Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – With lifting or handling means for primary component or... – Position adjusting means; e.g. – leveling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2001-07-10
Chilcot, Richard (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
With lifting or handling means for primary component or...
Position adjusting means; e.g., leveling
C052S292000, C052SDIG001, C052S169900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256940
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a foundation system for a premanufactured home which is supported above the ground on a plurality of piers which engage two or more horizontal, parallel joists of the home. More particularly, the invention relates to a foundation for such a home that includes struts for supporting the edges of the building which overhang the support joists.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Premanufactured buildings (hereinafter “manufactured homes”) such as mobile homes, trailers, prefabricated houses and the like are manufactured at a central manufacturing site, and upon completion the structures are moved to a location where they are to be permanently located and occupied. Because the manufactured home is designed to be easily moved from the site where it is manufactured to its permanent location, the structure is not originally built upon a permanent foundation at the manufacturing site. Rather, the structure is constructed upon a pair of parallel, horizontally extending I-beam joists. The joists are displaced inwardly from the opposing side walls of the manufactured home, and temporary wheels are attached to the joists so that the manufactured home can be transported over public highways to its installation site, where the home likely will be mounted on piers, such as concrete blocks, pilings, or stabilizing jacks. It is important that the home be anchored in position on the piers, typically with the use of ground anchors and ties extending from the ground anchors to the framework of the home, so as to avoid the home being shifted off of its piers by strong winds or seismic action. Serious damage to the manufactured home and even human injury can occur if a home is inadvertently shifted laterally off of its piers or tilted over.
Various types of stabilizing devices have been used to stabilize such manufactured homes, to keep the homes from moving in response to wind forces and earth movement. Such devices have included guy wires or straps tying the home to ground fixtures or ground anchors which are either permanently or temporarily inserted into the ground. A traditional approach to providing wind storm protection for manufactured homes consists of an anchor having a shank with one or more helical plates at the bottom of the shank which can be rotated to move the anchor into the ground, and cold rolled steel strapping installed as a diagonal tie between the anchor head and the lower main frame of the manufactured home. Anchors of this type are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,758,460; 5,697,191; 5,784,844; and 5,850.718.
The vertical support for the manufactured home usually is provided by the piers located under the parallel joists of the main frame of the manufactured home, with the piers being spaced longitudinally along the parallel joists at approximately 8 feet intervals. The piers typically are placed upon a flat planar stabilizer foundation plate having a much larger surface area than the pier itself and which stabilizes the pier at its interaction with the ground surface.
While the foregoing stabilizing systems have been more successful in reliably tying down manufactured homes, these and other prior art systems have not successfully addressed the problem of the manufactured home tending to tilt about the parallel support joists and their piers. The support joists are desirably displaced inwardly from the opposed sides of the manufactured home so as to provide adequate support for the intermediate area of the floors of the stricture. Also, it is desirable to place the supporting joists inwardly of the opposed side edges so that the wheels of the transport device can be placed beneath instead of out to the side of the structure when traveling on the highway. The result is that there is a substantial overhang of the side portions of the manufactured home beyond the parallel support joists, so that a substantial amount of the structure is supported by the joists on a cantilever basis. When a lateral force, such as high wind, engages the windward side of a manufactured home, the home tends to tilt about the leeward joist and its piers, so that the weight of the portion of the home which overhangs the leeward joist and its piers aids in tilting the home.
A solution to the above noted problem can be achieved by the placement of side supports along the opposed side edges of the manufactured home. However, there has been no practical, economical and effective structure available for this type of side support for manufactured homes.
It is to the above noted problem that this invention is directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the present invention provides an improved foundation for manufactured homes which includes side struts located along the opposed side edges of the manufactured home, extending from the ground level to the lower side edges of the home. The struts are mounted on ground anchors and extend upwardly from the ground from the anchors into supporting relationship with the lower side edges of the manufactured home. The arrangement is such that the struts bear either compression or tension when the manufactured home tilts either toward or away from the struts.
The ground anchors are constructed with the usual elongated shank with an auger blade rigidly mounted to the lower portion of the shank for holding the anchor in the ground. A support bracket is attached to the upper end of the shank and protrudes out of the ground. A strut is attached at its lower end to the anchor support bracket and extends upwardly to the lower side edge of the manufactured home and the upper end portion of the strut is pivotally mounted to a holding bracket, with the holding bracket having been rigidly attached to the lower side edge of the manufactured home.
The strut is adjustable in length so that it can be adjusted at the site of erection of the manufactured home to achieve the proper length for applying proper support to the lower side edge of the manufactured home.
Should a lower side edge on the windward side of the manufactured home tilt upwardly away from its side struts and ground anchors, the side struts will experience tension from the tilting manufactured home and transmit the tension to the ground anchor. Thus, the ground anchors also function to hold down the windward side of the manufactured home. In the meantime the ground anchors and struts on the leeward side of the manufactured home resist the compression applied by the tilting home.
The effect of the foundation with side struts is that the “footprint” of the resistance to tilting of the manufactured home is spread farther than the distance between the support joists and piers on which the manufactured home rests.
In addition to the use of the side struts to avoid tilting of the manufactured home, tension straps can be extended from the upper ends of the side struts and sloped downwardly to the lower portion of the pier which is adjacent each side strut. Further, a foundation plate can be installed beneath the pier and on the ground, with the foundation plate having cleats that extend vertically beneath the foundation platform into the ground, with the cleats functioning to resist horizontal movement of the foundation platform. The diagonal tension strap extending from the upper portion of the side strut is connected directly to the foundation platform, so that the lateral movement of the manufactured home which asserts tension on the diagonal tension strap will be resisted by the cleats of the foundation platform that penetrate the ground beneath the manufactured home. This direct line of force between the upper end of the strut and its support bracket and the foundation platform and its cleats avoids the application of forces directly to the pier, avoiding any tilting or other movement to the pier.
In the meantime, the weight of the manufactured home and its piers is applied to the foundation platform, securely holding the foundation platform against the ground so that its cleats cannot be moved in response to the tension applied by the tension strap which slopes
Chilcot Richard
Thomas Kayden Horstemeyer & Risley
LandOfFree
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