US1694579A - Machine for forming plastic tile - Google Patents

Description

Decn 1l, 1928. l I 1,694,579

` H. BROCK MACHINE FOR FORMING PLASTIC TILE original Filed Feb.18, 1926 s sheets-sneu 1 Dm 11, 192s.

H. BROCK MACHINE FOR FORMNG'PLASTIC TILE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' Dec. 1l, 1928.

H. BRCCK MACHINE FOR FORMING PLASTIC TILE Original Filed Feb. 18, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet Cil Patented Dec. 1l, 1928.

UNTE STATES 41,694,579 PATENT o FFIcE.

nonnen Bacon,

or si'. Louis, Missionar, Assislvon or ONE-'HALF ro JAMES B noox,

F ST. LOUES, MISSOURI.

MACHINE FOR FORMING PLASTIC TILE.

Substitute for application Serial No. 89,013, 1927.

My present invention relates to improvements and refinements of machines, for forming tile from plastic material, automatically and continuously, and more particularly to such machines as shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States, granted to me, Holden Brock, May 30, 1922, numbered 1,418,227..

My primary obj eet is to provide a machine, of compact design so as to occupy a minimum of floor space, comprising a receptacle for a bed of plastic material, such as concrete, beneath which forms, or palettes, are moved in continuous succession upon a conveyor comprising tile spacing or partition plates, which forms and plates coact with rotatable material packing and initial shaping blades and` a fixed trowel to shape. the lower and upper faces and both end margins of the tile while the sides of the receptacle shape the sidel margins of the tile. l

Another object of my invention is to provide simple, automatic means for feeding the forms one at a time to the conveyor properly positioned thereon between said tile spacing or partition plates.

A further obj ect is to provide simple means for applying a finish coating to the tile.

A. further object is to provide simple automatic means for perforating the tile fornail ing purposes. p

And a still further object isL to provide means on the conveyor for cleaning the conveyor trackways whereby the forms carried thereby aremoved in a constant pla-ne. This application is a substitute for my prior aban doned application filed Feb. 18, 1926, Serial Number 89,013.

To the above purposes my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts, as: hereinafter fully, clearly, and concisely described, delinitely pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawings sheets) in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of amachine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional. elevation taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4c is front end view of the machine, with the conveyor and associated tile forming elements omitted.

' Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional fried February' is, 192s. This appneanon filed october 17,

Serial No. 226,830.

elevation showing the form feeding means, and the tile shaping and finishing means.

Fig. 6 is a detail elevation, partly in section, showing the tile perforating means, and Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the holder for the perforators which furnishes a continuous liquid supply thereto, and Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the conveyor-length adjustment.

Referring by numerals to the drawings, 10 designates vertical frame elements, on which are fixed bearings 11 in which are mounted shafts 12, for the support of spiders 13 and 14, located respectively at, or near, the rear, or discharge end and front or receiving end of the machine frame. These spiders are arranged in pairs as best shown in Fig. 2 and each comprises a plurality of uniformly circumferentially spaced dwells 15 and form` the driving means for the conveyor.

The spider 14, at the front end of the machine, is an idler, while the spider 13, at the rear end of the machine, is power driven, having connected therewith a sprocket wheel 16, which is connected by a chain 17 and sprocket wheel 18 with a shaft 19, carrying, as best shown in Fig. 2, a clutch 20. A shaft 21, having a pulley 22 for connection with a source of power and a control clutch 23, is connected with shaft 19 by a reduction gear comprising gear wheels 2a and 25.

By preference vthe conveyor comprises cross-pieces 26, of rectangular section and which have trunnions 27 at each end for the support of links 28 and rollers 29. Connecting each link 28 with a cross piece 23 are rods 30. Each link 28 pivotally supports an arm 31 of a track cleaning and form supporting device 32 carrying shoes 33 which ride the track 34, which track is by preference a pair of opposed channel irons disposed lengthwise of the frame, immediately beneath the material receptacle 35 which consists of up- ,able as by a sprocket gear 59 rack 39 upon which a stack of forms, manually supplied, are supported, to be fed, one at a time, to the conveyor. rlThis feeding` means comprises an actuating rod 40 ce ried in pivot blocks 4l, one Of which is fixed to the machine frame and the other of which carried on a rocker arm 42. Pivotally carried at the forward end of the rod l() is a feed arm e3 comprising a shoulder el for engagement with the forward margins of the tile forms for their rearward movements te-A ward the conveyor.

The rocker arm 4t2 is carried on a lulcrum 45, and carries a push bar i6 for operation of the rock lever in its effective stroke, disposed in the path of project-ions 47 carried on the forward spider ll. A contractile coil spring i8 serves to move the rocker arm in its noneifective stroke.

For coaction with the feeding means l provide a form positioning element in the form of a. freely rotatable retarder comprising radially disposed fingers 49, which comprehend the paths of the tile spacing plates 3G, and which are held thereby to control the drop7 of the forms, as best shown in ig.

By the means ust described, the forms are placed on the lugs 87 and between each pair of the spacing plates 36 to comprise witl the spacing plates a continuous bottom for the receptacle 35 and upon which the material (concrete) is supplied.

ln the movement of the forms and spacing plates beneath the bed of material the bottom faces of the tile are shaped while concurrently therewith the ends of the tile. are de fined by the spacing plates.

For the shaping of the upper faces of the tile l employ a packer comprising a shaft upon which is detachably secured a plura of radially disposed blades 5l whose outer, free, margins are shaped to the desired shape of the upper faces of the tile.

Immediately to the rear of the packer is a dam 52 which forms the rear end oi the receptacle and whose lower margin sha iPfl to conform with the upper faces the t and which acts as a fina shaping trowel 4' the tile as packed and initially shaped the packer.

To vary the thickness of tiles the dam is vertically adjustable as by the adjustable hangers 53, as best shown in Fig.

Supported over the train of forms as carried on the conveyor is a hopper 54, for containing a nish coating for the tile such liquid cement, which may be colored if desired. and whose flow is controlled bj: valve 55, and which ope ates to apply a contrV nous stream of finish coating to the shaped tile.

Immediately following the hopper final finishing` trowel 56, which like the 52 is vertically adjustable af by ha llVithin the hopper 54 is an a,

which includes the power driven shaft 21 and the shaft 50 of the packer.

lmmediatelv following the i'inal finishing trowel 56 is a tile perforator comprising` a pivotally supported arm 60 carrying at its forward, free end a cup 6l through whose bottom is extended one, or more, punch holders G2 formed as tubes and which hold, by setscrews 63, the punches G4, there being a groove, such as G5, in each punch bodj-f where by liquid, waten may be fed to the functioning portion of the punch bodies to prevent their sticking in the plast-ic tile. is best shown in Fig'. 6, the arm 60 carries a fingir 6G arranged to be engaged and support tu punches out of functioning po. "tion by a latch 6?, with which latch is associzited a releasing mechanism comprising` a trigger G8 resident the path, of the conveyor and engageable thereby at intervals correspondingwith the length of the tile forms. The trigger is constructed as abell crank and includes an arm 68', which carriesthe recited latch (3T^ and from which arm is extended a. lifter G8 for the .rm 60. The latch eccentrically mounted to fall away from the linger o6 dui a .lifting ofthe arm GO, and the latch is automatically restored to arm supportin,Q3r or latching, position by engagement of its heel 67 with the trackw y Sfl when the conveyor releases the trigger 68.

rllhe spring` 69 is carried by the arm 60 and serves to cushion the drop of the perforating punches and serves with the latch to obviate vibrating of the arm 60.

Assuming the machine connected with power, a bed of prepared concrete in plastic form in the receptacle and a finish fluid in the hopper, and forms disposed in the conveyor, as best shown in Fig. 5, it will be obvious that the forms will be automatically fed and properly positioned on the conveyor, thatthe moving` forms will each receive a charge of cement of uniform quantity and density and that the charge will be shaped and nished, automatically and continuously, with a minimum of manual effort.

AAmong' the advantages 0f the construction of this present invention is that all of the elements which enter into the shaping of the tile may be removed and replaced to the end that the machine is readily adaptable to making` dilferently shaped tile.

By reason of the track cleaning and form supporting elements 32, serving as form supports between the supported ends of the forms, as upon the lugs 37, relatively light weight and inexpensive forms may be employed, and in addition to this advantage the elements 32 serve to carry the forms in a straight line beyond the path of the conveyor proper as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l) whereby the forms are readily converted to a second carrying off conveyor.

As best shown in Fig. 8 each of the rods llll 30, of the conveyor has at its one end a the conveyor to 'form abottom 'for the recepthreaded connection with a cross-piece 26 and a nut at its other end for its securing,` to a link 28. This feature permits compensation for wear and affords maintenance ot constant conveyor lengths so that, the partition plates 36 may be nnitormly relatively spaced, at all times.

l. ln a machine of the class described the combination of a conveyor, a normally openbottomed receptacle, palettes supported by the conveyor to form a bottom tor the receptacle, a packer, a dam, a troWel, and a pert'orating device. f

2. ln a machine of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, a normally openbottomed receptacle, palettes supported by the conveyor to 'form a bottom for the receptacle, a packer, a dam, a trowel, a perforating device and means tor automatically feeding` the palettes to the conveyor.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, a normally openbottomed receptacle, palettes supported by the conveyor to form a bottom 'tor the receptacle, a packer, a dam, a trowel, and a peritorating device, said conveyor having' plates 'forming partitions between the forms as carried by the conveyor.

et. ln a machine oi the class described, `the combination o'ta conveyor, a normally openbottomed receptacle, palettes supported by tacle., a packer, a dam, a trowel, arperfora ing device, and means tor antomaticallyoperating the perforating device, at intervals corresponding With the palette lengths.

5. In a machine of the class described a conveyor comprising palette supporting and spacing elements, a receptacle whose bottom is formed by palettes carried on the conveyor, means :tor movingthe conveyor and palettes relative to the receptacle, a packer comprising` blades, means for moving the blades in a direction opposed to the movements ot the palettes and a liXed troivel.

6. ln a machine yot the class described a conveyor comprising palette supporting and spacing,` elements, a receptacle Whose bottom is formed by palettes carried on the conveyor, means for movingtheconveyor and palettes relative to the receptacle, a packer, compris ing` blades, means 'for moving,1 the blades in a direction opposed to the movements et the palettes'and a fixed trowel, a hopper hawing` a controllable outlet arranged over the palettes and a finishing troivel to the rear o't the hopper.

7. ln a machine of the class described, a palette conveyor comprising palette spacers, and means for adjusting connected elements of the conveyor for maintaining uniform distances between said spacers.

HOLDEN BROCK.

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