Improvements in or connected with Moulds for Making Concrete Paving or Blocks.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Moulds for Making Concrete
Paving or Blocks.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BAKER, of 50, Haverstock Road, Knowle, in the City and
County of Bristol, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has reference more particularly to the manufacture of paving
or blocks of any shape from a mixture of cement or lime and destructor residue,
or other such material as sand or gravel or small stones, i.e., cement or lime
concrete.
The object of this invention is to provide an improved mould and principle
for the making of such paving or blocks, by appliances of simple and relatively
mexpensive construction, and to reduce the labor in making of such paving and
blocks.
The mould provided with improvements under this invention comprises a
periorated table mounted on a cam shaft for the purpose of obtaining a rocking
motion, the rocking of the table being performed by turning the cam shaft with
The shaft is worked in bearings
a handle attached to the end of the shaft.
supported on standards or the like. The table is rebated to allow the sides of
mould which are angle shaped fitting into the rebates. The sides of the mould
are held in position on the table by thumb screws or springs.
The top of the table is covered with paper to prevent the cement or lime passing
through the perforations.
On the standards are adjustable brackets with movable ferrules to lessen friction
as the table is being rocked; the brackets also act as supports to keep the table
in a horizontal position when required. The table can be revolved on the cam
shaft, a tram line is laid under the table; upon this line a tram is run for the
conveyance of concrete from the place of mixing to the table, and a tram is also
run on this line for the conveyance of carrying boards for the paving or blocks
when made.
The operation of the mould is as follows;--
The concrete is placed in the mould and the table then rocked during which
time part of the water rises to the top of the mould and part passes through the
paper and perforations in the table, the whole mass thus becomes consolidated
without ramming or being subject to any kind of pressure, it is then allowed to
set in the mould and when set, the table is revolved half a turn on the cam shaft
and the tram with a carrying board at a slight inclination is passed under the
table causing the mould to adjust itself to the inclined plane of the board, the
thumb screws or springs are then released from the sides of the mould and the
paving or block with the sides of the mould rest on the carrying board; the table
is then raised clear of the mould and paving or block by turning of the cam

page_text: shaft. The tram is then withdrawn from under the table and the sides of mould
taken from the paving or block. The paving or block is then taken away on the
carrying board to dry.
Dated this 17th day of Auril 1900
DEMITICATIUN.
Improvements in or connected with Moulds for Making Concrete
Paving or Blocks.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BAKER, of 50, Haverstock Road, Knowle, in the City and
County of Bristol, Artificial Paving Works Manager, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention has reference to the manufacture of paving slabs and building
blocks composed of cement or concrete, or of a mixture of cement or lime with
cinders or clinkers, or of other materials such as are commonly employed for the
purpose.
Hitherto in the manufacture of paving slabs and building blocks of the kind
above mentioned, pressure has usually been exerted upon the slabs or blocks while
in a fluid or plastic or semi-fluid state with the objects of consolidating the slabs
or blocks and expelling water. In the manufacture, according to this invention,
pressure is not exerted on the slabs or blocks.
According to this invention, the material of which a paving slab or building
block is to be composed is charged, with a suitable quantity of water, into a mould
which is an open-topped tray having a perforated bottom on which, prior to
charging in the material, a sheet of unglazed porous paper is laid and damped
so as to lie flat. The mould, which has movable sides and ends, rests on, and is
secured to, a flat rectangular ring or plate which lies on a frame which is carried
on a cam-shaped shaft which, when the shaft is rotated, causes a rocking and
oscillating motion to be imparted to the mould. The shaft is supported in bear-
ings on side standards on which are pivotted arms carrying anti-friction rollers
upon which the mould bottom bumps as it rocks and oscillates, and on which it
normally rests. The mould is arranged so that it can be turned over about the
shaft, that is to say, upside down.
When the mould has been charged with the material of which the slab or block
is to consist, with a suitable quantity of water, the shaft carrying the mould is
rotated and the contents of the mould are thus agitated and shaken together. The
water filters through the paper aforesaid and is discharged through the perfora-
tions in the mould bottom. After having been operated for a brief time, depend-
ing for duration on the nature of the composition, the motion of the mould is
discontinued, and the contents are allowed to remain in the mould where they
become consolidated without further treatment.
Either the slab or block may be left to set in the mould without removing the
latter from the machine, or the mould may, as soon after agitation as desired, be
detached from the frame which carries it and be conveyed away for drying the
slab or block.
For the adoption of the first of these alternatives, it is convenient to have tram
rails laid down below the machine so that a trolley can be run under the mould,
which, being, as aforesaid, reversible, can be turned over and when this is done
the slab or block, enclosed by the sides and ends of the mould, is delivered on to
the trolley, the bottom of the mould remaining in the machine. The platform
of the trolley on to which the slab or block is delivered is inclined in such a

page_text: manner that as the trolley is passed under the mould the platform makes contact
with the reversed slab or block and hence the latter is delivered on to the platform
without a fall.
But it is preferred to remove the mould and its contents from the machine
when, as aforesaid, the contents are sufficiently set to permit of it, as by this
method the machine is more speedily available for re-use.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents in side elevation
a machine for making paving slabs or building blocks in accordance with my
invention. Fig. 2 is a part section on the line r, r, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan and
Fig. 4 an end view. The mould consists of the perforated bottom a and separately-
made sides b and ends c. The bottom, sides, and ends rest upon a rectangular
plate d extending around the underside of the mould. The bottom a is rivetted
to the flat rectangular ring d which is furnished with handles e. By means of
the screw clamps f situated one at each of the four corners of the mould, the flat
rectangular ring d and the sides b and ends c of the mould are clamped together.
The flat ring lies upon a second rectangular ring or frame g and has lugs d',
Fig. 1, on the sides and ends, serving to keep the flat ring d in place. To the
frame the flat ring d is coupled by the latches pivotally connected to the
frame and engaging with the pins formed upon or fixed in the ring d. The
frame has at each side a boss through which is passed the shaft k which is
supported towards the ends in bearings j¹ secured on the side standards s of the
machine. The shaft is virtually a cam being of larger diameter between the
standards & than in the bearings . Accordingly; as the shaft k is rotated by
means of the handle k¹, the frame and the mould are rocked. The movement
imparted to the mould is upward and downward and backwards and forwards.
pon the side standards s of the machine are pivoted arms m carrying anti-
friction rollers n free to turn about the arms on which they are centred. Normally
the arms m are turned so that the rollers a lie below the mould which bumps
upon them in its movement causing shocks to the mould and a turning motion
to the rollers n. The mould when not in motion normally bears upon the
rollers n.
The method of working is as follows:-
Unglazed paper of a porous nature and damped on both sides so as to make it
lie flat without creases is laid in the mould. The cement and cinder or clinker
or other mixture or material of which the block or slab is to be made, is, after
having been previously mixed in the usual way, charged into the mould.
The shaft is now turned and the mould thus rocked. A proportion of the
water filters through the paper and escapes through the perforations in the
bottom; a part of the water rises and covers the top of the material which is
well shaken up together and becomes amalgamated" without the exertion of
pressure.
The period of agitation varies with the nature and character of the composition.
From half-a-minute to two minutes may be stated as approximately the minimum
and maximum found to give good results in practice.
Either the mould with the material it contains may be left in the machine for
the block or slab to set, ou the mould with its contents may be detached and
removed from the machine as soon as desired and conveyed away to set and dry.
The latter course is preferred as obviating the machine standing idle. Under
this course the latches h are disengaged from the pins i and the flat ring d with
the mould above it is lifted off. When the slab has set in the mould to the
requisite degree of hardness, the clamps f are relaxed and the sides b and ends c of
the mould are removed. The slab or block is then taken off the bottom a.
For the adoption of the course in which the mould is not removed from the
machine, it is convenient to provide trolleys such as o shown at Figs. 1, 3 and 4
of the accompanying drawings. When the slab is ready to be turned out of the
mould, the trolley is run under the mould which has been previously turned
over about the shaft k; one of the arms m being first turned from under the

page_text: mould so as to allow of reversing. The trolley has an inclined platform by
virtue of which it comes gently into close contact with the slab or block. The
clamps are then relaxed, and the slab or block is received on the platform with-
out à fall and consequent shock. The shaft is then turned through half a
revolution thus raising the bottom a clear of the sides b and ends cand of the
slab or block. The trolley is then run out carrying the slab or block and the
sides and ends of the mould.
The sides and ends are refitted to the mould bottom after the latter has been
turned to its normal position.
As herein before stated, pressure is not exerted on the mass and the water is
not expelled by force. The mass is not disturbed in setting as is the case when
ramming is employed, nor is the water expelled too hastily, and the resulting
slabs or blocks do not require to be faced after production and they are less liable
to lamination than slabs or blocks made under pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;
1. Moulds for making concrete and like paving slabs and building blocks;
consisting of a tray having a perforated bottom and suitable sides and ends;
mounted on a suitable framing and arranged to be rocked or oscillated, substan-
tially as hereinabove described and for the purpose specified.
2. Machinery for making concrete and like paving slabs and building blocks,
consisting of a tray with perforated bottom mounted on a suitable framing, and a
rotating cam shaft, or like means, for imparting, when actuated, an upward and
downward and backward and forward motion to the tray, substantially as and for
the purpose hereinabove set forth.
Dotad this 17th day of January 1900
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent, Bristol.