US 4,543,052 AGranted

Apparatus for insulated building block

OwnerGarry B. Stevensinventor

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for forming insulated concrete blocks in which at least two and preferably three concrete blocks are fed concurrently to the inlet end of the apparatus having a pair of opposed, continuous upper and lower conveyors for concurrently passing said blocks through the apparatus, and a foam injection system for delivering foam to the cavity or cavities formed between the blocks, wherein continuous strips of an impermeable material such as polyfilm are fed to bottom, ends and upper sides of the cavity or cavities to form an impermeable barrier between the foam and conveyors to substantially prevent escape of said foam from the said cavity or cavities. Former plates secured to end frames carried by the lower conveyor and former plates secured to transverse segments comprising the upper and lower conveyors interact with the former plates secured to end frames to provide a desired shape to the foam insulation. The center block of three concrete blocks forming a unit is split longitudinally after curing of the insulating foam to expose an aesthetic block face.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An apparatus for forming insulated concrete blocks comprising, in combination:

a frame having an inlet end and an outlet end;
a pair of opposed, continuous, upper and lower conveyors indexed for synchronous travel within said frame, said upper conveyor being shorter than the lower conveyor;
each of said conveyors having a plurality of transverse, articulated segments adapted to provide a planar surface in its operative position when the conveyors are opposed to each other;
the lower of said conveyors having a plurality of equispaced end frames secured thereto perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyor, each of said end frames having a resilient former secured to the front and rear faces thereof;
forming plates secured to the transverse segments of the upper and lower conveyors for sequentially receiving a plurality of laterally-spaced concrete blocks therebetween defining at least one cavity between said blocks;
a foam delivery system for forming insulating foam in situ in said cavity;
means for feeding a continuous strip of impermeable film to said conveyors for enclosing the cavities and interposing an impermeable barrier between the foam and the conveyors;
and lateral containment wheels mounted on each side of the frame for providing lateral support to the blocks as they are formed.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.