PACKAGE WITH MEANS FOR RELEASING AROMATIC SUBSTANCE ON OPENING

Abstract: A package, such as a cigarette pack 10A, is provided with a receptacle 17 for containing a fragrance or flavor to be released upon initial opening by the consumer. The receptacle is provided by attaching to the polymeric film 14 circumscribing the sealed package, in the area overlying the tear tape 15, an additional layer of polymeric film. The fragrance or flavor is entrapped between the polymeric film and the extra polymeric layer and is released when the tear tape is pulled through the receptacle to unseal the pack. The receptacle can be provided with compartments to minimize leakage or to allow the flavor or fragrance to be kept in two or more relatively inert components which react on contact to form the fragrance or flavor or, possible, to form a propellant to disperse the fragrance or flavor.

Description: Background of the Invention This invention relates to packages, such as cigarette packs. Cigarettes are generally sold in two types of packs. One type of pack is the so-called "soft pack" in which a group of twenty or twenty-five cigarettes is wrapped in foil and the foil is in turn wrapped by a paper wrapper on which brand and other information is printed. The second type of pack is a relatively stiff paperboard box having a hinged lid and sometimes referred to as a FLIP-TOP® box. Both types of packs are typically overwrapped by a clear polymeric film such as polyethylene to maintain cigarette freshness. A "tear tape", i.e., a strip generally of a polymeric material such as polypropylene, and usually colored to stand out, is provided for opening the polymeric wrapping. The tear tape usually projects from the wrapping and is pulled by the smoker to slit open the polymeric wrapping. Other materials such as paper and foils can be used for the tear tape, and foils can also be used as the overwrap. If the wrapping of a cigarette pack is slit open just after the pack has been made, a strong aroma of fresh tobacco is emitted. As more time passes from manufacture to opening of the pack, the aroma of freshness on opening decreases even though the cigarettes are still fresh. Therefore, a smoker may feel that one particular cigarette pack is fresher than another, even though both are fresh. Further, it is well known that flavorant materials -- e.g., menthol -- can be added to cigarettes. However, some flavorants are highly volatile and excess amounts of those flavorants must be added if the amount remaining when the cigarette is smoked is to be sufficient to produce the desired flavor effect. It has been proposed, in FR 2 072 223, to provide a box for, for example, food products, which releases a pleasant aroma on being opened. This is achieved by providing microcapsules of a volatile fragrance between inner and outer lids of the box, which are ruptured when an opening strip is torn from between the lids, releasing the fragrance. A cigarette pack releasing a volatile fragrance upon rupturing of the wrapping film is described in EP-A-0 257 913 which constitutes a prior art in accordance with Article 54(3) EPC. According to the invention there is provided a pack (10A), (10B) adapted to release a volatile material upon being opened, comprising: a container (20); a wrapping film (14) around the container; a receptacle '17), (41), (51) containing the volatile material; and opening means (15) for rupturing the wrapping film together with the receptacle, characterised in that the receptacle (17), (41), (51) is formed of a receptacle-forming film layer (21) and the wrapping film (14). Preferred packs according to the invention allow less flavorant to be employed than if the flavorant is applied directly to the pack contents, whilst giving a greater sensation of, for example, freshness, when the pack is first opened. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1A is a front, top perspective view of a cigarette soft pack in accordance with this invention; FIG. 1B is a front, top perspective view of a cigarette box pack in accordance with this invention; FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention; FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention; FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention; FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a fifth embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention; and FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a sixth embodiment of a cigarette pack according to this invention. A conventional cigarette soft pack 10A and a conventional hinged-lid cigarette box 10B, both modified according to the present invention, are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1A, soft pack 10A includes a foil wrapper 11 which is wrapped around the cigarettes (not visible) in the pack. A paper wrapper 12, which is usually printed with brand and other information, is wrapped around foil layer 11. A seal 13 is adhered across the top of the pack to both foil layer 11 and paper wrapper 12. A layer of generally transparent film 14, of a polymeric material such as polyethylene, circumscribes the entire pack 10A to maintain cigarette freshness. Similarly, hinged-lid pack 10B, shown in FIG. 1B, includes a hinged-lid box 16, usually of relatively stiff paperboard, circumscribed by film 14 to maintain freshness. In both packs 10A, 10B, a tear tape 15, of a polymeric material such as polypropylene, is applied to the inner side of the film 14 before film 14 is wrapped around pack 10A, 10B. Tape 15 is usually denser and stronger than film 14 and is applied so that its end 15A protrudes from the pack (at the point of overlap of the ends of film 14) so that a smoker can grasp end 15a and pull it to slit open film 14. In accordance with this invention, receptacle 17 overlies tape 15. Receptacle 17 can be outside film 14, or between film 14 and tape 15, and is filled with an aromatic substance, or components thereof, as described in more detail below. When tape 15 is pulled to slit film 14, receptacle 17 is also slit open, releasing the substance contained therein for dispersal into the air or onto the cigarettes in the pack. Aromatic substances are thus physically held in a container that is leak free, even though a substance may include volatile liquids as well as gases. This provides an advantage over chemical encapsulation or microencapsulation methods. In fact, receptacle 17 can be used to protect microencapsulated substances from leakage until the pack is opened. The substance can be fragrance which conveys a certain desired impression, such as freshness, to the smoker on opening of the pack. The fragrance may or may not be one of tobacco in order to convey the desired impression. Alternatively, the substance can be a flavorant which permeates the cigarettes in the pack when it is released. This would be particularly useful in the case of volatile flavorants which might dissipate if applied to the cigarettes before packaging. A single aromatic substance may provide both olfactory and taste sensations as it is released both outward and inward into the pack. Receptacle 17 may be divided into compartments, as described in more detail below, in which case the aromatic substance may be provided as separate components that react when the components are ruptured to produce the desired substance. The reaction may also produce a propellant to aid in dispersing the substance. A substance would be provided in compartments if it were so volatile that it might escape even from a sealed compartment but its components were less volatile, if its characteristics were such that leakage of the components would be less undesirable than leakage of the substance, or if it were desired to release a propellant. A substance might also be provided in compartments, even in its final form, to minimize the possibility of leakage. If there are several compartments, it is unlikely they would all develop leaks. A first embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2, which shows cigarette container 20 (either the foil 11 and paper 12 of soft pack 10A or the box 16 of pack 10B), film 14, and tear tape 15 between them for slitting film 14. Receptacle 17 is formed by a layer 21, preferably of polymeric material which may or may not be the same as that of film 14, and preferably clear. Layer 21 is adhered to film 14 at points 22, preferably by heat sealing, but could also be adhered by a suitable adhesive that would not react with volatile substance 23. At least one of layer 21 and film 14 is coated with an acetate ester to improve heat sealing. A second embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 3, is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2, except that layer 21 is fastened to the outer side of film 14. A third embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 4, does not use an additional layer such as layer 21. Instead, film 14 is doubled back on itself and adhered at points 40, by heat-sealing or suitable adhesive, to form two-compartment receptacle 41. By doubling film 14 back on itself more than once, multiple compartment receptacles of any even number of compartments can be created. As shown in FIG. 5, in a fourth embodiment, doubling film 14 back a second time creates four-compartment receptacle 50. In a fifth embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 6, multiple compartments are created by adhering multiple layers 21 of the type shown in FIG. 2. This embodiment can also be constructed with the receptacle on the outer side of film 14 as in FIG. 3, or with some compartments inside film 14 and others outside film 14 (not shown). In a sixth embodiment, which can be used in conjunction with any of the above-described embodiments, compartments 70 are created by heat-sealing vertical lines 71 at horizontally spaced-apart locations along the receptacle 17. Sealed vertical lines 71 can also, of course, be provided using a suitable adhesive. In the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, receptacle 17 is necessarily formed of the same material as film 14. However, in the embodiments of FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and 7, it may be formed of other materials, including, but not limited to, metallic foils. The material used for receptacle 17 may be chosen based on the characteristics of the substances 23 to be contained. In particular, if substance 23 would react adversely to or with the polyethylene in film 14, layers 21 would be made of some other material that would not react. In such a case, layers 21 would have to be arranged in such a way that substance 23 is separated from film 14. Depending on which of the embodiments above is used, receptacle 17 may be assembled during the packaging operation or it may be preassembled and fed to the packaging machinery as needed. Some embodiments may require one or the other of those alternatives, while others may allow either alternative. Although described above in the context of a cigarette pack, the present invention has application in other types of packaging. A package according to the invention can be used to contain any item in connection with which it would be appropriate to release an aromatic substance on opening the package. Thus, a package is provided which can be used to release an aromatic substance on first opening by the consumer.

Claims: A pack (10A), (10B) adapted to release a volatile material upon being opened, comprising: a container (20); a wrapping film (14) around the container; a receptacle (17), (41), (51) containing the volatile material the said receptacle being formed of a receptacle-forming film layer (21) and the wrapping film (14); and opening means (15) for rupturing the wrapping film together with the receptacle. A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 1 in which the opening means (15) is located between the wrapping film (14) and the container (20). A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 1 or 2 in which the receptacle (17), (41), (50), is formed by laminating a receptacle-forming film layer (21) to the wrapping film (14) overlying the opening means (15). A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 3 in which the receptacle-forming film layer (21) is laminated to the inner side of the wrapping film (14) between the film opening means (15) and the film. A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim in which the receptacle-forming film layer (21) is of the same material as the wrapping film (14). A pack (10A), (10B) according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which the receptacle-forming film layer (21) is of a metallic foil material. A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 1 or 2 in which the receptacle-forming film layer is formed of the wrapping film (14) and the receptacle (41), (50) is formed by folding over and adhering (40) a portion of the wrapping film to form a receptacle overlying the opening means (15). A pack according to claim 7 in which the folded-over portion is folded upon itself at least once, each fold producing two compartments (50). A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim in which the receptacle forming film layer (21) is sealed to the wrapping film by heat sealing. A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim in which the volatile material is a flavorant, the flavorant being dispersed throughout the pack when the receptacle (17), (41), (50) is ruptured. A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim for cigarettes in which the volatile material is a fragrance for producing an olfactory sensation in a cigarette smoker. A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 11 in which the olfactory sensation is one of freshness. A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 11 or 12 in which the olfactory sensation is one of tobacco. A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim in which the receptacle (17), (41), (50) comprises a plurality of compartments (70). A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 14 in which the volatile material comprises at least two components, each component being contained in at least one respective compartment (70), separated from the or each other component, the components reacting with one another to form the volatile material when the compartments are ruptured. A pack (10A), (10B) according to claim 15 in which at least some of the components react to form a propellant substance for dispersing the volatile material. A pack (10A) according to any preceding claim for cigarettes in which the container (20) is a soft pack (11, 12) for cigarettes. A pack (10B) according to any preceding claim for cigarettes in which the container (20) is a box (16) having a hinged lid. A pack (10A), (10B) according to any preceding claim in which the opening means (15) is a tear strip which, in use, is pulled to tear the wrapping (14) and the or each receptacle (17).

Inventors: NEWSOME, REGINALD WAYNE, SPRINKEL, FRANCIS MURPHY, JR.
Applicants: PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS INC.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: B65D85, A61L9, B65D83, B65D75