TWI466804B - Blank, box, apparatus and process for packaging elongated articles - Google Patents

Description

Blank, box, device and method for packaging elongated articles

The present invention relates to a blank for packaging an elongated article from which the associated box can thus be obtained, and to a method and apparatus for packaging the article in the box.

In particular, the blank of the present invention is foldable and upright to form a monolith of a box that can cover an elongated article, such as a vial, vial, ampoule, syringe, or have a substantially cylindrical like article. In the following description and claims, a small glass bottle will be used as a reference item, but the scope of the invention will not be limited to a box covering a small glass bottle.

Boxes provided with internal supports for holding small glass bottles, ampoules or similar elongated items and made from a single piece of blank are well known in the art. In particular, the inner support for the vial is obtained from a foldable region, the foldable region being erectable such that the plurality of apertures disposed in the opposite regions of the inner support are concentric and parallel for At least two portions remain stationary of the body of the small glass bottle or the like.

U.S. Patent No. 5,402,889, to the name of Bosch GmbH, describes a box that can be obtained from an L-shaped blank. An internal support member of the box is obtained from a flap that is adhered to the front wall of the box. This particular embodiment has the disadvantage that the inner support can receive small glass bottles or other elongated items only after the box is fully upright and formed. In addition, the inner support is not fixed in position relative to the front wall, and if the box is accidentally dropped, the vial or ampoule in the box will break.

EP-B-1259432, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT PCT AU The blank is configured with a foldable flap or cover sheet that engages the inner support to maintain the upright support when the vial is inserted. Thanks to this improvement, the box can be embedded in a small glass bottle before it is molded and pasted, and has the advantage of a simpler packaging method.

This box has the disadvantage that the mechanism for holding the support is a foldable flap or flap that protrudes from the additional side wall of the box, the flap or flap being folded and folded and side after the side wall of the box is upright To be embedded in the internal vial support (or pasted), an extra step will be involved in the packaging process.

Additionally, in this operation, the flap or flap is attached to the inner support (lock) with an inherent difficulty: it requires the inner support to be fully aligned with the flap/cover sheet to be inserted therein.

WO 01/64519 discloses in more detail a possible device for packaging a box as taught in EP1259432. The apparatus includes two linear conveyor belts that initially convey blanks along a different workstation in a flat position, in which each blank is folded and then a small glass bottle or the like is embedded in the box.

The apparatus described above is provided with a forming mechanism to erect the inner support member and is provided with a push mechanism to hold the support member upright in a central position to facilitate the operation of embedding the elongated article in the box. This device is not only redundant, but also reflects the problem that the box must be erected and repacked first.

One of the objects of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a box for a small glass bottle, an ampoule, a small bottle or the like, which is obtained from a single piece of blank, the blank is easy to stand up, and at the same time, the small glass is The blank does not need to be moved from the desired position during insertion of the bottle into the inner support.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for folding the aforementioned blank and embedding the elongated article into the interior support of the box, which simplifies the packaging operation and uses the least possible processing elements for the upright of the box.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a compact packaging apparatus that is simple and economical to produce.

The above object is achieved by the blank of the present invention comprising an inner support member of the features of the first aspect of the patent application, which is confined and adhered to the lateral region of the front wall. Advantageously, each lateral region is provided with a port that receives an opposing engagement flap that projects laterally from the region of the support for centering the internal support during insertion of the elongated article and avoiding the support Rotate or move.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, each of the lateral regions is configured with a substantially "U" shape and a slit on the unconstrained edge of the lateral region. After the inner support is upright, the slit is aligned with the support attachment region to receive the side flaps.

According to another aspect of the invention, the height of each of the first lateral lateral regions is greater than the height of the upright support. The laterally oppositely placed engagement flaps have a transverse dimension that is slightly less than the longitudinal dimension of the two slits such that the slits can inscribe the flaps after the inner support and the lateral regions are upright such that the undercut edges are substantially aligned with the opposing engagement flaps. In this manner, relative rotation of the upright support members in both directions relative to the bottom wall can be prevented due to the presence of the sides of the slit.

The relative heights of the upright support portion and the side portions at the slit positions are K ¹ and K such that the flaps can be folded over the lateral regions.

In addition, a compartment is thus defined between the joining area of the support and the rear wall of the box. Preferably, the compartment may be covered with a separate insert or leaflet or brochure before the lid portion is folded over to close the box.

Another object of the invention is a box obtainable from the above blank.

According to the method of claim 8, the blank of the present invention is folded and pasted. This method is carried out in accordance with the apparatus as described in claim 11 of the patent application. In the present invention, the apparatus for packaging a small glass bottle or the like includes two rotary-type circular conveyor belts of reduced machine size. Additionally, the apparatus includes a forming mechanism to erect the support and bring the support to a rest position as described above and below.

First, referring to Figures 1 to 4, a blank 1 according to the present invention comprises: a cover portion 2 for arranging the flaps 3 and the cover sheets 4, a plurality of defining blanks A-A of the blank 1 and the cover portion 2 Adjacent to and including the adjacent region of the rear wall 7, the bottom wall 5 of the upright blank 1 and the front wall 6. The rear wall 7 is connected to the cover portions 3, 4. The blank 1 also comprises: a first lateral region 8 connected to the front wall 6; a second lateral region 9 connected to the rear wall 7; and extending along the axis A-A and forming for a vial or A plurality of regions of the inner support 10 of other elongated articles. The first 8, second lateral regions 9 form a double side wall from which the box can be obtained from the blank 1.

The elongated article (20, Fig. 8) can be a small glass bottle, a small bottle or the like, preferably having a cylindrical body, a neck and a head; other elongated article shapes, for example, having a substantially cylindrical body or The syringe can be covered in the box of the present invention by providing a suitably shaped retaining aperture in the support portion 10.

As shown in Figure 1, the inner support portion 10 is comprised of adjacent regions (11-15) extending from the front wall 6 along the longitudinal axis A-A. The support member 10 comprises two regions 12, 14 which are connected and arranged by a plurality of covering holes 16, 16' to cover and hold the small glass bottle by connecting the connecting regions 13 of one of the two respective ends 30, 31. 20. In accordance with the particular embodiment shown, the cover apertures 16, 16' are aligned with one another and are disposed in each of the two background regions 12, 14 in two columns, the number of rows or apertures being self-selectable. The locations of the cover apertures 16 may also be different, i.e., each aperture 16 may be staggered or misaligned depending on the needs of the box and depending on the shape and size of the elongated article. In any event, when the support region 10 is upright, the apertures 16, 16' will be aligned in pairs and vertically aligned so as to cover the vial (e.g., see Figure 8).

In accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the aperture 16' in the support region 12 is smaller than the aperture 16 in the region 14, and when the vial 20 is embedded in the cover aperture 16 and 16', the support mechanism 17 is configured for engagement and Keep the small glass bottle 20 neck or body. The retaining mechanism 17 includes a plurality of slits 18 that are polymerized toward the aperture 16' for temporarily and reversibly increasing the size of the aperture 16'. In this manner, when the vial 20 is inserted, the area around the aperture 16' will be pushed outwardly to allow the neck or body of the elongated article to slide in. The elasticity of the blank can allow the support mechanism 17 to apply force to hold the vial or ampoule neck or body to the support. The slit 18 preferably has a retention point 22 that can be used to secure the article but that allows the article to be easily removed from the cartridge S. In Fig. 1, the aperture 16' is surrounded by a dashed line 23 and is cut along the circumference of the polygon surrounding the aperture; in particular, Figure 1 shows the square surrounding the aperture 16'. A more detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the apertures 16, 16' and the support portion 10 will be disclosed in paragraphs [0018] to [0029] of EP-B-1259432.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the support member 10 is erected along the fold line 6a between the regions 11, 6 and the two regions 11, 15 are adhered at the adhesive points 42, 43 corresponding to the region 6. The front wall 6 of the box S is used to secure the inner support 10 to the top of the blank 1.

In accordance with the present invention, at least one of the preferred laterally directed regions 8 is each disposed on a periphery, i.e., a slit 25 in each of the first lateral regions 8 on the free edge 8a. The slit 25 may be "U" shaped and configured to align with the joining region 13 of the support member 10 after the support member 10 is erected. In the preferred embodiment of the invention (Fig. 3), the joining region 13 and the two slits 25 of the upright support share their axes of symmetry B-B and F-F perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A-A of the blank 1. It will be immediately apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the joining region 13 and the two slits 25 can also have respective axes of symmetry that are parallel to each other rather than coincident, and such embodiments are still within the scope of the present invention.

The support portion 10 attachment region 13 includes two oppositely disposed engagement flaps 26. Preferably, the two flaps 26 have substantially the same transverse dimension, i.e., have the same width L as the attachment region 13.

In any case, as shown in Fig. 3, the slit 25 has a longitudinal dimension P, that is, the slit 25 is parallel to the side of the blank A-A of the blank 1 and is capable of receiving and covering the flap 26 to fix the support portion 10 to the standing position. As will be more hereinafter disclosed, in a preferred embodiment, the width P of the slit 25 is slightly larger than the width L of the respective engaging flap 26 such that it is slid over the edge 8a of the flap 8 by folding the flap 26. While the support member 10 and the first lateral region 8 are upright, the slit 25 can receive the flap 26. In the preferred embodiment (Figs. 4 and 8), the height K' of the upright first lateral region 8 is greater than the height K of the upright support 10, so the bottom edge 28 of the slit 25 is substantially flush with the region 13 and the joint Folds 26. In this particular embodiment, the flaps 26 are retained in the respective slits 25 in a very reliable manner. In fact, by the presence of the sides 33, 34 of the slit 25 closed or joined to the sides 35, 36 of the flap 26, the relative rotation of the upright support 10 relative to the bottom wall 5 of the box S in both directions is prevented. In this way, the rotation of the support is avoided, and a support that ensures a central position and remains upright is obtained, with the result that embedding a vial or the like into the support hole is simple and efficient, thus saving packaging Time and cost in the program.

The slit 25 may have a shape different from the above-described "U" shape, that is, a dovetail shape may be used to increase the reliability of the fixing step.

As described above, the height K' of each of the first lateral lateral regions 8 is greater than the height K of the upright support members 10. This feature will have two advantages. First, if K' is substantially equal to K, the side edges 33, 34 of the slit 25 may have a larger extension. Second, as shown in FIG. 8, a compartment 40 is defined between the joining region 13 and the vertical blank back wall 7. Preferably, the compartment 40 can cover a separate insert or flyer or a print 41 such as a brochure. The width of the second lateral region 9 is equal to or slightly greater than the width of the region 8, such that the region 9 is easily folded over the region 8 when the box is formed.

The second lateral region 9 comprises a cover sheet 44 joined to the lid portion 2 of the box S during closure of the box S in a manner known per se, according to which the foldable flap 4 of the lid 2 is during the folding operation Inside the box S, the cover sheets 44 and the front wall of the box S are connected to each other at the second side wall 9.

Forming the box S from the blank 1 is carried out according to the following steps: First, along the fold line 31 (extending between the regions 13, 14) the fold regions 14, 15 overlap at least over the regions 13, 12. Then, the folded blank is again folded along the fold line 6a between the regions 6, 11 and corresponds to the adhesive region 42, which is adhered to the front wall 6 of the pole. Below the same step, the regions 14, 15 are interposed between the region 6 and the regions 11, 12, 13. The region 15 is then adhered to the region 6 corresponding to the second adhesive region 43, such that the inner support 10 is secured to the front wall 6 (Fig. 2) and then erected in a vertical front wall 6 as shown in Figs. The blank in a partially adhered state as shown in Fig. 2 is preferably fed into the packaging machine of the present invention, preferably after a further folding step (refer to Fig. 6).

Starting from the state of Fig. 2, the first lateral region 8 is folded at a substantially right angle to the final position along the fold line between the region 6 and the lateral region 8 with respect to the front wall 6. In this operation, the flap 26 is temporarily folded with the first lateral region 8; the flap 26 is folded temporarily and oppositely and with respect to the natural "folding" direction of the flap 26 as imparted to the associated fold line 26a. In the subsequent folding step (Figs. 3, 7), the support member 10 is erected, i.e., the regions 12, 14 are each folded along a fold line between the regions 12, 11 and the regions 15, 14.

In this step, the flap 26, which is folded from a first position A which is folded together with the first lateral region 8, to a second position B where they are engaged in the respective slits 25, is substantially joined to the support member 10. 13 is in the same plane or at a slight angle. In this manner, the support member 10 is centered relative to the front wall 6 of the blank 1 in a vertical manner and avoids rotation or sliding from the rest position. It should be noted that the rest position of the support member can be achieved without any additional folding operations, but only by borrowing the blank (i.e., the flap 26). As previously described, the flap 26 is defined by a fold line 26a opposite the first folded position (i.e., the folded position with the lateral region 8 in Fig. 3) and assists in the engaged position of Fig. 4. As disclosed below, the flaps 26 are preferably held in close proximity or substantially corresponding to their fold lines 26 to aid in the folding and pasting of the flaps when the box described below is formed.

The open support for covering the elongated article can thus be filled while the remainder of the blank remains in the flat position. At this step, vials, ampoules or the like are embedded in the respective holes and, as previously described, held by the retaining mechanism 17 of the region 12 of the support portion 10.

In the subsequent folding step, the remaining blank is folded around the structure formed by the inner support 10. In particular, the cover sheet 24 is folded and, if desired, adhered to the area 5 which will form the bottom wall of the box S according to the invention. At this point, the region 7 is folded to contact the open side 26 of each of the first side walls 8. It should be noted that in this position, the area 7 and the joint area 13 do not overlap, but define a compartment that can be embedded in a booklet 60 or a brochure or similar print (Fig. 8).

Thereafter, the second lateral region 9 is folded along the fold line between the region 9 and the region 7, causing the engagement flap 26 to move toward the first lateral region 8. At the end of this step, the second lateral region 9 and the engagement flap 26 overlap the first lateral region 8 of the previously disposed adhesive region.

After this step, a booklet 60 or a manual or similar print can be embedded in the compartment 40. As shown in Fig. 8, the case S formed and filled in this manner is now closed by the folding of the cover sheet 44 and the flap 3, and finally, the cover sheet 4 is inserted into the case S to close the case.

When the box S is closed, the box S may include a tape to hold the lid portion 2 at the front end portion 6 provided with one of the small glass bottles or/and small bottles or the like provided in the box S.

Figure 5 shows an apparatus 100 of the present invention for packaging a vial 20 or other elongated article from a blank 1 as described above. It includes a first conveyor 101 and a second conveyor 102 for processing the blank 1 during the operation of folding the blank and embedding the vial 20 in the same blank.

According to the present invention, the first conveyor 101 and the second conveyor 102 are capable of processing each of the blanks 1 of the blank 91 on the curved paths S1 and S2 by means of a carousel that rotates about respective vertical axes, thus reducing it A space compared to a device for packaging an elongated article that includes a linear conveyor belt. In the path along the conveyor belts 101 and 102, the blank is held in a vertical manner.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the blank is fed to the first conveyor 101 by a feed carrier 103 for a set of blanks 1 previously stored in a warehouse (not shown). Figure 6 shows the carrier 103 as a belt conveyor having two oppositely positioned transverse teeth 160, the conveyor belt corresponding to the first and/or second lateral regions 8, 9 of the blank 1 and at least with the blank set Part 1 of the blank 1 is in contact. Each blank 1 of the blank set, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a pre-coated adhesive internal support 10 in a flat position, and then the rear wall 7 and the cover portions 3, 4 are overlapped in a flat shape. One of the support portion 10 regions 11-13 is folded along the fold line 5a between the regions 5, 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, the apparatus 100 includes: a first holding mechanism 104 for grasping and transporting each blank 1 from the feeding carrier 103 to the first conveyor 101; and a first fixed to the first A first "U" shaped blank covering mechanism 110 of the conveyor 101 is used to cover each blank 1 from the feeding carrier 103 in a vertical manner. The device 100 is further configured with a forming mechanism 105 (Fig. 7) to erect the inner support 10 and to maintain the support 10 in a rest position as described above and below.

The forming mechanism 105 includes a movable carriage 106 that moves between a lower position A that contacts a support member 10 in a flat position and a raised position B that corresponds to an upright position of the support portion 10.

It will be seen that the upright and fixed position of the support member 10 can be automatically achieved only by the vertically movable bracket 106 and the flaps 26, that is, without the need for a push mechanism or the like as required by the prior art. Extra device. The support portion 10 remains upright even when the forming mechanism 105 returns to its starting position. In fact, when the mobile carriage 106 reaches position B, the engagement flaps 26 of the support member 10 will be inserted inside the respective slits 25. In this manner, the inner support member 10 is centered at a substantially vertical position with the front wall 6 and avoids rotation or sliding from the rest position.

At least downstream of the position of the mechanism 105 (relative to its direction of rotation), along the first conveyor 101, at least one embedding mechanism 120 is mounted to embed an elongated item such as a vial in a vertical manner into the aperture 16 of the inner support member 10, 16' inside. More specifically, preferred embodiments of the embedding mechanism 120 are disclosed in WO 01/64519, page 6 [lines 26-29] and seventh page [lines 01-17].

Preferably, the apparatus 100 includes a sensor (not shown) for inspecting each of the vials 20 on the inside of the respective apertures 16, 16' of the support member 10, which will be defective in the event of an error. Or the box S is not filled up. Sensors for small glass bottles 20 or similar elongated items that cooperate with the embedded mechanism 120 are well known in the art. A folding mechanism for folding the cover sheet 24 attached to the first lateral region 8 is mounted downstream of the insertion mechanism in accordance with the present invention.

Such folding mechanisms are inherently well known in the art. A more detailed description of the conventional folding mechanism is disclosed in WO 01/64519, page 7 [26-29] and eighth page [01-04].

Following the packaging step of the general blank 1 along the path S1, downstream of the first folding mechanism, the conveyor belt 101 is fitted with a lifting mechanism 130 to erect the bottom wall 5 and the rear wall 7 of the box S.

The lifting mechanism may be conventional or may include two separate curved guiding members, which are substantially spiral and are guided along the area 5 when the blank 1 moves along the path S1. The bottom wall 5 is folded by the six fold lines, and the rear wall 7 is lifted up along the fold line 5a with the second guide member until it contacts the first lateral region 8 of the blank 1.

Along the path S1 (Fig. 5), after the lifting mechanism 130, the conveyor belt 101 includes a dispensing mechanism to provide at least a glue to the blank 1 at a side corresponding to the first lateral region 8 The second lateral region 9 is above and it is possible to provide glue on the flaps 26.

The apparatus 100 further includes a transport mechanism 140 for transporting the blank 1 from the first blank cover mechanism 110 to a second blank cover mechanism 200 mounted on the second conveyor 102. During this step, the second lateral region 9 of the blank 1 is folded along the fold line between the regions 6, 8 so that they adhere to the region 8 and are fixed. At the end of this step, the flap 26 of the support member 10 is folded and inserted between the first lateral region 8 and the second lateral region 9.

The second conveyor 102 includes a second folding mechanism for folding the flap 44 attached to the second lateral region 8 (not shown and well known in the art); and at each blank 1 from the first After the blank cover mechanism 110 is transferred to the second blank cover mechanism 200, an instruction manual or booklet 60 is embedded in the operating mechanism 210 in the compartment 40 of the box S.

Finally, the device is equipped with: a tilting mechanism 160 for folding the flap 3 along the fold line between the regions 3, 5; and an inverting mechanism after the tilting mechanism 160 to flip the cover sheet 4 fixed to the closing flap 3; And the box S evacuation mechanism to drive each of the upright and package boxes S from the opposite second blank cover mechanism 140 placed behind the tilt mechanism to a final conveyor belt 250 for storage.

A. . . First position, lower position

B. . . Second position, lift position

A-A. . . Billet longitudinal axis

B-B, F-F. . . Symmetry axis

K. . . height

K’. . . height

L. . . Fold width

P. . . Cut longitudinal dimension

S. . . box

S1, S2. . . Curve path

1. . . Blank

2. . . Cover (partial)

3. . . Fold

4. . . Cover piece

5. . . Bottom wall (area)

5a. . . Polyline

6. . . Front wall (area), front end

6a. . . Polyline

7. . . Back wall (area)

8. . . First lateral area (flap)

8a. . . Free edge

9. . . Second lateral area (area)

10. . . Internal support (area, part)

11-15. . . region

12, 14. . . Background area

13. . . Linked area

16, 16’. . . Covering hole

17. . . Support (hold) mechanism

18. . . crack

20. . . Slender items, small glass bottles

twenty two. . . Keep point

twenty three. . . dotted line

twenty four. . . Cover piece

25. . . incision

26. . . Fold

26a. . . Polyline

31. . . Polyline

33, 34, 35, 36. . . Side

40. . . Compartment

42, 43. . . Sticking point (area)

44. . . Cover piece

60. . . Printed materials such as brochures and brochures

100. . . Device

101. . . First conveyor

102. . . Second conveyor

103. . . Feeding vehicle

104. . . First holding mechanism

105. . . Molding mechanism

110. . . First blank covering mechanism

120. . . Embedded mechanism

130. . . Lifting mechanism

140. . . Transmission mechanism

200. . . Second blank covering mechanism

210. . . Operating mechanism

250. . . conveyor

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example, and not by way of limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; FIG. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the second step of the blank of Figure 1 in the packaging method, wherein the lateral regions are upright; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the third step of the blank of Figure 1 in the packaging method Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of the packaging device according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the feeding station of the machine of Figure 2; Figure 7 is a support for the vertical blank according to the present invention. A perspective view of the molding mechanism; and Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the cartridge in accordance with the present invention.

A-A. . . Billet longitudinal axis

B-B, F-F. . . Symmetry axis

L. . . Fold width

P. . . Cut longitudinal dimension

1. . . Blank

2. . . Cover (partial)

3. . . Fold

4. . . Cover piece

5. . . Bottom wall (area)

5a. . . Polyline

6. . . Front wall (area), front end

6a. . . Polyline

7. . . Back wall (area)

8. . . First lateral area (flap)

8a. . . Free edge

9. . . Second lateral area (area)

10. . . Internal support (area, part)

11-15. . . region

12, 14. . . Background area

13. . . Linked area

16, 16’. . . Covering hole

17. . . Support (hold) mechanism

18. . . crack

twenty two. . . Keep point

twenty three. . . dotted line

twenty four. . . Cover piece

25. . . incision

26. . . Fold

26a. . . Polyline

31. . . Polyline

42, 43. . . Paste area (dot)

44. . . Cover piece

Claims (13)

A blank (1) for packaging an elongated article (20) comprising: a plurality of adjacent blank regions defining one of the longitudinal axes (AA) of the blank (1) and forming an upright box ( S) one of a bottom wall (5), a front wall (6) and a rear wall (7); a first lateral region (8) connected to the front wall (6), and a connection to the rear wall (7) a second lateral region (9) forming the side walls of the upright box; a foldable support portion (10) attachable to the front wall (6) And can be erected to form an inner support member (10) for covering and retaining the elongated articles by at least one pair of cover holes (16, 16') and the foldable portion (26) of the blank; When the elongated items are embedded in the cover aperture, the foldable portions (26) of the blank will engage the foldable support portion to maintain the foldable support portion upright, characterized by: the first side The region (8) is provided with at least one slit (25) at the periphery (8a) of the lateral regions, each slit (25) receiving a relative engaging flap projecting laterally from the joint region (13). (26) for use in the blank and the support Domain engagement. The blank of claim 1, wherein the height (K') of each of the first lateral regions (8) is greater than the height (K) of the upright support (10) so as to be in the connection. A compartment (40) for covering a print is defined between the region and the rear wall (7) of the upright blank. The blank of claim 1 or 2, wherein each slit (25) is substantially "U" shaped and has a lateral dimension slightly larger than the relative joint flap (26) (L). The longitudinal dimension (P). For the blanks described in claim 1 or 2, wherein The bottom edge of the slit is substantially flush with the opposing joint flap. The blank of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first lateral regions (8) are adhered to the second lateral regions of the upright blank; once the box is formed, each A joint flap (26) is interposed between the first lateral region (8) and the second lateral region (9). A blank as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising the support portion (10) in pairs on two regions (12, 14) for covering and holding the elongated articles (20) a plurality of cover holes (16, 16') of the body, the blank being provided with a retaining mechanism (17) for temporarily and reversibly increasing the size of the holes, wherein the retaining mechanism comprises a plurality of Cracks and dashes defined by the polygons of the lines drawn around the holes. A box obtained from a blank according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A method for packaging an elongated article starting from a blank according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in an open position, comprising the steps of: a) pasting the inner support member ( 10) erecting the first lateral regions (8); b) erecting the inner support (10) and engaging the flaps (26) of the joint portion (13) with the first lateral regions (8) the slits (25); c) embedding the elongated articles (20) in the holes (16, 16') of the inner support (10); d) folding and pasting the remainder of the blank a region to form the box; e) embedding the respective inserts (60) in the compartment (40) defined between the joining region (13) of the box (S) and the back wall (7). The method for packaging an elongated article according to claim 8, wherein a) folding and pasting two regions (11, 15) of the inner support member to the front wall (6); b) borrowing the link The flaps (26) of the portion (13) engage the slits (25) of the first lateral region (8) to maintain the inner support member (10) upright; c) within the interior Inserting the elongated articles (20) into the holes (16, 16') of the support member (10); d) folding and pasting the second lateral regions (9) to the first lateral regions (8) The second lateral regions (9) push the flaps (26) of the joining portion (13) on the first lateral regions (8); e) are defined in the box ( The respective inserts (60) are embedded in the compartment (40) between the joint region (13) and the rear wall (7) of S). A method for packaging an elongated article according to claim 9 wherein, prior to step d), the flaps of the first lateral regions are folded to the bottom of the box. An apparatus for packaging an elongated article (20) starting from a blank according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: a feed for a set of blanks (1) a carrier (103); a first holding mechanism (104) for grasping and transporting the blank (1) from the feeding carrier (103) to a first conveyor (101); a first blank cover (110) placed on the first conveyor (101) for covering each blank (1) from the feeding carrier (105) mechanism to erect the internal support of the blank (1) Embedded mechanism (120), embedding the elongated articles (20) inside the holes (16, 16') of the inner support (10); lifting mechanism (130) for folding the bottom of each vertical blank And a rear wall; a dispensing mechanism for coating the glue on the second lateral regions; a transport mechanism (140) for moving each blank from the first conveyor (101) to a second transport a second blank covering mechanism (200) placed on the second conveyor (102) for covering the blank (1) from the first conveyor (101); The second blank cover extracts a mechanism for the closed box (S) that is erected from the support member (10) released from the push mechanism to embed the flap in the support portion (10). The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first conveyor (101) and the second conveyor (102) carry each blank along a circular path (S ₁ ; S ₂ ) . The device of claim 11, wherein the first conveyor (101) and the second conveyor (102) are carousel conveyors.