Patent ID: 8544518

Claim:
A supply group for supplying a packing band fed from reels, with an automatic changing of the reels, for an object-packing machine, comprising: a supply conveyor ( 13 ) along which the packing band runs to a zone of use ( 45 ) where the packing band can be applied to an object being packed; a first support for supporting a first reel ( 12 A) of a band ( 11 A) of packing material; a second support for supporting a second reel ( 12 B) of band ( 11 B) of packing material; a first entry conveyor ( 20 A) for conveying a first band ( 11 A) from the first reel ( 12 A) to the supply conveyor ( 13 ); a second entrance conveyor ( 20 B) for conveying a second band ( 11 B) from the second reel ( 12 B) to the supply conveyor ( 13 ); first rollers for advancing ( 21 A) for alternatively introducing and extracting a front end of the first band ( 11 A) to or from the supply conveyor ( 13 ); second rollers for advancing ( 21 B) for alternatively introducing and extracting a front end of the second band ( 11 B) into or from the supply conveyor ( 13 ); a central drawing roller ( 22 ) operative to be driven in two directions of rotation: two idle lateral contrast rollers ( 23 a , 23 b ), each one disposed on an opposite side of the central drawing roller, and each movably mounted between a first position adjacent from the central roller ( 22 ), and a second position spaced from the central roller, wherein when a first of the two idle lateral contrast rollers is moved into the first position, the first band is pressed against the central roller, and when a second of the two idle lateral contrast rollers is moved into the first position, the second band is pressed against the central roller; and a cutting device for transversally cutting ( 14 ) the first band or the second band located at a start of the supply conveyor to form a cut band; wherein while a first band is in the zone of use, the second band is stationary with a front end of the second band located at an entry to the supply conveyor ( 13 ) and wherein, when one of the first or second reels advancing is finished, a band supplied from said one of the first or second reels is cut by the cutting device and one of the first and second rollers for advancing are activated to extract a front end of the cut band from the supply conveyor ( 13 ) while another of the first or second rollers for advancing are activated to introduce a front end of a and supplied from the another of the first and second rollers into the supply conveyor ( 13 ).