Concrete pipe manufacturing machinery and methods
AssigneeInternational Pipe Machinery Corporation
InventorsThomas D. Grau, Byron M. Hilts
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A concrete pipe making machine having a packerhead consisting of a rollerhead and a longbottom in which the rollerhead and longbottom are quickly assembleable and disassembleable as a unit from the packerhead drive means with one connector and brought into final adjustment off the machine, said drive means providing no obstruction to the flow of wet concrete toward the compaction area, the speed ratios between the rollerhead and longbottom being infinitely variable, and easily replaceable protective wear rings for precluding erosive deformation of the permanent parts of the machine due to undesired penetration of wet concrete into the longbottom.
Claims20
In a concrete pipe making machine,
- a packerhead, said packerhead having a rollerhead and a longbottom,
- said rollerhead and said longbottom being assembleable and disassembleable as a unit,
- drive means for said packerhead,
- said drive means including a drive member extending through the rollerhead and then extending into the longbottom,
- fastening means for securing the longbottom to said drive member, whereby,
- upon removal of said fastening means the rollerhead and the longbottom can be assembled to, and disassembled from, the drive means as a unit.
In a concrete pipe making machine having a packerhead consisting of
- a rollerhead,
- an associated longbottom,
- drive means for the rollerhead and the longbottom, and
- means for assembling the rollerhead and the longbottom as a unit to the drive means.
In a method of making concrete pipe in a concrete pipe making machine having a packerhead which moves within a mold to thereby form a concrete pipe in the space between the packerhead and the mold, the steps of
- feeding concrete to an entry area in the mold above the packerhead, and
- dropping the concrete downwardly within the mold toward a compaction area on the top of the packerhead without disruption of the flow of the concrete during its downward passage until said concrete reaches the compaction area.
In a concrete pipe making machine having a packerhead consisting of a rollerhead and a longbottom,
- first drive means for driving the rollerhead in one direction,
- second drive means for driving the longbottom in the opposite direction, and
- means for assembling and disassembling the packerhead as a unit from the balance of the machine.
In a concrete pipe making machine,
- a rollerhead and a drive means therefor,
- a longbottom and a drive means therefor,
- each of the drive means for the rollerhead and longbottom having an infinitely variable rate of speed
- whereby the speed ratio between the rollerhead and the longbottom may be infinitely varied.
In a method of making concrete in a packerhead machine consisting of a rollerhead and a longbottom, the steps of
- rotating the rollerhead in a specific direction,
- rotating the packerhead in a specific direction, and
- establishing the optimum speed relationship between the rollerhead and the longbottom by infinitely varying the speed of each of the rollerhead and the longbottom until said optimum speed relationship is attained.
In a concrete pipe making machine,
- a longbottom,
- a rollerhead overlying and positioned closely to the longbottom, and
- replaceable means for preventing wear of any permanent component of either the rollerhead or the longbottom due to penetration of wet concrete from beneath the rollerhead into the longbottom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.