Equipment for transferring items by suction, and disinfecting method

Equipment for transferring items gripped by suction cups, said equipment comprising:

• a control unit, a movable plate, drive means designed to move, in operation, the movable plate alternately between a loading position and an unloading position, a plurality of suction cups carried on the movable plate, pneumatic aspiration means designed to selectively apply a negative pressure to the suction cups and including a negative pressure source, the control unit being designed to control the pneumatic aspiration means synchronously with the operation of drive means to reduce or interrupt the application of negative pressure to the suction cups in the unloading position of the movable plate, and spraying means including a spraying unit positioned and designed to spray a disinfectant product onto the suction cups of the movable plate in response to a spraying command, wherein the control unit is designed to produce said spraying command at an intermediate position assumed by the movable plate in its return movement from its unloading position to its loading position.