TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to an adjustable support bracket which can be used in combination with a support pier or post to support a lateral girder which is subject to weights or loads.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the construction industry, lateral support surfaces or floors are often elevated above the substrate on which they must ultimately be supported. The substrate is ordinarily ground, soil, fill dirt, or the like. Occasionally, the floor can be supported directly on a leveled substrate or ground by a concrete pad. Under these circumstances there may not be a foundation, nor is there any need for a support pier for the horizontal girder or floor. More commonly, the floors are raised above ground level or the substrate support level. A durable rigid material, such as plywood or flooring, will be supported at intervals by a lateral girder. These can be floor joists, 2×4's, 4×6's, metal girders, wooden girders and the like. Periodically, these lateral girders must receive support not only at the ends but also at points along the length of the lateral girders. For example, in a crawl space under a house, the foundation will ordinarily be concrete blocks or concrete piers. Lateral girders will run from one support pier to another support pier. The floor surface may be mounted on these lateral girders, either directly or there may be intervening floor joists. However, ultimately the entire weight supported by the structure must be supported by the concrete piers, wood posts, or whatever else is vertically sunk into the ground or substrate.
On occasion, the lateral girder may begin to sag. This can arise from a variety of causes. First, through poor design or miscalculation of the loads these lateral girders are required to carry, they may simply not be strong enough to support the weight which is placed on them in the area between the points of vertical support piers or posts and the point the load is applied. Secondly, there may be settling of the vertical support piers or posts. This can happen from a variety of causes. The soil can be soft and, as weight is applied, the vertical post can sink further into the soil. The concrete footers which may support the piers may not have been large enough to begin with. The soil can shrink over time so that the vertical piers, instead of supporting the lateral girder, will settle and allow the supported girder to sag.
When there is sagging of the lateral girder, it may be possible to use a jack, ordinarily hydraulic, to raise the lateral girder beam and to place shims between the vertical piers and lateral girder. However, this is simply a temporary fix since there may be more settling over time. Consequently, there is a need for a permanent way of providing support from the ground to a lateral girder where, for whatever reason, the girder is sagging.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The current adjustable bracket invention is used in conjunction with a vertically mounted support pipe. The pipe can be mounted into the substrate a variety of ways, but is done so that it can bear the appropriate load without sinking any further into the substrate. The adjustable bracket is fixed to the top of the support pipe. The support pipe terminates directly below the lateral girder which requires support. The adjustable support bracket is affixed to the top of the pipe but below the lateral load-bearing girder which requires support. A removable hydraulic jack is used in conjunction with the adjustable bracket. The jack is placed between the upper and lower plate of the bracket and a hydraulic load is applied to the jack to raise the upper plate of the bracket. The lower plate of the bracket supports the jack and the lower plate is in turn supported by the vertical pipe. As the jack raises the upper plate of the bracket, it comes into contact with the lateral girder. More pressure is applied to the jack, which will continue to raise the upper plate of the bracket. This is done gradually. The sag of the lateral girder is monitored. When the girder is level and no longer sagging, the upper plate can be locked into place using nuts on threaded locking bolts which are mounted on the lower support plate of the adjustable bracket. Once the nuts are tightened into place and the bracket is supported by the nuts on the locking bolts, the hydraulic pressure supporting the hydraulic jack may be released. The girder will not sag because it is now supported by the nuts on the locking bolts supported on the lower plate of the hydraulic bracket. The jack may be removed and a permanent repair is in place.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a sagging lateral support girder.
FIG. 2 shows the beginning of a repair using an auxiliary support pipe.
FIG. 3 shows the adjustable support bracket in an exploded view.
FIG. 3A shows the mounting of the adjustable support bracket.
FIG. 4 shows the adjustable support bracket on a support pipe below a lateral girder.
FIG. 5 shows the adjustable support bracket in a fully mounted position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows in cut-a-way and in exaggerated fashion the problem to be solved by the adjustable support bracket (400) which will be described herein. A lateral support girder (200) is supported at one end by a support pier (100) and at the other end by a support pier (102). The piers are sunk into a substrate, here, the ground (10), to the point they are supported by a footer, respectively (105) and (107). Because the lateral support girder (200) has a considerable length and because it will receive loads in the middle, as well as at the ends that are supported by the piers (100) and (102), a central support pier (101) is shown also buried within the ground (10) and supported by a footer (106). However, here, the central pier (101) has sunk. This means that the upper end of the pier (101) which was initially at the same level as the upper end of the piers (100) and (102) has now sunk below that level meaning that no support is provided to the girder (200) at the point of pier (101) unless the girder (200) sags to the top of the support pier (101). Here, the girder (200) is shown sagging slightly. It will continue to bend upwardly until it is supported by the piers (100) and (102). Consequently, the support girder (200) is not in a straight horizontal line and is not providing a straight horizontal support for any flooring that is mounted on the girder (200). This sagging in the middle of the girder (200) creates a variety of problems for the building owner.
FIG. 2 shows a detail from FIG. 1 in which the lateral support girder (200) is shown supported by the sunken support pier (101) and the footer (106). In proximity to the support pier (101), is an auxiliary support pipe (150). This can be mounted into the ground (10) in a variety of fashions. For example, it can be driven into the ground by a pile driver. However, frequently the need for such an auxiliary support pipe (150) is in an existing structure which limits the options for sinking the auxiliary support pipe (150) into the ground (10). Here it is shown with a helical screw-like flange (160). This allows a machine to turn the auxiliary support pipe (150) into the ground. The helical flanges (160) will turn in the ground (10), much like a wood screw will set itself into wood, by digging gradually into the ground (10) under the torque and pressure provided by a machine designed for the purpose of setting such a support pipe (150) into the ground. The auxiliary support pipe (150) can be sunk into the ground (10) in this fashion until it is deemed to be securely set into the ground (10). This could be indicated by an inability to drive the support pipe (150) any further into the ground (10) by use of the flanges (160). It could also be indicated by the amount of torque necessary to turn the support pipe (150). At some point, by adding further sections of pipes (150) as they are sunk into the ground (10), a level of resistance will be met sufficient to indicate that the pipe (150) now is securely sunk into the ground (10) so as to support the expected load. At this point, the end of the support pipe (150) is trimmed an appropriate distance from the lateral girder (200).
FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the adjustable support bracket (400). There is a lower support plate (500) which will be mounted on the auxiliary support pipe (150) by the mounting bracket (450). The mounting bracket (450) is shown in more detail in FIG. 3A. A plurality of threaded support bolts (510) are mounted on the lower support plate (500). In the preferred embodiment, there are four support bolts (510). In FIG. 3, the support bolts (510) are shown with the fourth support bolt (510) hidden from view by the upper support plate (550). These bolts are threaded (511) and a locking nut (512) is threaded onto each of the support bolts (510). The upper support plate (550) is shown positioned above the lower support plate (500). Matching each of the support bolts (510) is a sleeve (560) which will slide over the support bolts (510) to ultimately rest against the locking nuts (512). The support bolts (510) and matching sleeve (560) will ordinarily be several inches in length. This will initially allow clearance between the upper support plate (550) and the lateral girder (200) which requires support. Enough space will be left between the upper support plate (550) and the bottom of the lateral girder (200) to allow the adjustable support bracket (400) to be affixed to the top of the support pipe (150) but below the lateral girder (200) with some clearance between the lateral girder (200) and the upper support plate (550).
FIG. 3A shows the mounting bracket (450) as seen from below. The mounting bracket (450) is in two pieces. A fixed U-shaped piece (451) is ordinarily permanently affixed to the bottom of the lower support plate (500). At each end of the U-shape piece (451) is a flange. There is a moveable matching U-shaped piece (452). The support pier (150) (not shown in FIG. 3A) will be positioned approximately half within the U-shaped declivity on the piece (451), with the bottom of the lower support plate (500) resting against the top of the support pier (150). The matching U-shaped piece (452) will then be placed around the remaining portion of the support pier (150) and a plurality of bolts (455) will be placed through appropriate bolt holes on the flange (451) or the pieces (452) and secured in place by a locking nut (not shown). The bolts (455) are held in place, thus securing the lower support plate (450) in place against the support pier (150).
FIG. 4 shows the adjustable support bracket (400) mounted on a support pipe (150) below a lateral girder (200) in place and ready for use. The upper plate (550) is positioned just below the girder (200). The sleeves (560) are down on the support locking bolts (510) with the locking nuts (512) below the sleeves (560). A hydraulic pump (300) is connected by a hydraulic line (310) to a hydraulic jack (320). The hydraulic pump (300) will be activated, forcing hydraulic fluid through the hydraulic line (310) to the hydraulic jack (320) and raising the hydraulic jack (320) in the direction shown by the arrow. The hydraulic jack (320) will come into contact with the lower surface of the upper support plate (560) raising it until it comes into contact with the lateral girder (200). More pressure may be applied until the lateral girder (200) has been raised from its point of sag to the appropriate level position and in line with other vertical support piers, not shown in this drawing but seen in FIG. 1. At that point, while hydraulic pressure is still being applied to the hydraulic jack (320), the locking nuts (512) may be threaded up the support locking bolts (510) until they come into contact with the bottom of the sleeves (560). The locking nuts (512) can then be locked into place, thus supporting the sleeves (560) against any downwardly directed force from the lateral girder (200). The hydraulic pressure on the hydraulic jack (320) may be reversed causing the hydraulic jack (320) to settle into a relaxed position and the jack is now ready to be removed.
FIG. 5 shows the adjustable support bracket (500) mounted on the support pipe (150) in place and supporting the girder (200). The upper support plate (500) is in place against the girder (200). The supporting sleeves (560) which are on the underside of the upper support plate (550) are now supported on the support locking bolt (510) by the locking nuts (512) which have been screwed on the threads on the support bolts (510) to where they are flush against the sleeves (560), The hydraulic jack (320), seen in FIG. 4, has completed its work and has been removed. The weight which was causing the girder to sag is now supported by the vertical pipe (150) by using the adjustable support bracket (400). The locking bolts (510), the sleeves (560), and the locking nuts (512) are of sufficient size and strength to be able to support the expected load presented by the weight on the girder (200). In this fashion, a vertical pipe (150) may be placed into the support substrate using existing technology, then using the adjustable support bracket (400) a permanent repair can be quickly and effectively completed.
It will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the foregoing explanation is by way of illustration and not of limitation. The limitations are found only in the claims which follow. Variations in size, materials and design may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the essential teachings of this invention.
Patent Application
20050172427
