Abstract: A palletizing apparatus for stacks of paper sheets has a set of conveyors which deliver a succession of individual stacks or groups of two or more stacks to a palletizing station and onto an air cushion which is defined by two plenum chambers of a table. The palletizing station is equipped with pairs of stops which orient the stacks on the table in the direction of delivery of stacks as well as at right angles to such direction. The plenum chambers are retracted from the palletizing station when the orientation of stacks thereon is completed, and the stack or stacks then descend onto a pallet which is held in a position of readiness on the platform of a raised elevator below the palletizing station. The platform is provided with devices for shifting and/or rotating a pallet thereon to a desired position. The elevator is lowered stepwise to accumulate several layers of stacks and ultimately reaches the level of a receiving conveyor which accepts the loaded pallet.

Abstract: A wrap-around packing machine wherein the packing station and the station which supplied prefabricated blanks are separated from each other by a treating unit having a pair of tools serving to provide successive prefabricated blanks with additional fold lines in positions depending on the dimensions of commodities to be wrapped. To this end, the tools are movable toward and away from each other by a reversible motor which receives signals from photocells monitoring the height of commodities to be packed while such commodities advance toward the packing station. The photocells are mounted on a carrier which is movable up and down by the reversible motor so that the photocells come to a halt when they assume certain predetermined positions with reference to the commodities whose height deviates from the height of previously supplied commodities.