Compacting press

Claim 1

A MULTI-PLATEN COMPACTING PRESS FOR FORMING POWDERED MATERIAL INTO AN ARTICLE HAVING PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS AXIALLY THEREOF, COMPRISING A FRAME, A PLURALITY OF DIE PLATENS FLOATINGLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND EACH HAVING A DIE PROVIDING FOR ONE OF SAID DIFFERENT DIAMETERS, SAID DIES BEING IN TELESCOPING RELATIONSHIP, A RECIPROCABLE PUNCH AND A FIXED PUNCH IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT, MEANS FOR FORCING SAID RECIPROCABLE PUNCH DOWNWARDLY AGAINST POWDERED MATERIAL IN SAID SEVERAL DIES TO COMPACT THE SAME AGAINST SAID FIXED PUNCH, SAID DIE PLATENS FLOATING DOWNWARDLY AS THE POWDERED MATERIAL IS COMPACTED THEREIN, SPACING MEANS BETWEEN SAID SEVERAL DIE PLATENS, STOP MEANS FOR AT LEAST ALL BUT THE UPPER ONE OF SAID DIE PLATENS, SAID STOP MEANS BEING CAPABLE OF TAKING THE FULL LOAD OF THE PRESS, MEANS OPERATIVE UPON COMPLETION OF THE COMPACTING STROKE OF SAID RECIPROCABLE PUNCH TO FORCE THE UPPER ONE OF SAID DIE PLATENS DOWNWARDLY, MEANS ACTUATED BY THE SPACING MEANS BETWEEN SAID UPPER ONE OF SAID DIE PLATENS AND THE NEXT LOWER DIE PLATEN TO RELEASE THE STOP MEANS OF SAID NEXT LOWER DIE PLATEN WHEN THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE DIES OF SAID UPPER AND NEXT LOWER DIE PLATENS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH, WHEREBY SAID FORCING MEANS WILL THEN FORCE SAID UPPER AND NEXT LOWER DIE PLATENS DOWNWARDLY TOGETHER, MEANS ACTUATED BY THE SPACING DOWNBETWEEN SAID NEXT LOWER AND THE SECOND LOWER DIE PLATEN TO RELEASE THE STOP MEANS FOR SAID SECOND LOWER DIE PLATEN WHEN THE SECOND LOWER DIE PLATENS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH, LOWER AND SECOND LOWER DIE PLATENS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH, AND SO ON, UNTIL THE COMPACTED ARTICLE HAS BEEN EJECTED FROM ALL OF SAID DIES, WHEREBY EACH DIAMETER OF SAID ARTICLE IS SUPPORTED FROM BELOW DURING ITS EJECTION, AND MEANS FOR RETURNING ALL MOVABLE PARTS OF THEIR ORIGINAL POSITIONS.