GB1604661A

GB1604661A - Method and apparatus for making blocks

Info

Publication number: GB1604661A
Application number: GB64377A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: CALIFORNIAN SCREEN BLOCKS Ltd
Current assignee: CALIFORNIAN SCREEN BLOCKS Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-22
Filing date: 1978-05-22
Publication date: 1981-12-16

Description

(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BLOCKS (71) We, CALIFORNIAN SCREEN BLOCKS LIMITED, a British Company, of 52 Holloways Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7NT, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making blocks, such as building blocks for walls, bricks or the like, and is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for use in producing, on a continuous basis, moulded blocks capable of being interlocked together to form a rigid structure, e.g. a wall.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of making blocks, comprising the steps of loading a container at a loading station with a predetermined quantity of material to be moulded, moving the container to a moulding station whereat it is positioned adjacent a mould cavity defined by a frame and a plate which carries the frame, transferring the material from the container to the mould cavity, returning the container to the loading station for reloading, compacting the material in the mould cavity so that it takes up a desired shape vibrating the frame during said compacting operation, removing the frame whilst continuing to vibrate the frame to leave the compacted material on the plate, moving the plate carrying the compacted material away from the moulding station, positioning a fresh plate at the moulding station and locating the frame on the fresh plate ready for a subsequent moulding operation.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for performing the method described above comprising a hopper for containing material to be moulded disposed at a loading station, a container disposed beneath the hopper outlet for receiving a predetermined quantity of said material therefrom, a mould cavity disposed at a moulding station and defined by a frame and a plate which carries the frame, the container being movable between the loading station and a position at the moulding station in which an aperture in the container is positioned over the frame so that material in the container can be readily transferred into the mould cavity, means for compacting material within the mould cavity to shape it into a block or blocks of predetermined shape, means to vibrate the frame during said compacting operation and during removal from the compacted material, means for raising the frame off the plate once material in the mould cavity is compacted to leave the compacted shaped material on the plate, means for removing the plate from the moulding station and positioning a fresh plate at the moulding station, and means for locating the frame on the fresh plate to re-define said mould cavity ready for the start of a subsequent moulding operation.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a building block for use in the construction of walls when moulded according to the method or apparatus described above. Preferably, the building block thus formed incorporates means for providing interlocking engagement of the block with another building block provided with complementary engaging means, when said blocks are assembled together.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the method and apparatus according to the invention and several embodiments of building blocks moulded thereby, by way of example, and of which: Figures 1 to 8 illustrate diagrammatically various stages in the production of blocks according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 illustrates diagrammatically an exploded view of a wall composed of building blocks made by the method illustrated in Figures 1 to 8; Figure 10 shows a side view of an assembled wall similar to that shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 is a sectional view of the wall of Figure 10 taken along line XI - XI; Figure 12 illustrates a corner pilaster block also made by the method of Figures 1 to 8;; Figure 13 illustrates a corner of a wall formed using the corner pilaster of Figure 12 and wall blocks similar to those illustrated in Figure 9; Figures 14 and 15 illustrate other forms of pilaster blocks; Figure 16 shows a side view of another manner of wall construction using the building blocks shown in Figure 9; and Figure 17 is a sectional view of the wall of Figure 16 along the line XVII - XVII.

The apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 8 of the drawings comprises a feed hopper 1 of suitable design, beneath which a horizontally movable filler wagon 2 can be positioned (Figure 1)so that material to be moulded, previously fed into the hopper 1, may be automatically discharged therefrom into the filler wagon 2. Once the wagon 2 holds a predetermined quantity 3 of material, the wagon is moved from its location beneath the hopper 1 in the direction of arrow A to a second position (Figure 2) above a mould 4 comprising a vertically movable frame 5 which in its lowest position (Figures 1 to 4) is supported on a horizontally movable plate 6 mounted on a suitable conveyor 7. With the wagon 2 in the position shown in Figure 2, the material is discharged from the wagon into the mould cavity defined by frame 5 and plate 6.The wagon is designed so. that during this second operational stage, the discharge outlet of hopper 1 is blocked off.

Once all the material 3 is transferred to this mould cavity, the wagon 2 returns to its original position and the loading thereof with a fresh quantity of material 3a from hopper 1 commences (Figure 3). Above the mould 4 is positioned a tamper 8 which is shaped to complete the enclosure of the mould cavity. When the wagon 2 is no longer positioned over the mould 4, the tamper 8 moves vertically downwards as indicated by arrow B (Figure 3), until it enters the frame 5 as indicated in Figure 4 so as to compact the previously loosely packed material therein. Whilst it is in the position shown in Figure 4, a suitable downward force is applied to the tamper 8, which is also preferably vibrated during this operation to prohibit sticking of material to the tamper and to facilitate uniform compaction of the material 3 into a dense block having the desired shape.

With the tamper 8 held in this "down" position, the frame 5 moves upwardly in the direction of arrow C (Figure 5) thereby leaving the compacted material 3 held between the plate 6 and the tamper 8. Thereafter, the tamper 8 is raised to its original position (Figure 6) leaving the compacted material 3 free-standing on plate 6, so that it can be transferred by movement of plate 6 in the direction of arrow D (Figure 7) along conveyor 7 away from the moulding station for further operations e.g.

firing, to be carried out. As the plate 6 moves away, a new plate 6a is moved along conveyor 7 to take its place underneath the raised mould frame 5 (Figure 8) which is subsequently lowered onto plate 6a ready for the start of the next, similar moulding operation.

The frame 5 may be of any suitable shape for forming a correspondingly shaped plate, and may be compartmented so that several blocks can be moulded simultaneously, one in each compartment. Alternatively, the frame may define a single cavity, the tamper being provided with partitions which vibrate as the tamper vibrates to divide this single cavity into the required number of compartments.

The moulding apparatus and method described above is particularly suitable for the moulding of interlocking building blocks, whether plynths, wall blocks or copings, which can be assembled together to form a wall without needing mortar or adhesives for stability of the finished structure. Examples of such blocks, and the manner in which they may be assembled together are illustrated in Figures 9 to 17.

Referring to Figures 9 to 11, which illustrate the blocks needed to build a simple wall, namely a plynth 10, wall blocks 11, which may be full sized or half-sized as indicated at 1 la and 11 b respectively in Figure 9, and a coping 12. The upper surface of the plynth 10 is provided with at least one longitudinally extending rib 13 (there being two parallel ribs 13 illustrated in Figures 9 to 11), which fits into a corresponding slot 14 in the undersurface of each wall block 11 in the first course of wall blocks. Although only one course of wall blocks is indicated in the exploded view of Figure 9, and two courses are illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, it will be apparent that any number of courses may be provided as desired.The upper surface of each wall block 11 is also provided with at least one longitudinally extending rib 15 (two parallel ribs 15 being illustrated in Figures 9 to 11). When the wall blocks are assembled together, the ribs 15 on the wall blocks in all courses except the top course fit into the slots immediately above. The ribs 15 of the wall blocks in the upper course fit into a corresponding slot 16 in the undersurface of the coping 12. This interlocking rib and slot connection between the plynth, wall blocks and coping provides for easy and accurate location of the blocks composing the wall, and also facilitates pre-gauging of, and the application of mortar between the blocks if mortaring is considered appropriate for any reason, although as stated above mortaring is not essential to the stability of the completed wall. Clearly, it is also possible to achieve a similar effect if the ribs were to be provided on the undersurfaces of the coping and the wall blocks, and the corresponding slots in the upper surfaces of the wall blocks and plynth.

If desired, at least one of the side faces of the wall blocks 11 may be rough-cast as indicated at 11 C in Figure 9.

A wall such as that illustrated in Figures 10 and 11 is constructed by laying the plynth 10 on a suitably prepared foundation, placing the wall blocks 11 in successive courses to the required length and height, and disposing the coping 12 on top of the assembled wall blocks.

Conveniently, each block forming the coping is three times as long as a full size wall block 11 so that it spans two joints between wall blocks in the top course to impart rigidity to the top course and thereby strengthen the wall.

It will be appreciated that where the wall has a corner, some additional support is usually needed to assist the interlocking rib and slot arrangement in achieving stability. This additional support is preferably provided by blocks made according to the same method as the plynth, wall blocks and coping, but moulded in the form of slotted, hollow corner pilaster blocks 17, one such corner pilaster block being illustrated in Figure 12. The rectangular hollow pilaster block 17 has slots 18 in two adjacent sides which accommodate the ends of the wall blocks 11 forming the corner, as illustrated in Figure 13.Each pilaster block 17 is also provided with internal grooves 19 into which steel rods 20 can be passed so that a number of identical corner pilaster blocks can be stacked one on top of another and held firmly together by the rods 20 to form a corner pillar having a height equal to the desired wall height. The hollow centre of a corner pilaster block (or stack of pilaster blocks where a corner pillar is formed) can be filled with earth or concrete to stabilise the wall still further. The corners 21 of each pilaster block 17 are radiussed so that when assembled in a wall, they provide a pleasing and neat appearance both inside and outside the corner.

It should be observed that in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 13, the wall blocks 11 each have a single rib 15a on its upper surface which fills the respective slots 16 in the course of wall blocks immediately above it. In Figure 13 also the plynth has been omitted for clarity.

Similar additional support is required if the wall terminates abruptly, e.g. at a gateway, or if the wall is of some considerable length. In those cases, pillars are respectively desirable at the end of the wall or at intermediate locations along the wall. To construct such pillars, further slotted, stackable hollow pilaster blocks 22, 23 (Figures 14 and 15) are preferably moulded according to the method described above. The pilaster blocks 22 and 23 are, with one exception, identical to the corner pilaster blocks 17 of Figures 12 and 13, the exception being the disposition of the slots therein. That is to say, the end pilaster block 22 shown in Figure 14 has a single slot 24 in one of its sides into which the ends of the wall blocks at the end of the wall can fit.The intermediate pilaster block 23 of Figure 15 has two slots 25 formed in opposite sides into which the ends of the wall blocks can fit. It will be apparent that other forms of pilaster block can be moulded to support other types of joints in a wall construction e.g. a T-joint where three wall sections meet.

As illustrated in Figures 16 and 17, the wall blocks 11 are preferably dimensioned so that a wall made therefrom can incorporate standard decorative screen blocks 26. To support the screen blocks, an intermediate sill block 27, again made by the method described above, is disposed on top of the course of wall blocks destined to be underneath the screen blocks.

As best shown in Figure 17, the sill block 27 has a slot 28 in its undersurface to accommodate the ribs 15 of the wall blocks 11, and a second slot 29 in its upper surface which serves as a seating for the lower edge of the screen blocks 26. The height of the wall blocks is preferably designed so that the top of the top course of wall blocks 11 coincides in the top of the screen blocks 26 with the result that a coping 12 can be placed, as illustrated directly across the wall blocks and the screen blocks.

The groove in the undersurface of the coping accommodating the tops of the screen blocks as best seen in Figure 17.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method of making blocks, comprising the steps of loading a container at a loading station with a predetermined quantity of material to be moulded, moving the container to a moulding station whereat it is positioned adjacent a mould cavity defined by a frame and a plate which carries the frame, transferring the material from the container to the mould cavity, returning the container to the loading station for reloading, compacting the material in the mould cavity so that it takes up a desired shape vibrating the frame during said compacting operation, removing the frame whilst continuing to vibrate the frame to leave the compacted material on the plate, moving the plate carrying the compacted material away from the moulding station, positioning a fresh plate at the moulding station and locating the frame on the fresh plate ready for a subsequent moulding operation.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, in which said predetermined quantity of material is loaded into the top of said container at the loading station, the container being then moved to the moulding station as aforesaid so that an aperture in its underside is loacted above the mould cavity, so that the material in said container can fall through said aperture into the mould cavity.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the material is compacted in said mould cavity by pressure applied by a vertically movable tamper which moves into the mould cavity from above.

4. A method as claimed in Claim 3, in which the tamper is vibrated during compaction of the material.

5. A method as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which the frame is raised off the plate once the material is compacted and then the tamper is subsequently raised from the compacted material.

6. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5, in which the plate carrying the compacted

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. coping 12 on top of the assembled wall blocks. Conveniently, each block forming the coping is three times as long as a full size wall block 11 so that it spans two joints between wall blocks in the top course to impart rigidity to the top course and thereby strengthen the wall. It will be appreciated that where the wall has a corner, some additional support is usually needed to assist the interlocking rib and slot arrangement in achieving stability. This additional support is preferably provided by blocks made according to the same method as the plynth, wall blocks and coping, but moulded in the form of slotted, hollow corner pilaster blocks 17, one such corner pilaster block being illustrated in Figure 12. The rectangular hollow pilaster block 17 has slots 18 in two adjacent sides which accommodate the ends of the wall blocks 11 forming the corner, as illustrated in Figure 13.Each pilaster block 17 is also provided with internal grooves 19 into which steel rods 20 can be passed so that a number of identical corner pilaster blocks can be stacked one on top of another and held firmly together by the rods 20 to form a corner pillar having a height equal to the desired wall height. The hollow centre of a corner pilaster block (or stack of pilaster blocks where a corner pillar is formed) can be filled with earth or concrete to stabilise the wall still further. The corners 21 of each pilaster block 17 are radiussed so that when assembled in a wall, they provide a pleasing and neat appearance both inside and outside the corner. It should be observed that in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 13, the wall blocks 11 each have a single rib 15a on its upper surface which fills the respective slots 16 in the course of wall blocks immediately above it. In Figure 13 also the plynth has been omitted for clarity. Similar additional support is required if the wall terminates abruptly, e.g. at a gateway, or if the wall is of some considerable length. In those cases, pillars are respectively desirable at the end of the wall or at intermediate locations along the wall. To construct such pillars, further slotted, stackable hollow pilaster blocks 22, 23 (Figures 14 and 15) are preferably moulded according to the method described above. The pilaster blocks 22 and 23 are, with one exception, identical to the corner pilaster blocks 17 of Figures 12 and 13, the exception being the disposition of the slots therein. That is to say, the end pilaster block 22 shown in Figure 14 has a single slot 24 in one of its sides into which the ends of the wall blocks at the end of the wall can fit.The intermediate pilaster block 23 of Figure 15 has two slots 25 formed in opposite sides into which the ends of the wall blocks can fit. It will be apparent that other forms of pilaster block can be moulded to support other types of joints in a wall construction e.g. a T-joint where three wall sections meet. As illustrated in Figures 16 and 17, the wall blocks 11 are preferably dimensioned so that a wall made therefrom can incorporate standard decorative screen blocks 26. To support the screen blocks, an intermediate sill block 27, again made by the method described above, is disposed on top of the course of wall blocks destined to be underneath the screen blocks. As best shown in Figure 17, the sill block 27 has a slot 28 in its undersurface to accommodate the ribs 15 of the wall blocks 11, and a second slot 29 in its upper surface which serves as a seating for the lower edge of the screen blocks 26. The height of the wall blocks is preferably designed so that the top of the top course of wall blocks 11 coincides in the top of the screen blocks 26 with the result that a coping 12 can be placed, as illustrated directly across the wall blocks and the screen blocks. The groove in the undersurface of the coping accommodating the tops of the screen blocks as best seen in Figure 17. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method of making blocks, comprising the steps of loading a container at a loading station with a predetermined quantity of material to be moulded, moving the container to a moulding station whereat it is positioned adjacent a mould cavity defined by a frame and a plate which carries the frame, transferring the material from the container to the mould cavity, returning the container to the loading station for reloading, compacting the material in the mould cavity so that it takes up a desired shape vibrating the frame during said compacting operation, removing the frame whilst continuing to vibrate the frame to leave the compacted material on the plate, moving the plate carrying the compacted material away from the moulding station, positioning a fresh plate at the moulding station and locating the frame on the fresh plate ready for a subsequent moulding operation.

material is moved away from the moulding station by a horizontal conveyor.

7. Apparatus for performing a method as claimed in Claim 1, comprising a hopper for containing material to be moulded disposed at a loading station, a container disposed beneath the hopper outlet for receiving a predetermined quantity of said material therefrom, a mould cavity disposed at a moulding station and defined by a frame and a plate which carries the frame, the container being movable between the loading station and a position at the moulding station in which an aperture in the container is positioned over the frame so that material in the container can be readily transferred into the mould cavity, means for compacting material within the mould cavity to shape it into a block or blocks of predetermined shape, means to vibrate the frame during said compacting operation and during removal from the compacted material, means for raising the frame off the plate once material in the mould cavity is compacted to leave the compacted, shaped material on the plate, means for removing the plate from the moulding station and positioning a fresh plate at the moulding station, and means for locating the frame on the fresh plate to redefine said mould cavity ready for the start of a subsequent moulding operation.

8. A method of making blocks, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.

9. Apparatus for use in performing a method as claimed in Claim 8, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A building block for use in the construction of walls, when moulded according to a method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6 or Claim 8 or using apparatus as claimed in Claim 7or Claim 9.

11. A building block as claimed in Claim 10, incorporating means for providing interlocking engagement of the block with another building block as claimed in Claim 11 provided with complementary engaging means, when said blocks are assembled together.

12. A building block as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the block is moulded in the form of a wall block, of which the upper or lower surface is provided with at least one rib, and the lower or upper surface of the block respectively is provided with a correspondingly shaped slot, the rib or ribs and slot of the block being disposed for interengagement with the corresponding slot and rib or ribs respectively of identical blocks in courses immediately above or below the block when a plurality of said blocks are constructed as a wall.

13. A building block as claimed in Claim 12, in which the upper surface of the block is provided with said rib or ribs and the lower surface of said block is provided with said slot.

14. A building block as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the block is moulded in the form of a plynth having on its upper surface a rib or ribs which is or are adapted to fit within the slots on the undersurfaces of a plurality of wall block according to Claim 14 when said wall blocks are arranged on the plynth to form the lowermost course of a wall.

15. A building block as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the block is moulded in the form of a coping having in its undersurface a slot adapted to accommodate the ribs on the upper surfaces of a plurality of wall blocks according to Claim 14 when said wall blocks constitute the uppermost course of a wall and the coping is placed thereon.

16. A building block as claimed in Claim 15, in which the length of said block in the form of a coping is equal to three times the length of one of said wall blocks.

17. A building block as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the block is in the form of an intermediate sill having in its undersurface a slot for accommodating the ribs on the upper surface or a plurality of wall blocks according to Claim 14 when said wall blocks constitute a course of a wall, the upper surface of said intermediate sill being also provided with a slot adapted to provide a seating for standard decorative screen blocks.

18. A building block as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said block is moulded in the form of a hollow pilaster block having a vertically extending slot in one outward facing side surface, the pilaster block being adapted for supporting the end of a wall section composed of courses of wall blocks according to Claim 13 or Claim 14 with the ends of the wall blocks at said end the wall section accommodated in said slot in the pilaster block.

19. A building block as claimed in Claim 18, in which a second outward facing surface of the pilaster block is provided with a respective vertically extending slot, the pilaster block being adapted to constitute a joint between two sections of a wall composed of courses of said wall blocks, with the ends of the wall sections adjacent the joint disposed adjacent the slotted sides of the pilaster block and the ends of the wall sections accommodated within the respective slots.

20. A building block as claimed in Claim 19, in which the slotted side surfaces of the pilaster block are adjacent so that the pilaster block is adapted to constitute a corner joint of said wall.

21. A building block as claimed in Claim 19, in which the pilaster block is rectangular in cross-section and the slotted side surfaces of the pilaster block are opposite one another, so that the pilaster block is adapted to join two wall sections which are disposed end to end.

22. A building block as claimed in any one of Claims 18 to 21, in which the pilaster block is adapted to be stacked with other identical pilaster blocks with their vertically extending slots in alignment to constitute a slotted pillar for supporting a wall composed of said wall blocks which is higher than one pilaster block.

23. A building block as claimed in Claim 22, in which vertically extending internal grooves are provided in the pilaster block such that when it is stacked with other pilaster blocks to form a slotted pillar as aforesaid, the internal grooves in the pilaster blocks are also aligned for the accommodation of rods to tie the pilaster blocks together.

24. A building block as claimed in Claim 10, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 9 to 17 of the accompanying drawings.

25. A wall composed of a plurality of building blocks as claimed in any of Claims 10to24.

26. A wall as claimed in Claim 25, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 9 to 11, Figure 13 or Figures 16 and 17 of the accompanying drawings.