METHOD FOR COMPUTER CONTROLLED FILLING OF FORMS WITH FRESH CONCRETE, BUCKET FOR FRESH CONCRETE

Abstract

 A movement of a bucket to a mold (12) at a manufacturing site, and a movement of the bucket above the mold (12), is controlled by the computer in a coordinate system. At the same time, the computer controls the orientation of a rectifier (9) with an oblong outflow cross-section pursuant to an orientation of an aperture of the mold (12) in the given place of filling. The method preferably includes two stages; after the first stage of the filling with a higher flow speed, and after the vibration of the mold (12), a profile of the level of the fresh concrete in the aperture of the formwork is contactlessly measured; an amount of fresh concrete necessary to fill up the mold (12) up to the upper level of formwork is calculated from the measured profile, and subsequently the calculated amount of fresh concrete is poured by the bucket into the respective place. The bucket also has the rectifier (9) with an outflow socket (10) which has oblong outflow cross-section. The bucket can have a screw (5) whose axis is basically vertical, whereby the screw (5) is moveably placed in the direction of its rotation in order to achieve at least two height levels. The bottom end of the screw (5) in the first position reaches inside the neck (3), and in the second position the bottom end of the screw (5) is completely pulled out from the neck (3) upwards.

Description

Field of technology

[0001] The invention concerns the method of filling of molds for precast concretes (concrete prefabs) by means of computer control of the bucket for concrete in the coordinate system, mainly for filling of aperture molds placed in the production space. The method involves the positioning of the bucket for concrete, control of the bucket, and preferably also control of the orientation of the outlet profile at the desired place. The invention also concerns the bucket for transport and dosage of the fresh concrete during its pouring to formwork, which allows for directioning of the flow as well as control of the flow of fresh concrete.

Prior state of the art

[0002] In order to fill molds with fresh concrete mixture during the production of precast concrete, various buckets are used, whereby the fresh concrete is poured into the from above, the bucket with the closed neck is transferred to the desired place of pouring, and subsequently, with the neck open, the fresh concrete is poured into the prepared formwork. The buckets for fresh concrete are commonly used at the construction site, where they are transferred by the crane and their emptying is controlled manually. Such buckets for fresh concrete are subsequently used during the construction of the precast concrete, where the bucked in the manufacturing site is transferred by means of gantry crane.

[0003] Computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete by means of a bucket is disclosed in the prior art, for example in files CN 112720833, CN111113657, CN109291231, where the bucket moves by mean of a crab in the crane beam and the fresh concrete is poured into the open mold with relatively large surface, which does not require precise positioning of the bucket.

[0004] In case of forms for spatial precast concrete, which are cast in such a way that the fresh concrete is poured into a relatively tight aperture between the formwork of the mold, there is a problem when the concrete is poured outside the aperture. such aperture molds are typical for various tanks, boxes or other precast concrete, whose walls are cast in the vertical position. Solution according to CN208844931 discloses a tool for directioning of the pouring of the concrete; however, this can be used only during manual casting. Publication KR102255414 discloses bucket for fresh concrete which has a sleeve, made from flexible material, for outpouring, and by means of a throttling mechanism the cross-section of the sleeve is deformed into the desired shape pursuant to the width of the aperture. Such solution partially solves the problem with the orientation of the outlet profile, but it is still very imprecise. Technical solutions are known which improve the possibilities of the controlled outpouring of the fresh concrete, such as CN 112720833, which discloses the bucked for concrete with the horizontally placed screw. The bucket moves by means of a crab in the crane beam, and it is height positioned through a single hanging point. Such solution allows neither for precise positioning of the bucket, nor for large-flow pouring.

[0005] The problems with the desired larger flow are addressed, for example, by CN 111376382, which uses six parallel horizontally placed screws with independent caps. Such solution leads to quicker filling, but it is very complicated, it has many moving parts and it is difficult to maintain after each work shift. The same problems mar solution pursuant to CN111113657, which uses nine horizontally placed screws, as well as solution CN109291231 with eight screws.

[0006] The solutions with multiple screws only offer an advantage in that each screw can be controlled separately, that is, it can be separately turned on and off, the speed of rotation can be controlled, which allows to achieve high regulated summary flow of the fresh concrete at the output from the bucket. However, use of multiple screw conveyors not only increases the complexity of constructions and demands for daily maintenance, but it increases the risk of overheating of the fresh concrete mixture and thereby undesirably affects the requested production technology. The use of multiple screws is preferably with flat molds where the fresh concrete can be poured from multiple points side by side, but during the pouring the concrete to the tight aperture which is parallel with the orientation of the screws only one screw can work - that is, the one that is right above the aperture.

[0007] A computer controlled filling of molds with fresh concrete, which would allow for repeatedly precise positioning of the filling with the possibility of change, mainly in case of aperture molds, whereby this new method of filling would use the existing machine equipment of the existing manufacturing sites, is not known. New control of the bucket for the fresh concrete should be easily and precisely positionable, whereby it allows for fast large-flow filling of the molds as well as precise dosage of the fresh concrete in the final stage of filling.

Essence of the invention

[0008] The abovementioned deficiencies are significantly remedied by the method of computer controlled filling of the molds with fresh concrete, during which the bucket is firstly filled with fresh concrete, with the closing element closed the bucket is moved above the molds, subsequently the closing element is opened and the fresh concrete is controllably poured through the neck of the bucket into the mold, according to this invention whose essence lies in the fact that the movement of the bucket to the mold and above the mold is controlled by computer in the coordinate system; the closing element of the bucket is controlled by the computer for pouring of the requested amount of fresh concrete; and at the same time the computer controls the orientation of the rectifier with the oblong outflow (outlet) cross-section pursuant to the orientation of the mold's aperture in the given point of filling.

[0009] The computer controls mainly three basic processes of filling the mold. First process is the transport of the bucket above the mold, which includes mainly control of the position of the mean of transport, usually gantry crane. Gantry crane, or similar crane system, is capable of moving the bucket in three coordinates; it moves the bucket on the surface of the manufacturing site where the molds for precast concrete are placed, and it positions the bucket vertically to the upper edge of the respective mold. The database of actual position of the molds on the manufacturing site with the specification of groundplan and heights of the edges of the apertures serves this purpose. The computer controls the height of the bucket above the mold pursuant to the data from the database which include the position of the given mold at the manufacturing site, the groundplan of the formwork of the respective mold, and the height of the upper edge of the mold's formwork. The bucket is usually moved by means of gantry crane which is controlled by the computer.

[0010] The second controlled process is the pouring of the desired amount of the fresh concrete, where the fresh concrete is measured insofar its volume and/or mass is concerned. Pursuant to the size of the mold, either the whole volume of the bucket can be poured - which is usually the case at the beginning of the filling of the larger mold - or the concrete can be dosed by means of a computer-controlled closing element.

[0011] With aperture molds it is important to control the orientation of the outflow cross-section where the rectifier is rotated pursuant to the course of the aperture in the coordinate system so that the fresh concrete is not poured outside the mold.

[0012] The "computer" in this text means any device for reading of algorithm, mainly computer software, whereby the term "computer" also includes computer center, computer server, control center, and so on. After the reading of the algorithm, the computer issues instruction to control respective devices and machines.

[0013] In the preferable arrangement the bucket for concrete can also have dosage screw, which will be also connected to computer. In such case the bucket has a reservoir for fresh concrete, neck, closing element of neck, connecting hinges for carrying the bucket, where the reservoir has a tightened funnel at the bottom, whereby the neck is connected to the funnel, and the lower edge of the neck has closing element designed for opening and closing of the outlet from the neck. The bucket also includes the screw whose axis is basically vertical, which is slidably placed in the direction of its axis of rotation in such a way that its lower end in one position interferes inside the neck and in the other position the lower end protrudes from the neck upwards.

[0014] The axis of rotation of the screw which is basically vertical deviates from the vertical by less than 20°, preferably less than 10°. At the same time, the screw's axis is basically identical with the axis of the neck. Usually, the neck will have circular cross-section and the inner diameter of the screw will, with the sufficient gap, correspond to the outer diameter of the screw in such a way that the screw can freely rotate in the neck, but that there is no undesired fresh concrete flowing around the circumference of the screw. Usually, the gap will be 2 to 15 mm, preferably 3 to 6 mm. The neck will be at least as long as the half the height of the screw pitch in place of its placement in the neck, preferably at least as long as one screw pitch. This allows for arrangement in which the lower end of the screw forms, in certain sense, the cap of the fresh concrete outlet from the bucket. At the same time, the bucket has closing element of the neck, for example in form of a tiltably placed screen, which slides in or out from the edge of the neck, or in form of two tiltably placed screens, or in form of a ball valve or a plane slide. The solution according to this invention can be equipped by any closing element.

[0015] Vertically movable placement of the screw, which achieves at least two positions of the screw, can also be controlled by the computer, or the computer can at least recognize the height position of the screw as it has been set by the personnel. In the first position the lower end of the screw is placed in the neck in such a way that the body of the neck wraps around the outer cylindrical shape of the screw. In this first position the screw is an obstacle to the free outpouring of the fresh concrete, and this flows basically only when the screw rotates. In the second position the state of the controlled outpouring of the fresh concrete is achieved, when the outpouring depends on the rotation of the screw, on the effective diameter of the screw, and on the screw pitch. Such position is suitable for precise filling with the small dosage, for example, in case of small concrete products or in the final fulfilling of the larger molds of precast concrete. Pursuant to the set dimensions and pitch of the screw, one can approximately set the amount of dosed fresh concrete per one rotation of the screw; later the dosage can be measured directly during the testing cycle, depending of the way the concrete mixture can be processed.

[0016] In the second position the lower end of the screw is pulled out of the neck, preferably it is distanced from the upper mouth of the neck at least by distance of one screw pitch. Preferably, the lower end in the second position of the screw will be distanced from the upper mouth of the neck at length that is five times the diameter of the screw, where the fresh concrete can flow without interruption into the mouth of the neck. This position allows for flowing of the fresh concrete directly into the neck and then out, where the fresh concrete is poured into the molds or to the space delimited by the formwork, respectively with the substantially larger flow compared to the rotation of the screw. Thanks to this, one does not need to use multiple screws, as is the case in the prior art, where six to nine horizontally placed screws are used.

[0017] The term "bucket" in this text denotes any vessel for temporary placement of the fresh concrete which is designed for transportation, and which can have an opening on the lower part for gravitational release of the fresh concrete. Such vessel can be also named concrete mixer, concrete transport container, concrete transporter, mobile concrete container and so on. The adjective "fresh" in "fresh concrete" means not solidified for of concrete, that is, the state in which the concrete is poured into molds or into the space of formwork. The term "fresh" does not denote any particular time interval.

[0018] The connecting hinges of the bucket will be usually placed in the upper part of the bucket, for example as eyelets for connecting crane tie-downs. The bucket for fresh concrete according to this invention can be used for manual operation, where it is transferred by the crane above the desired place of concreting and subsequently it is manually controlled or manually operated, too. That means, that personnel can open the closing element manually, for example by means of a lever or rotational gear wheel, or the controller can activate respective machine opening of the closing element. Similarly, the screw can be directly controlled and manipulated, too, that is, its rotation and/or sliding from the first position to the second and back. Preferable realization of the invention is the one where the closing element and the movements of the screw are controlled remotely so that the computer controlled filling of the molds during production of precast concrete is allowed. In order to achieve the automatization of the production of the precast concrete it is preferable if the basket for concrete has connection hinges designed for transfer of the lateral forces. Common buckets for concrete, known in the prior art, have one eyelet for the connection of the hook which is approximately above the bucket's center of gravity, which is sufficient for lifting and transporting the bucket during its manual operation. In order to achieve exact position of the bucket in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site, and in order to prevent the tilting and swerving of the bucket, it is necessary that the connecting hinges transfer the lateral forces, too, and that repeatedly exact lateral carrying of the bucket in various height position is achieved. This can be achieved, for example, by carrying the bucket with various ropes which stabilize the position and orientation of the bucket, or lateral line can be produced where the bucket for concrete is led in a shaft or by means of guiding rails.

[0019] Aside from two basic positions pursuant to the abovementioned description, the screw can have third position, too, where it is completely protruding from the space of the reservoir, mainly for the purposes of cleaning the bucket, or also when the bucket is used in longer-term way just for quick, large-flow filling of the molds.

[0020] The screw can be movably placed by means of various mechanical means. In one arrangement, the screw is freely placed in the set with electric engine and gear, where the carrier part with the bearings of the screw forms a head of the set and it is equipped by a hinge or bayonet for connection with the carrying pipe. The screw set is an independently removable subgroup, it includes a screw, head with bearing housings, clutch, gear with electric engine, electric equipment and flexible electric line connected with frequency converter for control of the rotations of the screw. The carrying pipe is fixedly connected inside the reservoir in such a way that its axis is parallel with the axis of the neck and the lower part of the carrying pipe leads to the mouth of the neck, but it is distanced from the upper edge of the neck at least at distance of one diameter of the screw, preferably the distance is at least five times the diameter of the screw. Basically, bottom edge of the carrying pipe can vertically set the second position of the screw. The carrying pipe can be connected with the construction of the reservoir by means of one or multiple beams, preferably still in the non-tightening part of the reservoir, whereby the beams can have transversal cross-section oriented in such a way that they do not present an obstacle to the vertical movement of the fresh concrete. In the upper part the carrying pipe has bayonet cap or hinge for the connection of the screw set in two basic positions: in the upper for large-flow filling and in the lower for controlled dosage. In another arrangement, the carrying pipe and/or the screw set can be equipped by mean for lifting and lowering of the screw set against the position of the carrying pipe. The lifting and lowering of the screw set can be electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or combined. When using the bucket with the dosage screw, the rotation of the screw will be controlled by the computer, which will be connected, for example, with the frequency converter.

[0021] An important feature of one of the realizations of the proposed invention is the two-position or multiple-position arrangement of the outlet set of the bucket, which has different flow features and different regulation features pursuant to the chosen position of the screw. One bucket can, thanks to this, be used for quick filling of the molds and also for final fulfilling of the molds with only small flow, whereby this flow can be controlled sufficiently enough by number of rotations of the screw. These advantages allow the bucket for concrete to be used mainly during computer controlled filling of the molds, when the bucket moves above the mold in the set coordinate system, for example by means of the portal system, and the fresh concrete flows to the mold, whereby the closing element is also controlled by the instructions from the computer program. In case of flat molds, such as molds for concrete walls or panels, which are vertically placed in the floor of the manufacturing site, there is not great problem with the precise positioning of the bucket. The bucket can move, with its neck, relatively far from the edges of the mold, since the fresh concrete will naturally flow all the way to the edges.

[0022] The process of filling will, in preferable arrangement, involve, firstly, the step of fast filling, when the bucket is moved to the corners of the aperture mold, where the fresh concrete is poured out and simultaneously and/or subsequently the mold is vibrated, so that the poured fresh concrete is spread from the respective corner to the walls forming the corner of the mold. The "corner" of the mold is to be understood as crossing of the walls or connection of the walls into the shape T. In this step the weighted amount or measured volume of the fresh concrete is poured, whereby the bucket can be repeatedly filled and transported above the respective mold.

[0023] Molds for spatial prefabs (spatial precast concretes) are used, too, and they are poured in such a way that the concrete must be poured into relatively tight aperture between the formwork of the mold. Such aperture molds are typical for various vessels, boxes or other prefabs, whose walls are cast in the vertical position. In order to achieve precise position of outpouring of the fresh concrete, multiple connecting hinges (at least three) and lateral lines are used, which prevent the undesired swerving of the bucket outside the desired position. With tight aperture molds the width of the aperture can be less than the diameter of the neck. Common neck diameters are at least 200 mm, whereby some molds have apertures on 140 mm or even 80 mm wide. It is not effective to diminish the diameter of the circular neck, since this would cause its clotting and slow filling of the mold. If the outlet diameter of the neck is changed to longitudinal, whole bucket for the concrete must turn into position pursuant to orientation of the actually filled aperture. This, however, brings serious problems with guiding and precision of the position of the bucket. Taking into account the large weight of the bucket, it also has high rotational momentum. In order to address this problem, the bucket according to this invention preferably has a rectifier, which includes the outflow (outlet) socket with oblong outflow cross-section. The position of the rectifier is controlled by computer or, eventually, manually.

[0024] The outflow socket is placed below the closing element and by means of rotational placement its orientation can be altered. The oblong cross-section of the outflow socket has width which is equal to or smaller than minimal width of the aperture of the formwork, and its length is longer than the width of the cross-section of the outflow socket. Usually, the overall cross-section of the outflow socket will be identical to or larger than the outflow cross-section of the neck, and the length of the cross-section of the outflow socket will be at least 1,5 times its width, preferably it will be 3 times its width.

[0025] In one realization, the rectifier has a cone which wraps the lower part of the neck with closing element. In the upper part the cone has cylindrical ring which forms part of the rotational placement of the rectifier. The rotational placement is composed mainly from flat annulus, set of wheels and cylindrical ring. The annulus is a path (course) for guiding the wheels, and it is attached by consoles on its outer circumference. The consoles connect the annulus with the conical tightening (or a funnel, or a funnel tightening) in such a way that on the outer circumference of the annulus there is a free path for the circular movement of the wheels which are freely led in the ring. The outflow socket follows upon the lower part of the cone whose important feature is such that its outflow cross-section is longitudinal, that is, its width in the groundplan projection is less than its length. It is preferable if the outflow socket has a cross-section of the rectangle with rounded shorter sides and the width of the cross-section of the outflow socket is less than 140 mm, preferably less than 100 mm, and the length of the outflow socket is at least 230 mm, preferably at least 300 mm. Rotational placement serves the purpose of desired orientation of the outflow socket without the need to rotate the whole bucket. The rotational placement can be rotated at least in 90° by means of hydraulic cylinder, pneumatic cylinder or electrically. Rotational placement of the rectifier can be realized differently, it can allow for complete rotation of the rectifier by 360°, but in principle rotation in scope of 90° suffices.

[0026] Rectifier is controlled by the computer in such a way that from the known position of mold the information about the angular orientation of the aperture of the mold is loaded from the database, that is, information about the course of the line of the upper edge of the formwork in the coordinate system on the manufacturing site, and the rectifier is rotated in such a way that the longitudinal profile of the outflow socket has longitudinal axis in the identical orientation.

[0027] In order to achieve exact results of the filling, a two-stage pouring can be used, where in the first step the fresh concrete is poured into the mold in the form which is provided in advance for the respective mold pursuant to its volume, and subsequently, after vibration, the upper edge of the still fresh concrete is contactlessly sensed once again, and on the basis of sensed data the amount of fresh concrete necessary for filling up to the edge of the formwork for the respective place of the mold is calculated, and subsequently, on the basis of this calculation, in the second step, the fresh concrete is dosed up to the edge of the formwork in the respective place. The second stage of pouring can be accompanied and/or subsequently supplied by vibrating the mold.

[0028] It is preferable if laser beam is used for sensing the upper edge of the fresh concrete, which senses the edge of the formwork, and after this sensing it produced the three-dimensional image of the surface of the fresh concrete after the first step of pouring. Based on the spatial profile, the computer quickly calculates the missing amount of fresh concrete in the respective place. The bucket is subsequently transported to the place of filling, and it fills it with the calculated amount of the fresh concrete.

[0029] The filling in two stages, where in the first step the actual state is measured, solves the issues with precision of measurement of the amount of the fresh concrete. The larger molds are commonly filled with multiple tons of fresh concrete, but even small imprecision on the order of tens of kilograms leads to overfilling and or lack of fulfilling up to the upper edge of the mold. Moreover, the actual volume of the mold differs due to many factors, such as tightening the mold joints, tightening the spacers and so on. In practice, it is hardly conceivable that with the fast pouring of during the first step one could measure ideal amount of fresh concrete. Measuring the profile of the upper edge of the fresh concrete provides the data about the position and amount which is necessary to add to the mold. In the second step, the filling is slower, with slower flow, but with finer measurement.

[0030] The advantage of this invention is the replacement of the manual operation during the filling of the molds, whereby the molds are filled with fresh concrete in amount which is necessary for filling the mold up to the proscribed height. The position of the bucket is controlled by the computer which also controls the dosage and orientation of the rectifier. Through all this, the method is very flexible and it brings effective results with variously shaped molds. The important advantage of the proposed invention is the used of tried and tested basic elements in the manufacturing site, which can be connected into the automatized manufacturing process after addition of sensors, mainly sensors of position, and addition of actuators to control the basket. The advantage of the invention is also the high universality of the bucket for concrete and the possibility to use it with automatized process of production of precast concrete. The bucket has simple construction, using tried and tested basic elements of the bucket, whereby it has high scope of achievable outlet of the fresh concrete and also it can be well regulated with small doses. The presence of few movable elements is also an advantage, as well as possibility to alter the orientation of the longitudinal profile for the flow of outpouring fresh concrete by means of rectifier. Thanks to these new features the bucket for concrete is suitable mainly for cooperation within automatized production process.

Description of drawings

[0031] The invention is further disclosed by drawings 1 to 9. The depicted shape of the aperture mold, the shape of rectifier, the slope of conical tightening, the type of closing element, the ratio of depiction, as well as the depicted level of the fresh concrete after the first stage, are only examples and cannot be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection.

Figure 1 is spatial view of filling of the aperture between the formwork in the corner of the mold, where the rectifier is rotated in the direction of actually filled part of the mold. The arrows by the rectifier show the movement of the bucket and subsequent rotation of the rectifier with the outflow socket by 90°.

Figure 2 schematically depicts the course of filling, where firstly the fresh concrete is poured into the corners of the mold; letters a, b, c, d denote the course of filling. In the lower bottom corner, two groundplan orientations of the outflow socket are depicted.

Figure 3 depicts the method with contactless sensing of the surface of the fresh concrete after the first stage of the filling and vibrating.

Figures 4 to 6 depict schematically the bucket for concrete in three positions. Figure 4 depicts screw in the first position for dosing the regulated amount of the fresh concrete, which is depicted in the way it falls out of the neck in doses. On figure 5, the screw is pulled a bit to the second position for fast release of the fresh concrete, which is, for illustration purposes, depicted as continuous flow. Subsequently, figure 6 depicts whole screw set pulled out of the bucket, which corresponds to the cleaning phase, for example, after the work shift ended.

Figure 7 depicts the bucket for concrete connected with the rotationally placed rectifier as seen from the bottom. Part of the closing element is seen through the mouth of the outflow socket. Arrows depict the section plane used for depiction on figure 8.

Figure 8 is conical tightening with the rectifier, which is led in the wheels on the outer circumference of the ring, depicted in the partial cross-section. Subsequently, figure 9 depicts rectifier in the spatial view.

Examples of realization

Example 1

[0032] In this example according to figures 1 to 9, the molds 12 for various precast concrete are filled with fresh concrete, whereby the molds 12 are placed on the floor at the manufacturing site. In this example, manufacturing site has two gantry cranes, first for transport of the molds 12 and second with the computer control for transport of the bucket for fresh concrete. The molds have various height from the upper edge of the formwork, and this height as well as precise position of a mold 12 are recorded in the database of actual molds 12 in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site.

[0033] The gantry crane transports the bucket for fresh concrete firstly to the output place of the preparation of the concrete mixture, where the reservoir 1 of the bucket with the closing element 4 closed is filled with weighted amount of the fresh concrete. The gantry crane transports the bucket above the first mold 12 to the corner of the aperture formwork. Pursuant to the orientation of the aperture, the rectifier 9 is rotated and subsequently it opens the closing element 4. After the pouring of required amount of fresh concrete, it continues by pouring in other three corners, whereby the mold 12 is vibrated; the fresh concrete pours from the corners to both sides of the respective corner. The subsequent pouring continues through continuous filling between the corners of the mold 12 until the expected ca. 98% filling of the mold 12. With the change of the orientation of the aperture, the rectifier 9 with the outflow socket 10 is rotated, too.

[0034] At the first stage of pouring, the mold 12 is vibrated for preset time, for example for two minutes. Laser scanner scans the surface of the upper edge of the formwork, that is, the inner aperture between the formwork and also the upper edge of the formwork which defines the desire height of filling the mold 12. In this example, the scanner uses the laser beam which is expanded at least for the width of the formwork so that it senses the level of the fresh concrete not only in a single point, but in the whole profile of the aperture. The vibration is turned off, so that after the measurement this profile no longer alters. The scanning of the profile runs in such a way that the three-dimensional image of the level of the fresh concrete is produced, subsequently the volume of the missing fresh concrete is calculated for the places where the level does not reach the upper edge of the formwork. The computer calculates the overall volume of pouring in the second stage and it distributes the doses for individual places where the level has not yet reached the upper edge of the formwork. Subsequently, the bucket with the fresh concrete is transferred to these places and it releases the calculated amount of fresh concrete, and the mold 12 is vibrated at least for short time.

[0035] In this example, the control of the dosing screw is used for dosage in the second stage, whereby the screw is inserted in the neck of the bucket for concrete. The bucket has common construction with reservoir 1 from steel sheet metal, which is on the lower part equipped by the frame. The frame serves the purpose of placing the bucket on the floor. The reservoir 1 has conical tightening 2 which ensures complete emptying of the fresh concrete. The neck 3 follows upon the conical tightening 2, whereby the neck 3 in this case is cylindrical. A closing element 4 leans onto the bottom edge of the neck 3, whereby the closing element 4 in this example is composed of two mechanically connected tiltably placed segments. Each segment has a cylindrically shaped surface which tightly leans to the bottom edge of the neck 3, and lateral walls which connected the cylindrically shaped surface with the placement of the segments. The opening of the segments is mechanically coupled for simultaneous opening or closing.

[0036] The bucket for concrete has a fixedly attached carrying pipe 6 inside the reservoir 1_, whereby the longitudinal axis of the carrying pipe 6 is vertical and at the same time it is within the axis of the neck 3. Four flat partitions in the reservoir 1 are used for attachment of the carrying pipe 6 in this example. The cross-section of the partition is oriented in such a way that the upper edge of the partition does not capture the fresh concrete during its movement downwards. The carrying pipe 6 in the upper part reaches above the maximum level of the fresh concrete, and in the bottom part it does not reach the mouth of the neck 3. In the upper part, the carrying pipe 6 has two bayonet holders which are released by rotation in one direction.

[0037] The bucket for concrete has screw set which includes the screw 5 freely placed in the head 8 with bayonet hinge for connection to the bayonet holder in the upper part of the carrying pipe 6. The screw set has electric engine with gear which is connected to the head 8 and electric line. The screw 5 in this example has outer diameter 180 mm, which corresponds, with the gap, to the inner diameter of the neck 3 of 200 mm. The inner diameter of the carrying pipe 6 is also 200 mm. In the first position, the screw set is submerged in the carrying pipe 6 in such a way that the lower edge of the screw 5 reaches to the neck 3, whereby the screw 5 is present in the neck 3 approximately at the length which corresponds, approximately, to the two pitches. In this position the screw 5 with its bottom end forms a cap which prevents the free outpouring of the fresh concrete even with the closing element 4 open. This closing is not completely hermetic, which is why the operation of the screw 5 is coordinated with the control of the closing element 4 so that it prevents the outpouring of cement milk and falling out of the small pieces of the fresh concrete onto the manufacturing site. In the first position the screw 5 forms a dosage device where the size of the dose can be simply and repeatedly precisely controlled by the rotation of the screw 5. By means of the frequency converter, and with stable gear ratio, the central control in the site doses the release of the fresh concrete in the desired site in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site.

[0038] In the first position of the screw 5 the maximal outpouring of the fresh concrete is limited by available rotations of the screw 5, which are limited not only by the construction and placement of the screw 5 in the head 8 of the screw set, but also by its acting upon the fresh concrete. In the second position the screw 5 is partially pulled out within the carrying pipe 6 in such a way that the bottom edge of the screw 5 is approximately at the height of the bottom edge of the carrying pipe 6, which in this example is roughly five times the pitch of the screw 5. The bottom edge of the screw 5 in this way produces, to certain degree, cap against penetration of the fresh concrete from the bottom to the carrying pipe 6. In the zone above the neck's 3 mouth there is, in the second position, free space for unrestricted and fast inpouring of the fresh concrete to the neck 3 and subsequently for outpouring with the closing element 4 open. The screw 5 is part of the screw set 5 which further includes the head 8 with bearings, the clutch and engine, preferably electric engine with gear, whereby the screw set is removable from the bucket. The bucket is equipped by lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering of the screw, and the lifting mechanism is controlled by the computer.

[0039] The third position of the screw 5 is typical for cleaning of the bucket or for long-term use of the bucket for large-volume filling of the molds and in this third position the screw set is completely pulled out from the carrying pipe 6.

[0040] In this example the bucket for concrete has four connecting hinges 7 in the bottom corners of the reservoir 1_. In this way, the bucket differs from common buckets for concrete, which use only one connecting hinge 7 led in the middle of the bucket. Thanks to the use of four connecting hinges 7, the bucket can be positioned more precisely in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site, whereby its lateral swerving, tilting or other deviations outside the desired surface are limited.

[0041] The rectifier 9 alters the orientation of the outlet profile without the rotation of the whole bucket. The rectifier 9 has a cone below the bottom edge of the neck 3 with the closing element 4. On the upper part, the cone has a cylindrical ring which forms a part of the rotational placement 11. The rotational placement 11 consists of the flat annulus, a set of wheels and the cylindrical ring. The annulus forms a path for guiding the wheels, and it is attached by six consoles distributed on the outer circumference of the annulus and connecting the annulus with the conical tightening 2. In this example, the consoles are on the upper part wielded to the horizontal plate which aligns with the conical tightening 2, whereby the length of the consoles, and thereby the distance of the annulus from the horizontal plate, is larger than the diameter of the wheels. The annulus has inner diameter which is larger than the outer diameter of the cone and the cylindrical ring. The axis of the annulus is in the axis of the neck 3.

[0042] The inner circumference of the ring produces, alongside its circumference, the path for free movement of the wheels which are freely led in the ring. In the axial direction the movement of the wheels is delimited by the rim of the wheel similarly as in case of rails. In this example there are six wheels freely placed in the cylindrical ring. Thanks to the guiding of the wheels from the outer side, these are well protected against fresh concrete, which can be splashed in the cone in all directions.

[0043] The outflow socket 10 follows upon the bottom part of the cone, whereby an important feature of the outflow socket 10 is that its outflow cross-section is oblong (longitudinal), therefore, its width in the groundplan projection is less than its length. In this example, this is expressed in such a way that the outflow socket 10 has cross-section of the rectangle with rounded shorter sides. The width of the outflow socket 10 in this example is 100 mm, the length is 320 mm. This allows to reach high overall outflow cross-section, and at the same time the width of the flow of the outpouring concrete will not surpass 100 mm, which is the minimal width of the aperture formwork of the mold 12 for precast concrete in this example.

[0044] The rotational placement 11 serves for the desired orientation of the outflow socket 10 without the need to rotate the whole bucket. The rotational placement 11 in this example is rotated in the scope of 90° by means of hydraulic cylinder which ensures sufficiently quick and reliable control of the position even in difficult manufacturing conditions.

Example 2

[0045] In this example according to figures 4 to 6 the bucket has basic construction with the reservoir 1 from steel sheet metal, which is equipped by frame on the bottom side. The frame serves the purpose of placing the bucket on the floor. The reservoir 1 has conical tightening 2 which ensures complete emptying of the fresh concrete. The conical tightening 2 is followed by neck 3, which is cylindrical in this example. A closing element 4 leans onto the bottom edge of the neck 3; in this example, the closing element 4 has a form of two mechanically coupled tiltably placed segments. Each segment has cylindrically shaped surface which tightly leans onto the bottom edge of the neck 3, and lateral sides, which connect the cylindrically shaped surface with placement of the segments. The opening of the segments is mechanically coupled for simultaneous closing and opening. The construction described in this example until now corresponds to commonly known and commercially available form of the bucket for concrete.

[0046] The bucket for concrete has a carrying pipe 6 inside the reservoir 1, whereby the longitudinal axis of the carrying pipe 6 is vertical, and at the same time it is within the axis of the neck 3. Three flat partitions in the reservoir 1 are, in this example, used for attachment of the carrying pipe 6. The cross-section of the partition is oriented in such a way that on the upper edge of the partition it does not capture the fresh concrete during its movement downwards. The carrying pipe 6 in the upper part reaches above the maximal level of the fresh concrete, and in the bottom part it does not reach until the mouth of the neck 3. In the upper part, the carrying pipe 6 has two bayonet holders which are released by rotation in one direction. The bucket has screw set, which includes a screw freely placed in the head 8 with bayonet hinge for attachment to the bayonet holder on the upper part of the carrying pipe 6. The screw set has electric engine with the gear which is connected to the head 8 and electric line. In this example, the screw 5 has outer diameter 180 mm, which corresponds, with a gap, to 200 mm inner diameter of the neck 3. The inner diameter of the carrying pipe 6 is 200 mm, too. In the first position, the screw set is submerged in the carrying pipe 6 in such a way that the bottom edge of the screw 5 reaches to the neck 3, whereby the screw 5 in the neck 3 is approximately at length which corresponds to approximately two pitches. In this position the screw 5 with its bottom end forms a cap which prevents free outpouring of the fresh concrete even with the closing element 4 open. This closing is not completely hermetic, therefore the operation of the screw 5 is coordinated with the control of the closing element 4, so that the outpouring of the cement milk and falling out of small pieces of fresh concrete onto the manufacturing site is prevented. In the first position, the screw is a dosage device, where the size of the dose can be simply and repeatedly precisely controlled by control of the rotation of the screw 5. With help of frequency converter, and with the gear ratio stable, the release of the fresh concrete in the desired position in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site is dosed in the manufacturing site. In this example, the bucket for concrete is used in the manufacturing site where the fresh concrete is poured into the molds for precast concrete with minimal human labor. In the first position of the screw 5 the maximum outflow of the fresh concrete is limited by available rotations of the screw 5, which are here limited not only construction itself and placement of the screw 5 in the head 8 of the screw set, but also by its acting upon the fresh concrete. Inappropriate increase of the rotations of the screw 5 would lead to unacceptable increase in heat, to cavitation and similar phenomena, which could damage the features of the resulting concrete as well as mechanical features of the final concrete product. Due to this, the screw 5 according to this invention has at least two height (vertical) positions.

[0047] Pouring of the fresh concrete is controlled at two basic speeds, where the first speed corresponds to the free output of the fresh concrete with the closing element 4 open, and second speed corresponds to the dosage of the fresh concrete with less than half the flow of the fresh concrete, compared to the first speed. At the second speed of pouring, the bottom end of the screw 5 is inside the neck 3 of the bucket, and the rotation of the screw 5 is controlled by the computer. At the first speed of the pouring the bottom end of the screw 5 is pulled out from the neck 3 in such a way that it is distanced from the upper mouth of the neck 3 at least at distance equal to one diameter of the screw 5, preferably five times the diameter of the screw 5.

[0048] In the second position the screw 5 is partially pulled out within the carrying pipe 6 in such a way that the bottom edge of the screw 5 is approximately at the heigh of the bottom edge of the carrying pipe 6, which in this example corresponds approximately to five times the screw's 5 pitch. The bottom edge of the screw 5 thereby produces, in certain way, cap against the intake of the fresh concrete from the bottom of the carrying pipe 6. In the zone above the neck's 3 mouth there is, in the second position, free space for uninterrupted and quick inflow of the fresh concrete to the neck 3 and subsequently its outpouring with the closing element 4 open.

[0049] The third position of the screw 5 is typical for cleaning of the bucket or for the long-term use of the bucket for high-volume filling of the forms, and in this third position the screw set is completely pulled out of the carrying pipe 6.

[0050] In this example the bucket has four connecting hinges 7 in upper corners of the reservoir 1. In this way, the bucket differs from the common buckets for concrete which use only one hinge 7 led in the middle of the bucket. Thanks to use of four connecting hinges 7, the bucket can be more precisely positioned in the coordinate system of the manufacturing site, whereby its lateral swerving, tilting or other deviations outside the desired surface are limited.

Example 3

[0051] The bucket for concrete according to example 2 is supplied by rectifier 9. The rectifier 9 can alter the orientation of the outlet profile without the rotation of the whole bucket.

[0052] The rectifier 9 has a cone below the bottom edge of the neck 3 with the closing element 4. On the upper part, the cone has a cylindrical ring which forms a part of the rotational placement 11. The rotational placement 11 consists of the flat annulus, a set of wheels and the cylindrical ring. The annulus is wielded to bottom part of the conical tightening 2, whereby axis of the annulus is in the axis of the neck 3. The annulus is wielded to the conical tightening on the circumference, and also attached by means of triangular vertical reinforcements. The edge of the annulus on its circumference produces a path for free movement of the wheels. In the axial direction the movement of the wheels is delimited by continuous circular protrusion which defines the circular pathway for the wheels.

[0053] In this example there are six wheels freely placed in the cylindrical ring, whereby the wheels run on the upper surface of the annulus, which is placed below the level of the closing element 4 so that in common operational states the annulus remains clean, free from fresh concrete.

[0054] The outflow socket 10 follows upon the bottom part of the cone, whereby an important feature of the outflow socket 10 is that its outflow cross-section is longitudinal, therefore, its width in the groundplan projection is less than its length. In this example, this is achieved in such a way that the outflow socket 10 is produced by bending of the steel metal sheet and it has two cylindrical walls connected with two flat walls. The width of the outflow socket 10 in this example is 120 mm, the length is 240 mm. This allows to reach high overall outflow cross-section, and at the same time the width of the flow of the outpouring concrete will not surpass 140 mm, which is the minimal width of the aperture formwork of the mold 12 for precast concrete.

[0055] The rotational placement 11 serves for the desired orientation of the outflow socket 10 without the need to rotate the whole bucket. The rotational placement 11 in this example is rotated in the scope of 90° by means of hydraulic cylinder which ensures sufficiently quick and reliable control of the position even in difficult manufacturing conditions. In this example the source of the hydraulic pressure is also used to propel the screw 5 and position it vertically between first and second position.

Example 4

[0056] In this example, the realization of the bucket for concrete pursuant to any of the previous examples is supplied by lateral guiding of the bucket. The frame of the bucket is from the outer side equipped by slide rails which fall into the vertical shaft connected to the gantry crane. The bucket for concrete moves vertically within the shaft. This achieves reliable guiding of the bucket in two coordinates. The vertical coordinate of the position of the bucket is controlled by means of two ropes which are part of the gantry crane.

Example 5

[0057] In this example according to figures 7 to 9, the rectifier 9 is used similarly as in example 3, but in contrast with example 3, the rectifier is led on the other side of the cylindrical ring. The rectifier 9 can alter the orientation of the outlet profile without the rotation of the whole bucket.

[0058] The rectifier 9 has a cone below the bottom edge of the neck 3 with the closing element 4. On the upper part, the cone has a cylindrical ring which forms a part of the rotational placement 11. The rotational placement 11 consists of the flat annulus, a set of wheels and the cylindrical ring. The annulus forms a path for guiding the wheels, and it is attached by six consoles distributed on the outer circumference of the annulus and connecting the annulus with the conical tightening 2. In this example, the consoles are on the upper part wielded to the horizontal plate which aligns with the conical tightening 2, whereby the length of the consoles, and thereby the distance of the annulus from the horizontal plate, is larger than the diameter of the wheels. The annulus has inner diameter which is larger than the outer diameter of the cone and the cylindrical ring. The axis of the annulus is in the axis of the neck 3.

[0059] The inner circumference of the ring produces, alongside its circumference, the path for free movement of the wheels which are freely led in the ring. In the axial direction the movement of the wheels is delimited by the rim of the wheel similarly as in case of rails. In this example there are six wheels freely placed in the cylindrical ring. Thanks to the guiding of the wheels from the outer side, these are well protected against fresh concrete, which can be splashed in the cone in all directions.

[0060] The outflow socket 10 follows upon the bottom part of the cone, whereby an important feature of the outflow socket 10 is that its outflow cross-section is oblong (longitudinal), therefore, its width in the groundplan projection is less than its length. In this example, this is expressed in such a way that the outflow socket 10 has cross-section of the rectangle with rounded shorter sides. The width of the outflow socket 10 in this example is 110 mm, the length is 320 mm. This allows to reach high overall outflow cross-section, and at the same time the width of the flow of the outpouring concrete will not surpass 140 mm, which is the minimal width of the aperture formwork of the mold 12 for precast concrete.

[0061] The rotational placement 11 serves for the desired orientation of the outflow socket 10 without the need to rotate the whole bucket. The rotational placement 11 in this example is rotated in the scope of 90° by means of hydraulic cylinder which ensures sufficiently quick and reliable control of the position even in difficult manufacturing conditions.

Industrial applicability

[0062] Industrial applicability is obvious. According to this invention it is possible to repeatedly fill the molds with fresh concrete, whereby the computer controls the movement of the bucket, its opening, orientation of its outlet profile, which significantly decreases the demands for manual operation, increases production and the labor safety. According to this invention, it is possible to industrially and repeatedly produce and use bucket for fresh concrete, even with manually controlled pouring of the concrete, but mainly with computer controlled filling of the mold with fresh concrete within automatized production of precast concrete.

List of symbols

[0063] 

1 -

reservoir

2 -

conical tightening

3 -

neck

4 -

closing element

5 -

screw

6 -

carrying pipe

7 -

connecting hinges

8 -

head

9 -

rectifier

10 -

outflow socket

11 -

rotational placement

12 -

mold

a -

first position of filling

b -

second position of filling

Claims

1. A method of a computer controlled filling of molds with a fresh concrete, during which a bucket is firstly filled with the fresh concrete, then the bucket is moved, with a closing element (4) closed, above the mold (12), subsequently the closing element (4) is opened and the fresh concrete is poured through a neck (3) of the bucket to the mold (12), whereby a movement of the bucket towards and above the mold (12) is controlled by the computer in a coordinate system and the closing element (4) of the bucket is controlled by the computer for outpouring of desired amount of the fresh concrete,
is characterized by the fact, that
the computer controls an orientation of a rectifier (9) with an oblong outflow cross-section pursuant to the orientation of an aperture of the mold (12) in a given point of filling.

2. The method of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete according to the claim 1 is characterized by the fact, that pouring of fresh concrete is controlled at two basic speeds, whereby first speed corresponds to free outputting of the fresh concrete with the closing element (4) open and second speed corresponds to dosing of the fresh concrete with less than half a flow of the fresh concrete compared to the first speed.

3. The method of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete according to the claim 1 or 2 is characterized by the fact, that it includes first stage of filling, where the bucket is transferred to a corner of the aperture mold (12) or subsequently to multiple corners of the aperture mold (12) where the fresh concrete is poured out and at the same time and/or subsequently the mold (12) is vibrated, and that it includes second stage of dosed filling in which a weighted or a volume measured amount of the fresh concrete is poured with less than half the flow of the fresh concrete compared to the first stage, whereby the second stage of the filling follows the first stage of the filling after no more than 120 minutes.

4. The method of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete according to the claim 3 is characterized by the fact, that after the first stage of the filling and after the vibration of the mold (12) is finished, a profile of a level of the fresh concrete in the aperture of a formwork is contactlessly measured; the amount of the fresh concrete necessary to fill up the mold (12) up to the level of the formwork is calculated from the measured profile, and subsequently the calculated amount of the concrete is poured to a respective place by the bucket.

5. The method of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete according to the claim 4 is characterized by the fact, that the profile of the level of the fresh concrete in the aperture of the formwork is measured by means of a laser beam whose width corresponds at least to a width of the formwork.

6. The method of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete according to the claim 4 or 5 is characterized by the fact, that a position of at least one upper edge of the formwork is measured during measurement of the profile of the level of the fresh concrete, and during the calculation of the amount of concrete necessary to fill up the formwork of the mold (12) a height difference between the recognized upper edge of the formwork of the mold (12) and the profile of the level of the fresh concrete in the respective place is taken into account.

7. A bucket for a fresh concrete, mainly for purpose of a computer controlled filling of molds with the fresh concrete, which includes a reservoir (1) for the fresh concrete, a neck (3), a closing element (4), at least one connecting hinge (7) for carrying the bucket, where the reservoir (1) has a conical tightening (2) in its bottom part, whereby the neck (3) follows upon the conical tightening (2) downwards, and where a bottom edge of the neck (3) has the closing element (4) designed for opening and closing of an outflow from the neck (3),
is characterized by the fact, that
it has a rectifier (9) with an outflow socket (10), where the rectifier (9) is placed in a vertical plane by means of a rotational placement (11), whereby the outflow socket (10) has an oblong outflow cross-section, and whereby the outflow socket (10) is placed below the closing element (4).

8. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to the claim 7 is characterized by the fact, that the oblong cross-section of the outflow socket (10) has a width which is less than 160 mm, and it has a length which is at least 1,5 times larger than its width, preferably the length of the cross-section of the outflow socket (10) is at least 230 mm.

9. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to the claim 7 or 8 is characterized by the fact, that a surface of the cross-section of the outflow socket (10) is equal to or larger than a surface of a neck's (3) cross-section.

10. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to any of the claims 7 to 9 i s characterized by the fact, that the rectifier (9) has a cone which surrounds a bottom edge of the neck (3) with the closing element (4); there is a cylindrical ring on an upper part of the cone, whereby at least three wheels are rotationally placed on a circumference of the ring, whereby the wheels run around an annulus which is attached to the conical tightening (2) and/or to the reservoir (1), whereby
the annulus is attached directly to the conical tightening (2) and/or to the reservoir (1); the wheels are led to roll on the outer circumference of the annulus, and the wheels are rotationally placed on an inner side of the cylindrical ring, or
the annulus is attached to the conical tightening (2) and/or to the reservoir (1) by means of consoles on the outer circumference of the annulus; the wheels are led to roll on the inner circumference of the annulus, and the wheels are rotationally placed on an outer side of the cylindrical ring.

11. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to any of the claims 7 to 10 is characterized by the fact, that the rectifier (9) is equipped by hydraulic and/or pneumatic and/or electric engine for rotation of the rectifier (9) at least in a scope of 90°.

12. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to any of the claims 7 to 11 is characterized by the fact, that it includes a screw (5) whose axis is basically vertical, whereby the screw (5) is placed moveably in the axis of its rotation in order to achieve at least two height positions in such a way that a bottom end of the screw (5) in a first position reaches inside the neck (3) and in a second position the bottom end of the screw (5) is pulled out of the neck (3) upwards.

13. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to the claim 12 is characterized by the fact, that the neck (3) has a circular cross-section and an inner diameter of the neck (3) corresponds, with a gap up to 15 mm, to an outer diameter of the screw (5); in the first position there is at least half a screw (5) pitch inside the neck (3), preferably at least on pitch of the screw (5) is inside the neck (3), and in the second position the bottom end of the screw (5) is pulled out of the neck (3) in such a way that it is distanced from a neck's (3) mouth at least at a distance of one pitch of the screw (5); preferably the distance is five times the screw's (5) diameter.

14. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to the claim 12 or 13 is characterized by the fact, that it has a carrying pipe (6) for guiding the screw (5); the carrying pipe (6) is fixedly attached inside the reservoir (1) and/or inside the conical tightening (2); an axis of the carrying pipe (6) is identical with an axis of the neck (3) and/or the axis of the screw (5), and the carrying pipe (6) is designed for guiding the screw (5) in the first and the second position, too, and a bottom edge of the carrying pipe (6) is at a heigh corresponding to a level of the bottom end of the screw (5) in the second position.

15. The bucket for the fresh concrete, mainly for the purpose of the computer controlled filling of the molds with the fresh concrete, according to any of the claims 12 to 14 is characterized by the fact, that the screw (5) is part of a screw set which further includes a head (8) with bearings, a clutch, and an engine, preferably the electric engine with a gear, whereby the screw set is removable and can be removed from the bucket.

Drawing