A process for angular indexing of a pre-form having a body and a neck. The process includes a step of marking the neck of the pre-form which consists of production of at least one reference point on the neck of the pre-form. The process also includes a step of a heating station taking charge of the pre-form, during which the pre-form is transported along a heating course by a support unit, known as a spinner, which makes it possible to turn the pre-form around its axis, and during which the body of the pre-form is heated. The marking step is carried out during the step of taking charge, when the pre-form, supported by a spinner, travels along the heating course.

Apparatus for producing plastic containers has a heating device having a transport device for transporting the plastic preforms singly along a predefined transport path. The transport device has a plurality of holding devices for holding the plastic preforms, and at least one heating unit for heating the plastic preforms, wherein furthermore a rotating device is provided which rotates the plastic preforms held by the holding devices and is connected to a forming device, which transforms the plastic preforms transported by the heating device into plastic containers. The apparatus has an alignment device which enables alignment of the rotational position of the plastic preforms with respect to their longitudinal direction relative to the holding devices holding these plastic preforms and/or the apparatus has a rotational position alignment device arranged along the transport path which enables alignment of a rotational position of the holding devices with the plastic preforms arranged thereon.

A container production method by liquid blow molding has a liquid blow molding step of supplying a pressurized liquid into a preform disposed in a metal mold to mold the preform into a container having a trunk that has a flat shape in a plan view and holds the liquid; and a transferring step of taking the container out from the mold and transferring the container in an approximate short axis direction of the trunk.

A synthetic resin preform has a cylindrical mouth portion provided with a male thread on an outer peripheral surface, a cylindrical body portion continuous with the mouth portion and a bottom portion configured to close a lower end of the body portion, the preform being formed into a container of a predetermined shape by blow molding, the synthetic resin preform further including, between the mouth portion and the body portion, a holding surface continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion and extending radially inward relative to the outer peripheral surface. Also, a container contains contents having a container filled with contents and configured to close the mouth portion with a cap, the container being formed by blow molding the preform.

A method for forming a container with an integral handle includes heating a preform having an integral handle in a first oven, stretching the preform, closing a first mold having a first mold recess and a second mold having a second mold recess around the preform, and blowing air into the preform. A handle pocket wedge block is inserted into a handle pocket of the integral handle of the preform within the first mold and the second mold.

A method for orienting a preform of axis in a forming mold of a blowing machine, a neck of the preform being provided with at least one marker, the method including (i) installing the preform in the mold; (ii) detecting the current angular position of the preform by determining the angle of rotation through which the preform has to be rotated to reach the reference angular position thereof; and (iii) orienting the preform about the axis thereof in relation to the mold until a reference angular position is reached.

A process for making a bottle of a polymeric material suitable for being used with carbonated drinks, comprising the steps of: positioning a preform in a mould; and blowing the preform. The process is characterized in that a total draw ratio greater than 16 is used.

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.

Provided is a device for treating containers and in particular plastic containers, including a first transport device having a continuous carrier on which a first plurality of transport elements are moveably arranged, each having at least one retainer for retaining plastic preforms and being designed and configured to transport said plastic preforms along a first transport path, and including at least one heating device arranged along the first transport path in order to heat the plastic preforms at least in sections during their transportation along the first transport path.

A stretch blow moulding system for PET containers with PET integral handles: the containers blown from injection moulded preforms: each preform having the integral handle projecting from a junction point on a body portion of the preform: containers blown in a continuously rotating stretch blow moulding machine of the system. In a preferred form the preforms are progressed continuously at a substantially constant speed: the containers blown therefrom progress at the same substantially constant speed through to the filling and capping machine: and wherein the containers progress continuously through the filling and capping machine at the same substantially constant speed. Also described is a continuous stretch blow moulding system applied to specified integral handle PET preform and PET blown container structures stretch blown from the preforms thereby to obtain variable wall thickness of the preforms and/or variable wall thickness of the containers.