CA2419381C

CA2419381C - Deck support system

Info

Publication number: CA2419381C
Application number: CA002419381A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Bruce Carlson
Original assignee: CARLSON IRENE M
Current assignee: CARLSON IRENE M
Priority date: 2003-03-05
Filing date: 2003-03-05
Publication date: 2005-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 2023-03-05
Also published as: CA2419381A1

Abstract

A support apparatus includes a post having a threaded bottom end, a cap on the post, a cradle for a structural beam rotatably connected to the cap, and a base with a cavity containing a nut at the top end thereof. By rotating the post in the nut, the post is moved vertically to adjust the length of the apparatus.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
This invention relates generally to a structural support and more particularly to a vertically adjustable beam support with cost effective construction and simple operation.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Bradshaw, U.S. 1,061,658 describes an adjustable support, embodying a tubular base section screw threaded externally at top and bottom, a base flange internally screw threaded, a boxing cap internally screw threaded engaging the upper end of said base section and having an internally screw threaded opening therethrough, an externally screw threaded section passing through said boxing cap, a guide collar mounted on said last mentioned section within the base section, a head casting carried on the upper end of said externally screw threaded section, a cap jounaled on the head casting, and an upper pipe section screw threaded into said cap.
Haroldson, U.S. 3,398,933 describes an adjustable pedestal for elevated flooring locking in its adjusted position solely by a downward force imposed by the weight of the flooring, which pedestal comprises a base member to be placed on a sub-floor, a head member for supporting the flooring, one of said members having a threaded rod thereon and the other of said members having a tubular section for the reception of said rod, said rod having a longitudinally extending keyway on its outer surface and said tubular section having a fixed radially inwardly extending key at all times fitting and slidable in said keyway to allow slidable movement of said rod with respect to said tubular section but at all times preventing rotative movement between said rod and said tubular section, and a nut threaded onto said rod and abutting the free end of said tubular section, the abutting surfaces of said nut and the free end of said tubular section having a plurality of circumferentially spaced cooperating recess and projection means adapted to mate and restrain turning movement of said nut with respect to said rod solely by the downward force imposed by the weight of the flooring on said nut.
Olvera, U.S. 3,645,054 describes an adjustable device for leveling floors, bases and other structures and having a cylindrical, elongate, threaded body supported at one end in an upright position and having at least one diametral slot in its other end of such width as to accommodate a flange formed on the structure to be leveled. An adjustable nut is threaded on the body between the ends of the latter and is adjustable toward and away from the slotted end of the body so as to vary the effective depth of the slot. Bearings preferably are supported in a retainer atop the adjusting nut to eliminate friction between the nut and the flange.
Albrecht et al., U.S. 4,558,544 describes an adjustable pedestal adapted to support individually removable panel members in accurate, edge-aligned relation and in a common horizontal that is level plane. The pedestal includes a head assembly supported on an upper end of a support. The head assembly includes a head member having a generally flat upper surface which is adjustable vertically, rotationally and laterally of the support rod. Abutment means adjustable along the support rod, is engaged by the head member and establishes a position of the head member wherein the upper surface resides in

2 the horizontal plane. Clamping means clamps the head member to the support rod. Radially extending lugs extend above the upper surface of the head member. The arrangement is such that an adjacent pair of lugs of one pedestal cooperates with adjacent pairs of lugs from adjacent pedestals to define a panel-supporting surface which is horizontal and which coincides with said horizontal plane.
Av-Zuk, U.S. 4,685,258 describes an access flooring system including a plurality of adjustable height pedestals, which support a skeletal grid of stringers.
The stringers, in turn, support a plurality of rectangular floor panels. Each pedestal includes a head for supporting not only stringers, which are registered with perpendicular edges of floor panels, but, in addition, stringers that extend diagonally. The diagonal stringers provide increased load capacity for the system and resist medial deflections of the panels.
McSwain, U.S. 5,277,405 describes a temporary, self-leveling support device having a screwjack body with a threaded hole formed centrally therein for engaging a threaded bolt. The bolt has a load bearing plate affixed thereon.
The bolt can be rotated within the screwjack body to raise or lower the load-bearing surface. The screwjack body has two opposed support legs pivotally attached thereto, which extend down to farm an A-frame support. The support legs have pivotally mounted feet, which can pivot to engage uneven surfaces thereby allowing the device to be self-loading. The legs are secured to each other by an adjustable tie bar cross member which can be adjusted to increase or decrease the distance between the support legs and thereby adjust the overall height and base dimensions of the device.

Propst, U.S. 5,333,423 describes a floor system having removable floor panels resting at their corners on support rings provided by vertically adjustable pedestal units. The upper ends of the pedestal units have hex-heads for receiving a height adjusting tool. Access to the hex-heads is obtained by removing cornercaps held in place by screws threaded into the hex-heads. The support rings do not turn while the pedestal units are being adjusted in height.
Kawai et al., U.S. 5,479,745 describes floor panel support legs supporting floor panels atop a floor slab and a double floor device uses such floor panel support legs. Each floor support leg is constituted by a pair of cylindrical first and second pedestal members and a fixing member for fixing the relative position between the first and second pedestal members, the first and second pedestal members having bottoms at their axial one end portions and thread portions at their inner and outer circumferential surfaces respectively so that they are thread-engaged with each other through their thread portions. The axial height of the support leg is set by the degree of thread engagement between the first and second pedestal members and the thus set height is fixed by the fixing member.
Such support legs are arranged between a floor slab and floor panels at butted portions of the floor panels to support the floor panels to thereby constitute a double floor device. Thus, the support legs are capable of strongly supporting floor panels at a low position from a floor slab to thereby provide a low double floor device.
Collins, et al., U.S. 5,561,950 describes an adjustable pier block for leveling a deck or porch. A footing block or base is cast of concrete and a threaded rod is placed vertically therein. A coupling having internal threads and a plurality of flats on an outer surface thereof is threaded onto the rod. A U-shaped saddle member, sized to receive a joist or beam, has a connector attached to a bottom outer surface thereof. The connector is sized and shaped to slidingly receive a free end of the coupling against a load bearing surface or the bottom side of the saddle. A washer or disk, of made from a friction reducing material, can be inserted between the coupling and the load bearing surface for ease of operation. The coupling can be turned, by use of a wrench cooperating with the flats, in order to raise or lower the beam or joist for leveling a deck during construction thereof and at a later date after settling has occurred.
Buzon, U.S. 5,588,264 describes a device for supporting, leveling and attaching (where appropriate), an elevated building surfiace. The device can be raised or lowered by rotating a base member of the device. The device includes a flange member for the support of heavy loads. The device further includes a fluid pathway to remove fluids, such as water, and heat from the support device.
The device can be used in outdoor or indoor environments and is capable of supporting the heavy loads applied by many types of building surfaces, such as heavy structural slabs.
Triplett, U.S. 6,345,474 describes a universal block made of concrete designed to be used with difi~erent size posts and beams. The pier block is a conical, six-sided structure and includes two cancentrically aligned, post-receiving voids designed to receive the ends of a (4 times 4) or (6 times 6) inch post. The (6 times 6) inch void is positioned above the {4 times 4) inch void.
Formed horizontally on the top surface of the pier block are two transversely aligned beam-receiving slots. Each beam-receiving slot includes a narrow and a wide slot longitudinally aligned. The wide slot is positioned above the narrow slot. A vertically aligned drain hole is formed through the pier block from the bottom surface of the (4 times 4) inch void to the bottom of the pier block, which allows water to drain from the post-receiving voids.
Kugler, U.S. 6,363,685 describes an adjustable support piece, which can selectively raise or lower the level of a building surface or industrial component such as a mechanical pump, etc. A base member, crown member, and threaded tubular stem which can be cut with a hand saw are provided and which can be selectively adjusted in height to raise or lower the height of the building surface.
In one embodiment, a coupling may be used to interconnect two tubular stems together. Further, a crown coupling spacer may be used to moderately increase the total length of the adjustable support piece.
While the prior art describes a variety of adjustable structural supports, leveling devices, decking supports, floor panel supports and adjustable pier blocks, there still exists a need for a simple support apparatus which can be used, for example beneath a deck.
An object of the present invention is to meet the above-defined need by providing a relatively simple structural support for a beam which is easy to adjust.
Accordingly, the invention relates to a support apparatus comprising a post; a threaded bottom end on said post; a cap on an upper end of the post; a cradle carried by said cap for supporting a structural beam; a base having a cavity in a top end thereof; an internally threaded support in a top end of the cavity for receiving and retaining the threaded bottom end of the post; and a receiver on said post for receiving a lever, whereby the post can be rotated in the support to change the length of the apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figures 1 - 3 are partly sectioned front views of a preferred embodiment of the invention; and Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the top end of a second embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the support apparatus of the present invention includes a post 1 for supporting a beam 2. The bottom end 3 of the post 1 is threaded. A cap 4 is mounted on the upper end of the post 1. A rod 6 extending upwardly from the cap 4 supports a generally U-shaped cradle 8 carrying the beam 2. The rod 6 is rotatably connected to the cap 4 and/or to the cradle 8, so that the cradle 8 can be rotated relative to the post 1, making it easy to position the post beneath the beam. An internally threaded post support or nut 9 is mounted on a shoulder 10 in a recess 12 in a base or pier 13. The threaded bottom end 3 of the post 1 engages and is retained by the nut 9. Thus, the position of post 1 in the recess 12 determines elevation or position of the cradle 8 above the base 13, i.e. the height or length of the support. The post 1 is rotated by a straight lever 15 (Fig. 2), which may be in the form of a wrench (Fig. 3) to move the post 1 vertically in the base 13, and consequently change i the height of the cradle 8 above the base 13 and a horizontal surface 14 (Fig.
2), i.e. the length of the apparatus.
The straight lever 15 of Fig. 2 extends transversely through a hole 17 (Fig.
1 ) in the post 1. When the lever is in the form of a wrench 16 (Fig. 3) the jaws 18 of the wrench engage opposed flat areas 20 on the post 1.
With reference to Fig. 4, a second embodiment of the invention includes a wooden post 22 with a recess 23 in its top end. The recess 23 is covered by a metal plate 24 tacked onto the top of the post 22. A threaded rod 25 extends into a threaded hole 26 in the center of the plate 24. The rod 25 includes a head 28 with an annular groove 29 therein for rotatably connecting the cradle 8 to the rod 25. Thus, the rod 25 can be moved vertically to raise or lower the cradle on the post 22, i.e. to change the length of the apparatus.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A support apparatus comprising a post; a threaded bottom end on said post; a cap on an upper end of the post; a cradle carried by said cap for supporting a structural beam; a base having a cavity in a top end thereof;
an internally threaded support in a top end of the cavity for receiving and retaining the threaded bottom end of the post; and a receiver on said post for receiving a lever, whereby the post can be rotated in the support to change the length of the apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, including a rod extending between said cap and said cradle, said rod being pivotably connected to at least one of said cap and said cradle, whereby the cradle can be rotated relative to said post to facilitate positioning of the apparatus beneath a structural beam.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiver is a pair of opposed flat surfaces on the post for receiving the jaws of a wrench.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiver is a transverse hole in the post for receiving a lever.

5. A support apparatus comprising a structural beam; a post; a threaded bottom end on said post; a cap on an upper end of the post; a cradle carried by said cap for supporting the structural beam; a base having a cavity in a top end thereof; an internally threaded support in a top end of the cavity for receiving and retaining the threaded bottom end of the post; and a receiver on said post for receiving a lever, whereby the post can be rotated in the support to change the length of the apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the receiver is a pair of opposed flat surfaces on the strut for receiving the jaws of a wrench.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the receiver is a transverse hole in the post for receiving a lever.

8. A support apparatus comprising a post, a recess in a top end of said post; a cover for said recess on the top end of the post, a rod threaded in and extending through said cover into said recess; and a cradle for supporting a structural beam rotatably connected to a top end of said threaded rod, whereby said rod can be rotated in said cover to change the length of the support apparatus.