Patent Publication Number: US-2009223841-A1

Title: Cigarette tin with internal ramp

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to packages for smoking articles, such as filter cigarettes, and more particularly to a unique and aesthetically pleasing, tamperproof sliding shell package for cigarettes, which can be only partially opened to dispense the articles, access to which is facilitated by a ramped structure in the package, and which may further be packaged in a paperboard box overwrapped with a polymeric film having a tear tape. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It has been known for many years to package cigarettes and other types of tobacco or smoking article products in thin sheet metal packages or boxes of a size suitable for-carrying in a shirt or coat pocket. Such packages have been known as “tobacco tins” or “pocket tins” or “tobacco cans.” Typically, such cans or tins have a hinged top lid which is pivoted open to allow access to the can contents, or a sliding top lid which is slid along guides to one side or the other to allow access to the can contents, or a pressed-on top lid that is urged upwardly to remove it from the top of the can. A few examples of such known tobacco cans are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,341,295; 1,797,419; and 1,946,845. It is known that such metal cans or tins are better able to preserve the freshness of cigarettes and other tobacco products contained therein. 
     In recent years, manufacturers of cigarettes and other tobacco products have packaged cigarettes in paper and paperboard wrappers and boxes and have used foil/paper laminates, metallized paper or plastic wrappers or low permeability transparent or metallized polymeric sheet overwraps, among other types of packaging, to preserve the freshness and aroma of the packaged cigarette and tobacco products. Examples of such packages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,734; 5,139,140; 5,542,529; 6,726,006; 6,736,261; and 7,014,039 assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. 
     Such packaging has become commonplace for most cigarette manufacturers so that, apart from strong brand names and trademarks, product packaging itself has not provided the sort of product differentiation in the marketplace for cigarettes that it has for other consumer products, many of which utilize unique forms of packaging for product differentiation or product origin purposes. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a cigarette package and a packaging method that would improve product differentiation of cigarettes in the marketplace and still achieve appropriate preservation of the freshness and aroma of the cigarettes. 
     While it is desirable to have a sliding front lid, it is also useful for the consumer to have a mechanism that prevents such a lid from being completely removed from the tin. Such mechanisms have been complicated and costly to manufacture, in comparison to the overall manufacturing costs of the tin. Furthermore, such mechanisms still allow the tin to be completely open, making the contents of the tin susceptible to spilling during use of the device. Therefore, it is desirable to have a sliding shell tin with a mechanism that will allow the lid of the tin to slide only partially across the body of the tin, allowing the user to access only the contents of the tin which are desired for use. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to a novel cigarette package comprising a curved metal box or tray with a metal lid slidable along an arcuate path, or a generally flat metal box or tray with a slidable metal lid. In one set of embodiments, a package of the present invention will be configured for containing a plurality of smoking articles (such as, for example, 20 filter cigarettes) in a tamperproof and freshness-preserving manner, as well as a method of packaging and unpackaging the smoking articles. Conventionally, a filter cigarette package is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped having six sides or panels, wherein the “top” of the package is that package side or panel toward which all of the filters of the filter cigarettes are oriented, and the “bottom” of the package is the side or panel opposite the “top.” The “front” and “rear” of the typical conventional cigarette package are the two sides or panels of the greatest surface area, and the remaining two end panels extend between and connect the front and rear and the top and bottom. The package of the present invention will be described generally using these conventional terms, namely, top and bottom, front and rear, and end panels. 
     Although the package of the invention may be configured in a number of forms that are not specifically illustrated herein, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes two components: (i) a generally rectangular metal box or tray with that includes an open front and an outer rim along at least two of its sides; and (ii) a metal front lid that includes guides or tracks along two edges that are configured to mate slidably with the outer rim of the metal box. The top, bottom, and end panels of the box are approximately perpendicularly upstanding from the rear of the box. The guides or tracks of the front lid are slidable along complementary guides or tracks on two edges of the metal box to thereby open and close the open front of the metal box. In the curved embodiment, the rear of the metal box and the front of the metal lid each have a curved or arcuate shape generally in the form of a segment of a cylinder, the radius of curvature of the rear of the metal box being somewhat smaller than the radius of curvature of the front of the metal lid. Thus, when the metal lid is slid along the complementary guides relative to the metal box, it moves along an arcuate path with a radius corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature of the metal lid. In the generally flat embodiment, the path of the lid is generally straight and parallels the longitudinal central axis of the container. In both the curved embodiment and the flat embodiment, the rear of the metal box is stamped or otherwise formed to include a ramped structure configured to facilitate removal of cigarettes from the package. 
     The metal box and lid preferably are formed of a thin metal, such as 1018 steel alloy or 3003 aluminum alloy, having an as-formed thickness of between about 0.005 to about 0.015 inches. The box and lid have rounded corners and are preferably shallow drawn cans, but may be formed by other conventional metal working processes. The upper edges of the four upstanding sides of the box are rolled over to form a smooth rolled lip around the entire periphery of the upper edge of the box. This rolled lip advantageously eliminates any exposed sharp metal edges that might otherwise cut the consumer and also provides a track for slidably engaging a complementary rolled edge on three edges of the metal lid in substantial metal-to-metal contact. The non-rolled edge of the lid and short portions of the adjacent lid edges preferably are folded over and flattened to eliminate exposed sharp edges on the lid that could cut the consumer. The flattened portions of the lid preferably contact the rolled lip of the box so that the lid engages the rolled lip in substantial metal-to-metal engagement around the entire periphery of the open front of the box. The metal lid and/or metal box may be embossed, stamped, or printed, for decorative purposes or for providing additional stiffness to the metal box or lid. 
     After the metal box is filled with smoking articles, cigarettes, for example, and the lid is slid over the open front of the box to close the same, a shrinkable band, preferably a heat-shrinkable polymeric band, is positioned around the engaged edges of the lid and box and is shrunk, e.g., by application of heat, to urge the edges of the lid and the rolled lip of the box in substantial sealing contact so as to aid in preserving the freshness and aroma of the cigarettes contained in the box. The shrinkable band is preferably provided with one or more rows of transverse perforations or a tear strip for assisting in the removal of the band when it is desired to open the box. 
     The sealed metal cigarette box may be marketed as the final cigarette package, however, according to another aspect of the invention, the sealed metal cigarette box may be further packaged in a paperboard box or label wrap overwrapped with a polymeric film, such as a transparent polypropylene film or a metallized polyethylene terephthalate film, and may be provided with a tear tape for tearing off the overwrap film covering the paperboard box or label wrap. The paperboard box preferably is formed as a rectangular parallelepiped with the front panel or lid thereof hinged at one side by a fold or crease line in the paperboard box. To enhance the attractiveness of the package when a transparent overwrap film is used, a portion of the lid of the paperboard box may be cut away to expose a portion of the curved metal box, preferably a portion of the metal lid of the box having a design or indicia embossed or printed thereupon. 
     When the overwrap is a transparent polymeric film, the paperboard box is preferably printed with product indicia, logos and the like. If the overwrap is a metallized polymeric film, such as, for example, the overwrap film described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,235, the printed product indicia, logos, etc., may be printed on the overwrap film and may be duplicated on the paperboard box. 
     According to a method of the invention, a package comprising a metal box containing a plurality of cigarettes is closed by a metal lid which is mechanically and slidably engaged to the metal box. The metal lid is sealed in substantial metal-to-metal contact to the metal box with a perforated shrinkable band, and then the sealed metal box is packaged in a paperboard box overwrapped with a polymeric film having a tear tape. To open or unpackage the cigarettes in the metal box, the tear tape is used to tear the polymeric film away so that the metal box can be removed from the paperboard box. The shrinkable band is then ruptured along the perforations in the band and removed and the metal lid is slid along the complementary rolled edges to open the front of the metal box and expose the cigarettes contained therein. 
     With the foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims, and the views illustrated in the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cigarette box package made according to the invention with a sealed metal cigarette box enclosed in a paperboard box and overwrapped with a polymeric film; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the package of  FIG. 1  showing the overwrap removed and the hinged partial lid of the paperboard box open for removal of the metal cigarette box sealed with a shrinkable band; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the metal cigarette box of  FIG. 2  showing the shrinkable band removed from the metal box and the slidable lid of the metal box opened to expose the cigarettes contained therein; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the metal cigarette box of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional detailed view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4  showing the structure of the mechanical sliding engagement between the rolled edges of the metal lid and the metal box of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the metal lid for the metal cigarette box of  FIG. 4  as viewed from the underside or from the inside of the box; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional detailed view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  showing the transition between the flattened edge of the metal lid and the rolled edge of the metal lid; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a cigarette box package filled with cigarettes and made according to the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the cigarette box of  FIG. 8  taken along line  9 - 9  showing the indentation of the lid protruding into the open front of the body; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the cigarette box of  FIG. 8  taken along line  10 - 10 ; 
         FIGS. 10 and 10B  show two different ramp embodiments; 
         FIG. 11A  is front perspective view of yet another embodiment of the metal box showing the different radii of curvature for the various components of the box; 
         FIG. 11  is front perspective view of yet another embodiment of the metal box showing the different radii of curvature for the various components of the box; 
         FIG. 11B  is rear perspective view of yet another embodiment of the metal box showing the different radii of curvature for the various components of the box; 
         FIG. 12  is a top-front perspective view of still another embodiment of the metal box of the present invention including a shrink wrapped band around the periphery of the box; 
         FIG. 13  is a top perspective view of a generally flat cigarette container embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  is a bottom view of the embodiment of  FIG. 13 ; and 
         FIG. 15  is a partial longitudinal section view of the embodiment of  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now in detail to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention shown in  FIGS. 1-14  comprise a smoking article (e.g., filter cigarette, cigarillo) package  10 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , package  10  has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and contains a metal cigarette box  12  described in more detail below. The package  10  includes a paperboard container  14  folded from a paperboard blank (not shown) into a parallelepiped shape. The container  14  is provided with a front panel or lid  16  hinged along folded corner  18  of the container  14 . Front panel  16  only partially covers the front opening of the box so as to leave exposed a portion of the metal cigarette box  12 . 
     The free edge  20  of the lid  16  is generally S-shaped as shown, it being understood that edge  20  may have other shapes, both linear and non-linear. For instance, the edge  20  may be a straight linear edge oriented at an angle with respect to hinged corner  18 , it may have a V-shape, or it may have a rounded, generally D-shape. Preferably, however, the shape of the edge  20  provides the paperboard box with a product differentiation or recognition feature. For example, the illustrated S-shaped edge of the paperboard box makes the package  10  of the invention especially suited for packaging the Salem® brand of menthol cigarettes manufactured by the assignee of the present invention. Other shapes of the front panel  16  that provide product differentiation or recognition features will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     The front panel  16  of the container  14  may also include printed product information or indicia, such as a logo or other trademark, and the other panels of the container  14  may also have printed indicia thereon, such as product information. 
     The container  14  is overwrapped with an overwrap film  22  which may include a transparent polymeric film, such as—for example—polypropylene or a metallized polymeric film. The film  22  is folded over at the top and bottom (not shown) of the package  10  and the flaps  24 ,  26  are heat sealed in a conventional manner. In one embodiment where the film  22  is a metallized polymeric film, the printed indicia on the paperboard container  14  may be printed on the film  22  instead of, or in addition to, being printed on the panels of the box. A tear tape  28  is provided on the overwrap film  22  for use in removing the overwrap film from the paperboard to ease being opened by a consumer. 
       FIG. 2  depicts the package  10  with the overwrap  22  and tear tape  28  removed and the front panel  16  swung away from the container  14  to permit the metal cigarette box  12  to be removed from the paperboard container  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the front panel  16  may be provided with side tabs  30  (only one shown) folded inwardly so as to slide along the inside of the top and bottom panels of the container  14  and thereby provide additional support for the panel  16 . 
     The metal cigarette box  12  includes a metal tray portion  32  and a slidable metal lid portion  34  covering a front open side of the tray portion  32 . The top, bottom, and opposite sides of the tray portion  32  are approximately perpendicularly upstanding from a rear wall of the tray portion  32 . (See  FIGS. 3-11B ). The lid portion  34  preferably is embossed or stamped for purposes of stiffness and/or product differentiation or product origin information. In the illustrated embodiment, the lid  34  is embossed with a generally S-shaped ridge or bead  36  that corresponds to the S-shaped edge  20  of the paperboard front panel  16  in a manner that may provide product differentiation or product origin information even after the paperboard box is removed and discarded. Other portions of the lid  34  may also be embossed, stamped, or printed. 
     A band  38  of shrinkable polymeric material, preferably a heat-shrinkable polymer, is shrunk about the perimeter of the metal cigarette box  12  to seal the lid portion  34  to the tray portion  32  in a tamper-resistant/tamper-evident manner (See  FIGS. 2 and 12 ). Perforations  40  are provided on the band to ease a consumer&#39;s access to cigarettes in the box. 
     The metal cigarette box  12  is described with reference to  FIGS. 3-11B . As shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  8 , and  11 A- 11 B, the tray portion  32  and lid  34  each have a curved shape and rounded corners. Referring specifically to  FIGS. 11A-11B , the tray portion  32  and the lid  34  each have an opposing major surface ( 33  and  35 , respectively) with a radius of curvature R 2  and R 3  between 100 mm and 800 mm, respectively. The box and the lid are positioned with respect to each other such that a hypothetical surface  37  midpoint P on a curved plane generally parallel between major surfaces  33  and  35  also has a radius of curvature R 1  between 100 mm and 800 mm. Preferably the radius of curvature R 1  is about 200 mm. Preferably, the radii of curvature R 2  and R 3  of the opposing major surfaces  33  and  35  are selected and the surfaces positioned so that they are concentric about a common axis  39  when the cigarette box  12  is in a closed position. Generally, the radius of curvature of the major opposing surface  33  of the tray portion  32  will be smaller than that of the major surface  35  of the lid  34 . The designed curvature corresponds generally to the curvature of the torso of the human body so that the box will fit comfortably in, and generally conform to, the body when the box is placed, for example, in a shirt or pant pocket. The rounded corners and edges of the box are also designed to provide a more comfortable “feel” for the consumer as well as an attractive package. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10A ,  10 B, and  11 B, the rear wall of the tray portion  32  includes a ramped portion  49  that extends along at least a portion of a top-to-bottom axis of the box  12 . The ramp  49  may be molded or stamped, or may include a separate ramped member attached to the tray portion  32  and may have a curved surface forming a partial cylindrical face  49   a  (as shown in  FIG. 10A ), or a generally flat planar surface  49   b  (as shown in  FIG. 10B ). A ramp  49   a  with a curved surface preferably has at least one radius of curvature R 4  that will be about equal to or greater than the depth of the tray portion  32 . In one embodiment configured to contain a plurality of cigarettes, the radius of curvature may be 14.8 mm, which configuration may be particularly useful for cigarettes having an outer diameter of about 7.4 mm. Of course, the dimensions of a box  12  of the present invention may be varied within the scope of the invention to allow different quantities of cigarettes to be stored therein. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the configuration and position of the ramp will aid a user in extracting a smoking article such as a cigarette from the package. Specifically, by opening and then angling the box  12  such that the open end is lower than the closed end, a smoking article will typically roll up along the ramp  49  where it may be more easily grasped than it would be in a strictly rectangular container where a user may have to invert the container completely or reach down into it to grasp a cigarette therein. 
     The lid  34  is slidable in one direction (e.g., to the left as shown by the arrow  42  in  FIGS. 3 and 8 ) to open the box  12  and permit a consumer to access cigarettes C in the box portion  32 . The lid  34  may also include an abutment  60  that protrudes from the underside of the lid  34  into the open front of the box (See  FIG. 9 ). This abutment  60  preferably will prevent the lid  34  of the metal box  12  from being completely removed from the tray portion  32 , unless additional force is applied to push the abutment past the side wall  45  of the tray portion  32 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the abutment  60  on the lid may be an indentation in the metal lid  34 . The abutment may be added separately to the lid or it is, desirably, formed integrally with the lid. 
     The abutment  60  of the lid  34  is positioned to allow the lid  34  to be opened a distance D, which preferably is less than half the width of the box. More preferably, dimension D will be approximately equal to the diameter of two cigarettes. The abutment  60  may be hidden or partially disguised in product differentiation indicia  64  that are placed on the outer surface of the lid  34 . (See e.g.,  FIGS. 8 ,  12 , and  14 ). The lid  34  of the box  12  may be flexible enough that the user, upon applying added force, may push the abutment  60  of the lid  34  past the side wall  45  of the tray portion  32  to open the box  12  completely. 
     After a cigarette C is removed from the box portion  32 , the lid  34  may be slid in the direction opposite the motion arrow  42  to reclose the box  12 . The lid  34  is mechanically and slidably retained on the box portion  32  by interengaging rolled edges or lips  44  and  46  on the box portion  32  and the lid portion  34 , respectively ( FIG. 5 ). The rolled lip  44  of the box portion  32  is formed around the entire perimeter of the box portion  32 , whereas the rolled lip  46  of the lid portion  34  is formed along an entire end edge  48  and a substantial portion of top and bottom edges  50 ,  52  of the lid portion ( FIG. 6 ). The edge  54  of the lid portion  34  and short sections  56 ,  58  of the edges  50 ,  52  may be rolled over and flattened as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 7  to permit the lid to be slid back-and-forth over the open front of the tray portion  32 . It should be appreciated that the lid  34  cannot be slid open to the right (as viewed in  FIG. 3 ) because the rolled lip  46  along edge  48  of the lid acts as a positive stop or abutment when the lid  34  is moved in a direction to close the box  12 . 
     Preferably, there is metal-to-metal engagement between the rolled lips  44 ,  46  along the edges  48 ,  50 ,  52  of the lid and between the rolled lip  44  of the tray portion  32  and the flattened edges  54 ,  56 ,  58  of the lid  34 . Such metal-to-metal engagement between the tray and lid portions  32 ,  34  will help to preserve the freshness and aroma of cigarettes contained in the metal cigarette box  12 . To the extent the rolled lips and flattened edges of the lid  34  do not engage completely in metal-to-metal sealing contact with the rolled lip  44  of the tray portion  32 , the shrinkable band  38  may provide an additional force to urge those lips and edges into sealing, metal-to-metal contact until the band  38  is removed from the box  12 . 
     The metal from which the cigarette box  12  is formed preferably includes a metal or metal alloy, such as 1018 steel alloy, having a thickness in the range of 0.005 inch to 0.015 inch. Other metals or metal alloys, such as 3003 aluminum alloy, may also be used to manufacture the box  12 . Conventional metal working processes apparent to those skilled in the metal working art may be used to form the curved box and lid and to roll and flatten the edges of the box and lid. The embodiments depicted in  FIGS. 1-15  are configured to hold twenty cigarettes in a 2 by 10 arrangement, but those of skill in the art will appreciate that other container sizes may be practiced within the scope of the present invention. 
     Although the box  12  of the present invention preferably is made of a thin sheet metal alloy, for an alternative embodiment, one may mold the box of a polymeric material, e.g., an injection molded high density polyethylene, polycarbonate, or other suitable moldable plastic material. In such case, the interengaging lips between the box and lid portions may be molded to sealingly engage in a manner similar to the engagement of rolled lips and edges of the metal box and lid, or may even include an interengaging structure such as, for example, a “tongue-and-groove” interface. As another alternative, those of skill in the art will appreciate that a ramp practiced within the scope of the present invention may include a separate structure that is attached to an interior surface of the package. 
       FIGS. 13-15  depict a tray portion  132  and a lid portion  134  of an example of the present invention embodied as a generally flat cigarette container  112  having a ramped rear portion. The container  112  is similar in most aspects to the curved embodiment described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-12 , except that its overall shape is generally flat rather than curved. The tray and lid portions  132 ,  134  (respectively) preferably include rounded rather than sharp corners. The edge engagement mechanism of the container  112  may be substantially similar to one of the engagement mechanisms described above (e.g., with reference to  FIGS. 3-10 ), except for its lack of curvature. The tray portion  132  includes a ramped portion  149 , which may be generally flat/planar, or which may be curved (e.g., as a partial surface of a cylinder) as is shown in the section view of  FIG. 15 . In this embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 13 and 15 , the ramp  149  extends across nearly the entire space between the top and bottom walls  162 ,  164  of the tray portion  132 . 
     Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of the various embodiments shown and described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law. 
     It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.