US2462628A - Machine for marking the surface of a column of plastic material - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 22, 1949. F. 1. GASE 2,462,628

MACHINE FOR MARKING THE SURFACE OF COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL Filed Aug. 27, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llilllll.

F. MACHINE FOR MARKING THE SURF AGE 1. GASE Feb, 22, 1949.

OF A COLUMN OF PLASTIC MATERIAL V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1945 FRANKLIN I. GA 65 iatented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES TENT rem NIATERIAL Franklin I. Gase, Cleveland, Ohio Application August 27, 1945, Serial No. 612,960

9 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in building materials, and particularly to novel and improved imitation out stone materials. it further relates to machines and methods for producing imitation building blocks having the surface appearance of genuine cut stone.

One object of the invention is to devise a 131; chine for operating on a surface of plastic or semi-plastic clay or like composition, in the'form of a continuou ribbon or separate blocks, in such manner that the surface operated on, when baked or otherwise hardened, presents an appearance similar to or identical with that of a stone block which has a rough surface finish produced by stone cutting tools.

In one preferred method of accomplishing this and related objects, I pass a ribbon of the unbaked clay through a machine of the nature just noted, and later to be more fully described, and while such ribbon is progressing through the ,machine its surface is subjected, successively, to

the scraping or cutting action of cutting means such as a series of rotating scoops, knives, or

blades which are applied to the ribbon from laterally opposed directions, portions of the surface being cut away to varying depths and in apparent haphazard arrangement so as to produce the desired result. After issuing from said operation, the ribbon is cut transversely into blocks or" any convenient dimensions, and these blocks are rotated thropgh $0 degrees and aged passed through the machine and subjected to the action of the cutting blades, this time transversely to the original cutting directions so as to present the appearance of having been chiseled by hand.

I have further provided working means to remove excess clay scrapings from the surface of the ribbon after the operation just described. I have likewise provided brushing means for cleaning the cutting surface of the cutting means after each cutting stroke.

All these and other novel and advantageous structures will now be described, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an end elevation of my machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of themachine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view, somewhat enlarged from the scale of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and showing one embodiment of cutting tool and fragmentary portions of its supporting means and the clay ribbon; and

5 is a sectional view taken on the line i---5 of Fig. 4.

Before the present invention is describedin it to be understoodKthat suchi'nv'ention ot limited to the details of construction specific arrangement of-parts herein 1111s.; or described, as the invention obviously ake other forms. Italso is to be uiide l' atthe phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and i: or limitation.

Referring now to the drawings, an extruded or otherwise produced ribbon of clay 2t is ad? vanccd at moderate speed" along a trough-like runway comprising a base plate lfi-and -two side walls 23, the conveyor mechanism not being illustrated in detail since it formsno-"es'sential part of the present invention. Forward'motiorli be imparted to the ribbon by means-"oi endless belt 2 or many other suitable w The belt carries the ribbon through a machine assembiy comprising a table top 25 supported' o n leg the base plate 22 being supportedon brackets fiXEd to legs 25. While being thus conveyed, for example in the direction of the arrows in Fig. or towards the observer in Fig. 1, the clay ribbon is subjected to the action of a meclani'sm now to be described" m suitable connecti n with its motive means.

The table top (Figs. 1 and?!) carries a conventional motor which drives a shaft 3 operativeiy associated, through a housed reduction gearing with another shaft 3;, and'a' worm Worm as is in mesh with a gear 3 5- fixed to a shaft 35 to which is attached a turntable which in the embodiment shown is assembled in skele ton form from a plurality of spokes A and a peripheral of octagonal contour. The turntable shaft 35 journal'ed in a thrust hearing 35, and the turntable is suspended innnediately above the moving ribbon of clay-'22.

The turntable carries scraping means here shown (Figs. and 5) as a crank lever having" angular-1y disposed arms 4| and li pivoted at their junction 43 to a bracket l icarrled byrim' The lower endof arm M carries ascr'a'ping finger 45 here shownof triangular contour," al though its shape is a matterof choice'determined by such surface appearance as is desired for the finished face of the building block.' Bracket 5, is vertically adjustable with respect; to rim 38 in any suitable manner, and for example the attaching bolts 56, which seat in threadedapertures in rim 38, may pass through slightly oversized slots in bracket 44-. The'short 'arm'l t' of the crank lever rests against an adjustable stop here shown as a set screw 28 seated in a threaded aperture in a lug 49 integral with or afiixed to bracket 55. Arm 4| is biased against the stop by a counter-weight 5:) on arm 6322. As

the turntable rotates counter-clockwise (Fig. '3) so that the scraping tool is carried into contact with the left face of the clay ribbon (Figs. 1 and 4), it will be apparent that the finger point 65 will begin to drag transversely along the upper surface of the ribbon 2!, the exact disposal of the score mark being dependent on the forward speed of the ribbon and the lineal speed of the finger in its rotary path. The resistance encountered by the point 25 in its travel will tend to swing said point clockwise (Fig. 4) around its pivot 53, this tendency being resisted by the counterweight 50. As a result of the several factors just noted, the flaked surface irregularity will be of varying depth 50 as to simulate the effect of manually cutting a stone, with the variations associated with the hand work of a stone mason.

While one scraping tool is being drawn from left to right across the ribbon, at the bottom of Fig. 3, another is being carried in the opposite direction, namely from right to left, at the top of Fig. 3. As a result, the ribbon is scored inwardly from two lateral faces. The effect may be accentuated by cutting the ribbon into bloclm, and sending said blocks through the same or a similar machine, each block being ultimately rotated ninety degrees from the original direction of travel, so as to acquire surface grooves ex-- tending inwardl from all four top edges of the block.

In the embodiment shown the turntable carries eight scraping tools of the general type shown in Figs. 4 and 5, although they may individually var in shape, or in height of application to the ribbon, so as to introduce still additional varia tions in the appearance of the surface markings on the finished block.

The turntable further carries a spaced succession of wipers 53 depending from the turntable, and disposed to wipe loose clay particles from the ribbon surface. If desired the wiping edge may be of flexible, rubberlike material, or may carry bristles or other suitable surfaces of contact.

I have provided cleaning or brushing means for removing clay particles from the operating surface of the scraping means, for example from the point 45 shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A shaft 5% disposed parallel to the direction of ribbon travel, carries affixed thereto a rotary brush 55, the bristles of which are in the path of travel of the cutting tools. Shaft 56 carries a pully 5S driven by a belt 57 from a pully 58 on shaft 3%. A companion shaft 66, on the other sid of ribbon 2i and parallel thereto is driven from shaft 5 3 by a belt 5|. Shaft 68 likewise carries a rotating brush 62 which cleans the scraping tools on the other side of the machine. A glance at Fig. 3 indicates that scraping tools, traveling counterclockwise, and leaving the ribbon at the top of the drawing, are cleaned by "brush 52, while scraping tools leaving the ribbon at the bottom of the drawing are cleaned by brush 55.

After all scraping operations, such as hereinabove noted, are completed, the still semi-plastic blocks are baked and finished in conventional fashion. The stock may previously have been impregnated with any suitable coloring compound to produce the exact appearance of any characteristic type of stone.

As a result of the structure hereinabove described the scored markings produced by the scoring or scraping tool 4 5 vary irregularly, and there is no general tendency of the apparatus to reproduce an identical pattern. The tool in the embodiment shown, and described, is biased towards scoring position merely by gravity, as accentuated when desired by the presence and position of the counter-weight, but it is apparent that an equivalent effect might be produced, even in other directions than downwardly, by biasing the tool towards the column of plastic material by spring means, or other resilient pressure, such pressure being of any suitable or desired magnitude, equivalent for example to the gravity ef-' fect produced in the embodiment disclosed. The effect I prefer is one in which the tool bias is sufficient to initiate the scoring stroke at a side edge of the plastic block or column, the further behaviour of the tool being responsive in part to its normal bias, and in part to the varying resistance of the plastic mass to the tool travel. I have found that, generally speaking, the effect produced is a novel one, resulting in a building block characterized, by score marks decreasing in depth and width from the point of origin towards the center, but said decrease in depth and width being of non-uniform character. The absence of a monotonous uniformity, such as is apparent, for instance, in a building block made from plastic material by a molding or stamping process, is further accentuated, if desired, by introducing a predetermined irregularity or rate change either in the relative motion between the machine and'the traveling column or ribbon of clay, or between the movable tool supporting turntable and the said ribbon.

As hereinbefore intimated, an additional variation in surface appearance may be produced by using, on the same turntable assembly a variety of scoring or scraping tools, each such tool producing its own respectively varying effect. Each individual tool may further be prearranged to produce deeper or shallower markings, as desired, both by varying the position and weight of the counter-weight, or by changing the position of the adjustable stop. a V

The effect most to be desired, and which most closely resembles the product of manual stonecutting, is a flaking effect wherein the tool which I have hereinabove designated as a scraping, scoring, or cutting tool, isdragged through and over the upper surface of the moving column of soft clay. Under the influence of gravity or other biasing effect the point of the scraper turns up flakes of clay which are subsequently removed by the wiping blades. The final effect is a haphazard one, in no way resembling the monotonous regularity of surface contour pro duced by previous methods of producing simulated cut stone.

What I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the 'appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative to said machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column, movable means for moving said scraping means transversely across said column, said scraping means being loosely mounted for pivotal motion on said carrying means, and being biased to scraping contact with said column.

2. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative to said machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column, movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across said column, said scraping means being loosely mounted for pivotal motion on said carrying means, said scraping means being gravity biased to scraping contact with said column, and adjustable stop means, fixed with respect to said carrying means, and operatively engageable with said scraping means, for establishing a maximum depth of cut for said scraping means.

3. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for producing relative movement between said column and said machine, tool carrying means rotatably mounted for travel in a curved path in a plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, and a scraping tool loosely pivoted on said tool carrying means and biased to scraping contact with said column.

4. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for producing relative movement between said column and said machine, tool carrying means rotatably mounted for travel in a curved path in a plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, and a scraping tool loosely pivoted on said tool carrying means and biased to scraping contact with said column, and adjustable stop means fixed with respect to said carrying means for establishing a maximum depth of cut for said scraping tool.

5. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material advancing therethrough to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column through said machine, a turntable rotatably mounted for travel in a circular path in a plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, a scraping tool loosely pivoted on said turntable adjacent the periphery thereof and gravity biased to scraping contact with said column, and adjustable stop means fixed with respect to said turntable and operatively engaging said scraping tool for establishing a maximum depth of cut for said scraping tool.

6. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material advancing therethrough to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column through said machine, a turntable rotatably mounted for travel in a circular path in a plane parallel to and adjacent to the upper surface of said column, a crank lever pivotally mounted on said turntable for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a scraping tool carried by one arm of said crank lever, said scraping tool being gravity biased to scraping contact with said column, and adjustable stop means fixed with respect to said turntable, and operatively engaging the other arm of said crank lever to thereby establish a maximum depth of cut for said scraping tool.

'7. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative to said machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column, movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across said column, said scraping means being loosely pivotally mounted to permit swinging movement in a vertical plane and being biased to scraping contact with said column, and brush means fixed in the path of movement of said scraping means and adapted to clean said scraping means after each scraping stroke.

8. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative to said machine, scraping means adapted to scrape a surface of said column, movable means for carrying said scraping means transversely across said column, said scraping means being loosely pivotally mounted to permit swinging movement in a vertical plane and being biased to scraping contact with said column, and brush means fixed in the path of movement of said scraping means and adapted to clean said scraping means after each scraping stroke, and working means carried by said movable means rearwardly of said scraping means in the direction of motion thereof and adapted to wipe loose scored debris from the surface of said column.

9. A machine of the character described for applying flaked markings to the surface of a column of plastic but hardenable material moving relative thereto to thereby simulate the appearance of genuine cut stone, said machine comprising means for moving said column relative to said machine, scraping means adapted to scrape said surface of said column, movable means for moving said scraping means transversely across said column, said scraping means being loosely mounted for motion on said carrying means and being yieldably biased to scraping contact with said surface.

FRANKLIN I. GASE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,179,601 Ballou Apr. 18, 1916 1,230,362 Allen June 19, 1917 1,631,220 Nicholson June 7, 1927 1,923,636 Minter Aug. 22, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 370,331 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1932

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