Vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus

Abstract

A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus includes a pair of parallel support pillars supporting a pair of movable pillars for slidable movement along the support pillars to enable the movable pillars to be extended and retracted with respect to the support pillars. Each movable pillar can be releasably locked by a locking mechanism on the support pillars at a desired height along the support pillars. A pipe holder for supporting a pipe is connected between the top ends of the movable pillars. Each support pillar preferably has a length not exceeding the height of the top of a supported pipe when the movable pillars are in their fully retracted positions. Each movable pillar may have a length substantially equal to the length of the support pillars. The base and support pillars may be integrally formed with each other from a single piece of sheet metal, and the movable pillars and the pipe holder may be integrally formed with each other from another single piece of sheet metal.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application incorporates by reference the disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-366322, filed on Dec. 20, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pipe support apparatus and particularly to a vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus for use in supporting a pipe system under the floor of a building.

A conventional pipe support apparatus is arranged for supporting a pipe at an adjusted elevation and inclination so that a liquid in the pipe can smoothly flow through the supported pipe system. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-204967 discloses one example of such a pipe support apparatus, which comprises a pair of parallel support pillars erected on a base and a pipe holder attached to the support pillars at a selected elevation. Each support pillar has a series of teeth along the pillar so that the pipe holder can be moved along the teeth and engaged at any selected position along the toothed pillars.

One application of a pipe support apparatus is to support a water drainage pipe system in which drain pipes are disposed under a floor in a slightly inclined position to ensure smooth and quick water drainage. In some locations, the pipe is supported at a higher position on the pipe support apparatus and the pipe holder is attached at a higher position on the support pillars. In other locations, the pipe holder is mounted at a lower position on the support pillars to support the pipe at a lower position on the pipe support apparatus, and the upper portions of the support pillars are left unused and project upwardly above the pipe.

These projecting upper portions are unnecessary and awkward, especially when the pipe support apparatus is used under a floor. In a high-rise apartment building, the space under a floor usually has a very small height, such as around 150 mm, so these unnecessary projections can be a nuisance. In addition, in a single-family house in which the under-floor space is narrow but a little larger, utility maintenance or repair sometimes requires personnel to enter into the narrow space under the floor.

These unnecessary projections may not only be obstacles to the movement of the inspection personnel but may also endanger them in that the projecting ends of the support pillars may hit or scratch the body of the personnel and cause injury. Therefore, these unnecessary and dangerous projections of the support pillars must often be cut off, and the cut-off ends must be covered with rubber caps for safety reasons. This increases the number of procedures and the costs required to install the pipe system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus that provides easy and safe support for pipes installed under a floor of a building.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of supporting a pipe using a pipe support apparatus.

According to one form of the present invention, a vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus includes a base and a first and second support pillar mounted in parallel on the base and separated from each other by a distance larger than the diameter of a pipe to be supported. The first and second support pillars support a first and second movable pillar, respectively, for slidable movement along the support pillars to enable the movable pillars to be extended and retracted with respect to the support pillars. A locking mechanism is provided for locking the movable pillars at a desired height along the support pillars. A pipe holder for supporting a pipe is connected between top ends of the movable pillars. Preferably the top of each support pillar is no higher than the top of a supported pipe when the movable pillars are in their fully retracted positions. In addition, the tops of the movable pillars are preferably no higher than the top of a supported pipe. The relative lengths of the support pillars and the movable pillars are not critical. In a preferred embodiment, each movable pillar has a length substantially equal to the length of the corresponding support pillar.

In a preferred embodiment, the base and support pillars are integrally formed with each other from a single piece of sheet metal, for example. The movable pillars and the pipe holder may also be integrally formed with each other from another single piece of sheet metal.

In a preferred embodiment, each support pillar has a generally U-shaped cross section and each movable pillar is accommodated within the U-shaped cross section of the corresponding support pillar.

In a preferred embodiment, the pipe holder is an arcuate member shaped to extend along the circumference of the bottom half of a pipe being supported. For example, the pipe holder may be a generally C-shaped member elastically fitting around a portion of the circumference of a pipe.

In a preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism comprises a bolt which is threadingly engaged with one of the movable pillars and can be tightened against one of the support pillars.

According to another form of the present invention, a method of supporting a pipe includes receiving a first portion of the length of a pipe in a pipe holder of a first pipe support apparatus with movable pillars of the first pipe support apparatus at a first height with respect to a base of the first pipe support apparatus, and receiving a second portion of the length of the pipe in the pipe holder of a second pipe support apparatus with movable pillars of the second pipe support apparatus at a second height with respect to the base of the second pipe support apparatus which is higher than the first height.

A pipe support apparatus according to the present invention avoids the need to have members projecting above the top of a pipe being supported, so the apparatus is easier to install than existing pipe support apparatuses because it does not require projecting portions to be cut off and covered with protective caps. The lack of projecting members also increases the safety of persons inspecting a piping system employing the pipe support apparatus. These features make a pipe support apparatus according to the present invention highly suitable for installation in crowded spaces such as beneath a floor of a building. However, the pipe support apparatus is not restricted to use in any particular environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus of the present invention in a fully retracted position in which the movable pillars are fully retracted into the support pillars;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a state in which the movable pillars are partially extended from the support pillars; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing a supported pipe in a fully raised and a fully lowered position.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate an embodiment of a pipe support apparatus 1 of the present invention, which comprises a base 2 and a first and second support pillar 3 mounted in parallel to each other on the base 2 and separated from each other by a distance larger than the diameter D of a pipe 4 to be supported. The base 2 and the two support pillars 3 in this embodiment are manufactured from a substantially U-shaped single piece of sheet metal so that they are integrally formed with each other. Each of the two legs of the U-shaped piece of sheet metal is bent along its length to form one of the support pillars 3, each of which has a substantially U-shaped cross section, a top end 3a, and a bottom end 3b. The leg portions of the support pillars 3 have outwardly extending tabs 5 at their bottom ends 3b. The bight portion of the U of the piece of sheet metal is bent at its bottom edge to form an outwardly extending flange 6 which, together with the tabs 5, forms the base 2. Each support pillar 3 has a longitudinal slot 7 extending over substantially its entire length. During use of the pipe support apparatus 1, the base 2 usually sits on a support surface and if desired may be secured to the support surface. For example, the tabs 5 of the base 2 may have holes for receiving screws of bolts for securing the base 2 to a support surface.

This embodiment of a pipe support apparatus 1 also comprises a first and second movable pillar 8 supported by the first and second support pillars 3, respectively, for slidable movement along the height of the support pillars 3 to extend and retract the movable pillars 8 with respect to the support pillars 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, each of the support pillars 3 has a length L measured from the base 2 which does not exceed the height HT measured from the base 2 of the top T of a supported pipe 4 when the movable pillars 8 are in their fully retracted position, shown by solid lines in FIG. 3 as well as in FIG. 1. In other words, the heights H3 of the top ends 3a of the support pillars 3 are lower than the height HT of the top T of the pipe 4 in this position. Each of the movable pillars 8 has a top end 8a, a bottom end 8b, and a length substantially equal to the length of the support pillars 3. The movable pillars 8 also have substantially U-shaped cross sections and are slidably received within the U-shaped portions of the support pillars 3 so that the movable pillars 8 can be slidably guided by the support pillars 3. Preferably the top ends 8a of the movable pillars 8 do not extend above the top T of a supported pipe 4. By having the tops of the support pillars 3 and the movable pillars 8 always be no higher than the top T of a supported pipe 4, it becomes unnecessary to cut off any portions of the pillars 3 and 8 and cover them with protective caps to prevent injury to a worker inspecting pipes supported underneath a floor by the pipe support apparatus 1.

The pipe support apparatus 1 further comprises a pipe holder 9 connected between top ends 8a of the movable pillars 8 for supporting a pipe 4. The pipe holder 9 in the illustrated example is an arcuate, generally C-shaped member extending along the circumference of the lower half of a pipe 4 being supported. The cross section of the pipe holder 9 is also substantially U-shaped with the open portion of the U facing downwards towards the base 2, and the pipe holder 9 and the movable pillars 8 can be manufactured by cutting and bending a single piece of sheet metal so that they are integrally formed with each other. The C-shaped pipe holder 9 has some elasticity so that its mouth can be expanded to accept a pipe 4 and return to its original shape to elastically fit around a portion of the circumference of the pipe 4. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to prevent a pipe 4 from becoming easily detached from the pipe holder 9, the pipe holder 9 preferably extends around the pipe 4 for at least half the circumference of the pipe 4, and the size of the mouth of the pipe holder 9 when the pipe holder 9 is grasping a pipe 4 is preferably smaller than the diameter of the pipe 4. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the pipe holder 9 is shown in FIG. 3 contacting the periphery of a pipe 4 for approximately 200 degrees around the circumference of the pipe 4, and the distance between the opposing edges of the mouth of the pipe holder 9 is approximately 91% of the diameter D of the pipe 4.

When the support pillars 3 are at least as long as the movable pillars 8, the movable pillars 8 can be extended from and retracted into the support pillars 3 for substantially the entire length of the movable pillars 8. There are no particular restrictions on the lengths of the support pillars 3 and movable pillars 8. However, when the pipe support apparatus 1 has a structure like that of the present embodiment in which the support pillars 3 and the movable pillars 8 have substantially the same lengths as each other and the pipe holder 9 has a depth which is at least the radius D/2 of a pipe 4 being supported, the support pillars 3 will typically have a length at least somewhat larger than the radius D/2 of the pipe 4. In this case, the stroke of movement of the movable pillars 8 relative to the support pillars 3 is approximately equal to the radius D/2 of the pipe 4 being supported.

The pipe support apparatus 1 may further comprise a locking mechanism 10 for releasably locking the movable pillars 8 with respect to the support pillars 3 at a desired height along the support pillars 3 between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking mechanism 10 comprises bolts 11 each extending through the elongated slot 7 in one of the support pillars 3 and threadingly engaged into one of the movable pillars 8. Each bolt 11 can be tightened at its head with a washer against one of the support pillars 3. FIG. 1 shows the movable pillars 8 secured by the locking mechanism 10 in a fully retracted position, and FIG. 2 shows the movable pillars 8 secured by the locking mechanism 10 in a partially extended position between the fully retracted position and a fully extended position.

The locking mechanism 10 is not restricted to a structure employing bolts 11 and can have any structure which enables the movable pillars 8 to be releasably locked against movement along the height of the support pillars 3. For example, the locking mechanism 10 may comprise threaded studs extending outwards from the movable pillars 8 through the slots 7 in the support pillars 3, and a nut can be mounted on the outer end of each stud. The movable pillars 8 can then be locked against movement with respect to the support pillars 3 by tightening the nuts against the outer surfaces of the support pillars 3.

The stroke of the movable pillars 8 relative to the support pillars 3, which equals the range of vertical adjustment of the pipe 4, is the range of vertical movement of the bolts 11 within the slots 7. When the movable pillars 8 are in their fully retracted (lowest) position, the bolts 11 abut against the lower ends of the slots 7, and when the movable pillars 8 are in their fully extended (highest) position, the bolts 11 abut against the upper ends of the slots 7. The solid lines in FIG. 3 illustrate the pipe support apparatus 1 when the movable pillars 8 are in their fully retracted position, and the dashed lines in FIG. 3 show the pipe 4 and the bolts 11 when the movable pillars 8 are in their fully extended position. As can be seen from FIG. 3, although the height H3 of the top ends 3a of the support pillars 3 is lower than the height HT of the top T of a supported pipe 4 when the movable pillars 8 are in the fully retracted position, the pipe holder 9 and the pipe 4 can be elevated further beyond the top ends 3a of the support pillars 3. In this embodiment, when the movable pillars 8 are in their fully extended position, the bottom of the pipe 4 is higher than the tops of the support pillars 3.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base 2 and the support pillars 3 are integrally formed from a single piece of sheet metal, and the movable pillars 8 and the pipe holder 9 are also integrally formed from a single piece of sheet metal, so the apparatus can be easily and economically manufactured using simple metal working techniques. However, the apparatus is not restricted to being formed from two one-piece members, and it is not restricted to being formed from sheet metal.

A pipe, such as a plastic pipe, can be supported in a desired orientation with respect to the horizontal by one or more pipe support apparatuses according to the present invention. Frequently a pipe will be supported at two or more locations along its length by a pipe support apparatus at each location, but depending upon the length and weight of the pipe and what it is connected to at its ends, a pipe may be supported by a pipe support apparatus at a single location along its length. When a pipe 4 is supported by two pipe support apparatuses 1 according to the present invention having the structure of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, each end of the pipe 4 can be force-fit into the pipe holder 9 of one of two pipe support apparatuses 1 spaced from each other in the lengthwise direction of the pipe 4. The heights of the movable pillars 8 with respect to the support pillars 3 of each pipe support apparatus 1 can be set by the locking mechanisms 10 to give the pipe 4 a suitable angle of inclination. The heights of the movable pillars 8 can be set either before or after the pipe 4 is engaged with the pipe holders 9. If desired, each of the pipe support apparatuses 1 can be secured at its base 2 in any convenient manner to a suitable support surface, either before or after the pipe 4 is engaged with the pipe holders 9. If the two pipe support apparatuses 1 are on a level surface, a pipe 4 can be inclined with respect to the horizontal by setting the movable pillars 8 of the two pipe support apparatuses 1 at different heights, while a pipe 4 can be supported with zero inclination by setting the movable pillars 8 of the two pipe support apparatuses 1 at the same height as each other. To give the pipe 4 the maximum angle of inclination, one of the pipe support apparatuses 1 can have its movable pillars 8 in the fully retracted position shown in FIG. 1, and the other pipe support apparatuses 1 can have its movable pillars 8 in the fully extended position shown in FIG. 3. Any combination of degrees of extension of the movable pillars 8 between these two extremes can also be employed, depending upon the desired angle of inclination.

In the present embodiment, the movable pillars 8 are disposed between the support pillars 3, but it is instead possible for the support pillars 3 to be disposed between the movable pillars 8. In this case, an elongated slot may be formed in each of the movable pillars 8, and a locking mechanism may comprise a bolt which is threadingly engaged with each of the support pillars 3, which extends through the elongated slot in the adjoining movable pillar 8, and which has a head which can be tightened against the outer surface of the adjoining movable pillar 8 to lock the movable pillar 8 against movement with respect to the support pillar 3.

Claims

1. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus comprising:

a base;

a first and a second support pillar mounted in parallel on the base and separated from each other by a distance larger than a diameter of a pipe to be supported;

a first and a second movable pillar supported by the first and second support pillar, respectively, for slidable movement along a height of the support pillars to extend and retract the movable pillars with respect to the support pillars;

a locking mechanism which can releasably lock the movable pillars against movement along the height of the support pillars; and

a pipe holder connected between top ends of the movable pillars for supporting a pipe,

wherein the support pillars have a height with respect to the base which is no higher than a height of the top of a pipe supported by the pipe holder when the movable pillars are fully retracted with respect to the support pillars.

2. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each movable pillar has a length substantially equal to the length of the support pillars.

3. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base and the support pillars are integrally formed with each from a single piece of sheet metal, and the movable pillars and the pipe holder are integrally formed with each other from a single piece of sheet metal.

4. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each support pillar each has a substantially U-shaped cross section and each movable pillar is accommodated within the U-shaped cross section of one of the support pillars.

5. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pipe holder is an arcuate member shaped to extend along the circumference of the bottom half of a pipe to be supported.

6. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the pipe holder is a generally C-shaped member shaped to elastically fit around a portion of the circumference of a pipe to be supported.

7. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a bolt which is threadingly engaged with one of the movable pillars and capable of being tightened against one of the support pillars.

8. A method of supporting a pipe comprising:

receiving a first portion of the length of a pipe in the pipe holder of a first pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with the movable pillars of the first pipe support apparatus at a first height with respect to the base; and

receiving a second portion of the length of the pipe in the pipe holder of a second pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1 with the movable pillars of the second pipe support apparatus at a second height with respect to the base of the second pipe support apparatus, the second height being different from the first height.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the pipe is elastically gripped by the pipe holders of the first and second pipe support apparatuses.

10. A pipe arrangement comprising:

a first pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1 having its pipe holder at a first height with respect to its base;

a second pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 1 having its pipe holder at a second height with respect to its base, the second height being different from the first base; and

a pipe supported by the pipe holder of each of the first and second pipe support apparatuses.

11. A pipe arrangement as claimed in claim 10 wherein the pipe is elastically gripped by the pipe holders of the first and second pipe support apparatuses.

12. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus comprising:

a base;

a first and a second support pillar mounted in parallel on the base and integrally formed with the base;

a first and a second movable pillar slidably engaged with the first and second support pillar, respectively, for slidable movement along a height of the support pillars to extend and retract the movable pillars with respect to the support pillars; and

a pipe holder integrally formed with the movable pillars and extending between top ends of the movable pillars for supporting a pipe.

13. A vertically adjustable pipe support apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the support pillars are integrally formed with the base from a single piece of sheet metal, and the pipe holder is integrally formed with the movable pillars from a single piece of sheet metal.