AU627212B2

AU627212B2 - Building lifting

Info

Publication number: AU627212B2
Application number: AU40116/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Maiurano
Original assignee: HY JACK SUPER LIFTING SYSTEMS
Current assignee: HY JACK SUPER LIFTING SYSTEMS
Priority date: 1988-08-22
Filing date: 1989-08-22
Publication date: 1992-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 2009-08-22
Also published as: NZ230349A; AU4011689A

Description

$2 r S F Ref: 65718 FORM COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: PJ0016 22 August 1988 Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: fes Name and Address of Applicant: @5 0@ S 0@ *r 0

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Jobn Mai-u-r.a-no 6-Mun-ro-St.reet Sefton New-South Wale-s-2162

AUSTRALIA

John Maiurano r F. i L: C-i i

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OS 0 @5 Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys, Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia *S S

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oo Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Building Lifting The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us .68 22/ 0S/899 5815/2

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for lifting a house or similar building from a low pre-existing level to a higher flood free level or to a level above a lower storey to be constructed. A number of parallel beams with a jack at each end are placed under the house and the jacks are simultaneously operated. Preferably each jack is located within a corresponding climbing frame.

*6 0 0 5 ;o i1 ns nas/249o ii n s 49 -2- The present invention relates to the lifting of buildings and, in particular, buildings such as domestic houses or cottages. The lifting is carried out in order to permit a lower floor to be constructed under the house or to raise the house clear of an possible flood level.

In the western and south western suburbs of Sydney, in particular, many homes have been built in areas which are subject to flooding.

Although such flooding occurs at infrequent intervals, it causes substantial devastation and loss of valuable property. Accordingly, an industry has developed in which such cottages are lifted above their stumps, well above their existing level, in order to ensure that the floor level is above the height of any subsequent flood.

However, the conventional system of raising houses consists of a large number of jacks which are individually manually operated so as to progressively raise the house. As a consequence, it can take up to 15 approximately 5 to 10 days to lift a house 1.5 to 3 metres. It is the object of the present invention to substantially reduce these lifting times in order to reduce the cost of the operation which, hitherto, has been substantially labour intensive.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed 20 a method of lifting a house or like structure comprising the steps of: locating a plurality of beams under said house to extend between •opposite sides of the house or like structure; installing a corresponding jack at each end of each beam; simultaneously operating the jacks to lift the house or structure; in height to the stroke of the jacks; supporting the house or structure temporarily while the jacks are retracted; wherein each jack is provided with a housing; the housing comprising inner and outer telescopic steel tubes, the inner tube having ribs which extend toward an outer tube, the ribs stabilizing and rigidizing each jack, one of said tubes having a base; the other having a bracket for attachment to a beam.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for lifting a house or like structure from a low pre-existing level, said apparatus comprising a plurality of beams having a length sufficient to extend between opposite sides of said house, a plurality of jacks, each jack being connectable with, and corresponding to an end of each beam, and control means to simultaneously operate each mg/0713y said jack; wherein the beams are spaced apart and substantially parallel, the jacks are hydraulically operated, and the control means comprises a source of hydraulic fluid supplying all said jacks; each jack further comprising a telescopic housing, a connector on the housing for connecting the housing to a corresponding beam end, one end of an hydraulic ram pivotally mounted within an outer tube of said housing and at the other end to an inner tube of said housing, and radially disposed guide means interposed between the inner and outer telescopic tubes to maintain the orientation of said housing relative to a base.

Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cottage in the process of i: *i 15 being raised or lifted in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a jack used in relation to a second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of two climbing frames used in the 20 first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 shows three successive views a, b and c which are each side elevations of one of the lifting jacks of Fig. 3 showing the sequence of S" operation.

Turning now to Fig. 1, a house I having an L-shaped floor area is schematically illustrated with the joists or bearers 2 which support the S" house running from left to right as seen in Fig. 1.

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55505 Located underneath the joists 2 are a number of steel beams 3 which have a length sufficient tc extend between opposite sides of the house 1.

At each end of the steel beams 3 is a corresponding jack 4 and climbing frame 5. Each of t.he jacks4 is hydraulically operated and connected via hydraulic lines 6 to a control unit 7.

After the beams 3, jacks 4 and climbinq frames have been positioned, the jacks 4 can be simultaneously operated via the control unit 7 in order to raise the entire house 1 whilst maintaining its level.

The details of the jack 4 are illustrated in Fig. 2.

The jack 4 is based on an hydraulic cylinder 10 which is mounted between two telescopically arranged steel tubes 11 and 12. The inner and lower steel tube 1.2 is connected to a base plate 13 and is provided with a number of vertically extending ribs 14 in order to fill the space between the two tubes 11, 12. The upper tube 11 is provided at its upper end with a diagonal member 15 to which the upper end of the hydraulic cylinder 10 is pivoted, whilst the base plate 13 is provided with a pair of lugs 16 to which the ram 17 of the cylinder 10 is pivoted. As indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, the cylinder 10 is also connected to the hydraulic line 6.

It will be apparent from Fig. 2 that an end plate 18 is welded to the upper tube 11 and enables the jack 4 to be connected to the end of the beam 3. It will also be apparent that the jack construction is very stable.

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!I -i'td. iir With the apparatus of the second embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, it is possible to raise the house 1 by a height corresponding to the length of the stroke of the hydraulic cylinder 10. It is then necessary to provide a temporary support under the beam 3, contract the hydraulic cylinder 10 so as to raise the base plate 13, locate more wooden support blocks 19 under the jack 4, and then repeat the above process.

The above described procedure is relatively slow and also possibly hazardous since the temporary support for the beams 3 and/or the wooden support blocks 19 may be unstable.

In order to overcome these problems, in the first embodiment, the climbing frame 5 as illustrated in Fig. 3 is provided for each jack 4. The climbing frame 5 takes the form of two spaced apart vertical I-beams 21, 22 which are secured to a base flange 23. The base flange 23 is bolted at 24 to a poured concrete foundation 25. It will be appreciated in this connection that the length of the "2I -beams 21,22 is somewhat greater than the intended height *0* to which the house is to be lifted. In addition, the I-beams 21, 22 are provided with web openings 26 which receive pins 27 and flange apertures 28 which receive 0 short pegs 29.

The sequence of lifting operations is illustrated in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4(a) the beam 3 is in its initial position with the jack 4 having its base plate 13 resting on the base flange 23 and the hydraulic cylinder unextended.

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Then the control unit 9 operates all the jacks 4 so as to extend same to their maximum extent in order to reach the position illustrated in Fig. Then a pin 27 is inserted into an opening 26 below the beam 3 and the jacks 4 are lowered so as to lower the beam 3 until it is supported by the pin 27.

Next the hydraulic cylinders 10 are completely retracted so as to raise the base plate 13 into the lower position illustrated in Fig. With the base plate 13 in this position, two pegs 29 are located in the flange apertures 28 and two pins 27 are located in the web openings 00.

0:90 26 and are supported by the pegs 29. Then the hydraulic Scylinder is extended so as to move the base plate 13 downwardly into contact with the pins 27.

0 too Once this position has been reached, the jacks 4 can be operated again so as to re-commence lifting the house 1 thereby taking the weight from the pin 27 under the beam 3. This pin 27 is then withdrawn from the web openings 26.

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The jacks 4 are then raised to their maximum extent once again and the above procedure is repeated in order to step the jacks to another level of the corresponding climbing frames 5. Using this procedure a house can be lifted 1.5 to 3 metres in from 3 to 6 hours, The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

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Claims

1. A method of lifting a house or like structure comprising the steps of: locating a plurality of beams under said house to extend between opposite sides of the house or like structure; installing a corresponding jack at each end of each beam; simultaneously operating the jacks to lift the house or structure; in height to the stroke of the jacks; supporting tihe house or structure temporarily while the jacks are retracted; wherein each jack is provided with a housing; the housing comprising inner and outer telescopic steel tubes, the inner tube having ribs which extend toward an outer tube, the ribs stabilizing and rigidizing each jack, one of said tubes having a base; i the other having a bracket for attachment to a beam. 15

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein each jack is provided with a lifting frame and wherein the beams are then supported by the lifting frame between lifting stages.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein: between each lifting stage, a beam is supported by a transverse pin which passes through holes on opposite sides of the lifting frame.

4. The method of either one of claims 2 or 3, wherein: when a jack is lifting, it Is supported by two transverse pins which pass through openings on opposite sides of the lifting frame.

5. An apparatus for lifting a house or like structure from a low :.pre-existing level, said apparatus comprising a plurality of beams having a length sufficient to extend between opposite sides of said house, a plurality of jacks, each jack being connectable with, and corresponding to an end of each beam, and control means to simultaneously operate each said jack; wherein the beams are spaced apart and substantially parallel, the jacks are hydraulically operated, and the control means comprises a source of hydraulic fluid supplying all said jacks; each jack further comprising a telescopic housing, a connector on the housing for connecting the housing to a corresponding beam end, one end of an hydraulic ram pivotally mounted within an outer tube of said housing and at the other end to an inner tube of said housing, and fN. amg/071 3y CVA ~P I ,iN~~ip" t K S,- -8- radially disposed guide means interposed between the inner and outer telescopic tubes to maintain the orientation of said housing relative to a base.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein each said jack is j 5 located within a corresponding climbing frame comprising a pair of i substantially vertical members, said climbing frame further comprising Stwo or more pair. of openings formed in the vertical members and a I transverse pin insertable into the pair of openings formed in said if vertical members to form a temporary support of selectively adjustable height.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the lifting frame comprises a pair of I-beams, each I-beam comprising two flanges and a web, the webs having holes into which transverse pins are receivable, the flanges provided with openings i 15 through which a peg may be inserted for lending support to a transverse pin.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each said pair of vertical members is releasably connected to a corresponding concrete pad.

9. Apparatus for lifting a house or like structure from a low *20 pre-existing level, said apparatus being substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of lifting a house or like structure from a low pre-existing level, said method being substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this THIRD day of JUNE 1992 Hy-Jack Super Lifting Systems Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON !f amg/0713y S-