Machine for manufacturing foam building blocks

A machine for forming molded items, the machine having a plurality of forming molds, each forming mold including two pieces movable with respect to one another such that the forming mold can be changed between a closed configuration in which the pieces form a mold cavity and a separated configuration in which a molded item can be removed from the forming mold, each forming mold further including latch means for latching the two pieces together, the machine further having conveyor means for supporting and moving the forming molds along a path-of-travel through filling and ejection stations, filling means located at the filling station for injecting raw materials into the closed forming molds, and ejection means located at the ejection station for removing molded items from the forming molds, characterized in that the latch means comprises first and second latches located respectively on first and second sides of the forming mold, the first side of the forming mold includes a hole through which the raw materials are injected into the forming mold, and the first latch includes a cap positioned to close the hole when the first latch is closed.

A machine for forming molded items, the machine having a plurality of forming molds, each forming mold including two generally mirror image pieces movable with respect to one another such that the forming mold can be changed between a closed configuration in which the pieces form a mold cavity and a separated configuration in which a molded item can be removed from the forming mold, each forming mold further including latch means for latching the two pieces together, the machine further having conveyor means for supporting and moving the forming molds along a path-of-travel through filling and ejection stations, filling means located at the filling station for injecting raw materials into the closed forming molds, and ejection means located at the ejection station for removing molded items from the forming molds, characterized in that the ejection means includes delatching means located at the entrance of the ejection station for opening the latch means as the forming molds enter the ejection station, and separating means located at the ejection station for separating the forming mold pieces.

A machine for forming molded items, the machine having a plurality of forming molds, each forming mold including pieces movable with respect to one another such that the forming mold can be changed between a closed configuration in which the pieces are joined along a predetermined plane to form a mold cavity and a separated configuration in which a molded item can be removed from the forming mold, the machine further having conveyor means for supporting and moving the forming molds along a path-of-travel through filling and ejection stations, filling means located at the filling station for injecting raw materials into the closed forming molds, and ejection means located at the ejection station for removing molded items from the forming molds, characterized in that the path-of-travel followed by the forming molds is horizontally elongate and lies in a vertical plane, the filling station is located above the ejection station, and the forming molds are rotated 180.degree. as they are moved along the path-of-travel between the filling station and the ejection station.