Packaging method and machine including conveyor for box

A packaging machine provided with stations arranged in line along a longitudinal advancement direction and on which boxes pass successively and in sequence, resting with their bottom on a horizontal advancement table, said packaging machine including a conveyor device for advancing the boxes placed on the advancement table from one station to the next in the advancement direction, said conveyor device comprising:

• a first and a second longitudinal guide rails extending parallel to the advancement direction, on both sides of the advancement table;
• a first series of carriages movably mounted for longitudinal translation along said first guide rail and a second series of carriages movably mounted for longitudinal translation along said second guide rail and arranged opposite the carriages of said first series,
• each carriage comprising a sliding guide member on the corresponding rail, said carriages being maintained at a distance from one another of the same spacing pitch corresponding to that between two adjacent stations of the machine,
• the carriages of the same series being able to move, via first drive means, between two positions, retracted and advanced respectively, which are spaced apart longitudinally by the value of said spacing pitch,
• the first and second series of carriages being coupled to one another so that their movements are synchronized and their respective carriages remain permanently facing one another,
• each carriage comprising a gripping member mounted for translational movement in a direction perpendicular to the advancement direction designed to grip a box.