Pier with diagonal strut

The support system for a premanufactured building includes a foundation platform ( 12 ) having cleat walls ( 50 - 53 ) that penetrate the ground. A support stand ( 14 ) and its vertical support shaft ( 30 ) function as a pier to support the joist ( 18 ) of the building. A diagonal stabilizing strut ( 16 ) is connected at its upper end to the same or to an adjacent joist, and at its lower end to the support stand, so that compression forces applied by the joist to the strut ( 16 ) move from one side of the vertical load axis ( 28 ) to the other side of the axis and engage the foundation platform, so that the ground adjacent the cleats ( 50 - 53 ) resists movement of the joist.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in more detail to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the support system 10 includes a foundation platform 12 , a pier 14 and a diagonal stabilizing strut 16 . The pier is mounted beneath a joist 18 of a premanufactured building (the whole building is not shown), in supporting relationship with the joist. Typically, the joist is an I-beam supported above the surface of the ground 20 by the pier 14 and other piers. Pier 14 is, in this embodiment, a support stand having two or more diverging support legs 22 and 23 . In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 - 3 , the support stand has two legs 22 and 23 positioned in a common vertical plane, with the legs being of identical construction. The lower ends of the legs are formed at an angle with respect to the length of the legs so as to rest flat against the foundation platform. Preferably, the legs are formed of channel-shaped steel of a gauge sufficient to function as a weight support, with a weight capacity of the assembly exceeding 2000 lbs. Tubular shaft support 26 is joined to the upper ends of the support legs 22 and 23 and is joined thereto by welding or other rigid fastening means. The tubular shaft support has its longitudinal axis 28 extending vertically. Vertical support shaft 30 is telescopically received in the tubular shaft support 26 . Shaft 30 includes a series of equally spaced openings 32 , and tubular shaft support 26 has similar openings 34 . The vertical support shaft 30 is locked into position in the tubular shaft support 26 by the use of a U-shaped lock 36 . The lock has parallel legs 37 and 38 ( FIG. 2 ) that are inserted through aligned ones of the openings 32 and 34 of the tubular shaft support 26 and the vertical support shaft 30 . A cotter pin, threaded nut, or other conventional keeper 40 is applied to one of the exposed ends 37 or 38 of the U-shaped lock 36 so as to hold the U-shaped lock in place. With this arrangement, the vertical support shaft 30 is rigidly mounted to the legs of the support stand 14 . A support plate 41 is mounted to the upper end 42 of the vertical support shaft 30 . A threaded stud 44 extends downwardly from the plate 41 into the shaft, with adjustment nut 46 engaging the threads of the stud. Rotation of the adjustment nut moves the threaded stud and its support plate 41 vertically with respect to the vertical support shaft 30 . With this arrangement, when the support stand 14 is mounted on the foundation platform 12 beneath the joist 18 , the support platform is positioned beneath the joist. The threaded adjustment nut can then be rotated to lift the support plate 41 up into load bearing engagement with the joist 18 . Foundation platform 12 is formed from a single sheet of material, typically a corrosive resistant metal, such as treated steel. The foundation platform includes a substantially flat body portion 48 and the side edges of the platform are turned at approximately right angles with respect to the flat body portion, forming cleat walls 50 - 53 . In the disclosed embodiment, the flat body portion 48 of the foundation platform is rectangular, so that the cleat walls 50 - 53 are arranged at right angles with respect to one another. When the foundation platform 12 is to be placed beneath a joist 18 , its cleat walls 50 - 53 are urged into the ground 20 until the body portion 48 engages the ground. The ground adjacent the cleat walls 50 - 53 retard any horizontal movement of the foundation platform. In order to maintain the diverging support legs 22 and 23 of the support stand in position on the foundation platform, the legs each include a laterally extending tab 56 , and the foundation platform 12 includes a U-shaped strap 58 that is struck from the flat body portion 48 of the foundation platform. The tabs 56 of the support legs 22 and 23 of the support stand 14 are telescopically inserted into the U-shaped straps 58 . This holds the bottom portions of the support legs 22 in place on the foundation platform, and locates the support stand properly on the foundation platform, intermediate the opposed cleats 50 and 51 . Diagonal stabilizing strut 16 includes a lower end 60 and an upper end 62 , with the lower end pivotally connected to diverging support leg 22 of the support stand 14 , by means of a bolt 64 extending through aligned openings of the elements. The upper end 62 of the strut 16 is mounted to the joist 18 by means of a clamp attachment 66 . Clamp attachment 66 and foundation platform 12 are disclosed in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,663, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. While FIGS. 1 and 2 show the pier in the form of a support stand 14 and its diagonal stabilizing strut 16 attached to a common joist 18 , FIG. 3 discloses the same support stand but turned 90° with respect to the joist 18 . The diagonal stabilizing strut 16 is replaced with a longer diagonal stabilizing strut 16 A, and the strut extends from beneath the joist 18 laterally over to the next adjacent parallel joist 18 A. The upper end 60 A of the strut 16 A is connected to the joist by means of a joist connector 66 A. Typically, strut 16 A can be adjustable in length by means of a turnbuckle connection 68 or an equivalent conventional length adjustment feature. In FIG. 1 , it will be noted that the stabilizing strut 16 and the diverging support leg 23 are approximately parallel to each other. The stabilizing strut 16 is on one side of the vertical load axis 28 and the opposed diverging support leg 23 is on the opposite side of the vertical load axis. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 - 3 , where the support stand is a bipod, the opposed diverging support leg 22 is positioned in a common vertical plane with stabilizing strut 16 . The lower end of the stabilizing strut is attached to the support stand intermediate the height of the support stand and, likewise, the opposed diverging support leg 22 is connected to the tubular shaft support 26 at a position that is also intermediate the height of the support stand. With this arrangement, the diagonal stabilizing strut 16 , the opposed diverging support leg 22 , and the portion of the tubular shaft support 26 at their juxtaposed connections to the tubular shaft support form a diagonal support assembly that extends between the joist 18 of the building structure on one side of the vertical load axis 28 and the foundation platform 12 on the other side of the vertical load axis. With this arrangement, if the joist 18 tends to shift with respect to the support system so as to apply compressive forces on the diagonal stabilizing strut 16 , those forces are transmitted from the strut 16 , through the tubular shaft support 26 of the pier, through the opposed divergent support leg 23 of the pier, to the foundation platform 12 . Because of the rigid mount of the pier on the platform 12 , the force continues to be transmitted from the pier through the foundation platform 12 to its cleats 52 and 53 that are oriented transverse to the stabilizing strut 16 . With this arrangement, the longitudinal compressive forces are transmitted from the joist 18 to the ground, through the cleats 52 and 53 , so that the ground resists movement of the joist 18 . A similar resistance to compressive forces on stabilizing strut 16 A is provided by the support stand 14 A, with the compressive forces being transmitted from the strut 16 A through the tubular shaft support 26 and across the vertical load axis 28 to the opposed diverging support leg 23 A to the foundation platform 12 A, and from the platform through its cleat walls to the ground. This resists the lateral movement of the adjacent joist 18 A toward the pier 14 . In both embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3 , it will be noted that the weight of the prefabricated building is mounted on the pier 14 and on its foundation platform 12 , so as to provide an extremely strong structure for resisting lateral forces that might be applied through the diagonal stabilizing strut 16 or 16 A. The forces applied by either joist 18 ( FIG. 1 ) or 18 A ( FIG. 3 ) are applied from one side of the vertical load axis 28 , 28 A of the support stand to the other side of the axis, where the lower end of the opposed divergent support leg 23 or 23 A engages the foundation platform. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the pier which has been illustrated in FIGS. 1 - 3 in the form of a two-legged support stand is now shown as being a tripod, having three legs with the divergent support leg being replaced with a pair of divergent support legs 23 B and 23 C. The support legs 23 B and 23 C straddle the vertical plane and the line of force of strut 16 B. The pair of legs 23 B and 23 C provide additional stability to the pier structure and additional strength in resisting the forces applied by the diagonal stabilizing strut 16 A. Also, various other shapes of piers can be utilized in the practice of the invention. While support stands having divergent legs have been illustrated as the preferred embodiment, other support stands can be utilized as long as they include a combination of a diagonal stabilizing strut and an opposed diverging support extending on opposite sides of the vertical load axis of the pier. This could be embodied in a monolithic structure or a sheet metal pyramidal structure, conical structure, or other structures embracing the principles of the invention. Also, while the cleat walls 50 - 53 of the foundation platform have been illustrated as sheet material, other cleat configurations can be utilized as long as the cleats provide sufficient resistance to horizontal movement of the foundation platform through the ground material. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the foregoing description sets forth in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, modifications, additions, and changes might be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.