Patent ID: 8602078

Claim:
Apparatus defining an outer circumference or an inner circumference to serve as a forming surface or as a circumference-engaging surface, respectively, comprising: a frame having a central axis, and the apparatus circumference extends along an arc which surrounds and is substantially centered about the central axis; a plurality of multi-sectional segments mounted upon the frame and in side-by-side relationship about said central axis thereof, said segments being moveable radially inwardly and outwardly with respect to the central axis of the frame and including arcuate surfaces which collectively define the circumference of the apparatus; at least one segment including a primary section and a secondary section disposed to one side of the primary section wherein each of the primary section and the secondary section has a circumference-defining surface having a length which extends along the arc of the apparatus circumference, and the length of each primary and secondary section has a center, and means for connecting the secondary section to the primary section so that as the segments are moved radially inwardly and outwardly with respect to the central axis of the frame, the primary and secondary sections move relative to one another so that the centers of the lengths of the primary and secondary sections move toward and away from one another along the arc of the circumference of the apparatus; and the means for connecting includes means for coordinating the relative movement between the primary and secondary sections of the at least one segment with the movement of the at least one segment radially inwardly and outwardly with respect to the central axis of the frame wherein the means for coordinating includes mechanisms which interlock the primary and secondary sections together so that movement of the at least one segment radially inwardly and outwardly with respect to the central axis of the frame effects the movement of the primary and secondary sections relative to one another along the circumference of the apparatus, and wherein the mechanisms include a rack and gear assembly connected between the primary section and the secondary section.