AU2005211967B2

AU2005211967B2 - Machine and method for forming a plate by applying a mandrel

Info

Publication number: AU2005211967B2
Application number: AU2005211967A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jean-Yves Bacques; Philippe Saison; Eric Schuster
Original assignee: Otor SA
Current assignee: Otor SA
Priority date: 2004-02-10
Filing date: 2005-02-10
Publication date: 2011-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 2025-02-10
Also published as: EP1725393B1; EP1725393A2; PL1725393T3; ES2364148T3; FR2865961A1; AU2005211967A1; ATE504428T1; NZ549763A; PT1725393E; WO2005077647A2; DE602005027327D1; WO2005077647A3; FR2865961B1; ZA200607536B

Abstract

The device has support rails (11) on a part of surface of a base panel, and a vertical jack to apply a mandrel (15) on the rails. A folding unit folds rectangular longitudinal lateral shutters and related flaps on the mandrel. Glue spreading and pressing units fix the folded shutters and flaps with each other. Lateral guide rails block a blank when the panel is applied on the support rails by the mandrel. An independent claim is also included for a method of forming a plate from a blank of sheet material.

Description

WO 2005/077647 PCT/FR2005/000305 MACHINE AND METHOD FOR FORMING A PACKAGE BY APPLYING A MANDREL The present invention relates to a machine for 5 forming a package from a blank of sheet material including a bottom panel provided with lateral flaps forming the side walls of the package. It also relates to a process for forming a package from such a blank. 10 It also has a particularly important even though not exclusive application in the domain of packages that can be stacked on each other for dairy products such as containers for yogurt made of plastic sealed by lids and placed in layers of four or eight pots 15 connected together by their top part. Machines for forming packages by stamping using a cylinder inside a bore, with the tabs of the package being guided by the side walls of said well during pressing in, are known. 20 Such devices have disadvantages, especially due to the imprecision that can arise at the time of forming from the poor positioning of the blank on the opening of the well. There are also problems due to the deformation of the board, for example concealed, 25 because of humidity and/or temperature differences. Problems due to leaking adhesive sticking to the walls of the well and/or of the mandrel also exist. A machine for forming a package by external pressing of the walls of said package against 30 retractable stops integral with a plate for grasping a blank is also known (FR-A-2 554 417); these stops make it possible to apply pressure to the walls to be bonded. But such a device does not make it possible for example to avoid excrescences internal to the packaging, during release of the bottom of the package by the grasping plate. Embodiments of the present invention seek to ameliorate perceived disadvantages of the known prior art and or provide 5 the public with a useful choice. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or 10 all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed in Australia before the priority date of each claim of the specification. It is also to be noted that, throughout, the description 15 and claims of this specification, the word "comprise" and variations of the word, such as "comprising" and "comprises", is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or straps. In operating some embodiments of the invention, packages 20 can be formed with a high degree of precision, making it possible in particular to form well formed square packages and/or in the case where they have a flared opening with precisely respected angles. According to one aspect, there is provided a machine for 25 forming a package from a blank of sheet material including a bottom panel provided with lateral flaps having, in some cases, end tabs and forming the side walls of the package, said machine comprising: - a bearing face for bearing on at least part of the 30 surface of said bottom panel, - a mandrel having an application face for applying the panel against said bearing face and retractable lateral faces delimited by edges, - means for applying said mandrel against said bearing 35 face, - means for folding the lateral flaps and corresponding tabs against the opposed faces of said mandrel, and - means for attaching together said flaps and tabs 5 10 [ This region of the page intentionally left blank] - 3 thus folded, characterized in that the mandrel and its lateral faces are designed to be retractable between a first position for forming the package and a second position for 5 withdrawing the mandrel from the package, allowing the complete release of the walls of the package and its application face, and in that the machine includes longitudinal and lateral stop means for the flat blank when the bottom panel is applied against the bearing 10 face by the mandrel. In advantageous embodiments, there is also recourse to one or both of the following provisions: - the retractable mandrel is formed by a frame having four edges that are perpendicular or oblique to 15 the application face, namely a stationary first reference edge, a second and a third edge that can move integrally relative to the first edge in a first plane perpendicular to the bearing face and a fourth edge that can move integrally with the third edge in a 20 second wall plane perpendicular to the first; - the retractable mandrel for withdrawal is furthermore configurable so as to allow, by additional extension/retraction, dissociable from the retraction for withdrawal, packages of different dimensions to be 25 formed by adjustment of the nominal reference dimensions. Advantageously this possibility of additional retraction is accomplished by single-acting and/or double-acting cylinders, for example hydraulic or 30 electric cylinders; - the edges have chamfered corners; - the means for folding the lateral flaps include, in each corner of the package, three bearing elements integral with each other in the vertical direction, -4 said elements being arranged to successively push the flaps and opposing tabs between a flat position and a position where the flaps and tabs are fixed to each other in order to form the corresponding corner of the 5 package; - the package includes two opposed longitudinal lateral flaps respectively provided with end tabs, and two opposed transverse lateral flaps each including a longitudinal tab, the machine further including 10 adhesive applicators, making it possible to place lines of adhesive on said transverse flaps and/or longitudinal tabs during introduction of a blank, and presser units provided for applying the longitudinal tabs against the adjacent transverse lateral flaps in 15 order to form the folded-over edges; - the presser units include at least one longitudinal vertical presser designed to apply the bottom panel onto the bearing face at a distance from the junction line with the corresponding longitudinal 20 flap, and means for folding and applying the longitudinal tab comprising an applicator, comprising for example a cylinder, designed to fold said tab over onto the adjacent flap; - the mandrel includes at least one oblique edge; 25 - if the two opposed transverse lateral flaps include a folded-over edge over part of their height and are respectively provided with openings forming handgrips below said folded-over edges, the mandrel has a frustoconical section specific for forming a 30 frustoconical package allowing at least partial nesting of said package in a lower package when stacking one on top of another. The invention also proposes a process for forming a package using a machine as described above.

It also proposes a process for forming a package from a blank of sheet material including a bottom panel provided with lateral flaps having, in some cases, end tabs and forming the side walls of the package, 5 characterized in that said process includes the following steps: - at least part of the surface of said bottom panel is placed on a bearing face of a machine for forming said blank, said bearing face including 10 longitudinal and lateral stop means for the blank, - a mandrel having a panel application face is applied against said bearing face whereby the blank is placed in contact with said stops, - the lateral flaps and corresponding tabs are 15 folded against the opposed faces of said mandrel, and - said flaps and tabs thus folded are attached together by adhesive. Advantageously, since the mandrel is formed by a retractable frame having four edges perpendicular or 20 oblique to the application face, after application of said mandrel on the bottom panel and folding of the flaps and tabs, said mandrel is retracted in order to separate the edges from the walls of the package formed, and said mandrel is separated from the package 25 in order to allow its lateral removal. In another advantageous embodiment, each tab is attached to the outer face of the adjacent transverse side wall with folded-over edges. Equally advantageously, when the blank includes 30 two opposed longitudinal lateral flaps respectively provided with end tabs and has two opposed transverse lateral flaps each including a longitudinal tab, before the package is formed, said transverse flaps or the adjacent longitudinal tabs are coated with adhesive by -6 depositing lines of adhesive thereon during introduction of the blank, and the longitudinal tabs are pressed onto the adjacent transverse lateral flaps in order to form the folded 5 over edges on the flat blank. The invention will be better understood by reading the following description of the embodiments given for purposes of nonlimiting examples. The description refers to the drawings which accompany it in which: 10 - Figure 1 is a schematic view in perspective of a device according to the embodiment of the invention more specifically described here; - Figures 2A to 2D are lateral sectional views facing the mandrel and the application station of the 15 device of Figure 1 during the various stages of forming a package placed perpendicularly to the package of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a perspective view of the mandrel in place inside the package at the application station of 20 Figure 2, - Figure 4 is a side view along IV-IV of Figure 3; - Figure 5 is a perspective view of the application station of Figure 1; - Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of a 25 device according to another embodiment of the invention; - Figure 7 is a perspective view of the folding over station of Figure 6; - Figure 8 and Figures 9A to 9D show the steps of 30 folding back the tab using the device described with reference to Figure 6; - Figure 10 is a perspective view of the application station of the device according to Figure 7 6; - Figures 11 and 12 show enlarged views of the application part of the package according to another embodiment of the invention; 5 - Figures 13A to 13F show the different steps of folding the flaps and tabs making it possible to form the side walls of the package according to an embodiment of the invention more specifically described here; and 10 - Figures 14A to 14D are schematic views showing various embodiments of the retractable mandrel that can be used according to the invention. Figure 1 shows, schematically and partially, a device or machine 1 for forming a package 2 from a 15 blank 3 of corrugated board, for example double-face corrugated board 2 or 3 mm thick, including a rectangular bottom panel 4 provided with lateral flaps, specifically two rectangular longitudinal lateral flaps 5 and 6 each provided on both sides with rectangular 20 end tabs 7, and two rectangular transverse lateral flaps 8 and 9 without tabs, with said flaps and tabs 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 forming the side walls 10 of the package 2. The machine 1 includes a system of known type (not 25 shown) for grasping and placing the blanks one by one, by suction cups, on a rail 11 for supporting and moving the blank thus placed flat on said rail 11. The blank is moved, in this case again in a manner known per se, for example by means of pushing fingers, 30 or drive rollers 12, lateral guide rails 13 parallel to the support rail 11, briefly flanking the blank transversely at the start, in order to guide it. Starting from the deposition station, the blank 3 is coated with adhesive (dashed lines 14) on its flaps - 8 and/or tabs intended to form the walls by bonding, while being moved in order to put the panel 4 directly beneath a mandrel 15 that can move vertically (arrow 16) between a withdrawal position and an application 5 position by application means 17, for example a vertical cylinder. More precisely, the mandrel 15 includes an application face 18 for applying the panel 4 onto the rail 11 which is placed at this point in order to form 10 a bearing face 19 on at least part of the outer surface of said bottom panel. To do this, it is sufficient that the area and/or width of the rail be sufficient to allow uniform distribution of the bearing over the entire length of 15 the panel 4 and over a sufficient width of said panel, for example 1/5 or 1/3 of said width, centered upon the blank. It is understood that corrugated board can sometimes be an awkward material, which can warp and/or 20 curl according to the temperature, humidity and more generally storage conditions. When a blank of random dimensions and/or random deformation is placed on the rail 11, even if the differences compared to a perfect reference blank are 25 minimal, it can therefore have positioning errors relative to an ideal position for subsequent punching, which errors would lead to malformations especially when a rapid rate of production of the packages is necessary. 30 Thus, as shown in Figure 1 at the placement station, a blank 3 might not occupy the entire area between the two lateral guide rails 13, leading to gaps d and d' of the rails 13, which will have repercussions at the fold lines between the flaps and panel in -9 particular. With the embodiment of the invention as described here, all these small differences disappear at the moment of applying the mandrel onto the bearing face 5 19, which by sandwiching the central panel of the blank makes it return to a precise horizontal reference position, with the blank naturally abutting a transverse stop against the lateral guide rails 13, and against retractable wedges or fingers 20 in the 10 longitudinal direction. Figure 1 shows the mandrel-lowering station 21 during three stages of forming the package 2, specifically 21' before lowering the mandrel, 21" during application (the blank is in lateral abutment on 15 the rails and in longitudinal abutment 12 on the retractable fingers 20) and 21''' during the folding of the lateral flaps and the corresponding tabs against the faces opposite the mandrel, in order to obtain the package 2, shown removed at 22. 20 More precisely, the mandrel includes lateral bearing faces 23 defined by stops 24, with the application face having the dimension of the bottom panel 4, and the stops 24 coinciding with the vertical fold lines 25 of the package corners thus formed around 25 the mandrel. Means 26, comprising for example cylinders 27, are arranged to fold back the flaps and tabs onto the mandrel, in a manner known per se, and to compress lateral flaps and tabs suitably precoated with 30 adhesive, in order to fasten them together by bonding. Figures 2A to 2D show, in lateral section, along the axis of the rail 11, the steps for forming the package as already described with reference to the station 21 (21', 21" and 21'''), but with different - 10 folding means and an identical blank but placed perpendicular to the blank of Figure 1. Here the flaps with tabs are therefore perpendicular to the rail and not parallel to the rail 5 11 as in Figure 1. Hereinbelow, the same reference numbers will be used to designate the same or similar elements, if needed. Figure 2A therefore shows the blank 3 (a little 10 warped) before the mandrel 15 is lowered. The package 4 is bearing on the rail 11 which is for example made up of several parallel beams. Figure 2B shows the mandrel 15 lowered into the application position with the application face 18 15 compressing the package 4 like a sandwich with the bearing face formed by the rail 11. The edges 28 of the tabs 7 of the longitudinal lateral flaps 5 and 6 and the edges of the transverse flaps 8 and 9 are then in contact with the guide rails 20 13, or their equivalent, allowing a precise arrangement of the blank before beginning any folding of the flaps to form the walls of the package. Figures 2A and 2B correspond to position 21' and 21" from Figure 1, the Figures 2C and 2D correspond to 25 position 21'''. More precisely, Figure 2C shows the raising of the transverse flaps 8 and 9 by means of vertical tongues 30 provided at their upper end with outwardly flared leading portions 31. 30 In this embodiment, the tabs are bonded to the outside of the transverse flaps. In Figure 2D, the longitudinal flaps 5 and 6 are folded by applicators 32 which move vertically, and then the tabs 7 are raised by means of wheels 33 which - 11 press the flaps onto the outer faces of the tabs that were precoated with adhesive, the inner faces of the mandrel then exerting a counter-pressure leading to excellent attachment. 5 Figures 3 and 4 show, in perspective and cross section, the station 21 where the mandrel is applied against the blank placed to form the package, as shown in Figures 2A to 2D, on a larger scale. The successive means of folding the flaps and tabs 10 on the faces of the mandrel are clearer in these figures. The tongues 30, actuated by a cylinder or cam, with for example a width equal to 1/5 of the wall, are centered relative to the transverse flap 8 and 9 that 15 they lift. The applicators 32 are formed by vertical plates 34 terminated in the upper part by one or two small rollers 35 whose axis 36 is horizontal and perpendicular to the axis of the rail 11, themselves 20 designed to press the outer face 37 of the transverse flap and, during raising of the packages, to roll against them in order to bring them to the vertical at the end of travel. The rollers then push back the outer faces of the 25 tabs 7 with a horizontal movement and apply said tabs against the outer faces of the transverse flaps thus terminating the assembly of the package. The mandrel can then be raised, and the package removed. 30 Figure 5 gives a perspective view of the machine 1 of Figure 1 showing in summary the steps for forming the package 2 at the two stations. Here the package is formed in the direction perpendicular to the forming direction described in - 12 reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4. Means 38, for example with a cam 39, are provided for moving the mandrel vertically in a manner known per se; the assembly is fixed on a chassis 40 which will 5 have smaller dimensions considering the simplicity of the means used in the invention. This is an additional advantage of the invention. Figure 6 shows a device 41 according to another embodiment of the invention including means 42 for 10 storing and unfolding the blanks 2 in the processing direction described with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4; the transverse flaps 8 and 9 are parallel to the rail 11 and include longitudinal tabs 43. The blanks are arranged on the rail 11 between the 15 guide rails 13 at the station 44, and then after coating the tabs 7, the transverse flaps 8 and 9 and/or their longitudinal tabs 43 with adhesive, the blank 2 is moved to the station 45 for forming the folded-over edges, and then to the station 46 for forming the 20 package 3, described with reference to Figure 3. The station 45 will now be described more precisely with reference to Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9A to 9D. In particular when the board is of light or 25 extremely light weight, for example 3x100 grams or less, the invention effectively proposes an embodiment for manufacturing a package which includes a step of folding over Cwo of the opposed walls, which in particular provides for better rigidity of the package. 30 To do this, in addition to the means for applying adhesive 47 making it possible to place lines of adhesive on said transverse flaps and/or longitudinal tabs during introduction of a blank, pressing units 48 are provided to apply the longitudinal tabs 43 onto the - 13 adjacent transverse lateral flaps 8 and 9. In the embodiment described here with reference to the figures, the pressing units 48 include a longitudinal vertical presser 49 comprising a feed shoe 5 50 designed to press the bottom panel 4 onto the bearing face at a distance 1 from the junction line 51 with the corresponding transverse flap, and means 52 of folding and applying the longitudinal tab 43 including an application cylinder 53 designed to fold said tab 10 (see Figure 8) onto the adjacent flap. Figures 9A to 9D show the steps of the process for folding back the edges. Since the blank 2 is brought to the folding-back station and stopped by the blocking and positioning 15 fingers 54 (see Figure 7), a part 55 including a square 56 for catching the outer edge 57 of the longitudinal tab 43 is then located to the right and opposite said outer edge. The feed shoe 50 of the presser 49 is then 20 lowered. By a rotational movement about an axis 58 and transverse deployment along the arrow 59, the part 55 lifts the longitudinal tab 43, while the presser 49 keeps the bottom of the package 4 on the rail 11. 25 When the part 55 reaches a set position, the end 60 of the square 56 escapes the outer edge of the tab 43 and the cylinder 53 takes over, flattening the tab until the complete application position shown in Figure 9D is obtained. 30 The movements are performed simultaneously on both sides, the two longitudinal tabs then being bonded to the adjacent transverse flaps, thereby forming the folded-over edges. Figures 10 to 12 show the station for forming the - 14 package with folded-over edges which is shown identically to that described with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4; only the mandrel 61 is a little different, to the extent that it is retractable in order to allow 5 the edges and faces of the mandrel to avoid the folded over edges during its removal, said faces of the mandrel themselves being projections for allowing a good counter-pressure. The construction of the mandrel is for example of 10 the type described in the preamble, with a fixed edge 61, two integral edges 61" and 61"' that can be moved relative to the first by cylinder 62', and a fourth edge 61"" that can be moved relative to the two preceding ones, by cylinder 62". 15 One version of another embodiment of a system 63 for folding the tabs 7 and flaps 5, 6, 8, and 9 around the mandrel is shown more precisely with reference to Figures 13A to 13F. The system 63 has at each corner of the package 20 three bearing elements 64, 65, and 66 formed by rollers with horizontal axes, integral with each other in the vertical direction, while being fixed to a bracket 67 and arranged for successively pushing back flaps and tabs by first lifting the end tab 7 by the roller 64 25 (Figures 13A to 13C), and then the longitudinal flap 5, (6) by the roller 65 (Figure 13D) and then, before this latter has finished its movement, (Figures 13E and 13F) by lifting the transverse flap 8 and 9, by the corresponding roller 66, the rollers 64 and 66 having 30 parallel axes slightly offset transversely and the roller 65 having an axis perpendicular to the two others. Figures 14A to 14D show schematically examples of retractable mandrels 70, 71, 72 and 73 whose edges have - 15 different shapes, i.e. rectangular (Figure 14A), trapezoidal in one direction or the other (Figures 14B to 14D), which makes it possible to shape one or several walls of the same package so as to be flared, 5 toward the inside or outside of the package. The operation of the device 41 will now be described with reference to Figure 6. The blanks are unstacked one by one from a supply in a well-known manner. 10 They are placed on the support and movement rail 11 opposite the adhesive applicators 47 which overhang the adhesive lines at the intended locations. The blank is next stopped at the folding-back station 45, and then, after folding back the edges, 15 brought to the forming station where the retractable mandrel 61 forms the package. To do this, it descends, separated, into the forming position, the flaps and tabs are then folded to allow the bonding of the walls, and then the mandrel is 20 retracted, in order to be cleanly disengaged from the walls, and is then raised in order to release the package, which is removed. Since the application face of the mandrel, for example formed from parts of edges and/or a central 25 plate, has dimensions that are less than the bottom of the package, it is thereby possible when lifting the mandrel to avoid the folded-back edges forming excrescences on the inner face of the walls of the package inside the volume of the latter. 30 It is self-evident, and as also results from the preceding text, that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described more specifically. On the contrary, it encompasses all variants and in particular those where the bottom of the package is not - 16 horizontal, but vertical, in the case where the mandrel is applied by the bottom, those where the application face is the lower surface equal to half or three quarters of the area of the package's bottom panel, and 5 that where the additional retraction is adjustable automatically based on programming of the machine.

Claims

1. A machine for forming a package from a blank of sheet material including a bottom panel provided with lateral flaps 5 having, in some cases, end tabs and forming the side walls of the package, said machine comprising: - a bearing face for bearing on at least part of the surface of said bottom panel, - a mandrel having an application face for applying 10 the panel against said bearing face and retractable lateral faces delimited by edges, - means for applying said mandrel against said bearing face, - means for folding the lateral flaps and 15 corresponding tabs against the opposed faces of said mandrel, and - means for attaching together said flaps and tabs thus folded, wherein the mandrel and its lateral faces are designed 20 to be retractable between a first position for forming the package and a second position for withdrawing the mandrel from the package, allowing the complete release of the walls of the package and its application face, and in that the machine includes longitudinal and lateral stop means for the 25 blank when the bottom panel is applied against the bearing face by the mandrel.

2. The machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retractable mandrel for withdrawal is furthermore configurable so as to allow, by additional 30 extension/retraction, dissociable from the retraction for withdrawal, packages of different dimensions to be formed by adjustment of the nominal reference dimensions.

3. The machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the retractable mandrel is formed by a frame 35 having four edges that are perpendicular or oblique to the application face, namely a stationary first reference edge, a second and a third edge that can move integrally relative to the first edge in a first plane perpendicular to the bearing face and a fourth edge that can move integrally with the 5 third edge in a second wall plane perpendicular to the first.

4. The machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the edges have chamfered corners.

5. The machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for folding the lateral flaps 10 include, in each corner of the package, three bearing elements integral with each other in the vertical direction, said elements being arranged to successively push the flaps and opposing tabs between a flat position and a position where the flaps and tabs are fixed to each other in order to 15 form the corresponding corner of the package.

6. The machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the package includes two opposed longitudinal lateral flaps respectively provided with end tabs, and two opposed transverse lateral flaps each including a 20 longitudinal tab, which machine further includes adhesive applicators, making it possible to place lines of adhesive on said transverse flaps and/or longitudinal tabs during introduction of a blank, and presser units provided for applying the longitudinal tabs against the adjacent 25 transverse lateral flaps in order to form the folded-over edges.

7. The machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the presser units include at least one longitudinal vertical presser designed to apply the bottom panel on the bearing 30 face at a distance from the junction line with the corresponding transverse flap, and means (52) for folding and applying the longitudinal tab comprising an application cylinder, designed to fold said tab over onto the adjacent flap. 35

8. The machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mandrel includes at least one oblique edge.

9. The machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein if the two opposed transverse lateral flaps include a folded-over edge over part of their height and are respectively provided with 5 openings forming handgrips located below said folded-over edges, the mandrel has a frustoconical section specific for forming a frustoconical package allowing at least partial nesting of said package in a lower package when stacking one on top of another.

10 10. A process for forming a package from a blank of sheet material including a bottom panel provided with lateral flaps having, in some cases, end tabs and forming the side walls of the package, said process including the following steps: 15 - at least part of the surface of said bottom panel is placed on a bearing face of a machine for forming said blank, - a retractable mandrel having a panel application face is applied against said bearing face, said bearing face 20 including longitudinal and lateral stop means for said blank whereby the blank is placed in contact with said stops, - the lateral flaps and corresponding tabs are folded against the opposed faces of said mandrel, and - said flaps and tabs thus folded are attached 25 together by adhesive wherein since the mandrel is formed by a retractable frame having four edges perpendicular or oblique to the application face, after application of said mandrel on the bottom panel 30 and folding of the flaps and tabs, said mandrel whose application surface has dimensions smaller than those of the bottom panel is retracted in order to separate the edges from the walls of the package formed and to disengage the walls of the package and of its 35 application face, and said mandrel is separated from the package in order to remove it.

11. The process as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mandrel is configured by additional extension/retraction, dissociable from the retraction for withdrawal, to allow 5 packages of different dimensions to be formed by adjustment of the nominal reference dimensions.

12. The process as claimed in any one of claims 10 and 11, wherein each tab is attached to the outer face of the adjacent transverse side wall with folded-over edges. 10

13. The process as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein, when the blank includes two opposed longitudinal lateral flaps respectively provided with end tabs and has two opposed transverse lateral flaps each including a longitudinal tab, before the package is formed said 15 transverse flaps or the adjacent longitudinal tabs are coated with adhesive by depositing lines of adhesive thereon during introduction of the blank, and the longitudinal tabs are pressed onto the adjacent transverse lateral flaps in order to form the folded-over 20 edges on the flat blank.

14. The process as claimed in claim 13, wherein to press the longitudinal tabs, the bottom panel is applied vertically onto the bearing face with a presser unit at a distance from the junction lines with the corresponding 25 transverse flaps, toward the inside of the blank, and then said longitudinal tabs are folded and applied in order to bond them to the adjacent flaps.

15. A machine for forming a package substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to any one of the 30 accompanying drawings.

16. A process for forming a package substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.