Apparatus for stacking uncured brick

Claim 2

Apparatus for gripping a column of bricks arranged in end-toend relationship to one another with at least some of said bricks being initially spaced from one another, said apparatus comprising: tongue means projectable between the ends of at least some of adjacent bricks of said column; gripping means engageable with the opposite ends of said column for exerting a compacting force thereagainst, thereby moving the bricks in said column toward one another and at least some of the bricks into engagement with said tongue means; and means mounting said tongue means to said apparatus for free reciprocal movement longitudinally of said column responsive to the compacting of said column by said brick gripping means, said mounting means comprising a horizontally extending shaft extending longitudinally of said column and spaced slightly above said column, said tongue means including a plate having an opening in the upper portion thereof for slidably receiving said shaft.

Claim 3

Apparatus for gripping a column of bricks arranged in end-to-end relationship to one another with at least some of said bricks being initially spaced from one another, said apparatus comprising: tongue means projectable between the ends of at least some of adjacent bricks of said column; gripping means comprising a pair of depending arms movable between a first, open position spaced from the ends of said column and a second, compacting position in compacting engagement with opposite ends of said column, a reciprocal drive means, each of said gripper arms comprising a horizontal portion extending longitudinally of and above said column, a lower portion extending downwardly from the outer ends of said horizontal portion and engageable with one end of said column, each of said gripper arms being operatively engaged by said reciprocal drive means, whereby said gripping means in engageable with the opposite ends of said column for exerting a compacting force thereagainst, thereby moving the bricks in said column toward one another and at least some of the bricks into engagement with said tongue means; and means mounting said tongue means to said apparatus for free reciprocal movement longitudinally of said column responsive to the compacting of said column by said gripping means.

Claim 4

Apparatus for gripping a column of bricks arranged in end-to-end relationship to one another with at least some of said bricks being initially spaced from one another, said apparatus comprising: tongue means projectable between the ends of at least some of adjacent bricks of said column; gripping means comprising a pair of depending arms movable between a first, open position spaced from the ends of said column and a second, compacting position in compacting engagement with opposite ends of said column, a reciprocal drive means, each of said gripper arms comprising a horizontal portion extending longitudinally of and above said column, a lower portion extending downwardly from the outer ends of said horizontal portion and engageable with one end of said column, each of said gripper arms being operatively engaged by said reciprocal drive means, whereby said gripping means in engageable with the opposite ends of said column for exerting a compacting force thereagainst, thereby moving the bricks in said column toward one another and at least some of the bricks into engagement with said tongue means; and means mounting said tongue means to said apparatus for free reciprocal movement longitudinally of said column responsive to the compacting of said column by said gripping means.

Claim 5

The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means mounting said tongue means to said apparatus includes a mounting shaft secured to said gripping means, extending longitudinally of said column and spaced slightly above said column, said tongue means comprising a plate having an opening in the upper portion thereof for slidably receiving said shaft; and said shaft including a first stop means thereon for engaging one side of said plate and urging said plate to a prescribed position responsive to the movement of said depending arms to said first, open position.

Claim 6

The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said mounting shaft includes a second stop means thereon spaced from said first stop means for selectively engaging the other side of said plate when it is desired to use said plate as a compacting means.

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said gripper arms further includes an upper portion extending upwardly from the inner end of said horizontal portion, said upper portion being operatively engaged by said reciprocal drive means.

Claim 8

The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein a plurality of tongue means and gripping means are provided, one of said tongue means and gripping means associated with each column to be lifted, whereupon a course of brick comprising a plurality of said columns arranged in side-by-side relationship may be lifted simultaneously.