WO2000051912A1

WO2000051912A1 - Pack for smoking articles

Info

Publication number: WO2000051912A1
Application number: PCT/GB2000/000581
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colin Dennis Luton; Rodney George Taylor
Original assignee: Imperial Tobacco Limited
Priority date: 1999-03-01
Filing date: 2000-02-18
Publication date: 2000-09-08
Also published as: EP1033327A1; AU2564000A; TWM246322U

Abstract

There is provided a pack (13) for elongate smoking articles encased in an inner wrapping and comprising a paperboard outer container having a generally rectangular base (14), four hingedly connected side walls (15-20) which upstand from the said base, and top panel means (22) which partially closes off the top of the pack. The side walls (15-20) are substantially the same height as the smoking articles and are secured with respect to the base. Access to the smoking articles is made by way of the top panel means (22).

Description

PACK FOR SMOKING ARTICLES

The present invention relates to packs for smoking articles which are elongate in appearance such as cigarettes.

Packs for such smoking articles generally fall into one of three well known types. These are "hard" or "crushproof packs having a hinged lid portion, "hull and slide" packs having an open ended outer hull in which the slide reciprocates and "soft" packs in which a foil bundle of smoking articles are covered in a paper wrapper which is open at its upper end. The "hard" and "soft" packs are much more popular than the rather old fashioned "hull and slide" packs and tend to appeal to different consumers for different reasons. "Soft" packs are less rigid than "hard" packs and tend to be less bulky after some of the contents have been used. This, however, can lead to damage to the remaining contents due to crushing of the flexible paper wrapper.

According to the present invention there is provided a pack for elongate smoking articles encased in an outer wrapping, said pack comprising a paperboard outer container having a generally rectangular base, four hingedly connected side walls upstanding therefrom and comprising two main side walls oppositely disposed to each other and two second side walls oppositely disposed to each other, and top panel means which partially closes off the top of the pack and which comprises a single top panel hingedly connected to one of said main side walls and a securing panel hingedly connected to said top panel and adhesively secured to the inside of the other main side wall with a further securing panel which is hingedly connected to the second side wall adjacent the top panel and which is hingedly connected adhesively secured to the underside thereof, said side walls being substantially the same height as the smoking articles and being secured with respect to the base, the junctions between adjoining pairs of side walls being rounded or bevelled, and access to the smoking articles being made by way of the top panel means through the part of the top adjacent one of the second side walls which part is not closed off by the top panel.

Preferably said main side walls are wider than the second side walls. Ideally the securing panel extends further towards said one second side wall than the top panel.

In some arrangements the top panel extends from adjacent the other second side wall over halfway towards said one second side panel and the securing panel extends over two thirds the way towards said one second side panel.

Normally a tax band extends over the single top panel, is secured thereto and to said opposite main side walls, and has a transverse edge aligned with the transverse free edge of the top panel.

The invention also provides a blank for producing a pack as described above.

Preferably the base is hingedly connected at opposite edges to said main side walls, each of which are hingedly connected to oppositely disposed side wall portions, the side wall portions of one main side wall, in use, being adhesively secured to the respective side wall portions of the opposite main side wall to produce said two second side walls.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail making reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pack according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a foil wrapped bundle of smoking articles, and

Figure 3 shows on a different scale a blank for encasing the figure 2 bundle to produce the pack shown in figure 1.

Figure 2 shows a bundle 10 comprising a number of smoking articles, such as twenty cigarettes, wrapped in a folded inner wrapping 11. The wrapping 11 may be made of a thin, flexible material such as paper, metal foil or a metal coated paper. Such bundles are well known in the tobacco industry and only one example has been shown although other folding configurations are known for the wrapping 11.

Figure 3 shows a paperboard blank 12 for folding and securing about the bundle 10 to produce a pack 13 as shown in figure 1. The blank 12 has a base 14 which is hingedly connected on opposite sides to first and second main side walls 15, 16. The base 14 is generally rectangular with rounded corners. Hingedly connected at 21 to opposite lateral edges of the main side walls 15, 16 are side wall portions 17, 18, 19, 20. Each hinge connection 21 in this embodiment comprises a number of lengthwise creases, the purpose of which will become apparent in due course.

Hingedly connected to the edge of the first main side wall 15 remote from the base 14 is a top panel 22 which in turn is hingedly connected to a securing panel 23. The top panel 22 extends just over halfway along the upper edge of the main side wall 15 but the securing panel 23 has a portion 23 a which extends further than the top panel 22, over two thirds the width of one of the main side walls. A further securing panel 26 is hingedly connected to the side wall portion 18. Tuck flaps 25 are also hingedly connected to the side wall portions 17, 18 adjacent the base 14.

In one method of assembling the pack 13, the bundle 10 is placed on, and optionally adhesively secured to the first side wall 15. The side wall portions 17, 18 are then folded around the bundle and the further securing panel 26 is folded in so as to lie against the top face of the bundle 10. The tuck flaps 25 are also folded in to lie against the base of the bundle 10. The top panel 22 is then folded up so as to be adhesively secured to the further securing panel 26 and to lie against the top of the bundle 10. The base 14 is also folded up so as to lie against the tuck flaps and the bottom of the bundle 10. The securing panel 23, 23a is then folded over so as to lie against the bundle 10 and the second side wall 16 is folded down on to the bundle to be adhesively secured to the securing panel 23, 23a. The side wall portions 19, 20 are then folded around to be adhesively secured to the other side wall portions 17, 18 respectively.

A tax band 24 may also be attached over the top of the top panel 22 from the first side wall 15 to the second side wall 16. The tax band 24 is usually centrally located between the side wall portions 17 - 20 overlying the top panel 22 with an edge aligned with the transverse free edge 27 of the top panel 22. This results in the pack configuration shown in figure 1.

The lengthwise creases of each hinge connection 21 enable the blank 12 to curve around the bundle 10 which has a smoking article at each corner. In this way the finished pack 13 does not have sharp lengthwise edges but radiussed edges which are matched in the top panel 22 and base 14.

It will be appreciated that other ways of folding and securing the blank are possible. Also, the hinge connections 21 could be in the form of small angled bevel panels defined between two lengthwise creases.

The blank 12 illustrated is adapted to be run on a modified machine normally used for manufacturing crushproof packs with the securing panel portion 23a facilitating movement of the blank 12 through the machine by providing sufficient board on the other side of the lengthwise centre line of the blank. Also, the further securing panel 26 prevents the top panel 22 from lifting away from the bundle 10, conceals the wrapping 11 of the bundle at the closed off end of the top panel 22 and helps to prevent tobacco grounds from being deposited out of the closed off end of the top panel 22.

To gain access to the smoking articles, the wrapping 11 of the bundle 10 is clearly visible through the open part of the top panel. However, in practise the packs 13 will be overwrapped with a clear plastic film for added sealing and protection.

It will be appreciated that the pack 13 has many of the attributes of a "soft" pack with the paperboard sides giving the pack more rigidity against certain crushing forces. In addition the provision of a paperboard base and a partial top panel with the securing panels 23, 23 a, 26 give the pack further rigidity against differently oriented crushing forces. However, the pack is not reinforced to the extent that it is as rigid as a standard "hard" pack and this is an important feature to those consumers who tend to prefer the look and feel of "soft" packs. The pack 13 may also appeal to those consumers who tend to buy "hard" packs because the pack 13 is not as rigid as "hard" packs but retains its shape sufficiently to reduce the damage to the contents when compared to standard "soft" packs.

Alternative blank configurations and sizes could of course be utilised in place of the blank described above.

Claims

1. A pack for elongate smoking articles encased in an outer wrapping, said pack comprising a paperboard outer container having a generally rectangular base, four hingedly connected side walls upstanding therefrom and comprising two main side walls oppositely disposed to each other and two second side walls oppositely disposed to each other, and top panel means which partially closes off the top of the pack and which comprises a single top panel hingedly connected to one of said main side walls and a securing panel hingedly connected to said top panel and adhesively secured to the inside of the other main side wall with a further securing panel which is hingedly connected to the second side wall adjacent the top panel and which is adhesively secured to the underside thereof, said side walls being substantially the same height as the smoking articles and being secured with respect to the base, the junctions between adjoining pairs of side walls being rounded or bevelled, and access to the smoking articles being made by way of the top panel means through the part of the top adjacent one of the second side walls which part is not closed off by the top panel.

2. A pack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said main side walls are wider than the second side walls.

3. A pack as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the securing panel extends further towards said one second side wall than the top panel.

4. A pack as claimed in claim 3 wherein the top panel extends from the other second side wall over halfway towards said one second side panel and the securing panel extends over two thirds the way towards said one second side panel.

5. A pack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein a tax band extends over the single top panel, is secured thereto and to said opposite main side walls, and has a transverse edge aligned with the transverse free edge of the top panel.

6. A blank for forming a pack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A blank as claimed in claim 6 wherein the base is hingedly connected at opposite edges to said main side walls, each of which are hingedly connected to oppositely disposed side wall portions, the side wall portions of one main side wall, in use, being adhesively secured to the respective side wall portions of the opposite main side wall to produce said two second side walls.