A preform heating apparatus has cover members 164 provided to close upper parts of two transport lines arranged in parallel, heating units 162 each having heaters 166 for heating preforms 200, and a first supply section for supplying cooling air into the cover members 164. The heating units 162 are each provided within each cover member 164 on a side between the transport lines. The first supply section introduces cooling air from air delivery spaces 169 provided between the transport lines into the cover members 164 through gaps between the heaters 166 to supply the cooling air toward the preforms 200.

A control system (34) for a unit (9) for forming containers (2) from blanks (3) provided with a series of forming stations (10) each provided with a mold (11), the system (34) including a master control unit (36) and a series of slave controllers (37) each associated with at least one forming station (10), each controller (37) being programmed to: control the or each associated forming station (10) according to a forming command (CF) loaded in the controller (37); take into account a pressure measurement in the mold (11), from this measurement, establish a blowing curve describing the change in the fluid pressure in the mold (11), analyze the blowing curve and extract therefrom the coordinates of at least one singular point (S); communicate the singular point (S) to the control unit (36).

A machine for manufacturing containers from blanks of plastic material, which includes an oven furnished with a plurality of radiation sources for heating blanks as they travel through at a predetermined speed of travel and heating profile, and a programmed control center for modifying the speed of travel and heating profile based on a temperature measurement made on a blank leaving the oven, and a pressure measurement made in the blank during a subsequent blowing.

A method for tempering preforms in a blowing machine, wherein at least one heating box is arranged along a transport path for the preforms. The heating box has reflective walls and forms a heating channel through which the preforms are guided. The heating box also has a heater for heating the preforms in the heating channel, and a cooling device, having a blower, for cooling the reflective walls. The walls are cooled by a quantity of air flowing along the walls outside the heating channel. The heating output of the heater is adjustable. A control device provides open loop and closed-loop control of the cooling output produced by the cooling device, in particular the supplied quantity of air, depending on the respective heating output of the heater, depending on a measurement of the heating output.

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.

Provided is a method for verifying holding members in a heating station equipped with a device for transporting the preforms. The device includes a plurality of movable supports circulating in a closed circuit and members for individually holding the preforms by their neck, where each of the holding members is borne by a movable support. The method includes setting the movable supports in movement to bring them successively into an acquisition zone, acquiring an image of each individual holding member in the acquisition zone, and automatically verifying the presence of a holding member on each of the images taken.

Provided is a thermal conditioning method of preforms. The method includes heating each preform by transport along a heating path exposed to heating radiation with a determined production rate; transporting the preforms (in line along a diffusion path; transforming the preforms in forming units at the determined production rate. The diffusion path includes a final buffer section along which the preforms travel for an adjustable duration.

A heat treatment device for a PET bottle preform with an integral handle includes an air-cooling knife, a heating furnace, and a transport mechanism. The air-cooling knife is disposed on an outlet side of the heating furnace, the bottle preform is transported into the heating furnace through the transport mechanism, heated in the heating furnace, and transported to the air-cooling knife, and the air-cooling knife jets airflow to and cools a lower end of a handle of the bottle preform, appropriately reducing the temperature at junction of the lower end of the handle and a bottle body so that a gentle transition between the temperature of the bottle body and the temperature of the handle is achieved, and the handle is not easily deformed after the bottle preform is blown, thereby effectively improving the quality of the bottle preform after blown.

A heating system (2) for heating plastic material preforms upstream of a blow molding or stretch-blow molding machine (3), the system comprising a heating module (4) adapted to be crossed by a plurality of preforms (5) advancing along a transport line (14), wherein the heating module (4) is provided with a plurality of heating elements (12, 13) arranged along a plane substantially parallel to a plane containing the axes of the preforms adapted to cross said heating module, wherein the heating module (4) comprises a first heating zone (10), proximal to a support area of the neck of the preforms and comprising at least one first heating element (12) of said plurality of heating elements, and at least one second heating zone (11), arranged adjacent to said first heating zone (10) and at a passage zone of the tubular body of the preforms, and comprising at least one second heating element (13) of said plurality of heating elements, wherein the heating system (2) further comprises at least one first temperature sensor (8) arranged externally to the heating module (4) and at said first heating zone, and at least one second temperature sensor (9) arranged externally to the heating module (4) and at said at least one second heating zone.