Patent Application
20090273114
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and process for improved manufacture of blocks of material.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction and sized to be laid with one hand using mortar. Traditionally, bricks may be made from clay, shale, concrete and similar materials. Clay or clay-containing dirt probably is the most common material, with bricks being formed through a variety of processes.
Many machines and processes for making bricks have been proposed in order to reduce the labor costs involved. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,105 discloses a complex machine that excavates soil or clay to be used in the process of making bricks. In essence, bricks are formed by spreading wet adobe material or mud deposited from a hopper of the machine into a mold box that molds a set of blocks. The mold box is then raised, depositing the set of molded blocks on the recently excavated ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,040 discloses a mobile brick making machine that excavates soil and extrudes bricks that are discharged out of an opening and must be retrieved from the opening and located elsewhere for curing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,549 discloses an automatic machine for pressing bricks at high speeds by utilizing a pressure wheel and pressing tongues attached to the circumference of the wheel through an axle that permits the tongues to rotate or swing about the axle. Clay material is fed to an endless belt having several molds, pressed by the pressure wheel, and then conveyed to a release station.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,671 discloses a three station turret-type apparatus that includes a first station having a structure for receiving a quantity of soil to be compressed into a building block, a second station for compressing the soil into the desired building block, and a third station for ejecting a formed building block from the apparatus. A rotary table is equipped with peripherally spaced sleeves for successive registry with the three station positions, each sleeve having a mold in which the desired block is to be formed. However, the components that press and eject the blocks are not integral with the molds, which means, among other things, that these components must be disassembled and changed, or different machines must be used, for making different kinds of blocks.
While each of the apparatus above may be suited to its intended purpose, there continues to be a need for improved apparatus and methods for making a variety of blocks from compressed material.
The apparatus and methods of the invention relate to mobile block-making molds that are used with block-making machines and that contain a press foot that is used to compress and eject a block. Rather then remaining stationary, the press foot travels with the mold during a block-making operation.
In one embodiment, the mobile mold and press foot are coupled with a bottom-press reciprocating machine that utilizes dual action (i.e., a simultaneous press-extrude action), which allows for a much faster production rate than other bottom-press designs.
Preferably, the press foot is frictionally engaged by the mold such that it is slidable vertically within the mold but will not exit the bottom of the mold. Thus, a ram, such as a hydraulic press, engages the press foot but is not attached thereto, which leaves the press foot to move with the mold to the next operation.
Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, a block making apparatus of practically any configuration is capable of making a variety of different blocks simultaneously by having different press feet present in different molds.
In another embodiment, an apparatus of the invention further includes a removable spacer disposed upon a press foot. By either changing the press foot within the mold or adding one or more spacers, blocks of different sizes or configurations are readily produced. Moreover, the addition of a spacer can be accomplished without having to stop the apparatus and halt production.
In a method embodiment of the invention, the steps involved include filling a mold having a press foot disposed in vertically slidable arrangement within the mold with a block-forming material, wherein the press foot is contained from exiting the mold's underside, compressing the material through engagement of the press foot by a ram, and ejecting the compressed material from the mold through engagement of the press foot by a second ram.
The molds of the invention also are detachable. The detaching mold design enables the operator to easily remove the mold and press foot for mold changing or service by removing a pin and sliding the mold and press foot mechanism out of a block or brick making machine
Accordingly, the invention provides novel methods and apparatus for improved production of blocks or bricks.
Turning to
As shown in
Press ram 20 is used in this embodiment to form a block 22 with material 10 by contacting press foot 18 and thereby compressing the material against a ram surface 24, which may be moved into position opposite press foot 18 as indicated by arrow A. Alternatively, mold 16 may be repositioned to a ram surface area prior to the compression operation as shown in subsequent embodiments.
An added feature of novelty is the ability of drawer 12 to scrape the top surface of press foot 18 during the unloading of material 10, thereby clearing block 22 from the press foot.
Turning to
Located beneath each mold and in one adjacent position are press rams 20. The two end press rams function as exit rams, in that they position a newly formed block 22 for exiting the mold 16 onto exit area 36, while the center press ram functions as a compression ram. The central compression ram is arranged to engage a press foot such that material 10 is compressed between the press foot and a compression surface 24 arranged opposite thereto.
Hence, in this embodiment, a drawer (12a, 12b) is loaded with material 10 and driving means 14 is actuated by hydraulic cylinder 15 such that the material is unloaded into a corresponding mold 16. Each mold 16 moves with table 32 between a first position to receive a fill material 10, and from which compressed block 22 is ejected from the mold, and a second position at which the compression is done. In other words, one block is extrudes and the mold is loaded with new material while the second mold undergoes compression to form a block. Thus, the press foot remains in remains in the mold during movement between the first and second positions and an efficient “reciprocal motion” apparatus is produced. The compression/ejection rams 20 and the exit rams 14 are controlled to work simultaneously so that when a block 22 is being formed, the already formed block is being pushed out of the mold to area 36. The central compression ram 20 retracts immediately after compressing the block. The end ejection rams 20 remains extended while the exit ram 14 pushes the block off the table until the charge of material in the drawer is directly over the mold at which time the eject ram 20 retracts, allowing the mold to fill with material. When the press foot 18 in the mold is fully retracted, the dirt drawer 12a or 12b retracts to its position under the hopper where it is filled again. When the drawer retracts fully the table moves to the next position where the process repeats.
In
Thus, for example, mold W moves in to a first position to receive a fill material, a second position (formerly occupied by mold X) to compress the material, and then on to a third position from which the compressed material is removed from the mold surface by moving means 45 onto exit area 47. A fourth position (Z) is optionally included to provide a “rest position” at which no operation is performed or some different task, such as cleaning or inspection of the empty mold, etc. As with the previous embodiment, the press foot 18 in each mold 16 remains in the mold during movement between the first, second, third, and fourth position.
Because the molds travel with a press foot, the rotary style machine has the added ability to produce 4 different blocks without changing molds. Moreover, a mold 16 may be detached from the machine for replacement, cleaning, or repair via removing pin 59. Thus, the detaching mold innovation greatly increases the versatility and usefulness of this machine.
Among other advantages of the embodiments above, blocks made with a machine that extrudes the block upwards after compression have less breaking of the blocks, produce a higher quality block and have a greater range of soil types, as the blocks do not need to withstand the shock of being extruded downward and dropping on to a tray or conveyor. In other words, the block receives very little jarring and shock during the production process, resulting in less breakage and a cleaner appearance (i.e., less chipping and fractures).
In view of the foregoing, a method for making blocks of material is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes the steps of: (a) filling a mold having a press foot disposed in vertically slidable arrangement within the mold with a block-forming material, with the press foot being contained from exiting the mold's underside; (b) compressing the material through engagement of the press foot by a ram; (c) repositioning the mold and the press foot to a second location; and (d) ejecting the compressed material from the mold through engagement of the press foot by a second ram.
In addition, the method may include scraping the top surface of the press foot to thereby removing the compressed material therefrom. Especially preferred is when the scraping step includes simultaneously refilling the mold with a new charge of material.
Various changes in the details that have been described may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention herein described in the specification and defined in the appended claims. Therefore, while the present invention has been shown and described herein in what is believed to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures can be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent processes and products.
