Cooling and retaining pin for an apparatus for cooling and handling preforms made of plastic material

A cooling and retaining pin for cooling, by means of air blowing, and retaining, by mean of air suction, a preform of plastic material, the pin comprising:

• a body, defining a longitudinal axis and having, at a first end thereof, a first opening, coaxial with respect to said longitudinal axis and adapted to be connected to a handling station;
• a moveable element adapted to at least partially slide inside said body;
• at least one gap for a passage of air both during a blowing step and during a suction step, said at least one gap being provided at a second end of the body, opposite to the first end, or at said first end;
• wherein the movable element is adapted to move from a first position, corresponding to a first section for the passage of air through said at least one gap, to a second position, corresponding to a second section for the passage of air through said at least one gap, said second section being smaller than said first section, so as to adjust in said first position a blowing air flow during the a cooling step and to adjust in said second position a suction air flow during the a step of retaining the preform.