FR2652777A1 - Method for moulding objects such as, for example, concrete blocks and device for implementing it - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and to a device for moulding objects made from concrete or some other moulding material. This device is of the type comprising a mould (3) which receives concrete coming from a hopper (1), and which includes an upper wall (6) including openings (5a, 5b, 5c) communicating with the outlet of the hopper (1) and in which pistons (2a, 2b, 2c) slide allowing the openings (5a, 5b, 5c) to be unobstructed and closed, and participating in the manufacture of the moulded objects. This device applies, for example, to the manufacture of concrete construction blocks.

Description

 The present invention relates in general to a method of molding any objects and relates more particularly to a method of molding a block of concrete or any other similar material, as well as a device for the implementation of this method.

 This invention can be applied, for example, to the manufacture of building blocks for the building industry.

 There is already known a process for molding concrete objects or the like consisting in introducing into a mold concrete which has been previously manufactured by mixing before being collected in a hopper. A predetermined quantity of concrete is thus brought from the hopper to the mold using, for example, mobile containers, and this until the mold is filled.

 When it is desired to give the concrete object a hollow form, a matrix forming a core is forced into the mold filled with concrete so that the latter leaves its imprint in the molded concrete.

 We can then vibrate the mold to eliminate the air bubbles retained in the concrete in order to make the object more homogeneous.

 Finally, the object is separated from the mold and the cycle can then resume.

 This technique has the disadvantages, on the one hand, the heaviness of the material required for its implementation, and on the other hand the complexity and the ineffectiveness of the filling. Indeed, compression and vibration operations require bulky and energy-consuming equipment. In addition, conventional filling mechanisms most often use valves to interrupt the flow of concrete from the hopper, which valves do not take into account the state and conditions of filling of the mold, which is detrimental to the quality of the concrete object thus molded. On the other hand, the use of mobile, complex and bulky container systems for carrying out the filling operation also does not allow the filling conditions to be taken into account.

 The present invention therefore aims to provide a method of molding a concrete object or the like, as well as a device for its implementation, which allow the production of concrete blocks in a simple manner and effectively taking into account the state and conditions of filling the mold.

 To this end, the subject of the present invention is a method of molding any object such as, for example, a block of concrete or other material and of the type consisting in introducing concrete into a mold and in removing the object therefrom. after the molding operation, this process being characterized in that, first of all, the concrete is introduced through at least one opening formed in one of the walls of the mold and in which slides at least one piston that the '' is moved in the mold to clear said opening, then the movement of the piston is continued in the mold to an extreme position in which the mold offers the concrete a maximum volume to allow it to completely fill the mold, and then, causes the piston to perform a reverse movement so that it moves in the mold and defines in the object to be molded a shape corresponding to that of the piston by simultaneously forcing the excess concrete through said opening which, at the end of he stroke of the piston is closed off by the latter.

 It is therefore already understood that the pistons have the triple function of closing the mold inlet, shaping the molded object, and removing excess concrete from the mold.

 According to another characteristic of this process, the concrete is compressed in the mold by the displacement of at least one of the walls of this mold, while the piston is located inside said mold.

 This method is further characterized in that the molded object is released from the mold after pivoting of the side walls of this mold towards the outside.

 It will also be specified that the complete filling of the mold is carried out, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, by the passage of the piston through the mold to a position where it is substantially outside of this mold.

 According to another embodiment, the complete filling of the mold is carried out by a simultaneous translation in the mold of the piston, of the bottom and of the side walls of a molding cavity forming part of the mold.

 The invention also relates to a device for implementing the molding process meeting the above characteristics, this device being of the type comprising a mold capable of receiving concrete or any other moldable material coming from a communicating hopper or the like. with the mold, and being characterized in that the mold comprises a wall or first wall comprising at least one opening communicating with the outlet of the hopper and in which slides at least one piston.

 This device is further characterized in that the mold has a second wall, opposite to the above-mentioned first wall, and also comprising an opening in which the aforementioned piston can slide through.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the mold with its walls is directly fixed to the outlet of the hopper.

 According to another embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned first wall is fixed to the outlet of the hopper while the other walls forming a molding cavity constitute with the piston an assembly mounted to slide in the outlet of the hopper.

 According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the aforementioned piston has an upper part devoid of sharp angles and is actuated by a rod driven by a jack forming part of an autonomous hydraulic power station.

 Thus, a more gradual closure of the opening of the first wall will be obtained and, on the other hand, the concrete will advantageously oppose less resistance to the return movement of the piston.

 The above-mentioned autonomous hydraulic power station forms a transportable assembly with in particular the hopper, the mold and means for controlling and supplying concrete to this assembly.

 According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the above-mentioned first wall or upper wall of the mold can be crossed by a central piston and by two pistons sliding along the walls of the mold.

However, other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear better in the detailed description which follows and which refers to the appended drawings, given solely by way of example and in which
- Figure 1 is a very schematic perspective view of a production plant for concrete building blocks, in accordance with the principle of the invention.

- Figures 2 to 6 are schematic views in vertical section of the molding device according to the invention, these views illustrating the successive phases of the molding operation; and
- Figures 7 to 12 are schematic views in vertical section of another embodiment of the molding device according to the invention, these views further illustrating the successive phases of the molding operation.

 Referring to Figures 2 to 6 and according to a preferred embodiment, it can be seen that a molding device for implementing the method according to this invention comprises a mold 3 capable of receiving concrete or any other moldable material. from a hopper 1 or the like communicating with the mold 3.

 As best seen in Figure 3, the mold 3 has an upper wall 6 or first wall having three openings 5a, 5b, 5c communicating with the outlet of the hopper 1 and in which the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c respectively slide.

 In addition, the mold 3 has a second wall 18 or bottom wall, clearly visible in FIG. 2 and opposite to the upper wall 6. This bottom wall 18 has three openings 20 in which the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c can slide. .

 It is clear from FIGS. 2 to 6 that the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c have an upper part 24 devoid of sharp angles. Finally, the mold 3 has two side walls 8, 9 which take the form of flaps 8a, 9a articulated respectively at 22 and 21 on the outlet S of the hopper 1. Each piston is actuated by a rod 7a, 7b, 7c driven by a cylinder forming part of an autonomous hydraulic power station (not shown), which is part of an autonomous transportable unit 13 which will be described later.

 Thus, the mold 3 with its walls 6, 8, 9, 18 is directly fixed to an outlet S of the hopper 1.

 Returning to FIGS. 2 to 6, the upper wall 6 of the mold 3 can be crossed by a central piston 2a and two lateral pistons 2b and 2c sliding along the side walls 8a, 9a of the mold 3.

 One could perfectly provide more or less than three pistons without departing from the scope of the invention, this being a function of the molded object to be produced.

 The molding device which has just been described makes it possible to manufacture building blocks 4 such as that visible in FIG. 1, and its operation will be explained below with the aid of FIGS. 2 to 6 showing the successive phases of the molding operation.

 First of all, concrete prepared by the unit 13 is introduced into the hopper 1, into the outlet S from which the three pistons 2a, 2b, 2c can penetrate.

 More specifically, the pistons, as can be seen in FIG. 2, close the openings 5a, 5b, 5c of the upper wall 6 of the mold 3.

 The pistons 2a, 2b, 2c, actuated by jacks (not shown) are lowered through the upper wall 6, which releases the openings 5a, 5b, 5c, so that the concrete can penetrate into the mold 3, as illustrated in figure 3.

 It will be observed that the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c also pass through the bottom wall 18 of the mold 3 so as to be located substantially outside the mold.

 The concrete having completely filled the mold, the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c are then raised, as illustrated in FIG. 4, to a position where they remain inside the mold while closing the openings 20 and 5a, 5b, 5c.

 It is understood that the excess of concrete under the effect of the raising of the pistons will advantageously be pushed back and recycled in the hopper 1.

 Then, the concrete is compressed inside the mold 3 by upward movement of the bottom wall 18 or bottom of the mold, this being materialized by arrows F in FIG. 4.

 Then, the taking of the concrete having been made, the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c are reassembled, as seen in FIG. 5, so that they resume the position visible in FIG. 2, that is to say the shutter position of the hopper outlet S 1.

The bottom wall 18 of the mold 3 is then detached from the mold and the block 4 remains hooked in the mold due here to the particular shape of these ends.
It is now sufficient, as seen in Figure 6, to rotate the side walls or flaps 8a, 9a of the mold, thereby detaching the block 4 which can be collected on a conveyor belt (not shown) or a pallet 23 allowing the evacuation of block 4 to a storage area, for example.

 Of course, the molding device which has just been described may include drying means or other ancillary means participating in the manufacture of the block 4.

 It will be noted here that the block 4, as seen in FIG. 1, comprises in particular three hollow parts 4a, 4b, 4c, corresponding respectively to the shape of the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c.

 A second embodiment of the molding device according to the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 12 in which the same references have been used to designate the elements common to the embodiment described above.

 In this variant, the upper wall 6 of the mold 3 is fixed in the outlet S of the hopper 1, while the side walls 8, 9 of the mold are constituted by walls 10, 11 secured to a bottom wall 19, this set of three walls being slidably mounted in the through end 25 of the hopper 1 and consequently forming a molding cavity 12 relatively movable relative to the upper wall 6.

 At 26 have been shown partitions integral with the bottom wall 19 and thus defining several molding spaces into which the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c can penetrate.

 We will now describe the operation of this second embodiment using Figures 7 to 12 showing the successive phases of the molding operation.

 As for the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 6, the concrete prepared by the unit 13 is retained outside the mold 3 thanks to its upper wall 6 whose openings 5a, 5b, 5c are closed, by the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c in the raised position in the outlet S of the hopper 1, as shown in FIG. 7.

 The molding cavity 12 is then lowered, constituted by the bottom 19, the side walls 10, 11 and the partitions 26, together with the pistons, in the through end 25 of the hopper, so as to clear the openings 5a, 5b, 5c so that the concrete comes to completely fill the mold 3, as seen in FIG. 8.

 The pistons 2a, 2b, 2c and the molding cavity 12 are then raised towards the upper wall 6 so as to push the excess concrete out of the mold, until the pistons again close the orifices of the upper wall 6 as shown in Figure 9.

 To compress the concrete in the mold, only the molding cavity 12 is at this time, raised towards the hopper while the pistons are held stationary in the mold 3, as seen in FIG. 10.

 Once the concrete is set, the side walls 10, 11, the partitions 26 and the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c are in turn raised above the upper wall 6 to allow the release of the molded objects 4 which then remain at bottom of the mold 3 resting on the wall 19. This is clearly shown in FIG. 11.

 It now suffices to lower the bottom 19 to a position visible in FIG. 12 and for which the molded object 4 can be freely removed from the production unit 13.

 The embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 6 or the variant of the molding device visible in FIGS. 7 to 12 can be incorporated into the transportable unit 13 which will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.

 On a metal frame 14 supported by folding feet 27 which can receive wheels 28, is disposed a scraper spoke 15 bringing aggregate from a pile (not shown) to a pre-mixing hopper 16 where a screw 17 emerges. cement supply. A weighing system 29 separates the hopper 16 from a dry mixer 30 which communicates with another mixer 32 by a screw 33 for supplying a dry mixture of cement and aggregate. The mixer 32 is connected on the one hand to a water tank 34 by a water supply pipe 35 and on the other hand to the hopper 1 by a concrete supply screw 36.

 The jacks and rods 7a, 7b, 7c of the hydraulic system for controlling the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c are supported by a plate 37 fixed to the chassis 14 by uprights or the like (not shown).

 At the outlet of the molding device, essentially constituted by the hopper 1, the mold 3 and, the pistons 2a, 2b, 2c, there is provided a conveyor 38 for evacuating the molded objects 4 resting on pallets 23 for example.

 The transportable and autonomous unit 13 has overall dimensions included in the standard transport templates and can therefore be brought directly to the site where it is desired to use the concrete objects 4 that it produces.

 Of course, the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and illustrated which have been given only by way of example.

Thus, the dimensions and the shape of the mold or of the pistons of the device according to the invention can vary depending on the application which it is desired to make, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.
This invention therefore includes all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if these are carried out according to the spirit.

Claims (12)

 1. A method of molding any object, such as for example a block of concrete or other material and of the type consisting in introducing concrete or the like into a mold from which the molded object is removed after the molding operation, characterized in that the concrete or the like is introduced through at least one opening (5a, 5b, 5c), formed in one (6) of the walls of the mold (3) and in which slides at least one piston (2a , 2b 2c) which is moved in the mold (3) to release said opening (5a, 5b, 5c), then the movement of the piston (2a, 2b, 2c) is continued in the mold (3) until an extreme position in which the mold (3) offers a maximum volume to allow its complete filling, and then the piston (2a, 2b, 2c) is made to reverse movement so that it moves in the mold (3) and define in the object (4) to be molded a shape corresponding to that of the piston (2a, 2b, 2c) by simultaneously pushing the excess concrete by ladi te opening (5a, 5b, 5c) which, at the end of the piston stroke (2a, 2b, 2c), is closed by the latter.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the concrete is compressed in the mold (3) by the displacement of at least one of the walls (18, 19) of this mold (3), while the piston (2a , 2b, 2c) is inside said mold (3).  3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the molded object (4) is released from the mold (3) after pivoting of the side walls (8, 9) of this mold (3) outwards.  4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the complete filling of the mold (3) is carried out by the passage of the piston (2a, 2b, 2c) through the mold (3) to a position where it is located substantially outside this mold (3).  5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the complete filling of the mold (3) is effected by a simultaneous translation in the mold of the piston (2a, 2b, 2c), of the bottom (19) , and side walls (10, 11) of the mold cavity (12).  6. Molding device for implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 5 and of the type comprising a mold (3) capable of receiving concrete or any other moldable material coming from a hopper (1) or analog communicating with the mold (3), characterized in that the mold (3) comprises a wall (6) or first wall comprising at least one opening (5a, 5b, 5c) communicating with the outlet of the hopper (1) and in which slides at least one piston (2a, 2b, 2c).  7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the mold (3) has a second wall (18) opposite the first wall (6) above and also comprising at least one opening (20) in which the piston can slide cited above (2a, 2b, 2c).  8. Device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the mold (3) with its walls (6, 8, 9), is directly fixed on the outlet of the hopper (1).  9. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the aforementioned first wall (6) is fixed at the outlet of the hopper (1), while the other walls (10, 11, 19), forming a molding cavity ( 12) constitute, with the piston (2a, 2b, 2c), an assembly slidingly mounted in the outlet of the hopper (1).  10. Device according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the aforementioned piston (2a, 2b, 2c) has an upper part (24) devoid of sharp angles and is actuated by a rod (7a, 7b, 7c) driven by a cylinder forming part of an autonomous hydraulic power station.  11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the autonomous hydraulic power station forms, in particular with the hopper (1), the aforementioned mold (3) and means for controlling and supplying concrete, a transportable assembly (13).  12. Device according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the first wall (6) above or upper wall of the mold (3) can be crossed by a central piston (2a) and by two pistons (2b, 2c ) sliding along the side walls (8, 9) of the mold (3).