METHOD OF MAKING A CONCRETE BLOCK

• US 20150008622A1
• Filed: 09/24/2014
• Published: 01/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anchor Wall Systems (CRH PLC)
• Original Assignee: Anchor Wall Systems (CRH PLC)
• Inventors: SCHERER, RONALD J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,387,602 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 264/336
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 1/14 by simple casting, the material being neither forcibly fed nor positively compacted for molten material B28B1/54
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 3/021 Ram heads of special form
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 3/08 with two or more rams per mould
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/0044 the sidewalls of the mould being only tilted away from the sidewalls of the moulded article, e.g. moulds with hingedly mounted sidewalls
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/0055 Mould pallets; Mould panels
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/007 with moulding surfaces simulating natural effets, e.g. wood or stone
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/0097 Press moulds; Press-mould and press-ram assemblies
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/02 Moulds with adjustable parts specially for modifying at will the dimensions or form of the moulded article
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/10 Moulds with means incorporated therein, or carried thereby, for ejecting or detaching the moulded article flexible moulds bent open for ejecting B28B7/06; ejecting by tilting or inverting the mould B28B7/08; devices, not forming part of the mould, for ejecting the moulded article B28B13/06
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/20 Moulds for making shaped articles with undercut recesses, e.g. dovetails
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/346 Manufacture of moulds
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 7/38 Treating surfaces of moulds, cores, or mandrels to prevent sticking
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 7/007 for continuous mixing
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/3842 Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/424 Moulding surfaces provided with means for marking or patterning for injection moulding B29C45/372
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2002/0269 Building elements with a natural stone facing
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 1/00 Building elements of block or other shape for the construction of parts of buildings of relatively thin form E04C2/00; structural elongated elements designed for load-supporting E04C3/00, e.g. columns or pillars E04C3/30; manufacture or material of building bricks, stones, or the like B28, C03, C04; paving elements E01C; general building constructions E04B, e.g. walls E04B2/00, floors E04B5/00, roofs E04B7/00, ceilings E04B9/00; roof coverings E04D; coverings for walls or ceilings E04F13/00; floorings E04F15/00; structural elements specially designed for built-in conduit shafts E04F17/00; elements for buildings for particular purposes E04H7/00; special elements for building ovens or furnaces F24B, F27D
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 1/395 for claustra, fences, planting walls, e.g. sound-absorbing pots for vertical horticulture A01G9/022

Abstract

Molds and processes that permit high-speed, mass production of retaining wall blocks having patterned or other processed front faces, as well as retaining wall blocks formed by such processes. The invention permits the front face of the block to be impressed with a pattern or otherwise directly processed, to allow the formation of pre-determined block front faces, while at the same time facilitating high-speed, high-volume production of blocks. A mirror image of the desired pattern can be created on a stripper shoe by selecting a desired three-dimensional surface from a naturally occurring or man made object and digitally scanning the selected three-dimensional pattern to create scanned data. The scanned data can then be used to machine a face of the stripper shoe that is the mirror image of the selected pattern.

Claims

1. A process for producing a concrete block having upper and lower faces, a front face, a rear face, and opposed side faces, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a mold having a plurality of side walls defining a mold cavity with an open top and an open bottom;

positioning a pallet having a flat surface underneath the mold to temporarily close the entire open bottom of the mold cavity with the flat surface of the pallet;

introducing dry cast concrete into the mold cavity through the open mold top;

compacting the dry cast concrete to form a pre-cured concrete block with the rear face of the block resting on the pallet and the front face of the block facing upward, the compacting including introducing a stripper shoe having a face that comprises a mirror image of a three-dimensional pattern that simulates natural stone into the mold cavity through the open top of the mold cavity, the three-dimensional pattern having a maximum relief of at least about 0.5 inch;

pressing the patterned face of the stripper shoe against the dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity, to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone to the front face of the pre-cured concrete block with a maximum relief of at least about 0.5 inch;

reopening the temporarily-closed bottom of the mold cavity;

discharging the pre-cured concrete block from the mold cavity through the reopened bottom of the mold cavity; and

curing the pre-cured concrete block.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the compacting step includes vibrating the concrete contained in the mold cavity.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of discharging the pre-cured concrete block through the open bottom of the mold cavity includes lowering the pallet relative to the mold.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein said mold includes a plurality of said mold cavities which operate with a single flat pallet having an entirely flat mold-receiving surface to mold a plurality of blocks at the same time.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of compacting includes using a stripper shoe having a face with the mirror image of a three-dimensional pattern that simulates natural stone resulting from digital scanning of a selected three-dimensional pattern to create scanned data in XYZ coordinates and using the data to create the face of the stripper shoe.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of pressing the patterned face of the stripper shoe against the dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity, to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone to the front face of the pre-cured concrete block includes imparting the three-dimensional pattern to have a maximum relief of at least about 1.0 inch.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of pressing the patterned face of the stripper shoe against the dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone includes imparting a pattern that simulates a single stone.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of pressing the patterned face of the stripper shoe against the dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone includes imparting a pattern that simulates multiple stones in a mortared together pattern.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein the step of pressing the patterned face of the stripper shoe against the dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone includes imparting a pattern that simulates multiple pieces of stone stacked in layers.

10. A mold assembly for use in forming a pre-cured dry cast concrete block having upper and lower faces, a front face, a rear face, opposed side faces, and an integral flange extending below the lower face of the block, the mold assembly comprising:

a plurality of side walls defining a mold cavity having an open mold top and an open mold bottom, a first of said side walls including an undercut adjacent the open mold bottom that, along with a flat surface of a pallet that closes the bottom of the mold, defines a flange forming sub cavity of the mold cavity; and

a stripper shoe having a face that comprises a mirror image of a three-dimensional pattern that simulates natural stone for introduction into the mold cavity through the open top of the mold cavity to press the patterned face of the stripper shoe on dry cast concrete contained in the mold cavity to impart a pattern that simulates natural stone to the front face of a pre-cured concrete block, the three-dimensional pattern having a maximum relief of at least about 0.5 inch.

11. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein said stripper shoe includes a flange surrounding the perimeter of the patterned face;

the stripper shoe flange being arcuate so as to produce rounded edges on the front face of the concrete block.

12. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein the first of the side walls is substantially planar and extends substantially vertically from the undercut.

13. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein the stripper shoe face with the mirror image of a three-dimensional pattern that simulates natural stone comprises results from digital scanning of a selected three-dimensional pattern to create scanned data in XYZ coordinates and using the data to create the face of the stripper shoe.

14. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein face of the stripper shoe is formed to impart the three-dimensional pattern to the front face of a pre-cured block to have a maximum relief of at least about 1.0 inch

15. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein the face of the stripper shoe comprises a mirror image of a single stone.

16. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein the face of the stripper shoe comprises a mirror image of multiple stones in a mortared together pattern.

17. The mold assembly of claim 10, wherein the face of the stripper shoe comprises a mirror image of multiple pieces of stone stacked in layers.

18. The mold assembly of claim 10 comprising a plurality of said mold cavities which operate with a single flat pallet to mold a plurality of blocks at the same time.