Patent ID: 8727763

Claim:
Apparatus for thermoforming a plastic material, comprising: a. a mold (i) configured to be evacuated, (ii) defining an upper surface, and (iii) comprising at least one plug protruding from the upper surface, the plug having an upper surface and being generally cylindrical in shape with at least one circumferential notch that does not extend to the upper surface of the plug; b. means for positioning a plastic material adjacent the mold, the plastic material defining integral first and second regions; and c. means for selectively heating the first region to its forming temperature while maintaining the second region at less than its forming temperature when the plastic material is positioned adjacent the mold so as to thermoform the first region but not thermoform the second region following evacuation of the mold, the selective heating means including (i) a source of energy and (ii) an energy sink having (A) a depth and (B) at least one cut-out extending through the depth.