Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – Female mold and cooperating stock smoothing means or excess...
Patent
1986-08-08
1988-03-22
Hoag, Willard E.
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
Female mold and cooperating stock smoothing means or excess...
425253, 425308, 425310, 425385, 425446, B29C 3904
Patent
active
047325550
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a tile making apparatus and method. The invention is particularly but not exclusively applicable for making roof tiles from cement or cement based materials. The invention also has application in the making of terra cotta tiles.
According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for forming articles from hardenable material, said apparatus comprising a support bed for supporting a plurality of molds which in use are driven therealong, depositing means for depositing a layer of hardenable material on the molds, and forming means having a forming or forming surfaces thereon for shaping the upper face of the layer, said forming means being constrained to move in synchronism with the molds whereby there is substantially no relative velocity in the direction of movement of the molds between the forming surface or forming surfaces and the layer at the region of contact therebetween.
Preferably the apparatus is arranged for forming cement tiles in which case the molds comprise metal pallets which are fed in a continuous line along the bed. It is preferred that the forming means is in the form of a drum having the forming surface or surfaces thereon on the cylindrical surface of the drum. The drum is driven by the same drive mechanism which drives the pallets whereby it is kept in synchronism therewith.
Preferably further, the forming means includes projections which separate tiles being formed on the individual pallets. This eliminates the need for a separate cutting mechanism such as a pneumatically operated guillotine.
Preferably further, the depositing means includes a hopper and a screed for shaping approximately the layer to the form of the tile to be produced. The screed may simply comprise a plate or plate-like member extending in a generally upright plane at the outlet orifice of the hopper. In known continuous tile making machines it is necessary to have a slipper plate at the outlet orifice of the storage bin. The slipper plate compresses and forms the upper profile of the tile. The action of the slipper plate compresses the cement considerably and accordingly it considerably increases the force required to drive the pallets. In accordance with the preferred arrangement of the invention, the slipper plate is eliminated and the forming means has no relative velocity to the cement being formed and therefore considerably less force is required to drive the pallets.
Where the invention is used for forming terra cotta tiles, the molds take the form of dies which are mounted on a conveyor line. After forming of the upper surfaces of the clay the formed tile is separated from its die and transferred to a wooden pallet.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for forming cement tiles in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic view of part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section through the forming drum;
FIG. 4 is a side view of one of the forming mmembers;
FIG. 5 is a transverse section through the apparatus;
FIG. 6 shows the forming drum forming the top surface at the junction of a pair of tiles;
FIG. 7 shows the formed tiles being separated;
FIG. 8 shows a modified arrangement for producing ridge tiles with a raised capping; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for forming terra cotta tiles.
The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a bed 2 along which is driven a stream of pallets 4. The apparatus includes a drive mechanism 6 which drives the pallets 4 along the bed in a continuous line. The drive mechanism 6 is preferably of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,694. As diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, the drive mechanism 6 includes a sprocket 8 which is coupled to a drive sprocket 10 by a chain 12.
The pallets 4 pass beneath a cement hopper 14 having a screed plate 16 at its outlet. The screed 16 deposits a layer 18 of cement on the pallets 4. The pallets then pass to a forming zone
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patent: 2949634 (1960-08-01), Shipley
patent: 3257701 (1966-06-01), Lang
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patent: 3824055 (1974-07-01), Shoe et al.
patent: 3910711 (1975-10-01), Moorhead
patent: 4125348 (1978-11-01), Martens
patent: 4386694 (1983-06-01), Van Heel et al.
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