Whole house conveyance machine

Abstract

The invention comprises a plurality of steel framing members that are permanently or semi-permanently affixed to one another to create an integral frame that does not have to be completely recreated to perform successive home movements on different sized homes and has sufficient structural integrity and dynamic load support systems to transport a house without causing cracking and breakage of brittle finishes. Multi-tire transportation assemblies support the frame on its bottom side. An integral system of hydraulic jacks that have bending moment capability are affixed to the integral frame to allow the integral frame to be elevated and lowered while remaining stable so that the multi-tire transportation assemblies can either be spun or removed, the integral frame can be leveled, or the integral frame can be elevated and lowered to the required elevation of a foundation or the dock of the manufacturing facility that produces standard size houses.

1 . A whole house conveyance machine for efficiently transporting and placing standard size dwellings on a foundation at a delivery location, comprising: 
 a plurality of framing members affixed to one another in a predetermined arrangement to create an integral frame which provides a planar surface and has sufficient structural integrity to support a house placed on the planar surface; and    a plurality of transportation assemblies attached to an underside of the integral frame to support the integral frame on its bottom side and enable movement of the integral frame in a vertical direction, wherein at least two of the transportation assemblies are interlinked to enable the plurality of transportation assemblies to be cooperatively operative to maintain said planar surface.    
   
   
       2 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  wherein said integral frame comprises: 
 a plurality of interconnected boxes, with each side of each of said plurality of interconnected boxes being formed of one of said plurality of framing members.    
   
   
       3 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 2  wherein said integral frame further comprises: 
 bracing members that span a plurality of the boxes formed by the structural steel members to act as stiffeners for the integral frame.    
   
   
       4 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  wherein each of said plurality of transportation assemblies comprises: 
 a multi-tire transportation assembly attached to an underside of the integral frame to support the integral frame on its bottom side and enable movement of the integral frame over a surface.    
   
   
       5 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  wherein each of said transportation assembly comprises: 
 pivot means, connected to said integral frame or transportation assembly for enabling said transportation assembly to rotate about said pivot means.    
   
   
       6 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 5  further comprising: 
 a steering linkage apparatus to interlink and coordinate the turning of several of the transportation assemblies about their respective pivot means.    
   
   
       7 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 4  further comprising: 
 at least one transportation assembly leveling means connected to at least two of said transportation assemblies for dynamically regulating an equivalent vertical support force on at least two of said connected transportation assemblies to maintain said planar surface.    
   
   
       8 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 a plurality of jack means, connected to the integral frame, to elevate and lower the integral frame while providing an ability to maintain a substantially planar positioning of the integral frame.    
   
   
       9 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 at least one jack leveling means connected to at least two of said plurality of jack means for dynamically regulating an equivalent vertical support force on at least two of said jack means to provide a means to raise and lower said integral frame while maintaining a level or near-level status of said planar surface.    
   
   
       10 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 8  wherein each of said plurality of jack means is affixed to a side of a respective one of the structural beams of the integral frame and are activated in coordination with at least one of the other jack means thereby to enable the precise control of the vertical position and level of the planar surface of the integral frame.  
   
   
       11 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 8  wherein said plurality of jack means are arranged in pairs to enable the integral frame to be raised in a “stair-step” manner.  
   
   
       12 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 design details located at the perimeter of said integral frame to facilitate the connection of roller beams to span the gap between the integral frame and the foundation and upon which the home is rolled from the integral frame to the foundation.    
   
   
       13 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 roller means affixed to said integral frame to enable movement of said home across said planar surface.    
   
   
       14 . A whole house conveyance machine for efficiently transporting and placing standard size dwellings on a foundation at a delivery location, comprising: 
 a plurality of interconnected box frames affixed to one another in a predetermined arrangement to create an integral frame which provides a planar surface and has sufficient structural integrity to support a house placed on the planar surface;    a plurality of transportation assemblies attached to an underside of the integral frame to support the integral frame on its bottom side and enable movement of the integral frame in a vertical direction;    a plurality of pivot means, connected to said integral frame or transportation assembly, for enabling an associated transportation assembly to rotate about said pivot means; and    at least one transportation assembly leveling means connected to at least two of said transportation assemblies for dynamically regulating an equivalent vertical support force on at least two of said connected transportation assemblies to maintain said planar surface.    
   
   
       15 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  wherein said integral frame further comprises: 
 bracing members that span a plurality of the boxes formed by the structural steel members to act as stiffeners for the integral frame.    
   
   
       16 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  further comprising: 
 a steering linkage apparatus to interlink and coordinate the turning of several of the transportation assemblies about their respective pivot means.    
   
   
       17 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  wherein each of said plurality of transportation assemblies comprises: 
 a multi-tire transportation assembly attached to an underside of the integral frame to support the integral frame on its bottom side and enable movement of the integral frame over a surface.    
   
   
       18 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  further comprising: 
 a plurality of jack means, connected to the integral frame, to elevate and lower the integral frame while providing an ability to maintain a substantially planar positioning of the integral frame.    
   
   
       19 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 18  further comprising: 
 at least one jack leveling means connected to at least two of said plurality of jack means for dynamically regulating an equivalent vertical support force on at least two of said jack means to provide a means to raise and lower said integral frame while maintaining a level or near-level status of said planar surface.    
   
   
       20 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 18  wherein each of said plurality of jack means is affixed to a side of a respective one of the box frames of the integral frame and are activated in coordination with at least one of the other jack means thereby to enable the precise control of the vertical position and level of the planar surface of the integral frame.  
   
   
       21 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 18  wherein said plurality of jack means are arranged in pairs to enable the integral frame to be raised in a “stair-step” manner.  
   
   
       22 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  further comprising: 
 design details located at the perimeter of said integral frame to facilitate the connection of roller beams to span the gap between the integral frame and the foundation and upon which the home is rolled from the integral frame to the foundation.    
   
   
       23 . The whole house conveyance machine of  claim 14  further comprising: 
 roller means affixed to said integral frame to enable movement of said home across said planar surface.