Patent Publication Number: US-7213704-B2

Title: Pack of rigid type for tobacco products

Description:
This application is the National Phase of International Application PCT/IB02/00244 filed Jan. 25, 2002 which designated the U.S. and that International Application was published under PCT Article 21(2) in English. 
   1. Technical Field 
   The present invention relates to a pack of rigid type for tobacco products. 
   In the following specification, the term pack can be taken generically to mean both a pack comprising at least two packets of cigarettes or serving to contain a plurality of packets of cigarettes, and a single packet containing a group of cigarettes or tobacco products in general. 
   Generally speaking, conventional packets of the rigid type fashioned with a hinged lid and serving to contain groups of cigarettes will appear usually as a rectangular parallelepiped of substantially rectangular section. In particular, such packets present a bottom end face and a top end face, both flat, and distinct side faces consisting in a flat front face and a flat rear face disposed parallel one with another, and two flat flank faces disposed parallel one with another and at right angles to the front and rear faces. 
   The packets in question are somewhat awkward to handle and to keep in the pocket of a garment and typically present sharp corner edges, compassing angles of approximately 90°, by which the pocket is forced out of shape and subjected to wear. 
   2. Background Art 
   The prior art embraces hinge lid packets of which the corner edges bordering the front and rear faces are rounded or bevelled, a solution that serves to mitigate the drawbacks described above but cannot eliminate them altogether. For example, if a packet is inserted into the pocket of a garment with the rear face directed toward the body of the smoker, the corner edges of the front face, be they sharp or bevelled or rounded, will tend just the same to project forward, forcing the pocket out of shape and subjecting it to wear. This is due to the fact that the flank faces of the packet project forward at right angles to the rear face of the packet. 
   Even were the angle formed between the planes occupied by the front face and the flank face to be relieved, the relative corner edge would still be somewhat pronounced since, considering the average dimensions presented by a packet of cigarettes, it would form no more than a relatively slender fillet interconnecting two flat faces. Furthermore, the capacity of the packet in this instance would be reduced significantly. 
   In like manner, given the average dimensions of a packet of cigarettes, the fillet defining a rounded corner edge is typified generally by a relatively small radius of curvature. This makes it necessary to weaken the part of the diecut blank along which the corner edge is formed, by including a plurality of strongly impressed crease lines. When applied in particular to the front corner edges of the packet, these lines are visually unattractive. 
   DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
   The object of the present invention is to provide a pack that will be free of the drawbacks mentioned above. 
   The stated object is realized in a pack of rigid type for tobacco products according to the present invention comprising at least one rigid packet with a hinged lid, composed of a container presenting a bottom end face and a lid presenting a top end face of which the lid is hinged to the container and able thus to rotate between a position in which the packet is open, and a position of interaction with a frame inserted partly inside the container, in which the packet is closed, characterized in that the packet presents at least two main faces of which a first is flat and a second is composed of a substantially central flat portion and two curved portions by which the flat portion is connected to the longitudinal edges of the flat first face. 

   
     The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIGS. 1 to 5  show four embodiments of a pack according to the present invention, consisting in a single packet, illustrated schematically and in perspective; 
       FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  8  show two embodiments of a pack according to the present invention, consisting in two packets, illustrated schematically and in perspective; 
       FIG. 9  shows a pack according to the present invention, consisting in a plurality of packets; 
       FIGS. 10 to 14  are plan views of diecut blanks used to fashion the packets of  FIGS. 1 to 5 ; 
       FIGS. 15 to 17  are plan views of diecut blanks used to fashion frames for the packets illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 3 . 
   

   With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 9  of the drawings,  1  denotes a pack of rigid type, in its entirety, and in particular,  2  denotes a rigid packet with a hinged lid serving to contain a group of cigarettes (not indicated) enveloped typically in a respective inner wrapper (likewise not indicated) fashioned from a suitable wrapping material and accommodated inside the packet  2 . The single packet  2  comprises a container  3  of which the bottom coincides with the bottom end face  4  of the packet  2 , and a lid  5  of which the top coincides with the top end face  6  of the packet  2 . The lid  5  is joined hingedly to the container  3  along a line denoted  7  and rotatable thus between an open position (not illustrated), and a closed position in which the lid  5  conceals a top open end  8  of the container  3  and is retained in this same position by a frame  9  located partly inside the container  3  and projecting beyond one edge  10  of the open end  8 . In the closed position, this edge  10  is engaged substantially in contact by a free edge  11  of the lid  5 . The single packet  2  appears as a prism of which the two bases, lying transverse to an axis  12  coinciding with the axis of the packet  2 , are provided respectively by the bottom end face  4  and the top end face  6 , and the lateral surface  13  is composed of two main faces identifiable respectively as a flat first face  14  and a second face  15  consisting in a substantially central and flat portion  16  parallel to the first face  14 , and two curved portions  17  by which the flat portion  16  is connected to the first face  14  along the longitudinal edges  18  of the selfsame face  14  extending parallel to the aforementioned axis  12 . 
   As discernible from the foregoing and from the position of the hinge line  7 , which will be seen to extend transversely across the flat first face  14 , the container  3  presents a rear face  19  coinciding with the first face  14  of the prism, and a front face  20  afforded by the flat central portion  16  and the curved portions  17  making up the second face  15  of the prism. In like manner the hinged lid  5 , when closed, presents a rear face  21  coinciding with the first face  14  of the prism, and a front face  22  afforded by the flat central portion  16  and the curved portions  17  making up the second face  15  of the prism. 
   More exactly, the rear face  19  of the container  3  and the rear face  21  of the lid  5  combine to make up the back  23  of the packet  2  coinciding with the flat first face  14 , whilst the front face  20  of the container  3  and the front face  22  of the lid  5  make up the front  24  of the packet  2  coinciding with the second main face  15 . 
   Observing the examples of  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the relative packet  2  appears with the aforementioned longitudinal edges  18  of the first face  14 , along which the curved lateral portions  17  are joined, embodied as sharp corner edges  25 , whereas in the example of  FIG. 4  the relative packet  2  appears with the selfsame edges  18  embodied as rounded corner edges  26  creating two rounded longitudinal bands  27 , and in the example of  FIG. 5 , the two edges  18  are embodied as bevelled corner edges  28  creating two flat faces  29 . 
   In the example of  FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  8 , the pack  1  consists in a pair of packets  2  connected one to another along one common edge  18  that functions as a vertical hinge  30  lying parallel to the axis  12  of each packet  2  and allows the two packets  2  to open out, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , or to close up as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 8  bringing the respective main flat faces  14  into mutual contact. 
   The vertical hinge  30  can be incorporated as a perforation line that will allow of separating the two packets  2 , and in particular separating a part of the hinge  30  that connects the two lids  5 , thus enabling each lid  5  to rotate independently about the relative hinge  7  by way of which it is associated with the container  3 . 
   With this in mind, it will be observed that the hinge line  7  in the example of  FIG. 8  extends across the flat central portion  16  of the second main face  15  of each individual packet  2 , which in this particular instance has the back  23  on the side opposite to that of the packets illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 7 , coinciding with the second face  15  rather than with the first face  14 . 
   As discernible from the illustration of  FIG. 9 , the pack  1  might comprise a plurality of packets  2  (four in the example shown) stacked in pairs along a common axis  31  and arranged with the two top end faces of one pair of packets  2  offered in contact to the two bottom end faces of the packets  2  next in sequence along the axis  31 . In this instance the pack  1  will further comprise a single sheet  32  of wrapping material by which the pairs of packets  2  are enveloped and enclosed. 
   With reference to  FIGS. 10  . . .  14 , each packet  2  is fashioned from a flat diecut blank  33  of wrapping material, for example cardboard or the like, which will present a substantially elongated rectangular outline, referable to a longitudinal axis  34  lying parallel to the axis  12  of the single packet. The blank  33  presents a plurality of panels aligned on the aforementioned axis  34 : a central panel  35 , two intermediate panels  36  and  37  and two end panels, one of which denoted  38  associated with the central panel  35  by way of the one intermediate panel  36 , the other denoted  39  associated with the central panel  35  by way of the other intermediate panel  37 . 
   The sides of the two intermediate panels  36  and  37  directed toward the respective end panels  38  and  39  present a substantially arcuate profile; more exactly, the first intermediate panel  36  is joined to the relative end panel  38  by way of a respective first rectilinear crease line  40  transverse to the longitudinal axis  34 , and the second intermediate panel  37  is joined similarly to the relative end panel  39  by way of a respective first rectilinear crease line  41  parallel to the line  40  mentioned previously. 
   Similarly, the intermediate panels  36  and  37  are joined to the central panel  35  by way of respective second rectilinear crease lines  42  and  43  disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis  34 , parallel with the first crease lines  40  and  41 . The second crease line  42  and  43  and the relative first crease line  40  and  41  of each intermediate panel  36  and  37  are interconnected by two segments  44  describing the aforementioned arcuate profile. 
   The end panels  38  and  39  present respective pairs of longitudinal crease lines  45  extending parallel to the longitudinal axis  34 , one on either side. The crease lines  45  in question are separated by a distance substantially equal to the length of the aforementioned first rectilinear crease lines  40  and  41  and serve accordingly to define a respective longitudinal central area  46  on each end panel  38  and  39 , of width identical to the length of the first crease lines  40  and  41 , and two longitudinal lateral portions  47  extending parallel to the central area  46 , which, following the erection of the packet  2 , will be matched to the aforementioned segments  44  of the intermediate panels  36  and  37  and held in position relative to these same panels by means of retaining flaps denoted  48 . 
   In particular, the two central areas  46  combine to establish the flat central portion  16  presented by the second face  15  of the packet  2 , whilst the two longitudinal lateral portions  47  combine to create the two curved portions  17  interconnecting the flat portion  16  and the longitudinal edges  18  of the flat first face  14 , which in turn coincides with the central panel  35  of the blank. 
   With this in mind, it will be noted that the end panels  38  and  39  are embodied with respective free edges  49  and  50  of substantially arcuate profile, and that in the erected packet  2  these same edges will coincide with the aforementioned free edge  11  of the lid  5  and the free edge  10  of the top open end  8  afforded by the container  3 . 
   The central panel  35  further presents a crease line  51  extending transversely to the longitudinal axis  34  and coinciding with the hinge line  7 , and is flanked longitudinally by lateral connecting panels  52  joined to the selfsame central panel  35  by way of relative longitudinal precreased areas  53  extending parallel to the longitudinal axis  34  and divided into two parts by respective notches  54  converging on the ends of the crease line  51 . 
   In the examples of  FIGS. 10 ,  13  and  14 , the retaining flaps  48  consist in respective enclosing flaps  55  afforded by the opposite longitudinal ends of the lateral panels  52  and positioned to engage the respective intermediate panels  36  and  37 . 
   In the example of  FIGS. 11 and 12  the retaining flaps  48  consist in radial flaps  56  afforded by the arcuate segments  44  of the intermediate panels  36  and  37  and positioned to engage the corresponding lateral portions  47  of each end panel  38  and  39 . 
   More exactly, the intermediate panels  36  and  37  are destined respectively to establish the top end face  6  and the bottom end face  4  of an erected packet  2  that can present a section identifiable substantially as semicircular, or, as a rounded isosceles trapezoid of which the greater base is defined by the intersection of a sectional plane with the flat first face  14 , coinciding with the second crease lines  42  and  43  in the case of the end faces, and the smaller base is defined by the intersection of a sectional plane with the flat portion  16  of the second face  15 , coinciding with the first crease lines  40  and  41  in the case of the end faces. 
   Observing a packet  2  that appears substantially semicircular in section, the aforementioned curved portions  17  and arcuate segments  44  will describe an arc to a circle. 
   In the examples of  FIGS. 11 and 12 , unlike the examples of  FIGS. 10 ,  13  and  14 , the longitudinal lateral portions  47  of the end panels  38  and  39  and the lateral connecting panels  52  associated with the central panel  35  are rendered pliable, visibly, so as to bend readily when the packet  2  is erected and adapt to the profile of the arcuate segments  44  presented by the intermediate panels  36  and  37 . 
   In the example of  FIG. 12 , the longitudinal lateral portions  47  and the connecting panels  52  are rendered pliable by an embossing operation denoted G. 
   In the example of  FIG. 11 , the longitudinal lateral portions  47  and the connecting panels  52  are rendered pliable by the impression, denoted P, of a plurality of crease lines  57 . 
   It will be noted that the separation between the lateral portions  47  and the central area  46  is not represented by a distinct line of demarcation and that the selfsame lateral portions  47  and central area  46  are joined with no break in continuity, so that the flat central portion  16  and the two curved lateral portions  17  of the second main face  15 , which coincides with the front  24  of the packet  2 , will merge without any prominent sharp corner edges being generated. 
   In the same manner as described for the blanks  33  relative to the packet  2 , the blanks  58  from which to fashion the frames  9  illustrated in  FIGS. 15 ,  16  and  17  present a longitudinal central area  59  that will be offered to the central areas  46  of the end panels  38  and  39 , and two longitudinal lateral bands  60  that will be offered to the longitudinal lateral portions  47  of the selfsame panels  38  and  39 . In particular, with reference to the example of  FIG. 16 , the lateral longitudinal bands  60  are rendered pliable by an embossing operation similar to that performed on the corresponding portions  47  of the packet blank  33  of  FIG. 12 , and denoted G likewise in the case of the frame  9 . In the example of  FIG. 17 , the longitudinal lateral bands  60  are rendered pliable by the impression P of a plurality of crease lines  61  similar to those presented by the portions  47  of the packet blank  33  illustrated in  FIG. 11 . 
   Likewise in the case of the blanks  58  from which the frames  9  are fashioned, the separation between the lateral bands  60  and the central area  59  is not represented by a distinct line of demarcation, the bands and the central area merging with no break in continuity in such a way as to breast neatly with the inside face of the packet  2 . 
   Finally, it will be seen that in the case of the blanks  33  illustrated in  FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  12  and the corresponding packets  2  of  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the precreased areas  53  consist in single crease lines  62  that will generate sharp corner edges when the packet is erected. 
   In the case of the blank  33  shown in  FIG. 13  and the corresponding packet  2  of  FIG. 5 , each precreased area  53  consists in a pair of mutually parallel crease lines  63  separated one from another by a predetermined distance, such as will generate the aforementioned flat face  29  of a bevelled corner edge  28  when the packet is erected. 
   In the case of the blank  33  shown in  FIG. 14  and the corresponding packet  2  of  FIG. 4 , each precreased area  53  consists in a plurality of mutually parallel crease lines  64 , such as will generate the aforementioned rounded face  27  of a rounded corner edge  26  when the packet is erected.