FLOATING CUT-OFF BAR AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF

1 . A mold assembly for producing wall blocks comprising:

a production pallet;

a stripper shoe;

a mold box having opposed side walls and opposed end walls which together form a perimeter of the mold box, the mold box having an open top and an open bottom, the production pallet enclosing the open bottom of the mold box during a block forming process;

a feed drawer configured to move during the block forming process from a first position vertically offset from the mold box to a second position above the mold box and back to the first position and to discharge block forming material into the mold box during the block forming process;

a material distribution element moveably connected to the feed drawer and configured to remove excess block forming material from the mold box or redistribute block forming material in the mold box as the feed drawer moves from the second position to the first position during the block forming process; and

a control member configured to control a path of travel of the material distribution element over the mold box as the feed drawer moves from the second position to the first position during the block forming process, a height of the material distribution element above the production pallet changing as the material distribution element moves along the path of travel during the block forming process.

2 . The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the material distribution element is a cut-off bar.

3 . The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the control member comprises at least one division plate dividing the mold box into a plurality of mold cavities.

4 . The mold assembly of claim 3 wherein the at least one division plate includes a non-linear top surface which defines the path of travel of the material distribution element.

5 . The mold assembly of claim 4 wherein the material removal element includes a portion which abuts the non-linear top surface of the at least one division plate as the material distribution element moves along the path of travel.

6 . The mold assembly of claim 5 wherein the portion of the material removal element comprises a roller bearing.

7 . The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the material distribution element is connected to be moveable with respect to the feed drawer from a downward position to an upward position, the material distribution element being biased to the downward position.

8 . The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the material distribution element is oriented parallel to the end walls of the mold box.

9 . The mold assembly of claim 8 wherein the end walls include first and second end walls and wherein the path of travel of the material distribution element over the mold box is from the first end wall to the second end wall.

10 . The mold assembly of claim 1 wherein the stripper shoe has a lower surface configured to compress block forming material in the mold box during the block forming process, the lower surface being angled from horizontal at an angle α.

11 . The mold assembly of claim 10 wherein angle α is in the range of about 5° to 20°.

12 . A method of producing wall blocks in a mold assembly which includes a production pallet, a mold box having an open top and an open bottom, a feed drawer and a stripper shoe, the method comprising:

positioning the production pallet beneath the mold box to enclose the bottom of the mold box;

moving the feed drawer from a first position which is vertically offset from the mold box to a second position above the mold box;

depositing block forming material from the feed drawer into the mold box;

moving the feed drawer from the second position back to the first position;

after the block forming material has been deposited in the mold box redistributing the block forming material within the mold box such that a height of block forming material above the production pallet in a first portion of the mold box is greater than a height of block forming material above the production pallet in a second portion of the mold box, the first and second portions of the mold box being located such that a line which intersects both the first and second portions is parallel with a direction of travel of the feed drawer as it moves from the second position back to the first position;

lowering the stripper shoe to enclose the open top of the mold box and to compress the block forming material within the mold box; and

removing the block forming material from the mold box.

13 . The method of claim 12 wherein the step of redistributing the block forming material in the mold box is performed by moving a material distribution element over the mold box along a path of travel from a first end of the mold box to a second end of the mold box, a height of the material distribution element above the production pallet over the first portion of the mold box being greater than a height of the material distribution element above the production pallet over the second portion of the mold box.

14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the material distribution element is moveably connected to the feed drawer and wherein the redistributing step is performed when the feed drawer is moved from the second position back to the first position.

15 . The method of claim 14 wherein the mold box includes a control member configured to control the height of the material distribution element above the production pallet as the material distribution element moves along the path of travel.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein the control member comprises at least one division plate dividing the mold box into a plurality of mold cavities, the at least one division plate having a non-linear top surface which defines the path of travel of the material distribution element over the mold box.

17 . The method of claim 12 wherein the block forming material is dry cast concrete.