US2925080A - Apparatus for splitting blocks - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1960 c. E. SMITH APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS Filed July 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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INVENTCR Charles Emerson Smith ATTORNEYS Feb. 16, 1960 c. E. SMITH APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 10, 1958 on w mm mm h l m 5 H 00 N mm VE ms 8 H 0 h C BY F/W Jim Jim [ATTORNEYS C. E. SMITH APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS Feb. 16, 1960 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 10', 1958 Fig. 3.

v INVENTOR Charles Emerson Smith 7' BY ma d/12,

ATTORNEYS Feb. 16, 1960 c. E. SMITH 2,925,080

APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS Filed July 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I' 2" LL INVENTOR Charles Emerson Smith BY W, Julia/11a 09% ATTORNEY S Feb. 16, 1960 c. E. SMITH 2,925,080

' APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 10, 1958 APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING BLOCKS Charles Emerson Smith, Dallas, Tex., assignor to Texas Industries, Inc., Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Application July 10, 1958, Serial No. 747,777

11 Claims. (Cl. 125-23) The invention relates to apparatus for splitting blocks and more particularly to an automatic apparatus for receiving, indexing and splitting concrete blocks.

The invention has among its objects the provision of apparatus which will receive a plurality of blocks and automatically advance and accurately split the blocks without requiring any manual labor other than the placing of the blocks on the apparatus. Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus which will receive a plurality of blocks at random and advance them in timed sequence with the splitting mechanism. A further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus which will automatically and correctly align each block with respect to the splitting mechanism before advancing the block thereto. Still another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which will positively advance each block to the splitting mechanism and simultaneously withdraw a split block from said mechanism. An additional object is to provide such a positive advancing means which will prevent inadvertent engagement with a next succeeding block by the advancing means after advancement of the preceding block to the splitting mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom.

In accordance with the foregoing objects the invention comprises, in brief, a long table-like frame upon which is mounted a block splitting mechanism and the means for receiving and advancing the blocks to said mechanism. Preferably, the advancing means comprise a plurality of endless belts, or the like, upon which the blocks may be initially, placed at random. To assure proper advancement of the blocks an escapement mechanism, or other stop means, is provided whereby the randomly placed blocks are properly aligned and their advancement to the splitting mechanism controlled. Positive feeding means are provided which engage each block after it leaves the escapement mechanism and pushes the block into position underneath the knife of the splitting mechanism. To save space and increase the number of blocks which may be placed on the apparatus at one time, the blocks may be placed in an upright position resting on one side. In such a case means are provided for toppling the blocks from their upright position to a flat position before being placed under the splitting knife. To insure proper feeding of the blocks to the splitting mechanism, the escapement mechanism, the positive feeding means and the movable splitting knife are so interconnected that only on block at a time will be inserted under the knife.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus showing the general arrangement of a preferred embodiment;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken along the center line of Figure 2 along the line 3-3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

"United States Patent ice Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the apparatus; and

Figure 5 is another schematic perspective view of a portion of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings for a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention shown therein, and referring at first to Figure 1, there is shown a longitudinally extending table-like frame 10 formed in any suitable manner from the usual structural steel elements. As shown, the table-like frame 10 is formed so as to receive a plurality of concrete blocks 12, or the like, at one end and to advance the blocks longitudinally toward the opposite end of the frame. For this purpose, the left and central portions of the table 10 (as shown in Figures 1 and 2) are provided with a plurality of endless belts 14, 16, 18 upon which the blocks are placed and which advance the blocks to an intermediate platform, or station 20. From this station, a pair of oscillatory lever arms 22 engage the blocks and advance them to the splitting mechanism 24 and from the splitting mechanism to a final collecting platform or station 26.

The endless belts may advantageously be arranged into three separate pairs although such a number is not essential. In the form of the invention shown in the drawings the first pair of endless belts 14 are disposed over a plurality of rollers 28 each mounted on an individual shaft 30 positioned transversely with respect to the side members 32 of the table-like frame 10. The driving pulleys 34 for this first pair of belts 14 are mounted on a transverse drive shaft 36. A tension roller 38 mounted between pivotable lever arms 40 secured to the side members 32 of the frame 10 bears against the belt 14 and provides suitable tension to insure proper frictional drive on the pulleys 34.

The second pair of endless belts 16 are each disposed outwardly of the first pair of belts 14 and are each disposed upon a pair of pulleys 42, 44. The larger driving pulleys 42 are mounted on a transverse rotatable drive shaft 46 while the idler pulleys 44 are loosely mounted on the driving shaft 36 for the first pair of belts 14. A rigid and stationary crosspiece in the form of a suitable plate-like member 43 is disposed just beneath the tops of the belts 16 to support the blocks as they are advanced and a second tension pulley 50, similar to that previously described with respect to the first pair of belts, is mounted on the frame 10 and bears against the second pair of belts 16 to properly tension them.

The third pair of endless belts 13, like the first pair of belts 14, is disposed inwardly of the second pair 16 and are mounted on a pair of idler pulleys 52 mounted on the drive shaft 46 for the second pair of belts and a pair of driving pulleys 54 mounted on a short drive shaft 56 positioned adjacent the central portion of the frame. A similar tension pulley 58 is provided for the third pair of belts as in the case of the first and second pair.

Power to drive the belts is supplied from an electric motor 60 mounted on a platform 62 positioned underneath a collecting platform or station 26. The motor is connected by suitable pulleys 66, 68 and an endless belt 70 to a speed changing mechanism 72 which, in turn, is connected through an endless chain 73 and pulleys 74, 76 to a transverse rotatable shaft 78 positioned directly underneath the splitting mechanism 80. The rotatable shaft 78 is in turn connected by an endless chain 82 and the pulleys 34, 85 to another rotatable shaft 86 which serves as a drive shaft for the oscillating lever arms 22. From the shaft 86 power is transferred to an intermediate drive shaft 90 located at the same level. through the chain 94 and the pulleys 93, 95. Power is taken off the shaft 90 by the chain 96 and pulleys 97, 54 on drive shaft 56 to drive the third pair of endless belts 18 and also by the pulleys 98, 100 and chain 102 to drive the. shaft 46 and the second pair of belts 16. The drive shaft aaasoso 46 for the second pair of belts is in turn connected to the drive shaft 36 for the first pair of endless belts by the pulleys 104, 106 and endless chain 108. The sizes of the various pulleys are so designed asto cause the first pair of belts 14 to travel at a speed greater than the second pair of belts 16 so that blocks 12 randomly placed on'the first set of belts close up together as they advance to the second pair of belts. At the same time, the speed of the third pair of belts is made much greater than either the first or second pair of belts so that the feeding of the blocks to the splitting mechanism 81 will take place quickly and rapidly thereby giving a suflicient amount of time between successive blocks to enable all parts of the apparatus to carry out their functions easily. It will be understood that while this arrangement of the various belt speeds is particularly advantageous, other arrangements could be employed without departing from the invention.

Another advantageous, but optional, feature of the invention is that the third pair of belts 18 is disposed at a level below that of the second pair of belts 16. Accordingly, the blocks 12 to be split may be placed on the apparatus in an upright position resting on one side thereby saving space and permitting a greater number of blocks to be placed on the machine at one time. When the blocks pass from the second pair of belts to the third pair of belts the difference in level causes the blocks to topple from an upright position to a fiat position (as shown in Figure 3). The blocks are then in proper position for the splitting operation.

To assure proper control over the feeding of the blocks to the splitting mechanism 81) there is provided adjacent the forward end of the second pair of belts an escapemcnt mechanism 110 which may advantageously comprise a multi-finger star wheel or paddle 112. The

length of the fingers of the star wheel are sufficiently long to cause them to extend upwardly beyond the level of the second pair of belts 16. Thus, as the blocks are advanced forwardly by the second pair of belts their lower edge portions will contact the fingers of the star wheel and their forward advance will be halted. Rotation of the star wheel 112 is controlled by a pivotable pawl 114 having a stop member 116 which engages the lower finger, or paddle, of the mechanism so as to prevent rotation thereof. At its opposite end the pawl 114 is secured to a link 11? which is, in turn, secured to. a long lever arm 12!) pivotally mounted on a shaft 122. A rotatable cam follower is provided at the end of the long lever arm 120 and engages the peripheral surface of a large yoke 126 slidably mounted on the circumference of a large eccentric 128. The eccentric is fixed to the shaft 86 so as to rotate therewith and rotation of the shaft 86 causes the eccentric 123 to slide within the yoke 126 and move the yoke back and forth as shown in phantom in Figure 3.

The yoke 126 is connected by adjustable mechanism, such as a turn buckle 130 or the like, to a shaft 132 mounted between the oscillatory lever arms 22. The lever arms 22 are mounted for pivotal movement at their lower ends on a shaft 134 so that the back and forth movement of the yoke 126 causes the lever arms 22 to pivot between the extreme positions shown in Figure 3. Additionally, the pivotal shaft 132 on which the lever arms are mounted is connected by a pivotal link 136 to shaft 138 mounted in bearings on brackets 140 secured to the lower portion of the frame 10. The shaft 134 is connected through an adjustable linkage 142 to a pivoted lever 144 carrying a cam follower 146. The cam follower 146 on this lever engages with a cam 148 mounted on the rotatable shaft 78 for the splitting mechanism 80 and the configuration of the cam is such as to cause the pivotal lever to pivot in a vertical direction about its shaft pivot pin 149 and thus through the adjustable link, 142 raise and lower the pivotal shaft 134 for the lever arms 22 and the lever arms themselves. In this manner,

the engaging fingers 150 of the upper ends of the lever arms 22 have a forward stroke which passes through the plane of a block resting on the intermediate station, or platform 26, but in the return stroke the fingers 150 are withdrawn below the platform and, hence, do not interfere with any succeeding blocks which may inadvertently be advanced to the platform The splitting mechanism for the block comprises a knife arrangement having a heavily weighted movable upper blade 152 and a stationary lower blade 154. The upper blade 152 is mounted between a pair of parallelly disposed arms 158 threaded through their upper portions 153 so as to provide for adjustment of the blade. Vertical movement of the arms 158 is effected by slidable movement of the arms in guide casings 156 provided at the sides of the frame 10 and the arms 158 are connected at their lower ends to a Pitman 160 mounted on an eccentric 162 fixed to the rotatable shaft 78. The eccentric 162 is disposed in opposite phase to the cam 148 for the oscillatory lever arms 22 so that movement of the upper blade 152 cannot be effected until after the advancing stroke of the lever arms 22 has been completed. The downward movement of the knife on the splitting stroke thus takes place during the return stroke of the lever arms.

The operation of the device is as follows: The blocks :12 are placed at random on the first pair of endless belts 14 and are advanced by these belts to the second pair of belts 16. Because of the differential in the speed of the belts 14, 16 the blocks tend to bunch up on to the second belt and they are finally moved together when the first block enages the escapement Wheel 112. During the time the blocks are held back from advancement by the escapement mechanism they slide on the second pair of belts.

At the proper time the large eccentric 128 controlling the operation of the lever arms 22 moves the pawl 114 out of engagement with the fingers so as to permit the wheel 112 to rotate through one quarter of a revolution. This permits one block to pass from the second pair of belts 16 to the third pair of belts 18 where it is rapidly conveyed to the intermediate platform or station 26. Here it is engaged by the fingers on the lever arms as the arms are moved forward by the eccentric 128. The block is thus positively advanced to a point where its mid section is exactly under the upper knife blade 152. Thereafter, in proper sequence, the knife blade 152 is dropped down to fracture the block-the platform 26 yielding under pressure by reason of the spring mounts 166the next succeeding block is released by the escapement mechanism 110, conveyed to the intermediate. station 20 and advanced by the lever arms 22 to the knife, the advancement of this block acting to force the broken block from underneath the knife and to the collecting station 26.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for splitting blocks comprising a periodically actuated rotary escapement mechanism eng-ageable with the lower forward edge of successive blocks, a forwardly moving substantially horizontal surface on which the blocks are supported on one side as they are fed to the rotary escapement mechanism, a second substantially horizontal supporting surface moving forwardly at a faster rate to receive and move blocks supported thereon after they have been released by the rotary escapement mechanism, said second surface being lower than the first surface whereby the blocks are turned from one face to another as they are released by the rotary escapement mechanism and descend to the second surface, a movable splitting knife for splitting the blocks and positive feeding means for advancing the blocks one at a time to the knife after the blocks have been advanced from the escapement mechanism.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the positive feeding means is operated in timed relation to the splitting knife and is adapted to feed the successive blocks to a definite position with respect to the knife.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the escapement mechanism is actuated in timed sequence with the splitting knife.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which the positive feeding means is actuated in timed sequence with the splitting knife.

5. Apparatus for splitting blocks comprising a periodically actuated rotary escapement mechanism, forwardly moving horizontal feeding means for receiving and advancing blocks to engage at their lower forward edges with the escapement mechanism, a movable splitting knife for splitting the blocks, positive feeding means for advancing the blocks one at a time to the knife after the blocks have been released by the escapement mechanism, and rapidly moving horizontal feeding means for advancing one block from the escapement mechanism to the positive feeding means while said feeding means is advancing another block to the knife, said third feeding means being at a lower level than said first feeding means whereby the blocks are turned from one face to another as they are released by the rotary escapement mechanism onto the third feeding means.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 in which the positive feeding means comprises a reciprocating lever traveling in the plane of a block during its advance stroke and traveling beneath the plane of a block on its return stroke.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which the positive feeding means is operated in timed relation to the splitting knife and is adapted to feed the successive blocks to a definite position with respect to the knife.

8. Apparatus for splitting blocks comprising a periodically actuated rotary escapement mechanism, first forwardly moving feeding means for receiving and advancing blocks, second forwardly moving substantially hori zontal feeding means for receiving the blocks from the first feeding means and advancing the blocks to engage at their lower forward edges with the escapement mechanism, said second feeding means moving at a speed less than the speed of the first feeding means, means at a lower level than said second feeding means for advancing the blocks as the blocks are received from the escapement mechanism, a movable splitting knife for splitting the blocks, and positive feeding means for advancing the blocks one at a time to the knife after the blocks have been advanced from the escapement mechanism.

9. Apparatus for splitting blocks comprising periodically actuated rotary escapement mechanism, forwardly moving feeding means for receiving and advancing blocks to engage at their lower forward edges with the escapement mechanism in an upright position, means for toppling the blocks from their upright position to a lower fiat position after the blocks have been released from the escapement mechanism, means for advancing the blocks in a flat position, a movable splitting knife for splitting the blocks and positive feeding means for advancing the blocks one at a time to the knife.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 in which the forwardly moving feeding means comprises a moving endless belt and means for toppling the blocks from an upright to a fiat position, said means comprising a second endless belt placed at a lower level than the first-mentioned endless belt so as to cause the blocks to topple from an upright position to a flat position in passing from the first belt to the second belt.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 in which the escapement mechanism is actuated in timed sequence with the splitting knife.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,465,050 Kinsley Aug. 14, 1923 2,356,120 Slightam Aug. 15, 1944 2,654,358 Lake Oct. 6, 1953

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