Patent ID: 7958886

Claim:
A torque arm assembly, for use with a solar collector installation of the type comprising a solar collector mounted to a drive shaft which has sides defining an outer surface, the torque arm assembly comprising: a torque arm having first and second ends; and a torque arm coupling assembly comprising: a first part; a second part securable to the first part to define a drive shaft enclosure, the drive shaft enclosure secured to the first end of the torque arm; the drive shaft enclosure defining an open-ended channel sized to house the drive shaft, the channel having first and second open ends with a circumferentially extending substantially continuous drive surface therebetween, the drive surface sized and shaped to lie adjacent to the outer surface of the drive shaft so the drive shaft and the drive shaft enclosure rotate together; and the second part comprising a U-bracket having a U-shaped central portion and U-shaped end portions, the U-shaped end portions being thicker than the U-shaped central portion to provide additional strength at the end portions.