A storage system for storing objects of plastic material processed in a bottling line (45) comprises: a plurality of drawers (4) configured to contain groups of objects (5); a frame (2) which defines a plurality of compartments (3) configured to house the drawers (4); a conveyor (8) movable in the storage system (1) itself and configured to access the compartments (3) in such a way as to withdraw and place drawers (4) from and into the compartments (4); a loading bay (11) having one or more loading compartments for receiving corresponding drawers (4) and having a loading manipulator (28) configured to place in the drawers (4) the loose objects (5) received from an infeed conveyor (29); an unloading bay (12) having at least one unloading compartment for receiving a corresponding drawer (4) and having an unloading manipulator (41) configured to place onto an outfeed conveyor (43, 44) the loose objects (5) stored in the drawer (4).

A continuous cycle bottling line for containers of thermoplastic material comprises: a parison molding unit; a blow-molding unit for making containers; a unit for filling the containers; a thermal conditioning structure for the parisons, for heating and cooling the parisons in a heating module and in a cooling module, respectively; an automatic controlled-atmosphere storage system for containing the parisons and interconnected with the other parts of the line; a pressurization system configured to pressurize at least the following parts of the line: the storage system, the at least one blow-molding unit and the connections between the thermal conditioning structure and the storage system; where the heating and cooling modules, alternatively or in combination, i) are pressurized, ii) have a plurality of shutters configured to occlude the opening at the end of each parison, so that the interior of the parison remains closed when the parison is inside the heating and cooling module.

A storage system for storing objects of plastic material processed in a bottling line (45) comprises: a plurality of drawers (4) configured to contain groups of objects (5); a frame (2) which defines a plurality of compartments (3) configured to house the drawers (4); a conveyor (8) movable in the storage system (1) itself and configured to access the compartments (3) in such a way as to withdraw and place drawers (4) from and into the compartments (4); a loading bay (11) having one or more loading compartments for receiving corresponding drawers (4) and having a loading manipulator (28) configured to place in the drawers (4) the loose objects (5) received from an infeed conveyor (29); an unloading bay (12) having at least one unloading compartment for receiving a corresponding drawer (4) and having an unloading manipulator (41) configured to place onto an outfeed conveyor (43, 44) the loose objects (5) stored in the drawer (4).

A gripper system includes a gripper module carrier and a gripper module for holding containers or container preforms, the gripper module having a gripper base and two gripper arms with gripping elements for at least partially gripping around a holding region of containers or container preforms, the gripper arms being mounted on the gripper base such that they can pivot relative to one another, the gripper module being releasably connected to the gripper module carrier, wherein the gripper system further includes a locking device for locking the gripper module to the gripper module carrier, and wherein the locking device is movable into a locking position for locking the gripper module to the gripper module carrier.

A gripper for holding preforms or containers in their neck region having two pivotable gripper arms held in a base position under spring tension such that their gripping ends jointly enclose and hold the neck region. They are pivotable out of the base position jointly in one direction if they come into contact with an obstacle. In the base position, a main gripper arm is clamped via a spring with the gripper base, which pulls the main arm into contact with the other secondary gripper arm. The main and secondary arms are each mounted in a respective joint. The joint of the secondary arm is closer to its gripping end than the joint of the main arm is to its gripping end. The arms press against one another in the closed position at least in two regions, one above the joint of the secondary arm and the other below it.

A plant for the production of containers made of PET comprises at least one rotary carousel for the production of preforms (2) and at least one zone, in which the preforms are either stored or they may be blown on another rotary carousel. The molded preforms are extracted from the carousel (2) by means of a transfer starwheel (50) provided with grippers (4) capable of performing complex translating-rotating type movements and independent grasping movements. The grippers (4) are provided with two suction jaws (90a and 90b) to make the grasping of the preforms more reliable when they are released from the rotary carousel for the production of the preforms (2).

A holding device for holding a container, for example for holding a container in a transport device of a beverage filling plant is described. The holding device includes a fastening part and two gripping arms, which are pivotably connected to the fastening part and can be brought into a closed position in order to hold the container and can be brought into an open position in order to insert and remove the container. A preloaded elastic bow is disposed between the gripping arms, and the elastic bow can be brought into a first position, in which the gripping arms are in the open position, and into a second position, in which the gripping arms are in the closed position. The preload of the elastic bow in the first position holds the gripping arms in the open position and the preload of the elastic bow in the second position holds the gripping arms in the closed position.

A device for transporting containers in a beverage filling plant is provided. The device has at least one first clamp, which can be pivoted between an open switching position and a closed switching position and is disposed in a pivoting plane, for holding a container of a first container size, and one second clamp, which can be pivoted between an open switching position and a closed switching position and is disposed in the pivoting plane, for holding a container of a second container size. A first control cam is provided for controlling the switching position of the first clamp and a second control cam is provided for controlling the switching position of the second clamp. The first control cam is disposed in a first control plane parallel to the pivoting plane, and the second control cam is disposed in a second control plane parallel to the pivoting plane. The first control plane and the second control plane are spaced apart from each other.

Disclosed are a device for reshaping preforms to plastic containers (2), a transport device (1), as well as a method for transporting plastic containers (2) or preforms. The device (100) for reshaping preforms into plastic containers (2) comprises at least two blow moulds (81) in which the preforms are expanded into plastic containers, arranged on a circumferentially driven blowing wheel (80), a heater (50) for heating the preforms, and a transport device (1) for the plastic containers (2) or preforms. The transport device (1) comprises a motor drive (5) having a drive shaft (15) that drives a support (17) with at least two gripping and/or support elements (4) for the respective plastic containers (2) or preforms to be transported in a rotary fashion, wherein the gripping and/or support elements (4) are mounted with a linear bearing (21) so as to be movable relative to the support, wherein the linear bearing has at least one rail, which is surrounded at least in sections by a cage (71), and that a plurality of rollers (72), in particular more than 50 rollers, which roll on the rail (73), is arranged in the cage (71).

The invention relates to devices and methods for transporting preforms (2) made of a thermoplastic material in the region of a blow-molding (10), having a transport wheel (12) which is mounted in a rotatable manner about a rotational axis and which comprises multiple receiving recess (18) distributed in the circumferential direction over the circumference of the transport wheel for receiving and conveying preforms (20). A hook element (14) is arranged on the transport wheel (12) in the region of each receiving recess (18), said hook element being mounted on the transport wheel (12) in a pivotal manner between an open position and a closed position, and in the closed position, the hook element (14) secures a preform (20) to be transported in the respective receiving recess (18) from falling out of the receiving recess (18).