Single axis in-line gearbox modular tracker system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solar trackers face inefficiencies in material usage, vulnerability to torsional and thermal loads, and require costly dampening systems due to long, stiff torque tubes, which lead to premature failure and high installation costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular solar tracker system with multiple tables connected by gearboxes and drive shafts, allowing for synchronous rotation and flexible alignment, reducing torque loads and accommodating thermal expansion, thereby optimizing material usage and simplifying installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single motor and single gearbox are used to rotate a long stiff torque tube, then the solar panels can track the sun, but the torque tube develops large torsional deflections and is vulnerable to premature failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the long torque tube into multiple shorter torque tubes, with each table having its own torque tube. This segmentation eliminates the torsional deflection problems of long tubes while maintaining the ability to track the sun across extended rows of solar panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces drive shafts as intermediary elements that connect multiple tables together. These drive shafts transmit rotational motion from one table to the next, allowing synchronized tracking without requiring a single long torque tube.
2Productivity
If long torque tubes are used to extend the row of solar panels, then more panels can be served by a single motor, but the torsional loads increase requiring higher total ratio of material per solar panel
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the system into multiple tables with individual torque tubes, each tube is optimized for its specific length and load requirements. This eliminates the excessive material needed to strengthen a single long tube to handle torsional loads from the entire row.
Solution Approach 2:
Each torque tube is designed with the specific structural properties needed for its local conditions and length, rather than overdesigning the entire long tube to meet the requirements of the furthest panels. This local optimization improves material efficiency.
3Length of moving object
If a single long torque tube is used, then the structure can support long rows of solar panels, but it is overdesigned for bending loads resulting in less than optimal use of material
Solution Approach 1:
Dividing the long row into multiple tables with separate torque tubes allows each tube to be sized appropriately for its specific bending and torsional loads, eliminating the overdesign required when a single tube must support the entire row length.
4Length of moving object
If stiff torque tube designs are used, then the solar panels can be mounted in long rows, but the system cannot conform to ground undulations requiring ground preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The modular table design with individual torque tubes allows each table to be independently positioned and adjusted to accommodate ground undulations, eliminating the need for stiff, non-adjustable long torque tubes that require extensive ground preparation.
5Temperature
If long stiff torque tubes are used in environments with wide temperature oscillations, then the tracker can operate, but thermal expansion creates difficult challenges with increased risk of failure
Solution Approach 1:
Segmenting the torque tube system into multiple shorter tubes reduces the thermal expansion magnitude in each segment, lowering the risk of thermal-related failures while maintaining operation across wide temperature ranges.
Data Source
AI summary
Modular tracker systems that include at least first and second tables or are continuous without the use of tables, a single motor driving the first and second tables, first and second intra-table drive shafts and an inter-table drive shaft. Each table includes a support structure including first and second mounting posts, a frame supported by the support structure, at least one solar panel supported by the frame, and first and second gearboxes being concentrically aligned for each table. The first and second gearboxes are each configured to produce first and second outputs. The first output has a first rotational speed, and the second output has a second rotational speed less than the first rotational speed, and is operatively coupled to the frame. The inter-table drive shaft couples the second gearbox of the first table with the first gearbox of the second table, whereby the first and second tables are rotated synchronously.