US 11,910,514 B2
Apparatus and method to neutralize static electricity present on the surface of containers and/or container-holding trays
Mattia Chianura, Ozzano dell'Emilia (IT); and Sergio Manera, Ozzano dell'Emilia (IT)
Assigned to I.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A., Ozzano dell'Emilia (IT)
Appl. No. 17/641,486
Filed by I.M.A. INDUSTRIA MACCHINE AUTOMATICHE S.P.A., Ozzano dell'Emilia (IT)
PCT Filed Sep. 1, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IT2020/050211
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 9, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/048883, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 18, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 102019000016091 (IT), filed on Sep. 11, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0312576 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. H05F 3/06 (2006.01); B01L 3/00 (2006.01); B01L 9/06 (2006.01); G01N 35/04 (2006.01); G01G 23/00 (2006.01); G01N 35/00 (2006.01)
CPC H05F 3/06 (2013.01) [B01L 3/5082 (2013.01); B01L 9/06 (2013.01); G01G 23/00 (2013.01); G01N 35/04 (2013.01); B01L 2200/028 (2013.01); B01L 2200/143 (2013.01); G01N 2035/00297 (2013.01); G01N 2035/041 (2013.01); G01N 2035/0418 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. Apparatus to neutralize static electricity present on the surface of containers and/or nests, in which said containers are disposed, said apparatus comprising:
an ordered group of containers, each container of said ordered group of containers having a body that develops along a main axis of longitudinal extension of the container;
a nest having a plurality of seatings disposed according to an ordered matrix, each seating being configured to house, resting on it, a respective container of said ordered group of containers, and developing along an axis of symmetry substantially vertical and parallel to, or coincident with, said main axis of the container housed in said seating, the axes of symmetry of said plurality of seatings being reciprocally parallel;
an extraction member configured to engage at least one part of said ordered group of containers housed in said nest, said extraction member being configured to perform a relative lifting movement with respect to the nest so as to at least partly extract from the respective seatings of said nest said at least one part of said ordered group of containers previously engaged, and to maintain said at least one part of said ordered group of containers extracted from the respective seatings in a raised condition, so that the seatings of said nest, previously occupied by the containers, are left at least partly free;
at least one ionizing device configured to be relatively mobile with respect to the containers extracted and/or with respect to the nest, while said at least one part of said ordered group of containers extracted is in said raised condition and said nest has the seatings left at least partly free by the respective containers extracted, along a path that develops in the proximity of the containers extracted and/or in the proximity of said nest, so as to ionize the surrounding space and neutralize static electricity present on the surface of the containers in the raised condition and/or of the nest having the seatings left at least partly free by the respective containers extracted, wherein said extraction member comprises one of a plurality of inter-spaced arms, parallel to each other and defining at least one gripping loop, said at least one gripping loop being configured to house the containers, wherein said extraction member is configured to perform, before said relative lifting movement, at least one relative engagement movement with respect to the nest, in order to house said at least one part of said ordered group of containers, laterally aligning said at least one gripping loop with at least one respective row of said ordered matrix of seatings and moving said at least one gripping loop in a direction of engagement, said direction of engagement being transverse with respect to said axes of symmetry of said seatings, so as to house and hold said at least one part of said ordered group of containers in the at least one gripping loop.