AU598712B2 - Brick cutting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

9 8 F Z: 64247 FORM 10 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION This docur'ent contain.s the amendmerits made under Section 49 and is correct for printing.

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: PI9154 5 July 1988 Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: SAddress for Service: Empire Brick Pty Limited Wallgrove Road Horsley Park New South Wales 2164

AUSTRALIA

Peter Nicholas Mancuso Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys, Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Brick Cutting Apparatus The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us C OS 0C7/C9 5815/2 I i 1 i C-i -1- BRICK CUTTING APPARATUS The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for cutting cladding brick tiles from a standard brick.

It is a popular method of home improvement to brick-veneer a weatherboard or single brick home. A recent development of this type of home improvement is to attach cladding bricks being a tile having a predetermined thickness which is cut from a standard brick, to an outside or interior surface of a home in order to give the surface the appearance of brick work.

Australian patent application No. 55795/86 discloses an imprc.ed system of attaching such cladding bricks to a surface.

The process of cutting the cladding tiles from a standard brick with standard brick cutting machines has proved slow and generally resulted in substantial downtime of the machinery due to failure of the cutting blade.

This problem is magnified when very hard bricks are being cut.

Brick cutting machines presently available comprise a single circular 0 cutting blade which must cut through the entire thickness of a brick in one sweep. This cutting method exerts excessive pressures on the cutting blade resulting in early failure thereof. This type of cutting machinery is also o 20 unable to cut bricks at a sufficient rate.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the problems and/or disadvantages of the prior art.

There is disclosed herein a saw assembly to cut an object so as to remove a portion thereof, said assembly comprising: 0 "2i a conveyor to receive said object and to move the object along a predetermined path; and a plurality of circular co-planar cutting blades located at spaced positions along said path so as to cut said object as it passes along the S path, said blades being arranged so that a first one of said blades is engaged by said object, cuts said object to a predetermined depth from one S side thereof, while the subsequent blade or blades cut the object to a o o greater depth from said one side so as to severe said portion of the object.

There is further disclosed herein a method of severing a portion of an object, said method including the steps of: moving said object by a conveyor or means along a predetermined path; forming a first cut in said object by a first cutting blade to a predetermined depth from one side of the object as said object moves along said path; and further cutting said object to a greater depth from said one side by L 14 a subsequent blade or blades so as to severe said portion therefrom; L wherein said blades are circular and co-planar ind are located at

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paced locations along said path.

71,3 ITM u A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the present brick cutting apparatus.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Figure I.

There is depicted in the drawings brick cutting apparatus comprising a brick conveyor 11, a first cutting assembly 12 and a second cutting assembly 13 disposed relative to the conveyor 11 so as to cut predetermined portions from a standard brick 1 being conveyed along the conveyor 11.

The bricks 1 are positioned on the conveyor 11 and are caused to remain in position by a projection 14 having a flat face which abuts a rearward face of the brick 1.

The cutting assemblies 12 and 13 each comprise three generally aligned cutting blades 15, 16 and 17 mounted to respective power driven, generally parallel axles 18, 19 and The leading cutting blades 15 are disposed so as to cut a slot 21 in S the brick 1 having a depth approximately one third the thickness of the brick; the second cutting blades 16 are disposed to then increased the depth of the slot 21 by cutting the brick 1 approximately a further one third of the. thickness thereof; o o and the third cutting blades 17 are disposed to then complete the S cutting of the brick 1. Before the first 15 and second 16 cutting blades complete their cutting sweep of the brick 1, the subsequent cutting blades 00 16, 17 respectively) begin cutting the brick 1.

Cutting blades 15 have a abrasive cutting blade portion with a larger inside diameter the mounting disc has a larger diameter) than the o o° adjacent cutting blades 16, and cut the internal diameter of the abrasive cutting blade portion of cutting blades 16 have a larger diameter than that of cutting blades 17. In this way the outer periphery of the abrasive cutting portion of the cutting blades 15 and 16 have greater stability and are less likely to fail.

By providing a plurality of cutting blades, each of which cut only a fraction of the thickness of the brick, the cutting rate can be substantially improved, and the working life of the cutting blb.des is also substantially improved.

Further, by arranging the cutting blades so that cutting blades 16 and 17 begin cutting the brick before cutting blades 15 and 16 respectively finish cutting that brick, generally alleviates any alignment problems and JLH/225t 3helps maintain the position of the brick 1 at the correct position relative to the conveyor 11.

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Claims (8)

1. A saw assembly to cut an object so as to remove a portion thereof, said assembly comprising: a conveyor to receive said object and to move the object along a predetermined path; and a plurality of circular co-planar cutting blades located at spaced position- along said path so as to cut said object as it passes along the path, said blades being arranged so that a first one of said blades is engaged by said object, cuts said object to a predetermined depth from one side thereof, while the subsequent blade or blades cut the object to a greater depth from said one side so as to severe said portion of the object.

2. The saw assembly of claim 1, wherein there are three cutting blades, with the leading cutting blade cutting to said predetermined depth, and the two subsequent blades cutting to progressively greater depths.

3. The saw assembly of claim 2, wherein said cutting blades are adapted to cut brick.

4. The saw assembly of claim 1, wherein said object is a brick, and said saw assembly includes further cutting blades, which are circular and co-planar and located along said path so as to severe a further portion from the brick with the portions removed being the face portions of each brick.

A method of severing a portion of an object, said method including the steps of: moving said object by a conveyor means along a predetermined path; forming a first cut in said object by a first cutting blade to a predetermined depth from one side of the object as said object moves along said path; and further cutting said object to a greater depth from said one side by a subsequent blade or blades so as to severe said portion therefrom; wherein said blades are circular and co-planar, and are located at spaced locations along said path.

6. The method of claim wherein said object is a brick, and said method includes the steps of removing two face portions from said brick.

7. An apparatus adapted to cut brick, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A described wi IIAL~j /1, 8. A method of cutting brick, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this TWENTY-SECOND day of DECEMBER 1989 Empire Brick Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON I T k- .v4*