Converting machine with material strip storage buffer

A machine for converting coils of a material into coils of smaller size, wherein a strip is moved along a path, comprising a loading unit of the strip of material into the machine, an accumulation unit of the strip being processed, and a winding unit of the strip on a winding shaft to form respective coils, said units being positioned along said path, characterized in that the accumulation unit comprises:

• a first movable supporting structure for a first series of movable rollers and a second movable supporting structure for a second series of movable rollers, wherein each series of movable rollers comprises a plurality of rollers aligned vertically in a plane parallel to a first and second straight path stretch, said first and second straight path stretches being connected by a third upper path stretch, to form as a whole a substantially π-shaped path stretch, which encloses said movable supporting structures underneath, and wherein said first and second movable supporting structures slide in opposite directions away from each other between a retracted position, in which the movable rollers are not in contact with the strip, and a plurality of extended positions, in which the movable rollers are in contact with the strip;
• a first series of fixed rollers and a second series of fixed rollers, facing the first and second series of movable rollers, respectively, but staggered vertically with respect thereto, each series of fixed rollers comprising a plurality of vertically aligned rollers, respectively, on the plane parallel to said first and second stretches of path and facing one side of said path stretches opposite to said first and second series of movable rollers, on the outside of the π-shaped path stretch so that said path stretches are placed between said fixed rollers and said movable rollers;
• and
• a first and a second panel, said panels being arranged facing each other so as to enclose between them said first movable supporting structure and said second movable supporting structure, wherein each of the movable supporting structures comprises a pair of comb-like supports arranged parallel to each other and to the respective panels and each comprising a plurality of horizontal arms, wherein the horizontal arms of the first pair of comb-like supports face the first straight stretch of the path and the horizontal arms of the second pair of comb-like supports face the second straight stretch of the path, and wherein each movable roller of the first movable supporting structure is supported in an idle manner by means of pins at a distal end of the pair of horizontal arms which extends from the respective pair of comb-like supports, and each movable roller of the second movable supporting structure is supported idle by means of pins at a distal end of the pair of horizontal arms which extends from the respective pair of comb-like supports,
• wherein the spacing between the two comb-like supports of the first supporting structure is greater than the spacing between the two comb-like supports of the second supporting structure, so that, when said supporting structures run in opposite directions, they do not interfere with each other, and
• wherein the first and second movable supporting structures are staggered vertically by such a distance that all the horizontal arms, except for an end arm, are on the same horizontal plane.