US2884921A - Brick cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 5, 1959 R. DRAKE- BRICK CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1957 i [IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE AwwN\NN i" 3 N L. A

INVENTOR -l @5517 bu flfiA/(E ATT NEYS United States Patent BRICK CLEANING APPARATUS Robert Lyle Drake, San Leandro, Calif.

Application May 14, 1957, Serial No. 659,133

6 Claims. (Cl. 125-26) This invention relates to apparatus for removing mortar, cement and like foreign substances from bricks.

In the taking down and destruction of old buildings, there is frequently provided large quantities of bricks which initially formed a portion of the structure being demolished. According to present practices, such bricks are usually carefully cleaned by hand for resale. Used bricks are considered superior in appearance to new bricks, and even though the cost thereof may exceed that of new bricks, there is a consistent demand for the cleaned used bricks. Heretofore, it has been the practice to hand clean these bricks by means of a manually engageable hammer or the like so as to remove the mortar or other bonding material by means of which the bricks were adhe'red to each other. Obviously, this is a time consuming and consequently costly procedure, and in order to clean the large number of bricks which may be broken down from a wall or like structures necessitates the use of a large crew of workmen.

Numerous attempts have been heretofore made to pro- 'duce a machine which would expedite the cleaning of the bricks, but to date, such machines have been both 'costly and ineflicient and still unable to satisfactorily clean bricks so that the faces thereof are squared, nor

'do such machines have the ability to clean the bricks at a sutficiently high and economical rate.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide mechanical apparatus which will thoroughly and effectively clean large volumes of used bricks in a mini mum period of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described, including means for bringing automatic in operation and which only requires the uncleaned bricks to be deposited on a conveyor or the like for subsequent delivery to and through the mechanism.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide apparatus as hereinabove explained which incorporates a novel set of blades or scrapers for removing the mortar and the like from the bricks and including means for compensating for slight irregularties in the respective bricks, and in which the blade mechanism may be readily adjusted and/ or easily removed from or installed in the apparatus.

The invention possesses other objects and features of.

advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It

; to be understood, however, that variations theshow- 'ice ing made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in 'wrecked onto the turntable.

for subsequent delivery to the machine.

the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the brick cleaning apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational View of the apparatus disclosed in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is another transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a transeverse cross-sectional view of the blade assembly, with the plane of the view being indicated by the line 66 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a plane cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 77 of Figure 3.

In broad terms, the apparatus of the present invention includes means for receiving large quantities of the bricks to be cleaned, means for delivering such bricks to the mortar removing mechanism, means for moving the bricks through the cleaning or mortar removing mechanism, and means for receiving the cleaned bricks upon emergence from the machine. More specifically, but still considering the overall operation of the apparatus, it will be noted, particularly as shown in Figure l of the drawings, that the used bricks to be cleaned are initially deposited on a revolving table 12. Any suitable means may be incorporated for initially placing the bricks on such table, and in many installations it is possible to run a chute or hopper directly from the building being Since the turntable has an extensive area, a large quantity of such bricks may be indiscriminately positioned on the upper surface thereof From the tumtable 12, the bricks are placed on a conveyor, generally indicated by the numeral 13, such conveyor being of substantially the same height as that of the table whereby an operator may manually move the bricks from the slow- 1y rotating turntable to the conveyor. As the bricks move along the conveyor they ultimately reach a position where- 'in a single brick is aligned with a ram or plunger 14,

whose travel is substantially normal to that of the conveyor. It should be explained that the bricks, as they are to be engaged by the plunger, are normally arranged 'with their greatest length extending across the width 'indicated at 16, which will effectively scrape the used mortar from the four side and edge faces of the brick, and,

since the plunger strikes one end of the brick with a substantial force, and likewise knocks each successive brick against its immediately succeeding brick, the mortar will likewise be properly dislodged from the two opposed brick ends. Upon emerging from the blade assembly 16, the bricks are caused to fall into a chute 17, from which they are delivered to a discharge turntable 18, from which they may be removed in any suitable manner. However, since the turntable 18, just as in the case of the receiving turntable 12, has a substantial large supporting surface, a large number of bricks may be deposited thereon without falling to the ground or interfering with successive bricks coming from the machine.

Considering the operation of the apparatus in more detail, reference should first be had to the mechanism which actually takes the mortar from the sides of the brick, since irrespective of the delivery and discharge means, this is an essential feature of the machine as it represents the primary job to be performed. This mechanism is best shown in Figures 3, 6 andi7 'of' thedrawings, and with reference thereto it will be seen that the'bricks upon delivery from the conveyor 13 are deposited upon a plurality of horizontally disposed transverse grids21'. By transverse, it is meant that the grids are normal to the length of the machine and likewise normal to the directionalplunger travel. These grids support the brick on one of its sides, with the longitudinal axis of the brick generally aligned withthe longitudinal axis of the machine. Immediately forwardly, or to the left of the grid 21. as viewed in the drawing, there is provided a plurality of scraper blades which serve to engage the upper and lower sides of the brick as well as the edges thereof. As previously mentioned, the ends of the brick are cleaned by impact,- that is, by having one end struck by the plunger 14 and the other end knocked against the end of aprior brick engaged by the plunger. Preferably, all of the scraper blades are carried on a head assembly 26, detachably secured to the forward end of'the. apparatus. This assembly includes a pair of side plates 27,.which are positioned against the opposed inner surfaces ofv a pair of stationary walls 28, constituting a portion of. the frame. A lower scraper mechanism, adapted to engage the bottom side wall 29 of the brick, is' carried adjacent the lower end of plates 27, and is here shown as consisting of three individual scraper blades31. Each of the blades 31 is directed upwardly and rearw'ardly at'an angle of about 45 degreesfrorn the vertical, and has. a similarly formed scraping edge 32, so that the respective blade edges lie in a substantially common horizontal' plane with. the fiat upper edges of grids 21. Blades 311extend transversely'between plates 27 and are detachably, secured by bolts 33 to flat bars 34, the latter being weldedor similarly secured to plates. 36 extending-along plates 27; Plates 36 at their forward and rear edges have oppositely disposed flanges 37 extending transversely of the apparatus which are seated on similar flanges 38 on the plates 27. A plurality of adjustment bolts 39 are engaged in the respective flanges and are arranged to selectively raise or lower the flanges 37 and thereby adjustably position the blades 31 carried thereby. Flange 37'has an upstanding end 41', which is bolted to a transverse wall 42; andthe. latter" is slotted asindicated: at43 in ;Figure:6, so: as to permit the aforesaid raising'aud lowering of the 9 lower. scraper mechanism. From the foregoing, it'will be appreciatedthatas the blades? become .worn, the bolts 39 may be turned to raise thevblades until such time as the blade edges 32 are worn down to the bars 34. Then the remaining portions of theblad'es may be removed from the bars and a new set of. blades installed thereon. Blades 31 will effectively remove all cement or mortar from the bottom face of thebrick, since, as will'be presently explained,- the brick in-passing over the blades 31 is forced downwardly.

Now considering such downward pressure, the same is created by an upper scraper mechanism adapted to engage the top side wall46 of the brick; This mechanism includes a pair of parallel longitudinally extending plates pivotally attached to plates-27 adjacent their forward lower corners by'bolts'48. A cross bar 49 adjacent the rear end thereof is engaged by'c'ompr'ession springs 51, also engagement with a cross bar 52', carried on plates 27 byan upper bar 53' and bolt 54. Bolts 56 extend through bar 53 and engage the upper surface of bar 52, whereby rotation of the bolts will rock plates 47 about theirpivots 48 and against the spring pressure. In this manner, the plates 47 may at all times be urged downwa'rdl'y-with a'selective resilient pressure. Plates 47 carry pairof upper scraper blades 61, extending transversely therebetween, and the blades are directed downwardlyand rearwardly at an angle of about 45' degrees from a vertical plane. Each blade is individually longitudinally" adjust- 4. able by a screw mechanism. 62, whereby the horizontally disposed cutting edge 63 may be lowered upon blade wear.

The manner in which the bottom and top faces of the brick are engaged and scraped by the blades 32 and 61 has been explained and, as previously mentioned, the head assembly likewise carries a side scraping mechanism adapted to engage the opposed side edges of the brick. This mechanism includes a pair of parallel plates 66, pivotally mounted on plates 27 ,adjacent the rear end thereof and having at their forward ends rearwardly directed U-shaped extensions 67. A spring 68 is interposed between the respective plates 27 and 66, and a bolt and lock nut assembly 69 is utilized to effectively control the position of plates 66. Plates 6'6e'ach carry a' plurality of side scraper blades 71, such blades each having a flat attaching portion 72 and an arcuate scraper portion 73, the latter extending inwardly and rearwardly. The rearmost blades are actually bolted'to bars 74 having their forward ends attached to plates 66" and their rearward ends adjustably positioned relative to said plates by bolts and lock nuts 76. The forward blades are in alignment with springs 68, and a manually engageable screw element 77 may be utilized to'elfect'ively vary the resilient pressure.

With the foregoing construction in mind, it should be appreciated that if a brick is forcibly urged forwardly thrbugh the headassembly, the blades 31, 61 and 71, which. are set apart a. distance to merely accommodate a. clean brick,.will shave or shear. any mortar or cement from the facesof. the brick, and in the event of an oversize. brick, the resilient mounting of the top andside blade assemblies: will'permit. its. passages through the head.

I Plunger 14- is utilized to move the brick through the head assembly upon positioning of. the brick in longitudinal alignment withsuch assembly, such as the brick 81' illustrated in Figure 1. Such brick is supported on its bottom side on the grids 21 with its length aligned with the plunger as well as the head. The plunger 14 includes a longitudinally extendingrod 82'having a hardened impact head 83 of generally rectangular configuration to conform to the end wall of the brick. The rod is supported in suitable bearings for longitudinal reciprocating movement. By referring to Figure 3, it will be understood that if the rod is moved to the left, that is, forwardly, thehead 83 will strike the rear end of the brick onthe grids, forcing it past the blades, and upon return of? the rod to the: position shown, another brick maybe operatively positioned on the grids.

Means are provided for imparting intermittent, reciprocating motion tov the plunger rod. As herein illustrated, a power source, such as a motor 86, is mounted adjacent the. rear end of the frame 87 of the apparatus. Such motor drives a sprocket 88 by a chain or belt 89, sprocket 88 having a-small sprocket 91 secured thereto. A chain 92, driven by sprocket 91, engages a large sprocket'wheel 93,- disposed adjacent a pair of plates 94. Wheel 93 is mounted on a transverse horizontal shaft 96, journalled in bearings 97, carried on the plates 94. Secured to shaft 96 for rotation therewith is a pair of parallel spaced metal disks 98 and extending between the disks in eccentrib r'elation to shaft 96 is a roller 99. This roller is adapted: to slidably engage a yoke member 101 having a lower end portion 102 attached to frame 87 by a pivot pin' 103,- a pair'of upstanding legs 104 and 106 defining a slot 107 therebe'tween, and an upper end portion 108. The roller 99 is engaged slot 107, and by virtue of the ece'e'ritri'city thereof, the opposed edges of the legs 104 and I06 will be sequentially engaged thereby, and consequentlyeffe'ct afore and aft rocking of the yoke member about its pivot 103. The upper end portion 108 is pivmany attached by a pin 112 to the rear end of a bifurcatedmein'b'ei 113, whose front end is pivotally connected by a pin 114'to the plunger mechanism,'suitable guides being utilized to merely permit the plunger rod 82 to move along a longitudinal" path; It'is important to note that the width of skit-107' is substantially greater than the diameter of roller 99. In this manner, the plunger will remain stationary at the ends of its stroke and permit the insertion of a new brick onto the grids when the plunger moves to its rearmost position, as shown in the drawings.

In order to position the bricks for engagement by the plunger, the turntable is operatively connected to and 1 synchronized with plunger travel. The conveyor extends laterally from one side of the apparatus and includes a continuous belt 121 mounted on a plurality of rollers 122, journalled inside frame members 123. The roller adjacent frame 87 is power driven, whereby the upper reach of belt 121 is caused to move towards the grids 21, and as such reach lies in substantially the same horizontal plane as the grids, bricks deposited upon the belt will be transferred to the grids, a stop member 124 limiting movement of the bricks and properly positioning the same for engagement by the plunger.

The belt must be intermittently driven and move only when the-plunger is in itsrear position. This is accomplished by providing the driven roller 122 with a bevel gear 131, engaging a bevel gear 132 carried on a shaft 133, extending parallel to the conveyor. Shaft 133 is also provided with a ratchet wheel 134, engageable by a pawl 136, journalled on frame 123 and pivotally connected to a link 137. This link is pivotally connected to an eccentric pin 138, carried on a disk 139, mounted on shaft 96. The pin 138 is so positioned that as the plunger returns to its rearward position the ratchet wheel is indexed, causing the belt 121 to move forwardly and deposit a brick upon the grids. The gears 131 and 132 are so designed that each indexing of the ratchet will advance the belt approximately ten inches. This is to permit the bricks, during their travel on the belt, to come into immediate adjacent relationship, and insure the entry of the brick to be cleaned against the stop member 124 and in position to be engaged by the plunger.

Bricks may be delivered to conveyor 13 from the turntable 12, and upon cleaving thereof by the blades in the head assembly are discharged from the chute 17 onto the similar turntable 18. Both turntables are of similar construction and include a flat table 146, mounted for rotation about a vertical axis upon a gear box 147. Practice has indicated that by rotating the tables at about five revolutions per minute, optimum operating conditions may be obtained. Accordingly, means are provided to effect such rotation, and for economy and convenience, the motive power may be taken from the main plunger shaft 96. As herein illustrated, one end of shaft 96 carries a sprocket 151, connected by a chain 152 to a sprocket 153 mounted on a transversely extending shaft 154. This shaft is operatively connected to a gear reduction unit 155, from which universally connected drive links 156 are attached to the gear boxes on the respective tables. By disconnecting the universal connection 157 which attaches the link to the table, either of the tables may be manually rotated to a desired position as the need arises.

Considering the overall operation of the apparatus, the used bricks to be cleaned may be indiscriminately deposited upon turntable 12 in any suitable manner. An operator may then manually urge the bricks from the table onto the conveyor belt 121, with a face of the brick resting on the belt and with the brick extending generally transverse to the belt. It is not necessary to accurately align each brick, since the excessive amount of intermittent belt travel will properly orient the bricks before being discharged from the belt. When plunger 14 is in its rearward position, as shown in the drawings, belt 121 is advanced through the action of gears 131 and 132 and the ratchet and pawl mechanism until a brick 81 is positioned against the stop member in alignment with the plunger head. The plunger is caused to remain stationary during suchbelt advance, since the width of slot 107 111 the yoke 101 is much greater than the diameter of the roller 99 carried on the disks 88. Upon further rotation of the disks, the roller will engage the yoke leg 104, resulting in a forward movement of the plungerand causing the brick to enter the head assembly and be engaged by the blades 31, 51 and 71, such blades shearing the mortar or cement from all four faces of the brick. With respect to the ends of the brick, the foreign matter is removed by impact. By referring to Figure 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that the length of the brick is less than the length of the head assembly. Consequently, if only a single brick entered the head, it would remain between the blades until the next succeeding brick forced it through. Thus, the rear end of the brick is subjected .to two impact blows, first upon engagement by the plunger head, and second, upon being struck by the forward end of the next succeeding brick. The forward end is subject to the one impact upon being forced against the prior brick within the head assembly.

Upon discharge of the brick from the scraper head, it will slide down chute 17 onto table 18, from which the bricks may be palletized or otherwise removed and stored.

The entire apparatus is constructed in a rugged manner with parts such as the blades and plunger head formed of hardened material. Once the blades are properly positioned, the machine is capable of cleaning in the neighborhood of 20,000 bricks per working day, with the cleaned bricks being square and capable of being stacked and available for immediate reuse in new construction.

What is claimed is:

1. Brick cleaning apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending frame, a transversely disposed brick supporting grid on said frame, a plunger extending longitudinally of said frame and having a brick engaging head at the forward end thereof, a motor, a fly wheel driven by said motor and having an eccentric element carried thereby, a yoke pivotally carried on said frame with the legs thereof positioned on opposite sides of said eccentric element and with the spacing therebetween in substantial excess over the diameter of said element, means operatively connecting said yoke to said plunger for horizontal reciprocation of the plunger upon fly wheel rotation, and a plurality of scraper blades disposed forwardly of said grid including vertically spaced upper and lower blades and laterally spaced side blades, said blades being adapted to scrape foreign matter from a brick as the latter is pushed forwardly by said plunger, said blades being adapted to support a brick until such brick is forced therethrough by a subsequent brick being engaged by movement of said plunger.

2. Brick cleaning apparatus including a longitudinally extending plunger, means reciprocating said plunger along the length thereof, horizontal brick supporting means disposed forwardly of and in alignment with said plunger, a transversely extending blade connecting member positioned forwardly of and lower than said supporting means, a lower blade releasably attached to said connecting member, an upper blade connecting element, an upper blade releasably attached to said element, said upper blade being directed rearwardly and downwardly and said lower blade being directed rearwardly and upwardly each at an angle of about 45 degrees, a pair of laterally spaced side blades, and means for selectively varying the spacing between said side blades and the spacing between said upper and lower blades, the forward position of said plunger terminating rearwardly of said blades whereby a brick engaged by said plunger forces the next preceding brick through said blades.

3. Brick cleaning apparatus including a longitudinally extending plunger, means reciprocating said plunger along the length thereof, means adapted to support a brick in alignment with said plunger and a subsequent brick spaced from said plunger, a transversely extending lower blade in substantial alignment with said brick supporting means, a transversely extending upper blade ver tically spaced from said lower blade, a pair of spaced side blades, said blades being positioned to engage four sides of a brick upon movement of said plunger over said supporting means to force a brick therebetween, a

upon forward reciprocation of said plunger whereby a.=-

brick" carried on said conveyor maybe deposited upon said brick supportingmeans for moving thenext preced-- ing brick into position for engagement by said plunger. '4'.- Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said conve'yor-is advanced a distance in substantial excess of the brick width during" eachreciprocation of saidplunger.

5". Brick cleaning apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending-- frame, a plunger mounted for horizontal reciprocation on said frame, drive means for reciprocating said plunger, a head: assembly detachably secured to a forward end portion-of said frame, said head assembly comprising a pair of spaced parallel plates having an upper scraper blade extending transversely therebetween and a: subjace'nt lower scraper blade, a pair of opposed side. scraper blades carried on said plates, said frame including a grid positioned between said plunger and said headassembly and extending generally transversely of said frame, a conveyor extending laterally from a side of said frame, said conveyor being adapted to deposit bricks on said grid for engagement by said plunger, means operatively connected to said drive means for intermittently advancing said conveyor. upon rearward movement of said plunger, said grid having a transverse extent sub- E stantially greater than! the widthof a brick. to be'cleanedi whereby a brick depositeitom said grid will engage and: slide the preceding brick: into: plunger intercepting. posiw tiom 6. A brick cleaning machine comprising a longitudinally extending: frame, a head. assembly disposed adjacent an end of said frame and having a plurality of blades adapted: to engage the four: opposed: wallsof. a. brick upon.longi:- tudinalr movement thereofthrough said frame, alongi tudinallyreciprocating plunger adapted to engage an end of a brick and moving: the same past. said blades,.a'trans-- versely extending conveyor for delivering. bricks to said frame, a grid for receiving bricks from said conveyor, ..said= plunger moving over: a: portion of said grid remote from said; conveyor, said grid having a portion spaced from said first portion for supporting a brick prior to: its movement into the path of plunger movement, and said headassembly supporting a. brickv forcedtherethrough by said plunger until discharged therefrom by movement of asubsequent brick? intosaidi head assembly;

References Cited in the. file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,3" 2,038 Harbison Feb. 24,. 1920 1,355,035 Collins et al Oct. 5,. 1920 17,554,582 Krupitzer Sept. 22, I925 1,563' 081 Funk Nov. 24', 1925 2.756.789 Entz: July 24, 1956

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