Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles
  • B65D85/08—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular
  • B65D85/10—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes
  • B65D85/1036—Containers formed by erecting a rigid or semi-rigid blank
  • B65D85/1045—Containers formed by erecting a rigid or semi-rigid blank having a cap-like lid hinged to an edge
  • B65D85/1056—Containers formed by erecting a rigid or semi-rigid blank having a cap-like lid hinged to an edge characterized by the lid
  • B65D85/10564—Containers formed by erecting a rigid or semi-rigid blank having a cap-like lid hinged to an edge characterized by the lid having means for holding the lid in a closed position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2203/00—Decoration means, markings, information elements, contents indicators
  • B65D2203/12—Audible, olfactory or visual signalling means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2301/00—Details of blanks
  • B65D2301/10—Blanks mutually positioned to minimise waste material upon cutting out the individual blank from a continuous or large sheet

Definitions

• This invention relates to a rigid hinged-lid packet for smokers' articles.
• This invention can be advantageously applied to a rigid packet for cigarettes, to which this specification will hereinafter refer but without thereby limiting the scope of the invention.
• Rigid, hinged-lid packets for cigarettes are currently the cigarette packets of the most widespread type on the market because they are simple to make, easy and practical to use and provide good mechanical protection for the cigarettes they contain.
• a rigid, hinged-lid packet for cigarettes comprises a hollow container having an opening for taking out the cigarettes and a lid, which is joined to the container along a hinge allowing it to rotate relative to the container itself between a position where the opening is open and a position where it is closed.
• the packet has an inner frame, which is folded into a U inside the container in such a way as to protrude partly from the opening and to engage a corresponding inside surface of the lid when the lid is in the closed position.
• the main function of the inner frame is to create interference with the lid in order to prevent unwanted opening of the lid itself.
• a C-shaped cut may be made at each of the corners of the inner frame to form a respective flap which, when the lid is closed, extends towards the inside surface of the sidewall of the lid itself and interacts therewith to increase the interference.
• patent EP0884247-B1 discloses a rigid hinged lid packet for cigarettes, which has a snap coupling between the front inside surface of the lid and the front outside surface of the inner frame. More specifically, the snap coupling comprises a flap which extends from the front outside surface of the inner frame and which, when the lid is closed, engages a notch formed on the front inside surface of the lid. When the lid is closed, the flap on the inner frame snaps into the notch in the lid producing a click sound clearly audible to the user.
• the inner frame In rigid cigarette packets of the type just described, the inner frame must be perfectly positioned, otherwise the flap cannot properly engage the notch formed on the front of the lid. If the two parts are not properly engaged, they will not snap shut and not only will the click sound be barely audible or not produced at all, but the lid closure will be unattractive and ineffective. In this regard, it is important to stress that the correct positioning of the inner frame relative to the container and lid is a result, which is technically very difficult to obtain. In particular, it should be noted that direct contact between the contents of the packet, that is, the group of cigarettes, and the inner frame during folding may in many cases cause displacement of the inner frame relative to the lid.
• This invention has an aim to provide a rigid hinged-lid packet for smokers' articles, which is highly practical, solves the above-mentioned problems perfectly and is at once easy and inexpensive to make.
• This invention accordingly provides a rigid hinged-lid packet for smokers' articles comprising the features described in one or more of the appended claims.
• FIG. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of two different examples of packets made according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 shows a blank which can be used to make a portion of the packets of Figures 1 and 2;
• FIG. 4-7 show four respective embodiments of a blank which can be used in combination with the blank of Figure 3 to make four different embodiments of the packet according to the invention.
• FIGS. 8-10 are schematic cross sections of a packet made according to the invention in three different situations of use.
• the reference characters 1 and 1 ' respectively denote in their entirety two rigid hinged-lid packets, each containing a group of cigarettes (not illustrated) wrapped in an inner wrapper (not illustrated).
• the cigarettes which are substantially cylindrical in shape, have a longitudinal axis of extension defining a main dimension of the packets 1 and 1 '.
• the packets 1 and 1 ' extend in a vertical direction, that is to say, from the bottom up, coinciding in particular with the direction of the main dimension of the selfsame packets 1 and 1 '.
• the packets 1 and 1 ' comprise an outer box-shaped body S which is the same for both of the packets 1 and 1 ' and which in turn comprises a bottom container 2 with an opening 3, and a lid 4 joined to the container 2 along a hinge line 5 to rotate between a position where the end 3 is open and a position where it is closed.
• the container 2 comprises a rear wall 6, or back, two side walls 7, or flanks, a front wall 12, or front, and a base wall 8.
• the lid 4 comprises a rear wall 9, or back, two sidewalls 10, or flanks, a front wall 13, or front, and a top wall 1 1 .
• the above-mentioned walls may be joined to each other by sharp edges, as in the case of the packet of Figures 1 and 2, but they may also be joined to each other, in essentially known manner, by bevelled or rounded edges, or by a combination of sharp, bevelled or rounded or edges of any other shape.
• the box-shaped body S is obtained, for both packets 1 and 1 ', from a flat blank 14 made of a flexible material, in particular a paper-like material, or plastic or a material of other suitable type, having a substantially rectangular elongate shape and whose parts, where possible, are denoted by primed reference numbers which are the same as the reference numbers used to denote the corresponding parts of the box-shaped body S itself.
• the blank 14 has two longitudinal lines of weakness 15 and a plurality of transverse lines of weakness 16 which, between the pair of longitudinal lines of weakness 15 define a panel 12' which forms the front wall 12 of the container 2, a panel 8' which forms the base wall 8 of the container 2, a panel 6' which forms the rear wall 6 of the container 2, a panel 9' which forms the rear wall 9 of the lid 4 (the hinge line 5 coincides with a transverse line of weakness 16), a panel 1 1 ' which forms the top wall 1 1 of the lid 4, a panel 13' which forms the front wall 13 of the lid 4 and an inside panel 17 forming a reinforcement wall of the front wall 13 of the lid 4.
• the panel 12' bears a pair of side flaps 18 which form an outer portion of the side walls 7 of the container 2, are located on opposite sides of the panel 12' and are joined to the panel 12' itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 15.
• the panel 6' bears a pair of side flaps 19 which form an inner portion of the side walls 7 of the box-shaped body S, are located on opposite sides of the panel 6' and are joined to the panel 6' itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 15.
• Each flap 19 is connected along a transverse line of weakness 16 to an inner reinforcement tongue 20 for the base wall 8 of the container 2.
• the panel 9' bears a pair of side flaps 21 which form an inner portion of the side walls 10 of the lid 4, are located on opposite sides of the panel 9' and are joined to the panel 9' itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 15.
• Each flap 21 is connected along a transverse line of weakness 16 to an inner reinforcement tongue 22 for the top wall 1 1 of the lid 4, designed to be folded against the top wall 1 1 of the lid 4, inside the lid 4 itself.
• the panel 13' bears a pair of side flaps 23 which form an outer portion of the side walls 10 of the lid 4, are located on opposite sides of the panel 13' and are joined to the panel 13' itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 15.
• the packets 1 and 1 ' of Figures 1 and 2 also comprise a partly open inner box-shaped body, consisting of an inner frame, denoted in its entirety by the numeral 24, which is fixed (normally by gluing), folded transversely around at least one group of cigarettes (not illustrated) contained inside an inner wrapper (also not illustrated) inside the container 2 to protrude partly from the opening 3 and to engage a corresponding inside surface of the lid 4 when the lid 4 is in the closed position.
• the inner frame 24 is obtained from a flat blank made of a flexible material, in particular a paper-like material such as cardboard or paperboard, and comprises (see in particular Figures 4-7) a front wall 25, in contact with the front wall 12 of the container 2, and two side walls 26 located on opposite sides of the front wall 25 and in contact with the side walls 7 of the container 2 itself.
• the inner frame 24 is provided, in essentially known manner, with a pair of tabs 27, which protrude laterally to engage the sidewalls of the lid 4 by interference in such a way as to help keep the lid in the closed position when the packets 1 , 1 ' have to remain closed.
• the inner frame 24, in the variant embodiments of it shown in Figures 4-7, is denoted by the reference characters 24', 24", 24"' and 24"", respectively.
• the reference characters 24' and 24" denote the inner frames shown in Figures 4 and 5 and which are also associated with the box-shaped bodies S of Figures 1 and 2, respectively.
• the sidewall 26 on the right in Figure 4 itself is connected, at a lateral edge of it defined by a line of weakness 28, to a substantially rectangular rear wall 29.
• An upper edge of the rear wall 29, defined by a line of weakness 30, joins the rear wall 29 to an elastic tongue 31 above it, extending away from the line of weakness 30 which defines the selfsame upper edge and whose width is almost the same as that of the rear wall 29 itself.
• the tongue 31 is hinged to the upper edge of the inner frame 24' along the line of weakness 30 and has the shape (by way of example) of an isosceles trapezium whose major base coincides with the line of weakness 30 itself and whose minor base defines a free upper edge 32 of the tongue 31 .
• the tongue 31 is referred to as elastic because the material it is made of, preferably paperboard, gives it good elasticity properties, which are useful for the performance of its functions.
• the lower edge of the rear wall 29 is identical in shape to the upper edge 32 of the tongue 31 (this feature relates to the entire upper and lower edges of the inner frame 24' and of the other inner frames 24", 24"' and 24"” taken into consideration in this description).
• the side wall 26 on the left of the front wall 25 in Figure 4 is connected, at a lateral edge of it defined by a line of weakness 28', to a narrow, substantially rectangular rear wall 29'.
• the tongues 22 are designed and proportioned in such a way that with the lid 4 assembled, one lateral edge 22' of them is spaced by a predetermined length from the rear wall 9 of the lid 4 itself. This feature applies to the tongues 22 (or to at least one of them) associated with a packet 1 ; 1 ' incorporating any one of the inner frames 24', 24", 24"' and 24"".
• the inner frame 24' is folded transversely around the group of cigarettes (not illustrated) wrapped in an inner wrapper (also not illustrated), with the rear wall 29 adjacent to the rear wall 6 of the container 2 and the rear walls 29 and 29' superposed and glued to each other.
• the tongue 31 when the packet 1 is closed, the tongue 31 is folded substantially at 90° around the line of weakness 30, in contact with the top wall 1 1 and oriented towards the front wall 13 of the lid 4, and is substantially positioned between the tongues 22, which are folded against the top wall 1 1 of the lid 4, and the rear wall 9 of the lid 4 itself. If the tongues 22 and 31 are optimally dimensioned in such a way that they are in mutual contact along the corresponding edges 22' and 32 when the packet 1 is closed, this contact helps keep the lid 4 correctly in the closed position.
• the elastic tongue 31 is engageable in the tongues 22 to be elastically displaced and released by the tongues 22 themselves as the lid 4 and the box-shaped body S rotate relative to each other, and only during the rotation of the lid 4 does the elastic tongue 31 interfere with the tongue 22.
• the elastic tongue 31 can be dimensioned in such a way that when the lid 4 is fully closed it substantially ceases to be engaged in the tongues 22.
• the inner frame 24' When fully assembled, therefore, the inner frame 24' is closed in a loop around the group of cigarettes and the rear wall 29 of the inner frame 24' is connected to both of the side walls 26 of the inner frame 24' itself, imparting stability to the elastic tongue 31 and guaranteeing the effectiveness of the snap coupling between the tongue 31 and the reinforcement tongues 22.
• the inner frame 24" of Figures 5 and 2 differs from the inner frame 24' of Figures 4 and 1 in that the rear wall 29 and the tongue 31 which appear in the inner frame 24' are "cut” vertically into two halves which are connected to respective vertical edges of respective side walls 26 of the inner frame 24" itself.
• each of the walls 26 is connected by a line of weakness 28 to a substantially rectangular rear wall 33, an upper edge of which, defined by a line of weakness 34, joins the selfsame rear wall 33 to an elastic tongue 35 above it, whose width is nearly the same as that of the rear wall 33 itself, which is delimited at the top by an edge 36 and which has the shape (for example) of a right angled trapezium whose major base coincides with the line of weakness 34.
• the inner frame 24" is folded transversely around the group of cigarettes (not illustrated), with the two rear walls 33 positioned adjacent to the rear wall 6 of the box- shaped body S and spaced from each other by a predetermined length such that each of the elastic tongues 35 is located near a corresponding tongue 22 and acts in conjunction with the tongue 22, in exactly the same way as described above in connection with the action of the elastic tongue 31 on the tongues 22, to keep the lid 4 properly closed when the packet 1 ' has to remain closed and to make the clearly audible sound when the lid 4 is opened.
• the inner frame 24"' shown in Figure 6 is similar to the inner frame 24' of Figure 4, labelled with the same reference numerals, but differs from the inner frame 24' itself in that the rear wall 29 and the tongue 31 of the inner frame 24"' are much smaller in width than those of the inner frame 24', so that the tongue 31 is in contact with and can engage only one of the tongues 22 of the lid 4.
• the inner frame 24"' works in exactly the same way as the inner frame 24' described above.
• the inner frame 24"" shown in Figure 7 is similar to the inner frame 24' of Figure 4, labelled with the same reference numerals, but differs from the inner frame 24' itself in that although its rear wall 29 is the same in width as the rear wall 29 of the inner frame 24', its tongue 31 is much smaller in width than that of the inner frame 24', so that the tongue 31 is in contact with and can engage only one of the tongues 22 of the lid 4.
• the inner frame 24"" works in exactly the same way as the inner frame 24' described above.
• the blank 14 instead of being provided with the tongues 22 acting in conjunction with the elastic tongues 31 or 35 in the manner described above, might be provided (in a manner not illustrated) with the aforementioned panel 17 of a length such that it can be folded into the lid 4 about the transversal line of weakness 16 and about a further line of weakness parallel to the transversal line 16 so as to be in contact with the top wall 1 1 of the lid 4 and to have a free edge 17' which is parallel to the transversal lines 16 and which is located at a position allowing it to act in conjunction with the edges 32 or 36, instead of, or in combination with, the tongues 22 and acting as abutment element in the manner described above.
• the inner frame 24 might be folded longitudinally around the group of cigarettes wrapped in an inner wrapper.
• This inner frame 24 is folded into a U shape and comprises at least a front wall 25, a base wall and a rear wall 29 aligned with, and adherent to, the corresponding walls 12, 8, 6 of the container 2 and the rear wall 9 of the lid 4.
• the elastic tongue 31 connected to the rear wall 29 along the line of weakness 30 acts in conjunction with the tongues 22 of the lid 4 in exactly the same way as described above.
• the packet 1 ; 1 ' has a hinge 5 by which the lid 4 is connected to the container 2 which is transversal to the axis of the cigarettes contained therein, that is to say, the hinge line 5 is perpendicular to the direction of the main dimension of the packet 1 ; 1 '.
• the packet 1 ; 1 ' has a hinge line 5 which is parallel to the axis of the cigarettes and thus parallel to the direction of the main dimension of the packet 1 ; 1 '. Consequently, the inner frame 24 is folded longitudinally around the group of cigarettes wrapped in an inner wrapper.
• the variant embodiments 24'; 24"; 24"'; 24"" of the inner frame can be effectively used also in this different embodiment of the packet 1 ; 1 ' which comprises an inner frame 24 folded longitudinally which, in use, works in the same way as the inner frame 24 described above folded transversely around the group of cigarettes.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=49035634

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2013
  • 2013-06-18 IT IT000305A patent/ITBO20130305A1/it unknown
• 2014
  • 2014-06-17 EP EP14736996.1A patent/EP3010834B1/de not_active Not-in-force
  • 2014-06-17 WO PCT/IB2014/062292 patent/WO2014203162A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (5)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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