Machine for manufacturing concrete uwall 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 with 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 first stem reinforcing portion and a second stem reinforcing portion 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;
• a set of side panels, a first side stem jacket panel and a second side stem jacket panel, a first outer stem jacket panel and a second outer stem jacket panel, and a set of outer pour cover panels arranged and configurable about said support base, for providing molding surfaces for forming the surfaces 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 lift 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 associated with said lift 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.