Machine and method for making concrete product

A machine for making concrete pipe in a mold having a chamber comprising:

• a frame, a packerhead assembly having a lower packerhead unit and an upper packerhead unit adapted to be operably positioned in the chamber of the mold,
• said lower packerhead unit including a plurality of first rollers having outer portions operable to pack concrete into the annular space between the lower packerhead unit and the mold, means rotatably supporting the first rollers for rotation about separate axes extended generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the lower packerhead unit,
• said upper packerhead unit located above the lower packerhead unit, said upper packerhead unit including a plurality of second rollers having outer portions operable to pack concrete in the space between the packerhead assembly and mold, means rotatably supporting the second rollers for rotation about axes extended generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the upper packerhead unit,
• said upper packerhead unit having annular trowel means located below said second rollers and above said first rollers, said trowel means having outer means located radially inward of said outer portions of the first and second rollers for troweling concrete and metering said concrete to the lower packerhead unit,
• means for adjusting the radial position of said outer means of the trowel means whereby the radial location of the outer means of the trowel means relative to the outer portions of the first and second rollers can be varied to regulate the metering of concrete to the lower packerhead unit,
• means fixedly mounting a finned impeller to said upper packerhead unit for rotation therewith,
• first drive means for rotating the lower packerhead unit in one direction, second drive means for rotating the upper packerhead unit in a direction opposite the one direction,
• means mounting the packerhead assembly on the frame for movement in a generally upright direction and moving the packerhead assembly in said direction relative to the mold,
• conveyor means operable to discharge concrete into the chamber of the mold above the packerhead assembly, said conveyor means having third drive means to operate the conveyor means at different speeds to vary the amount of concrete discharge into the chamber of the mold,
• and control means operable to sense the power required to operate the second drive means and to control the speed of the third drive means in relation to the power required to operate the second drive means whereby the amount of concrete in the chamber of the mold above the packerhead assembly is maintained substantially constant by varying the speed of the conveyor means.

A machine for making concrete product in a mold having a chamber comprising:

• a frame, a packerhead assembly having a lower packerhead unit and an upper packerhead unit adapted to be operatively positioned in the chamber of the mold axially movable and rotatable about a common axis to form a concrete product therein, said lower packerhead unit including a plurality of first rollers having outer portions operable to pack concrete into the annular space between the lower packerhead unit and the mold, means rotatably supporting the first rollers for rotation about the separate axes extended generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the lower packerhead unit, said upper packerhead unit located above the lower packerhead units, said upper packerhead unit including a plurality of second rollers having outer portions operable to pack the concrete in the annular shape between the packerhead assembly and the mold, means rotatably supporting the second rollers for rotation about separate axes extended generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the upper packerhead unit, means fixedly mounting a finned impeller to said upper packerhead unit for rotation therewith, first drive means for rotating the lower packerhead unit in one direction about said common axis, second drive means for rotating the upper packerhead unit in a direction opposite said one direction about said common axis, means mounting the packerhead assembly on the frame for movement in a generally upright direction and moving the packerhead assembly in said upright direction during the rotation of the lower and upper packerhead units, conveyor means operable to discharge concrete into the chamber of the mold above the packerhead assembly whereby said packerhead assembly forms a concrete product in the mold, said conveyor means having third drive means to operate the conveyor means at different speeds to vary the amount of concrete discharged into the chamber of the mold, and control means operable to sense the power required to operate the second drive means and to control the speed of the third drive means in relation to the power required to operate the second drive means whereby the amount of concrete in the chamber of the mold above the packerhead assembly is maintained generally constant by varying the speed of the conveyor means.

A machine for making concrete product in a mold having a chamber, said machine having a frame, a packerhead assembly operatively positioned in the chamber of the mold and axially movable and rotatable about the longitudinal axis thereof, means mounting the packerhead assembly on the frame for movement along the longitudinal axis thereof, drive means for rotating the packerhead assembly, and means operable to discharge concrete into the chamber whereby the rotating and longitudinally moving packerhead assembly forms a concrete product in the mold, the improvement of:

• said packerhead assembly having a lower packerhead unit having concrete working means for packing concrete into the annular space surrounding the roller packerhead unit, and an upper packerhead unit located above the lower packerhead unit, said upper packerhead unit including a plurality of rollers having outer portions operable to pack concrete into the annular space between the upper packerhead unit and the mold, means fixedly mounting a finned impeller to said upper packerhead unit for rotation therewith, means rotatably supporting the rollers for rotation about separate axes generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the upper packerhead unit, drive means for rotating the lower packerhead unit in one direction and concurrently rotating the upper packerhead unit in a direction opposite the one direction whereby said packerhead assembly forms a concrete product in the mold, and control means operable to sense the power required to rotate the upper packerhead unit and to control the operation of the means operable to discharge concrete into the chamber in relation to the power required to rotate the upper packerhead unit whereby the amount of concrete in the chamber of the mold above the packerhead assembly is maintained generally constant by varying the operation of the means operable to discharge concrete into the chamber of the mold.