US3634985A

US3634985A - Adjustable elevation building

Info

Publication number: US3634985A
Application number: US876015A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert R Tipton
Original assignee: ROBERT R TIPTON
Current assignee: SIERRA NORTHWESTERN Inc; ROBERT R TIPTON
Priority date: 1969-11-12
Filing date: 1969-11-12
Publication date: 1972-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-18

Abstract

A building is provided with supporting legs which are individually adjustable by means of jacks which are operable from inside the building to change its elevation.

Description

[54] ADJUSTABLE ELEVATHQN BUILDER/1G 6566666 0 20222 1 1.1177 /4///// 4U24222 5 55555 2 12mm 1,024,860 4/1912 Kline [72] Inventor: K011112111 R,Tip101n,249 ElCamunito,Liverg affa1l1e.... 94550 2,849,211 8/1958 Shoesmith 22 Filed: Nov. 112, 1969 3,152,366 10/1964 MCCI'OIYetaL. 3,355,993 12/1967 Roemisch......... [211 APPI-NW 876,015 3,437,362 4/1969 OffeDbr01Ch......

[52] Us C 52,126 52/64 52/124 FOREIGNPA'IENTSORAPPLICATIONS 52/726, 254/30, 254/106 622,354 12/1962 Belgium................. ....52/126 1150419 5/58, E04b 7/16, B66f1 1/04 [51] 11111. [58] F1010! 01Sea1rc11........... ....52/64, 66, 124, 126, 745, 726, Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott 52/749; 61/465; 254/29, 30, 106 Assistant Examiner-Leslie A. Braun ABSTRACT References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS A building is provided with supporting legs which are individually adjustable by means of jacks which are 0 6/1948 from inside the buildin parable m 0 m Wu 2 mm m .....m e m nn MD 07 m g 52/749 ......52/66 Satterlee et al.

2,444,122 Wahl 392,764 11/1888 Thomas..........

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PAIENIEBmwm 3,634,985

SHEET 3 0F 3 INVENTOR.

I ADJUSTABLE ELEVATION BUILDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to buildings and in particular to buildings which are adjustable as to elevation above their supporting surface.

Generally, the buildings of the prior art were constructed on a fixed foundation such as legs, piers, pilings, or load-supporting walls which were buried to a depth sufficient to maintain the building level and at a fixed elevation.

For certain types of structures, such as temporary buildings, it is desirable to be able to place the building in a particular location without any site preparation, such as grading or leveling the ground or the placing thereon of loadsupporting piers which must be leveled and upon which the building will rest.

In certain instances, where heavy snowfalls occur, it is desirable to be able to raise or lower the building to maintain the entrance thereto level with the top of the snow so that as the snow level increases, the building can be raised various increments or as the snow melts the building can be lowered various increments as required, from inside the building.

The buildings of the prior art, typically, were raised by means of jacks, however, they were only operable from outside the building or under it and, because the jacks had a limited reach, the building could be raised only to a given elevation. To lift the building any higher, required supplementary shoring, returning the jack to its shortest length and then, using a higher support under the jack, repeating the process of lifting the building.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention provides a structure that is capable of resting on any type of terrain and is vertically adjustable to any elevation above the ground or supporting surface limited only by the structural strength of its legs and the design of any supporting means at the base of its legs used to resist any overturning forces acting upon the structure.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a building that is adjustable as to elevation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a building which is adjustable to any type of terrain and which can be leveled without the need ofsite preparation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a building in which the adjustment of elevation is accomplished within the confines ofthe structure.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a building that is resistant to overturning without the need for a buried foundation.

Other and more particular objects will be manifest upon study of the following description when taken together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an isometric view of a typical embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a mechanical jack used for raising and lowering a leg of the building;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the jack of FIG. 2 taken at lines 3-3;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view ofa typical sectional leg showing a method of connecting the sections together;

FIG. 5 is an elevational sectional view showing in greater detail the method of connecting the leg sections together;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view ofa second type ofjack which may be used to raise and lower a leg ofthe building; and,

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the method of supporting the building in order to resist overturning forces acting on the building.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. 1, the adjustable elevation building of the present invention comprises, basically, a shelter 10 having a roof 11, load-supporting walls 12, a means for ingress and egress 14, and a floor or platform 15, all supported by legs 16 connected to shelter 10 by means ofmechanical jacks 18.

A typical mechanical jack 18 is illustrated in FIG. 2 and comprises an inner sleeve 20 telescopically disposed around leg 16 and attached to structural member 21 of wall 12 by means of a web 23 and mounting bolts 24.

A movable or upper sleeve 26 is disposed telescopically about inner sleeve 20 and is arranged to be free to move up and down.

A fixed or lower sleeve 27 is also disposed telescopically about inner sleeve 20 below upper sleeve 26 but attached to sleeve 20 and web 23 as by welding or the like.

An operating handle 29 is pivotally connected to web 23 with pin 30 and is also connected to movable sleeve 26 by link 31. The purpose oflink 31 is to raise sleeve 26 when handle 29 is raised.

When handle 29 is lowered, a bearing point 32 is provided on sleeve 26 to receive the underside of handle 29 and be forced downwardly thereby.

Leg 16 is, in the present embodiment, generally rectangular and is provided along its length on all four sides with a plurality ofequally spaced slots 34.

Inner sleeve 20 is also provided with slots 36 adjacent to fixed or lower sleeve 27 and slots 37 adjacent to movable or upper sleeve 26.

It will be noted that, since lower sleeve 27 is fixed relative to inner sleeve 20, slots 36 in inner sleeve 20 need only be as long as slots 34 in leg 16.

In the case of upper sleeve 26, however, slots 37 in inner sleeve 20 should be of a length approximately equal to the distance between the bottom of one slot 34 in leg 16 to the top of the next slot above. This length is required of slots 37 because, as will be more fully described below, the full vertical distance that movable sleeve 26 can travel must be sufficient for pawls 40 on sleeve 26 to release themselves from one slot 34 in leg 16 and move to and engage the next slot 34 either above or below while leg 16 is held in a fixed position by pawls 49a in lower or fixed sleeve 27.

A set of slots 38 are also provided in movable sleeve 26 and are adapted to receive pawls 40 permitting them to swing in and out of slots 37 and 38 in order to engage slots 34 in leg 16. A similar set of slots 38a are provided in fixed sleeve 27 and are adapted to receive pawls 40a permitting them to also swing in and out ofslots 36 and 38a in order to engage slots 34 in leg 16. In all cases, the slots are of approximately the same width and are, necessarily, longitudinally aligned.

With particular reference to the structure of movable sleeve 26, a pivot arm 41 is attached to each pawl 40. The configuration of pivot arm 41 is more readily seen in FIG. 3 which is a cross-sectional view ofjack 18 taken at lines 3-3.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, pivot arm 41 is journaled in bearing blocks 42 disposed on each side of pawl 40 and attached to sleeve 26 as by welding or the like.

With reference to both FIGS. 2 and 3, an operating or release arm 43 is provided to move pawls 40 in and out of engagement with slots 34.

Operating arm 43 comprises a handle 45 attached to a bracket 46 which is pivotally connected to web 23 by a pin 47.

A slot 48 is provided in bracket 46 to receive the end of pivot arm 41.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, one end of pivot arm 41 is bent at a 45 angle with the tip of the arm projecting through slot 48.

The 45 bend in arm 41 provides a sufficient setoff so that it will act in the manner of a crank. Thus, when bracket 46 is raised to rotate about pin 47, the ends of pivot arms 41 are raised and pivot arm 41 is caused to rotate in bearing blocks 42. Since pivot arms 41 are attached to pawls 40, the pawls are caused to swing out and away from slots 34 to therefore release or disengage from leg 16.

An identical combination of pawls, pivot arms, operating arm, bracket, and slots are provided on lower or fixed sleeve 27 and are identified by the suffix a after the reference numeral corresponding to the same element identified on sleeve 26.

To operate jack 18, the operator merely raises and lowers handle 29 to either engage slots 34 in leg 16 at the bottom of the stroke or the top of the stroke depending upon whether he wants to raise or lower the building.

For example, to raise structure 10, handle 29 is raised until pawls 40 engage a slot 34 at the upper end of the stroke. Pawls 40 and 4011 are naturally forced inwardly by virtue of the weight of

handles

45 and 45a bearing down on pivot arms 41 and 41a respectively.

Handle 29 is then lowered, thus forcing leg 16 down until pawls 40a engage the next slot 34 in line on leg 16. Handle 29 is then raised causing pawl 40a to bear the full upward force of leg 16 through slot 34.

While pawl 40a bears this upward force, handle 29 is raised until pawl 40 engages the next higher slot in leg 16, whereupon handle 29 is again pushed down causing pawl 40 to now bear the full upward force ofleg 16 through slot 34, and force leg 16 down until pawl 40a again engages the next slot in line, whereupon handle 29 is raised to cause the full upward force ofleg 16 to bear against pawl 40a.

The process can thus be repeated until structure is raised to the desired elevation, i.e., the leg 16 is forced down through jack 18.

To lower structure 10, i.e., permit leg 16 to pass up through jack 18, handle 29 is lowered until pawls 40 engage a slot 34 in leg 16 and bear the full upward force of leg 16 through the pawls. Handle 45a is then raised to cause, as previously described, pawls 40a to rotate away and out of slots 34. While handle 45a is held in the raised position, handle 29 is allowed to rise. Handle 45a is then released so that pawls 40a will engage the next lower slot 34 when handle 29 has reached the upper end ofits travel.

Pawls 40a upon engaging the next lower slot 34 will thereupon bear the full upward force ofleg 16, and release the force from pawls 40.

While at the top of its upward travel, handle 29 is held in place and handle 45 is raised to release pawls 40 in the same manner as previously described for lower sleeve 27, so that handle 29 may then be lowered to the next lower slot 34 when pawls 40 are moved away from slots 34. Handle 45 is then released so that pawls 40 may then engage the next lower slot 34 in leg 16 and the process repeated until structure 10 is lowered to the desired elevation.

In order that structure 10 may be raised to any elevation without limit except for structural strength of the legs, legs 16 are assembled in sections as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Each section is arranged to abut the next so that the outside dimensions ofleg 16 remains constant in order to pass through jack 18. To accomplish this, each abutting joint is provided with a section connector sleeve 50 inside leg 16 of a length sufficient to provide stiffness to the joint.

Typically, as shown in FIG. 5, connector sleeve 50 is held in place by a detent assembly 51 comprising a pair of pin catches 52 attached at the ends of spring bias 53. A hole 55 common to both sleeve 50 and leg 16 is provided on opposite sides of leg 16 which is adapted to receive pin catch 52. The length of pin catch 52 is generally equal to or slightly less than the combined wall thickness of sleeve 50 and leg 16 but greater than the wall thickness of sleeve 50.

A section of leg 16 can be released from sleeve 50 by depressing pins 52 on each side ofleg 16 with a rod or tool 56 to a pointjust clear of the inside surface of leg 16 by virtue of the flexing action of spring bias 53. Leg 16 may then be lifted from connector 50 and pin catches 52 released to allow them to protrude out of the hole in the connector.

Sections of leg 16 may be added by again depressing pin catches 52 so that they are even with the inside surface of leg 16 and then placing leg 16 over sleeve 50 and down until catches 52 protrude through hole 55 common to both sleeve 50 and leg 16.

Thus any number ofleg sections may be assembled together without limit as to length ofleg 16.

With reference to FIG. 6, a second type of mechanical jack 118 is shown in which a means for frictionally engaging leg 16 is used for raising and lowering structure 16.

The operation ofjack 118 is generally similar to the operation ofjack 18 in that a movable upper sleeve 126 is used to grasp and raise or lower leg 16 while a lower or fixed sleeve 127 is used to hold leg 16 fixed while movable sleeve 126 returns to its original position.

Sleeve 126 is provided with a pair of shoes pivoted at pins 142 with a release handle 143 pivotally attached to sleeve 126 by means of pin 147 and adapted to push shoes 140 down and away from leg 16.

Shoes

140 and 140a are arranged at an angle about 7 with the plane normal to the longitudinal axis of leg 16 in order to achieve a complete frictional grasp of the leg.

An identical configuration of shoes and release handle arrangement is provided for fixed sleeve 127 disposed below movable sleeve 126.

Shoes 140a, pins 1420, release handle 143a, and pins 147a on lower sleeve 127 correspond in structure and function to shoes 140, pins 142, release handle 143, and pins 147 on upper sleeve 126.

The procedure of raising and lowering of shelter 10 by use ofjack 118 is identical to the procedure previously described for jack 18,

To raise shelter 10, handle 129 is merely pumped up and down. As sleeve 126 rises, shoes 140 will slide up leg 16. When sleeve 126 is lowered, shoes 140 will, by frictional forces, be lifted up and tend to pinch together against leg 16 causing it to move down. Shoes 140a will permit leg 16 to slide downwardly and when the pressure is released from handle 129, any upward movement of leg 16 will tend to cause shoes 140a to pinch and hold leg 16 until sleeve 126 has been raised to its uppermost position. The process is repeated until shelter 10 is raised to the desired elevation.

To lower shelter 10, handle 129 is lowered to its lowest position and handle 143a is raised to release shoes 140a, whereupon handle 129 is raised to its upper most position taking leg 16 with it and then handle 14311 is lowered to cause shoes 14011 to again engage leg 16.

Handle 145 is then raised to release shoes 140 so that sleeve 126 can be dropped to its lowest position without engaging leg 16. The process is then repeated until structure 10 is lowered to the desired elevation.

Referring back to FIG. 1, it is often necessary to provide for different load bearing capacities of the ground or other material upon which shelter 10 is being placed. For this reason an adjustable foot 60 is provided at the lower end of leg 16 to distribute the weight ofshelter 10 over a larger area.

With reference to FIG. 2, foot 60 comprises a load plate 61 attached to an adjustable sleeve 62 adapted to slide up and down leg 16. A slot 64 is provided through sleeve 62 corresponding in size to slot 34 in leg 16 and adapted to receive rectangular sheer pin 66 in order to connect foot 60 to leg 16. Pin 66 can be held in place either by friction or by other means such as cotter pins, bolts, and the like (not shown) common in the art.

Where the supporting surfaces is soft or composed of particulate material such as sand, it is desirable that a portion of leg 16 be protruding below foot 60 in order to prevent shelter 10 from sliding sideways upon application ofa lateral force to the shelter Adjustable foot 60, in this instance, can be raised or lowered to obtain a better footing and allow more or less of leg 16 to be embedded into the ground depending upon the horizontal resistance desired.

In certain instances, where shelter 10 is elevated above the ground, it is subject to greater overturning moments due to lateral forces as by the wind or earthquakes.

Since one of the primary advantages ofthe adjustable elevation building of the present invention is its ability to be placed at any location on any type of terrain without the need of site preparation, the support structure illustrated in FIG. 7 is typical of the method of preventing overturning of the building from lateral forces.

In FIG. 7, outriggers 70 are attached to each of two legs 16 at their base and extend outwardly therefrom along the surface of the ground or supporting surface for bearing thereon.

To provide an anchor against sliding, a portion of leg 16 may extend below outrigger 70 into the ground.

The length of outrigger 70 required to resist a particular moment may be easily calculated by methods well known in the art, knowing the lateral forces, weight of shelter l0, and length of the moment arms.

in addition, it can be seen that if outriggers 70 were fabricated from a heavy material such as concrete, the weight of outrigger 70 would contribute to resisting any overturning forces.

Although outriggers are described above as a method of resisting overturning ofshelter 10, it is not contemplated that ordinary buried foundations are precluded from use with the present apparatus.

Since the adjustable elevation building of the present invention can be raised to any elevation limited only by the structural strength of legs 16, when raised to a great height, the only practical supporting foundation that can be used would be a deeply buried one.

When shelter 16 is raised to a great height, as, for example, in FIG. 7, structural cross bracing 75 will be required.

To gain access to shelter 10 when raised to high elevations, a trap door (not shown) common in the art can be attached to legs 16 and cross bracing 75 for a person to climb up and down for ingress and egress to shelter 10.

lclaim:

1. An adjustable elevation structure comprising a platform, at least three load-supporting legs depending through said platform and resting on a supporting surface, said legs comprising individually abutting sections and section connectors, said section connectors comprising a connector sleeve telescopically disposed in said abutting sections, pin connectors passing transversely through said sleeve and each of said abutting sections, and a spring biased against said pin connectors holding said pins in said sleeve and abutting ends, and individual means slidably disposed on each of said legs for raising and lowering said platform and accessible to an operator above within the area of said platform for operating said means.

2. An adjustable elevation structure comprising a platform, at least three load-supporting legs depending through said platform and resting on a supporting surface, and individual means slidably disposed on each of said legs for raising and lowering said platform and accessible to an operator above and within the area of said platform for operating said means, wherein said means for raising and lowering said platform is a jack comprising a support frame connected to said platform, a fixed sleeve slidably disposed on said leg and attached to said support frame, a movable sleeve slidably disposed on said leg, means for raising and lowering said movable sleeve relative to said fixed sleeve, said means pivotally connected to said support frame and connected to said movable sleeve, means connected to said fixed sleeve for engaging and disengaging said leg with said fixed sleeve, and separate means connected to said movable sleeve for engaging and disengaging said leg.