Patent ID: 7121452

Claim:
A carton of cigarettes containing a plurality of packets of cigarettes, each packet having parallelepiped geometry and containing a plurality of cigarettes, the carton having parallelepiped geometry and presenting two end faces, and four side faces of which two constitute a bottom and a top, wherein it comprises an openable cover coinciding with at least one front face, rotatable about a relative hinge between a position in which the carton is closed and a fully open position allowing the packets to be withdrawn; the cover being furnished with at least one guiding and stabilizing member lying in a plane transverse to the hinge, the packets being closely packed within the carton such that there is an orderly array of at least three rows and two columns of packets, the carton including a top front portion positioned above the openable cover and a bottom front portion positioned below the openable cover, the top and bottom front portions restraining respective top and bottom rows of packets in the carton when the openable cover is open while allowing access, through the openable cover, to each row of packets intermediate the top and bottom rows of packets, the top and bottom front portions restraining the respective top and bottom rows of packets until packets have been removed from the carton from at least one intermediate row of packets; wherein at least one side wall of the carton includes a notched portion open to the front and one side of the carton such that when the openable cover is in the closed position, the at least one guiding and stabilizing member is positioned between the notched portion and the packets to prevent access to the packets via the notched portion, and, when the openable cover is in the open position, the at least one guiding and stabilizing member is positioned away from the notched portion such that the notched portion of the side wall exposes a side-facing surface of at least one packet to facilitate grasping the packet for removal from the carton.