AU2004224817A1 - A smoker's pouch - Google Patents

Description

WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 1 A SMOKER'S POUCH FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cigarette smoking and in particular to a pouch used when smoking hand-rolled cigarettes. In particular, the invention is 5 directed to a pouch for the containment of both the material to be smoked and any accessories used for smoking hand-rolled cigarettes in a single article but separately from each other and to prevent damage or contamination of one by the other. BACKGROUND ART Tobacco pouches are quite widely used in connection with hand-rolled 10 cigarettes. They are used to store and carry the tobacco or similar substance used to create the cigarette prior to smoking it. In general, tobacco pouches are manufactured from a pliable or plastic material. In their simplest form, a generally rectangular panel of material is folded and sealed along the overlapping side edges to form a compartment. The pouch 15 generally has an overlapping flap at the top in order to prevent the tobacco or like material from falling out of the pouch. The flap it is generally adapted to be sealed at least partially, in order to provide more security for the tobacco in the pouch. Tobacco pouches are generally formed of more than one layer of plastic material allowing advertising material or the like to be placed or sealed between 20 adjacent layers of plastic material. The layers of material are sealed together in order to prevent the advertising material living and/or falling out of the enclosure formed. When rolling a cigarette using tobacco from a conventional tobacco pouch, it is common to use cigarette papers and also cigarette filters. A well-equipped smoker of hand-rolled cigarettes will generally carry their cigarette papers and 25 cigarette filters separately from their tobacco pouch or at least away from their store of tobacco as tobacco has a relatively high moisture content when compared to cigarette papers and cigarette filters. As the cigarette filters and cigarette papers are generally quite dry, any excess moisture which they come into contact with will generally be absorbed by the cigarette papers and cigarette filters rendering them more difficult to 30 handle. Any moisture absorbed by the cigarette papers and filters from the tobacco also dries out the tobacco. One common way of carrying cigarette papers and cigarette filters separately from stored tobacco is to place cigarette papers and filters into a small WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 2 resealable plastic bag and carry the bag in addition to the tobacco pouch. As can be appreciated, this increases the number of articles that must be firstly remembered and secondly carried by a smoker of hand-rolled cigarettes. Another common way of carrying all of the articles required to produce 5 hand-rolled cigarettes is to carry them all together. In the case where the cigarette papers and cigarette filters are stored together with the tobacco, it can be difficult to find the required articles to roll a cigarette quickly. Searching through the tobacco can also fragment the tobacco, breaking it up and rendering it more difficult to roll into a cigarette. 10 It can be seen that there is a need for a device allowing the carriage of the hand-rolling tobacco together with, but separate from, the other accoutrements such as cigarette filters and cigarette papers that may be used to prepare a hand-rolled cigarette. It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to 15 herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a smoker's pouch, which may at least partially overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the consumer 2 0 with a useful or commercial choice. In one form, the invention resides in a smoker's pouch for carrying material capable of being smoked having at least a first and a second compartment wherein at least one of said compartments is releasably sealable to retain material capable of being smoked or smoking accoutrements in the compartment. 25 Each compartment may suitably have an opening. As used in the present specification and description of the invention, the term "sealable" is intended to mean that the opening of each compartment is occluded to retain any material placed within the compartments within the compartment. In this way, sealable may refer to respective formations engageable 30 with one another to seal the compartments, said respective formations including the situation where the openings of the compartments are sealed by a flap used to close the pouch as a whole. In that situation, opening and closing the flap acts to seal and reseal the compartments.

WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 3 The invention is described with particular reference to carrying tobacco but it is anticipated that other materials capable of being used in a hand-rolled cigarette may be carried as well or as an alternative to tobacco. The smoker's pouch may preferably be used to carry any type of 5 material which is capable of being smoked or used in a hand-rolled cigarette. The pouch may be manufactured from any type of material, but preferably may be manufactured of a flexible packaging material such as polyethylene or a copolymer or blend thereof. The material may suitably be formed as a film to allow the pouch to be of a deformable and/or resilient nature. 10 The material used to manufacture the pouch may preferably be a transparent or at least translucent material. It is generally well known that companies using smoker's pouches include advertising material in the pouch and a transparent pouch allows the easy use or inclusion of such material. The pouch itself may preferably be manufactured from more than one 15 layer of material. The layers may generally be of similar sizes and may be heat sealed to each other about at least some of their edges to form the pouch. Suitably, construction of the pouch may be started as a planar article with multiple layers. Advertising material may be located between adjacent layers. The layers may then be heat sealed around their edges. A further heat seal may be provided at the base of the 20 pouch portion to prevent any materials placed in the pouch from spreading. A portion of the article can then be folded to overlap the remainder to form a compartment. The compartment may suitably be permanently formed by heat sealing the side edges of the overlapping portions to each other. The material used to form the pouch may suitably be substantially 25 impermeable to fluid, particularly water, as wetting material such as tobacco and the like may have a detrimental affect. The material may also be non-reactive chemically with the material to be carried within the pouch. The first compartment may suitably be formed from the overlapping portions. This compartment may generally be adapted to hold or contain the material 30 capable of being used in a hand-rolled cigarette, such as tobacco. There may be an opening at an upper portion of the compartment allowing the placement into and removal of the materials and out of the compartment. The base of the first compartment may suitably be sealed, preferably heat sealed, to WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 4 prevent the tobacco spreading between the layers of material forming the pouch. The second compartment may be substantially similar to the first compartment. The second compartment may preferably be adapted to hold or contain material capable of being used in the creation and/or smoking of hand-rolled 5 cigarettes such as cigarette filters, cigarette papers or cigarette lighters. The pouch may suitably be manufactured or sold having one or more of the compartments sealed for example using a line of perforations used to temporarily seal a compartment prior to use for the first time. The perforations may allow the sealing or retention of material within the compartment prior to sale. Upon sale of the 10 pouch, the perforated line may be used to open the compartment to access the material stored therein. The compartment may then be resealed according to the invention. Once the perforations have been utilized to access the compartment, they are not suitable for resealing the compartment. Accordingly, another type of resealable sealing means such as a flap or a ClipsealTM, ZiplockTM or VelcroTM seal. The 15 perforations may be used to seal one, all or a selected number of the compartments in the pouch prior to sale. One of the simplest methods of manufacturing a pouch according to the invention may be to utilize a conventional cigarette pouch manufactured from more than one layer of material and include a line of perforations in one or more of the 20 layers. The separate compartments may then be formed by opening along the line of perforations and placing material or articles useful in hand-rolled cigarettes therein. There may suitably be more than two compartments provided allowing the separate storage of any of the articles required or desired for hand-rolled cigarettes or allowing the storage of more than one type of tobacco for instance. 25 At least one of the compartments will be releasably sealable to retain material capable of being smoked or smoking accoutrements in the compartment. The seal may preferably comprise respective formations associated with adjacent layers of material forming the pouch, the respective formations engageable with each other to releasably seal the compartment. 30 Examples of the types of seal which may be used are ClipsealTM, ZiplockTM or VelcroTM seals. Alternatively, the seal may be a simple overlapping flap. The seal may suitably extend along the length of the compartment opening. In a most preferred form, the seal may comprise a first formation and a WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 5 second formation, the first formation having a female channel with resilient sidewalls, at least one sidewall having a flange on an upper portion, the flange extending at least partially toward the opposing sidewall and the second formation having a male member with an enlarged portion receivable between the opposed sidewalls of the 5 channel and adapted to be retained therein until the application of a force large enough to release the male member therefrom. The sealable compartment may suitably be located behind any advertising associated with the pouch in order that the advertising be clearly visible to prospective purchasers. Alternatively, the sealable compartment may be in front of 10 the advertising as the pouch may be sold without the accoutrements. The advertising may be used to form a barrier to create an additional pouch or to separate the materials. The advertising material may suitably be glued or otherwise attached to an outer layer of material forming the pouch. The pouch may additionally comprise a flap portion allowing the 15 releasable sealing of the pouch as a whole. The flap may be formed of the remainder of the pouch once the overlapped portion has been formed. Flaps of this kind are generally known. Any advertising may be sealed between adjacent layers of material which form the pouch. Heat sealing may be used to accomplish this. 20 By having at least two compartments in a single pouch, both the material to be smoked and any accessories used for smoking hand-rolled cigarettes may be carried in a single article but separately from each other. This prevents damage or contamination of one by the other and therefore contributes substantially to the working of the invention. 25 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a smoker's pouch according to an aspect of the invention. 30 Figure 2 is a plan view of a smoker's pouch according to an aspect of the invention. Figure 3 is an angled plan view of a smoker's pouch according to an aspect of the invention.

WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 6 Figure 4 is a plan view of the pouch illustrated in Figure 3 with the accoutrement compartment opened. Figure 5 is a sectional side view of a smoker's pouch according to an aspect of the invention. 5 Figure 6 is an exploded detailed view of the construction of the accoutrement compartment. Figure 7 is an exploded detailed view of the construction of the seal. Figure 8 is an exploded detailed view of the construction of the flap and the adhesion of advertising material to the outer layer. 10 Figure 9 is a detailed side view illustrating the position of a line of perforations used to temporarily seal a compartment prior to use for the first time. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a smoker's pouch is provided. The pouch, as seen from the accompanying Figures, comprises a first 15 compartment 10 and a second compartment 11 located within the pouch generally. At least one of the compartments is releasably sealable to retain material capable of being smoked such as tobacco or smoking accoutrements such as cigarette papers and filters in the compartment. The pouch seen in the Figures is manufactured from a flexible 20 packaging material such as polyethylene or a copolymer or blend thereof. The pouch is deformable and/or resilient. As stated above, it is well known that companies making smoker's pouches include advertising material 12 in the pouch and a transparent pouch allows easy use or inclusion of such material which is easily viewable by a prospective 25 purchaser. The pouch itself is manufactured of multiple layers of material. The pouch shown in Figure 5 comprises two layers, an outer layer 13 and an inner layer 14. The layers are generally of similar sizes and are heat sealed to each other around three of their edges to form the pouch. Construction of the pouch starts as a planar 30 article with two layers. The advertising material 12 islocated between two layers. The layers are then heat sealed around their edges. A further heat seal 15 is provided at the base of the pouch portion to prevent any materials placed in the pouch from spreading between the layers. A portion of the article is then folded to overlap the WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 7 remainder and to form the first compartment 10. The first compartment 10 is permanently formed by heat sealing the side edges of the overlapping portions to each other. The first compartment 10 is adapted to hold or contain the material 5 capable of being used in a hand-rolled cigarette, such as tobacco. There is an opening at an upper portion of the first compartment 10 allowing the placement and removal of the materials into and out of the compartment. The base of both compartments 10, 11 are heat sealed, to prevent the tobacco held in the first compartment 10 and the filters and papers in the second compartment 11 from 10 spreading between the layers of material forming the pouch. The second compartment 11 is substantially similar to the first compartment 10. The second compartment is adapted to hold or contain material capable of being used in the creation and/or smoking of hand-rolled cigarettes such as cigarette filters 16, cigarette papers 17 or cigarette lighters. 15 At least one of the compartments is releasably sealable to retain material capable of being smoked or smoking accoutrements in the compartment. According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the Figures, this compartment is the second compartment 11. Examples of the types of seal 23 which can be used are ClipsealTM, 20 ZiplockTM or VelcroTM seals or simple overlapping flap. The seal 23 extends along the length of the second compartment 11 opening. In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 5 and 7, the seal 23 comprises a first formation 18 and a second formation 19. The first formation 18 has a female channel 20 with resilient sidewalls, at least one sidewall having a flange on an 25 upper portion, the flange extending at least partially toward the opposing sidewall and the second formation 19 having a male member 21 with an enlarged portion receivable between the opposed sidewalls of the channel 20 and adapted to be retained therein until the application of a force large enough to release the male member 21 therefrom. 30 The sealable compartment is located behind any advertising material 12 associated with the pouch in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, in order that the advertising material 12 be clearly visible to prospective purchasers. Alternatively, the salable compartment can be in front of the advertising material 12 WO 2004/084659 PCT/AU2004/000292 8 as seen in Figures 1, and 4 to 6 as the pouch may be sold without the accoutrements. The pouch has a flap portion 22 allowing the releasable sealing of the pouch as a whole. The flap portion 22 is formed of the remainder of the pouch once the overlapped portion has been formed. 5 A line of perforations 24 can be included as seen in Figure 9. The pouch can be manufactured or sold having one or more of the compartments sealed using a line of perforations 24 to temporarily seal a compartment prior to use for the first time. The perforations allow the sealing or retention of material within the compartment prior to sale. Upon sale of the pouch, the perforated line is used to open 10 the compartment to access the material stored therein. The compartment may then be resealed using a flap of other method. Once the perforations have been utilized to access the compartment, they are not suitable for resealing the compartment. Accordingly, another type of resealable sealing means such as a flap or a ClipsealTM, ZiplockTM or VelcroTM seal. 15 One of the simplest methods of manufacturing a pouch according to the invention may be to utilize a conventional cigarette pouch manufactured from more than one layer of material and include a line of perforations in one or more of the layers. The separate compartments may then be formed by opening along the line of perforations and placing material or articles useful in hand-rolled cigarettes therein. 20 In the present specification and claims, the word "comprising" and its derivatives including "comprises" and "comprise" include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers. In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be 25 understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art. 30

Claims (5)

1. A smoker's pouch for carrying material capable of being smoked having at least a first and a second compartment wherein at least one of said compartments is releasably sealable to retain material capable of being smoked or 5 smoking accoutrements in the compartment.

2. The smoker's pouch according to claim I wherein, the pouch is formed from multiple layers of material and the compartments are formed between adjacent layers of material.

3. The smoker's pouch according to claim 2 wherein, the compartment is 10 sealed by a seal, the seal comprising respective formations associated with adjacent layers of material forming the pouch, the respective formations engageable with each other to releasably seal the compartment.

4. The smoker's pouch according to claim 3 wherein, the seal comprises a first formation and a second formation, the first formation having a female channel 15 with resilient sidewalls at least one sidewall having a flange on an upper portion, the flange extending at least partially toward the opposing sidewall and the second formation having a male member with an enlarged portion receivable between the opposed sidewalls of the channel and adapted to be retained therein until the application of a force large enough to release the male member therefrom. 20

5. A smoker's pouch substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.