US3179374A

US3179374A - Apparatus for erecting a multi-storied building

Info

Publication number: US3179374A
Application number: US110507A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walli Ernst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-05-17
Filing date: 1961-05-16
Publication date: 1965-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 1982-04-20
Also published as: CH381408A

Description

E. WALLI A ril 20, 1965 APPARATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ERNST WELL.

ATTOR NE VS APPARATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16,1961

E. W A'LLI A ril 20, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4.

/ N VEN TOR ERNST wA'LL/ A T'TOR NE Y5 April 20, 1965 E. wALu 3,179,374

APPARATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet a Fig. 6

Fig. 8

w nunnn'unrn INVENTOR ERNST WA'LL/ ATTORNEYS E. WALL] APPARATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16, 1961' '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 I l J1 FHHHHHH Lirlilll iii],

m o mm E B a an m a m 2. mm o m R Q 9m ii-.1 V a ATTORNEYS A ril :20, 1965 E. WALL] 3,179,374

APPARATUS FOR EREUPIING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16. 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 112 Fig.1?

IN vENTo/z ERNST wgiw ATTORNEYS E. WALLI April 20, 1965 APPARATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTISTORIED BUILDING Filed May 16, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR ERNST WELL! 6 7n ATTDRNE r5 wit United States Patent 3,179,374 APPATUS FOR ERECTING A MULTI- STORIED BUILDING Ernst Waili, Alpenstrasse 3, Arbon, Thurgau, Switzerland Filed May 16, 1961, Ser. No. 110,507 Claims priority, application Switzerland, May 17, 19st), 5,674/60 13 Claims. (Cl. 254-109) The present invention relates to an apparatus for erecting a multistoried building by raising a plurality of floor units, which have been prefabricated on the building-site upon a support in superposed arrangem nt, to predetermined story levels by means of lifting and supporting tubes, and by securing the floor units, after having been raised into their corresponding story positions, on supporting pillars. When buildings having only a few stories have to be erected, then the floor or ceiling slabs made of concrete, for instance with the floor of the basement serving as support, generally may be easily raised as a unitary stack to the floor level of thefirst story (ceiling of the basement). In case of buildings having four stories and more, however, the weight of the stack of ceiling slabs increases to such an extent that it is no longer possible to raise all the floor and ceiling elements as a unit.

It is an object of theinvention to overcome the mentioned diiiiculties and to provide an improved arrangement for erecting a n'iultistoried building by successively raising URES 12 and stack portions of superposed floor units in a step by step movement to the required floor level.

It is also an object of the invention to provide improved means for raising the different floor units in relatively simple and efiicient manner to the building levels.

Other objects and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the building site of a URE 2, of various operating phases of the building erec tion, r

FIGURE 10 shows, at reduced scale and diagrammatically, all operating phases successively occurring at one pillar during the raising operation of the floors or ceilings of a building having six floors,

FIGURE 11 shows in vertical section the manner of supporting a floor slab on a pillar,

FIGURES l2 and 13 are vertical sections along a pillar of the operating phases according to FIGURES 5 and9, respectively, drawn to a larger scale,

FIGURE 14 is a vertical section through a modification of the arrangement shown in FIGURES l2 and 13,

FIGURE 15 is a vertical section through a ratchet device supported on a tube and having suspended thereon a floor, drawn to a larger scale,

FIGURE 16 is a transverse section on the line XVI XVI of FIGURE 15,

FIGURE l7'showsthe first operating phases of a modi-' fication of the lifting method illustratedin FIGURE 10.

In erecting a building comprising six fioors, a preferred manner of carrying out the erection according to the invention is as follows:

After the usual preparation of the building site, the foundations 1 provided for the supporting pillars 2 formed by I-beams are made with concrete in the desired spacings gag-e a cam 11 of the

tubes

9, 1%.

arrests Patented Apr. 2t), 1965 ice of the pillars, The foundations 1 are provided with recesses 1a which are larger than the size required for inserting the pillars 2. On top of these foundations 1 the basement floor 3 is subsequently made of concrete, a rectangular opening 3a being formed in the floor 3 of the basement around thepillars 2 (FIGURES 1, 2). Subsequently six

concrete floors

5a, 5b, 5c, 5e, 5e and 5 are cast with suitable separating layers 4 (FIGURE 3), made e .g. of synthetic material, paper, or the like, interposed between the superposed floors. At the same time, carrying collars 6, surrounding the pillars and in alignment with each other, are provided for each floor. These carrying collars 6 are formed each with a central opening 7 (FIG. 11) for the passage of the pillar 2 and, on both sides of this opening 7 with an additional opening 3 for the passage of supporting and lifting tubes 9 and it (see FIG- The tubes 9 and It) in the example shown are composed each of three tube sections, which fact facilitates their handling. The tubes are provided with two diametrically opposite rows of plug-shaped cams 11 equidistantly spaced over the length of the tubes. The earns 11 form part of a ratchet device provided for each

tube

9, 19. Each ratchet device 12 comprises a box 13 in which two groups of three superposed pawls 15 are pivotally supported onjournal pins 14. Each pawl 15' is provided with a weighted lever 16 projecting from the box 13. These levers have the tendency "of pivoting the corresponding pawls into a position in which they en- The ratchet box can be axially withdrawn upwardly from the tube with the pawls kept out of engagement. As evident from FIG- URE 15, the mutual spacings of the three superposed pawls 15 are smaller than the mutual spacing of the cams 11. This enables them to raise the ratchet device, which engages a pair or" cams 11 only by one pair of pawls at a time, through a considerably smaller distance than that provided by two successive cams 11, for engagement of another pair of pawls with the next pair of cams. Preferably, the arrangement is made so that the cam spacing does not represent an integral multiple of the pawl spacing.

The doors 5a5f to be raised can be either supported directly upon the ratchet devices 12 or suspended from said ratchet devices. For the last mentioned purpose (FIGURE 15) each ratchet box 13 is provided with four apertures 12a to be traversed by screw-threaded bolts 17. These bolts 17 also pass through corresponding apertures 6a provided in the carrying collar 6 of the corresponding fioor (51 in FIGURE 15) to be suspended. The threaded portion of the bolts 17 extends upwardly from the ratchet box 13 and is supported on the box by means of screw nuts 19 by the intermediary of a spacer sleeve 18 (as indicated in FIGURE 15). The said apertures 6a in the carrying collar 6 have a rectangular cross section adapted to the rectangular head 17a of the bolts, so that the head can pass through these apertures, but when the bolt is turned through it cannot be upwardly withdrawn through the aperture. It is understood that the heads of the bolts 17 support the carrying collar of the lowermost ceiling or floor of the stack to be suspended.

While the tubes 9 passing through the carrying collars 6 of the stacked ceilings rest directly upon the foundations 1, the lifting tubes 19 are supported upon hydraulic ram presses 26 which are inserted in the correspondingly enlarged recess 1a provided for the pillars 2. In the construction shown in FIGURES 12 and 13 the presses 26 are arranged with the rams 26a situated at the top, so that y the lifting tubes 16) are positioned directly on said ram. For the supply of pressure oil to the presses 24 the latter are provided with a vertical feed pipe 21 which is composed of several pipe sections and upwardly extended within the profiled recess of the I-pillar 2, and which is provided with upper connecting means (FIGURE 12) and a lower connecting means (FIGURE 13) for a pressure hose 22. The pressure hoses lead to a common motor-driven pump (not shown) which can be controlled by a suitable control apparatus arranged outside of the ground plan of the building. By means of the feed pipe 21 serving as a handle, the press 21), after the concrete floors have been moulded, can be inserted within the profiled recess of the pillar 2 and lowered into its operating position. As shown in FIGURE 14, it is also possible to use the press 20 with the ram 213 b situated at the bottom end. In this case, the press is inserted in a protective tube 23 which is embedded in concrete within the foundation ii and projects with its upper portion beyond said tube. In the operating phase according to FIGURE 14, the pressure oil hose 24 passes upwardly through the lifting tube 19 supported by the press body, while in the operating phase according to FIGURE 13 the hose can be laterally connected to the projecting portion of the press, as this is indicated by dash-and-dot lines in FIGURE 14. g

The raising of the six superposed concrete floors 5a5f (FIGURE 4) is effected as follows:

After the presses 20 and the supporting and lifting tubes 9 and 1th have been inserted, the ratchet devices 12 are placed from above upon these tubes. The three upper are raised by their predetermined stroke amounting to only a few centimeters. The lifting tubes 10, together with the ratchet devices 12 which are latched to these lifting tubes and carry the said stack of floors, are upwardly forced by the amount of the stroke of the ram. Then the press rams are lowered again to the starting position. Due to gravity, the lifting tubes are simultaneously lowered to their starting position. As will be evident from FIGURE 15, the ratchet devices 12 easily per mit such lowering operation of the lifting tubes 16, since the ratchet pawls 15 will become elfective only when the lifting tube moves upwardly, orwhen the ratchet device is urged downwardly under its load and the lifting tube remains stationary. Accordingly, the downwardly moving lifting tubes 16 release the ratchet devices 12; during this operation the earns 11 of the supporting tubes 9, which remain stationary and cooperate with their ratchet device, prevent the ratchet devices 12 loaded by the stack of

floors

5f, 52 and 5d from lowering, as the pair of ratchet pawls 15 exhibiting the smallest spacing above the next lower pair of cams 11 engages these cams and thus temporarily supports the entire raised stack of floors on the supporting tubes 9. Subsequently, the lifting tubes 19 are again raised by the'next stroke of the ram of the presses 2d. Then the pair of pawls 15 of the ratchet devices 12, which is spaced apart the least from the next lower cam pair 11 of the lifting tubes, comes into engagement with the said pair of cams, so that the stack of floors 5 5e and 5d together with the ratchet devices 12 and the lifting tubes 10 are raised by the stroke of the press. This alternate raising of the floor stack, lowering of the lifting tubes with temporarily supporting the stack on the supporting tubes and renewed raising of the stack is continued so long until the stack 5 5e and 5d occupies the position (FIGURE 6) corresponding to the final height of the second floor. In this position the raised stack of floors 5 5e and 5a. is temporarily supported on the pillars 2 by securing latches 25 to the pillars 2 by means of bolts 26 traversing the flanges of the pillars below the lowermost floor 5d of this stack (FIGURE 11). -After the foltwo upper sections of the lifting and supporting tubes are disconnected and raised from the lower tube sections to such an extent that the ratchet devices 12 can be placed again upon the respective lower tube sections between the two floor stacks, whereupon the tube sections are connected together again. Subsequently, the ratchet devices 12 are connected to the

floors

5a, 5b and 5c of the stack remaining 'on the floor 3 by means of the bolts 17 in the manner previously described (FIGURE 7), whereupon this stack is raised to the level of the first floor (FIGURE 8) by stepwise. raising the lifting tubes 16), temporarily supporting the stack on the supporting tubes 9, while simultaneously lowering the lifting tubes and by raising the lifting tubes once more. This lower stack is then secured to the pillars 2 by means of the latches 25 and bolts 26 shown in FIGURE 11; since the lowermost floor 5a is now located in its final position and thus the support of this fioor on the pillars can. finally take place, the latches 25 are welded to the carrying collars 6 of this floor 5a. The oil hoses 22 are then removed from the upper connecting points of the tubes 21 and connected again to the lowermost portion of the tubes 21; the protruding portions of the tubes 21 may now be removed (FIGURE 13). For reasons of safety, pump and control apparatus suitably remain outside of the ground plan of the building. The ratchet devices 12 are then released from the lower stack of floors and pushed upwardly along the

tubes

9, 10 until they abut against the

upper stack

5,, 5e, 5d (FIGURE 9). p In order to be able to raise these floors further, the tubes 9, It) must be extended, as will be easily seen from FIGURE 9. For this purpose these tubes are raised, e.g. by the length of one tube section, whereupon auxiliary tube sections 9a and 10a are inserted at the bottom end; these auxiliary tube sections are smooth-walled and do not have any cams. The connecting zones of the tube sections are advantageously provided with suitable guide members, in order to increase the resistance to buckling; in case of sufficiently sturdy tubes, however, such guide members may be omitted. It has been found suitable to provide all pipe sections (also those of the tubes 9 and 10) with a length of about 2 to 2.5 meters.

From thesaid position of the elements (e in FIGURE 10), as described above, the upper stack 5 5e, 50! then is stepwise raised by an additional story height into the position shown in FIGURE 10 at f and temporarily supported by means of latches 25 and bolts 26 on the pillars 2. Subsequently the ratchet devices 12 are disengaged and downwardly slipped along their tubes to the lower stack and are connected there to the two upper floors, 50 and 5]), by means of the bolts 17 (position g in FIGURE 10). These two

floors

5c and 5b are then raised in a step by step movement to the final level of the floor 5b of the second story in the manner described (position h in FIGURE 10), and are supported there on the pillars 2 bymeans of latches 25 and bolts 26. The latches 25 are then firmly welded to carrying collars 6 of the floor 5b located in its final position. Hereafter the ratchet devices 12 are released again and upwardly moved along their tubes until abutting against the upper floor stack 5 52, 5d (position i in FIGURE 10) and engaged once more. On the other hand, the supporting and lifting

tubes

9, 10 are lifted by the height of one tube section, while at the bottom end an additional auxiliary tube section 9a or 10a is inserted. Then the upper stack of

floors

5f, 5e, 5d is stepwise raised by a further story level (position k in FIGURE 10) in the manner described, and secured to the pillars 2 by means of latches 25 and bolts 26. The latches 25 are then welded to the'carrying colconnected to the upper floor c of this remaining stack by means of the bolts 17 (position 1 in FIGURE Thereafter this floor 5c is raised step by step to its final level (position In in FIGURE 10) in the manner de-' scribed, and secured-to the pillars 2 by means of latches and bolts 26; these latches 25 are then welded to the carrying collars 6 of this floor 5c. supporting and lifting

tubes

9, 10 are raised by a further length of one tube section, while below an additional set of auxiliary tube sections 9a and 10a is inserted. The ratchet devices 12 are then removed from the tubes by temporarily pushing two tube sections apart from each other, and are again placed over the lifting and supporting tubes on the top of the floors 5 5e, 5d (position it in FIGURE 10). Now the two

upper floors

5 and 5e are secured to the ratchet devices 12 in the manner described Subsequently, the

leased from the ratchet devices 12 by loosening the screw nut 19 according to FIGURE 15, or suitable other support elements, and lowered to such as extent that they can be hooked in again on the collar 6 of the lowermost ceiling 5a (FIGURE 17c). Subsequently, the lower stack portion 5a, Sb, 5c is raised to the level of the first story andthe lowermost floor 5a is finally secured'to the pillars 2 (FIGURE 17d). Afterloosening the bolts 18 again and engaging them in the lowermost floor 5d of the upper floor stack portion (FIGURE 17c), the latter is raised above the height of the second story (FIGURE 17 and temporarily supported on the pillars 2. The

" supply of pressure oil is effected in this case by means of by means of the bolts 17 and subsequently raised step by step to one further story level (position 0 in FIGURE 10). The two

floors

5e and 5 are then supported on the pillar 2 by means of latches 25 and bolts 26, said latches the lower connection provided on the side of the press. The further raising of the floors to their final position takes place in analogous manner, whereby it will be easily seen that owing to the long bolts 18 a change of the ratchet devices 12 from the upper side to the lower side of the stack portions, and vice versa, is no longer required; the ratchet devices 12, in this case, function to lift, or pull, the floors 5.2-5 upwardly rather than push these floors upwardly to their ultimate positions.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for raising each floor of a stack of floors, each floor including openings therethrough, to a different 7 level for support on a plurality of longitudinal pillars,

the lifting operation is finished. After finally anchoring the floor 5f on the pillars 2 by welding latches 25 to the carrying collars 6 of said floor, the ratchet devices 12 are removed and all

tubes

9, 10, ha and ltla are removed. The presses 26 can then also be withdrawn from their foundation cavities and the building is ready for the erec tion of the remaining structural elements such as walls,

partitions and the like.

- It is understood that the lifting operation described can be carried out with any number of floors greater or.

By subdividing the tubes ing the auxiliary tube sections 5a and 16a) is suitably V eifected by means of pulley blocks.

In contradistinction to the example previously described, in the modification shown in FIGURE 17, the ratchet devices 12 need not be changed from the top side to the bottom side of the elements of the floor 'unit stack (and vice versa), but can permanently remain upon the

tubes

9, 10 above the entire stack of floor units. In this case there are provided bolts 18 of suitable'length having removable extensions which serve as guide members. A frame 27, which is temporarily fixed to the pillars 2 at a suitable level, is provided, in order to laterally guide the bolts 18 (or the extensions thereof) frequently projecting far beyond the ratchet devices. The arrangement of the lifting presses 20, or of the hose connections for pressure oil, correspond in' this example to the arrangement according to FIGURE 14. When raising the floors Sa-Sf from their starting position (FIGURE 17), the bolts 18, analogous to theprocedure followed in FIGURE 1011, are engaged in the collar 6 having two series of cams equally spaced longitudinally, along the respective surfaces thereof, the cams of respective series extending laterally in diametrically opposite directions from: the associated tubes; ratchet means associated with said tubes and including oppositely directed pawls for engaging with said oppositely directed cams; housing means for supporting said ratchet means and pivotally mounting said pawls; stud means, including flange means, carried by said housing means for temporarily suspending said floors fromisaid flange means at a point adjacent said openings thereof; and means for moving said lifting tubes in a direction along their longitudinal axes; said ratchet means including means biasing said pawls to operatively engage the associated cams upon downward relative movement of said housing means with respect to the associated tubes, while providing for said pawls toratchet over said cams upon upward relative movement of said housing means with respect to the associated tubes; whereby, upon lifting of said lifting tubes, the housing means associated therewith will be ing an opening therethrough, comprising: a pair of longitudinal tubes extending. through the opening, each tube having a plurality of pairs of diametrically oppositely l projecting cams longitudinally spaced along the surfaces of the ceiling 5d, whereupon the upper stack portion 5d,

5e and 5f is raised somewhat above the position of the first story (FIGURE 17) (17b) and temporarily supported there on'the pillars 2. Thereafter, the bolts 18 are reof the tubes, ratchet means encompassing each said tube and including pawl means adapted for engagement with said cams and means for supporting the weight of said load, the pawl means being arranged as pairs of oppositely directed pawl means, means for moving one of said tubes in a direction along its longitudinal axis, and means biasing said pawl means to operatively engage the associated cams upon downward relative movement of the associated supporting means relative to the associated tubes, while providing for said pawl means to ratchet over said cams upon upward relative movement of the associated supporting means with respect to the associated tubes; Whereby, upon lifting of said one tube, the supporting means associated therewith will be lifted, with the supporting means and pawl means associated with the other tube moving upwardly along the latter; the pawl means associated with said other tube engaging the associated cams, upon subsequentlowering of said one tube and its associated supporting means, to permit said one movable tube to be moved in a reverse and lowering direction without moving the load, to permit said movable tube again to be moved in said longitudinal lifting direction to further advance said load.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for moving said movable tu'be isa hydraulically actuated ram.

4. Apparatus according to claim ,1, wherein each ratchet means comprises a plurality of superposed pairs of pawls, each pair adapted to cooperate with the two series of cams of the supporting and lifting tubes, said pawls being weighted to urge the pawls into engagement with the cams of said tubes.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the spacing of the superposed pawls and said cams are such that the spacing between said pawls is smaller than the spacing between said cams, so that only one pair of pawls is in engagement with a pair of cams at one time.

6. Apparatus for raising each floor of a plurality of floors, wherein each floor includes openings therethrough and said openings are each encompassed by a collar, to a different level for support on a plurality of longitudinal pillars, each pillar extending through an opening in each floor; said apparatus comprising: a plurality of stationary longitudinal tubes and a plurality of longitudinal movable tubes, certain pillars of said plurality of pillars each having a stationary tube and a movable tube associated therewith, each of said certain pillars being situated between its associated stationary and movable tubes, the longitudinal axes of each pillar and its associated tubes 7 extending in parallel relationship through an opening in each floor, each stationary tube and movable tube having two series of cams spaced longitudinally therealong, the cams of respective series extending laterally in diametrically opposite directions from the associated tube; ratchet means including a plurality of oppositely directed pawls adapted for engaging said oppositely directed cams, one pair of oppositely directed pawls engaging a pair of oppositely directed cams at any one time; a housing means supporting said pawl means; stud means carried by said housing means and engaging said collar means for supporting said plurality of floors; and fluid-pressure supplying means including a fluid pressure operated ram for moving said movable tube in a direction along its longitudinal axis; said pawls operatively engaging the associated cams upon downward relative movement of the associated housing means with respect to the associated tubes, while ratcheting over said cams upon upward relative movement of said housing means with respect to the associated tubes; whereby, upon lifting of said movable tubes, the housing means associated therewith will be lifted, with the housing means associated with the stationary tubes moving upwardly along the latter; the pawls of the housing means associated with the stationary tubes engaging the associated cams, upon subsequent lowering of the movable tubes, to'cause the cooperating cam and pawl and stud'means to advance and support said plurality of floors.

' 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each said pawl includes a. weight which urges said pawls into engagement with a cam-on said tubes.

8. Equipment for erecting a multistoried building having a plurality of floor units, each including openings therethroughand collar means encompassing each open- 7 ing, to be supported on substantially Vertical pillars which vertically equidistantly spaced cams projecting from the tube surface, the two series on each tube projecting laterally in diametrically opposed directions from the associated tube, respective ratchet means operably associated with each tube and each including at least one pair of oppositely directed pawls, each cooperable with cams of a respective one of the two series thereof on the associated tube; each ratchet means including a box pivotally mounting said pawls, said pawls being biased to engage the associated cams upon relative downward movement of the associated box along the associated tube and ratcheting over the associated cams upon'relative upward movement of the associated box along the associated tube, means carried by said box for temporarily supporting the floor units to be raised to story levels, and a pressure fluid operated lifting press interposed between the lower end of each lifting tube and said foundation and effective to raise said lifting tubes to cause the ratchet means associated therewith to' lift the floor units supported thereby, the oppositely directed cams of each tube in association with-the oppositely directed pawls of the respective ratchet means assuring transmission of downwardly directed forces axially of the associated tubes to inhibit buckling of the associated tubes due to off-center forces; whereby, upon lifting of said lifting tubes, the boxes associated therewith will be lifted, with the (boxes associated with the stationary tubes moving upwardly along the latter; the pawls of the boxes associated with the stationary tubes engaging the associated cams, upon subsequent lowering of the lifting tubes, to temporarily support the lifted floor units during such subsequent lowering of thelifting tubes prior to a subsequent lifting of the floor units.

9 Equipment according to claim 8, in which said lifting presses each comprise an upper connection for pressure fluid, communicating with the press through the. associated lifting tube, and a lateral selectively usable pressure fluid connection.

10. Equipment according to claim 8, in which the lifting and supporting tubes are each comprised of a plurality of detachable tube sections of substantially equal length, the length of each'tube section being less than the distance between stories by an amount suflicient to provide the disengagement of .a ratchet means from a first tube section after a second tube section, extending upwardly from such first tube section, has been disconnected therefrom. V

11. Equipment according to claim 8, in which each ratchet means comprises two groups ofsuperposed pawls, adapted each to cooperate with a cam row of the supporting and lifting tubes, said pawls being arranged as pairs of oppositely directed pawls, said pawls being pivotally mounted in said ratchet box and each provided with a weighted lever which urges the pawls in the directionof engagement with the cams of the supporting and lifting tubes, the mutual spacing of the pivotal axes of the pawls of each group being smaller than the mutual spacing of the cams, so that at any time only one pair of pawls is in engagement with a pair of cams.

12. Equipment according to claim 10 including auxiliary tube sections, having substantially uninterrupted outer surfaces, arranged for interconnection with said lifting and supporting tube sections for upward extension of the lifting and supporting tube sections for upward extension of the lifting and supporting tubes.

13'. Equipment according to claim 8, including means for temporarily supporting said floor units on said pillars; said last-named means comprising latching elements engageable with each pillar and bolt means for securing 9 10 said latching elements to the pillar with said latching 2,852,931 9/58 Bonet 50-534 elements engaging said collars to support the associated 2,919,896 1/60 Wurst 254-105 floor unit. 3,028,143 4/62 'Cheskin 254--105 3,036,816 5/62 Stwbbs et a1 254-89 References Cited by the Examiner 5 3,053,015 9/62 Graham 254-89 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS ,5 51 L F i l 254105 7 3,915 10 57 Great Britain, 2,680,633 6/54 Brown 5080 2 7 5 0 3 55 FELDMAN, Primary Exammer. 2,753,711 7/.56

Weber s0 -s34 HENRY c. SUTHERLAND, Examiner.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR RAISING EACH FLOOR OF A STACK OF FLOORS, EACH FLOOR INCLUDING OPENINGS THERETHROUGH, TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL FOR SUPPORT ON A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINAL PILLARS, EACH PILLAR EXTENDING THROUGH AN OPENING IN EACH FLOOR; SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF STATIONARY LONGITUDINAL TUBES; A LIKE PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINAL MOVABLE TUBES, CERTAIN PILLARS OF SAID PLURALITY OF PILLARS EACH HAVING A STATIONARY TUBE AND A MOVABLE TUBE ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, EACH OF SAID CERTAIN PILLARS BEING SITUATED INTERMEDIATE ITS ASSOCIATED STATIONARY AND MOVABLE TUBES, THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF THE PILLAR AND ITS ASSOCIATED TUBES EXTENDING IN A PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP THROUGH AN OPENING IN EACH FLOOR, EACH STATIONARY TUBE AND EACH MOVABLE TUBE HAVING TWO SERIES OF CAMS EQUALLY SPACED LONGITUDINALLY ALONG THE RESPECTIVE SURFACES THEREOF, THE CAMS OF RESPECTIVE SERIES EXTENDING LATERALLY IN DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM THE ASSOCIATED TUBES; RATCHET MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID TUBES AND INCLUDING OPPOSITELY DIRECTED PAWLS FOR ENGAGING WITH OPPOSITELY DIRECTED CAMS; HOUSING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID RATCHET MEANS AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID PAWLS; STUD MEANS, INCLUDING FLANGE MEANS, CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING MEANS FOR TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING SAID FLOORS FROM SAID FLANGE MEANS AT A POINT ADJACENT SAID OPENINGS THEREOF; AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID LIFTING TUBES IN A DIRECTION ALONG THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES; SAID RATCHET MEANS INCLUDING MEANS BIASING SAID PAWLS TO OPERATIVELY ENGAGE THE ASSOCIATED CAMS UPON DOWNWARD RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID HOUSING MEANS WITH RESPECT TO THE ASSOCIATED TUBES, WHILE PROVIDING FOR SAID PAWLS TO RATCHET OVER SAID CAMS UPON UPWARD RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID HOUSING MEANS WITH RESPECT TO THE ASSOCIATED TUBES; WHEREBY, UPON LIFTING OF SAID LIFTING TUBES, THE HOUSING MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH WILL BE LIFTED, WITH THE HOUSING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATIONARY TUBES MOVING UPWARDLY ALONG THE LATTER; THE PAWLS OF THE HOUSING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATIONARY TUBES ENGAGING THE ASSOCIATED CAMS, UPON SUBSEQUENTLY LOWERING OF THE LIFTING TUBES, TO TEMPORARILY SUPPORT SAID FLOORS AT PREDETERMINED LEVELS ALONG THE PILLARS.