Patent ID: 7448866

Claim:
Module ( 22 ) for heating a preform ( 10 ), especially a plastic container preform, which comprises a longitudinal heating tunnel ( 24 ) bounded transversely by the mutually parallel longitudinal vertical internal faces ( 36 , 38 ) of two walls ( 40 , 42 ), one a heating wall ( 40 ), being equipped with a heating system ( 46 ), and the other an aerated wall ( 42 ), having aeration orifices ( 50 ) that are intended to let the air blown by at least one blower ( 52 ) pass through them transversely from the upstream, outside the heating tunnel ( 24 ), to the downstream, inside the latter, and in which module a first portion ( 12 , 14 ) of the preform ( 10 ) is heated in the heating tunnel ( 24 ), while a second portion ( 16 ) of the preform ( 10 ) is held outside the heating tunnel ( 24 ) through a longitudinal opening ( 41 ) made between the longitudinal edges of the walls ( 36 , 38 ) of the heating tunnel ( 24 ), of the type in which the blower ( 52 ) includes a longitudinal deflector ( 62 ) that deflects a portion of the air blown transversely towards the second portion ( 16 ) of the preform ( 10 ) so as to prevent the constituent material of said lower portion ( 16 ) from being heated up to its softening point, characterized in that the upstream end ( 64 ) of the deflector ( 62 ) is aerodynamically profiled, and characterized in that the opening ( 41 ) is made between the lower longitudinal edges of the walls ( 36 , 38 ) of the heating tunnel( 24 ) and in that the blower ( 52 ) includes a lower air outletflap ( 70 ) which is placed beneath the deflector ( 62 ) and the upstream end ( 72 ) of which is mounted so as to pivot about a longitudinal axis (C) so as to guide the air right to the second portion ( 16 ) of the preform ( 10 ), below the longitudinal opening ( 41 ) made between the lower longitudinal edges of the walls ( 36 , 38 ) of the heating tunnel ( 24 ).