DK2152485T3

DK2152485T3 - A method and apparatus for the treatment of paving elements

Info

Publication number: DK2152485T3
Application number: DK09761347.5T
Authority: DK
Inventors: Dieter Stottele
Original assignee: Angermüller Bau GmbH
Priority date: 2008-06-10
Filing date: 2009-04-06
Publication date: 2016-08-22
Also published as: PL2152485T3; EP2152485A1; EP2152485B1; DE102008044745A1; WO2009149784A1

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING PAVING ELEMENTS

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for processing paving elements, in particular for the artificial ageing of paving elements.

It is known that the laying costs can be reduced and the laying time can be shortened by assembling paving elements into so-called laying packets and laying them by means of appropriate laying machines. Such a laying packet of paving elements comprises for example a number of paving stones arranged in a plurality of parallel rows, wherein the individual rows contain in each case paving stones of the same width and all rows have the same overall length, so that a rectangular laying packet that can be machine-handled is formed. Laying packets of this type are described for example in WO 99/54552 Al.

Furthermore in EP 1 734 188 Al a laying packet is also described that contains slabs as well as rows of paving stones. A laying packet with a rough unfinished arrangement of paving elements is also possible.

It is further know to mechanically treat paving stones so that their edges and corners are irregularly broken off. In this way the paving stones should have the appearance of an old stone, i.e. they are subjected to an artificial ageing process.

The method that has long been used in practice for the artificial ageing of concrete paving stones consists in feeding the produced concrete paving stones through a slightly inclined and rotating drum. Within the drum the corners and edges of the concrete paving stones are irregularly broken off by mutual impact of the concrete paving stones and by impact of the concrete paving stones against the drum wall, and their surfaces are also scratched (so-called barrel finishing of concrete paving stones).

This barrel finishing of concrete paving stones is accompanied by considerable noise pollution and formation of dust. Also, the processed concrete paving stones are in the form of bulk material that leaves the drum in an unordered manner. If the concrete paving stones are then to be processed further as a laying packet by machinery, they have to be sorted laboriously by hand and laid in an appropriate formation before they can be delivered. DE 198 45 174 Al proposes a method and an apparatus for the artificial ageing of concrete stones, with which the processed concrete stones can be made available in the form of a laying packet. For this purpose a group of concrete stones is positioned on an inclined support so that their upper corners and edges are at least temporarily exposed, and are offset in each case with respect to adjacent concrete stones and project over the latter (overlapping arrangement). Processing bodies of a harder material are then moved over the thus arranged group of concrete stones in order to irregularly break off the projecting edges and corners of the concrete stones.

In this conventional method, in contrast to the barrel finishing of the concrete stones only the upper side of the concrete stones, i.e. their visible surface is mechanically processed, whereas the lower side, i.e. their bearing surface, remains unfinished. However, with this artificial ageing method it is primarily the edges and corners of the respectively higher positioned concrete stones projecting beyond the neighbouring concrete stone that are broken off on the inclined support, as a result of which the artificially aged concrete stones have an unsymmetrical and unnatural appearance. For the complete processing of the concrete stones these must be turned at least once so as to carry out the whole process once again, which however significantly increases the processing time.

In DE 101 62 370 A1 an apparatus is described for the artificial ageing of concrete stones, with which the concrete stones can be processed as a laying packet and only their upper side, i.e. their visible surface, is scuffed and scratched and only the edges and corners are broken off on their upper side. The apparatus comprises a support plate with a grid-like structure with elevations and depressions, whose characteristic measurements are smaller than the dimensions of the concrete stones. The concrete stones are laid next to one another on the support plate so that they have a certain amount of play with respect to one another and/or the edge of the support plate, and their visible surface is facing towards the support plate. The concrete stones are then caused to execute a relative movement with respect to one another by vibrations of the apparatus. The concrete stones are shaken up and strike one another, so that their edges and corners are broken off. In addition the concrete stones move over the grid-like structure of the support plate, so that their visible surfaces become scratched and scuffed.

When the corners and edges of the concrete stones are broken by mutual impact, this necessarily occurs on their upper side and also on their lower side. With this conventional method the scratching of the surface by the grid-like structure of the support plate can be restricted simply to their visible surface.

Furthermore DE 103 33 213 A1 describes an apparatus and a method for the artificial ageing of paving stones, in which a plurality of paving stones is placed on a support surface that has a corresponding number of ageing moulds with lateral boundaries for the paving stones. The artificial ageing of the stones is achieved with the aid of a vibration device operatively connected to the support surface, by impact between the corners and edges of the stones and the lateral boundaries of the ageing moulds. In this connection a stroke limiting element to restrict the movement of the paving stones can in addition be arranged above the stones. With this conventional system the paving stones are however not processed in a laving packet and the pressure exerted by the stroke limiting element on the stones cannot be adjusted in order for example to influence the degree of processing of the corners and edges of the stones.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for processing paving elements with which the paving elements can be processed in the form of a laying packet and only the corners and edges at their upper visible surface are irregularly broken off, without however scratching the visible surface.

According to a first aspect of the invention this object is achieved by a method for the processing of paving elements having the features of claim 1. Advantageous arrangements and developments of the method according to the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims 2 to 7.

The method according to the invention for the processing of paving elements includes the steps of placing a laying packet with a number of paving elements and a corresponding joint pattern on a support in such a way that the paving elements lie next to one another with a degree of play with respect to one another and to an edging; arranging profile elements of a material that is harder than the material of the paving elements in the joint pattern of the laying packet on a side facing the visible surface of the paving elements; laving a covering slab on the paving elements placed on the support, in which a pressure exerted by the covering slab on the paving elements is adjusted; and subjecting the support and/or the profile elements to vibration.

According to the invention a complete laying packet of paving elements is mechanically processed simultaneously while maintaining its formation, so that after the treatment process the packet is available as a laying packet for the machine laying without the desired formation of the paving elements having to be produced once more. In addition the paving elements of the laying packet experience exclusively in the region of their edges and corners on the side of their visible surface a processing by the profile elements arranged in the joint pattern of the laying packet, in order to produce an artificial ageing. Neither the corners nor the edges on the underneath of the paving elements are broken nor are any side surfaces of the paving elements, in particular their visible surfaces, scratched. The covering slab is laid on the paving elements placed on the support in order to prevent the paving elements becoming dislodged during the vibration and to exert a certain pressure on the paving elements.

In one embodiment the profile elements are arranged at or on the substantially smooth support and the paving elements are placed on the support so that their visible surfaces are facing the support.

In an alternative embodiment of the method the paving elements are placed on the support so that their visible surfaces are facing away from the support, and the substantially smooth covering slab, on which the profile elements are arranged, is laid on the paving elements placed on the support. In this case too, the covering slab fulfils the functions of preventing the paving elements becoming dislodged during the vibration and of exerting a certain pressure on the paving elements.

Furthermore this two aforementioned embodiments can also be combined with one another. In other words, the covering slab is laid on the paving elements placed on the support in order to prevent the paving elements becoming dislodged during the vibration and to exert a certain pressure on the paving elements, and profile elements are provided on the support and also on the covering slabs. In this variant it is possible with the paving elements treated in this way to use either the upper side or the lower side as visible surface having the artificially aged appearance.

In a further arrangement of the invention several layers of laying packets of paving elements with intermediate slabs arranged there between can be stacked on top of one another and in this way can then be processed simultaneously.

Furthermore the profile elements can be arranged either freely moveable, so that they can move relative to the paving elements during the vibration, or alternatively they can be firmly connected or dovetailed to the support and the covering slab.

According to a second aspect of the invention the object mentioned above is achieved by an apparatus for processing paving elements having the features of claim 8. Advantageous arrangements and developments of this apparatus are the subject matter of the dependent claims 9 to 14.

The apparatus for processing paving elements according to the invention has a support for the placement of a laying packet with a number of paving elements and a corresponding joint pattern; an edging for the laying packet of a size such that the paving elements of the laying packet can lie with a degree of play relative to one another and adjacent to the edging; an arrangement of profile elements of a material that is harder than the material of the paving elements, in the joint pattern of the laying packet on a side facing towards the visible surface of the paving elements; a covering slab that can be laid on the paving elements placed on the support, wherein a pressure exerted by the covering slab on the paving elements can be adjusted; and a vibration generator for causing the support and/or the profile elements to vibrate.

The advantages of this apparatus correspond to those which have been mentioned in connection with the method according to the invention. The covering slab that can be laid on the paving elements placed on the support is provided in order to prevent the paving elements becoming dislodged and to exert a certain pressure on the paving elements.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention the support is formed substantially smooth and the profile elements are arranged at or on the support facing towards the laying packet of the paving elements, so that the paving elements are laid on the support with their visible surfaces downwards for the processing.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment a substantially smooth covering slab is provided, on which the profile elements are arranged and which can be laid on the paving elements placed on the support so that the profile elements are facing the paving elements. In this case the paving elements for the processing are laid on the support with their visible surfaces upwards.

The two last mentioned exemplary embodiments can of course also be combined with one another, as has already been explained in connection with the method according to the invention.

In a further arrangement of the invention at least one intermediate slab is provided for stacking several laying packets of paving elements, so that several layers of laying packets can be processed simultaneously. In this way a very high throughput of the apparatus can be achieved.

Furthermore the profile elements can be arranged either freely moveable or firmly connected or dovetailed to the support and/or the covering slab.

In yet a further arrangement of the invention a device is furthermore provided for removing the broken edge material of the paving elements during the processing.

The paving elements are processed in the formation of a laying packet with the method and the apparatus of the invention. A laying packet is in this connection a composite of a number of paving elements in a rectangular or square basic shape, which can be handled by machinery in order to be laid mechanically and inexpensively.

Such a laying packet can contain as paving elements, paving stones, slabs or a combination of paving stones and slabs. For a definition of the terms paving stones and slabs reference is made for example to the Norms DIN EN 1338 "Paving stones of concrete" and DIN EN 1339 "Slabs of concrete", according to which a slab of concrete is a prefabricated concrete product whose overall length divided by its thickness or height is greater than 4, and a paving stone is understood to be a stone body that is formed having a considerably smaller surface compared to its height and in particular has a length to height ratio of less than or equal to 4.

The paving elements, i.e. the paving stones and/or slabs, can in particular be produced from concrete or clinker. The invention can however also be applied to natural stone.

The joint pattern of the laying packet is determined by the joints between the individual paving elements. In order to produce a predetermined joint width the paving elements are normally formed with spacing elements on their side surfaces or edges. The present invention is however not restricted to any specific joint pattern, specific joint size or shape or any specific shape or arrangement of the spacing elements. In general the joints of a laying packet of substantially rectangular paving elements all run in two mutually perpendicular directions, which can be termed the axes of the joint pattern.

The above as well as further features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description of preferred, non-limiting exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus for processing a laying packet of paving elements according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus for processing a laying packet of paving elements according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus for processing a laying packet of paving elements according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a further apparatus for processing a laying packet of paving elements; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. 4. A first exemplary embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention for processing paving elements will now be described with reference to Fig. 1.

The apparatus includes in particular a support 10, which preferably has a substantially smooth upper side and is formed and arranged substantially flat. The support 10 is surrounded by an edging 11, which is either firmly connected to the support 10 or is even formed integrally with it, or is provided as a separate and replaceable component. The length and width dimensions of the edging 11 are at the same time chosen to be somewhat larger than those of the laying packet to be processed.

As is illustrated in Fig. 1, a laying packet with a number of paving elements 12 and a corresponding joint pattern 14 is laid on the support 10. As indicated in Fig. 1, the laying packet can contain paving elements 12 of different sizes. A covering slab 16 is then laid on the thus placed laying packet of paving elements 12, the underneath of the covering slab, i.e. its side facing towards the paving elements 12, being substantially smooth and flat. An arrangement of profile elements 18 is also provided on the underneath of this covering slab 16, wherein these profile elements 18 can either be loosely arranged or firmly joined to the covering slab 16. In Fig. 1 it can be seen that these profile elements 18 are arranged exactly and exclusively in the shape of the joint pattern 14 of the laying packet of paving stones 12. Further profile elements 18 run of course also parallel to the plane of the drawing in corresponding joints 14 of the laying packet.

The covering slab 16 can either be provided as a separate component or can be joined to the support 10 of the apparatus. The covering slab 16 exerts a pressure on the paving elements 12, which can be variably adjusted, and thus assists the processing of the paving elements described hereinafter and prevent the paving elements becoming dislodged.

The apparatus furthermore contains a vibration generator 20, which can cause the support 10 to vibrate. The vibration is for example an oscillation of the support 10 in the horizontal and/or vertical and/or an inclined direction. The vibration generator 20 operates for example on an electromechanical principle or an electromagnetic principle.

Although not shown, the apparatus preferably furthermore includes a device for removing the waste material of the paving elements that is formed during the processing. This device contains for example holes in the support 10 which are arranged in the pattern of the joint pattern 14 of the laying packet.

To process the paving elements 12 of a laying packet, in particular for the artificial ageing of the latter, the laying packet of paving elements 12 is first of all placed on the support 10 so that the paving elements 12 have a certain degree of play relative to one another and also the edging 11. The size of this play depends on the desired joint width of the laying packet. The covering slab 16 together with the profile elements 18 fastened thereto is then placed on the paving elements 12 and first of all the profile elements 18 and then the covering slab 16 are placed on the laying packet, wherein the profile elements 18 correspond in their arrangement strictly to the joint pattern 14 of the laying packet.

When the vibration generator 20 then causes the support 10 to vibrate, the paving elements 12 of the laying packet start to move and in particular also relative to the support 10 and to the profile elements 18. On account of this movement the corners and edges on the upper side of the paving elements 12, i.e. on the side of their visible surface, impact against the profile elements 18 and are thus broken in an irregular manner.

By adjusting the pressure of the covering slab 16 on the paving elements 12 the degree of processing of the edges and corners of the paving elements 12 can be influenced.

The edges and corners on the underneath side of the paving elements 12 are however not broken, since the paving elements 12 do not impact against one another and no profile elements 18 are provided on the support 10 the apparatus. Also, none of the lateral surfaces of the paving elements 12 are scratched in this process, since the covering slab 16 and the support 10 have substantially smooth surfaces in contact with the upper side and the lower side of the paving elements 12 and the paving elements 12 on the remaining four side surfaces (substantially perpendicular to the support 10 and covering slab 16) experience scarcely any contact or no contact at all. This applies in particular also to the visible surfaces of the paving elements 12.

As a modification of this first exemplary embodiment it is also possible to cause not the support 10, but instead the covering slab 16 with the profile elements 18 mounted thereon, to vibrate. In addition the support 10 as well as the covering slab 16 can of curse also be caused to vibrate.

As a further modification the edging 11 for the laying packet can also be provided so as to project downwards at the covering slab 16. Likewise it is possible to install an edging 11 respectively on the support 10 and on the covering slab 16. A second exemplary embodiment of the invention is now described in more detail with reference to Fig. 2. In this connection the same or similar components are provided with the same reference numerals as on the first exemplary embodiment.

The present exemplary embodiment differs from the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 1 in that the paving elements 12 of the laying packet are placed with their visible surfaces downwards on the support 10 and the profile elements 18 are correspondingly arranged on or at the support 10. In this case the surface of the support must be substantially smooth and is preferably also formed and arranged substantially flat.

All other features, components and operating modes correspond to those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

As a modification of this second exemplary embodiment it is also possible to cause not the support 10, but instead the profile elements loosely arranged on the support 10, to vibrate.

Although not illustrated, the two exemplary embodiments of Figs. 1 and 2 (including the aforementioned variants) can also be combined with one another.

In this variant both the support 10 as well as the covering slab 16 are provided with profile elements 18, so that the lower side and the upper side of the paving elements 12 of the laying packet placed on the support 10 receive an artificially aged appearance. It is then possible with these paving elements 12 processed in this way to use either the upper side or the lower side as visible surface.

Fig. 3 shows in cross-section a further exemplary embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention. The same or similar components are again provided with the same reference numerals as in the first and second exemplary embodiments.

The present embodiment is based on a combination of the first and second exemplary embodiments, so that two layers of laying packets of paving elements 12 can be simultaneously processed with the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 3.

Starting from the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 2, the arrangement of paving elements 12 placed on the support 10 with the profile elements 18 is covered by an intermediate slab 22. This intermediate slab 22 forms on the one hand a covering slab for the first laying packet in the sense of the above second exemplary embodiment, and on the other hand a support for the second laying packet (preferably but not necessarily identical to the first laying packet) of paving elements 12 in the sense of the above first exemplary embodiment. This second layer of paving elements 12 is finally covered by a covering slab 16 with profile elements 18 mounted thereon.

In order to achieve a sufficient degree of processing of the paving elements 12 in both laying packets, in this embodiment a first vibration generator 20a is provided for the support 10 for the lower laying packet, and a second vibration generator 20b is provided for the covering slab 16 for the upper laying packet. The smooth intermediate covering 22 on both sides can either be inserted loose or firmly attached.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 an edging for the upper laying packet of paving elements 12 is formed on the intermediate slab 22. Alternatively this edging is applied projecting downwards on the covering slab 16.

With this apparatus two laying packets can be simultaneously mechanically processed in an advantageous manner.

Instead of the combination of apparatuses according to the first and second exemplary embodiments illustrated in Fig. 3, alternatively also two apparatuses according to the first exemplary embodiment or two apparatuses according to the second exemplary embodiment can be combined in a similar way, in order to be able to process two laying packets of paving elements simultaneously.

In addition, also with the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 3 in each case the upper sides and the lower sides of the paving elements 12 of the laying packet 10 can be treated if the support 10 and the covering slab 16, as well as both sides of the intermediate slab 22, are provided with profile elements 18.

In principle it is also possible to process more than two laying packets simultaneously; however, it becomes increasingly difficult to produce the relative movement of the paving elements 12 with increasing numbers of laying packets and supports 10. A further example, not in accordance with the invention, is now described in detail with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Here the same and similar components are again provided with the same reference numerals as in the previous exemplary embodiments.

In this example the paving elements 12 are placed on the support 10 with their visible surfaces to be processed facing upwards. As in the previous exemplary embodiments, in this case too, the support 10 is provided with an edging 11, within which the paving elements 12 of a laying packet can be arranged with a degree of play. As illustrated in Fig. 4 the support 10 is mounted elastically and can be caused to vibrate via suitable vibration generators 20 (e.g. shakers).

As illustrated in Fig. 5, preferably several laying packets of paving elements 12 can be placed behind one another on the support 10 and transported in the manner of a conveyor belt. In this way a higher throughput of laying packets to be processed can be achieved, as a result of which the production and processing costs can be reduced. A roller 22 that has a substantially smooth circumferential surface on which the plurality of profile elements 18 corresponding to the joint pattern 14 of the laying packets is mounted, is placed on the paving elements 12 of the laying packets arranged on the support 10. The roller 22 is rotatably mounted in an elastically supported frame 24 and can be rotated about its longitudinal axis by means of a drive motor 26. In addition further vibration generators 28 are provided on the frame 24, so that also the frame 24 and thus the roller 22 together with the profile elements 18 can be caused to vibrate.

As indicated in Fig. 5, the support 10 moves relative to the roller 22 (arrow 30). Preferably the support 10 together with the paving elements 12 arranged thereon is moved in the manner of a conveyor belt underneath the stationary mounted roller 22. The relative movement direction between the support 10 and roller 22 is in thus substantially parallel to an axis of the joint pattern 14 of the laying packets. With an appropriate adjustment of the transporting speed of the paving elements 12 and rotational speed of the roller 22 the profile elements 18 provided on the circumferential surface of the roller 22 engage respectively in the joints 14 of the laying packets. Owing to the vibration of the support 10 and/or roller 22 the corners and edges of the paving elements 12 are then broken in the manner explained above on the side of their visible surface.

As is further indicated in Fig. 5, preferably several rollers 22 are arranged behind and substantially parallel to one another in the relative movement direction 30. In this connection the profile elements 18 of the various rollers 22 can also be formed differently to one another, in order specifically to influence the breaking of the corners and edges of the paving elements 12 and for example to increasingly manifest this in the course of the processing. By adding or removing individual rollers 22, in this embodiment the degree of processing of the paving elements 12 can in addition be adjusted.

If desired, also in this example additional profile elements can be mounted on the support 10 in order to process the paving elements on both sides. The simultaneous processing of several layers of paving elements 12 is however not envisaged in the example involving the rollers 22.

Claims

A method of machining paving elements, comprising the steps of: between each other and to a frame (11); - placing profile elements (18) made of a material which is harder than the material of the paving elements (12) on a side facing a visible surface of the paving elements, in the joining pattern (14) of the laying gasket; - applying a cover plate (16) to the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10), whereby a pressure applied from the cover plate (16) to the paving elements (12) is adjusted; and - vibrating the layer (10) and / or profile elements (18).

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the profile elements (18) are applied to or on the layer (10) and the paving elements (12) are placed on the substantially smooth layer so that their visible surfaces face the layer (10).

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the paving elements (12) are placed on the layer (10) so that their visible surfaces are away from the layer; and the substantially smooth cover plate (16) is laid on the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10), where the profile elements (18) are placed at the cover plate.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the substantially smooth cover plate (16) is applied to the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10); and the profile elements (18) are arranged at or on the layer (10) as well as at the cover plate (16) respectively facing the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10).

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plurality of laying gaskets with paving elements (12) are stacked on top of one another with intermediate plates (22) therebetween and then processed simultaneously.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the profile elements (18) are arranged to be freely movable.

The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the profile elements (18) are firmly connected to the layer (10) or the cover plate (16).

An apparatus for processing paving elements, comprising: a layer (10) for placing a laying gasket having a plurality of paving elements (12) and a corresponding joint pattern (14) o pa; a frame (11) for the laying pack of such a size that the paving elements (12) of the laying pack can be placed side by side with clearance to each other and to the frame (11); an arrangement of profile elements (18) made of a material which is harder than the material of the paving elements (12) on a side facing the visible surface of the paving elements, in the joining pattern (14) of the laying gasket; a cover plate (16) which can be applied to the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10), where a pressure applied from the cover plate (16) to the paving elements (12) is adjustable; and a vibration generator (20) for vibrating the layer (10) and / or profile elements (18).

The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the layer (10) is configured substantially smoothly and the profile elements (18) are arranged at or on the layer (10) so as to face the laying gasket of the paving elements (12).

The apparatus of claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the cover plate (16) is configured substantially smoothly, is formed with the profile elements thereon, and can be placed on the paving elements (12) located on the layer (10) so that the profile elements (18) faces the paving elements (12).

The apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that at least one intermediate plate (22) is provided for stacking a plurality of laying gaskets with paving elements (12).

Apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the profile elements (18) are arranged to be freely movable.

Apparatus according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the profile elements (18) are firmly connected to the layer (10) or the cover plate (16).

Apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that further means are provided for removing the fractured edge material of the paving elements (12) during the working operation.