Leg system for mobile homes or other mobile buildings

Abstract

Legs are anchored to a mobile building and preferably also to the ground, concrete, or other supporting surface, so that the building cannot be blown or shaken off of the legs, the legs preferably cannot slide/skid along the ground, and the legs preferably cannot twist or collapse. Each leg may be hinged and/or clamped to a girder of the building. A leg upper portion is an open, generally triangular, box-like case, which resists deformation, tilting, and twisting, and which includes an abutment plate for abutting against and supporting the girder. A leg stem is slidable in the upper portion, wherein upper and lower locking members such as threaded nuts lock the leg stem in place relative to the upper portion to make the leg a single, rigid unit. A foot, having a multiple-direction pivot connection, may be fixed to the ground or to a block or other supporting surface. In a preferred embodiment, a u-joint is provided between the leg and the foot of the system, and a generally horizontal clamp attaches the foot to a footing block provided on or in the ground. Multiple legs may be pivotally attached to, and folded up against, the underside of a mobile home during transport. When the home is ready to be installed at its permanent site, the legs may then be folded down to their support position, adjusted to level the home at a desired elevation, anchored to the ground or concrete block, and cross-braced by tightened diagonal cables. Optionally, a rigid bar may be installed between the feet of each pair of legs to further limit or prevent the legs of a pair from pivoting out away from each other.

1 . A leg system for a mobile building, the leg system comprising:
 a case having a rear wall, side walls, and a top wall, and at least one clamp for clamping onto a girder of a mobile building, the at least one clamp being hinged to the case so that the leg system is pivotal relative to said girder and building to a stored position against the bottom of the building and to an in-use position extending down from the building, wherein the case further comprises a rear bar with a first connector;   a sleeve in said case, a threaded leg stem extending through said sleeve so that a portion of the leg stem extends down from the case, the leg system further comprising an upper nut and a lower nut on the threaded leg stem above and below the sleeve so that the upper and lower nuts are tightenable against upper and lower surfaces of the sleeve to retain the leg stem at multiple positions relative to the sleeve to lengthen or shorten the portion of the leg stem extending down from the case;   the leg system further having a foot attached to the leg stem and comprising a hook;   a first cable and a second cable, wherein said first cable is adjustably held by said first connector, and wherein said second cable is adjustably held by said hook, wherein the first cable position in the first connector is finely-adjustable by a threaded member of the first connector, and wherein the second cable position in the hook is grossly-adjustable by means of the cable having multiple chain links that are hookable by said hook.   
   
   
       2 . The leg system as in  claim 1 , wherein the foot is connected to the leg stem by a u-joint so that the leg stem pivots in forward and rearward and also sideways relative to the foot. 
   
   
       3 . The leg system as in  claim 1 , further comprising a footing clamp attached to the foot, the footing clamp comprising first and second jaws on a generally horizontal plane, the first jaw having a first tooth extending generally vertically downward from said plane and the second jaw having a second tooth extending generally vertically downward from said plane, wherein the first jaw and second jaw are slidably and adjustably connected to each other to move the first tooth and second tooth closer together and farther apart to clamp onto a footing block by said first tooth and said second tooth extending down along, and gripping, side surfaces of the footing block. 
   
   
       4 . The leg system as in  claim 3 , wherein the foot and the hook of the foot are fixed to said first jaw. 
   
   
       5 . The leg system as in  claim 1 , wherein said rear bar extends integrally from said top wall and is an L-shaped bar extending downward and outward from the top wall, the L-shaped bar having a hole offset from the centerline of the L-shaped bar that receives the first connector. 
   
   
       6 . The leg system as in  claim 5 , wherein hinge tabs are fixed to opposite ends of the L-shaped bar, wherein hinge bars are pivotally connected to the hinge tabs, and wherein said at least one clamp comprises two clamps hinged to the case by means of being fixed to said hinge bars that are pivotally connected to the hinge tabs. 
   
   
       7 . The leg system of  claim 1 , wherein said foot is adapted to receive bolts for temporarily connecting the foot to the bottom of the building in the stored position. 
   
   
       8 . The leg system of  claim 1 , wherein the case is triangular. 
   
   
       9 . The leg system of  claim 8 , wherein the case has an elongated recess in the rear wall extending from near the top wall to near the sleeve and concavely extending outward from a centerline of the case. 
   
   
       10 . A system for supporting a mobile building, the system comprising at least one pair of legs, the at least one pair comprising a first leg and a second leg, each leg comprising:
 a case having a rear wall, side walls, and a top wall, and at least one clamp for clamping onto a girder of a mobile building, the at least one clamp being hinged to the case so that the leg is pivotal relative to said girder and building to a stored position against the bottom of the building and to an in-use position extending down from the building, wherein the case further comprises a first connector at an upper region of the case;   a sleeve in said case, a threaded leg stem extending through said sleeve so that a portion of the leg stem extends down from the case, the leg further comprising an upper nut and a lower nut on the threaded leg stem above and below the sleeve so that the upper and lower nuts are tightenable against upper and lower surfaces of the sleeve to retain the leg stem at any of multiple positions relative to the sleeve to lengthen or shorten the portion of the leg stem extending down from the case;   the leg further having a foot attached to the leg stem, and the foot being fixed to a footing clamp having two jaws for gripping sides surfaces of a generally horizontal concrete block; and   the system further comprising a first diagonal cable and a second diagonal cable extending diagonally between and connecting the first and the second legs, the first cable and second cable crossing past each other generally midway between the first leg and the second leg but not touching each other; and   wherein the foot is connected to the leg stem by a u-joint so that the leg stem pivots in forward and rearward and also sideways relative to the foot.   
   
   
       11 . The system as in  claim 10 , wherein upper ends of said first and second diagonal cables are adjustably held by first connectors that are provided on a rear bar of the cases of the first leg and the second leg, and wherein lower ends of said first and second diagonal cables are adjustably held by hook systems on the feet of the first leg and the second leg, wherein the positions of the upper ends of the cables in the first connectors are finely-adjustable by threaded members of the first connectors, and wherein the positions of the lower ends of the second cable in the hooks are grossly-adjustable by means of the cable having multiple chain links that are hookable by said hooks systems. 
   
   
       12 . The system as in  claim 10 , wherein the footing clamp two jaws comprise First stand second jaws on a generally horizontal plane, the first jaw having a first tooth extending generally vertically downward from said plane and the second jaw having a second tooth extending generally vertically downward from said plane, wherein the first jaw and second jaw are slidably and adjustably connected to each other to move the first tooth and second tooth closer together and farther apart to clamp the footing block. 
   
   
       13 . The leg system as in  claim 12 , wherein the foot and the hook system of each leg system are fixed to the first jaw of the respective footing clamp. 
   
   
       14 . The leg system as in  claim 11 , wherein said rear bar extends integrally from the top wall of case of the respective leg, and said rear bar is an L-shaped bar extending downward and outward from the top wall, the L-shaped bar having a hole offset from the centerline of the L-shaped bar. 
   
   
       15 . The leg system as in  claim 14 , wherein hinge tabs are fixed to opposite ends of the L-shaped bar, wherein hinge bars are pivotally connected to the hinge tabs, and wherein said at least one clamp for clamping to a girder comprises two clamps hinged to the case by means of being fixed to said hinge bars pivotally connected to the hinge tabs. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the case of each of the first leg and the second leg is triangular. 
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the case of each of the first leg and the second leg has an elongated recess in the rear wall extending from near the top wall to near the sleeve and concavely extending outward from a centerline of the case. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a rigid strut connected to and extending between the footing clamp of the first leg and the footing clamp of the second leg, said strut being generally at ground level. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a rigid strut connected to and extending between the first tooth of the footing clamp of the first leg and the first tooth of the footing clamp of the second leg, said strut being generally at ground level and generally parallel to a top surface of the footing block. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the strut is adjustable in length to provide tension between the footing clamps of the first leg and the second leg to prevent the first leg and the second leg from pivoting outward relative to each other.