US3132637A - Apparatus for treatment of building blocks - Google Patents

Description

May 12, 1916-4 F. HINSE APPARATUS FOR TREATMENTOF BUILDING BLOCKS Filed June 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 huhu 5. my@

' /z armen/ey May 12, 1964 F, HlNsE 3,132,637

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF BUILDING BLOCKS United States Patent 3,132,637 APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT .0F BUHDING BLGCKS Franz Hinse, 15 Landsnechtstrasse, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Filed lune 26, 1961, Ser. No. 119,534 Claims priority, applicatien Germany June 27, 1960 5 Claims. (Cl. 12S-4) The present invention relates to apparatus for treatment of building blocks of the type which are utilized in mortaror binder-free construction of building walls and other structures. More particularly, the invention relates to precision finishing treatment of artificial building blocks of the general character described in my copending application Serial No. 85,144, filed I an. 26, 1961.

In mortar-free wall constructions, at least the upper side and the underside of each Prefabricated building block must be finished with sufficient precision to insure that the load is uniformly distributed to all zones of a block. In otherrwords, it is necessary to insure that the underside of each blocks is in full face-to-face Contact With the upper side or sides of the building blocks located therebelow, and also that the upper side of each block is in similar face-to-face Contact with the underside of a block in the next higher row. Such precision finish of the blocks insures that the Wall extends in a vertical plane and reduces the likelihood of breakage or crumbling 'of blocks which can occur if the distribution of loads is not uniform in all zones of the wall construction.V The 'blocks usually consist of concrete, clay or a like material, and considerable difficulties were encountered in precision finishing of such blocks because of excessive wear on finishing tools, because known precision finish- -ing operations consume too much time, and because the blocks must be transported to the finishing plants to be Vsubsequently returned to the locale of actual use.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for precision finishing two or more sides of artificial building blocks which is constructed and assembled in such a Way that it may process a large number of building blocks within a short period of time, which is capable of precision finishing a large number of building blocks Without necessitating an exchange or resharpening of finishing instrumentalities,

which may simultaneously treat two or more building blocks, and which may be conveniently operated by a 'small' number of workmen.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above outlined characteristics which may be put to use at the construction site or at the locale where the building blocks are formed, dried or otherwise processed so that the building blocks need not be transported for the sole purpose of obtaining a precision finish prior to stacking into the form of a wall structure or the like.

A further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the above described type which may be rapidly and conveniently converted for precision finishing of differently configurated and/ or dimensioned building blocks, which insures that the consecutively treated blocks are finished with identical degrees of precision, and which is capable of placing one or more building blocks into l.

requisite position for treatment and of removing the precision finished blocks in a semior fully automatic way. An additional object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the above outlined characteristics which is equally useful for precision Vfinishing of simple (i.e. substantially fiat) as Well as of very complicated (eg. grooved, channeled or otherwise configurated) surfaces on concrete or like building blocks.`

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide an apparatus for finishing building blocks which may t 3,132,637 Patented May 12, 1964 ICC 2 t be utilized for treatment of blocks in situ, i.e. the building blocks may remain on their drying racks or other types of supports during the precision finishing operation.

An additional object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of the above v.outlined characteristics which generates less dust than the apparatus of heretofore known design of which I am aware at this time, whichV comprises a comparatively small number of components parts, and which is capable of properly finishing twor or more surfaces on one or more building blocks in a simultaneous operation.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provideza novel cutter for use in the apparatus of the above outlined characteristics. y

With the above objects in view, the. invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for precision finishing the surfaces of artificial building blocks which comprises a milling machine including at least one rotary milling cutter, means for rotating the cutter, and means for moving the cutter with respect to the building blocks yor vice versa.V Certain other features of the invention reside in the provision of special milling cutters which preferably assume the shape'of rollers and consist of a plurality of ltoothed coaxial substantially disk-shaped cutting elements,

in the provision of specially constructed and mounted cutting teeth for the cutting elements, in the provision of specially constructed supporting and biasing means Yfor the building blocks which prevent Va shifting of the blocks during the milling operation, in the provision of a special lifting and transferring arrangement which is adapted to move the blocks into and from the apparatus, and in the provision of means for preventing yrelative-movements of the cutters during a precision finishing operation to thereby insure that the surfaces of consecutively treated building blocks are yfinished with equal degrees of precision.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in-particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of-operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following `detailed description of a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: g

FIG. l is a side elevational view of an apparatus ern- Vbodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, further showing a pair of` block-engaging members which are utilized for transferring the blocks to and from the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a building block; and i FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of a differentbuilding block.,l Referring now iii greater detail to the illustrated ernbodiments, and first to FIGS. l to 3, there is shown an apparatus for treatment of buildingy blocks which com- Vvprises a wheel-mounted vertical milling machine including a main supporting means or frame 1 mounted on Wheels 1a and having longitudinally extending parallel horizontal slides or guideways 1b for a transversely extending carriage in the form of a saddle 1c. This carriage adjustably supports two spaced columns 2, 2: each of which comprises a composite rotary substantially roller-shaped milling cutter 2', 2a', respectively. The arbors 11, 11a

`and/or the lower props alsace? a of the respective cutters 2', 2a are vertical (see particularly FIG. 4). The artificial building blocks 3 are placed onto pairwise arranged lower props 5 carried by a pair of elongated profiled beams 5a which constitute the means for supporting the blocks and whose ends are secured to a pair of brackets 5b provided at the longitudinal ends of the frame f1. iThe beams 5a are located at a level above and are disposed between and are parallel with the guideways 1b. The pairwise arranged transversely extending props 5 Whose preferably serrated upper sides are horizontal insure that the building blocks 3 are properly supported thereon. The upper sides of the blocks are engaged by the heads of pairwise arranged upper props 7 which project downwardly from a longitudinally extending bridge 6 disposed above the beams 5a. This bridge is provided at its ends with preferably hydraulic double-acting cylinders 6a, 6b which are reciprocable along'vertical piston rods 6a', 6b secured to and extending upwardly from the brackets 5b. I-f the bridge 6 is suiciently heavy, its weight by itself can bias the props 7 into retaining engagement with the 'building blocks 3, but it is equally possible to introduce a pressure iiuid to the upper ends of the Vcylinders 6a, 6b so as to force the bridge and the props 7 in downward direction and to thereby insure that the blocks cannot move with respect to each other and with respect to the props during a milling operation. In order to permit convenient removal of blocks 3 from the machine, a pressure fluid is introduced to the lower ends of the cylinders 6a, 6b in order to move the cylinders and 'the bridge upwardly and away from the props 5. The

conduits leading to the cylinders 6a, 6b, the pistons in these cylinders, the various control valves, and the source of pressure fluid are not shown in FiGS. l to 3 because their exact construction forms no part of the present invention. The biasing means 'for the building blocks may also assume a different form, e.g. the upper props 7 may be combined with suitable springs (not shown) which insure that the blocks are held lagainst movement when engaged by the cutters 2', 2a. Of course, it is also possible to provide separate hydraulic or pneumatic biasing means for each prop 5 and/or 7 and to rigidly connect the bridge d to the brackets 5b.

The piston rods 6a', 6b' constitute the lower endportions of two spaced uprights 8, 8a, respectively, these uprights forming part of two blocklifting and transporting assemblies which are utilized for moving the building blocks to and/or from the position shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Each lifting assembly further comprises a substantially horizontal boom 9, 9a which is swingable with or about the respective upright, and an electric motor-driven winch 9', 9a, respectively. The hooks of those Winches vmay engage the eyes at the upper ends of converging arms forming part of elongated block engaging members Elfi which are provided with horizontally extending prongs 10a adapted to enter into open cavities 3a extending transversely between the upper side and the underside of each building block 3. The motors 9", 9a" of the Winches are preferably reversible so that the operator may cause the members *10 to lift and to lower the blocks 3 and, by turning the booms 9, 9a with or with respect to the uprights 8, 8a, the operator may transfer the blocks from drying racks (not shown) onto the props 5 of the block supporting means 5a or vice versa. In order to speed up the treatment of blocks, one of the members 10 may be operated to engage and to lift say three blocks from a drying rack while the other engaging member is held in position to immediately engage the blocks momentarily supported on the props 5 and to transfer these blocks from the apparatus as soon as the milling operation is completed while the first engaging member simultaneously moves a new set of blocks onto the props. The booms 9 may be swung by hand or by suitable motors, not shown. Also, the entire apparatus may be propagated by a suitable internal combustion engine or the like so as to advance the frame 1 along a row of building blocks mounted on drying racks from which the blocks are intermittently deposited onto the same racks or onto suitable conveyor means for transfer to lfurther processing stations or to storage.

According to another modification of my invention which is not shown in the drawings, the frame 1 may be constructed in such a way that the entire apparatus may travel along a row of building blocks placed on drying racks or otherwise shaped supports so that the columns 2, 2a travel along the opposite lateral sides of the aligned blocks and their cutters 2', 2a perform the necessary milling operation. Also, the carriage 1c may remain stationary and the building blocks may be transported by a suitable conveyor through the gap between the cutters 2', 2a. In such instances, the milling apparatus must only be provided with means for rotating the arbors 11, lia. Furthermore, it will be readily understood that the apparatus of my invention may be adapted for simultaneous treatment of say four or six surfaces on a group of aligned building blocks. Such modifications will readily occur to persons skilled in the art.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that each of the cutters 2', 2a may comprise a plurality of substantially disk-shaped coaxial cutting elements of cylindrical or frustoconical shape, depending on the desired configuration of the blocks 3. For example, the blocks 3 may be formed with undersides 13 having two marginal grooves 14 for the tongues 15 provided at the upper side 2S of an adjacent building block. Such tongue-and-groove connections between theradjacent building blocks insure that the blocks are properly stacked in a Wall construction or the like. It will be readily understood that the two columns 2, 2a may be moved further away from each other if the operator desires to subject the end faces of one, two or more building blocks to a precision finishing treatment. Though FIGS. l and 2 show blocks with fiat end faces, these end faces may also have a more complicated configuration, eg. by being formed with tongues and grooves, with centrally located recesses and complementary projections, with cutouts and/or other irregularities.

The composite cutter 2' comprises two outermost diskshaped cutting elements 16 whose teeth treat the end faces of the tongues 15, pairwise arranged intermediate cutting elements 17 which treat the inner side faces of the tongues 15 and the adjacent portions of the upper side 23 of the block 3, and a pair of frustoconical central cutting elements 18 which treat the walls of a longitudinally extending substantially V-shaped groove 19 in the upper side s The other cutter 2a' comprises two outermost cutting .elements 20 which treat the walls of the grooves 14, and

four central cutting elements 21 which treat the remaining portion of the underside 13 of the block 3. If the cutting elements 18 are replaced by substantially disk-shaped cylindrical cutting elements, one can treat a Prefabricated surface such as that of the building block 3A shown in FIG. 5. Alternately, by utilizing six pairs of cutting elements 1S on a common arbor, one can precision finish the prefabricated surface of a building block 3B of the type shown in FIG. 6. Many other combinations are possible.

It will be noted that the teeth 22 of the cutting elements 16-18 and 20-21 preferably enclose acute angles with the axes of the respective arbors 11, 11a. Furthermore, the teeth of the adjacent cutting elements are preferably inclined in opposite directions in a manner as shown in FIG. 4. The adjacent teeth of each cutting element are sufficiently spaced from each other to provide passages for automatic evacuation of chips when the arbors 11, 11a rotate. In addition, spacer elements in the form of washers or the like may be inserted between the adjacent cutting elements to provide additional paths for the y22 on the outermost cutting elements 16 and 20 are inclined inwardly toward the center of the respective cutter 2', 2a' so as to avoid chipping of the sharp edges between the upper side 25 and the underside 13 on the one hand,

and the lateral sides 23, 24 on the other hand. As will be readily understood by referring to FIG. 3 or 4, that side which is the underside (13) when a finished block is actually used in a wall construction is the left-hand lateral side in FIG. 4, and the actual upper side 25 is the right-hand lateral side in FIG. 4 because the blocks 3 are treated between a pair of upright columns 2, 2a and, therefore, are -turned through 90 degrees when placed onto Ithe lower props 5. Of course, the selection of the side 13 as the underside and the selection of the side 25 as the upper side is arbitrary and is made solely for the purposes of better understanding of my invention since the blocks 3 may be assembled into a wall construction by turning the sides down and by turning the sides 13 up, if desired.

It has been found that the milling machine of my invention may operate with a tolerance of 0.1 mm. or thereabouts which is amply suiiicient to insure that the blocks may be assembled with requisite degree of precision. As a rule, the cutters 2', 2a will remove from thesides 13, 25 two layers whose combined thickness is 1 cm. or thereabouts. This is considered necessary because the molds for the manufacture of building blocks are constructed with such tolerances. In addition, it is not possible to determine in advance the exact shrinkage or deformation of newly formed building blocks while the blocks are subjected to a drying and hardening treatment. Such tolerances are observable regardless of Whether the blocks are formed by compression in molds or by a baking process. y

FIG. 5 shows a portion of a cutting element 16 with a single tooth 22, the other teeth having been omitted in this illustration for the sake of clarity. It will be noted that the tooth 22 is mounted on a holder 26 which is substantially radially reciprocable in a peripheral recess 27 of the cutting element 16 and may be locked in selected position by a pair of cooperating wedges 28 or the like. Such mounting of the holder 26 enables an operator to adjust the tooth 22 with utmost precision after the cutting edge of the tooth was subjected to a certain wear. If the tooth 22 consists of Widia cutting metal, it may be used in the treatment of say 50,000 building blocks before its holder 26 requires an adjustment with respect to the cutting element. It will be noted that the construction of the cutting elements 16-18 and 20-21 resembles somewhat the construction of certain types of stone cutting saws utilized in the manufacture of tombstones and the like. After each adjustment of the respective holder 26, the teeth 22 can be used in treatment of next 50,000 building blocks and the tolerances of the nished blocks will remain within about 0.1 mm. provided, of course, that the teeth consist of Widia or a like highly wear-resistant tool steel. Additional adjustments to insure precision finish of treated block surfaces are possible by moving the columns 2, 2a along the carriage 1c toward each other to compensate for the Wear on the teeth 22. For example, the means for moving the columns along the carriage 1c and for thereby adjusting the spacing between the axes of the cutters 2', 2a may cornprise spindles 29 provided with handwheels or the like. One such spindle 29 is shown in FIG. 3.

In the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3, the columns 2, 2a and their respective cutters are compelled to move in the same direction because the columns are mounted on a common carriage 1c. However, if the composition of the building blocks permits it, the columns 2, 2a may be moved independently of each other in the same. direction or in opposite directions as long as the distance between Ythe arbors 11, 11a remains the same during a milling operation. In other words, the means 29 should maintain the columns 2, 2a at a constant distance from each other while the cutters 2', 2a' are in contact with Ya row of building blocks 3 and while thejcarriage 1c is caused to advance along the guideways 1a;

The means for rotating ,the cutters 2', 2a comprises a pairof electric motors 30, 30a which, through suitable reduction gearing (not shown), may simultaneously move the cartridge along the guideways 1b, e.g. through a rackand-pinion drive or the like. The motors 30, 30a are preferably ofthe reversible type andare adapted to rotate the cutters at variable speeds such as are necessary for optimum finishing treatment of different types of building blocks. The speed at which the carriage '1c is moved along the guideways 1b and the speed at which the arbors 11, 11a. 'are rotated must ber controlled with greatest precision when the cutters 2, 2a reach the end of' a row of building blocks because the likelihood of crumbling, chipping or other damage to treated surfaces and the generation ofY dust is thenmore pronounced than in'thevmiddle of a building block. In addition, proper control of the rotary speeds of the cutters reducesthe formation of dust duringthe entire milling operation and is also necessary to reduce the-wear on the teeth 22 as -well as to insure optimum treatment of the surfaces of building blocks whose composition and hardness may vary within a very wide range. It has been found that good results can be attained if the rpm. of the arbors 11, 11a is comparatively low and if the forward speed of the carriage 1c is comparatively high.

The wheels 1a are assumed to comprise pneumatic tires, but it will be readily understood that they may be replaced by flanged wheels of the type used on railroad cars and that the apparatus may be moved on rails to travel along a row of dried building blocks.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specic aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

l. An apparatus for precision finishing the surfaces of artificial building blocks, comprising in combination, a frame having elongated horizontal guideways; a carriage mounted on and movable longitudinally along said guideways; a pair of spaced rotary milling cutters mounted on said carriage, said cutters having vertical axes of rotation; means for rotating said cutters; block supporting means disposed intermediate said cutters and parallel with said guideways, said supporting means adapted to support at least one block thereon; means located above said supporting means for biasing a block supported by said supporting means and for thereby retaining the block during the precision finishing treatment by said cutters; .and means for moving said carriage along said guideways whereby the cutters treat the lateral surfaces of the block.

2. An apparatus for precision finishing the surfaces of artificial building blocks, comprising lin combination, a frame having elongated honizontal guideways; a carriage mounted on and movable longitudinally of said gui-deways; a pair of spaced rotary milling cutters mounted on said carriage, said cutters having ventical axes of rotation; means for rotating said cutters; block supporting means mounted on said frame intermediate said cutters, said supporting means adapted to simultaneously support a pluralgage the upper sides of blocks supponted on said firstV named props, and means for urging said bridge and said last named props in downward direction.

3. An apparatus for precision finishing the suraifecs .of artical building blocks, comprising in combination, a dname having elongated horizontal `guideways; a carn'age mounted on and movable longitudinally of said guideways; a pair of spaced rota-ry mill-ing cutters mounted on said carriage, said cutters having vertical axes of rotation; means for rotating said cutters; block supporting means mounted on said frame intermediate said cutters, said supporting means adapted to simultaneously suppont a plurality of aligned building blocks arid compnising a pair of lower props yfor each building block; a bridge substantially parallel with said guideways and mounted in said frame above said supporting means; a plurality of upper props connected fto fand extending downwardly from said bridge for engaging the upper sides of building blocks supponteid by said lower props, tand duid-operated means for biasing said bridge in downward `direction whereby said upper and lower props hold the blocks aga-inst movement with respect to said supponting means.

4. An yapparatus las set forth in claim 4, whe-rein said biasing means comprises hydraulic piston-cylinder assemblies operatively connected with said bridge and said frame.

5. An apparatus 'for precision nisbing the surfaces of art-iliciall building bloclcs, comprising in combination, cutter supporting means having elongated guideways; a carriage mounted on and movable longitudinally along said guideways; stationary block supporting means; a pair of spaced rot-ary milling cutter means mounted on said carriage .and located on opposite sides of said block supporting means, said cutter means having taxis of rotation extending substantially normal to said guideways; means for moving said carriage along said guideways; stationary holding means above said block supporting means for securely holding a block supported on said stationary block suppont means; and means for rotating said cutter mean-s.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 787,546 Wilson Apr. 18, 1905 1,123,038 'Tucker et al Dec. 29, 1914 1,239,480 Hardin Sept. 11, 19.17 1,877,269 Colgren Sept. 13, 1932 2,058,731 Shernil Oct. 27, 1936 2,065,100' Romaine Dec. 22, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,607 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1868 of 1868 4,775' Norway Sept 20, 1895 185,174 Germany May 16, 1907 447,595 Iftaly Apr. 20, 1949

Claims (1)

1. 5. AN APPARATUS FOR PRECISION FINISHING THE SURFACES OF ARTIFICIAL BUILDING BLOCKS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATIN, CUTTER SUPPORTING MEANS HAVING ELONGATED GUIDEWAYS; A CARRIAGE MOUNTED ON AND MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SAID GUIDEWAYS; STATIONARY BLOCK SUPPORTING MEANS; A PAIR OF SPACED ROTARY MILLING CUTTER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIAGE AND LOCATED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BLOCK SUPPORTING MEANS, SAID CUTTER MEANS HAVING AXIS OF ROTATION EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID GUIDEWAYS; MEANS FOR MOVING SAID CARRIAGE ALONG SAID GUIDEWAYS; STATIONARY HOLDING MEANS ABOVE SAID BLOCK SUPPORTING MEANS FOR SECURELY HOLDING A BLOCK SUPPORTED ON SAID STATIONARY BLOCK SUPPORT MEANS; AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CUTTER MEANS.

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