US3472361A - Cigarette package - Google Patents

Description

Oct.' 14,1969- R, FARSME CIGARETTE' PACKAGE Filed Oct. 26. 196'? REzA 'FA IN\ E\TOR RsAvE TORNEx/s United States Patent O 3,472,361 CIGARETTE PACKAGE Reza Farsaie, 1040 Crest View Drive, San Carlos, Calif. 94070 Filed Oct. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 678,337 Int. Cl. B65d 85 /1 0 U.S. Cl. 206-38 3 Claims `ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A cigarette package of the type comprising a relatively stiff box-like container having a hingedly mounted cover selectively movable between open and closed positions. The cigarettes which also comprise a part of the package have substantially the same lengths so as to define a predetermined height within the container. With the cover open, the stationary side wall structures of the container terminate at an elevation above the height of the cigarettes, the stationary front wall structure has a recessed portion terminating below the height of the cigarettes so as to provide convenient access thereto, and the stationary rear wall structure terminates at substantially the elevaithon of the cigarettes in a hinge providing the means by which the cover is movably secured to the stationary components of the container. As a result of this arrangement, when the cover is in its open position the whole inner surface of the topgwall thereof is viewable without obstruction from the cigarettes so that the entire area of a mirror located along such surface of the top wall is usable for viewing purposes.

This invention relates to a cigarette package and, more particularly, to an improved cigarette package of the type that comprises a relatively stiff box-like container or carton having a hingedly mounted cover selectively movable between open and closed positions to provide access to the cigarettes located Within the container.

As is well known, cigarette containers of the character described are formed of relatively stiff paper, often referred to as chipboard or paperboard, so as to provide the degree of stiffness `desired to form a protective enclosure for the cigarettes received therewithin. The container comprises two general components, one of which is stationary and the other of which is a movable cover hingedly secured tothe stationary component and movable with respect thereto between open and closed positions. The stationary component includes a bottom Wall and extending upwardly therefrom are front, rear and side walls; and the cover is hingedly secured to the rear Wall Ifor movement between a closed position in which the cigarettes are completely covered by the various walls of the container and an open position providing access to the cigarettes which are of substantially uniform length and therefore have a particular height or elevation within the container.

An object, among others, of the present invention is to provide an improved cigarette package of such type in which the hinge connection for the movable cover of the container is located along the back wall thereof at substantially the height or elevation of the cigarettes therein so that when the cover is open, substantiallythe whole inner surface of the top wall thereof is viewable without interference from the cigarettes, whereby the entire area of a mirror located along the inner surface of such cover top wall is available for viewing purposes.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of a cigarette package of the character described in which the container cover is biased selectively into either the open or closed position thereof by the weight of a mirror carried by thecover along the inner surface of the top 3,472,361 Patented oct. 14, 1969 4wall thereof. Still another object is that of providing a cigarette package as described in which the side wall structures of the carton extend upwardly to an elevation above the height of the cigarettes to provide guides cooperative with side wall panels of the cover to facilitate movement thereof between its open and closed positions; and in which the side wall panels of the cover enlarge in length toward the front wall panel thereof so as to form with such front wall panel a hood that shields such mirror from stray light that might otherwise interfere with any reflection to be observed in the mirror.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the discussion thereof proceeds through an explanation of the specific structural embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a cigarette package embodying the invention, a portion of the container being broken away to show the inner liner thereof, and the cover being illustrated in its open position;

FIGURE 2 is a side view in elevation of the package illustrated in FIGURE 1, portions of the container being broken away to illustrate inner components thereof; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view similar to that of FIGURE l, but showing the cover of the package in its closed position.

The cigarette package illustrated in.` the drawings is designated generally with the numeral 10 and comprises a container or carton 11 and a plurality of cigarettes 12 positioned therewithin. In the usual case, the cigarettes 12 total twenty in number and are of substantially the same length so that they establish a predetermined height or elevation within the container. As respects the present invention, the cigarettes 12 may be conventional and, for example, can be taken to be filter tip cigarettes having any suitable length such as a length of about millimeters or the lesser king-size length, both of which are standard.

In general terms, the container 11 is of the Well known type heretofore described that constitutes a relatively stiff, rigid or firm box-like enclosure for the cigarettes, and has a movable cover or top component selectively pivoted relative to the stationary component of the container between open and closed positions as illustrated, respectively, in FIGURES 1 and 3. The stationary component of the container 11 has a bottom wall 13 upon which the cigarettes 12 seat; and secured to and extending upwardly from the bottom wall 13 are side wall structures 14 and 15, a front wall structure 16 and a rear wall structure 17. Ordinarily, the bottom, side, front and rear wall structures of the container are cut from a single piece of material such as relatively thick paper, i.e., chipboard or paperboard, which is scored and then folded into the box-like form shown in the drawings and xed in such configuration by overlying flaps adhesively secured to each other, all in accordance with standard practice.

The side and front wall structures of the container 11 are formed in part by a liner 18 located within the interior of the container and which liner has side wall laminations 19 and 20 and a front wall lamination 21 respectively comprising a part of the side wall structures 14 and 15 and front wall structure 16 of the container. The side wall structures 14 and 15 are respectively provided therealong with seating edges 22 and 23 that incline downwardly and forwardly from the elevation of a hinge 24 formed along the rear wall 17 of the container to the front wall structure 16 thereof which provides a seating edge 25 extending between and interconnecting the edges 22 and 23 at the lower forward ends thereof.

The side wall laminations 19 and 20 of the liner 18 and the front wall lamination 21 thereof' extend upwardly above such seating edges 22, 23 Yand 25, and they also extend upwardly to an elevation substantially above the height of the cigarettes 12, as shown in both FIGURES l and 2. However, the front wall lamination 21 of the liner is provided with a large recess or cut-away portion 26 having a somewhat U-shaped configuration (as seen in FIGURE 1) resulting in the front wall structure of the container terminating throughout a large central portion thereof a spaced distance below the height of the cigarettes 12 so as to provide ready access thereto when the cover 27 of the container is open.

The cover 27 includes a top wall 28, side wall panels 29 and 30 extending downwardly therefrom, and front and rear wall panels 31 and 32 which also extend downwardly from the top wall 28. The cover 27 is supported for pivotal articulation between open and closed positions by the hinge 24 which connects the cover with the rear wall structure 17 of the stationary container component. In the usual instance, the rear wall structure 17 and rear wall panel 32 of the cover will be formed integrally, with the entire container including the cover 27 thereof (but excluding the liner 18) being made from a single die-cut blank, all as is well known in the packaging art, in which case the hinge 24 is integral with both the rear wall structure 17 and rear wall panel 32. The lower edges of the side wall panels 29 and 30 of the cover 27 incline forwardly and downwardly from the hinge 24 to provide seats or seating edges 33 and 34 which are complementary in slope and disposition to the seating edges 22 and 23 so as to matingly engage the same when the cover is closed, as shown in FIGURE 3; and in a similar manner, the lower edge 35 of the front wall panel 31 seats upon the edge 25 of the container when the cover is closed.

Located within the cover 27 is a mirror or light-reflective component 36 secured to the top wall 28 along the inner surface thereof. The mirror 36 in the form shown is substantially coextensive in area with that of the top wall 28, and it is affixed within the cover in the position shown as by adhesively securing the same to the inner surface of the top wall 28. Although susceptible of being fromed from a variety of materials, polished metals for example, the mirror 36 is a glass mirror and the weight thereof is advantageously employed in gravity biasing the cover 27 selectively into either the open or closed positions thereof, as will be described hereinafter. Also useful in maintaining the cover in its closed position are one or more tabs 37 formed along the wall laminations 19 and of the liner 18, and such tabs are struck outwardly from the planes of such laminations so as to frictionally engage the wall panels 29 and 30 of the cover when the cover is closed.

The mirror 36 may be afiixed along the top wall 28 at any convenient time during the fabrication of the container, usually in accordance with the manner in which the blank from which the carton is fabricated is secured in the container-forming configuration. For example, if the side wall panels 29 and 30 of the cover are equipped with tabs that underlie the top wall 28 and are attached thereto, as is the case in certain cigarette containers, the mirror 36 is most readily secured along the top wall 28 after the container is formed. In any event, the weight of the mirror is effective to bias the cover 27 selectively toward either the open or closed position thereof depending upon the location of the center of gravity of the mirror at any instant with respect to the hinge 24. Thus, whenever the cover 27 has been opened to the extent that the weight of the mirror (i.e., its center of gravity) is oriented on the right-hand side of the hinge 24 as the container is viewed in FIGURE 2, the cover will be weightbiased toward the open position shown. Whenever the cover 27 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGURE 2) into a position at which the center of gravity of the mirror is disposed along the lefthand side of the hinge 24, the cover will be weight-biased toward its completely closed position.

The hinge 24, as explained heretofore, is located at substantially the elevation of the cigarettes 12 within the container; and as respects the viewability of the mirror 36, the hinge may be disposed at a variety of locations above the elevation of the cigarettes without adverse infiuence. Since the side wall panels 29 and 30 angle for wardly and downwardly from the hinge 24, the resultant forward projection of the side wall and front wall panels of the cover defines a hood over the mirror 36 which shields the same from image-interfering stray or ambient light which might otherwise interfere with use of the mirror. Also as concerns the hinge 24, the material from which the container is formed should be sufficiently stiff to provide a good hinge action for the cover 27.

The liner 18 is located within the cigarette-receiving compartment defined by the container, and the liner may be formed of chipboard, paperboard or other relatively thick paper so as to reinforce and stifi'en the container. The tabs 37 may be formed by severing the liner along the fold lines thereof at the mergences of the respective side wall and front wall laminations. The mirror 36 is an aid in withdrawing cigarettes 12 from the container compartment receiving the same because it collects light and partially reflects it onto the cigarettes to illuminate the upper ends thereof; and also by appropriate positioning of the cover 27, it provides a refiection of the upper ends of the cigarettes 12, which refiection can be used to guide the fingers to a cigarette for grasping the same. While as stated before, the mirror may be made of a variety of materials, it is desirable that it be of a rigid material such as of glass and disposed so that it also acts as a strengthening member for the cover top wall 28 which diminishes the possibility that the top cover can be inadvertently crushed or folded.

In the foregoing specification an embodiment of th': invention has been set forth in considerable detail for purposes of making an adequate disclosure thereof. It will be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette package: comprising a container adapted for containing a plurality of cigarettes of substantially uniform length and thereby establishing a predetermined height within said container; said container including a stationary component having a bottom wall supporting said cigarettes thereupon and front, rear, and side wall structures extending upwardly therefrom and defining a compartment receiving said cigarettes therein; said front wall structure having a recessed portion terminating a spaced distance below the height of said cigarettes to provide access thereto, said side wall structures terminating above the elevation of said cigarettes, and said rear wall structure terminating substantially at the elevation thereof; and a cover for removably closing the open upper end of the stationary component of said container and having a top wall and front, rear, and side wall panels extending therefrom; a mirror positioned within said cover and secured to said top wall thereof, said mirror being substantially coextensive in area with that of said top wall and substantially covering the inner surface thereof; said cover being hingedly secured along the rear wall panel thereof to said rear `wall structure at substantially the elevation of said cigarettes and being selectively movable between a position closing said container and an open position in which substantially the entire inner extent of said top wall is available for unobstructed viewing of said mirror, said side Wall structures being provided with seating edges therealong that slope downwardly and forwardly from the hinge connection of said cover with said rear wall structure, and said front wall structure being provided with a seating edge extending between the seating edges of said side wall structures; and in which the side and front wall panels of said cover have respectively complementary seating edges which abuttingly engage all of the aforesaid seating edges when said cover is in its closed position; said cover, augmented by the forward extension of the side and front Wall panels thereof resulting from the slope of the seating edges of said side Wall panels and connection of said front Wall panel therewith, serving as a hood to shield any such mirror located along said top wall from image-interfer ing stray light.

2. The cigarette package of claim 1 in which said container further includes a liner therewithn having side and front wall laminations respectively constituting a part of the aforesaid side and front wall structures and defining the upper terminii thereof; the side and front wall panels of said cover being disposed in enclosing relation with the upper terminal portions of said liner when the cover is in the closed position thereof.

3. The cigarette package of claim 1 in which said mirror is a glass component adhesively secured to said top wall, the weight of said mirror being effective to gravity bias said cover selectively toward the closed or open position thereof in accordance with the approximate position of said cover and the corresponding disposition of the center of gravity of said mirror.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 723,012 3/ 1903 Nederland. 3,099,382 7/1963 Talbert 229-44 10 3,167,075 l/l965 Paley et al. 206-41 X FOREIGN PATENTS 277,760 9/1951 Switzerland.

15 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner Us. C1. XR. zoe-41

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