Patent ID: 7261548

Claim:
A mold assembly for manufacturing concrete blocks and adapted for use in a concrete block machine, the mold assembly comprising: a plurality of liner plates, each having a major surface, the liner plates configured such that the major surfaces form a mold cavity having a desired form, wherein at least one of the liner plates is moveable between a retracted position and a desired extended position toward an interior of the mold cavity; a gear drive assembly including: a first element selectively coupled to the at least one moveable liner plate; and an actuator operatively coupled to the first element and configured to push the at least one moveable liner plate in a first direction toward the extended position via the first element by moving and applying a force in a second direction which is different from the first direction and configured to pull the at least one moveable liner plate from the extended position toward the retracted position via the first element by moving and applying a force in a direction which is opposite to the second direction; and a stabilizer assembly operatively coupled to the actuator and configured to support the actuator as it moves and applies the force in the second direction and moves and applies the force in the direction opposite the second direction.