Patent ID: 8294126

Claim:
An apparatus for sterilizing containers, comprising: an inner housing containing a treatment head, the inner housing having at its distal end an exit window with a face through which a charge carrier can pass; and an outer housing substantially surrounding the inner housing and at least partially defining a chamber circumferentially around the tubular inner housing in form of one or a plurality of channels in which a gaseous medium may be guided past the face of the exit window and which extends as far as the treatment head, wherein the outer housing is dimensioned such that the outer housing can be guided through the mouth of the container into the container to allow the treatment head to be guided into the container to aim the charge carrier onto an inner wall of the container, wherein the outer housing has an opening proximal to the exit window such that the gaseous medium is guided along the tubular inner housing to exit the chamber, wherein the outer housing is formed in such a way that the gaseous medium is guided also in a radial direction of the apparatus past the exit window and wherein the apparatus is surrounded by a shielding device in order to prevent escape of any X-ray radiation.