A preform suitable for subsequent blow-molding into a final-shaped container comprises: a neck portion; a base portion; and a body portion extending between the neck portion and the base portion; the body portion being defined between an inner surface having a circular transverse cross-sectional shape and an outer surface also having a circular transverse cross-sectional shape, the inner and outer surfaces being non-concentric, such that a wall thickness of the body portion varies circumferentially around the preform. A preform handling apparatus for retrieving a preform from a mold comprises a take-off device having a preform carrier and a take-off device alignment mechanism for maintaining the preform carrier in alignment with a contact surface of a body portion of the preform regardless of any offset between a longitudinal axis of a cylindrical outer surface of the body portion and a longitudinal axis of a cylindrical inner surface of the body portion.

This method for manufacturing a resin container includes injection molding a plurality of preforms in an arrangement direction, a adjusting the temperature of the preforms, and molding containers from the preforms. The manufacturing method includes, between the injection molding and the temperature adjusting, changing the orientation of the preforms aligned in the arrangement direction to an orientation aligned in a conveying direction.

A resin container manufacturing method includes: forming a first pattern on a preform of a resin container; and forming a second pattern on the preform based on a position of the first pattern on the preform.

A method for heating a preform (1) comprising a body portion (4) extending along a longitudinal axis (A1). The method comprises the following steps:—introducing the preform (1) into a heating apparatus (5) comprising an array of infrared emitters (50) arranged in multiple columns (Cj) and rows (Ri); —setting power levels of the infrared emitters (50) so as to divide said array into subsets of columns (SCn); and—heating the preform while translating it in a direction parallel to the rows (Ri), and simultaneously rotating it around its longitudinal axis, the rotation and translation speeds, and the power levels of the infrared emitters (50) being set so that the power levels of the subsets of columns (SCn) facing zones (42) of the body portion extending longitudinally are different from the power levels of the subsets of columns facing the rest of the body portion, said zones extending relative to one another in a polygonal array.

Plastic preforms are transported during their heating along a predetermined transport path and rotated with respect to their longitudinal axis during transport along a first transport path section to achieve uniform heating of the plastic preforms in the circumferential direction. The plastic preforms remain at least in sections in a predetermined first rotational position with respect to their longitudinal axis during their transport along a second transport path section so that first predetermined circumferential sections of the plastic preforms are heated differently from second predetermined circumferential portions of the plastic preforms. The plastic preforms remain at least in sections in a predetermined second rotational position with respect to their longitudinal axis during their transport along the second transport path section, the first and the second rotational position differing from one another by a predetermined differential angle.

Method for heating a preform (1) comprising: introducing the preform (1) into a heating apparatus (5) comprising an array of infrared emitters (50) arranged in multiple columns (Cj) and multiple rows (Ri), orienting angularly the preform at an input angular position by rotating the preform around the longitudinal axis; setting power levels of the infrared emitters (50) so as to divide the array of infrared emitters (50) into subsets of columns (SCn), each subset of columns (SCn) generating heat at a different power level from an adjacent subset of columns (SCn); and heating the preform (1) with the array of infrared emitters (50) while translating the preform (1) in a direction parallel to the rows (Ri) of the array at a translation speed, and simultaneously rotating said preform (1) around its longitudinal axis (A1) in front of said infrared emitters (50) at a rotation speed.

A preform orienting apparatus for a preform having an integral handle is disclosed. The preform orienting apparatus has a stationary outer guide comprising a friction strip configured to contact a portion of the preform and pick up the preform by the portion of the preform, and configured to rotate the preform, and a moving starwheel assembly comprising a plurality of lugs disposed on an underneath side of the moving starwheel, wherein at least one lug of the plurality of lugs is configured to stop rotation of the preform at a predisposed position of the integral handle.

A blow moulding machine for producing blown containers with an integrally formed handle; the machine including a preform injection moulding stage wherein the preform comprising a body portion, a neck portion and an integrally moulded handle; the machine further including a handle orientation stage, a preform conditioning stage and a blow moulding stage, and wherein the preform is nested in cavities provided in opposing portions of a conditioning module; the integrally moulded handle nested in cavities lined with an insulating material. Also disclosed is a method of producing a blown container with an integrally formed handle in a blow moulding machine; the blow moulding machine including a preform injection moulding stage for moulding a preform comprising a body portion and an integrally moulded handle; the blow moulding machine further including a handle orienting stage, a preform conditioning stage and a blow moulding stage; the method including the steps of: —Injection moulding the preform with an integrally moulded handle, —Orienting the handle of the preform into a predetermined orientation, —Transferring the preform to a preform conditioning module, —Transferring the preform from the preform conditioning module to a die of a blow moulding machine when the preform body and integrally moulded handle are at predetermined temperatures, —Blowing the container in the blow moulding machine, and wherein the preform is nested in cavities provided in opposing portions of the conditioning module; the integrally moulded handle nested in cavities lined with an insulating material.

The invention concerns a method of controlling a device for conveying thermoplastic material preforms for use in a heat treatment oven and such a device for conveying preforms including at least one principal wheel and one auxiliary wheel at least one of which is driven in rotation to move at least one transport device to which are connected in movement holding device each configured to cooperate with a preform, said holding device being adapted to be actuated relative to a preform—or vice versa—between an inactive position and an active holding position, said principal wheel of the conveyor device including electric actuators that selectively drive at least in rotation said holding device in such a manner as to index said preform in a reference position.

A preform conveying device (100) of the invention includes a control unit that detects an arriving time at which a conveyor jig arrives at a reference position based on an output of a first encoder, and commands a second motor to move a conveyor arm to a target position at regular intervals from the arriving time. The target position in each command is a position obtained by adding, to a current position of the conveyor jig which is obtained based on a latest output of the first encoder which was obtained when the command has been issued, a moving distance by which the conveyor jig has advanced during a delay time T which spans from a time when the latest output is outputted from the first encoder to a time when the command is received by the second motor.