ES2552564T3 - Nailing machine for mounting pallets made of wood or similar, with high flexibility of use - Google Patents

Abstract

A nailing machine for mounting pallets made of wood or the like, comprising a nailing station (2) and advancing and guiding means (3) defining a substantially horizontal resting surface (10) in said nailing station (2) for blocks (4) and for a superimposed top plate (5) to be mounted on the blocks (4) by nailing in order to provide a pale (11); in said nailing station (2), above said resting surface (10), nailing clamps (8) are provided which are mounted on a support element (9) that can move along a substantially vertical direction with respect to of said resting surface (10); said nailing clamps (8) being fed with the nails to be used for nailing and each being provided with a nailing piston (12) protruding upwards from the corresponding nailing clamp (8); above the nailing pistons (12) of the various nailing clamps (8) an activation element (13) is provided which can move at will with respect to said nailing clamps (8) along a substantially vertical direction towards said rest surface (10) for the purpose of operating, by means of said nailing pistons (12), on the nails fed into said nailing clamps (8) for their expulsion or in the opposite direction with respect to said rest plane (10 ) in order to allow the nailing clamps (8) to be fed with another nail, the nailing machine further comprising at least one additional seat (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) which can be moved at will from an inactive position, in which it is disposed outside the engagement region of the upper end of at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) with said activation element (13) to an active position, in which it is interposed between the end its said at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) and said activation element (13), said nailing clamps (8) being arranged along at least one row that is oriented transversely to the direction of advance (7 ) of the blocks (4) and of the upper plates (5) along said rest surface (10), said activation element (13) comprising a horizontal beam (17) which is arranged transversely to said direction of advancement (7) and is facing, with its lower face, the upper end of said nailing pistons (12), characterized by the fact that said at least one additional seat (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) it comprises an additional central seat (14a, 14b) and two additional lateral seats (15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) that are arranged on mutually opposite sides with respect to said central additional seat (14a, 14b), said additional seats (14a, 14b , 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) being mutually and laterally ady stems along a direction that is substantially perpendicular to said direction of advancement (7) and being movable individually with respect to said beam (17) parallel to said direction of advancement (7) in order to pass from said inactive position, in which are displaced laterally with respect to said at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) to said active position, in which they are interposed between the lower face of said beam (17) and the upper end of said at least one corresponding piston of nail (12) and vice versa.

Description

KEY MACHINE FOR MOUNTING PALES MADE OF WOOD OR SIMILAR, WITH HIGH FLEXIBILITY OF USE

The present invention refers to a nailing machine for mounting pallets made of wood or the like, according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a machine is known from US 4489819AI.

As is known, pallets made of wood are generally constituted by a loading surface, also known as a top plate, which is constituted by two layers of laterally adjacent stringers that are superimposed of fonna so that the stringers of a layer are parallel t: ntre yes and perpendicular to the stringers of the other layer, and by feet or blocks that are fixed under the upper plate to keep it elevated with respect to the resting surface. There are normally three rows of blocks and each of these three rows is generally composed of three blocks, mutually spaced apart from the bottom so that the pallet can be held by lifting devices on any of its four sides. Generally, the upper plate has a rectangular flat edge and the three-row blocks are interconnected not only by the upper plate, but also by three stringers, which are arranged parallel to the longer sides of the upper plate and are nailed to The underside of the blocks.

Wooden pallets are mounted on nailing machines, which are fed with the top plate, which was pre-assembled on another machine and with the three rows of blocks.

These machines are provided with guides for the blocks, which are moved forward along these guides, and with a support surface along which the upper plates are advanced, generally oriented with their longer sides parallel to The direction of advance. In each instance, an upper plate and a group of nine blocks, that is, three rows of blocks, are arranged in a nailing station, in which nailer heads are arranged that can be activated to nail the upper plate to the group of underlying blocks

Each nailer head comprises the nail clamp which is provided with a passage in which a nail is inserted cyclically and which retains the nail to be pushed. Each nailing clamp is provided with a nailing piston that protrudes upwards from the corresponding nailing clamp and enters said passage with its lower end. The nailing clamps are mounted on a support element that can move along a vertical direction in order to cause the nailing clamps to rest in the region of the upper plate of the pallet which in each instance is placed in the nailing station O in order to lift them from the top plate in order to penetrate the advance of the pallet along the direction of advance.

Above the nailing pistons an activation element is provided, which is generally constituted by a horizontal beam that is oriented at right angles to the

forward direction and can move vertically downwards in order to activate the descent of the nailing pistons into the nailing clamps and therefore pushing the nails into the upper plate and into the blocks, nailing them together, or upwards , in order to retract the pistons and release the passage from the nail clamps, which is fed with another nail to be used in the subsequent nailing process.

When the upper layer of the upper plate is composed of an even number of stringers, the central row of blocks is not located in any stringer of the upper layer, but the blocks of this row are nailed only to three stringers belonging to the layer bottom of the top plate.

For this reason, if the upper plate is fed to the nailing station with the upper layer beams oriented parallel to the direction of advance of the upper plate and the blocks, since the nailing clamps are arranged along one or more rows oriented transversely to said forward direction, one of these nailing clamps will have to operate at a lower level than the others.

If instead the upper plate is fed to the nailing station with the upper layer stringers oriented at right angles to the direction of advance of the upper plate and the blocks, an entire band of nailing clamps will have to operate in a lower level than the level to which it must operate during the nailing of the other two rows of blocks.

Due to the fact that the lowering of the support element is generally limited to the bottom by resting on the upper plate, for the clamp or clamps that must operate at a lower level there is the problem of being able to push the nails dispensed by the clamp or clamps until they stop against the stringers of the lower layer to which the center row blocks must be applied.

To solve this problem, on machines that operate causing the stringers of the upper layer of the upper plates parallel to the direction of advancement, longer nailing pistons are used for the nailing clamps that are centrally arranged and therefore They are designed to always operate at a lower level than the other nailing clamps.

However, this solution suffers from the inconvenience of requiring the manual replacement of the nailing pistons each time it is changed from the manufacture of pallets with an even number of stringers in the upper layer of the plate superior to the manufacture of pallets with a number odd of stringers in the upper layer of the upper plate.

In addition, this solution cannot be used in machines in which the upper plates are fed to the nailing station with the upper layer stringers oriented transversely to the direction of travel.

US 4 489 819 A shows a pneumatic clamp for a nailing machine with a group of nailing punches, each having at its upper end a clamp that engages with a respective plate. A respective bar connects a respective plate to a relative clamp that is connected to a horizontal plate connected to the nail pusher head. The position of each bar can be adjusted along the horizontal plate by moving the relative clamp along the same horizontal plate, providing an adjustment capability that: allows aligning a group of three pWlZones to nail in relation to a group of three mandrels The bars are always interposed between the upper end of the relative nail punches and the nail pusher head, which controls the lifting / lowering of the :: the nail punches, and therefore it is not possible to vary the amount of descent of the nail punches

The objective of the present invention is to provide a nailing machine for mounting pallets made of wood or the like that can operate in nailing planes arranged at different levels of height without requiring interventions to replace its components and therefore substantially without requiring downtimes. of the machine

Within this objective, an object of the invention is to provide a machine in which it is possible to vary the level of height at which the nailing clamps operate in a fully automated manner according to the type of pallet to be mounted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine that is of high precision and reliability in its operation.

In accordance with the invention, a nailing machine is provided as defined in the appended claims.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be better apparent from the description of an example of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the machine according to the invention illustrated by a non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the machine according to the invention with some components omitted for reasons of greater clarity;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the machine according to the invention, with some components omitted and taken from a different angle with respect to Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a schematic rear elevational view of the machine according to the invention, with some components omitted for reasons of greater clarity;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a sectional view of Figure 5, taken along the line VI-VII;

Figure 8 is a sectional view d, Figure 5, taken along the line VTIIVIII;

Figure 9 is a sectional view of Figure 5, taken along line IXIX, in a different operating condition with respect to Figures 7 and 8;

Figure 10 is an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of two additional seats;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of another additional seat.

With reference to the figures, the nailing machine according to the invention, generally designated by the reference number 1, comprises a nailing station 2 and advancing and guiding means 3 defining a substantially horizontal resting surface 10 in the nailing station 2 for blocks 4 and for an upper plate 5 that is arranged above the blocks 4.

More particularly, the advancing and guiding means 3, schematically illustrated in Figure 5, may be constituted, in a manner known per se, by channels 6 that are open upwards and extend along a forward direction, designated by arrow 7, and in which the blocks 4 are advanced, for example, by chain conveyors provided with traction elements that push the blocks 4.

The upper plates 5 instead are fed by a conveyor, of a known type, and not illustrated for reasons of simplicity, which is elevated with respect to the channels 6 to arrange, in each instance, an upper plate 5 above the group of blocks 4 to which it must be nailed, in the nailing station 2, in order to provide a pallet I \.

In the nailing station 2, endma of the resting surface 10, there are nailing clamps 8 that are mounted, in a manner known per se, on a support clement 9, illustrated only partially and schematically in Figure 5, which can be move along a substantially vertical direction with respect to the rest surface 10. For simplicity, only two nailing clamps 8 are illustrated and only in some figures, but the number of nailing clamps 8 and their arrangement may vary according to the requirements.

The support element 9 extends horizontally and can be moved at will along a vertical direction in order to make the clamping clamps 8 butt against the upper face of the upper plate 5, which is arranged in the station of nailing 2, before the operation: nailing, and in order to subsequently rise to allow the pallet 11 mounted by the nailing station 2 to move away and allow access, to the same nailing station 2, of a new pallet 11 To be assembled.

Nailing clamps 8 can be fed, in a manner known per se, with nails to be used for nailing and each one is provided with a nailing piston 12 protruding upwards from the corresponding nailing clamp 8.

Above the nailing pistons 12 of the various nailing clamps 8, an activation element 13 is provided, which can be moved at will with respect to the nailing clamps 8 along a substantially vertical direction downwards, that is, towards the resting surface 10, in order to operate, by means of the nailing pistons 12, on the fed nails: to the nailing clamps 8 to cause their expulsion from the lower end of the nailing clamps 8, pushing them into the upper plate 5 and in the blocks 4 arranged in the nailing station 2, or upwards, that is, in the opposite direction with respect to the rest surface 10, in order to allow, in a manner known per se, the feeding of the clamps of nailing 8 with another nail to be used for the subsequent nailing step.

According to the invention, the machine comprises at least one additional seat 14a, 14b. 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, which can be moved at will from an inactive position, in which it is arranged outside the hitch region of the upper end of at least one corresponding nailing piston 12 with the activation element 13, at a active position, in which between the upper end of said at least one corresponding nailing piston 12 and the activation element 13 interposed in order to increase the extension of the descent of said at least one corresponding nailing piston 12 with respect to the descent of the pistons of: nailing 12 that do not interfere with the additional seat 4a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, and vice versa.

The nailing clamps 8 are arranged along at least one row, which is oriented transversely to the forward direction 7 of the blocks 4 and of the upper plates 5 along the rest surface 10. Preferably, the nailing clamps 8 are arranged along two mutually parallel rows, which are oriented transversely to the direction of advancement 7.

The activation element 13 comprises a horizontal beam 17 which is arranged transversely to the direction of advancement 7 and faces, with its lower face, the upper end of the nailing pistons 12.

More precisely, the beam 17 is supported, so that it can slide along a vertical direction, by a pair of vertical shoulders 18a, 18b and is activated, in a manner known per se, for example by means operated by fluid or mechanical, which are not shown for simplicity. The width of the beam 17 is such as to allow its lower side to overlap with the upper ends of the nailing pistons 12, so that a descent of the beam 17 causes the lowering of the nailing pistons 12 within the corresponding ones. nail clamps 8.

The support member 9 can be activated along a vertical direction autonomously or can be connected, in :: a manner known per se, to the beam 17 so that the descent of the beam 17. for a first descent portion , make the nailing clamps 8 stop against the upper plate 5, which is arranged in the nailing station 2, and so that the beam 17 can move further downwards with respect to the support element 9 in order to activate the nailing pistons 12.

Under the beam 17, at a predetermined distance from its lower face, retention plates 19 are provided which are arranged on a horizontal plane and are rigidly fixed to the beam 17 by profiles 45. The retention plates 19 are provided with holes to through which the nailing pistons 12 pass, their upper end being enlarged to prevent the extraction of the nailing pistons 12 downwards from the clamping plates 19. Thus, when the beam 17 is raised, after a first lifting portion, brings with it the nailing pistons 12 as well.

Conveniently, for each row of nailing clamps 8 there is an additional central seat 14a, 14b and two additional lateral seats 15a, 16a, 15b, 16b, which are arranged on mutually opposite sides with respect to the central additional seat 14a, 14b. For each row of nailing clamps 8, the corresponding additional seats 14a, 15a, 16a and 14b, 15b, 16b are mutually and laterally adjacent along a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the direction of advancement 7 and each additional seat can move individually from the beam 17 parallel to the direction of advancement 7 in order to pass from the inactive position, in which it is laterally displaced from the corresponding underlying piston or nailing pistons 12, to the active position, in which it is interposed between the underside of the beam 17 and the corresponding underlying piston or nailing pistons 12, and vice versa.

More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment, in which the nailing clamps 8 are arranged along two rows that are mutually parallel and oriented transversely to the direction of advance 7. for each of these two rows there is a group of additional seats, each consisting of an additional central seat 14a, 14b and two additional lateral seats 15a, 16a and 15b, 16b.

Preferably, each additional seat 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b is individually supported so that it can slide along a direction that is substantially parallel to the direction of advancement 7, by the beam 17, and for each seat additional 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b there is Wl corresponding activator that can be activated to cause the transition of the corresponding additional seat 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b. 16th 16b from the inactive position to the active position and / or vice versa.

More particularly, the group of additional seats 14th, 15th. 16a is supported on the front side of the beam 17. while the additional seating group 14b, 15b, 16b is supported on the rear side of the beam 17.

With reference to the group of additional seats 14a, 15a, 16a supported on the front side of the beam 17, the central additional seat 14a is constituted by a plate that is arranged in a horizontal plane and is supported by a pair of arms 20a, 21 to which they extend downward from a block 22a that is supported, so that it can slide, by a guide 23a that is fixed to the front side of the beam 17 and extends parallel to the forward direction 7. Block 22a is connected to the piston rod of a fluid-operated cylinder 24a which is connected by its body to an arm 25a that is fixed to the rear of the beam 17 and passes, with the rod of its piston, through a passage properly connected in the beam 17, more precisely in the central wing or core of the beam 17, which in the illustrated exemplary embodiment has a cross section with a groove of 1.

Again with reference to the group of additional seats 14a, 15a, 16a supported on the front side of the beam 17, the side additional seat 15a is constituted by a plate that is arranged in a horizontal planeJ and is supported, at its longitudinal ends, by a pair of arms 26a, 27a extending downwards from a corresponding block 28a, 29a, which is supported in a way that can slide along a corresponding guide 30 .. 31 to which it is fixed to the front side of the beam 17 and extends parallel to the forward direction 7. The block 28a is connected to the piston rod of a fluid-operated cylinder 32a, which is connected by its body to an arm 33a that is fixed to the rear of the beam 17 and passes, with the rod of its piston, through a passage properly grooved in the beam 17. Similarly, the additional side seat 16a is constituted by a plate that is arranged in a horizontal plane such and is supported, at its longitudinal ends. by a pair of arms 34a, 35a, extending downward from a corresponding block 36a. 37a which is supported, so that it can slide, along a corresponding guide 3830 39a that is fixed to the front of the beam 17 and extends parallel to the forward direction 7. Block 37a is connected to the rod of the piston of a cylinder operated by fluid 40a, which is connected by its body to an arm 41a. which is fixed to the back of beam 17 and passes. with the piston rod. through the passage properly provided on beam 17.

The additional seats belonging to the group supported on the back of the beam 17 are supported and activated with elements similar to those described with reference to the seats supported on the. front of the beam 17. The elements to support and activate the additional seats that are supported in the rear

of beam 17 corresponding to the seats that have already been described have been designated, if visible, with the same reference numbers but with the letter <Ob "instead of the letter" a ".

S

In figures 3 and 4, the additional seats I4 ~ 16 ~ 15b are in the inactive position, while the additional seats ISa, 14b, 16b are in the active position In figures 7 and 9, the central additional seats l4 ~ 14b They are in the active position. In Figures 9 and 10, all additional seats 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b are in the inactive position.

10 15

Advantageously, each additional side seat ISa, 15b, 16a, l6b is fixed, near each of its longitudinal ends, to a rack 42 running parallel to the direction of travel 7 and on the front side and on the rear side of the beam 17 there is a connecting shaft 43a, 43b which is supported, which can rotate around its own axis, by a beam 17 and is oriented at right angles to the direction of travel 7. Pinions 44 are joined in this connector shaft 43 ~ 43b And mesh with the zippers 42, mutually connecting the two additional side seats ISa, 16a and 15b, 16b supported on the same side of the beam 17 and making their movement uniform along the corresponding sliding guides, which is caused by the activation of fluid operated cylinders 32a, 40a, 32b, 40b.

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In practice, the connecting shaft 43a interconnects the additional lateral seats IS ~ 16a supported on the front side of the beam 17, while the connecting shaft 43b interconnects the additional lateral seats ISb, 16b, which are supported on the rear of the beam 17 in its parallel displacement to the forward direction 7 to move from the inactive position to the active position and vice versa.

25 30

It should be noted that the activators, which are constituted, in the illustrated embodiment, by the fluid-operated cylinders 24a, 24b, 32a, 32b, 40a, 40b, which cause the transition of the additional seats 14 ~ 14b, ISa, lSb , 16 ~ 16b from the inactive position to the active position and vice versa, are conveniently connected to an activation and control element of the programmable electronic device, which monitors the operation of the machine that activates the additional seats I4a, 14b, ISa, 15b, 16a, 16b is performed according to preset programs depending on the type of pallet 11 to be mounted. In this way, the machine according to the invention can move from the production of one type of pallet to the production of another type of pallet in a completely automated manner.

The operation of the machine according to the invention is as follows.

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In each instance, while the nailing clamps 8 are raised, a row of three blocks 4 with an upper plate S superimposed therein is placed in the nailing station 2 under the beam 17.

When the nailing clamps 8 must operate on the pallet loading surface, that is, on the surface that is defined by the upper face of the upper plate, the additional seats 1430] 4b,] 5a, 15b, 1630 16b are maintained in the inactive position. In this way, when the beam 17 is lowered, it operates directly, with its lower side at the upper end of the nailing pistons 12, causing its descent into the nailing clamps 8 and therefore pushing the corresponding nail into the upper plate. 5 and in the underlying block 4.

If the nailing clamps 8 that are centrally arranged and / or the nailing clamps 8 that are arranged laterally must work on a surface that is lowered from the surface defined by the upper face of the upper plate 5, the corresponding additional seats 14a , 14b and / or 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b are brought to the active position by interposing between the lower face of the beam 17 and the upper end of the corresponding nailing pistons 12. Thus, when the beam 17 is lowered, it operates, with its lower face, at the upper end of the nailing pistons 12 with the interposition of the additional seats 14a, 14b and / or 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b brought to the active position, causing its. lowering in the nail clamps 8 beyond what is obtained when the pistons: s of nail 12 are pushed directly by the beam 17.

Due to the fact that the central additional seats 14a, 14b can be activated independently of the additional side seats 15a, 15b, 1630 16b, it is possible to work with both the upper plates 5 fed with the upper layer stringers oriented parallel to the direction of feed 7 as with the upper plates 5 fed with the stringers of the upper layer oriented at right angles to the direction of advance 7.

In the first case, in fact, if the upper plate 5 has an even number of stringers in the upper layer, the nailing clamp 8 or the nailing clamps 8 that are centrally arranged always operate at a lower level than the other clamps of nail 8. In this first case, the central additional seat 14a or 14b or the central additional seats 14a, 14b are brought to the active position, while the additional lateral seats 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b are kept in the inactive position.

In the second case, if the upper plate 5 has an odd number of stringers in the upper layer, all nailing clamps 8 belonging to a row must sometimes operate at a level corresponding to the load surface of the pallet 11 and Sometimes at a lower level. In this case, the additional seats 14a, 14b, ISa, 15b, 16a, 16b corresponding to the clamp 8 which are arranged along the same row are brought to the active position when said clamps must operate at a level lower.

In practice it has been found that the machine according to the invention fully achieves the intended objective, since it is capable of operating on nailing surfaces arranged at different levels without requiring interventions to replace its components and therefore substantially without requiring downtimes. machine.

The machine conceived in this way is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details can also be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, can be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

The explanations of Italian patent application No. MI2010A001768 from which this application claims priority are incorporated in this document by reference.

Where the technical elements mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included with the sole

In order to increase the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by example by such reference signs.

Claims (6)

1. A nailing machine for mounting pallets made of wood or the like, comprising a nailing station (2) and advancing and guiding means (3) that define a substantially horizontal resting surface (10) in said nailing station ( 2) for blocks (4) and for a superimposed top plate (5) to be mounted on the blocks (4) by nailing in order to provide a pallet (11); in said nailing station (2), above said resting surface (10), nail clamps (8) are provided which they are mounted on a support element (9) that can move along a substantially vertical direction with respect to said rest surface (10); said nailing clamps (8) being fed with the nails to be used for nailing and each being provided with a nailing piston (12) protruding upwards from the corresponding nail clamp (8); above the nailing pistons (12) of the various nailing clamps (8) are provided with an activation element (13) that can move at will with respect to said nailing clamps (8) along a substantially vertical direction towards said resting surface (10) in order to operating, by means of said nailing pistons (12), on the nails fed into said nailing clamps (8) for their expulsion or in the opposite direction with respect to said resting plane (10) in order to penetrate the feeding of the clamps to nail (8) with another nail, the nailing machine further comprising at least one seat additional (l4a, 14b, ISa, ISb, 16a, 16b) that can be moved at will from a inactive position, in which it is disposed outside the engagement region of the upper end of at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) with said activation element (13) to an active position, in which it is interposed between the upper end of said at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) and said element of activation (13), said nailing clamps (8) being arranged along at least a row that is oriented transversely to the direction of advance (7) of the blocks (4) and of the upper plates (5) along said resting surface (10), said activation element (13) comprising a horizontal beam (17) that is disposed transversely to said forward direction (7) and is facing, with its lower face, at upper end of said nailing pistons (12), characterized by the fact that said at least one additional seat (l4a, 14b, ISa, ISb, 16a, 16b) comprises a seat central additional (14a, 14b) And two additional lateral seats (ISa, ISb, 16a, 16b) that are arranged on mutually opposite sides with respect to said additional seat central (l4a, 14b), said additional seats (14a, 14b, ISa, ISb, 16a, 16b) being mutually and laterally adjacent along a direction that is substantially perpendicular to said forward direction (7) and being individually movable relative to said beam (17) parallel to said forward direction (7) in order to pass from said inactive position, in which they are displaced laterally with respect to said at less a corresponding nailing piston (12) to said active position, in which they are interposed between the lower face of said beam (17) and the upper end of said at least one corresponding nailing piston (12) and vice versa.

2. The machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said

nailing clamps (8) are arranged along two mutually parallel rows

which are oriented transversely to said direction of advance (7), for each of

said two rows an additional seat c: entral (l4a, 14b) and two additional seats

5

lateral (15a, 16a, 15b, 16b) being provided, which are arranged on sides

mutually opposite with respect to said additional central seat (14a. 14b) and are mutually

and laterally adjacent along a direction that is substantially

perpendicular to said direction of advance (7).

3. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by

\OR

the fact that said additional seats (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) are

individually supported so that they can slide along one direction

which is substantially parallel to said forward direction (1) by said beam (17); for

each of said additional seats (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) a corresponding

activator (24a, 24b, 32a, 32b, 40a, 40b) being provided, which can be activated to

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cause the transition of the additional seat (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b)

from said inactive position to said position: active ion and / or vice versa.

4. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by

the fact that said activator is constituted by a cylinder operated by fluid (24a,

24b, 32a, 32b, 40a, 40b), which is connected, by means of its body, to said beam (17) and that

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is connected, by the piston rod, to the corresponding additional seat

(14a, 14b, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) to be activated.

5. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by

the fact that each of said additional side seats (15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) is

supported, near its longitudinal ends, by sliding guides (30a, 31 a, 30b,

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31 b, 38a, 39a, 38b, 39b), which are oriented parallel to said forward direction (7) and

they are fixed, close to each of its longitudinal ends, to a rack (42) that

runs parallel to said forward direction (7); a connecting shaft (43a, 43b) being provided

which is oriented substantially at right angles to said forward direction (7) and

is supported so that it can rotate around its own axis by said beam (17),

30

pinions (44) being connected on said axis c, onector (43a, 43b) each pinion engaging with

one of said zippers (42).

6. The machine according to claim 4, characterized in that said

activators (24a, 24b, 32a, 32b, 40a, 40b) are connected to an activation elements

and control of the programmable electronic type that is adapted to control said

35

activators (24a, 24b, 32a, 32b, 40a, 40b) according to programs that are preset

as a function of the type of pallet (11) to be mounted.