Patent Publication Number: US-8118160-B2

Title: Packet for tobacco products

Description:
This application is the national phase of international application PCT/IB2005/003993 filed 19 Dec. 2005 which designated the U.S. and that international application was published under PCT Article 21(2) in English. This application claims priority to Italian Patent application number BO2004A 000808, filed 23 Dec. 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a packet for tobacco products. 
     In particular, the invention relates to a packet of cigarettes. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     The prior art embraces cigarette packets of rigid, hinge-lid type comprising an outer wrapper embodied as a box, and a lid attached hingedly to the box; also, a stiffening frame secured in part to the box and serving to keep the lid correctly and stably in position when the box is closed. 
     The box contains a group of cigarettes, enveloped by an inner wrapper of metal foil paper. 
     One of the drawbacks associated with such a packet is that, after opening the lid and removing part of the inner wrapper to gain access to the contents, the entire group of cigarettes remains exposed to the surrounding air, hence inadequately protected, until the last one is taken from the packet, by which time there will have been a loss of aroma, of moisture, and consequently of organoleptic properties. 
     A further drawback consists in the fact that, since the group is formed by a plurality of cigarettes arranged in layers, once a few single cigarettes have been removed, the remainder tend to detach one from another and shift internally of the box, with the result that tobacco is shed from their respective ends. 
     The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The stated object is realized according to the present invention in packet for tobacco products as recited in claim  1  appended, or in any subsequent claim directly or indirectly dependent on claim  1 . 
    
    
     
       The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  are perspective views showing a first embodiment of the packet according to the present invention, illustrated in three different configurations; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the packet in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7  and  8  are perspective views showing a third embodiment of the packet according to the present invention, illustrated in four different configurations; 
         FIGS. 9 and 10  are perspective views showing a fourth embodiment of the packet according to the present invention; 
         FIGS. 11 and 12  are perspective views showing the packet of  FIG. 6  in two further configurations; 
         FIGS. 13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  are plan views showing blanks from which the packets of  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  9  are fashioned; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective and exploded view of the packet illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     In  FIGS. 1 to 12  of the drawings, numeral  1  denotes a packet, in its entirety, for tobacco products such as cigarettes  2 . The packets  1  shown are rigid, with a hinged lid, comprising an outer wrapper  3  of substantially parallelepiped geometry referable to a longitudinal axis  4 ; the wrapper  3  presents two larger side walls  5  and  6 , respectively front and rear (as viewed in the drawings), two smaller sides or flanks  7  and  8  extending at right angles to the larger side walls and parallel to the axis  4 , and a bottom end wall  9  set transversely to the axis  4 . 
     The outer wrapper  3  further comprises a lid  10  having a front wall  11 , a rear wall  12 , two flanks  13  and  14  and a top end wall  15 . The lid  10  is attached to the rear wall  6  of the wrapper  3  along a hinge line  16  extending transversely to the axis  4 , and capable of movement between a closed position (see  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  9 ) and an open position ( FIGS. 2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  and  10 ) of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     As discernible from  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the outer wrapper  3  is composed of two distinct portions  17  and  18 , with the flank denoted  8  functioning as a connecting element between the two, and presents a crease line  19  along which the aforementioned portions  17  and  18  are hinged longitudinally and rotatable thus one relative to another between a closed position, illustrated in  FIG. 2 , and an open position illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     The two portions  17  and  18  serve to create two respective compartments, a first denoted  20  and a second denoted  21 , proportioned to house respective parallelepiped boxes  22  identical one to another, each containing a single row of cigarettes  2  disposed with axes parallel to the axis  4  of the packet and enveloped by an inner wrapper  23  of metal foil paper. 
     More exactly, the first compartment  20  is delimited by the front wall  5 , in combination with a first portion  8   a  of the flank  8  lying between the hinge  19  and the front wall  5 , a portion  9   a  of the bottom  9 , and a portion  7   a  of the remaining flank  7 . In like manner, the second compartment  21  is delimited by the rear wall  6  in combination with a second portion  8   b  of the flank  8  lying between the hinge  19  and the rear wall  6 , a portion  9   b  of the bottom  9 , and a portion  7   b  of the remaining flank  7 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 17 , each box  22  presents a longitudinal dimension substantially equal to that of the outer wrapper  3  and a transverse dimension or depth substantially equal to the half the width of the flanks  7  and  8 , and is delimited by two larger walls  24 , two smaller walls or flanks  25 , a bottom  26  and a top  27 . 
     Internally of the first compartment  20 , one box  22  is breasted in contact with the front wall  5  of the wrapper  3  by way of one larger wall  24 , also with the two relative portions  7   a  and  8   a  of the flanks  7  and  8  by way of its own two flanks  25 , and with the relative portion  9   a  of the bottom  9  by way of its own bottom end  26 . 
     Internally of the second compartment  20 , a further box  22  is breasted in contact with the rear wall  6  of the wrapper  3  by way of one larger wall  24 , also with the two relative portions  7   b  and  8   b  of the flanks  7  and  8  by way of its own two flanks  25 , and with the relative portion  9   b  of the bottom  9  by way of its own bottom end  26 . 
     The two boxes  22  are fixed to the corresponding compartments  20  and  21  with a layer of adhesive, and, as indicated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , breasted in contact one with another by way of one larger wall  24 ; in addition, the top ends of the boxes  22  incorporate detachable portions or closure elements  28  and project beyond the edges of the side walls  5 ,  6 ,  7  and  8  of the outer wrapper  3 , substantially to the point of making contact with the top  15  of the lid  10  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     When the lid  10  is open, the two boxes  22  can be rotated on the aforementioned longitudinal hinge  19  and opened out in the manner of a book. By removing one of the detachable portions  28 , which includes the top  27  and at least one flap  28 ′, the inside of the relative box  22  can be exposed and the cigarettes  2  extracted. 
     With reference to  FIG. 13 , the outer wrapper  3  is fashioned by effecting a succession of folds in a flat diecut blank  29  of packaging material. 
     Where possible, the parts making up the blank  29  are indicated in the course of the description using the same numbers, primed, as those used to identify the corresponding parts of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     The flat blank  29  comprises a first panel  5 ′ and a second panel  6 ′, both substantially rectangular, referable to parallel longitudinal axes  4 ′ and  4 ″ and coinciding with the aforementioned front and rear walls  5  and  6  of the wrapper  3 , also a third panel  8 ′ of right trapezoidal outline interposed between the first and second panels  5 ′ and  6 ′ and joined to these same panels along respective longitudinal crease lines  30  and  31 ; the panel  8 ′ in question constitutes both the aforementioned connecting element and the first flank  8  of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     The blank  29  further comprises a fourth panel  7 ′ of right trapezoidal outline, positioned symmetrically on the opposite side of the first panel  5 ′ to the third panel  8 ′, joined to the first panel  5 ′ along a respective crease line  32  and coinciding with the second flank  7  of the outer wrapper  3 , also two transverse end flaps  9   a ′ and  9   b ′ associated by way of transverse crease lines  33  and  34  with the first panel  5 ′ and the second panel  6 ′, respectively, and combining to establish the bottom  9  of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     Finally, the blank  29  comprises a fifth panel  10 ′ joined to the second panel  6 ′ along a transverse crease line  16 ′ coinciding with the aforementioned transverse hinge line of the lid  10 . 
     The fifth panel  10 ′ presents three transverse crease lines  35 ,  36  and  37 , two longitudinal crease lines  38  and  39  and two pairs of slit cuts  40  and  41  by which it is divided into a transverse panel  12 ′ coinciding with the rear wall  12  of the lid  10 , a transverse panel  15 ′ coinciding with the top  15  of the lid  10 , a further panel  11 ′ coinciding with the front wall  11  of the lid  10 , and finally a panel  42  that functions as a stiffening layer for the front wall  11 . The pairs of slit cuts  40  and  41  serve to separate flaps  43 ,  44  and  45  associated with the aforementioned panels  11 ′,  12 ′ and  15 ′ on either side and combining to form the flanks  13  of the lid  10 . 
     Lastly, the third panel  8 ′ presents at least one longitudinal crease line  19 ′ coinciding with the longitudinal hinge  19  aforementioned. 
     Referring to  FIG. 14 , the parallelepiped box  22  is fashioned from a flat diecut blank of packaging material denoted  46 . 
     The parts making up the blank  46  are numbered on the same basis as adopted for the blank  29  described above. 
     The flat blank  46 , which presents a substantially rectangular outline referable to a longitudinal axis denoted  47 , is impressed with four transverse crease lines  48 ,  49 ,  50  and  51 , and two longitudinal crease lines  52  and  53  combining with the four transverse line to create first and second main panels  24 ′ coinciding with the larger walls  24 , an intermediate band  26 ′ coinciding with the bottom end  26 , two end flaps  27 ′ combining when overlapped to form the top end  27 , and pairs of longitudinal flaps denoted  25 ′, associated with each main panel  24 ′ and combining respectively when overlapped to form the smaller walls or flanks  25  of the box  22 . 
     Located at the opposite ends of the intermediate band  26 ′ are pairs of transverse and longitudinal slit cuts  26 ″ forming a letter “L” and serving to create respective closure tongues  25 ″ by which the flanks  25  and the bottom end  26  of the box are secured one to another. 
     The blank  46  also presents two scored outlines  54  of “U” shape arranged symmetrically on either side of a transverse axis, one at each of the two opposite ends, such as will delimit two detachable portions  55  coinciding with the top end  27  and the aforementioned closure flaps  28 ′; in effect, the two portions  55  combine one with another and with the end flaps  27 ′ to form the detachable portion  28  of the box  22 . 
     Each portion  55  presents a semicircular opening  56  designed to facilitate the step of gripping and removing the detachable portion  28 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the two portions  17  and  18  of the outer wrapper  3  are held together in the closed position by breakable seal means  57  in the form of a longitudinal scored line  58  extending along the second flank  7 . More precisely, the seal means  57  consist in two such scored lines creating a removable strip  59 . 
     In an alternative embodiment of the packet, not illustrated, such breakable seal means  57  might take the form of a removable adhesive element. 
     In the example of  FIG. 4 , one of the two internal boxes  22 , and more exactly the box  22  occupying the first compartment  20 , contains a double row of cigarettes  2  and consequently presents a transverse or depth dimension substantially twice that of the adjacent box  22  occupying the second compartment  21 . 
     In the examples of  FIGS. 5 to 12 , the outer wrapper  3  is divided into three portions, creating compartments to hold three parallelepiped boxes  22 . 
     More exactly, the first compartment  20  and the second compartment  21 , associated one with another by way of the connecting element constituting the first flank  8  and occupied each by a respective box  22 , are set apart so as to create an intermediate third compartment  60  afforded by a third portion  61  of the outer wrapper  3  and accommodating a third box  22 . 
     The third compartment  60  is connected in its turn, by way of the second flank  7 , which also presents at least one scored line constituting a longitudinal hinge  62 , to the second compartment  21  ( FIG. 8 ) or to the first compartment  20  ( FIG. 12 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 8 , this further hinge  62  renders the third portion  61  rotatable relative to the second portion  18 , in the direction opposite to that in which the first portion  17  rotates relative to the selfsame second portion  18  about the hinge  19  first mentioned. 
     In the example of  FIG. 12 , the further hinge  62  renders the third portion  61  rotatable relative to the first portion  17 , in the same direction as that in which the first portion  17  rotates relative to the second portion  18 . 
     It will be seen that each hinge  19  and  62  consists, in practice, of two respective crease lines designed to facilitate the rotation of the boxes  22  one relative to another. 
     The outer wrappers  3  of the packets  1  shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  and in  FIGS. 9 and 10  are fashioned by folding respective flat diecut blanks  63  and  64  as illustrated in  FIGS. 15 and 16 . 
     In the case of these blanks  63  and  64 , the width of the third panel  8 ′ and the fourth panel  7 ′, hence the flanks  8  and  7  of the outer wrapper  3 , is marginally greater than three times the depth of one box  22 . 
     More exactly, the blank  63  of  FIG. 15  differs from the blank  29  of  FIG. 13  in that the connecting element afforded by the third panel  8 ′ presents a succession of three longitudinal bands  8 ′ b ,  8 ′ c  and  8 ′ a  departing from the crease line denoted  31 , divided by a first crease line  65  and a second crease line  19 ′. This second crease line  19 ′ coincides with the hinge  19  between the first and second boxes  22 . 
     The fourth panel  7 ′ is joined to the second panel  6 ′ along a crease line denoted  66  and affords the further hinge line  62  aforementioned, by which it is divided into two bands  7 ′ b  and  7 ′ c  respectively contiguous to and remote from the crease line  66 , and along which the second and third boxes  22  are joined. 
     The first panel  5 ′ presents a longitudinal end flap denoted  7 ′ a , combining with the fourth panel  7 ′ to form the second flank  7  of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     Finally, the second panel  6 ′ presents a further transverse end flap  9 ′ c  connected to the first end flap  9 ′ b  by way of a scored perforation line  67  and establishing the bottom of the third compartment  60 , of which the aforementioned bands  7 ′ c  and  8 ′ c  provide the flanks. 
     The blank  64  of  FIG. 16  differs from the blank  29  of  FIG. 13  in that the connecting element afforded by the third panel  8 ′ presents a succession of three longitudinal bands  8 ′ b ,  8 ′ c  and  8 ′ a  departing from the crease line denoted  31 , divided by a first crease line  19 ′ and a second crease line  68 . The first crease line  19 ′ coincides with the hinge  19  between the first and second boxes  22 . 
     The fourth panel  7 ′ is joined to the first panel  5 ′ along the crease line denoted  32  and affords the hinge line  62  aforementioned, by which it is divided into two bands  7 ′ b  and  7 ′ c  respectively contiguous to and remote from the crease line  32 , and along which the first and third boxes  22  are joined. 
     The second panel  6 ′ presents a longitudinal end flap denoted  7 ′ a , combining with the fourth panel  7 ′ to form the second flank  7  of the outer wrapper  3 . 
     Finally, the first panel  5 ′ presents a further transverse end flap  9 ′ d  connected to the first end flap  9 ′ a  by way of a scored perforation line  69  and establishing the bottom of the third compartment  60 , of which the aforementioned bands  7 ′ c  and  8 ′ c  provide the flanks. 
     Whilst the cigarette packet described thus far and illustrated in the accompanying drawings is of a rigid type with a hinged lid, in which the boxes  22  and the outer wrapper  3  present sharp corner edges, it will be clear that the teaching of the present invention is applicable to any given type of box and outer wrapper, which in alternative embodiments (not illustrated) might be fashioned with certain of the longitudinal and/or transverse corner edges rounded or bevelled. With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  4 ,  5  and  9 , for example, the longitudinal corner edges might be rounded or bevelled rather than right-angled, or (adopting the shape of the cigarette packet disclosed in patent application EP-A1-0764595), the longer transverse corner edges (along which the bottom  9  and the larger side walls  5  and  6  are joined) might be rounded or bevelled rather than right-angled; alternatively, selected longitudinal corner edges and selected transverse corner edges might be rounded or bevelled rather than right-angled, in such a way as to incorporate both longitudinal and transverse corner edges with rounded or bevelled rather than right-angled profiles. 
     Finally, in a further embodiment of the invention not illustrated in the drawings, the packet  1  could present the appearance of the cigarette packet disclosed in patent application EP-A1-1066205; in this instance, each larger side wall  5  and  6  presents a substantially convex profile with a flat central portion and two precreased and curved lateral portions merged with the central portion and joined to the flanks  7  and  8  along respective sharp corner edges of obtusely angled profile. 
     In the examples of  FIGS. 5 and 9 , in particular, the above configuration could be adopted for one or more of the boxes  22  making up the packet  1 .