EP0371931B1 - Method and device for the discharge and the automatic transfer of parcels of paper serviettes from a producing machine to a packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to discharge automatically paper serviettes in parcels, in other words in groups of the same number, from a machine which produces the serviettes folded in four starting from a continuous strip, which is first folded in two longitudinally, then folded in zig-zag fashion transversely, and lastly cut into two longitudinally, the said machine being provided with means for obtaining the distribution of the serviettes, staggered and with a saw-tooth profile of pitch corresponding to the predetermined number of serviettes to be packaged and for subsequently automatically transferring each parcel of serviettes onto the feeding chute of a machine for packaging serviettes, use is made of: - means 2 for frontally blocking the two adjacent parcels P" of serviettes which follow the parcels P' at the outlet of the machine 1 which produces the serviettes folded in four, the said means, which are arranged above the serviettes, being partially controlled by an alternating horizontal movement with a stroke equal in length to the thickness of the parcels of serviettes, and partially by an alternating vertical movement between an upper rest position and a lower position blocking the two parcels P" of serviettes; - means 3 for discharging the two adjacent parcels P' of serviettes which are situated at the outlet of the machine 1 producing them, beyond and opposite the free end of the chute 10 on which the serviettes move forward, the said means being controlled by an alternating rotation, initially about a shaft 31 coplanar with and transverse to the said chute 10 between a position in which the two parcels P' are held with the serviettes in the vertical position and juxtaposed to the serviettes of the following parcels P", and a position pivoted forward and downwards with the rear face of the parcels detached from the front face of the following parcels P", and successively about a parallel shaft 33 arranged beneath the shaft 31 between the said pivoted forwards position of the parcels and as far as the horizontal position; - means 4,40 for transporting the two adjacent parcels P' horizontally, with a forward movement matching that of the serviettes in the machine 1 which produces them, and for halting the said parcels P' at the end of their forward travel; - means 5 for raising and supporting the pair of parcels P' from the said end of forward travel into an upper position coplanar with the feeding chute 60 of the packaging machine 6; - means 52 for horizontally and independently transporting the two parcels P' from the said latter position as far as the feeding chute 60 of the packaging machine 6. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for the automatic unloading and transfer in packets of paper napkins or similar material, from a machine for the continuous production of napkins folded in four to a packaging machine.

It is known that paper towels are produced from a continuous strip of paper fed from a roll with machines which include, in succession and in line, a strip unwinding station, a first station longitudinal folding in half, a second transverse zig-zag folding station and a longitudinal cutting station in half to obtain two adjacent and continuous horizontal rows of napkins folded in four, arranged vertically and docked together and which are subject continuous advancement by push.

To identify each group of towels in each line, with a predetermined number of towels to make a corresponding package, and allow the separation of the corresponding queue, it is known to use a device which generates an intermittent vertical oscillation of the strip of paper already folded in half longitudinally so that the towels are distributed in steps in groups with a pitch saw profile corresponding to the number of towels of the corresponding package to be involved, and so that they form, at the level of the upper profile, a step between the last towel of a group and the first of the group following. Unloading in pairs of the adjacent groups of towels from the production machine is very often still done by hand. Otherwise the mechanical devices existing for this operation provide for the blocking of the top of the two second groups of towels starting from the unloading threshold, the 90 ° rotation downwards of the first two groups until deposition on a horizontal conveyor placed below .

These known devices are however not satisfactory because they are mechanically too complex and, therefore, too costly, difficult to synchronize with the packaging machine, not able to guarantee continuous operation at high speed and reliable for long periods in that, especially for very fine paper, they do not allow correct positioning of the second groups of towels and in particular of the first towel thereof.

It is known from document DE 2853741, a device for feeding a machine for folding paper obtained from a reel having its axis in a horizontal plane, which provides to unwind and cut longitudinally a strip of paper arranged in the horizontal plane, so as to obtain three identical corresponding strips and intended to be rotated by 90 °, that is to say arranged vertically, and introduced into a corresponding folding machine.

However, this known device does not allow the transfer of sheets of paper which have already been folded. Also known from document DE 2814138 is a device for separating, picking up and transferring packets of sheets of paper, comprising: two horizontal rollers for feeding a strip of paper obtained from a reel it also horizontal, which are associated with two corresponding separating arms for the folding in accordion of the paper thus fed; means for the central longitudinal cut of the paper thus folded; and comb-shaped means for separating the sheets of paper thus cut and transferring them to a rack with opening on one side to allow their removal.

But this known device also does not provide for the possibility of treating, that is to say of transfer the packets of sheets that have already been folded.

The present invention aims to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a device for unloading and transferring napkins in packages which is reliable, easily synchronizable with the machines for producing and packaging napkins, and at reduced costs.

• prélèvement des deux paquets juxtaposés de serviettes qui se trouvent à la sortie de la machine qui produit les serviettes;
• arrêt des deux paquets suivants;
• première rotation vers le bas et vers l'avant desdits deux premiers paquets avec détachement partiel par rapport aux suivants;
• Détachement réciproque total desdites deux paires de paquets;
• rotation additionnelles vers le bas et vers l'avant des deux premiers paquets et dépôt sur un transporteur horizontal de type continu;
• transfert desdits paquets jusqu'en fin de course dudit transporteur en continu;
• soulèvement desdits deux paquets;
• transfert horizontal par poussée desdits deux paquets, séparément et jusqu'au couloir d'alimentation d'une machine d'empaquetage des serviettes.

This result was achieved in accordance with the invention by adopting the idea of using an operational method which comprises, in sequence, the following operations:

• removal of the two juxtaposed packages of towels which are at the outlet of the machine which produces the towels;
• stop of the next two packets;
• first downward and forward rotation of said first two packages with partial detachment from the following;
• Total reciprocal detachment of said two pairs of packets;
• additional downward and forward rotation of the first two packages and deposit on a horizontal continuous type conveyor;
• transfer of said packets until the end of travel of said conveyor continuously;
• lifting said two packages;
• horizontal transfer by pushing of said two packages, separately and to the supply corridor of a towel packaging machine.

• des moyens pour le blocage frontal des deux paquets P'' adjacents de serviettes qui suivent les paquets P' à la sortie de la machine qui produit les serviettes, lesdits moyens, qui sont disposés au-dessus des serviettes, étant asservis en partie à un mouvement horizontal alternatif avec une course de longueur égale à l'épaisseur des paquets de serviettes et en partie à un mouvement vertical alternatif entre une position supérieure de repos et une position inférieure de blocage;
• des moyens pour le déchargement des deux paquets P' adjacents de serviettes qui se trouvent à la sortie de la machine qui les produit, au-delà et en face de l'extrémité libre du couloir d'avancement des serviettes, lesdits moyens étant asservis à une rotation alternative, initialement autour d'un arbre coplanaire et transversal audit couloir entre une position de prélèvement des deux paquets avec les serviettes en position verticale et juxtaposées contre celles des paquets suivants et une position pivotée en avant vers le bas avec le dos des paquets détachés de la face avant des paquets suivants, et successivement autour d'un arbre parallèle et disposé au-dessous du premier arbre entre ladite position des paquets pivotée en avant et jusqu'à la position horizontale;
• des moyens pour le transport à l'horizontale des deux paquets P' adjacents avec avancement concordant avec celui des serviettes dans la machine qui les produits et pour l'arrêt desdits paquets P' en fin de course d'avancement;
• des moyens pour le soulèvement et le support de la paire de paquets P' de ladite fin de course d'avancement jusqu'à une position supérieure et coplanaire avec le couloir d'alimentation de la machine empaqueteuse;
• des moyens de poussée pour le transport à l'horizontale et indépendant des deux paquets P' de ladite dernière position jusqu'au couloir d'alimentation de la machine empaqueteuse.

According to a preferred embodiment, a device for the automatic unloading and transfer of packets of paper napkins or the like, according to said method, from a machine for producing napkins to a packaging machine, comprising:

• means for the frontal locking of the two adjacent packets P '' of towels which follow the packets P 'at the outlet of the machine which produces the towels, said means, which are arranged above the towels, being partly controlled by a reciprocating horizontal movement with a stroke of length equal to the thickness of the towel packs and partly to reciprocating vertical movement between an upper rest position and a lower blocking position;
• means for unloading the two adjacent packets P 'of towels which are at the outlet of the machine which produces them, beyond and opposite the free end of the advancement corridor for the towels, said means being slaved to an alternative rotation, initially around a coplanar shaft and transverse to said corridor between a position for picking up the two packages with the towels in vertical position and juxtaposed against those of the following packages and a position pivoted forward with the back of the packages detached from the front face of the following packets, and successively around a parallel shaft and arranged below the first shaft between said position of the packets pivoted forward and to the horizontal position;
• means for the horizontal transport of two adjacent packets P 'with advancement matching that of the towels in the machine which produces them and for stopping said packets P' at the end of the travel stroke;
• means for lifting and supporting the pair of packages P ′ from said advancement limit switch to a higher and co-planar position with the feed passage of the packaging machine;
• pushing means for the horizontal and independent transport of the two packages P ′ from said last position to the feed corridor of the packaging machine.

The solution proposed by the present invention allows the unloading and transfer in packs of napkins, from a production machine to a packaging machine, automatically, safely and reliably, easily synchronizable with the operation of the two machines and with costs of reduced realization.

• la FIG. 1 représente une vue de côté schématique d'un dispositif de déchargement et de transfert automatiques en paquets des serviettes de papier, conformément à l'invention, en phase initiale de déchargement de la première paire de paquets adjacents;
• la FIG. 1A représente la vue en plan partielle du dispositif de la Fig. 1;
• la FIG. 2 représente le dispositif de la Fig. 1, en phase de blocage des paquets de la deuxième paire de paquets adjacents;
• la FIG. 3 représente le dispositif de la Fig. 1, en phase de déchargement de la première paire de paquets sur un transporteur et de stationnement des paquets en fin de course sur celui-ci;
• la FIG. 4 représente le dispositif de la Fig. 1, avec, à gauche, le retour à vide des moyens de déchargement des paquets et, à droite, le soulèvement des deux paquets au niveau de la machine empaqueteuse et avec un paquet poussé sur le couloir d'alimentation de cette dernière;
• la FIG. 4A représente la vue en plan partielle du dispositif de la Fig. 4;
• la FIG. 5 représente le dispositif de la Fig. 1, en phase de positionnement sur les moyens de déchargement d'une nouvelle paire de paquets;
• la FIG. 6 représente une vue détaillée en perspective des moyens pour le déchargement d'une paire de paquets du plan de sortie de la machine de production et pour leur dépôt sur un transporteur horizontal à courroies situé au-dessous;
• la FIG. 7 représente une vue détaillée du dispositif pour la formation de l'escalier de serviettes avec profil en dents de scie sur le couloir de sortie de la machine qui les produit.

These advantages and characteristics as well as others will be more and better understood by each person skilled in the art in the light of the description which follows and with the aid of the appended drawings given by way of practical example of the invention, but to do not consider in the limiting sense; drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 represents a schematic side view of an automatic device for unloading and transferring packets of paper towels, according to the invention, in the initial phase of unloading the first pair of adjacent packets;
• FIG. 1A shows the partial plan view of the device of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1, in blocking phase of the packets of the second pair of adjacent packets;
• FIG. 3 shows the device of FIG. 1, in the unloading phase of the first pair of packages on a transporter and parking the packages at the end of the race thereon;
• FIG. 4 shows the device of FIG. 1, with, on the left, the empty return of the package unloading means and, on the right, the lifting of the two packages at the level of the packaging machine and with a package pushed onto the feed corridor of the latter;
• FIG. 4A shows the partial plan view of the device of FIG. 4;
• FIG. 5 shows the device of FIG. 1, in the positioning phase on the means for unloading a new pair of packets;
• FIG. 6 shows a detailed perspective view of the means for unloading a pair of packages from the output plane of the production machine and for depositing them on a horizontal conveyor belt located below;
• FIG. 7 shows a detailed view of the device for forming the staircase of towels with sawtooth profile on the exit corridor of the machine which produces them.

• (a) prélèvement des deux paquets P' adjacents de serviettes qui se trouvent à la sortie de la machine qui les produit au-delà de l'extrémité libre du couloir correspondant;
• (b) arrêt des deux paquets P'' adjacents de serviettes qui suivent la paire P' de paquets, en agissant sur leur zone frontale supérieure et correspondant à la dent de l'escalier formé par les serviettes;
• (c) rotation partielle en avant et vers le bas desdits deux premiers paquets P'autour d'un axe coplanaire et transversal au couloir de sortie des serviettes pour permettre de déplacer les serviettes d'une position verticale à une position inclinée d'environ 30° en avant et vers le bas, de manière à détacher la zone médiane supérieure de la dernière serviette desdits deux paquets P' par rapport à la zone correspondante de la serviette de tête des deux paquets suivants P'';
• (d) blocage desdits deuxièmes paquets P'' en agissant sur une zone frontale située au-dessous de la zone d'arrêt précitée et ainsi détachée de la queue des paquets P' correspondants qui précèdent;
• (e) rotation additionnelle et concordante des deux premiers paquets P' autour d'un axe parallèle et situé au-dessous de celui de la rotation précédente, pour permettre de les décharger sur un transporteur horizontal;
• (f) transfert horizontal desdits deux paquets P' avec avancement concordant avec celui des serviettes dans la machine qui les produit et arrêt de ceux-ci en fin de course;
• (g) soulèvement vertical desdits deux paquets P' de la position de fin de course d'avancement horizontale et arrêt de ceux-ci au niveau du plan de travail de la machine d'empaquetage des serviettes;
• (h) transfert horizontal desdits deux paquets P', l'un après l'autre, de ladite dernière position jusqu'au couloir d'alimentation de la machine empaqueteuse.

More particularly, the method for the automatic unloading and transfer in juxtaposed packages of paper towels or other similar material, from a machine which produces towels folded in four, in accordance with the invention and with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the appended drawings, comprises the following operations:

• (a) removal of the two adjacent packets P 'of towels which are at the outlet of the machine which produces them beyond the free end of the corresponding corridor;
• (b) stopping the two adjacent packets P '' of towels which follow the pair P 'of packets, acting on their upper frontal zone and corresponding to the tooth of the staircase formed by the towels;
• (c) partial rotation forwards and downwards of said first two packets P ′ around a coplanar axis and transverse to the towel outlet corridor to allow the towels to be moved from a vertical position to an inclined position of approximately 30 ° in front and downwards, so as to detach the upper middle zone of the last towel of said two packages P 'with respect to the corresponding zone of the head towel of the two following packages P'';
• (d) blocking of said second packets P '' by acting on a frontal zone situated below the abovementioned stop zone and thus detached from the tail of the corresponding packets P 'which precede;
• (e) additional and concordant rotation of the first two packets P 'around a parallel axis and located below that of the previous rotation, to allow them to be unloaded on a horizontal conveyor;
• (f) horizontal transfer of said two packets P 'with advancement matching that of the towels in the machine which produces them and stopping them at the end of the race;
• (g) vertical lifting of said two packets P ′ from the end position of horizontal advance travel and stopping them at the level of the working plane of the towel packaging machine;
• (h) horizontal transfer of said two packages P ′, one after the other, from said last position to the feed corridor of the packaging machine.

Advantageously, stopping the second pair of P '' packets of towels (phase b), partially rotating the first pair of P 'packets (phase c) and blocking the second pair of P''packets (phase d) are synchronized with the means of forming the staircase of towels with sawtooth profile.
In addition, the lifting of the pair of packets P 'from the unloading plane to that of the feeder of the packaging machine (phase g) is controlled by a presence detection photocell, and the next horizontal transfer of each packet from the pair P 'in succession on the feed corridor of the packaging machine (phase h) is synchronized with said machine.

• un montant 20, fixé à un support 21 à mouvement horizontal alternatif, de course correspondante à l'épaisseur des paquets de serviettes;
• une plaque 22 articulée sur ledit montant 20 et avec une extrémité 22' repliée en équerre vers le bas et l'autre extrémité reliée à la tige d'un cylindre de commande 23 également supporté par ledit montant 20: l'oscillation verticale de l'extrémité à crochet 22' de la plaque 22 étant telle qu'elle engage et respectivement libère l'extremité frontale supérieure ou dent que les paquets P'' des serviettes forment avec les paquets précédents P' dans le sens d'avancement F1;
• deux bras 24, solidaires et au-dessus de la plaque 22, et portant chacun un cylindre de commande 25 dont la tige actionne un balancier ou culbuteur 26, articulé sur l'extrémité libre de ladite plaque 22 de manière à engager et respectivement libérer la zone frontale médiane-supérieure des paquets P'' correspondants situés au-dessous de l'extrémité à crochet 22' de la plaque 22.

According to a preferred embodiment, a device for the automatic unloading and transfer in packets of paper napkins or other similar material, from a production machine to a machine for packaging napkins according to said method, in accordance with the invention and with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings, essentially comprises:
A) in correspondence and above the towels at the outlet of the corresponding machine 1, means 2 for the frontal locking of the packets P '' of towels which are on the exit threshold of the corridor 10 of the towels and comprising:

• an upright 20, fixed to a support 21 with reciprocating horizontal movement, of stroke corresponding to the thickness of the towel packs;
• a plate 22 articulated on said upright 20 and with one end 22 'folded in a square downwards and the other end connected to the rod of a control cylinder 23 also supported by said upright 20: the vertical oscillation of the hook end 22 'of the plate 22 being such that it engages and respectively releases the upper front end or tooth which the packets P''of the towels form with the preceding packets P' in the direction of advance F1;
• two arms 24, integral with and above the plate 22, and each carrying a control cylinder 25, the rod of which actuates a pendulum or rocker arm 26, articulated on the free end of said plate 22 so as to engage and respectively release the middle-upper frontal area corresponding P '' packets located below the hook end 22 'of the plate 22.

• un godet 30 de même largeur que le couloir 10, délimité par plusieurs barrettes parallèles équidistantes, en forme de deux bras en équerre, dont un, lorsque le godet est en position de repos, est coplanaire avec le couloir 10 et fixé en porte-à-faux à un arbre horizontal 31 articulé sur un bras 32 qui est solidaire avec un arbre 33 horizontal relié à la partie fixe de la machine 1 dans une position située au-dessous dudit arbre 31;
• un premier cylindre de commande 38, supporté par le bras 32, pour permettre, avec interposition d'une manivelle 34, la rotation de l'arbre 31 avec le godet 30, d'environ 30°;
• un deuxième cylindre de commande 35, supporté par la partie fixe de la machine 1, pour permettre, avec interposition d'une manivelle 36, la rotation de l'arbre 33 avec le bras 32 et le godet 30, d'environ 90°;

C) en position au-dessous desdits moyens 3 pour la prise et le déchargement par paire des paquets de serviettes:

• un transporteur horizontal continu 4 du type à plusieurs corroies, écartées les unes des autres de manière appropriée et avec la partie supérieure, dont l'avancement suivant la flèche F2 est concordant avec celui des serviettes sur le couloir 10, placé à une hauteur telle qu'il permette le passage des barrettes correspondantes dudit godet 30 à la fin de sa rotation;
• une barrière verticale 40, à proximité de la fin de course dudit transporteur 4 pour retenir les deux paquets qui y sont tranférés;

D) a proximité de la fin de course dudit transporteur 4:

• un élévateur avec plate-forme 5 à lattes horizontales, parallèles et écartées de manière appropriée pour pouvoir passer entre les courroies du transporteur 4, ladite plate-forme étant pourvue d'un rebord à lattes verticales correspondantes et étant commandée par un cylindre de commande 50 pour permettre le soulèvement d'une paire de paquets du niveau dudit transporteur 4 à un niveau supérieur et coplanaire avec le couloir 60 d'alimentation d'une machine empaqueteuse 6;
• deux poussoirs en forme de rateau 52 indépendants, avec mouvement horizontal alternatif pour permettre de transférer un paquet à la fois, de ladite plate-forme 5 en position soulevée au couloir 60 d'alimentation de la machine d'empaquetage 6 des serviettes.

Advantageously, the means for generating the saw teeth consist of a cam 7 controlled by an electric geared motor and which acts on a lever 70 articulated under the sheet 71 of longitudinal folding of the paper strip, which pivots around its own base and which sends each synchronization signal to the blocking and transfer means of the pairs of packets.
B) in correspondence and opposite the exit threshold from the corridor 10 of the towel production machine 1, means 3 for picking up the first two packets P 'of towels beyond the exit from said corridor 10 and for unloading them on a conveyor arranged below, and comprising:

• a bucket 30 of the same width as the corridor 10, delimited by several equidistant parallel bars, in the form of two square arms, one of which, when the bucket is in the rest position, is coplanar with the corridor 10 and fixed door-to-door false to a horizontal shaft 31 articulated on an arm 32 which is integral with a horizontal shaft 33 connected to the fixed part of the machine 1 in a position located below said shaft 31;
• a first control cylinder 38, supported by the arm 32, to allow, with the interposition of a crank 34, the rotation of the shaft 31 with the bucket 30, of about 30 °;
• a second control cylinder 35, supported by the fixed part of the machine 1, to allow, with the interposition of a crank 36, the rotation of the shaft 33 with the arm 32 and the bucket 30, of about 90 °;

C) in position below said means 3 for picking up and unloading pairs of towel packs:

• a continuous horizontal conveyor 4 of the type with several straps, spaced from each other in an appropriate manner and with the upper part, the advance of which according to arrow F2 is consistent with that of the towels on the corridor 10, placed at a height such that 'It allows the passage of the corresponding bars of said cup 30 at the end of its rotation;
• a vertical barrier 40, near the end of travel of said conveyor 4 to retain the two packages which are transferred there;

D) near the end of travel of said transporter 4:

• an elevator with a platform 5 with horizontal slats, parallel and suitably spaced apart so as to be able to pass between the belts of the conveyor 4, said platform being provided with a flange having corresponding vertical slats and being controlled by a control cylinder 50 to allow the lifting of a pair of packages from the level of said conveyor 4 to a higher level and coplanar with the feed passage 60 of a packaging machine 6;
• two rake-shaped pushers 52 independent, with reciprocating horizontal movement to allow one package to be transferred at a time, from said platform 5 in the raised position to the corridor 60 for supplying the towel packaging machine 6.

The operation is as follows. During the initial phase, the device is in the conditions shown in FIG. 1, that is to say with the locking means 22, 26 in the respectively raised position and behind with respect to a first pair of bundles P ', with the bucket 30 for unloading the bundles in a vertical position, with the flat -form 5 of the packet elevator in the lowered position, with the pushers 52 at the end of the rear stroke, and with the conveyor 4 empty. Then, the support 21 is moved back and the hook end 22 'of the plate 22 lowered in correspondence with the front or tooth of the second pair of packages P''(see Fig. 2); the bucket 30 with the first two packets P 'is pivoted along the arrow F3 by about 30 ° around the shaft 31 so that the back of the packets P' does not remain attached to the front face of the packets P '' below only in the lowest zone by allowing the pendulums 26 to be positioned below the inclined hook end 22 'to allow more effective and secure blocking of the packages P''(see Fig. 3). After which the bucket 30 subsequently pivots down around the second shaft 33 until it descends below the upper plane of the conveyor 4 to allow the deposit of said first pair of packets P 'on said conveyor 4 which transfers them in the direction of arrow F2 to the stop element 40. When the detection photocell 8 detects the presence of the packets, the elevator is activated and the platform 5 is lifted by passing through the belts of the conveyor 4 and transports the pair of packages P ′ at the level of the work surface of the packaging machine 6 (see FIG. 4). Finally, the two pushers 52, in a separate and alternating manner, provide for the transfer of the packets P ', one after the other, on the feed passage 60 of the packaging machine.

Claims (7)

1. Process for the discharging and automatic transfer into packets of paper serviettes, from a production machine provided with means of forming two horizontal and parallel lines of serviettes folded in four, vertically arranged in an identical manner, laid out as a staircase and with a sawtooth profile, on a packing machine provided with a horizontal feed channel, including the following operations:

   (a)Lifting two adjacent packets of serviettes P', which are situated at the outlet of the machine producing them, beyond the free end of the corresponding channel;

   (b)Stopping the two adjacent packets of serviettes P'', which follow the pair of packets P', acting on their upper front zone and corresponding to the tooth of the staircase formed by the serviettes;

   (c)Partial rotation forward and downwards of the said two first packets P' around a coplanar and transverse axis of the outlet channel of the serviettes to enable one to move the serviettes from a vertical position to a position inclined about 30° forward and downwards, in such a way as to detach the upper median zone of the last serviette of the said two packets P' relative to the corresponding zone of the serviette at the head of the two following packets P'';

   (d)Blocking of the said two packets P'' acting on a front zone situated below the above-mentioned stopping zone and thus detached from the tail of the corresponding preceding packets P';

   (e)Additional and similar rotation of the two first packets P' around a parallel axis situated below that of the preceding rotation, to permit their discharge on to a horizontal transporter;

   (f) Horizontal transfer of the said two packets P' with a similar advance to that of the serviettes in the machine producing them and stopping them at the end of the travel;

   (g) Vertical lifting of the said two packets P' from the position at the end of the horizontal forward travel and stopping them at the level of the working plane of the serviette packaging machine;

   (h) Horizontal transfer of the said two packets, one after the other, from the said last position to the feed channel of the packaging machine;
2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the said phases ( b,c,d ) are synchronized together and with the means (7) forming the serviette staircase with a sawtooth profile.
3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the said phase (g) is controlled by a photo-electric cell (8) detecting the presence of the packets at the end of the travel of the said phase (f).
4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the said phase (h) is synchronized with the said packaging machine (6).
5. Device for the discharge and the automatic transfer into packets of paper serviettes or similar material from a production machine for serviettes to a packing machine, according to the process of one or more claims 1 to 4, which includes:

   - means (2) for frontal blocking of the two adjacent packets of serviettes P'' which follow the packets P' at the outlet of the machine (1) producing the serviettes, including:

   - a mounting (20) fixed on a support (21) with alternating horizontal movement, with a travel equal to the thickness of the packet of serviettes;

   - a plate (22) articulated on the said mounting (20) and with one end (22') folded square downwards and the other end folded round a control cylinder (23) also supported by the said mounting (20); the vertical oscillation of the hooked end (22') being such that it engages and releases the front upper end or tooth which the packets P'' of serviettes form with the preceding packets P' in the forward direction F1;

   - two arms (24), solid and placed above the plate (22) and each carrying a control cylinder (25) whose rod actuates a balance articulated on the free end of the said plate (22) so as to engage and release the front median/upper zone of the packets P'' situated below the end of the hook (22') of plate (22); the said means which are arranged above the serviettes being served by a part with alternating horizontal movement with a travel of a length equal to the thickness of the packets of serviettes and joined to an alternating vertical movement between an upper rest position and a lower blocking position of the two packets of serviettes P'';

   - a means (3) for discharging the two adjacent packets of serviettes P' which are situated at the outlet of the machine (1) producing them, beyond and in front of the free end of channel (10) for mounting the serviettes forward, the said means being subject to an alternating rotation, initially around a shaft (3) coplanar with and transverse to the said channel (10) between a lifting position of the two packets with the serviettes in a vertical position and juxtaposed between the following packets and a position pivoted downswards at the front with the backs of the packets detached in front from the following packets, and successively round a shaft (33) parallel to and below the first shaft (31) between the said position of the packets P' pivoted in front of and at the horizontal position;

   - a means (4) for the transport to the horizontal of the two adjacent packets P' with similar forward movement to that of the serviettes in the machine (1) producing them and (40) to stop the said packets P' at the end of thesaid forward travel;

   - a means (5) for the raising and support of the pair of packets P' from the said end of forward travel to an upper position coplanar with the feed channel (60) of the packaging machine;

   - a means (52) for the separate transport to the horizontal of the two packets P' from the said last position to the feed channel (60) of the packaging machine (6);

   - a means for sending a synchronisation signal to the blocking and transfer means of pairs of packets P'.
6. Device according to claim 5 characterized in that the said means for sending a synchronisation signal consist of a cam 7 controlled by an electric geared motor which acts on a lever 70 articulated under the sheet 71 folding the paper strip longitudinally, which pivots around its own base and which sends a synchronisation signal on each turn to the blocking and transfer means of pairs of packets.
7. Device according to claim 5 characterized in that the said means (3) for discharging the two packets of serviettes P' which are situated at the outlet of the corresponding machine (1) including:

   - a cup (30) of the same width as the channel (10) of the machine (1), bounded by several parallel equidistant bars, in the form of two bars in a square, one of which is fixed to a horizontal shaft (31) articulated on an arm (32), which is solidly connected to a horizontal shaft (33) connected to the fixed part of the machine (1) in a position below the said shaft (31);

   - a first control cylinder (38) supported by the said arm (32) to permit, by interposition of a crank (34), the rotation of the shaft (31) with the cup (30) through 30°;

   - a second control cylinder (35) supported by the fixed part of the machine (1) to permit, by the interposition of a crank (36) the rotation of the shaft (33) with the arm (32) and the cup (30) through 90°.

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