Apparatus for feeding folded paper tissues or the like to a packaging system

An apparatus for feeding articles such as tissues or similar folded paper products to an automatic packaging system, the apparatus comprising:

• means for forming stacks of articles with at least two collecting discs defining an axial direction (X) and a radial direction (Z) and an accumulation plate adapted to receive and support the articles unloaded from said at least two collecting discs, the plate defining a plane in the radial direction (Z);
• a stack separation and expulsion device adapted to eject the stacks over said plate in the radial direction (Z);
• and
• an evacuation device for evacuating the stacks previously ejected from the discs from the plate along a direction parallel to the axial direction,
• wherein said stack separation and expulsion device comprises at least one conveyor device running around pinions having rotation axes parallel with the axis of the discs and arranged below said plate, a segment of the at least one conveyor device runs in a plane parallel and adjacent with the plane of the plate, seizing tabs extend from said at least one conveyor device adapted to pass through channels formed in the plate and project orthogonally from the plate when the seizing tab are in the segment, and the seizing tab are arranged to pass through a space between two adjacent discs of the discs before entering the channels to elect the stacks over the plate away from the discs in the radial direction (Z).