EP3322650B1

EP3322650B1 - Soft cigarette package with a sealing stamp provided with a tear-open portion

Info

Publication number: EP3322650B1
Application number: EP16754548.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luca Petrucci; Luca Federici
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2015-07-15
Filing date: 2016-07-15
Publication date: 2019-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 2036-07-15
Also published as: WO2017009810A1; ITUB20152186A1; CN107848692A; EP3322650A1; PT3322650T; PL3322650T3; CN107848692B

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a soft (supple) cigarette package provided with a sealing stamp (or sealing band).

PRIOR ART

A soft cigarette package currently on the market (for example, the type described in patent application EP1813552-A1 ) comprises an inner wrapper of metallized paper completely surrounding a group of cigarettes, and an outer wrapper which is made of soft wrapping material, is cup-shaped, and encloses the inner wrapper on five sides leaving exposed a top wall (or head wall) of the inner wrapper itself. Furthermore, the soft cigarette package comprises a sealing stamp (usually having also a tax purpose, i.e. also providing proof of payment of a government tax), which is glued to the outer wrapper, is "U" folded, and is arranged astride the top wall (or head wall) of the inner wrapper in order to support its own central portion against the top wall (or head wall) of the inner wrapper. The inner wrapper is normally completely devoid of glue, and therefore is kept closed, and inside the outer wrapper by the presence of the sealing stamp which then, also has the function of stabilizing and retaining the inner wrapper.
To withdraw the cigarettes, the smoker, at the first opening of the package, must rip a part of the top part of the inner wrapper left uncovered by the sealing stamp (i.e. the smoker rips the top part of the inner wrapper next to the sealing stamp).
The patent application WO2016005938A1 describes a soft cigarette package wherein the sealing stamp exclusively and completely overlaps the top part of the inner wrapper, and does not touch the outer wrapper in any point, and is glued to the top part of the inner wrapper by means of glue. In said cigarette package, to withdraw the cigarettes, the smoker, at the first opening of the package, must generally also rip a part of the sealing stamp together with part of the underlying top wall of the inner wrapper; however, due to the glue applied between the sealing stamp and the top part of the inner wrapper, the ripping of the top part of the inner wrapper and, simultaneously, of the overlying sealing stamp is relatively simple but not entirely convenient and immediate. The patent US5333729A1 describes a soft cigarette package having: a group of cigarettes; an inner wrapper enclosing the group of cigarettes and has a top wall; an outer wrapper, which surrounds on five sides the inner wrapper leaving exposed the top part of the inner wrapper; and a sealing stamp, which has a rectangular shape, partially overlaps the top part of the inner wrapper and has a tear-removable portion which is separated from the remaining part of the sealing stamp by means of a pre-weakened tear-open line. In said cigarette package, to withdraw the cigarettes, the smoker, at the first opening of the package, must rip the sealing stamp at the pre-weakened tear-open line to lift the tear-removable portion of the sealing stamp with respect to the remaining part of the sealing stamp; however, the ripping at the pre-weakened tear-open line of the sealing stamp is relatively simple but not entirely convenient and immediate.
The patent US2053726A and the patent application US2011180594A1 disclose paper containers provided with tear strips.
US1943810A and FR1033267A disclose soft cigarette packages of the prior art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a soft cigarette package provided with a sealing stamp, which cigarette package is free from the drawbacks described above and is, at the same time, easy and inexpensive to manufacture. According to the present invention, a soft cigarette package provided with a sealing stamp, according to the attached claims is provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some examples of non-limiting embodiments, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a soft cigarette package provided with a sealing stamp made according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front perspective view of a group of cigarettes contained in the cigarette package of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front perspective view of an inner wrapper of the cigarette package of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a front perspective view of an outer wrapper of the cigarette package of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the cigarette package of Figure 1 devoid of the sealing stamp;
Figure 6 is a view of a sheet of wrapping material used to make the inner wrapper of Figure 3;
Figure 7 is a view of a further embodiment of a sheet of wrapping material used to make the inner wrapper of Figure 3;
Figure 8 is a view of a sheet of wrapping material used to make the outer wrapper of Figure 4;
Figure 9 is a front perspective view of the cigarette package of Figure 1 wrapped in a transparent plastic material overwrap;
Figure 10 is a plan view of the sealing stamp of the cigarette package of Figure 1; and
Figures 11-14 are four plan views of as many alternatives of the sealing stamp of Figure 10.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In Figure 1, number 1 denotes in its entirety a soft cigarette package (supple). The cigarette package 1 comprises an outer wrap 2 (illustrated alone in Figure 4) formed by a cup-shaped soft wrapping material and an inner wrapper 3 (illustrated in its entirety in Figure 3) which is housed inside the outer wrap 2 and surrounds a parallelepiped-shaped group 4 of cigarettes (illustrated in figure 2).
As illustrated in Figure 3, the inner wrapper 3 has a parallelepiped shape with a top wall 5 and a bottom wall 6 both parallel and opposite to each other, a front wall 7 and a rear wall 8 both parallel and opposite to each other, and two lateral walls 9 both parallel and opposite to each other.
The inner wrapper 3 is made by folding a sheet of wrapping material 10 (illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 in two different embodiments alternative to each other) of metallized paper around the group 4 of cigarettes. During the folding of the sheet of wrapping material 10 illustrated in Figure 6 a longitudinal overlap between two opposite edges of the sheet of wrapping material 10 is made, at a side wall 9 of the inner wrapper 3 and two head folds (i.e. a fold that closes an open end of a tubular wrapper) at the top wall 5 and bottom wall 6. During the folding of the sheet of wrapping material 10 illustrated in Figure 7 a longitudinal overlap is made between two opposite edges 10 of the sheet of wrapping material at each side wall 9 of the inner wrapper 3 and a head fold (i.e. a folding that closes an open end of a tubular wrapper) is made at the top wall 5. Accordingly, the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 comprises a rear fold flap 12, which is folded partially on the group 4 of cigarettes and a front fold flap 11, which is partially folded on the rear fold flap 12; the front fold flap 11 has a trapezoidal shape having a longer base coincident with a top edge of the front wall 7, whereas the rear fold flap 12 has a trapezoidal shape having a longer base coincident with a top edge of the rear wall 8.
As illustrated in Figure 4, the outer wrap 2 has a parallelepiped shape and has an open top end 13 and a bottom wall 14 both parallel and opposite to each other, a front wall 15 and a rear wall 16 both parallel and opposite to each other, and two lateral walls 17 both parallel and opposite to each other. In essence, the outer wrap 2 surrounds the inner wrapper 3 on five sides inside leaving the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 exposed. The outer wrap 2 is formed by folding a sheet of wrapping material 18 (illustrated in Figure 8) around the outer wrapper 3; during the folding of the sheet of wrapping material 18 a longitudinal overlap is formed between two opposite ends of the wrapping sheet 18 at a side wall 17 of the outer wrap 2 and a head fold (i.e. a fold which closes an open end of tubular wrapper) is made at the bottom wall 14 of the outer wrap 2.
Finally, as illustrated in Figure 1, the cigarette package 1 comprises a sealing stamp 19 (or sealing band 19), which can also have a tax purpose, i.e. could also provide proof of payment of government taxes; alternatively, the sealing stamp 19 could also_not have any tax purpose. The sealing stamp 19 solely and completely overlaps the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 and does not touch the outer wrap 2 in any point. In other words, the sealing stamp 19 has a flat rectangular shape (i.e. the sealing stamp 19 is completely flat and is devoid of any type of folding) and overlaps only the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3, does not touch the inner wrapper 3 in any point, and does not touch the outer wrap 2 in any point. In particular, the sealing stamp 19 symmetrically arranged in the center of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 and overlaps both the front fold flap 11, and the rear fold flap 12 of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 (as better illustrated in figure 5).
According to a preferred (but not binding) embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the sealing stamp 19 has a rectangular shape having the longer base parallel to the top edge of the front wall 7 of the inner wrapper 3 (and thus also parallel to the top edge of the rear wall 8 of the inner wrapper 3) and the shorter base parallel to the top edges of the side walls 9 of the inner wrapper 3. Furthermore, according to a preferred (but not binding) embodiment, the sealing stamp 19 shows an overall size (i.e. an area) of less than the size (area) of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3. As illustrated in Figure 5, the sealing stamp 19 is glued to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 by means of the glue 20; preferably, the glue 20 is applied to a bottom face of the sealing stamp 19 before applying the sealing stamp 19 to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 (i.e. the sealing stamp 19 is coated before applying the sealing stamp 19 to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3). The glue 20 is interposed between the sealing stamp 19 and the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 so as to be arranged both at the front fold flap 11 of the top wall 5, and at the rear fold flap 12 of the top wall 5. In other words, the sealing stamp 19 is glued by means of the glue 20 to fold both flaps 11 and 12 of the top wall 5.
As illustrated in Figure 8, between the outer wrap 2 and the inner wrapper 3 the glue 21 is interposed, i.e. an inner face of the outer wrap 2 is glued to an outer face of the inner wrapper 3 by means of the glue 21. According to a preferred (but not binding) embodiment illustrated in figure 8, the glue 21 is interposed between the front wall 7 of the inner wrapper 3 and the front wall 15 of the outer wrap 2 and the glue 21 is interposed between the rear wall 8 of the inner wrapper 3 and the rear wall 16 of the outer wrap 2. Preferably, the glue 21 is applied next to the open top end 13 of the outer wrap 2, that is, at a top edge of the outer wrap 2, i.e. next to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3. The function of the glue 21 is to make the inner wrapper 3 integral with the outer wrap 2 so as to prevent, in use, the inner wrapper 3 from sliding axially with respect to outer wrap 2 (i.e., so as to prevent, in use, the inner wrapper 3 from sliding axially from the outer wrap 2).
As illustrated in Figure 8, the outer wrap 2 is further provided with the glue 22, which has the function to stabilize the shape of the outer wrap 2; in other words, the glue 22 keeps in mutual contact the overlapping portions of the wrapping sheet 18 at the bottom wall 14 of the outer wrap 2 at a lateral wall 17 of the outer wrap 2 so as to make the shape of the outer wrap form 2 stable.
As illustrated in Figures 3, 6 and 7, the inner wrapper 3 is provided with the glue 23 that has the function to stabilize the shape of the inner wrapper 3 at the top wall 5; in other words, the glue 23 only stabilizes the folds of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3. In particular, the glue 23 is arranged between the two fold flaps 11 and 12 of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 so as to stabilize the shape of the inner wrapper 3 at the top wall 5. The function of the glue 23 is to stabilize the shape of the inner wrapper 3 at the top wall 5 so as to simplify the application of the sealing stamp 19: thanks to the provision of the glue 23, the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 is (sufficiently) stable and therefore it is possible to apply the sealing stamp 19 without having to simultaneously keep the top wall 5 itself held down.
It is important to note that in the finished cigarette package 1, the shape of the inner wrapper 3 at the top wall 5 is stabilized both by the provision of the glue 23, and by the provision of the sealing stamp 19 which is glued to the top wall 5 by means of glue 20; accordingly, it is sufficient that the glue 23 provides a limited stabilization of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 until the application of the sealing stamp 19, and therefore the glue 23 is generally little and affects a limited portion of the top wall 5.
As illustrated in Figure 9, normally, the cigarette package 1 comprises a transparent plastic material (cellophane) overwrap 24, which is wound around the outer wrap 2, stabilized by heat sealing, and has a tear-strip 25.
As illustrated in Figures 1 and 10, the sealing stamp 19 comprises a removable tear-off portion 26, which is separated from the remaining part of the sealing stamp 19 by means of a pre-weakened tear-open line 27, i.e. a tear-open line 27 that has been previously weakened so as to have a reduced resistance to ripping and thus facilitate and guide the tearing of the sealing stamp 19. According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the tear-open line 27 is "U"-shaped. In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the tear-open line 27 connects the two longer edges (i.e. having the greatest extension) of the sealing stamp 19, i.e. the tear-open line 27 extends from a longer edge of the sealing stamp 19 to the opposite longer edge of the sealing stamp 19.
As illustrated in Figure 10, the tear-open line 27 comprises a central portion 28 which is "U"-shaped (i.e. forms the cusp of the tear-open line 27) and is completely cut (i.e. completely incised, that is, subjected to a seamless through cut crossing from side to side the sealing stamp 19) and two lateral portions 29 that are substantially straight (but may also be curvilinear) and are only partially cut (incised) so as to keep a residual mechanical connection which must be subsequently ripped. The side portions 29 may have a partial and continuous incision or, alternatively, a series of through cuts interspersed by portions entirely intact. In this way, the smoker can easily grasp the removable portion 26 at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 to pull upwards the removable portion 26 and then remove by tearing the removable portion 26 itself (by ripping apart the two lateral portions 29 of the tear-open line 27). In other words, the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 forms a graspable appendage which can be easily grasped by the smoker.
It is important to note preferably (but not necessarily) that at least part of the glue 20 which connects the sealing stamp 19 to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 is arranged at the removable portion 26 so that by tear-removing the removable portion 26 also part of the underlying top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 is lifted (and possibly partially torn) thus uncovering the cigarettes. Preferably and as illustrated in the accompanying figures, the glue 20 is not arranged at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 so as to not bind the removable portion 26 to the underlying top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27; in this way, the user can grasp in a much easier way the removable portion 26 at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 so as to proceed with the complete tearing of the tear-open line 27 and then to removes by tearing the tear-off portion 26. Alternatively and according to an embodiment not illustrated, all of the glue 20 that connects the sealing stamp 19 to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 is arranged out of the removable portion 26; in other words, all of the glue 20 that connects the sealing stamp 19 to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 is arranged in the remaining part of the sealing stamp 19 complementary to the removable portion 26.
According to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, there is not any bind between the sealing stamp 19 (in particular between the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19) and the overwrap 24. Consequently, the smoker, at the first opening of the cigarette package 1, initially removes the top part of the overwrap 24 by pulling the tear-strip 25 in a known manner and thus uncovering the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 provided with the sealing stamp 19 (completely intact in this step); subsequently, the smoker grasps the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19 at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 and then pulls to remove by tearing the removable portion 26 itself (and possibly part of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 due to the binding effect that can be established by the glue 20 between the removable portion 26 and the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3).
According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 11 and 12, a connection between the sealing stamp 19 (in particular between the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19) and the overwrap 24 is provided; in particular, the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19 is glued to the plastic material overwrap 24 by means of glue 30. Consequently, the smoker, at the first opening of the cigarette package 1 removes the top part of the plastic material overwrap 24 by pulling the tear-strip 25 in a known manner and therefore with the same gesture also removes the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19 which is bound to the top part of the overwrap 24 due to the connection that can be established by the glue 30; together with the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19 part of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 could also be eliminated due to the bind which can be established between removable portion 26 and the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 by the glue 20. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 11, the central portion 28 is completely cut in order to facilitate the complete tearing of the tear-open line 27 in that the removable portion 26 is no longer directly grasped by the smoker. Whereas, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 12, the central portion 28 is only partially cut (incised) so as to keep a residual mechanical connection which must be subsequently torn; this embodiment requires greater care to tear the tear-open line 27, but in return provides a better containment of the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 by means of the sealing stamp 19.
In Figures 13 and 14 two alternatives of the removable portion 26 of the sealing stamp 19 illustrated in Figure 10 are show which differ only by the size and position of the tear-open line 27.
In the embodiments illustrated, the sealing stamp 19 exclusively and completely overlaps the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 and does not touch the outer wrap 2 in any point; furthermore, the sealing stamp 19 is glued to the underlying top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 by means of the glue 20. According to other embodiments, not illustrated, the sealing stamp 19 is otherwise coupled to the inner wrapper 3 and in particular is glued to the outer wrap 2, is "U"-folded, and is arranged astride the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 so as to rest only its own central portion against the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3; in this case the sealing stamp 19 may not even be glued to the top wall 5 of the inner wrapper 3 (i.e. the glue 20 may or may not be provided) but only to the front 15 and rear 16 walls of the outer wrap 2. The cigarette package 1 described above has numerous advantages.
In the first place, in the cigarette package 1 described above, the ripping of the sealing stamp 19 is extremely convenient and immediate even for a smoker with physical limitations. This result is achieved thanks to the fact that the smoker can easily grasp the removable portion 26 at the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 to pull upwards the removable portion 26 and then remove by tearing the removable portion 26 itself (by tearing the two side portions 29 of the tear-open line 27); in other words, the central portion 28 of the tear-open line 27 forms a graspable appendage which can be grasped conveniently by the smoker.
Furthermore, the cigarette package 1 described above is easy to produce as it can be manufactured by a substantially standard packing machine for cigarettes; i.e. changes to be made to a standard cigarette packing machine for manufacturing the cigarette package 1 described above, are limited and substantially trivial. In particular, to adapt a standard cigarettes packing machine for the manufacturing of the cigarette package 1 described above it is sufficient to provide a simple incising unit (essentially a knife having a reciprocating motion) which cyclically manufactures the tear-open line 27 on the sealing stamps 19.

Claims

A soft cigarette package (1), comprising:
a group (4) of cigarettes;

an inner wrapper (3), which encloses the group (4) of cigarettes and has a top wall (5);

an outer wrapper (2), which surrounds the inner wrapper (3) on five sides leaves the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) exposed; and

a sealing stamp (19), which has a rectangular shape, at least partially overlaps the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) and comprises a tear-removable portion (26), which is separated from the remaining part of the sealing stamp (19) by means of a "U"-shaped pre-weakened tear-open line (27);

wherein the sealing stamp (19) is glued to the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) by means of a first glue (20) and at least part of the first glue (20) is applied onto the removable portion (26);

the package (1) is characterized in that:
the tear-open line (27) comprises a central portion (28), which is "U"-shaped and is completely cut, and two lateral portions (29), which are only partially cut so as to preserve a residual mechanical connection, which must be subsequently ripped; and

the first glue (20) is not applied onto the central portion (28) of the tear-open line (27).
The cigarette package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the tear-open line (27) extends from a longer side of the sealing stamp (19) to the opposite longer side of the sealing stamp (19).
The cigarette package (1) according to claim 1 or 2 and comprising a plastic material overwrap (24), which is wrapped around the outer wrapper (2) and is connected to the removable portion (26).
The cigarette package (1) according to claim 3, wherein the overwrap (24) is connected to the removable portion (26) by means of a second glue (30).
The cigarette package (1) according to any of the claims from 1 to 4, wherein:
the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) comprises two fold flaps (11, 12), which have a trapezoidal shape and partially overlap one another; and

the first glue (20) is interposed between the sealing stamp (19) and the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) so as to be applied onto both fold flaps (11, 12) of the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3).
The cigarette package (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 5, wherein the sealing stamp (19) exclusively and completely overlaps the top wall (5) of the inner wrapper (3) and does not touch the outer wrapper (2) in any point.