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US 5,766,524 AGranted
Reclamation of leftover concrete
AssigneeThe Governors of the University of Alberta
InventorsMohammed M. S. Rashwan, Seman M. AbouRizk
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AssigneeThe Governors of the University of Alberta
InventorsMohammed M. S. Rashwan, Seman M. AbouRizk
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for recovering concrete returned to the plant by delivery truck empties the delivery trucks into hoppers that dispense the so delivered left over concrete into molds designed to produce blocks of concrete suitable for regrinding into aggregate. The molded blocks are held in the molds for sufficient time to set the concrete for grinding before the blocks are separated from the molds. The molded blocks are then delivered to a grinding station where they are ground into aggregate of selected size for return to the concrete mixing operation. Any water that separates during the molding operation is subject to a settling operation to settle fine particles and the decanted water is then stored in a suitable reservoir for reuse, for example, in washing out the trucks.
A method for recovering concrete returned in a delivery vehicle that has delivered its load but retains leftover concrete therein comprising moving said leftover concrete from said delivery vehicle into a hopper, metering an output flow of said leftover concrete from said hopper into a plurality of side by side molds, moving said molds along a path from said hopper to a dispensing station over a hardening time period during which time period molded concrete blocks are formed in said molds from said leftover concrete, said hardening time period extending for between 6 and 24 hours, dispensing said molded concrete blocks from said molds in a dispensing station after said hardening time period in said molds has passed sufficient to harden said leftover concrete to form hardened concrete blocks that are effectively ground in a grinding station, delivering said hardened concrete blocks to said grinding station and grinding said blocks into aggregate and reusing said aggregate in the manufacture of fresh concrete within 6 days after said hardening time period.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.