Apparatus for shaping pressure-shapable materials

Claim 1

IN AN APPARATUS FOR PRESSURE FORMING A SHAPED ARTICLE FROM PRSSURE SHAPABLE MATERIAL, SAID APPARATUS HAVING A FIXED BED UPON WHICH ARE SUPPORTED CONNECTING SIDE WALLS EXTENDING GENERALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION, SAID SIDE WALLS SURROUNDING A CAVITY DIE MEMBER CONFORMING TO THE SHAPE OF THE AREA CIRCUMSCRIBED BY AFOREMENTIONED CONNECTING SIDE WALLS, TO FORM A CAVITY, SAID CAVITY ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A CHARGE OF PRESSURE SHAPABLE MATERIAL, A PLUNGER DIE MEMBER MOVABLE INTO SAID CAVITY IN SUBSTANTIALLY A SINGLE CONTINUOUS COMPACTING STROKE IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE PLANES OF AFOREMENTIONED SIDE WALLS, AND OPPOSED TO SAID CAVITY DIE MEMBER, SAID PLUNGER DIE MEMBER HAVING AN OUTLINE, TAKEN IN A PLANE GENERALLY NORMAL TO THE COMMON DIRECTION OF SAID SIDE WALLS, COINCIDENT WITH THE OUTLINE OF THE AREA CIRCUMSCRIBED BY AFOREMENTIONED CONNECTING SIDE WALLS, RECIPROCATING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID PLUNGER DIE MEMBER IN ITS COMPACTING STROKE INTO SAID CAVITY TO SHAPE SAID PRESSURE SHAPABLE MATERIAL INTRODUCED THEREIN TO AN OUTLINE CONFORMING TO THE OUTLINE OF SAID CAVITY, AND OUT OF SAID CAVITY FOLLOWING SAID COMPACTING STROKE, THE IMPROVMENT, IN COMBINATION THEREWITH, OF A SEGMENTAL CAVITY DIE MEMBER, SAID SEGMENTS CONSTITUTING THE SHAPING SURFACE OF SAID CAVITY DIE MEMBER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SEGMENTS IMMOVABLE, OPERATIONALLY, WITH RESPECT TO A FIXED POINT, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SEGMENTS MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID FIXED SEGMENT IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE COMMON DIRECTION OF AFOREMENTIONED CONNECTING SIDE WALLS, SAID MOVABLE SEGMENT HAVING AN UPPER AND LOWER LIMIT OF MOVEMENT WITHIN SAID CAVITY, A FIRST MEANS FOR