US3007623A - Dual cigarette pack - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 7, 1961 P. F. CLEMENS DUAL CIGARETTE PACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28, 1959 Fig.4

Fig. 3

INVENTOR. PAUL F. CLEMENS States The present invention relates generally to packaging and more particularly to a dual cigarette pack.

The general or primary object of the invention is to provide for packaging of two diiferent kinds of cigarettes in a single container. For instance, one compartment could contain filter tips and the other plain cigarettes, or plain and mentholated cigarettes, as a further example, could be combined. The dual type pack is particularly useful for smokers who prefer to alter types of cigarettes, or for use by considerate gentlemen Whose wives or sweethearts prefer a second type of cigarette. The dual pack is also ideal for use at parties and gatherings where various smokers may prefer different types of cigarettes as no one wishes to carry two individual packs.

An ancillary object of this invention is to provide a dual cigarette pack adapted to contain two different types of cigarettes separately and having means for opening each separate portion individually.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dual cigarette pack having an outer sealing wrapper which is removable in such a manner that one portion of the pack is kept closed while the other is in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dual cigarette pack which is adaptable to both soft pack and hinged lid types of containers.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dual cigarette pack which can be made, packed and wrapped with existing types of packaging machinery.

Finally, it is an object to provide a dual cigarette pack of the aforementioned character which is simple and convenient to use and which will give full protection to the contents while allowing quick access thereto.

With these and other objects definitely in view, this invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification, particularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated in the drawings which form a material part of this disclosure, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the dual cigarette pack, completely closed and sealed;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the outer Wrapper partially removed and one compartment open;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3, but showing an alternative construction;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View similar to FIGURE 2, showing an alternative lid arrangement;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 5, showing a further lid arrangement;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a soft pack embodying the structure of the dual pack; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7, one compartment being opened.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the views of the drawings.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-3 of the drawings, the pack includes a container 10 of stiff paper or cardboard, as used in conventional cigarette packs, having a closed lower end 12. The upper end of the container 10 has a pair of lids 14' and '16 hinged adjacent the center thereof on spaced, parallel hinge portions 18 and 20 extending transversely across the container, sothat the lids open upwardly and inwardly. The lids 14 and 16 are tapered atent O and have lower edges 22 extending outwardly and downwardly from the hinged ends thereof, the container 10 being configured to fit said lids and having correspondingly sloping, upper stop edges 24. When the lids 14 and 16 are closed, with the lower edges 22 resting on the stop edges 24, said lids are complementary to the principal portion of the container iii and form the upper portion thereof. Inside the container Iltl is a fixed liner 26 having guide portions 28 projecting above the stop edges 24, said guide portions fitting closely inside the lids l4- and 16 to guide and align the lids when closing and then to hold the lids closed. For access to the cigarettes, the guide portion 28 are provided with notches 30. The arrangement of each, individual lid 14 or 16, together with the liner 26 and the respective guide portion 28, is similar to that used in conventional single compartment cigarette packs and other types of lid construction may be used if desired.

The container 10 is provided with an inner partition 32 extending across the container parallel to and between the hinge portions 18 and 20 and for the full height of the container, to form two separate compartments 34 and 36 therein. Surrounding and completely enclosing the container It is an outer wrapper 33 of cellophane, or the like, which is applied to the container and sealed in the conventional manner. The outer wrapper 38 is provided with a tear strip 40 secured inside the wrapper and extending longitudinally around the center of the container 10, substantially in the plane of the partition 32 and passing between the hinge portions 18 and 20. One end of the tear strip 40 is exposed to serve as a pull tab 42, so that the outer wrapper 38 can be separated for removal from the container in the usual manner. However, the central disposition of the tear strip 4d allows the outer wrapper 38 to be separated into two equal portions, each enclosing one side of the container 10 and thus one compartment thereof. In the conventional single compartment pack, the tear strip removes one end of the outer wrapper and exposes the entire openable portion, while the major portion of the wrapper remains in place on the permanently closed body of the pack. In the present dual compartment pack, one half of the outer wrapper 38 can be removed leaving one compartment still closed by the remaining half wrapper 44, as in FIGURES 2 and 3.

To simplify packaging and facilitate many different combinations of cigarettes, the dual pack 48 may be made as illustrated in FIGURE 4, using a pair of individual containers 50 and 52 cemented or otherwise secured together at a common face 54. The container 50 has a liner 56 with guide portion 53 and a lid 60, hinged adjacent the common face 54. The container 52 similarly has a liner 56 with guide portion 58 and its own lid 62, hinged at the common face 54. The lids 60 and 62 thus open upwardly and inwardly as in FIGURES 1-3. The use of two separate containers enables each to be packed separately with a specific type of cigarette, any two containers being joined together to obtain the required combination. The interconnected walls of the containers 50 and 52 form a double partition 64 corresponding to the partition 32. The interconnected containers are closed in an outer wrapper as previously described, the half wrapper 44 being shown in place in FIGURE 4 with the lid '60 open and the container 52 still enclosed.

The dual pack 68 illustrated in FIGURE-5 is constructed from two containers 7 a and 72, but the containers are fixed together so that their lids 74 and 76 swing upwardly from one side of the pack in the same direction, the construction of the containers being as described for FIGURE 4.

In FIGURE 6, the dual pack 78 is similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 5, except that one container 72 is reversed so that the lids 74 and 76 open in opposite directions. The particular advantage of this arrangement is that regardless of which container is in use, the lid can be opened with the same thumb action in a convenient manner.

The pack illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8 is of the so-called soft pack type and comprises a container 80 having a closed end 82. Inside the container 80 are two individual packages 84 and 86 enclosed in inner wrappers S8 and 0, of metallized paper or the like, each containing cigarettes indicated in broken line at 92. The container 80 is enclosed in an outer wrapper 38 with a tear strip 40 having a pull tab 42, as previously described. In FIG- URE 8, the outer wrapper has been separated leaving the half wrapper 44, and the exposed package 86 is opened while the package 84 is still enclosed.

In each instance, the pack contains two separate compartments which can be opened individually, and is enclosed in a wrapper which may be removed half at a time to expose one compartment while the other remains enclosed.

The operation of this invention will be clearly comprehended from a consideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawing and the above recited objects. It will be obvious that all said objects are amply achieved by this invention It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed hereinmay be made without departure from the spirit andscope of the invention, and that the specification and drawings are to be considered as merely illustrative.

I claim:

A dual cigarette pack, comprising: a container having opposed faces and a closed lower end, the upper end of said container having two separately openable lids with hinge means on parallel axes adjacent said opposed faces to open upwardly in opposite directions; dividing means in said containers defining two individual compartments; an outer wrapper completely enclosing said container; and wrapper separating means extending around said container and passing between said hinge means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,965 Williams Feb. 19, 1918 2,042,073 Rose May 26, 1936 2,283,856 Hoenig May 19, 1942 2,425,230 Cann Aug. 5, 1947 2,569,018 Priester Sept. 25, 1951 2,665,834 Anglada Jan. 12, 1954

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