Temporary support system

Abstract

A temporary tripod support system for use during preparation of the home foundation of concrete piers and the like. At locations along the sidewalls and mate line of home the tripod supports may be installed in a number significantly less than conventional design supports. The tripod support system comprises multiple tripods each having a triangular transverse frame to support an extended undercarriage area. Due to its triangle top, each tripod makes two separate supporting abutments with its overlying straight perimeter or mating line joist at the same time thereby reducing the total number of supporting installations and labors in half.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a building support system, and more particularly to a temporary support system for supporting manufactured homes during foundation process.

B. Description of the Prior Art

Manufactured homes are transported to a customer's site for a permanent or semi-permanent setup. One way in practice is through cast-in-place and on-the-ground building foundations wherein the complete building is suspended while vertical supports such as construction piers and stanchions at selected locations in the foundation plan are engaged at their top ends to an undercarriage of the building and their bottom ends are buried in fabric containers of cementitious slurry until the piers and stanchions become an integral foundation in the solid block of concrete conformed to the ground for the leveled dwelling house.

For the suspension of the building, various designs of support are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,843 discloses height-adjustable I-Beam stanchions for supporting the I-Beam bearing the mobile home undercarriage. The stanchion has two angle iron support arms extending from the bottom of the stanchion at right angle to each other reaching the undercarriage to assist in supporting the I-Beam and undercarriage.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,767 offers a mobile home support stand for permanently supporting a mobile home to counteract high winds and/or earth vibrations. The support stand has a support stud functioning as a screw-jack disposed between a ground steel post and a home I beam, and a hold down assembly clamps the post and beam together.

Using these and other known structures the required time to finish the home supporting was slow because ten or more of such vertical supports must be erected one by one for each undercarriage I beam and the total number multiplies depending upon the type or size of the manufactured home to build.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When a, manufactured housing arrives at the site, the flooring assembly is typically supported at its underside by horizontal parallel beams or joists and also vertically supported by foundations that stand firmly on the ground.

The present invention provides a temporary tripod support system during preparation of the home foundation of concrete piers and the like. At locations along the sidewalls and mate line of home the tripod supports may be installed in a number significantly less than conventional design supports.

The tripod support system comprises multiple tripods each having a triangular transverse frame to support an extended undercarriage area.

Due to its triangle top, each tripod makes two separate supporting abutments with its overlying straight perimeter or mating line joist at the same time thereby reducing the total number of supporting installations and labors in half which no other precedent supports could offer.

During the operation of the inventive tripod supports a ground surface cast-in-place foundation assembly may be made with a plurality of buttress assemblies set in the foundation to vertically engage the perimeter beam of the level modular home.

Such buttress assembly may include a means for seating the perimeter beam, a tubular stanchion having an upper and lower end, an anchor base plate fixedly connected to the lower end of the stanchion and a couple of transverse tabs attached to the intermediate portions of the stanchion; and a flowable and settable foundation material which envelopes at least a portion of the buttress assembly, whereby the foundation material conforms to the shape of a porous fabric container into which it is poured, and it sets with the enveloped portion of the buttress assembly embedded therein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial side view of a tripod support of the present invention in operation showing one of three piers of the tripod supporting a sidewall or mate line of a home.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tripod showing its saddle jacks in position at each junction of the three cross.beams.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional view of the saddle jack according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows in detail the saddle jack holding two adjacent cross beams at their junction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tripod support system supporting sidewalls of the manufactured home on site.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a tripod support 10 is shown assembled to buttress the bottom of a sidewall of home 11. The tripod support 10 has three identical piers of which piers 12 and 13 are numbered in FIG. 2. The pier 12 comprises four metal legs 15 through 18 welded to a rectangular bottom frame 19, which is in turn fastened by nails or screws to a bearing pad 20 laid on the ground. The pad 20 may be made of wood. The legs 15-18 are converged at their upper ends where they are welded together. At the top of the legs a stopper nut 21 is rotatably installed. The nut 21 is positioned so that its inner threads extend vertically in the center of the pier 12.

Triangular framework 22 of three cross beams 22a, 22b and 22c are suspended to make contact with the sidewall 11. This suspension is enforced by three saddle members 23 adjustably threaded to the nut 21 of the pier 12 through a rod 24 which has corresponding threads formed on its outer faces and is welded to the bottom of the saddle member 23 as shown in detail in FIG. 3. Thus, the saddle member 23, threaded rod 24 and nut 21 together constitute a saddle jack assembly 25 for buttressing the cross beams 22a-22c at their junctions.

Referring further to FIG. 4, the saddle member 23 with rod 24 of the saddle jack assembly 25 is adapted to be transported as a loose component to the construction site where it is assembled with the cross beams as well as the corresponding pier.

The cross beams 22a-22c have a common structure so that they can be interchangeably laid to extend between any two saddle jack assemblies 25 forming the triangular framework 22. In a right handed configuration, the four walls cooperate, two of them holding a right supporting beam and two of them holding a left supporting beam. The right supporting beam extends beyond the end of the left supporting beam. Because they are identical, the beams can be interchanged, and the saddle jacks can also be interchanged. The top of view of the saddle jack shows that the configuration can be reversed so that the left beam protrudes beyond the end of the right beam, so that the top view is a mirror image. Taking a mirror image configuration translates a right handed configuration into a left handed configuration.

The saddle member 23 has a horizontal plate 26 comprising an elongated main plate section 27 and a crossing plate section 28 extending from the main plate section so that the longitudinal axis of the section 27 and an extension of the longitudinal axis of the section 28 meet at an angle A of about 60°. In addition, the crossing plate section 28 has two end walls of which a shorter wall 29 stands upright from a shorter lateral end of the plate section 28 facing clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 4 and a longer wall 30 stands upright from a longer lateral end at the other side. The opposing walls 29 and 30 may have a third bridging wall between them as shown in FIG. 2 to limit the cross beam 22a in its longitudinal movements although an open structure of FIG. 4 works well to hold the beam.

On the other hand, the main plate section 27 has a first end wall 31 extending along the entire lateral edge of the plate section 27 facing approximately the same direction of the shorter end wall 29 of the plate section 28. The first end wall 31 also joins the shorter end wall 29 at an inner merging point 32 between the plate sections 28 and 28.

However, at the other side of the first end wall 31 the main plate section 27 has a second end wall 33 extending from an open end 34 of the main section 27 and terminating short of a virtual extension line of the shorter end wall 29 to allow for laying the cross beam 22a past the second end wall 33. The second end wall 33 faces inwardly of the triangular framework 22 in FIG. 2. The threaded rod 24 may be centered along a line connecting the inner merging point 32 and an outer merging point 35.

The cross beams 22a and 22b are shown as seated in the saddle jack assembly 25 making an angled joint of the beams each having rectangular cross sections. The beam 22a has a first blunt end 36 adapted to be seated on the saddle member 23 defined by the plate section 28 and the opposing Walls 29 and 30. The other second end of the beam 22a is not shown in FIG. 4 but is similar to the next cross beam 22b wherein its abutment end 37 is cut at the angle A to make an angled assemblage with the opposing side of the blunt end 36 of the cross beam 22a when the cross beam 22b is seated on the saddle member 23 defined by the plate section 27 and the opposing walls 31 and 33.

The saddle jack has an interior connection and an exterior connection. The interior connection has a portion of the connection inside of the triangle formed by the horizontal supporting beams, and the exterior connection is located outside of the triangle formed by the horizontal supporting beams. The first connection is the interior connection shown in FIG. 4 as a bolted connection 44, 45. The exterior connection is also shown as a bolted connection 40, 41. Assembling the blunt end 36 of the cross beam 22a with the saddle jack assembly 25 may be done by using a thru bolt 40 and a nut 41 threaded through an opening 42 in the end wall 29 and an opening 43 in the end wall 30. Likewise, the mating abutment end 37 of the cross beam 22b may be assembled with the saddle jack assembly 25 using a thru bolt 44 and a nut 45 threaded through an opening 46 in the end wall 31 and an opening 47 in the end wall 33. Optionally, washers 48 may be used with these fastening members.

FIG. 5 shows the tripod support system of the present invention applied to the manufactured home 11 on site.

The home 11 has been suspended by the tripod support system of the present invention in which two of several tripod supports for the visible sidewall are demonstrating the actual field installations.

During the operation of the tripod supports a ground surface cast-in-place foundation assembly 100 is made with a plurality of buttress assemblies 101 set in the foundation to vertically engage the perimeter beam of the level modular home 11.

When the home foundation 100 is solidified, the tripod supports 10 may be easily retrieved by first turning a round of the stopper nuts 21 to lower the saddle jack assemblies 25 out of engagements with the home 11. The released tripod supports 10 can be immediately disassembled at their joints by unscrewing the nuts 41 and 45 of the saddle jack assemblies 25 into small and easy parts to transport to the next construction site. The nuts can be tightened against the pier, as seen in figure one, allowing the vertical and rotational retention of the saddle jack. The nuts can also be called locking nuts.

Therefore, while the presently preferred form of the tripod support system has been shown and described, and several modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.

Call Out List of Elements

10 Tripod Support

11 Home

12, 13 Pier

15-18 Leg

19 Bottom Frame

20 Bearing Pad

21 Stopper Nut

22 Triangular Framework

22 a-22c Cross Beam

23 Saddle Member

24 Threaded Rod

25 Saddle Jack Assembly

26 Horizontal Plate

27 Main Plate Section

28 Crossing Plate Section

29 Shorter End Wall

30 Longer End Wall

31 First End Wall

32 Inner Merging Point

33 Second End Wall

34 Open End

35 Outer Merging Point

36 Blunt End

37 Abutment End

40, 44 Thru Bolt

41, 45 Nut

42, 43, 46, 47 Opening

48 Washer

100 Cast-in-Place Foundation

101 Buttress Assembly

Claims

1. A support system comprising: a. at least three piers; b. at least three horizontal beams for support, each having at least two joints, which is at least one on each end; and c. at least three saddle jacks, one mounted on each pier having a vertically adjustable level, wherein each saddle jack releasably fastens to a pair of horizontal beams at the horizontal beam joints, whereby the saddle jacks and piers are releasably assembled to suspend the horizontal beams in a triangular framework for buttressing a load.

2. The support system of claim 1, wherein the piers each comprise four legs forming a square base.

3. The support system of claim 2, wherein each of the piers further has a base of wooden plank fixed to a bottom frame.

4. The support system of claim 1, wherein the saddle jack vertically adjustable level is a threaded rod engaged with a nut rotatably mounted to receive the threaded rod.

5. The support system of claim 1, wherein the saddle jack is open at a top end and connects horizontal beams at a 60 degree angle, wherein horizontal beam joints are formed as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and horizontal beam.

6. The support system of claim 1, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam.

7. The support system of claim 1, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam.

8. A tripod support system for a manufactured home comprising: a. piers having multiple legs connected to a bottom frame and converged at the upper ends and a leveling element at the top of the upper ends of the legs; b. horizontal beams for supporting the bottom portion of the home, the beams being disposed in a horizontal plane so that the trailing edge of each beam makes an angled joint with the leading edge of the next beam at its side; and c. saddle jacks for releasably fastening and holding up the horizontal beams at their joints to an adjustable level, the saddle jack having a second leveling element for mating with the first leveling element of one of the piers, whereby the saddle jacks and piers are releasably assembled to suspend the horizontal beams in a triangular horizontal framework for buttressing the home during its foundation process.

9. The tripod support system for a manufactured home of claim 8, wherein each of the piers further has a base of wooden plank fixed to the bottom frame.

10. The tripod support system for a manufactured home of claim 8, wherein the first leveling member is a threaded rod and the second leveling member is a nut rotatably mounted to receive the threaded rod.

11. The tripod support system for a manufactured home of claim 8, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects horizontal beams at a 60 degree angle, wherein horizontal beam joints are formed as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and horizontal beam.

12. The tripod support system for a manufactured home of claim 8, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam.

13. The tripod support system for a manufactured home of claim 8, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam.

14. A support system comprising: a. a pier; b. at least two horizontal beams for support, each having a joints, at one end; and c. a saddle jack mounted on the pier having a vertically adjustable level, wherein the saddle jack releasably fastens to a pair of horizontal beams at the horizontal beam joints, whereby the saddle jacks and piers are releasably assembled to suspend the horizontal beams for buttressing a load, wherein each saddle jack is open at a top end and connects a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam.

15. The support system of claim 14, wherein the pier comprises four legs forming a square base.