Patent ID: 7549276

Claim:
A machine for packaging articles in boxes, the boxes being obtained from tubular blanks, each tubular blank including an upper sheet and a lower sheet, connected along two opposite ends and facing each other to define a flat folded configuration, each of said tubular blanks having longitudinal pre-creasing lines for defining a first adjacent lateral wall and a second adjacent lateral wall in said upper sheet, and a third adjacent lateral wall and a fourth adjacent lateral wall in said lower sheet, for facilitating folding of the tubular blank into a substantially parallelepiped shape, and each tubular blank having also transversal pre-creasing lines for defining and facilitating folding of a plurality of flaps, the machine comprising: an erecting and folding unit, moving between an erecting station, and, a filling station for filling erected tubular blanks with articles supplied in a vertical direction, said unit erecting each blank of said tubular blanks in a parallelepiped shape with a vertical axis, and folding a first lower flap of the blank by a 90° angle while moving said blank in a forward direction towards said filling station; a folding member, situated near the filling station, folding a second lower flap of the blank, opposite to said first lower flap and situated at a front with respect to said forwarding direction, by a 90° angle, said folding being performed in time relation with the blank arriving at said filling station; a horizontal plane for supporting the blank resting on said first lower flap and said second lower flap while sliding said blank to said filling station for inserting said articles, supplied in a vertical direction, into the blank by manipulating means; driving and guiding means for driving and guiding said tubular blank along said horizontal plane in the forwarding direction, from said filling station up to means for folding lower lateral flaps of said erected blank, an upper fore flap of said erected blank, an upper rear flap and the upper lateral flaps of said tubular blank, and then to stations for closing a bottom and a cover of the blank to form an erected box, said driving and guiding means including close-loop conveying means, operated by actuating means in time relation with the moving of said erecting and folding unit and with the introduction of the articles into the erected blank, said close-loop conveying means facing at least one longitudinal portion of each of the first and second adjacent lateral walls of the blank, with respect to the forwarding direction, and said close-loop conveying means having lateral protrusions, which strike corresponding portions of a rear wall of the blank, pushing the blank in the forwarding direction.