US633313A - Apparatus for making concrete. - Google Patents

Description

No. 633,3l3. Patented Sept. I9, I899. P. c. HAINS, In. a c. n. WEAVER. APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE.

(Application filed Mar. 27, 1899.:

2 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

IIHI

No. 633,313. Patented Sept. l9, I899.

P. .C. HAINS, In. &. C. B. WEAVER. APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE (Application filed Mar. 27, 1899. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet 2.

W M A 7 Wu. AQ' mm m;

m: Noam: warns cu. mom-Una, WASHINGTON, 0 cv UNITED STATES 1 QFHCJ PETER C. IIAINS, JR., AND CHARLES R. WEAVER, OF BALTIMORE, MARY- LAND; SAID-IVEAVER'AS SIGNOR TO SAID IIAINS.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,313, dated September 19, 1899.

Original application filed Ju1yl8,'l;9i, $erial Nor' 6d6flil0l Divided and this application filed March 2'7, 1899. Serial No.

710,666. on, model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, PETER C. HAINS, J r., and CHARLES R. WEAVER, citizens of the United States, residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland,'have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Making Concrete; and we do hereby declare "the following to be a full,c1ear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form in which we have contemplated embodying our invention, and the said invention is, fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional view of an apparatus for carrying onrinventionintoeffect.

Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view of the same.

'Fig. ,3 is a side elevation of a modified form of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1." Fig. i is a partial top plan View of the gravity mixingchamber. Fig.5 is a partial top planviewof the supply-receptacle.

The object of our invention is to prepare concrete, and to this end we take measured quantities of cement, sand, stone, and water, place them'in a suitable receptacle in such a vmanner that by discharging them therefrom by gravity in a narrowfstreanrfrom the bottom of the receptacle the thorough mixing of the various materials willbe effected without the necessity of agitation by'handor by any mechanical means, thus greatly facilitating and expediting the preparation of concrete and at the same time securing the most thor-.

'ough and perfect mixing of the ingredients possible. v

In carrying out our invention we provide a receptacle which we term a gravity-mixer, in which the solid materials necessary for the formation of concrete are placed in horizontallayers one above the other. In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, we have shown a gravitymixer A, constructed, preferably, in'the form of an inverted truncated cone andxprovided lap the other plate.

at the bottom with a discharge-aperture which is of less diamerer than the top of the receptacle'and which is closed by one or more doors or gates, as hereinafter described. The receptacle or .mixer A is provided with indications,in this instance in the form of lines a, marked around the interior face of its side walls to indicate the height of each layer of the materials, which are disposed in horizontal layers one above the other. We have found by experiment that the best results are obtained by placing the dry cement in a layer at the bottom of the mixer, the sand in a layer above the cement, and the granulated or broken stone in a layer above the sand, the indicating-lines serving to indicate the depth of each. layer, and therefore the proper proportion of each ingredient.

. In the form of apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 we have shown a pair of horizontallysliding plates B B for closing the dischargeorifice of the mixer, said plates or doors being each of the form shown in Fig. 2, each plate being of substantially the form of a halfcircle, with lateral extensions Z) Z), which over- Each plate Bis secured to an operating' arm b, pivoted at one end to the supports for the mixer and having its other end adapted to slide on a horizontal bar b of said supports'and provided with a handle If, by which it can be moved. IVhen the doors are moved in opposite directions away from each other, a small central opening will be formed between the extensions 12 Z; of the two plates, which can be increased in size by moving the plates farther apart until the entire discharge-aperture is uncovered.

. Below the mixer A we prefer to provide devices against which the materials will strike and be separated and then thrown together again in order to assist in commingling the materials. These devices may be varied to a considerable degree, and We do not desire to limit ourselves to the exact forms of such devices herein shown and described. In Figs. 1 and 2 We have shown a downwardly-tapering collecting-ring C in the form of an inverted truncated cone, above which is a cone D, sup-- ported therefrom by means of" suitable feet or supports d d, so that the material falling from the discharge-orifice of the mixer will strike upon the cone D and be deflected outwardly and will then slide off of said cone into the collecting-ring 0, thus insuring the thorough mixing of the ingredients. \Ve may in some instances dispense with these devices for interrupting the flow of the materials, but in general We prefer to employ some form of devices for this purpose.

The solid materials are placed in the gravitymixer A, as hereinbefore described, in horizontal layers, and the required quantity of water is then poured into the mixer. The water will thoroughly wet the crushed stone (which is an important point in the making of concrete) and will penetrate through the sand to the cement. As soon as the top portions of the cement are moistened the water will be held back from the portions beneath for a considerable period, so that the lower portions of the cement will remain entirely dry. The doors B B are then opened, so as to provide a discharge-orifice of the desired diameter, and the material will at once begin to run through the said orifice in a narrow stream from the bottom of the mixer. The material above the central bottom portion will fall through the lower portions, forming a central passage, through which the material will continue to run until the mixer is entirely emptied. It will thus. be seen that the portions of cement, sand, stone, and water will be continually mixed and mingled as the material passes from the mixer and falling upon the cone 0 and collecting-ringD will be perfectly mixed together. From the collecting-ring the concrete ready for use will be delivered to a car or into a suitable receptacle, as desired.

We prefer in opening the doors B B to separate them at first, so as to provide a comparatively small! aperture, and to gradually increase the size of the aperture by further separating the doors as the operation proceeds until the entire discharge-aperture is uncovered before the mixer is emptied. We may, however, simply uncover the entire aperture at once by throwing the doors widely apart at the outset, if preferred, and obtain good results.

In Figs. 3, 4-, and 5 we show a device for making the concrete in practically a continuous operation, which is desirable when the material is to be furnished with great rapidity and in very large quantities. In these figures, E represents asupply-tank,whieh is provided with suitable compartments for storing stone, sand, and cement, each compartment being provided with separate discharge-orifice closed by a cut-off plate or door e, provided with an operating-lever e, by which it is controlled. The supply-receptacle is shown as supported by a suitable framework E E. lVe may, however, employ a series of sep arate supply-receptacles instead of a single receptacle provided with compartments, as

will be perfectly obvious. Beneath the receptacle E is a gravity-mixer F of the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that in this instance we have shown the discharge-orifice of the mixer provided with a pair of downwardlyswinging hinged semicircular doors or gates ff, which are held in closed position by a closing-bar f, pivoted to the framework and provided with a handlef (See Figs. 3 and 4.) Beneath the discharge-orifice of the mixer F is an interrupting-cone G, in this instance supported by rods 9 g from the mixer, upon which the material falls as it leaves the mixer, and below the cone G is a collecting chamber or receptacle H of substantially the size and shape of the mixer F. The collecting-chamber H is provided with a deliveryorifice, also closed by a pair of hinged gates or doors h h, similar to the gates f f and held in position by the bar It, havinga handle 71?. Below the receptacle H is a storage-tank K, provided with a discharge-orifice and a closing gate or gates 70, controlled by ahand-lever having a handle 70*, and a cone I is also interposed between the receptacle H and tank K. From the storage-tank K the concrete is delivered to one or more cars L, by which it is conveyed to the points where it is to be used. In Fig. 3 we have shown one collecting-receptacle interposed between the gravity-mixer and the storage-tank and two interrupting-cones, so that the material is agitated and collected twice before reaching the storage-tank. It is obvious that we might use a greater number of collecting-receptacles and cones, if desired or found necessary. We have also shown interrupting devices between the storage-tank K and the car L, consisting of a series of horizontally-disposed pieces of angle-iron M M, with their angular edges uppermost, and a second series N N placed at right angles to the first. This form of interrupting devices gives good results, and we may employ it in-- stead of the cone 0 and collecting device IIO D shown in Fig. 1 or the cones shown in Fig.

3, or in addition thereto, if found desirable.

In the use of the form of apparatus illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the materials will be drawn from the supply tank or receptacle one at a time and delivered in layers in the mixer, after which the water is added and the material discharged in a narrow stream in a mixed condition from the bottom of the mixer, as previously described. As soon as the mixer is emptied it can be filled with another charge, while the concrete already formed can be passed to the storage-tank and delivered to the cars or otherwise used. As soon as the material is removed from the collecting-receptacle H to the storage-tank the next charge from the mixer can be run into the collecting-receptacle and the mixer again filled. Bythis meansa practically continuous operation is carried on and the concrete can be made with great rapidity and in large quantities.

\Ve do not claim herein the process of making concrete which is disclosed in this application, said process being described and claimed in our application for Letters Patent of the United States filed July 18, 1898, Serial No. 686,280, of which this application is a division.

What we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for making concrete, the combination with the mixing-receptacle provided with a discharge-aperture of reduced diameter at the bottom, closing devices for said aperture, and interrupting devices below said aperture for deflecting the material laterally to facilitate the mixing of the materials, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for making concrete, the combination with the mixing-receptacle, provided with a discharge-aperture at the bottom adjustable closing means forsaid aperture, interrupting devices below the aperture for deflecting the material laterally, and a collecting device below said interrupting device, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for making concrete, the combination with the mixing-receptacle provided with a discharge-aperture in its bottom, adjustable closing devices for said aperture, an interrupting and spreading cone a collecting device below said co'ne, substan tially as described.

4. In an apparatus for making concrete, the combination with the mixing-receptacle, provided with a discharge-aperture in its bottom, of a closing device for said aperture, a supply receptacle provided with separate compartments for the several materials and adapted to deliver'the materials to said mixing-chamber, a separate closing device for each compartment, an interrupting device below said discharge-aperture of the mixer, a collecting-receptacle below said interrupt= ing device, a storage-tank below said collecting-receptacle, provided with a discharge aperture, and a closing device for said aperture, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signa= tures in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER o. HAINS, JR. ouARLEs R. WEAVER.

Witnesses as to signature of Peter C, Hains, Jr.:

J. STACY BROWN, FRED E. WILLIAMS. H VVitnesseS asto signature of Charles R. Weaver:

ARTHUR H. HIEA'IZMAN, GEORGE YAKEL.

Images