US1525872A - Block-molding machine - Google Patents

Description

A. F. LEWIS BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 5, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 flnapn F Lewis A TIIJ.

Feb. 10, 1925.

I 1,525,872 A. F. LEWIS I BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 5. 1923 s Sheets-Shet s F I! -1 v l7 /7 15 g 6/6 4? 48 o 7 O 5 :8 47 :4 f 7 J 1 F a 1 7 Q I: mm l flnson FLe WIS Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

1,525,372 PATENT OFFICE.

ANSON F. LEWIS, OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA.

BLOCK-MOLDING MACHINE.

Application filed October 5, 1923. Serial No. 666,741.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, ANsoN F. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Barbara, in the county of Santa Barbara and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Block- Molding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a block molding apparatus of that character embodied in application Serial No. 544,481, issued as Patent No. 1,488,644.

A purpose of my present invention is the provision of a block molding apparatus which includes plastic compressing means operable at the top and bottom of the block mould, the lower compressing means being associated with a block ejecting means so as to be operable through the medium of the last means and in a manner to eliminate the necessity of providing separate operating means as in the apparatus embodied in the application above referred to.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide a'block molding apparatus in which the upper compressing means is mounted for adjustment to vary the degree of compression effected by said means.

A further purpose of my invention is the Y provision of a block molding apparatus in which the upper compressing means is detachably associated with a movable cover, and such cover being provided with a novel form of latching means which is effective to securely retain the cover in closed position without subjecting the latching means to any undue wear.

Although I have herein shown and will describe only one form of block molding apparatus embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications 'may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims. I

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view showing in side elevation, with a portion thereof broken away, one form of block molding apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. V

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the cover in open position and a plastic block formed by the apparatus and in ejected position with respect to the mould.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing in side elevation a portion ,of the mould and the cover therefor, with the actuating means for the upper plunger in active position.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail of the latching mechanism shown in F ig. 1. I Y

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view showing in side elevation a modified form of plunger actuating mechanism.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, my invention in its present embodiment comprises a pair of rigidly connected frames F and F which are preferably of triangular form and held in spaced relation by rods 15. A jacket J of rectangular form is secured upon the frames F and F, and interposed between the jacket and the frames is a bottom plate P employed for closing the bottom side of the jacket. The upper side of the jacket is adapted to be closed by a cover K supported for swinging movement upon arms 16 secured to the jacket J, such arms being pivotally connected at the point indicated at 17 to the arms 18 secured to the cover. Detachably secured to the bottom plate P by means of fastening members 19 (Fig. 2) are a plurality of hollow rectangular members 20 which, constitute the core of the block mould. These members 20 are. secured in spaced parallel relation within the jacket J so as to allow of the pouring of cement or other plastic material between the members and the jacket. The plate P is of such an area so as to provide slots at the opposite sides thereof, and between the plate and the jacket J, such slots being provided for the purpose of accommodating an ejecting frame E including side bars 21 andf end rods 22. This ejecting frame is supported at its four corners upon vertically disposed rods 23 connected at their upper ends to the bars 21 and at. their lower ends to extensions 24 formed in a yoke 25, The yoke 25 is mounted for ver tical movement between guide rails 26 secured to the frames F and F, and with fingers 27 extending from the opposite sides of the yoke and engaging the guide bars to prevent longitudinal displacement Of the yoke, as willbe understood,

The. oke is adapted to be manually elevatec through the medium of grooved pulleys 28 and 29, and chains or other flexible members 30 connected to the pulleys and to the eyes 31 of rods 32 adjustably secured to the yoke 25. The pulleys 28 and 29 are mounted for rotational movement by a shaft 33 journaled in suitable bearings supported upon the frames F and F and to which the pulleys are keyed. A triangular yoke 34 is secured to the pulley 28, and this yoke is provided with an extension 35 formed with a handle 36 adapted to be gripped when actuating the pulley.

The second shaft 37 is journaled upon suitable bearings secured to the frames F and F, and fixed'to the opposite ends of this shaft are levers 38 having tapered or recessed ends 39. Rods 40 are pivotally connected to the arms 38 at a point indicated at 41, and these rods are adjustably connected at their lower ends within the yoke 25. Grooved rollers 42 are rotatively mounted upon the pulleys 28 and 29 so as to engage the lower edges of the arms 38 and to ride'on the lower edges of the reduced ends 39, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Through an actuation of the pulleys 28 and 29, the ejecting frame E is adapted to be moved upwardly within the jacket J, and removably supported upon this frame is a lower plunger G constructed to freely move between the members 20 of the core in effecting a compression of the plastic material contained within the jacket. This plunger G is adapted to oo-operate with an upper plunger G movably associated with the lower side of the cover K so as to move downwardly within the jacket in effecting a compression of the plastic material. This plunger G is secured to a plurality of rods 43 slidably extended through suitable openings formed in the cover K and threaded to receive nuts 44 so that expansible springs 45 may be interposed between washers 46 and the upper side of the cover K for normally urging the plunger as a unit upwardly toward the cover. Sleeves 47 surround the rods 43 above the cover K so as to protect the springs 45. It will be understood that through an adjustment of the nuts 44 the urging action of the springs can be varied and a vertical adjustment of the plunger G effected.

In order to move the plunger G to compressing position within the jacket J, cams 48 are fixed to the opposite ends of a shaft 49 journaled in the cover K and provided with an operating lever 50 by whichthe shaft is rotated in effecting actuation of the cams. The cams are eccentrically connected to the shaft so that when rotated they will serve to depress the plunger G"again'st the action of the springs 45. In the depressed position of the plunger, it is disposed within' the jacket J so as to effect a depression p5 the plastic material constituting the For securing the cover K in closed position, the jacket J is provided with a keeper lip 51 adapted to be engaged by latching hooks 52 loosely pivoted on a shaft 53 journaled in the cover, and to which latter is fixed a U-shaped yoke 54 carrying pins 55 which engage tongues 56 formed on the latching hooks 52. Limiting extensions-57 are fixed to the yoke 54 for limiting the movement of the yoke rearwardly toward the cover. The hooks 52 being loosely mounted upon the shaft 53 are free to occupy an engaged position with respect to the-lip 51 for securing the cover in closed position. In order to: release the hooks when opening the cover, they may be moved to released position, as shown in Fig. 6, by moving the yoke 54 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 6, thereby causing the pins 55 to'engage the tongues 56 and thus move the hooks 52 so that their bills disengage the lip 51. The stops 57 serve to limit this movement of the yoke 54 so that as soon as the hooks disengage the lip the movement of the yoke 54 is checked.

In practice, the ejecting frame normally occupies the lowered position shown in Fig. 1, with the lower plunger G superimposed thereon so that'when the cover K is in open position, the concrete or otherplastic material may be poured into the jacket J filling the spaces between thewall of the jacket and the members 20 of the core. The cover K is now swung to closed position and retained in such position by the latch hooks 52, as has been described, so that the upper plunger G is now positioned to effect a compression of the concrete within the mould. actuation of the lever 50 to swing the cams 48 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 5 whereby the plunger may be forced downwardly into the jacket for a distance depending upon the adjustment ofthe nuts 44 and upon the resistance encountered and the force applied.

The compression of the concrete at the upper side of the mould having been com.- pleted, the lower plunger G is now actuated to effect a compression of the concrete at the lower side of the mould by rotation of the pulleys 28 and 29 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. As the pulleys are rotated, the rollers 42 move upwardly to elevate the arms 38 thereby lifting the rods 40 and the yoke 25 to effect a slight elevationof the ejecting frame and the plunger G through the medium of the rods 23. Byvirtue ofthe reduced ends 39' of the'ar1ns38 the rollers 42 This compression is effectedby' move the arms a predetermined distance which is suflicient to force the plunger G upwardly the required distance in effecting the desired compression of the concrete within the mould. It will be particularly noted that because of the normally slack chains 30 this initial movement of the pulleys 28 and 29 merely operates to take up the slack in the chains, and that the move me-nt of the plunger G is effected solely through the actuation of the arms 38.

From the foregoing operation, it will be clear that the compression of the concrete within the mould both from the top and bot tom thereof has been completed, so that it is only necessary to swing the cover K to open ,osition when the block thus formed can be ejected from the mould upon continued movement of the pulleys 28 and 29. Such movement of the pulleys effects elevation of the yoke through the medium of the chains 30 thus forcing the ejecting frame upwardly within the mould to elevate the plunger G and the block to the position shown in Fig. 4 when the block and plunger can be removed from the apparatus. I

Other blocks can be formed by repeating the above operation, and if it is desired to vary the size and contour of the blocks, it will be clear that different size plungers G and G, core members 20 and plates 2O can be employed by virtue of the detachability of these elements.

In Fig. 7 I have shown another cam arrangement by which the plunger G can be depressed with respect to the cover K. In the present instance, I provide two cams 48 at each end of the cover K, such cams being mounted eccentrically upon shafts 49 and operable by means of a lever 50 directly connected to one of the shafts 49 and operatively connected to the other shafts through an arm 50 and a link 50. By providing the four cams, it will be clear that the pressure exerted downwardly upon the plunger G is uniform thus insuring of the uniform pressure of the plastic material, as will be understood.

IVhatv I claim is: I

l. A block molding apparatus, comprising a mould, an ejecting frame movable within the mould, a plunger supported on the ejecting frame, pivoted arms operatively connected to the ejecting frame, rotatably mounted pulleys, flexible connections between the pulleys and ejecting frame, coaeting means formed on the pulleys and arms for effecting an elevation of the arms upon rotation of the pulleys so as to actuate the ejecting frame and cause said plunger to compass a material within the mould, and flexible connections between the pulleys and the ejecting frame for moving the latter to ejecting position. with respect to the mould upon the actuation of said pulleys, said connections being normally slack to prevent movement of the ejecting frame through the connections upon the initial movement of said pulleys.

2. A block molding apparatus, comprising a mould, an ejecting frame movable within the mould, a plunger supported on the frame within the mould, a yoke supported in pending relation to the frame and operatively connected thereto, pivoted arms operatively connected to the yoke and having recessed ends, pulleys mounted. for rotational movement, flexible connections between the yoke and pulleys, and rollers carried by the pulleys and engageable with the reduced ends of said arms in the manner and for the purpose described.

3. A block moulding apparatus, comprising a mould, a cover for the mould pivoted to occupy open and closed positions, a plunger carried by the cover and movably sustained to occupy one extreme position in which it is withdrawn from the mould and another extreme position in which it is disposed within the mould, adjustable means for aiding the plunger to the first extreme position, and means for moving the plunger to the second extreme position against the action of said urging means.

4. A block molding apparatus, comprising a mould, a cover for the mould pivoted to occupy open and closed positions, a plunger carried by the cover and movably sus tained to occupy one extreme position in which it is withdrawn from the mould and another extreme position in which it is disposed within the mould, adjustable means for urging the plunger to the first extreme position, and cam openative means for moving the plunger from the first extreme position to the second extreme position against the action of said urging means.

5. A block molding apparatus, comprising a keeper lip formed on the mould. latch hooks pivoted on the cover, a yoke pivoted on the cover, tongues formed on the hooks, and pins carried by the yoke and engageable with said tongues for moving the hooks to disengaged position with respect to the keeper lip.

6. A block molding apparatus, comprising a keeper lip formed on themould, latch hooks pivoted on the cover, a yoke pivoted on the cover, tongues formed on the hooks, pins carried by the yoke and engageable with said tongues for moving the hooks to disengaged position with respect to the keeper lip, and means for limiting the movement of the yoke in one direction.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

.ANSON F. LEWIS.

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