It is known in the prior art to make concrete articles, with the aid of which circular paving can be laid. Said circular paving can be used, for example, for laying out a terrace in a garden.

Circular paving can be laid using paving elements, such as tiles, which are identical in respect of shape and size. However, circular paving is thus produced in which there are unavoidably relatively large gaps and chinks between the paving elements situated next to one another.

Firstly this is undesirable from the aesthetic standpoint. Secondly, it can be very inconvenient in use if large chinks are produced between paving elements situated next to one another. Table legs and chair legs can, for example, easily drop into the gaps between two paving elements.

Moreover, there is a risk that grass or other weeds can develop in the gaps. This means that either the terrace will become overrun with weeds in the course of time or that the weeds have to be removed from the terrace at regular intervals.

In order to avoid the abovementioned disadvantages, paving elements which abut one another seamlessly have to be used for circular paving. This means that the paving elements have to vary in size. In the case of a rectangular paving element, in order to obtain the best possible abutment of the various paving elements to one another that side of the paving element which faces towards the mid point will be curved, the radius of said curve corresponding to the distance from said edge of the paving element to the mid point of the paving. The same applies in the case of that side of a paving element which faces away from the mid point. This means that the paving elements in circular paving which together form a band delimited by two arcs of a circle can be of identical sizes. Paving elements which are placed outside said band will have to be of other sizes.

This means, however, that a relatively large amount of different paving elements have to be used. A user will have to purchase the correct number of each of these paving elements. When such paving elements are manufactured according to the prior art, a large number are manufactured in advance, a user being able to select the desired number depending on the size of the circular paving to be made. This production method inevitably leads to surpluses of products of certain sizes.

One aim of the present invention is to provide a method for making concrete articles which are suitable for circular paving, the concrete articles differing in size and the risk of surpluses of certain sizes being avoided.

Said aim is achieved according to the present invention in that concrete articles which together form a complete sector of the circular paving are made in a single operation.

Because a complete sector of a circle is formed in each operation, a complete circular paving will have been produced after a specific number of operations (depending on the apex angle of the sector). Any surpluses are thus prevented.

Another disadvantage of the production method for concrete articles according to the prior art is that the difference in sizes between the various concrete articles is difficult to establish by eye. Consequently, when laying the paving elements it is difficult to see which paving element has to be laid in what position. Moreover, the production techniques currently used for making concrete articles, of the type referred to in the present invention, do not allow a code to be made in the concrete articles. A user who has purchased a quantity of paving elements therefore has to solve a sort of"jigsaw puzzle"when laying the paving in order to lay the paving elements in a suitable mutual orientation.

If is therefore possible according to the present invention for the concrete articles to be arranged in the mould in such a way that said articles together or in groups are in the correct mutual position to form the sector.

In this context it is advantageous that the concrete articles are arranged in groups in the mould in such a way that, in the mould, the concrete articles form a central section of a sector and two

radial outer sections of said sector which are to abut on said central section.

Firstly, what is achieved by means of these measures is that the paving elements are already laid in the correct position with respect to one another during production. If this mutual position is maintained during transport and/or packing of the products, laying of the paving elements is then facilitated. A user is then no longer left in the dark as to which paving element has to be placed where. By, moreover, positioning the paving elements in groups in such a way that, in the mould, a central section of a sector is placed between two radial outer sections of a sector (which when laying the circular paving are positioned such that they abut the central section of a sector), the mould can, moreover, have relatively small outside dimensions. This makes it possible for the method according to the present invention to be carried out using production means which are also currently used in the prior art.

According to the present invention it is, moreover, possible for the concrete articles to be provided with false joints. As a result, relatively large concrete articles can be used. The larger the concrete articles, the easier it is to see the difference in sizes between the various articles.

Sorting out any concrete articles that have become mixed up is therefore facilitated. The presence of the false joints ensures that the circular paving appears to be made from relatively small paving elements. This is desirable from the aesthetic standpoint.

Moreover, according to the present invention it is possible for the concrete articles to be removed from the mould and placed in transport and/or sales packaging. In this context it is advantageous that the mutual position of the concrete articles is not changed during this operation.

After the concrete articles have been made with the aid of a mould, said articles can, for example, be placed on a pallet. Mutual orientation of the concrete articles is preferably not changed during this operation. The pallet can be wrapped in packaging as a whole or as a whole can serve as transport and/or sales packaging. As a result of these measures the operations needed to manipulate the blocks after these have been made in a mould and before they are delivered to a user are restricted to a minimum. The sequence of the concrete articles with respect to one another which is applied in the mould is maintained until the user purchases the articles, for example from a wholesaler, pallet and all.

The present invention relates not only to a method for making concrete articles but also to a mould for making concrete articles such as paving elements, recesses being made in the mould in the shape of the articles to be made. According to the present invention it is possible with this arrangement for groups of recesses to form a central section of a sector and two radial outer sections of a sector, the central section of a sector being arranged in the middle of the two radial outer sections of a sector placed alongside it.

As has been indicated above, it is very attractive from the logistics standpoint if a complete sector of concrete articles is formed in a single operation with the aid of the mould according to the present invention.

In this context it is advantageous that the recesses in the mould are made in such a way that groups of recesses form a central section of a sector and two radial outer sections of a sector, the central section of a sector being arranged in the middle of the two radial outer sections of a sector placed alongside it.

What is achieved as a result of this measure is that a sector can be housed on a relatively small surface area. In this way a sector can be formed using the standard sizes for moulding plates which are used in the prior art, if working with, for example, a sector of the size of an eighth of a circle, with sectors of a radius of approximately 1.5 m, that is to say circular paving having a diameter of approximately 3 m.

The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to five drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a possible layout of circular paving, from which a number of concrete articles have been omitted which together form a complete sector.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the mould according to the present invention, with the concrete articles therein.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the concrete articles which have been placed together on a pallet.

Figure 4 is a cross-section of the mould according to Figure 2, above which a stamper plate has been arranged.

Figure 5 shows a"circular paving"in the form of a rosette.

Figure 1 shows circular paving built up from concrete articles. The circular paving is built up from concrete articles 1. It can be seen in the drawing that that side of the concrete articles 1 which faces towards the mid point 2 of the circular paving and those sides of the concrete articles 1 which face away from the mid point 2 of the circular paving have arc-shaped curvatures. The radius of curvature of said sides will decrease the closer to the mid point 2 the concrete articles 1 have to be laid. It can also be seen from Figure 1 that the difference in size between the paving elements, especially some distance away from the mid point 2, is difficult to establish by eye. If the concrete articles 1 were to be delivered to a site as completely separate items in an arbitrary order, it would be difficult for a user to lay the right block in the right place. Therefore, as will be explained in Figures 2 and 3, according to the present invention the blocks are produced in the correct mutual sequence.

An open space 3 in the circular paving has been left clear in Figure 1. The surface area of the open space 3 forms a complete sector. In order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing design, the concrete articles 1 have been offset with respect to one another in the various successive bands.

Figure 2 shows a mould 20 with the concrete articles 1 therein. It can also be seen in Figure 1 that the concrete articles have been made relatively large. As will be further explained with reference to Figure 4, multiple so-called false joints 21 have been made in the concrete articles 1. When the concrete articles 1 are laid in the desired pattern these false joints 21 create the impression that the concrete articles 1 are relatively small. Because the concrete articles 1 are joined to one another with the aid of the false joints 21, the difference between the various concrete articles 1 which have to be used in the various successive bands will be easier to establish than if the concrete articles 1 were to be produced entirely independently of one another.

It can also be seen in Figure 2 that the concrete articles 1 already have the desired mutual

orientation in the mould 20. On the grounds of space-saving considerations, the concrete articles 1 have not been placed as a complete sector in the mould 20, but the concrete articles 1 have been placed in groups so that the sector ultimately desired can easily be composed from the concrete articles 1.

The complete sector of concrete articles 1 is as it were cut into three pieces. The first group of concrete articles 1, which together form a sector having a radius which is smaller than the radius of the ultimate circular paving to be laid, is placed in the middle of the mould 20. In the present invention said sector is termed the central section of a sector 22 and in the drawing is oriented in such a way that the apex of the central section 22 of a sector points downwards.

The other part of the sector is split into two so-called radial outer sections 23,24 of a sector. It is clear that in the ultimate use of the concrete articles 1 the radial outer sections 23 and 24 of a sector are placed such that they abut that end of the central section 22 of a sector which is in the shape of the arc of a circle.

The central section of a sector 22 and the radial outer sections 23 and 24 of a sector are shown again in Figure 3. It is noticeable from a comparison of Figures 2 and 3 that in Figure 3 the concrete articles 1 have been removed from the mould 20 and slid towards one another such that they abut. The mutual orientation of the concrete articles 1 has not changed during this operation. During this operation the concrete articles 1 slid close together in this way have been arranged on a supporting element 30, such as a sheet or a pallet. The concrete articles can, for example, be transported on said sheet 30. It is, for example, possible to pack the sheet 30 with the concrete articles 1 thereon as a whole. An end user is thus able to purchase a packed and complete sector. Depending on the apex angle of the sector, a user forms complete circular paving using, for example, 4,5,6 or more sectors. It can be seen from Figures 2 and 3 that handling of the concrete articles 1 after the actual production thereof up to the time they reach the end user can be restricted to a minimum. Moreover, it can be seen from the figures that with the aid of the method and the mould 20 according to the present invention circular paving can be formed without any residual paving elements being left over in any way.

The mould 20 is shown again in cross-section in Figure 4. A concrete article 1 has been placed in said mould 20. During the production process the concrete of the concrete article 1 is

compacted with the aid of a tamping element, such as a stamper plate 40. The stamper plate 40 has one or more projecting parts 41 on the underside thereof. With the aid of said projecting parts 41, so-called false joints 21 are made in the top surface of the concrete article 1. Said false joints 21 create the impression that the concrete articles are of relatively small size. As has already been pointed out above, the result of this is that the various concrete articles which are laid in succession have a relatively large difference in dimensions. Consequently, it will be easier to sort out the concrete articles 1 (should these inadvertently become mixed up) than is the case with concrete articles 1 according to the prior art.

It is clear that the method in question and the mould 20 in question can also be used for concrete articles having shapes other than those shown in Figures 1,2 and 3. This can be seen, inter alia, from Figure 5. Figure 5 shows"circular paving"in the form of a rosette 50. The rosette 50 is built up from multiple concrete articles 1, the sizes of which vary as the concrete articles 1 are positioned closer to the mid point of the circular paving. Just as has been described above and has been shown in Figures 2 and 3, the rosette 50 can be built up from a number of"sectors" (for example 8 sectors). Said sectors can be formed in the same way as has been described above with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

In the present invention reference has always been made to a method and a mould for making concrete articles. It must be understood that the present invention and the advantages thereof are equally applicable to products made of numerous other materials.

For the sake of clarity it is furthermore pointed out that the word sector is used in the present invention to refer to a so-called"pie slice".

Moreover, it is pointed out that with a view to the present invention it is also possible to compose circular paving from shapes which do not themselves form a"pie slice"but which together do form a circular body. Such a differing shape can, for example, be derived from the circular paving which is shown in Figure 1. It is clear that such differing shapes also fall under the scope of the following claims.