Severing machine for elongated rolls of weblike material having multiple cutting blades

#1. Technical Field

#The present invention relates to a severing machine for cutting rolls or logs of great length into a plurality of small rolls intended for final consumption, or for cutting other elongate products, especially of weblike material, for example packs of paper napkins or other interleaved articles.

#Machines of this type are commonly used in the paper converting industry for the production of rolls of toilet paper, rolls of kitchen paper and the like, or other paper articles.

#The invention will be better understood with reference to the description and the attached drawing, which shows a practical non-limiting embodiment of the invention applied to a severing machine for rolls or logs of weblike material. More specifically, in the drawing:

#FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of the severing machine; and

#FIGS. 2A-2E show successive phases of the release of the cut small rolls into the unloading channels.

#The severing machine possesses (FIG. 1) a cutting unit 13 having a series of disk-shaped blades 23, rotating about a common axis (or, possibly, about respect axes which are not aligned but are approximately mutually parallel), driven, by means of belts 31, by a motor shaft 35A. FIG. 1 shows a lateral view wherein only one of the rotating disk-shaped blades 23 can be seen, the others being masked and not visible. In practice, along the axis of rotation, which extends orthogonally to the plane of the figure, rotating disk-shaped cutting blades are arranged in a sufficient number to subdivide each roll into the desired number of small rolls and to cut off the head and tail trimmings of the roll. The cutting unit may also comprise a plurality of series of cutting blades that can be employed in alternation.

#The rolls or logs L coming from a storage unit (not shown), or from another feed system, are taken from a rotating feeder 111, which rotates—with continuous or intermittent motion—about a horizontal axis 111A. The rotating feeder 111 has a cylindrical development, along which are formed three seatings 115A, 115B and 115C, which can be adapted if necessary—with inserts or the like—to the diameter of the rolls. Each seating 115A, 115B and 115C receives the rolls or logs L from a rotating or oscillating distributor 153 which takes them from a chute 151 associated with the storage unit. The feeder also possesses annular grooves for the passage of the blades, visible in the zone shown in section.

#The rotating feeder 111 is encompassed, over an appropriate arc and on the side facing the cutting unit 13, by a plurality of belts or equivalent continuous flexible members, designated 201. Only one of said belts is visible in FIG. 1, the others being arranged along the same path and therefore behind that shown in FIG. 1, at appropriate distances so as not to interfere with the cutting blades.