joining above-ground ends of the pair of adjacent truss legs, wherein the truss cap comprises a pair of connecting portions angled apart from one another that set a fixed leg separation angle and are received in respective ones of the truss legs, each truss leg comprising an upper leg portion sleeved over and connected to a coupler of a driven screw anchor.
An assembly comprising:
- a pair of truss legs extending into underlying ground;
- and
- a truss cap interconnecting the pair of truss legs, wherein the truss cap provides at least one elevated mounting surface for a tracker component and includes a pair of connecting portions angled apart from one another that extend below the elevated mounting surface and that set a fixed leg separation angle and are received in respective ones of the truss legs, each truss leg comprising an upper leg portion sleeved over and connected to a coupler of a driven screw anchor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.