Abstract:
A package ( 1 ) comprises a container enveloped in a wrapper ( 80 ) The wrapper ( 80 ) comprises a film ( 81 ) with overlapping portions which are sealed together. The wrapper ( 80 ) further comprises a tear strip ( 82 ) extending at least partially around the container and having an end tab. The wrapper is configured such that pulling the tab causes a tear to propagate through the film and the tear strip to come away from the container and the entire film to come away from the container attached to the tear strip. The tear strip ( 82 ) is defined by two reinforcing tear tapes ( 83   a,    83   b ) on either side of the tear strip. Each tear tape ( 83   a,    83   b ) has a respective first remote end ( 84   a,    84   b ) at the tab, and the two tear tapes extend from the tab and diverge away from each other at least partially around the container such that the width of the tear strip enlarges around at least a part of the perimeter of the container. The tear tapes ( 83   a,    83   b ) have respective second remote ends ( 86   a,    86   b ) which are spaced from each other and spaced from the tab.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to packaging and, more particularly, wrappers for packaging and packaging including such wrappers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Packaging is known which includes a sealed outer wrapper to be removed upon initial opening of the packaging. Such wrappers may include a tear-off strip to aid removal of the wrapper and which separates the wrapper into two portions, at least one of which is to be removed from the pack. The tear strip may remain adhered to one portion of the separated wrapper so that it is removed from the pack, leaving the other portion of the separated wrapper in place over a portion of the pack. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In accordance with embodiments of the invention, there is provided a package comprising a container enveloped in a wrapper, the wrapper comprising a film with overlapping portions which are sealed together, the wrapper further comprising a tear strip extending at least partially around the container and having an end tab, the wrapper configured such that pulling the tab causes a tear to propagate through the film and the tear strip to come away from the container and the entire film to come away from the container attached to the tear strip, wherein the tear strip is defined by two reinforcing tear tapes on either side of the tear strip, each tear tape having a respective first remote end at the tab, and the two tear tapes extend from the tab and diverge away from each other at least partially around the container such that the width of the tear strip enlarges around at least a part of the perimeter of the container, and wherein the tear tapes have respective second remote ends which are spaced from each other and spaced from the tab. 
         [0004]    The tear strip may extend from an edge of the film at the overlapping portion, and the tab portion may be provided at the edge of the film. 
         [0005]    The first and second remote ends of the tear tapes may be disposed on the same side of the container, or the first and second remote ends of the tear tapes may be disposed on different sides of the container. 
         [0006]    The tab portion may be spaced equidistantly from each of the second remote ends of the tear tapes. 
         [0007]    The tear tapes may constantly diverge away from each other along their length, or may diverge away from each other along part of their length, and extend parallel to each other along part of their length. 
         [0008]    The package may comprise tobacco industry products and/or cigarette packaging. 
         [0009]    The present invention also provides a wrapper for use in a package as described above, comprising a film having first and second edges on opposite sides of the film, and third and fourth edges on opposite side of the film between the first and second edges, wherein a tear strip extends across at least a part of the film between the first and second edges, and a tab portion is provide at an end of the tear strip, wherein the tear strip is defined by two reinforcing tear tapes on either side of the tear strip, each tear tape having a respective first remote end at the tab, and the two tear tapes extend from the tab and diverge away from each other such that the width of the tear strip enlarges along at least a part of its length, and wherein the tear tapes have respective second remote ends which are spaced from each other and spaced from the tab. 
         [0010]    The tab may be provided at the first edge and the tear tapes may extend across the film such that the respective second remote ends are disposed at the second edge of the film. Alternatively, the tab may be provided at the first edge and the tear tapes may extend across the film such that the respective second remote ends stop short and are spaced from the second end of the film. 
         [0011]    The tear tapes may constantly diverge away from each other along their length, or may diverge away from each other along part of their length, and extend parallel to each other along part of their length. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompany drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a pack including a wrapper of a first embodiment of the invention partially unwrapped therefrom; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a wrapper of a second embodiment of the invention laid flat; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a wrapper of a third embodiment of the invention laid flat. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  shows a pack  1  having a wrapper  80  of a first embodiment of the invention. The wrapper  80  comprises a film  81  and is shown fully wrapped around a pack  1  of smoking articles. First and second opposite sides of the film  81  overlap at one side wall  2  of the pack  1  and are heat sealed together. The wrapper  80  comprises a tear strip  82  extending around the perimeter of the pack  1 . The tear strip  82  is defined by two reinforcing tear tapes  83   a,    83   b  on upper and lower edges of the tear strip  82 , which are permanently adhered to the film  81  and are disposed between the film  81  and the pack  1 . Each tear tape  83   a,    83   b  includes a first remote end  84   a,    84   b,  and the first remote ends  84   a,    84   b  meet at an end  85  of the tear strip  82 , at an edge of the film  81  on one side wall  2  of the pack  1 . The two tear tapes  83   a,    83   b  diverge from the end  85  of the tear strip  82  across the front face of the pack, and then extend parallel to each other at the top and bottom of the pack across the side, rear and opposite side walls of the pack, terminating at respective second remote ends  86   a,    86   b  at an edge of the film  81  opposite to the edge at which the end  85  of the tear strip  82  is located. On the wrapped pack  1 , prior to unwrapping, the second remote tear tape ends  86   a,    86   b  are spaced from each other, and are spaced from the first remote tear tape ends  84   a,    84   b.  Also, the first and second remote tear tape ends  84   a,    84   b,    86   a,    86   b  are disposed on the same side face  2  of the pack  1 . 
         [0017]    To remove the wrapper  80  from the pack  1 , a user pulls the end  85  of the tear strip  82  in the direction of arrow B which detaches from around the pack  1  along the tear tapes  83   a,    83   b  by tearing the film  81 , causing the film  81  to separate into an upper portion  81   a  and a lower portion  81   b.  As the tear strip  82  reaches the opposite side of the front face of the pack  1 , it extends over the entire height of the pack  1  and then continues across the side wall, rear wall and opposite side wall of the pack  1 , and finally the upper and lower portions  81   a,    81   b  of the film  81  come away from the pack  1  with the tear strip  82 . Therefore, the entire film  81  is removable from the pack  1  in a single unwrapping step. 
         [0018]    In the first embodiment described above, having diverged away from each other initially, the tear tapes  83   a,    83   b  of the tear strip  82  extend around a portion of the pack  1  parallel to each other. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to this configuration and alternative configurations are intended to fall within the scope of the invention. Such an alternative wrapper  90  of a second embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 2  as a flat sheet prior to wrapping around a pack. Here, the wrapper  90  comprises a film  91  having a tear strip  92  defined by two reinforcing tear tapes  93   a,    93   b  which are permanently adhered to the film  91 . As with the first embodiment, each tear tape  93   a,    93   b  includes a first remote end  94   a,    94   b  which meet at an end or tab portion  95  of the tear strip  92 , at an edge of the film  91  which, when wrapped around a pack  1 , would be disposed on one side wall  2  of the pack  1 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The second embodiment differs in that the two tear tapes  93   a,    93   b  diverge from the end  95  of the tear strip  92  and continue diverging away from each other along their length to their respective second remote ends  96   a,    96   b  at an edge of the film  91  opposite to the edge at which the end  95  of the tear strip  92  is located. Therefore, the tear tapes  93   a,    93   b  diverge from each other across the front, side, rear and opposite side faces of the pack  1 . As with the first embodiment, however, on the wrapped pack  1 , prior to unwrapping, the second remote tear tape ends  96   a,    96   b  are spaced from each other, and are spaced from the first remote tear tape ends  94   a,    94   b.  Also, the first and second remote tear tape ends  94   a,    94   b,    96   a,    96   b  are disposed on the same side face  2  of the pack  1 . 
         [0019]    It can be seen from  FIG. 2  that the tear tapes  93   a,    93   b  are straight lines on the film  91  when in its flat form prior to being wrapped around the pack  1 . This makes manufacture of the wrapper  90  and the wrapping process and apparatus to make wrapped packs  1  simpler. It will also be appreciated that in a manufacturing process, the film  91  may be provided as a single continuous strip and the two tear tapes  93   a,    93   b  fed onto the film  91  from separate bobbins, and the film cut into individual sheets as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0020]    In the first and second embodiments described above, the second remote ends of the tear tapes  86   a,    86   b,    96   a,    96   b  terminate at an edge of the film  81 ,  91 . However, the invention is not intended to be limited to this configuration and alternative configurations are intended to fall within the scope of the invention. Such an alternative wrapper  100  of a third embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 3  as a flat sheet prior to wrapping around a pack. Here, the wrapper  100  is similar to the wrapper  90  of the second embodiment, and comprises a film  101  having a tear strip  102  defined by two reinforcing tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  which are permanently adhered to the film  101 . Each tear tape  103   a,    103   b  includes a first remote end  104   a,    104   b  which meet at an end  105  of the tear strip  102 , at an edge of the film  101  which, when wrapped around a pack  1 , would be disposed on one side wall  2  of the pack  1 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . As with the second embodiment, the tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  of the third embodiment diverge from the end  105  of the tear strip  102  and continue diverging away from each other along their length to their respective second remote ends  106   a,    106   b.  However, the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the second remote ends  106   a,    106   b  of the tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  do not terminate at an edge of the film  101  opposite to the edge at which the end  105  of the tear strip  102  is located, but instead terminate short of such opposite edge of the film  101 . This distance by which the second remote ends  106   a,    106   b  stop short of the film edge is shown as dimension ‘d’ in  FIG. 3 . Therefore, on the wrapped pack  1 , prior to unwrapping, the second remote tear tape ends  106   a,    106   b  are spaced from each other, and are spaced from the first remote tear tape ends  104   a,    104   b,  but unlike in the first and second embodiments, the first and second remote tear tape ends  104   a,    104   b,    106   a,    106   b  may not be disposed on the same side face  2  of the pack  1 , and the second remote tear tape ends  106   a,    106   b  may instead be disposed on the rear face of the pack, for example. The further ensures that the entire wrapper  100  is removed with the single pull of the tear strip  102  as it ensures upper and lower portions of the wrapper  100  are not separated from the tear strip  102  but remain attached to the tear strip  102 . 
         [0021]    It can be seen from  FIG. 3  that the tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  are straight lines on the film  101  when in its flat form prior to being wrapped around the pack  1 . This makes manufacture of the wrapper  100  and the wrapping process and apparatus to make wrapped packs  1  simpler. Also, since, in a manufacturing process, the film  101  may be provided as a single continuous strip and the two tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  fed onto the film  101  from separate moving bobbins, or moving feed arms, and the film cut into individual sheets as shown in  FIG. 3 , having the distance ‘d’ between the second remote ends  106   a,    106   b  of the tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  and the film edge allows time for the manufacturing apparatus to reset the tear tape feed bobbins or feed arms back to a start position for the next wrapper  100  as the film  101  is conveyed as a continuous strip past the point where the tear tapes  103   a,    103   b  are provided on the film  101 . 
         [0022]    Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described above in relation to wrappers enveloping a single pack of smoking articles, such wrappers of the invention are intended to be usable as an outer wrapping around alternative configurations of packaging, such as around multiple packs of smoking articles bundled together, either ‘naked’ or in a carton holding, for example, 10 or 20 packs of smoking articles, or around tins or other containers, such as snus containers. Furthermore, such container(s) to be wrapper with wrappers of the invention, do not necessarily need to be parallelepiped in shape, and may comprise other shapes, for example, cylindrical container(s). The various embodiments of the invention are shown and described above as wrappers for packs of smoking articles, or smoking article packaging having various embodiments of outer wrapper. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to such use and it will be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable to wrappers and packaging for any other, non-tobacco industry use. 
         [0023]    In the embodiments described above, the wrappers are described as being heat sealed along a seam at an overlap of the wrapper. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to such sealing means, and alternatives are intended within the scope of the invention, such as glue or other adhesive. Furthermore, some of the embodiments are described above as comprising oriented film, although such film may be used as the film in wrappers of any of the embodiments of the invention described herein, and may be particularly suitable for wrappers without tear tapes extending around the entire perimeter of a wrapped pack, or those wrappers intended to tear in locations other than directly adjacent the edge of a tear tape. 
         [0024]    In the embodiments described above, the tear tapes are described as being adhered to the respective film, although the invention is not intended to be limited to such construction and the tear tapes may alternatively be heat sealed to the respective film or comprise other means of sealing thereto. Additionally, although in many of the embodiments described above, the tear tapes are described as being provided on the inside surface of the wrapper when wrapped around a pack, the tear tapes may equally be provided on the outside of the respective wrapper. 
         [0025]    The film and tear strips/tapes of the wrappers of the invention described above may be made of a variety of materials, including, but no limited to, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cellulose acetate film, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene oxide (PEOX), polyethylene, cellophane, Natureflex™ or polyactic acid (PLA). Furthermore, combinations of such materials may be used for the film/tear strip(s)/tear label(s) respectively. In addition, the film and/or the tear strip/tape material used in the wrappers may be of approximately 200 microns in thickness to approximately 4 microns in thickness. 
         [0026]    As used herein, the term “smoking article” includes smokeable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-not-burn products. The smoking article may be provided with a filter for the gaseous flow drawn by the smoker. 
         [0027]    A tobacco industry product refers to any item made in, or sold by the tobacco industry, typically including a) cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes); b) non-smoking products incorporating tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes such as snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and heat-not-burn products; and c) other nicotine-delivery systems such as inhalers, lozenges and gum. This list is not intended to be exclusive, but merely illustrates a range of products which are made and sold in the tobacco industry. 
         [0028]    In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide for superior packaging wrappers. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed principles. It should be understood that they are not representative of all claimed inventions. As such, certain aspects of the disclosure have not been discussed herein. That alternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the invention or that further un-described alternate embodiments may be available for a portion is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. It will be appreciated that many of those un-described embodiments incorporate the same principles of the invention and others are equivalent. Thus, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the disclosure. As such, all examples, implementations, and/or embodiments are deemed to be non-limiting throughout this disclosure. Also, no inference should be drawn regarding those embodiments discussed herein relative to those not discussed herein other than it is as such for purposes of reducing space and repetition. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. Some of the disclosed features, elements, implementation, etc., may be mutually contradictory, in that they cannot be simultaneously present in a single embodiment. Similarly, some features are applicable to one aspect of the disclosure, and inapplicable to others. In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed. Applicant reserves all rights in those presently unclaimed inventions including the right to claim such inventions, file additional applications, continuations, continuations in part, divisions, and/or the like thereof. As such, it should be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, function, features, structural, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims.