US20220048698A1

US20220048698A1 - Pack of smoking articles

Info

Publication number: US20220048698A1
Application number: US17/298,724
Authority: US
Inventors: Giuseppe Marchitto; Roberto Polloni; Luca Federici
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2018-12-04
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2022-02-17
Also published as: EP3891082A1; IT201800010785A1; WO2020115652A1

Abstract

A pack of smoking articles includes: a group of smoking articles; an inner wrapper folded around said group forming a tubular wall wrapping said group, and an upper wall covering a head end of said group; an outer wrapper folded around said group wrapped in said inner wrapper, to form a tubular wall that wraps said group wrapped in said inner wrapper, and a lower wall covering a bottom end of said group; wherein said upper wall is formed by at least two upper flaps which are connected to said tubular wall of said inner wrapper and are folded against said head end to completely cover said head end. The pack includes a tab, arranged protruding from an edge of one of said upper flaps and fixed on a corresponding portion of said inner or outer wrapper to keep said upper flaps against the head end.

Description

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a pack of smoking articles and a corresponding production method.
The present invention can be advantageously applied to a pack of cigarettes to which the following description will explicitly refer without thereby losing generality.
It should be noted that, in the present text, reference will be made indiscriminately to the specific example of “cigarettes” rather than to the more generic expression “smoking articles”, without however losing generality in relation to other types of articles (such as cigars, cigarillos, electronic cigarettes or ecigs, auxiliary products such as filters, refills for ecigs and other tobacco-based products or with alternative or tobacco-replacement components).
The present invention relates, in particular, to a pack of cigarettes of the type comprising:

- a group of cigarettes;
- an inner wrapper that is folded around said group of cigarettes so as to form at least one tubular wall that wraps said group of cigarettes, and an upper wall that covers a head end of said group of cigarettes;
- an outer wrapper that is folded around said group of cigarettes wrapped in said inner wrapper, so as to form at least one tubular wall that wraps said group of cigarettes wrapped in said inner wrapper, and a lower wall that covers a bottom end of said group of cigarettes;
- wherein said upper wall of said inner wrapper is formed by at least two upper flaps, which are connected to said tubular wall of said inner wrapper, and are folded against said head end of said group of cigarettes.

A pack of cigarettes of the type indicated is also referred to as a soft or semi-rigid pack depending on the grammage of the outer wrapper sheet, so as to differentiate it from the packs of cigarettes wherein the outer casing consists of a rigid container, commonly made of cardboard.
According to the most common solution for this type of pack, the inner wrapper is completely devoid of gluing points and is kept in its closed condition by the outer wrapper that is formed around it. However, the latter is usually without a top wall, so the upper wall of the pack is actually formed by the upper wall of the inner wrapper.
To fix this wall in the closed position and to retain the inner wrapper within the outer wrapper, it is a common technique to exploit a sticker or label (often with a State tax stamp) glued so that it performs these functions.
This sticker is applied to the upper flaps of the inner wrapper, according to a configuration whereby it is folded in a U-shape and oriented transversely with respect to the longer faces of the outer wrapper, so as to arrange itself over these faces and adhere simultaneously to the upper flaps of the inner wrapper and to the opposite upper edges of the two longer faces of the outer wrapper.
According to the solution described in the patent application IT123456 owned by the same Applicant, this label is—instead—only applied onto the upper flaps of the inner wrapper, remaining within the perimeter of the upper wall formed by these. According to this solution, the function of retaining the inner wrapper within the outer wrapper is performed by gluing points provided between an inner side of the outer wrapper and a corresponding outer side of the inner wrapper.
The present invention aims to produce an improved pack of cigarettes with respect to known solutions, in particular regarding the method of closing the upper flaps of the inner wrapper.
This objective is achieved through a solution having the characteristics referred to in claim 1.
The present invention also relates to a packaging method according to claim 5.
For the reasons that will become apparent below, the cigarette pack solution described herein is able to dispense with the State adhesive stamp for closing the upper flaps of the inner wrapper, with consequent advantages for the packaging and the related packaging method, which will be detailed below.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description that follows with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a first embodiment of the pack described here, according to an axonometric view, forming part of the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a group of cigarettes contained in the pack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 represents the inner wrapper of the pack of FIG. 1, folded around the group of cigarettes of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 represents a sheet of wrapping material for forming the inner wrapper of the pack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 represents an embodiment of the pack described herein but not forming part of the invention, according to an axonometric view;

FIG. 6 represents the outer wrapper of the pack of FIG. 5, in a partially open condition;

FIG. 7 represents a sheet of wrapping material for forming the outer wrapper of the pack of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of an example of a cigarette packaging method configured to produce a pack as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of an example of a cigarette packaging method configured to produce a pack as illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 represents another sheet of wrapping material for forming the inner wrapper of the pack of FIG. 1.

In the following description various specific details are illustrated aimed at a thorough understanding of the embodiments. The embodiments may be implemented without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the embodiments.
The references used here are only for convenience and do not therefore define the field of protection or the scope of the embodiments.
As indicated above, the present invention relates to a pack of cigarettes, in particular a pack of the so-called “soft” or “semi-rigid” type.
In general, the pack described here includes:

- a group of cigarettes;
- an inner wrapper that is folded around said group of cigarettes so as to form at least one tubular wall that wraps said group of cigarettes, and an upper wall that covers a head end of said group of cigarettes;
- an outer wrapper that is folded around said group of cigarettes wrapped in said inner wrapper, so as to form at least one tubular wall that wraps said group of cigarettes wrapped in said inner wrapper, and a lower wall that covers a bottom end of said group of cigarettes;
  wherein said upper wall is formed by at least two upper flaps that are connected to said tubular wall of said inner wrapper, and are folded against said head end of said group of cigarettes to cover said head end of said group of cigarettes from the outside.

The pack subject of the present invention comprises at least one tab, which is arranged protruding from one edge of one of the aforesaid upper flaps of the inner wrapper, and is fixed onto a corresponding portion of the inner wrapper or the outer wrapper to maintain these upper flaps of the inner wrapper in the aforesaid arrangement against the head end of the group of cigarettes.
This tab has the function of fixing the upper flaps of the inner wrapper in their closed condition in which they form the aforesaid upper wall.
The presence of the tab in question provides a series of advantages.
Firstly, unlike the known solutions described at the beginning, it is no longer necessary to use the sticker or label to close the upper flaps of the inner wrapper, so that this label may also be absent—should the laws of the State allow its absence—or it can be applied in other positions of the pack.
Moreover, thanks to the tab in question, the pack is already closed from the moment in which the formation of the outer wrapper on the inner wrapper containing the group of cigarettes is completed.
This means that when the pack is picked up by the forming device, it has no protruding flaps or parts, as instead occurs in the methods of the prior art.
In particular, in these known methods, at the outlet of the forming device, the upper flaps of the inner wrapper of the pack are still open and remain in this condition until the sticker or label is applied at a subsequent station.
Clearly the presence of flaps or portions protruding from the packs increases the risk of malfunctions or jamming of the machine, a problem which is obviously solved by the pack solution described herein.
In this regard, note that the same problem has already been faced and solved in the past by applying gluing points between these upper flaps of the inner wrapper, fixing them directly to each other.
However, this solution has the drawback of subjecting the cigarettes to a risk of contamination by the glue used to join the flaps together.
On the contrary, in the solution described herein, the indicated tab can still be fixed by glue, as will be seen in detail below but, however, avoiding that it is applied to parts of the two wrappers intended to be arranged directly facing the group of cigarettes.
As indicated, the tab may be on the inner wrapper or on the outer wrapper. In this regard, FIGS. 1 to 4 relate to an embodiment, subject of the present invention, in which this tab is formed on the inner wrapper, while FIGS. 5 to 7 relate to an embodiment, not forming part of the present invention, in which this tab is formed on the outer wrapper.
With reference now to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, the pack described herein, indicated as a whole with the reference number 10, comprises an inner wrapper 2 which wraps a group of cigarettes P (visible in FIG. 2) and which is—in turn—contained within a second wrapper 4.
Conventionally, the wrapper 4 may be made of paper and the wrapper 2 of metallized paper.
In the illustrated example, the group of cigarettes P is formed by the placement of three distinct rows of cigarettes, each constituted by a plurality of cigarettes mutually set side-by-side.
The wrapper 2 is folded around the group of cigarettes P so as to form a tubular wall 21, which wraps the group of cigarettes P, arranging itself with its own axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cigarettes, and a lower wall 22 and an upper wall 23, which, respectively, cover the head end and the bottom end of the group of cigarettes P.
The two walls 22 and 23 consist, respectively, of the lower and upper flaps of the wrapping sheet which protrude, below and above, beyond the group of cigarettes P, and which are folded against the lower and upper end of this group.
Preferably, these flaps are folded according to the method, widely used in the art, known as “soap-like”, whereby two first opposite flaps, for example, the flaps 23I and 23II with reference to the upper wall, are first folded against the corresponding end of the group of cigarettes, and subsequently the other two opposite flaps, the flaps 23III and 23IV with reference to the upper wall 23, are folded one after the other against the same end, first the flap 23III and then the flap 23IV with reference to the upper wall 23.
In FIGS. 1 to 4, the pack 10 has a parallelepiped shape and the upper wall 23 takes on a rectangular shape. In particular, the two opposite flaps 23I and 23II are adjacent to the shorter faces, and the two opposite flaps 23III and 23IV (of known trapezoidal shape) are adjacent to the longer faces of the tubular wall 21 with a rectangular cross-section.
This folding mode is easily recognizable by the trapezoidal profile assumed by the two outer flaps (i.e. the flaps 23III and 23IV with reference to the wall 23 of the illustrated example).
The outer wrapper 4 is folded around the group of cigarettes P wrapped in the inner wrapper 2, in a completely similar manner It is—in fact—folded so as to present a tubular wall 41 which is arranged around the tubular wall 21 of the inner wrapper, and a lower wall 42 that overlaps the lower wall 22 of the inner wrapper. Various gluing points—not shown—are applied to the wrapping sheet still to be formed, to fix the wrapper 4 in its folded condition.
The outer wrapper 4 is—instead—devoid of an upper wall, so that the upper wall 23 of the inner wrapper 2 directly faces the outside, through the upper edge of the tubular wall 41 of the outer wrapper 4, and, in fact, constitutes the outer upper wall of the pack 10.
The inner wrapper 2 is provided with a protruding tab 26 arranged on its outer upper flap (flap 23IV in the illustrated example), which is intended to be fixed to an inner side of the tubular wall 41 of the outer wrapper 4, or to an outer side of the tubular wall 21 of the same inner wrapper.
The tab 26 constitutes the tab indicated at the beginning configured to perform the function of fixing the upper flaps of the inner wrapper in their closed condition.
It has a length such as to exceed the outer contour (perimeter) of the upper wall 23 and fold against the tubular wall 21.
In various preferred embodiments, as in the one illustrated, the pack 10 described herein has gluing points 32 which fix together the inner wrapper 2 and the outer wrapper 4. Preferably, the gluing points 32 are provided between the tubular walls 21 and 41 of the two wrappers 2 and 4.
In a per se known manner, these gluing points can be applied to the wrapping sheet that will constitute the outer wrapper 4, simultaneously applying the other gluing points configured for fixing the wrapper 4 in its closed condition. In a conventional manner, this operation can take place during the packaging process, before this sheet is folded around the inner wrapper 2 containing the group of cigarettes.
In various preferred embodiments, at the same time as the gluing points 32 are applied, one or more gluing points 34 can also be applied to this wrapping sheet to join the tab 26 to an inner side of the tubular wall 41 of the outer wrapper 4. The gluing points 34 between the tab 26 and the tubular wall 41 are applied to a portion of the tubular wall 41 intended to identify the aforementioned corresponding portion of the outer wrapper 4.
In another embodiment, not illustrated, the gluing points 34 are applied to the inner wrapper sheet 2 to join the tab 26 to an outer side of the tubular wall 21 of the inner wrapper.
With reference now to FIG. 4, this represents an example of a wrapping sheet—indicated as a whole with the reference 102—for producing the inner wrapper 2 provided with the protruding tab 26.
In a manner known per se, as illustrated, this sheet may have predefined folding lines 111 (or creases) configured for ensuring that the sheet is folded in the predetermined manner during the forming process.
In this regard, the inclined folding lines 113 obtained on the portions of the sheet that will form the upper and lower flaps of the wrapping, are used to achieve the “soap” folding discussed above.
FIG. 4 shows, with respective shaded areas, the waste portions generated by the cutting operation of the wrapping sheet to create the protruding tab 26. Preferably, cutting of these portions can be carried out inside the packaging machine, in a station upstream of the forming device.
With reference to FIG. 8, an example of a process for manufacturing the pack 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 will now be described.
Starting from the web W1 intended to make the inner wrapper 2, this is unwound from a reel—step A—and fed along the machine to be subjected to a first creasing operation (not illustrated) with which the pre-defined described above folding lines are obtained, and subsequently subjected to a cutting operation to form the tab 26 (step B).
A further cutting operation separates the unwound web from the reel into individual wrapping sheets 102 (step C).
Other embodiments of the wrapping process envisage that steps B and C are exchanged in order of time, or that they are carried out simultaneously by the same cutting station.
The single sheet 102 is then fed to a first forming device, at the inlet of which the sheet 102 is associated with the group of cigarettes P which it will wrap (step D).
Inside the forming device, the sheet 102 is folded around the group of cigarettes P so as to form the inner wrapper 2 (step E).
At the same time, a second web W2 unwound from a reel, intended for producing the outer wrapper 4, is also subjected to creasing and cutting operations to obtain the individual sheets 104 (not illustrated).
The gluing points 32 and 34 described above are then applied onto these sheets 104 (step F), possibly together with the other gluing points—not illustrated—configured for fixing the individual sheets 104 in the respective folded conditions.
At the outlet of the first forming device, the inner wrapper 2 that wraps the group of cigarettes P encounters a sheet 104 (step G), and enters together with said sheet into a second forming device, in which the sheet 104 is folded around the inner wrapper 2 (step H).
Normally the gluing points configured for fixing the individual folded sheets 104 are applied onto the outer side of the sheets 104 themselves, while the gluing points 32 and 34 which hold together the inner wrapper 2 and the outer wrapper 4 can be applied onto the inner side of the sheets 104 or can be applied onto the outer side of the sheets 102, before the final folding step H.
As stated above, once the forming of the outer wrapper 4 has been completed, the inner wrapper 2 is locked inside the outer wrapper 4 through the gluing points 32, and the tab 26 is fixed to an inner side of the tubular wall 41 of the outer wrapper 4.
The upper flaps of the inner wrapper 2 are therefore fixed in the respective closed condition, and the pack 10 is completed and perfectly closed.
FIG. 10 represents a further example of a wrapping sheet for making the inner wrapper 2 provided with the protruding flap 26.
The sheet of this example is characterized in that the two portions which will form the two longer faces of the inner wrapper are folded with respect to each other around an axis that is orthogonal to the cigarettes, and not parallel as in the case of the sheet of FIG. 4.
Moreover, the person skilled in the art will understand that this sheet, equipped with a flap 26, is obtained according to a process which avoids waste.
The flap 26 is, in particular, made in the context of the same cutting operation which separates the individual wrapping sheets from the web unwound from the reel.
For ease of understanding, FIG. 10 also shows the web W1—as a dotted line—and its advancing direction.
In this cutting operation, on what will become a single sheet 102, a head edge 115 is generated, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, along which the tab 26 is formed, and, simultaneously, a tail edge 116 is generated, which has a notch 118, complementary to the flap 26, made on the portion of web W1, which is separated from the cutting operation and which corresponds to the previous single sheet 102.
In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the cutting operation generates a leading edge 115 along which the notch 118 is made, on what will become a single sheet 102, and a tail edge 116 which has the flap 26 on the web portion W1, which is separated from the cutting operation and which corresponds to the previous single sheet 102.
In the condition in which the sheet 102 is wrapped around the group of cigarettes P, the notch 118 is covered by the same flap on which the flap 26 is formed, so that also according to this embodiment, the upper wall 23 completely covers the head end of the group of cigarettes P.
With reference now to the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 (embodiment not forming part of the present invention), it should be firstly noted that its elements in common with the previous embodiment are indicated, in these figures, with the same reference numbers.
This second embodiment differs in that the flap indicated for closing the upper flaps of the inner wrapper 2 is arranged on the outer wrapper 4 rather than on the inner wrapper 2.
In particular, the outer wrapper 4 is provided with two protruding tabs 46 arranged on the upper edge of the tubular wall 41 in respective opposite positions, which protrude from this edge so as to be arranged against the upper edges of the inner wrapper 2 and partially overlap each other.
The two tabs 46 are mutually fixed in this condition, so as to simultaneously block the upper edges of the inner wrapper 2 in the respective closed condition.
The overlapping area of the two tabs 46 may vary from a minimum to a maximum depending on the requirements of the specific applications.
Preferably, the two tabs 46 are mutually fixed by means of one or more gluing points 36, so it is clear that their overlapping area must—in any case—be such as to ensure an effective gluing of the two tabs 46.
The gluing points 36 applied between the tabs 46 are applied onto a portion of the tabs 46 designed to identify the aforementioned corresponding portion of the outer wrapper 4.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the corresponding portion of the outer wrapper 4 or inner wrapper 2 to which the tab 46 is attached, mentioned with reference to the general solution presented at the beginning, is represented by the second tab 46.
According to a variant of this embodiment, the wrapper 4 can have a single tab 46 which, to perform the same function as the two indicated tabs 46, extends until it reaches the area opposite to it of the tubular wall 41 (beyond the outer contour of the upper wall 23 of the inner wrapper 2), and is fixed internally or externally to the tubular wall 41 of the outer wrapper 4, or the single tab 46, folded inside the tubular wall 41 (beyond the outer contour of the upper wall 23 of the inner wrapper 2) may be fixed to the tubular wall 21 of the inner wrapper 2.
In this second embodiment of the pack of cigarettes described herein, the inner wrapper 2 may have a completely conventional configuration.
FIG. 7 illustrates the wrapping sheet 104 with which the outer wrapper 4 described above is formed.
Similarly to what is indicated above, this sheet may have predefined folding lines 121 configured for ensuring the correct folding of the sheet during the forming step.
The same figure represents the waste portions that are generated to make the two protruding tabs 46.
Also in this case, the cutting operation to obtain these tabs can be carried out inside the packaging machine, in a cutting station positioned upstream of the outer wrapper forming device.
FIG. 9 schematically represents an example of a process for making a pack 10 of cigarettes according to the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6.
By concentrating attention—in this case—on the web W2 of wrapping material intended for producing the outer wrapper 4, it is subjected to a first creasing operation—not illustrated—in which the predefined folding lines 121 are formed, and subsequently to a cutting operation which creates the two tabs 46 (step A). A further cutting operation separates the individual sheets 104 from each other (step B).
Other embodiments of the wrapping process envisage that the steps A and B are exchanged in order of time, or that they are carried out simultaneously by the same cutting station.
The gluing points 36 are then applied onto the sheets 104 (step C), possibly together with other gluing points—not illustrated—configured for fixing the individual sheets 104 in the respective folded conditions.
Subsequently, the single sheet 104 reaches the inlet of the forming device where it encounters the inner wrapper 2 that wraps the group of cigarettes P (step D).
Inside the forming device, the sheet 104 is then folded around the wrapper 2, forming the outer wrapper 4.
During this step, the two tabs 46 are folded with respect to the tubular wall 41 so as to be arranged against the upper flaps of the inner wrapper 2 (step E), and are mutually fixed in this condition by the gluing points 36 (step F).
All the aforementioned gluing points can be applied on the outer side of the sheets 104, thus simplifying the construction of the packaging machine since the glue applicator devices can all be arranged on the same side, along the transport path of the sheets 104, before the final folding step F.
Also in this case, once the operation of forming the outer wrapper 4 is complete, the pack 10 is completed and perfectly closed.
It should now be noted that in both the described embodiments, the packaging process may however continue to provide, like the known processes, a further step in which the sticker or label is applied.
However, this sticker can be applied onto the upper wall of the inner wrapper for aesthetic reasons or in compliance with State laws.
Moreover, it will be noted that applying the sticker can also take place in a station positioned at a distance from the outer wrapper forming device, or in another machine, without manipulation of the packs lacking stickers generating any type of problem, thanks precisely to the fact that the pack 10 described here is already perfectly closed at the outlet of the aforesaid forming device.
Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to those illustrated here, purely by way of non-limiting example, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A pack of smoking articles, comprising:

a group of smoking articles;

an inner wrapper which is folded around said group of smoking articles so as to form at least one first tubular wall which wraps said group of smoking articles, and an upper wall which covers a head end of said group of smoking articles;

an outer wrapper which is folded around said group of smoking articles wrapped in said inner wrapper, so as to form at least one second tubular wall which wraps said group of smoking articles wrapped in said inner wrapper, and a lower wall covering a bottom end of said group of smoking articles;

wherein said upper wall is formed by at least two upper flaps which are connected to said first tubular wall of said inner wrapper and are folded against said head end of said group of smoking articles to completely cover said head end of said group of smoking articles,

at least one tab, which is arranged on an edge of one of said at least two upper flaps of said inner wrapper,

wherein said at least one tab is fixed on a corresponding portion of said inner wrapper or of said outer wrapper to keep said at least two upper flaps of said inner wrapper against the head end of said group of smoking articles.

2. The pack according to claim 1, wherein said at least one tab is arranged protruding from an edge of one of said at least two upper flaps of said inner wrapper and has a length such as to exceed an outer contour of said upper wall and fold against said first tubular wall of said inner wrapper.

3. The pack according to claim 2, which has one or more gluing points between said at least one tab and said second tubular wall of said outer wrapper, on a portion of said first tubular wall, configured to identify a corresponding portion of said outer wrapper.

4. The pack according to claim 2, wherein said at least two upper flaps of said inner wrapper are folded against said head end of said group of smoking articles in a condition wherein they at least partially overlap one another, and wherein said at least one tab is arranged on an outermost upper flap among said at least two upper flaps.

5. A method for packaging a pack of smoking articles, including the steps:

providing a group of smoking articles;

providing a first sheet of wrapping material and folding said first sheet around said group of smoking articles so as to form at least one first tubular wall that wraps said group of smoking articles, and an upper wall that covers a head end of said group of smoking articles, wherein said upper wall is formed by at least two upper flaps which are connected to said first tubular wall and are folded against said head end of said group of smoking articles to completely cover said head end of said group of smoking articles,

providing a second sheet of wrapping material and folding said second sheet around said group of smoking articles wrapped in said first sheet of wrapping material, so as to form at least one second tubular wall that wraps said group of smoking articles wrapped in said first sheet of wrapping material, and a lower wall that covers a bottom end of said group of smoking articles;

said step of providing said first sheet of wrapping material comprises providing on it at least one tab arranged on an edge of one of said at least two upper flaps of said folded first sheet, and

said method being characterized in that it includes fixing said at least one tab on a corresponding portion of said folded first sheet or of said folded second sheet to maintain said at least two upper flaps of said folded first sheet against said head end of said group of smoking articles.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said step of providing said first sheet of wrapping material arranged with said at least one tab comprises providing the first sheet of wrapping material and performing a cutting operation on said first sheet of wrapping material which creates thereon said at least one tab.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said step of providing said first sheet of wrapping material arranged with said at least one tab comprises:

feeding a continuous web of wrapping material,

performing a cutting operation on a longitudinal edge of said continuous web, which creates a plurality of tabs on said longitudinal edge,

transversely cutting said web to divide it into a plurality of wrapping sheets each equipped with at least one respective tab.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein said step of providing said first sheet of wrapping material arranged with said at least one tab comprises:

feeding a continuous web of wrapping material,

transversely cutting said web in a cutting operation to divide said web into a plurality of wrapping sheets,

wherein said cutting operation is carried out along a cutting line which separates a single first sheet of wrapping material from said web,

said cutting line being configured to create said at least one tab on said first sheet of wrapping material which is separated from said web, and a complementary notch on said web, or vice versa.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein said step of folding said first sheet of wrapping material arranged with said at least one tab includes folding said at least one tab against said corresponding portion of said first or second sheet of wrapping material after said first or second sheet of wrapping material has been folded at least partially around said group of smoking articles.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein providing said first or second sheet of wrapping material comprises providing at least one gluing point on a portion configured, due to the folding of said first or second sheet of wrapping material, to identify said corresponding portion of said folded first or second sheet on which said at least one tab is then fixed.

11. The method according to claim 5, wherein arranging said at least one tab on said first sheet of wrapping material comprises arranging said at least one tab which is configured to be due to the folding of said first sheet—placed on an outermost upper flap among said at least two upper flaps of said folded first sheet; said method further comprising:

folding said at least one tab against said first tubular wall of said folded first sheet; and

fixing said at least one tab to said second tubular wall of said folded second sheet by applying glue.