Machine for manufacturing concrete U-wall type construction blocks by molding each concrete U-wall construction block from concrete poured about a block cage made from reinforcing material while said block cage is loaded within said machine

A machine for molding a concrete U-wall construction block from concrete poured about a block cage made from reinforcing material while said block cage is loaded within said machine,

• wherein each said concrete U-wall construction block molded by said machine has (i) a front wall panel of solid prismatic construction having a front wall surface, a rear wall surface, side wall surfaces, and top and bottom wall surfaces, and (ii) a pair of stem portions of solid prismatic construction, arranged in a parallel manner, and protruding from the rear surface of said front wall panel in a substantially perpendicular manner,
• wherein each said stem portion has a back surface, an inner side surface, an outer side surface, an upper surface, and a lower surface, and a central aperture formed in each stem portion of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during a set of concrete block molding operations,
• wherein the front wall panel has a central portion disposed between said pair of stem portions, and a pair of end portions extending from said central portion;
• wherein the block cage has (i) a front wall reinforcing portion for reinforcing the front wall panel of the concrete U-wall construction block and having a central region, and (ii) a pair of stem reinforcing portions connected to said front wall reinforcing portion about said central region, for reinforcing the pair of stem portions of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations,
• wherein a central aperture is formed in each one of said pair of stem reinforcing portions, and
• wherein said machine has several states of configuration including an open block cage loading configuration, a closed concrete block molding configuration, and an open concrete block unloading configuration, said machine comprising:
• a support base, supported on a horizontal support surface, and having a plurality of sides and supporting a replaceable front surface forming liner disposed substantially parallel to the horizontal support surface, and having general rectangular dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of the front wall surface of said concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations;
• first and second side panels rotatably connected to first and second sets of hinge mechanisms, respectively, provided on the sides of said support base, and providing molding surfaces for forming the top and bottom wall surfaces of the front wall panel of said concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations;
• third and fourth end side panels rotatably connected to third and fourth sets of hinge mechanisms, respectively, provided on the sides of said support base, and providing molding surfaces for forming the side wall surfaces of the front wall panel of said concrete U-wall construction being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations;
• first and second side stem jacket panels supported by said first and second side panels respectively, and moving therewith, and providing molding surfaces for forming the upper and lower surfaces of the stem portions of said concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations;
• first and second outer stem jacket panels supported and guided by first and second rotatable support structures, respectively, rotatably supported on the sides of the support base, and providing molding surfaces for forming the outer side surfaces of the stem portions of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations, wherein said first and second outer stem jacket panels each have a lower portion;
• first and second outer pour cover panels rotatably connected to the lower portion of said first and second outer stem jacket panels, respectively, and moving therewith, and providing molding surfaces for forming the rear wall surfaces of the front wall panel of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations;
• a core molding assembly moved into position within said machine using a crane system, and having a retracted configuration and a protracted configuration, said core molding assembly including
• (i) first and second inner stem jacket panels providing molding surfaces for forming the inner side surfaces of said stem portions of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured, and wherein said first and second inner stem jacket panels each have a lower portion,
• (ii) a support mechanism supportable by a cable wound on a winch associated with said crane system and supporting said first and second inner stem jacket panels in a parallel manner, and adapted to (i) engage with the stem sections of the block cage when said support mechanism is configured in said protracted configuration, and (ii) disengage from and moved away from the stem section of the concrete U-wall construction block when said support mechanism is configured in said retracted configuration, and
• (iii) first and second support members mounted on the molding surfaces provided by said first and second inner stem jacket panels, respectively, and
• (iv) first and second inner pour cover panels rotatably connected to the lower portions of said first and second inner stem jacket panels, providing molding surfaces for forming the rear wall surfaces of the central portion of the front wall panel of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations,
• wherein, when said support mechanism is arranged in said protracted configuration, said first and second support members are inserted within the central apertures formed in the stem sections of the block cage used to manufacture the concrete U-wall construction block within said machine, and (i) supporting the block cage while said block cage is being loaded into said machine configured in said open block cage loading configuration during a set of block cage loading operations, and also (ii) lifting the concrete U-wall construction block while the concrete U-wall construction block is being unloaded from said machine configured in said open concrete block unloading configuration during a set of concrete block unloading operations, and
• wherein, when said support mechanism is arranged in said refracted configuration, said first and second support members are withdrawn from said central apertures formed in the stem portions of the concrete U-wall construction block after the concrete U-wall construction block has been unloaded from said machine configured in said open concrete block unloading configuration during said set of concrete block unloading operations;
• and
• a center pour cover panel for positioning between said first and second inner pour cover panels, to cover the central region of the rear surface of the front wall reinforcing portion of the loaded block cage when said machine is configured in said closed concrete block molding configuration during said set of concrete block molding operations, and providing molding surfaces to form the rear wall surface of the front wall panel of the concrete U-wall construction block being manufactured during said set of concrete block molding operations.