Patent Grant
8403599
This invention relates generally to an improved apparatus for lifting and supporting structures, particularly buildings whose positions have settled, or otherwise shifted, from their original position and must be lifted, for example, to relocate the building to its original position and/or cure structural defects which may have occurred as a result of the structure having moved, or in the case of intended future loading increases caused by planned additions or other applications that may require further support. More particularly, the invention relates to a bracket used in conjunction with such an apparatus and which is structurally stronger and less expensive to manufacture than conventional brackets.
Structures, such as houses and other low rise buildings, are often constructed on foundations which are not in direct contact with bedrock or other stable load-bearing stratum. Further, these types of foundations are typically constructed from a combination of shallow concrete spread footings with concrete slabs or other floor and wall systems. Accordingly, when these foundations are constructed on inadequate soils, support walls or foundations that impose excessive loads on the soil may, after time, settle into the ground. Occasionally, a building may settle in such a way that part of the building settles significantly lower than the rest of the building. In some instances, the entire building may settle significantly off level. Such settling may occur due to poor building materials, poor engineering of the building and/or preparation of the ground below the building, poor or changing soil conditions, and so forth. For example, if the soil under one or more particular sections of the foundation is not stable enough to resist the load(s) of the building, the foundation will sink into the soil in these areas, causing the building supported by the foundation to become unleveled, and oftentimes causing structural damage to the foundation.
Several related art systems for raising and/or supporting a building foundation or a part thereof exist. Many of these systems utilize support devices, called piles or piers, that attach to, or otherwise support, the foundation using a bracket that is attached to the pier. Typically, the pile or pier is driven into the ground until it is determined that the pier has contacted structure that is sufficient to resist the load of the building. A bracket is then attached to the foundation and contacted with the top of the pier. A jack or some other type of driving tool is then used to lift the bracket and foundation while being driven against the top of the pier.
For example, one known method for correcting foundation settling consists of employing hydraulic jacks in conjunction with piers to lift the foundation. Piers, also known as piles or pilings, are driven into the ground by hydraulic mechanisms until the pier reaches bedrock or until the pier's frictional resistance equals the compression weight of the structure. Once these piers are secured in a stable underground stratum or several stable underground strata, further lifting by the hydraulic jacks raises the level of the foundation. When the foundation is raised to the desired level, the piers are permanently secured to the foundation. The hydraulic jacks are then removed. This method of correcting the level of a foundation generally requires the excavation of a hole adjacent to or underneath the foundation in order to position and operate the lifting equipment.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,782 to May, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all that is taught, discloses an apparatus for lifting a building foundation using a pier and a bracket attached to the object to be lifted. The bracket disclosed in May, however, is complicated and, thus, costly, to manufacture and is not sturdy enough to withstand excess loads over a certain amount.
There exists, therefore, a need for a bracket and an apparatus with which the bracket is used, for lifting and stabilizing heavy objects and structures where the bracket is inexpensive to manufacture and is significantly more sturdy than brackets currently known.
Illustrative, non-limiting embodiments of the present invention overcome the aforementioned and other disadvantages associated with related art brackets and apparatuses. Also, the present invention is not required to overcome the disadvantages described above and an illustrative non-limiting embodiment of the present invention may not overcome any of the problems described above.
More particularly, to address the above-mentioned issues related to conventional methods and devices for lifting and stabilizing heavy objects, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention a device for lifting, stabilizing or enhancing load capacities of a heavy object is provided which includes a pair of parallel side plates, each including a lateral seat portion and at least two vertical slots, each side plate having an inner surface, wherein the inner surface of each of the parallel side plates faces the inner surface of the other side plate, and each side plate further has an outer surface that faces away from the other side plate, a lifting plate having respective horizontal and vertical members, wherein the horizontal member of the lifting plate contacts the lateral seat portion of the side plates, and at least four side track pieces respectively corresponding to the vertical slots of the side plates, wherein the side track pieces are configured for an interlocking fit into the slots.
According to another embodiment, an apparatus for lifting, stabilizing or enhancing load capacities of a heavy object is provided where the apparatus includes a pier suitable to support at least the load of the heavy object, a bracket operable to engage the heavy object and the pier, the bracket having a pair of parallel side plates, a lifting plate perpendicular to and fixedly attached to the side plates at opposite ends thereof and a guide track formed by parallel side track members perpendicularly attached to opposing inside surfaces of respective side plates, and a pier platform disposed on top of the pier and having at least one guide member operable to engage the guide track of the bracket.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for lifting, stabilizing or enhancing load capacities of a heavy object is provided, where the method includes inserting a pier into the earth adjacent to the heavy object, engaging the heavy object with a bracket in alignment with a top of the pier, placing a pier platform on top of the pier, wherein the pier platform engages a guide track formed by side track pieces inserted into slots in side plates of the bracket, lifting the bracket and the heavy object, and sliding the guide track relative to the pier platform during the lifting.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for making a bracket used for lifting, stabilizing or enhancing load capacities of a heavy object is provided wherein the method includes attaching two parallel side plates to an L-shaped support member at opposite ends of the support member and inserting two side track pieces into respective slots in each of the side plates, wherein the side track pieces are perpendicular to the side plates.
As used herein “substantially”, “generally”, and other words of degree, are used as a relative modifier intended to indicate permissible variation from the characteristic so modified. It is not intended to be limited to the absolute value or characteristic which it modifies but rather approaching or approximating such a physical or functional characteristic.
The aspects of the present invention will become more readily apparent by describing in detail illustrative, non-limiting embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Exemplary, non-limiting, embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below. While specific configurations and dimensions are discussed to provide a clear understanding, it should be understood that the disclosed dimensions and configurations are provided for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other dimensions and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Pier 30, upon which the structure will ultimately rest once the structure has been sufficiently lifted, stabilized or additional load capacity requirements achieved must be driven into the earth 100, or other supporting structure, before foundation 10, with the bracket 20 attached, is permitted to rest on it. Although many methods can be employed for driving pier 30 into the earth, according to this embodiment, a pier-driving frame 40, illustrated independently in
While pier 30 is being driven into the ground, its alignment is aided by the pier guide tool 42 of pier-driving frame 40 which keep pier 30 in good relative alignment with bracket 20. Additionally, while pier 30 is being driven in to the ground, the pressure required to force it further into the earth is monitored. When it is determined that the force required to drive pier 30 further into the ground is sufficient to carry the load of the structure including the necessary factor of safety here foundation 10, the pier driving process is ceased. For example, this typically occurs when the pier has encountered a firm bearing strata or bedrock within earth 100. Subsequently, cylinder 50 is removed from pier-driving frame 40 and frame 40 is detached from foundation 10 and bracket 20.
At this time, pier 30 is securely in place and stabilized, and aligned with bracket 20, which is attached to foundation 10. For convenience in the lifting process, described hereafter, the top of pier 30 should be oriented below the top of bracket 20, for example, leaving enough room between the top of the bracket and the top of the pier to insert a jack, or some other lifting apparatus. Accordingly, if the top of the pier is above the top of the bracket after the pier-driving process is complete, the pier should be cut to the proper height.
Each frame arm 400 also includes one or more stabilizing devices for stabilizing the pier while it is being driven into the ground during the pier driving process. According to the present embodiment, the stabilizing devices include pier guides 420[AS2] attached to the inner sides of arms 400, for example, using attachment devices 425. In accordance with one embodiment, pier guides 420 are removably attached to attachment devices 425 using an interlocking relationship. Accordingly, as the pier is driven in to the ground, pier guides 420 can be used in conjunction with attachment devices 425a and 425b to aid in the continued alignment and installation of the pier 30. Of course, depending on the height of the pier and the need for additional stabilization, any number of stabilizing devices can be used simultaneously during the pier driving process.
Frame arms 400, in accordance with this embodiment, further include integral attachment holes 430. As described above in connection with
Referring now to
As shown in
As hydraulic fluid is delivered to jack 500 through hose 510, the jack rod 501 of jack 50 extends outward between top pier platform 300 and against the upper lid portion 601 of lifting frame 600. Accordingly, because pier 30 is securely driven into a suitable bearing material or bedrock, including necessary factor of safety and can not be driven further down into the ground, as the jack rod 501 continues to push between the top pier platform 300 and the upper lid portion 601 of lifting frame 600 the lifting frame is lifted upward. Further, because the frame 600 is attached to bracket 20 which extends beneath foundation 10, through pins 620, and bracket 20 is attached to foundation 10 through bolts 13 (
When it is determined that the foundation 10 has been sufficiently lifted, stabilized or other wise enhanced further extension of jack 500 is halted. At this point it is desirable to support bracket 20 and foundation 10 such that jack 500 and lifting frame 600 can be removed. One method for providing such support in accordance with the present invention is to insert shims 700 or some other device sufficient to withstand the pressure exerted by the load of foundation 10. In particular, as illustrated in
A sufficient amount of shim material is inserted into one or more of the channels 22 to fill the space in channel 22 between projection arm 310 and hole 23 in side track piece 21. Once this space has been filled with shim material, a stopper, such as a bolt or a pin (not shown) is inserted through corresponding holes 23 in the parallel side track pieces forming channel 22. At this point, the structure load is permanently transferred to the entire assembly and jack 500 and frame 600 can be removed because bracket 20 and, thus, foundation 10, are sufficiently supported on pier 30. That is, bracket 20 is prevented from moving downward because the stopper device through corresponding holes 23 is in contact with shims 700 which are in contact with projection arm 310 of top pier platform 300, which is in contact with pier 30; and pier 30, as discussed above, is not forced downward by the weight of foundation 10.
An exemplary bracket in accordance with the apparatus described in
Referring back to
After the four side track pieces have been welded to the respective side plates (S1000), the L-shaped seat is welded to the side plates, S2000. For example, a weld is provided in the corner where the seat transitions from a vertical back portion to a horizontal seat and a second weld is provided at the upper portion of the vertical back portion. After the welds in accordance with S1000 and S2000 are complete, the bracket is substantially joined together. Additionally, to provide further rigidity in the construction of the bracket, a weld is provided along substantially the entire length of the seat on the outside surface of the side plates, i.e., where the seat meets the respective side plates, S3000.
While various aspects of the present invention have been particularly shown and described with reference to the exemplary, non-limiting, embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional aspects and embodiments may be contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, a skilled artisan would understand that various sizes of bracket 20 can be employed depending on the specific application. That is, as the weigh of the object being lifted with the lifting apparatus increases, the size and dimensions, including the width of the material used to manufacture the bracket, also increases, as does the diameter of the pier used to support the object once the lifting process is complete.
It would be understood that a device or method incorporating any of the additional or alternative details mentioned above would fall within the scope of the present invention as determined based upon the claims below and any equivalents thereof.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.
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| 6416254 | Carlson | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6416255 | Carlson | Jul 2002 | B1 |
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| 7165915 | Queen | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090245942 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |
