FRESHNESS-PRESERVING CONTAINER

Abstract: A freshness-preserving container 10 is disclosed. The container includes a lid 20 and a base 40 which are connected and which pivot about a hinge 12 line along their rear walls 28, 48. The front wall 22 of the lid has an inward facing surface disposed toward an outward facing surface on the front wall 42 of the base. Between the inward and outward facing surfaces is a freshness-preserving means for preserving the freshness of the contents of the container. The freshness-preserving means includes a flap 24 mounted on either the lid which engages a shoulder 44 on the base. As the container closes, the flap slides across the shoulder effecting a latch closing and making a clicking sound indicating the freshness-preserving characteristics of the container. Adhering means also may be provided, such as tape or magnetic pieces, for resealing the container when it is closed. In addition, the lid may overlap the base of the container, further contributing to its freshness-preserving characteristics.

Description: Background of the Invention This invention relates to a container such as a box, and particularly to a box of the FLIP-TOP® or hinged lid variety made from a paperboard blank and designed to preserve the freshness of its contents. Hinged lid containers such as FLIP-TOP® boxes are commonly used to contain a variety of products, including tobacco products such as cigarettes, food products such as crackers or biscuits, and other products. Many of these products lose their freshness upon exposure to atmospheric air and humidity, and may also absorb unpleasant odors or tastes to which they are exposed. Therefore, it is common to provide a cellophane wrapper around such a container, or to provide an internal plastic bag inside the box, which remains sealed and air-tight until the container is opened. Although techniques have been developed for at least partially reclosing a container of this type which has been opened, those techniques are generally unsuitable for a container such as a cigarette box which must be opened and closed several times within a relatively short period of time and with a minimum of inconvenience. The conventional cigarette boxes, both of the FLIP-TOP® type and of the side-opening type, contain no additional means for preserving freshness other than the reduction in air flow which results from the butting edges of the lid and base members of the package. It would be advantageous to provide a package having the opening and closing characteristics of the conventional packages but also being provided with means for preserving freshness. It would further be advantageous if the closing or opening of the container provided an audible indication of closure or opening, to remind the user of the freshness-preserving characteristics of the package. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if the ordinary closing of the package would result in a partial resealing of the package. GB-A-585 606 and GB-A-596 645 disclose a carton having a hinged lid, the front free edge of which is turned up inside the lid. The front free edge of the base portion of the pack is turned down outside the base, and the two turned flaps engage when the lid is closed to prevent accidental opening of the pack. US-A-3 749 301 discloses a carton having a hinged lid held in the closed position by co-operating magnets on the inner surface of the front wall of the lid and ferro-magnetic strips on the corresponding part of the outer surface of the front wall of the base portion. Summary of the Invention It is desired to provide a package of the type described above which opens and closes in the same manner as a conventional package but which includes additional means for preserving the freshness of the contents of the package. It is also desired to provide an audible indication of closing or opening as a reminder to the user of the freshness-preserving characteristics of the package. It is further desired to make it possible to effect a partial resealing of the package by the conventional closing operation. According to the invention there is provided a freshness-preserving container comprising a lid and a base each having a front wall and a back wall parallel to the front wall, the back walls of the lid and base being connected along a hinge line, the lid and the base being pivotable about the hinge line between a closed position in which the front walls of the lid member and the base are next to each other and an open position in which the front walls of the lid and the base are spaced apart, the lid further comprising a top wall connected between the front and back walls of the lid and the base further comprising a bottom wall connected between the front and back walls of the base, the top wall being larger than the bottom wall, characterised in that the outward facing surface of the front wall of the base has a shoulder opening defined therein providing a shoulder, and a flap is provided on the inward facing surface of the front wall of the lid. The facing areas of the lid and base members may include adhering means such as tape, magnets or hook-and-loop type fasteners, so that the container will be at least partially resealed in the closed position. The pulling apart of the adhering means may similarly result in an audible sound indicating the opening of the container, reminding the user of its freshness-preserving characteristics. If tape is used as the adhering means, the tape may include an appropriate scent-releasing substance which is activated upon the pulling apart of the tape, providing a further indication to the user of the freshness-preserving characteristics of the container. A one-piece container blank for forming a freshness-preserving container according to the invention comprises a blank for the formation of a freshness-preserving container, the blank having a hinge line defined thereon and including a lid defining portion on one side of the hinge line and a base-defining portion on the other side of the hinge line, opposite the lid-defining portion, in which the lid-defining portion and the base-defining portion each comprises a respective plurality of panels, the panels of each portion being foldably connected to each other along score lines defined on the blank parallel to the hinge line; the lid-defining portion and the base-defining portion each comprising a respective back wall panel, the back wall panels being connected to each other along the hinge line; the lid-defining portion further comprises a top wall panel connected to the back wall panel of the lid-defining portion, a lid front wall panel connected to the top wall panel, and a lid flap panel connected to the lid front wall panel; the base-defining portion further comprises a bottom wall panel connected to the back wall panel of the base-defining portion, a base front wall panel connected to the bottom wall panel, the sum of the lengths of the lid front wall panel and the base front wall panel in a direction perpendicular to the hinge line exceeds the sum of the lengths of the lid back wall panel and the base back wall panel in the said direction by an overlap length, and the length in the said direction of the top wall panel slightly exceeds the length in the direction of the bottom wall panel, whereby the lid front wall panel overlaps the base front wall panel by the overlap length in the erect container erected from the blank, the lid flap panel being foldable toward the engaging means for being engaged upon the closing of the erect container characterised in that the base front wall panel has a shoulder opening defined therein one edge of the shoulder opening being for engaging the lid flap panel in the closed erect container. The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a container according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the freshness-preserving means of the container of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a blank from which the container of FIG. 1 may be erected; FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a container according to the invention; FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a particularly preferred embodiment of a container according to the present invention in the open position; and FIG. 5A is a fragmentary front perspective view of a variation of the container of FIG. 5. FIG. 1 shows container 210 which is according to the invention. In the container of FIG. 1, lid member 220 overlaps base member 240. Lid front wall 222 overlaps base front wall 242, and lid side walls 230 overlap base side walls 250. Top wall 226 is larger than bottom wall 246, to facilitate the overlap. Lid back wall 228 connects to base back wall 248 along hinge line 212. Container 210 includes an inner frame 260. A shoulder opening 244 is defined in base front wall 242, behind which is an exposed portion of inner front wall 262. As shown in FIG. 2, lid flap 224 engages and latches against the upper edge of shoulder opening 244, shown in solid line. FIG. 2 also shows a nearly closed position of the container 212 in phantom, illustrating how flap 224 slides across the portion of base front wall 242 above opening 244 until it latches. FIG. 3 shows a portion of a one-piece container blank 1100 from which container 210 may be formed. Base front wall panel 1142, however, has shoulder opening 1144 die cut in it to provide a shoulder along one edge, as shown in FIG. 1. The invention has been disclosed as a standard size FLIP-TOP® cigarette box, as shown in FIG. 1. It is apparent, however, that the invention is equally applicable to other boxes, including the international size FLIP-TOP® cigarette box and the side-opening cigarette box, an embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 4. Side-opening box 310 has lid member 320 and base member 340. Lid member 320 and base member 340 are connected at hinge line 312 and box 310 can be moved between its opened and closed position by pivoting lid member 320 and base member 340 about hinge line 312. As in the embodiments shown in FIG. 1, lid member 320 has a front wall 322 which overlaps front wall 342 of base member 340. Inside the overlap area is a latch similar to that shown in FIG. 2. A particularly preferred embodiment 410 of the invention is shown in FIG. 5. Inner front wall 462 is cut at 464 and an area 465 immediately below cut 464 is debossed. Cut 464 provides a shoulder against which flap 424 on lid member 420 latches. Debossed area 465 is dimensioned to receive flap 424. In a variation 510 of this particularly preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 5A, the debossed area 565 is made larger than necessary to receive flap 424, extending downward to the top of front wall 442. Many modifications may be made in the above embodiments through appropriate dimensioning of the flap and the shoulder, so that an especially distinct clicking sound may be obtained on the closing and opening of the container. Although the invention has been discussed in terms of the packaging of specific tobacco products, the invention may be used with any appropriate container, including a food container for containing cereal, crackers, biscuits, cheese and so forth. It would also be possible to use the invention with containers for cosmetics or other substances which preferably should be protected from the atmosphere. An example of such a substance would be powder. Similarly, the invention may be used for packaging magnetic tape or video tape, which preferably should be protected from dust in the atmosphere. The invention may also be used for the packaging of magnetic disks or diskettes.

Claims: A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510> comprising: a lid (220) (420) and a base (240) (440) each having a front wall (222, 242) (442) and a back wall (228, 248) parallel to the front wall, a flap (224) (424) being provided on the inward facing surface of the front wall (222) of said lid (220) (420), the back walls of the lid and base being connected along a hinge line (212), the lid and the base being pivotable about the hinge line between a closed position in which the front walls of the lid member and the base are next to each other and an open position in which the front walls of the lid and the base are spaced apart, the lid (220) (420) further comprising a top wall (226) connected between the front (222) and back (228) walls of the lid and the base (240) further comprising a bottom wall (246) connected between the front (242) (442) and back (248) walls of the base, the top wall being larger than the bottom wall, characterised in that the outward facing surface of the front wall (242) (442) of the base (240) (440) has a shoulder opening (262) (465) (565) defined therein providing a shoulder (244), the flap and the shoulder interacting to held the lid on the base in its closed position. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to claim 1 in which the flap (224) (424) and the shoulder (244) interact to produce a sound when the container is opened. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to claim 1 or 2 in which the flap (224) (424) and the shoulder (244) interact to prevent the flow of air between the front walls (222, 242) (442) of the lid (220) (420) and base (240) (440) when the lid and base are in closed position. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to any preceding claim in which the front wall (222) of the lid (220) (420) over-laps the front wall (242) (442) of the base (240) (440). A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to any preceding claim further comprising adhering means for at least partially resealing the container when the lid (220) (420) and base (240) (440) are in the closed position. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to claims 4 and 5 in which the adhering means comprises adhesive tape disposed on the inward facing surface of the lid (220) (420) or the outward facing surface of the base (240) (440) for contacting and adhering to the other of the said surfaces when the lid and base are in the closed position. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to claims 4 and 5 in which the adhering means comprises a first magnetic strip associated with the inward facing surface of the lid (220) (420) and a second magnetic strip associated with the outward facing surface of the base (240) (440) and positioned next to the first magnetic strip when the lid and base are in the closed position, the magnetic strips adhering to each other in the closed position. A freshness-preserving container (210) (410) (510) according to any preceding claim in which the base (240) (440) further comprises an inner frame (260) (460) including an inner front wall (462) extending toward the lid (220) (420) defining the outward facing surface of the base. A blank (1100) for the formation of a freshness-preserving container (210), the blank having a hinge line defined thereon and including a lid defining portion on one side of the hinge line and a base-defining portion on the other side of the hinge line, opposite the lid-defining portion, in which: the lid-defining portion and.the base-defining portion each comprises a respective plurality of panels, the panels of each portion being foldably connected to each other along score lines defined on the blank parallel to the hinge line; the lid-defining portion and the base-defining portion each comprising a respective back wall panel, the back wall panels being connected to each other along the hinge line; the lid-defining portion further comprises a top wall panel connected to the back wall panel of the lid-defining portion, a lid front wall panel connected to the top wall panel, and a lid flap panel connected to the lid front wall panel; the base-defining portion further comprises a bottom wall panel connected to the back wall panel of the base-defining portion, a base front wall panel (1142) connected to the bottom wall panel, the sum of the lengths of the lid front wall panel and the base front wall panel (1142) in a direction perpendicular to the hinge line exceeds the sum of the lengths of the lid back wall panel and the base back wall panel in the said direction by an overlap length, and the length in the said direction of the top wall panel slightly exceeds the length in the direction of the bottom wall panel, whereby the lid front wall panel overlaps the base front wall panel (642) by the overlap length in the erect container erected from the blank, the lid flap panel being foldable toward the engaging means (1144) for being engaged upon the closing of the erect container, characterised in that the base front wall panel (1142) has a shoulder opening (1144) defined therein one edge of the shoulder opening being for engaging the lid flap panel in the closed erect container (210). A blank (1100) according to claim 9 in which the length in the said direction of the top wall panel is sufficiently greater than the length in the said direction of the bottom wall panel to enable the lid front wall panel and the base front wall panel (1142) to be parallel when the erect container (210) is closed. A blank (1100) according to claim 9 or 10 in which the lid-defining and base-defining portions each comprise respective side wall panels (651, 652) foldably connected to at least one of the respective front (1142) and back wall panels along side-defining score lines defined on the blank and perpendicular to the hinge line, the respective front and back wall panels of the lid-defining and base-defining portions each having a respective width in the widths of the front and back wall panels of the lid-defining portion in a direction parallel to the hinge line exceeding the width in a direction parallel to the hinge line of the front (1142) nd back wall panels of the base-defining portion to enable the side panels of the lid-defining portion of overlap the side panels of the base-defining portion when the erect container (210) is closed.

Inventors: MOELLER, ROBERT E.
Applicants: PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS INC.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B65D5
IPC codes: B65D81, B65D5