Patent ID: 7384587

Claim:
A method for cooling a plurality of plastic parts, comprising the steps of: moving a take-out structure relative to at least one of a first cooling station and a second cooling station; flowing a cooling fluid to an inside of the plurality of plastic parts through open ends thereof at the first cooling station; flowing a cooling fluid to an inside of the plurality of plastic parts through the open ends thereof at the second cooling station; wherein the first step of flowing the cooling fluid includes the steps of providing a pressure seal between the open ends of the plurality of parts and ambient pressure, and pressurizing a cooling fluid inside of at least one of the plurality of plastic parts; wherein the second step of flowing the cooling fluid includes the step of using a plurality of conditioning elements, each configured to enter an open end of a corresponding plastic part, to provide a cooling fluid to an inside thereof; and wherein said take out structure comprises a plurality of cavities, and wherein said pressurizing step causes an exterior surface of each of the plurality of plastic parts to expand and contact an inside surface of a corresponding cavity of said take out structure.