GB2532804A

GB2532804A - A pack blank

Info

Publication number: GB2532804A
Application number: GB1421504.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Grigoropoulos John
Original assignee: KARELIA TOBACCO Co Inc
Current assignee: KARELIA TOBACCO Co Inc
Priority date: 2014-11-26
Filing date: 2014-12-03
Publication date: 2016-06-01
Also published as: GB201421504D0

Abstract

A pack blank 11 for forming a pack (1, figure 1) for storing a plurality of cigars, cigarettes or the like. The pack blank 11 comprises a body portion 13, a lid portion 21, 23 and at least one spacer portion 25, which can be arranged to form a spacer (26, figure 3). The spacer(s) (26, figure 3) are positioned inside the body (3, figure 1), preferably providing rigidity to the pack (1, figure 1) and may be arranged to space smoking articles away from a pack edge. Preferably two spacers (26, figure 3) are positioned opposite one another. A portion of a front body panel (14, figure 1) and/or two side body panels (16, figure 1) may be locatable within and frictionally engageable with the lid (5, figure 1). The body portion 13, when locatable within the lid (5, figure 1), may comprise a flap 34 which engages with a lip 36 on the inside of the lid (5, figure 1). The pack blank 11 is preferably made of a web of material, has a density of 200-320 g/m^2, and has dimensions W:20-26mm, L:52-65mm and/or H:85-122mm. The pack (1, figure 1) may have square, chamfered, round or half-round corners.

Description

A pack blank The present invention relates to pack blanks for forming packs and methods of forming packs from pack blanks. In particular, the present invention relates to pack blanks for forming packs for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles. The rod-shaped smoking articles may, for example, be cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (Re-cigarettes") and so on.

Rod-shaped smoking articles, such as cigarettes, are typically sold in packs, or cartons, with varying numbers of the smoking articles in a pack. For example, for cigarettes, most packs generally contain in the range of 10 to 30 cigarettes. The packs provide a container in which the smoking articles can be stored prior to smoking.

Conventional packs for storing smoking articles can be either 'rigid' or 'soft'. Soft packs are generally not closable once opened, and lose their shape as the number of smoking articles within the pack diminishes.

Rigid packs generally comprise a body and a lid. The lid is arranged to open and close the pack. Rigid packs typically maintain their shape irrespective of the number of smoking articles they contain. This offers some protection to the contained smoking articles.

The lid of such rigid packs is typically retained in a closed position by the action of an insert positioned partly within a body of the pack and attached to the body of the pack.

The insert provides a friction fit with the lid when the lid is closed.

Packs may be formed from blanks. The blank is cut to a desired shape and processing steps, including folding portions of the blank and adhesion of portions to one another, are carried out to form the pack.

In one conventional rigid pack, the insert and body are formed from separate blanks. This may lead to a certain amount of material wastage, because there is typically a gap between the blanks in the sheet material from which the blanks are cut.

The insert and body are then joined to one another in a manufacturing process. The insert needs to be large enough that it can securely be attached to the body so that it will not easily detach during use of the pack. A disadvantage is the amount of material that this requires.

In another pack, the insert and body can be formed from a single blank. Again, the inserts are typically relatively large compared to the body of the pack.

It is an aim of the present invention to address at least some of these drawbacks.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pack blank for forming a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, the pack blank comprising a body portion for forming a body of the pack, a lid portion for forming a lid of the pack, and at least one spacer portion unitarily formed with the remainder of the pack blank, the spacer portion being arranged to form a spacer positioned inside the body of the pack.

By providing at least one spacer portion unitarily formed with the remainder of the pack blank, the present invention may avoid the need for the provision of an insert.

The spacer portion may be arranged so that the spacer provides rigidity to the pack. The spacer portion may allow the pack to be sufficiently rigid to enable frictional engagement between a portion of the body and the lid to restrict opening of the lid. The spacer portion may enable the pack blank to be cut from a material with lower rigidity than might otherwise be the case. This may lead to a cost saving.

The pack blank may be arranged such that when the pack is formed a portion of the body is locatable within the lid and is frictionally engageable with the lid to restrict the opening of the lid.

The frictional engagement between the body itself and the lid may avoid the need for the provision of an insert. Thus the pack blank may be formed using less material. This may reduce the cost of manufacture. Further, the avoidance of the need for an insert may reduce the number and/or complexity of processing steps needed to form a pack from the pack blank.

The body portion may be arranged to form a front body panel of the pack. The body portion may be arranged to form two side body panels of the pack. The pack blank may be arranged such that the portion of the body locatable within the lid comprises at least a portion of at least one of the front body panel and two side body panels.

Preferably the pack blank is arranged such that the portion of the body locatable within the lid comprises at least a portion of the front body panel and the two side body panels.

The spacer portion may be arranged to form a spacer for spacing smoking articles within the pack away from a pack edge. This may allow some deformation of the pack edge and/or the spacer to occur without the deformed portion pressing on the smoking articles. This may provide a tolerance in the deformation of the pack without affecting the smoking articles contained within the pack.

The pack blank may be arranged so that the spacer is formed adjacent an upper portion of the body. Preferably the pack blank is arranged so that the spacer is formed adjacent one side body panel. The pack blank may be arranged such that when the pack is formed the spacer is provided at one side of the inside of the pack. Preferably the pack blank comprises two spacer portions and is arranged to form two spacers positioned inside the body of the pack. Preferably the two spacer portions are arranged to form spacers positioned opposite one another inside the body of the pack. The provision of the spacers opposite one another may allow the spacing of the pack contents centrally within the pack. This may be useful for controlling the balance of the pack, which may make the handling, for example during manufacturing, of the pack easier, as well as providing the previously mentioned advantages of rigidity and frictional engagement of the lid.

Preferably the pack blank is arranged so that one spacer is formed adjacent one side body panel and another spacer is formed adjacent another side body panel. This can allow frictional engagement with the lid at both sides of the pack. This can result in a firm retention of the lid in a closed position.

The provision of the spacer can allow the interior size of the pack to be varied whilst keeping the exterior size of the pack the same. Additionally or alternatively, the spacer can allow the exterior size of the pack to be varied whilst keeping the interior size of the pack the same. This may allow the sizing of the pack for ease of handling and packaging and the sizing of the interior according to the smoking articles desired to be stored therein, for example the number of cigarettes.

The ability to vary the interior size of the pack whilst keeping the exterior size of the pack the same may allow the provision of a single pack blank with a spacer portion which can be sized (for example by adjusting the location of folding lines which are at least one of on and adjacent the spacer portion) during processing of the pack blank after forming the blank so as to adjust the interior size of the pack.

The body portion may comprise a flap disposed towards an end of the body portion, the end of the body portion being for forming a portion of the body which is locatable within the lid when the lid is in a closed position. The lid portion may comprise a lip which when the pack blank is formed into the pack is located on an inside of the lid for cooperation with the flap. At least one of the flap and the lip may be resilient.

The pack blank may be formed from sheet material, for example material with a density in the range of 200 to 320 grams per square metre. Preferably the pack blank is formed from sheet material with a density of 240 grams per square metre. This material density may allow the pack blank to form a structurally rigid pack. The sheet material may be paper or board, or similar material.

The pack blank may be formed from a web of material. The web of material may be a continuous web of material. This can allow for continuous processing.

The pack blank may be dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a width in the range of 20 to 26 mm. Preferably the pack blank is dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a width of 20.5 mm. The pack blank may be dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a length in the range of 52 to 65 mm. Preferably the pack blank is dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a length of 52.5 mm. The pack blank may be dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a height in the range of 85 to 122 mm. Preferably the pack blank is dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a height of 101.5 mm.

For example, the pack blank may be dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a width in the range of 20 to 26 mm, a length in the range of 52 to 65 mm and/or a height in the range of 85 to 122 mm.

The pack blank may comprise a single fold line at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has generally square corners. In other words, the corners of the pack may be generally right-angled.

The pack blank may comprise a pair of fold lines at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has chamfered corners. In this way, the pack may have an octagonal rather than a tetragonal (e.g. square or rectangular) cross-section.

The pack blank may comprise a fold strip at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has at least one of round and half-round corners.

The pack blank may of course comprise two or more of a single fold line, a pair of fold lines and a fold strip. In this way the pack formed from the blank may comprise two or more (i.e. a combination) of a generally square corner, a chamfered corner, a round corner and a half-round corner. Thus the exterior profile of the pack can be chosen as desired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, formed from the pack blank as described above. Preferably the pack does not have an insert.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, comprising the steps of cutting a pack blank as described above from a sheet material, folding the pack blank about predetermined folding lines so as to shape the pack blank into a pack, and securing at least one portion of the pack blank to at least one other portion of the pack blank so that the pack blank retains the shape of the pack.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, comprising the steps of cutting a pack blank from a sheet material, the pack blank comprising a body portion, a lid portion and a spacer portion, folding the pack blank about predetermined folding lines so as to shape the pack blank into a pack, wherein the body portion forms a body of the pack, the lid portion forms a lid of the pack and the spacer portion forms a spacer positioned inside the body of the pack.

The spacer formed by the spacer portion may provide rigidity to the pack.

The method may comprise the step of folding the pack blank such that at least a portion of the body is locatable within the lid and frictionally engageable with the lid to restrict opening of the lid.

The method may comprise the step of folding the pack blank such that, in use, the spacer spaces smoking articles within the pack away from a pack edge.

Any one of or any combination of features of any aspect above may be provided with any other aspect. Apparatus features may be provided with the method aspect and vice versa, with the necessary changes in wording between apparatus and method being made as appropriate. These have not been written here for the sake of brevity.

Preferred features of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a cigarette pack; Figure 2 shows a pack blank for forming a cigarette pack; Figure 3 shows a front perspective view of a cigarette pack formed from the pack blank of Figure 2 with a lid in an open position; Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of the pack of Figure 3 containing cigarettes; 30 and Figure 5 shows a side perspective view of the pack of Figure 3 again with a lid in an open position.

Cigarettes are typically sold in packs which are generally rigid so as to protect the cigarettes contained within the packs. Referring to Figure 1, a cigarette pack 1 comprises a body 3 and a lid 5. The lid 5 is hingedly connected to the body 3 about a hinge line 7 (see Figure 2).

The lid 5 is able to open so as to allow access to the inside of the pack 1. In other words, the lid 5 can open to allow access to the cigarettes stored in the pack 1.

The pack 1 is formed from a pack blank 11 (see Figure 2). The pack blank 11 is formed from board or other similar material and is stamped or cut out of the board. Folding lines or grooves (7, 9) are then formed in the pack blank so as to weaken the pack blank 11 along these lines. In the pack blank shown in Figure 2, solid lines represent cutting lines and dashed lines represent folding lines or grooves.

The blank 11 is then folded about the folding lines into the shape of the pack 1. Various portions of the blank 11 overlap one another when in the shape of the pack 1. This allows these portions of the blank 11 to be affixed to one another such that the blank 11 retains the shape of the pack 1 in a rigid manner. The attachment between these portions of the blank 11 can be by gluing or other known way.

The blank 11, shown in Figure 2, has a unitary construction. That is to say the various portions of the pack 1 are formed by simply folding a single blank about the folding lines.

The blank 11 comprises a body portion 13 and side portions 15 which, when folded into the shape of the pack, form the body panel 14 and side panels 16 of the body 3 of the pack 1.

The body portion 13 which forms the body panel 14 comprises a recess 32 at one end thereof which provides easy access to cigarettes stored within the pack 1.

The blank 11 further comprises a base portion 17 and a back portion 19 which form the base panel (not shown) and back panel (not shown) of the body 3.

The blank 11 further comprises a top portion 21 and a lid front portion 23 which form the top 22 and lid front panel 24 of the lid 5 of the pack 1.

As can be understood with reference to Figure 5, when the blank 11 is formed into the pack 1, the body 3, comprising the side panels 16 and body panel 14, extends within an interior of the lid 5 when the lid is in the closed position. In particular, the corners 30 of the body 3 will frictionally engage with an inner surface of the lid 5 when attempting to open and close the lid 5. This has the effect of restricting the opening of the lid 5 from a closed position so that it will not inadvertently open when this is not desired. Therefore the contents of the pack will not spill out inadvertently.

In this configuration it is the material of the body 3 itself which frictionally engages with the lid 5 so as to retain the lid 5 in a closed position. In a conventional cigarette pack, however, an additional portion of material -an insert -is required to frictionally engage with the lid. Thus, the present configuration allows the pack 1 to be constructed with a reduction in the amount of material necessary, and a reduction in the complexity of the pack. This accordingly reduces the cost of constructing the pack 1.

Referring again to Figure 2, the blank 11 comprises two spacer portions 25 adjacent the side portions 15. Each spacer portion 25 forms a spacer 26 when the blank 11 is folded so as to form the pack 1. As can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 the spacers 26 protrude into the interior of the pack 1 from the sides of the pack 1 and define an opening 28 between the spacers 26. The opening 28 allows access to the interior of the body 3 within which cigarettes can be stored, as shown in Figure 4.

The spacers 26 are formed adjacent the upper part (with respect to the orientation in Figure 3) of the side panels 16 of the blank 11. The edges and/or upper part of the spacers 26 can assist in frictionally engaging with the interior of the lid 5 to restrict its opening.

The sizing of the spacers 26 is defined by the location of the folding lines in the spacer portions 25. This, in turn, defines the size of the opening 28. This size can be adjusted as appropriate to fit the required number of cigarettes within the pack 1. As shown in Figure 4, the pack 1 can contain 20 cigarettes in three rows in a 7-6-7 configuration. A 7-7-6 configuration is also possible. Similarly the pack 1 could contain 21 cigarettes in a 7-7-7 configuration. Of course, alternative sizes of pack 1 can contain differing numbers of cigarettes. The construction of the blank 11 and the location of the folding lines on the spacer portions 25 can easily be adjusted to size the pack 1 and opening 28 as appropriate for the desired number of cigarettes.

In this way the desired number of cigarettes can be held firmly within the pack 1 when the pack 1 is handled or transported, for example to the point of sale. This can reduce any potential damage of the cigarettes prior to sale.

Referring again to Figure 2, the pack blank 11 comprises a cut-out for forming a flap 34 which is provided towards an upper (again with respect to the orientation in Figure 3) portion of the body portion 13. The flap 34 can protrude slightly outwardly of the body portion 13, and hence also outwardly of the body panel 14 when the blank 11 is formed into the pack 1.

The blank 11 comprises a lip 36 adjacent the lid front portion 23. When the blank 11 is folded into the pack 1, the lip 36 will be folded within the lid 5 and protruding slightly inwardly from an inner surface of the lid 5.

Thus it will be seen that the flap 34 and the lip 36 will protrude in opposite directions and are provided for engagement with one another. On closing the lid 5, the lip 36 will pass over the flap 34 and will engage therewith when an attempt is made to open the lid 5. This reduces the tendency of the lid to open unintentionally.

The flap 34 and the lip 36 are resilient such that on application of sufficient force the lid 5 is able to be opened.

Thus, the provision of the flap 34 and the lip 36 provide a further engagement means by which the lid 5 can be restricted from opening when this is not desired.

The flap 34 is located underneath the lid 5 when the lid 5 is in a closed position. Thus the exterior profile of the pack 1 is not affected by the provision of the flap 34 and therefore the pack 1 can be handled and packed using conventional systems without any modifications to those systems being required.

Claims

Claims 1. A pack blank for forming a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, the pack blank comprising a body portion for forming a body of the pack, a lid portion for forming a lid of the pack, and at least one spacer portion unitarily formed with the remainder of the pack blank, the spacer portion being arranged to form a spacer positioned inside the body of the pack.
2. A pack blank according to claim 1 wherein the spacer portion is arranged so that the spacer provides rigidity to the pack.
3. A pack blank according to claim 1 or claim 2 which is arranged such that when the pack is formed a portion of the body is locatable within the lid and frictionally engageable with the lid to restrict the opening of the lid.
4. A pack blank according to claim 3 in which the portion of the body locatable within the lid comprises at least a portion of at least one of a front body panel and two side body panels.
5. A pack blank according to claim 4 in which the portion of the body locatable within the lid comprises at least a portion of the front body panel and the two side body panels.
6. A pack blank according to any preceding claim in which the spacer portion is arranged to form a spacer for spacing smoking articles within the pack away from a pack edge.
7. A pack blank according to any preceding claim comprising two spacer portions arranged to form two spacers positioned inside the body of the pack.
8. A pack blank according to claim 7 in which the two spacer portions are arranged to form spacers positioned opposite one another inside the body of the 35 pack.
9. A pack blank according to any preceding claim in which the body portion comprises a flap disposed towards an end of the body portion, the end of the body portion being for forming a portion of the body which is locatable within the lid when the lid is in a closed position, and the lid portion comprises a lip which when the pack blank is formed into the pack is located on an inside of the lid for cooperation with the flap.
10. A pack blank according to claim 9 in which at least one of the flap and the lip is resilient.
11. A pack blank according to any preceding claim which is formed from sheet material with a density in the range of 200 to 320 grams per square metre.
12. A pack blank according to any preceding claim which is formed from a web of material.
13. A pack blank according to any preceding claim which is dimensioned so that the pack formed from the pack blank has a width in the range of 20 to 26 mm, a length in the range of 52 to 65 mm and/or a height in the range of 85 to 122 mm.
14. A pack blank according to any preceding claim comprising a single fold line at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has generally square corners.
15. A pack blank according to any preceding claim comprising a pair of fold lines at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has chamfered corners.
16. A pack blank according to any preceding claim comprising a fold strip at at least one join between adjacent portions such that the pack formed from the pack blank has at least one of round and half-round corners.
17. A pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, formed from the pack blank according to any preceding claim.
18. A pack according to claim 17 which does not have an insert.
19. A method of forming a pack for storing a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles, comprising the steps of cutting a pack blank from a sheet material, the pack blank comprising a body portion, a lid portion and a spacer portion, folding the pack blank about predetermined folding lines so as to shape the pack blank into a pack, wherein the body portion forms a body of the pack, the lid portion forms a lid of the pack and the spacer portion forms a spacer positioned inside the body of the pack.
20. A method of forming a pack according to claim 19 in which the spacer formed by the spacer portion provides rigidity to the pack.
21. A method of forming a pack according to claim 19 or claim 20 comprising the step of folding the pack blank such that at least a portion of the body is locatable within the lid and frictionally engageable with the lid to restrict opening of the lid.
22. A method of forming a pack according to any of claims 19 to 21 comprising the step of folding the pack blank such that, in use, the spacer spaces smoking articles within the pack away from a pack edge.
23. A pack blank substantially as shown in and/or as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
24. A pack substantially as shown in and/or as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
25. A method of forming a pack as shown in and/or as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.