Patent ID: 7867440

Claim:
A method for decontaminating necks of thermoplastic preforms before said performs are blow molded or stretch-blow molded for manufacturing containers, the method comprising: providing a pair of rails forming a path, the pair of rails configured to engage said preforms such that said preform necks ride above the pair of rails while bodies of the preforms ride below the rails, passing said preforms one after the other through an upstream chamber inside which preform necks move along the path; spraying continuously a decontaminating liquid inside said chamber toward said path in such a manner that a fog atmosphere of said decontaminating liquid is maintained inside said chamber with said preform necks being bathed in said fog of decontaminating liquid and with said preform necks having inside and outside surfaces which become wetted by said decontaminating liquid, said fog of decontaminating liquid being caused to flow through said chamber, and passing then said preform necks being wetted by said decontaminating liquid in front of ultraviolet lamps arranged downstream of said chamber so that said preform necks become entirely irradiated inside and outside for at least a minimum predetermined period of time, wherein the pair of rails are disposed between a spray spraying the decontamination liquid and the bodies of the preforms.