Temporary support structure

Abstract

The disclosed technology includes temporary support structures for use in the repair of a transmission tower. A typical transmission tower includes a tripod that receive the load of the tower and distributes it to piles embedded in the ground. A temporary support structure may temporarily remove the load of the transmission tower from the tripod to allow the tripod to be removed and replaced with a new tripod. A temporary support system may include a pile temporary support system, a beam support structure supported by the pile temporary support system, and a flower pot adapter lifting assembly configured to attach to a portion of the transmission tower to transfer a load of the transmission tower to the beam support structure.

I claim: 
     
       1. A temporary support structure comprising:
 pile temporary support system comprising a plurality of piles, each of the plurality of piles comprising a base portion that is configured to be installed into the ground and comprising a pile cap on a top end of the pile; 
 a beam support structure configured to be installed on top of and supported by the pile temporary support system, the beam support structure comprising at least a first plurality of support beams; and 
 a flower pot adapter lifting assembly configured to attach to a portion of a transmission tower and be installed on top of the beam support structure to transfer a load of the transmission tower to the beam support structure and onto the pile temporary support system. 
 
     
     
       2. The temporary support structure of  claim 1 , wherein the flower pot adapter lifting assembly is configured to transfer the load of the transmission tower off of a tripod installed beneath a guyed lattice mast of the transmission tower. 
     
     
       3. The temporary support structure of  claim 1 , the pile temporary support system further comprising one or more pile bracing brackets, each of the one or more pile bracing brackets being configured to connect to a pair of piles of the plurality of piles. 
     
     
       4. The temporary support structure of  claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of support beams are configured to be positioned atop the pile caps of the plurality of piles. 
     
     
       5. The temporary support structure of  claim 4 , wherein each pile cap comprises an upper flat surface configured to support a portion of one or more the first plurality of support beams and each upper flat surface of each pile cap of the plurality of piles being approximately disposed in horizontal plane such that the pile caps are approximately level with one another when installed. 
     
     
       6. The temporary support structure of  claim 1 , wherein the beam support structure further comprises a second plurality of support beams, the second plurality of support beams being configured to be positioned on top of the first plurality of support beams. 
     
     
       7. The temporary support structure of  claim 6 , wherein each of the first plurality of support beams has a first end configured to be positioned on top of a first pile cap and a second end configured to be positioned on top of a second pile cap and each of the second plurality of support beams is configured to be positioned on top of a portion of an upper surface of each of two of the first plurality of support beams. 
     
     
       8. The temporary support structure of  claim 7 , wherein the flower pot adapter lifting assembly comprises a plurality of screw jack lifting beam assemblies, each screw jack lifting beam assembly having a height-adjustable threaded screw configured to rest on an upper surface of one of the second plurality of support beams, wherein the flower pot adapter lifting assembly is installed the height-adjustable threaded screws are configured to be adjusted to raise and/or lower the transmission tower. 
     
     
       9. The temporary support structure of  claim 8 , wherein each of the screw jack lifting beam assembling comprises a flower pot adapter configured to removably attach to an outer surface of a flower pot of the transmission tower that receives a guyed lattice mast of the transmission tower. 
     
     
       10. The temporary support structure of  claim 6 , further comprising an underhung tripod assembly comprising a third plurality of support beams and an underhung tripod having one or more underhung tripod legs configured to be attached to a bottom surface of each of the third plurality of support beams. 
     
     
       11. The temporary support structure of  claim 10 , wherein each of the third plurality of support beams is configured to be positioned on top of a portion of the upper surface of each of two of the first plurality of support beams such that when installed the underhung tripod is positioned beneath a tripod installed in the transmission tower. 
     
     
       12. The temporary support structure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of piles comprise one or more small piles and the temporary support structure further comprises a temporary strut bracket assembly configured to attach to the one or more small piles. 
     
     
       13. A method of removing the load from a tripod of a transmission tower to allow replacement of the tripod, the method comprising:
 assembling a pile temporary support system comprising a plurality of piles around a base of a transmission tower, each of the plurality of piles comprising a base portion installed into the ground and comprising a pile cap on a top end of the pile; 
 assembling a beam support structure on top of the pile temporary support system such that the pile temporary support system supports the beam support structure, the beam support structure comprising at least a first plurality of support beams; and 
 positioning a flower pot adapter lifting assembly on top of the beam support structure such that the beam support structure supports the flower pot adapter lifting assembly; and 
 attaching the flower pot adapter lifting assembly to a flower pot of the transmission tower, the flower pot being positioned above the tripod and being configured to hold a guyed lattice mast of the transmission tower; 
 wherein the load of transmission tower is transferred from the transmission tower to the flower pot adapter lifting assembly, from the flower pot adapter lifting assembly to the beam support structure, and from the beam support structure to the pile temporary support system. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 removing the tripod; and 
 installing a new tripod. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein installing a new tripod comprises:
 installing a new pile adapter to each pile of a plurality of large piles; 
 installing a pile bracket in each new pile adapter; 
 attaching arms of the new tripod to the pile brackets; 
 attaching a flower pot socket to a top surface of the new tripod; and 
 lowering, by manipulation of the height-adjustable threaded screw of each of the plurality of screw jacks, the flower pot into the flower pot socket. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13 , wherein assembling the pile temporary support system comprises:
 attaching a first temporary pile bracing bracket assembly to a first pile of the plurality of piles; 
 attaching a second temporary pile bracing bracket assembly to a second pile of the plurality of piles; and 
 attaching a temporary adjustable brace assembly between the first temporary pile bracing bracket assembly and the second temporary pile bracing bracket assembly. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 13 , wherein assembling the beam support structure on top of the pile temporary support system comprises:
 for each pair of adjacent piles of the plurality of piles, placing a respective beam of the first plurality of support beams on top of the pile caps of each of the piles of the pair of adjacent piles such that the first plurality of support beams form a substantially enclosed shape around the transmission tower; and 
 securing each end of each respective beam of the first plurality of support beams to the pile caps of the respective pair of adjacent piles. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein assembling the beam support structure on top of the pile temporary support system further comprises:
 for each pair of adjacent beams of the first plurality of support beams, placing a respective beam of a second plurality of support beams on top of a portion of each of the respective pair of adjacent beams such that ends of the each of the second plurality of beams are positioned proximate to an adjacent beam of the second plurality of support beams, wherein the second plurality of support beams are supported by the first plurality of support beams and form an approximately regular polygon around the transmission tower. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein positioning a flower pot adapter lifting assembly on top of the beam support structure comprises:
 positioning a plurality of screw jack lifting beam assemblies on top of the second plurality of support beams such that a height-adjustable threaded screw of each of a plurality of screw jacks is positioned on top of an upper surface of a respective beam of the second plurality of support beams. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein attaching the flower pot adapter lifting assembly to a flower pot of the transmission tower comprises:
 attaching a plurality of flower pot adapters to external surfaces of the flower pot such that the flower pot is substantially surrounded by the plurality of flower pot adapters; and 
 attaching each of the plurality of screw jacks to a respective flower pot adapter.