ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,623,859, issued on May 12, was assigned to KOMAX HOLDING AG (Dierikon, Switzerland).
"Grommet module" was invented by Franco De Bastiani (Thalwil, Switzerland).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A grommet module includes a grommet container for loosely receiving grommets as bulk material, a conveyor device that can rotate about an axis of rotation, and a conveyor rail extending along a longitudinal direction. The conveyor device conveys grommets from the grommet container to the conveyor rail. The conveyor device is formed by a grommet conveyor wheel, the horizontal axis of rotation of which runs at a right angle to the longitudinal direction....