EP1119502A1

EP1119502A1 - Cigarette package

Info

Publication number: EP1119502A1
Application number: EP99947366A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Heinz Focke; Irmin Steinkamp; Gisbert Engel
Original assignee: Focke and Co GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Focke and Co GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1998-10-06
Filing date: 1999-09-16
Publication date: 2001-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 2019-09-16
Also published as: ES2216566T3; CN1322180A; US6595353B1; WO2000020300A1; BR9916176B1; ATE261881T1; BR9916176A; EP1119502B2; AU6084199A; PL347153A1; TR200100945T2; CN1131828C; EP1119502B1; ES2216566T5; JP2002526348A

Abstract

Cigarette pack, i.e. a soft pack, composed of a blank of thin, foldable packaging material, which is made of a paper layer and an outer plastic layer of thermally sealable material. Due to respective folding in the area of bottom wall (16), top wall (17) and side wall (15), folding webs partially overlap with outer plastic layers (19) directly facing each other and being sealed together or with the plastic layer being joined by sealing with the paper layer or a further inner layer.

Description

Pack of cigarettes

Description

The invention relates to a cigarette pack, in particular a soft cigarette pack, with at least one blank of multilayer packaging material surrounding a cigarette group, folding tabs being connected to one another by thermal sealing.

Cigarette packs from siege! Capable packaging material is known in various designs. So it is common to close an outer wrapping made of plastic film for cigarette packs by thermally sealing folding tabs. Furthermore, cigarette packs are known from a complex, multi-layer laminated film. The production of this type of pack is complex, especially because of the packaging material used (US 4 100 718).

The invention is based on the object of proposing a cigarette pack which preferably consists of a single blank of multilayer packaging material, but which can be produced in a simple manner and in which the material expenditure is comparatively low.

To achieve this object, the cigarette pack according to the invention is characterized by the following features:

a) the packaging material consists at least of an inner paper layer and an outer plastic layer,

b) the outer plastic layer consists of thermally sealable material, in particular of polyethylene or polypropylene.

The packaging material preferably consists of a paper layer on the inside, which faces the contents of the pack, and on the outside with a thermally sealable plastic layer is provided. Alternatively, a coating can also be arranged on the inside of the paper layer, specifically a metal layer or a plastic layer, preferably with a high melting point.

According to the invention, this simple, two- or three-layer packaging material is of particular importance in connection with the design of the soft cigarette packaging, in particular in the embodiment of US Pat. No. 5,762,186. The Z-shaped fold present in this packaging form is light with the packaging material according to the invention and permanently producible, namely in that two legs of the Z-fold are connected to one another continuously, over the full area or at least in some areas by thermal sealing. The Z fold can be sealed in the area of a continuous web of material.

Furthermore, the bottom area of the package is designed in accordance with US Pat. No. 5,761,186 with double-layered folding flaps so that the thermally sealable outer layers of the packaging material lie against one another, so that a particularly dense, durable seal can be achieved in the area of the bottom wall.

Another special feature of the cigarette pack is the design and arrangement of an opening aid for (soft cup) packs made of other packaging material. An opening tab is defined in the area of an end wall by perforation or other lines of weakness in the (inner) cut. The perforation line is not clearly visible before opening the package.

Further features and details of the cigarette pack according to the invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments. It shows:

1 is a perspective view of a soft pack cigarette pack, 2 the package according to FIG. 1 without (tax) banderole e,

3 shows the package according to FIGS. 1 and 2 in a bottom side view,

4 shows a (horizontal) part 1 through the pack on an enlarged scale,

5 shows a representation analogous to FIG. 4 for another exemplary embodiment,

6 shows a representation analogous to FIGS. 4 and 5 for a further exemplary embodiment,

7 is a perspective view of an end area of the pack,

8 shows the detail of FIG. 7 during the opening of the package,

9 shows a blank for the production of packs according to FIGS. 1 to 8,

10 shows a section through the blank of FIG. 9 in the section plane X-X of FIG. 9,

11 shows a section analogous to FIG. 10 for another embodiment of the packaging material, in each case greatly enlarged,

12 shows an upper end area of a blank with an opening aid modified compared to FIG. 9,

13 shows the area of the blank according to FIG. 12 after a first folding step, 14 shows a perspective view of an end region of a soft cup type cigarette pack.

Details of soft packs for cigarettes are shown in the drawings, largely in the design according to US Pat. No. 5,762,186. Such a pack consists of a single blank 10 made of packaging material. This surrounds a cigarette group 11. The blank forms a front wall 12, an opposite rear wall 13, two narrow, upright side walls 14, 15, a bottom wall 16 and an end wall 17.

The blank 10 is formed from special packaging material, namely with a multilayer structure. The main layer or carrier layer is a paper layer 18. This is laminated at least on the outside with a plastic layer 19. This consists of a thermally sealable material, preferably of polyethylene or polypropylene. On the inside, that is to say on the side facing the cigarette group 11, a further layer can be attached by lamination, that is to say an inner layer 20. This can consist of plastic, but of a material with a melting point above the sealing temperature. Alternatively, the inner layer 20 can be made of metal, e.g. Aluminum. An inner layer consisting of metal can be applied to the paper layer 18 by lamination or by vapor deposition.

5 shows an advantageous simple embodiment of the packaging material of a layer 19 with a paper layer 18 as the inner layer and an outer plastic layer 19.

6 in turn shows a three-layer structure. Here, the inner layer 20 is also made of plastic.

The paper layer 18 is expediently significantly thicker than the other layers, for example 60 gr / m ² (FIGS. 4 and 6) or 70 gr / m ² with a two-layer version (Fig. 5). The outer plastic layer 19 has a thickness of 15 gr / m ² to 30 gr / m ² .

The layer structure of the blank 10 matches the design of the package shown. The one-piece blank 10 surrounds the cigarette group 11 in such a way that edge strips 21, 22 partially overlap one another in the region of a side wall. These edge strips 21, 22 are connected to one another to form the side wall 15 by sealing. The outer edge strip 21 is connected to the outside, that is, the plastic layer 19 of the inner edge strip 22 by heat and pressure. Depending on the design of the material, an inner layer 20 made of plastic or metal or the paper layer 18 is connected to the outer plastic layer 19 of the edge strip 22. The result is a continuous seal over the full length of the blank 11 strips 23 approximately in the width of the overlap (hatched in FIGS. 1 and 2).

The end wall 17 and, analogously, the bottom wall 16 consist of folding tabs which partially overlap one another. In the area of the front wall, trapezoidal longitudinal tabs 24, 25 are each connected to the rear wall 13 and front wall 14. 17 side tabs 26, 27 adjoin the side walls 14, 15 in the region of the end wall. These are on the inside, that is to say partially below the longitudinal lobes 24, 25. The side tabs 26, 27 are connected to the longitudinal tabs 24, 25 via three eckiform folding gussets 28, 29. The folding gussets 28, 29 lie below the longitudinal tabs 24, 25.

The folding tabs of the end wall 17 are connected to one another by thermal sealing. In the central region of the end wall 17, the inside of the outer longitudinal tab 24 is connected to the sealable outside, namely the plastic layer 19, of the inside longitudinal tab 25. In the area of the side tabs 26, 27 and the folding gusset 28, 29, the latter are connected to triangular areas of the side tabs 26, 27 by thermal sealing. In this area, the outer plastic layers 19, 20 of the folding tabs 26, 27 are on the one hand and the folding flaps 28, 29 on the other hand, so that a particularly tight seal is given. The end wall 14 is sufficiently closed or almost aroma-tight.

The bottom wall 16 can be designed analogously. In the present case, however, there is a peculiarity. Bottom longitudinal tabs 30, 31, bottom side tabs 32, 33 and bottom folding gussets 34, 35 are double-layered or double-walled. For this purpose, the blank 10 is provided with a folding strip 36 on the bottom. This is folded over along a folded edge 37 to form a double 1-ply strip. The folding is carried out in such a way that partial strips 38, 39 lie against one another with the inner sides, that is to say either with the paper layer 18 or the inner layer 20 made of another material. The folding flaps 30..35 are sealable on both sides due to the two-layer design, so that in the hatched areas of the bottom wall 16 (FIG. 3) each sealable surfaces, namely plastic layers 19, lie against each other. The bottom wall 16 is particularly stable and durable in this embodiment.

The folding strip 36 is designed or dimensioned such that a continuous edge strip 52 is formed. In the finished pack, this extends around the inside of the bottom wall 16 as a circumferential reinforcing strip, as shown in US Pat. No. 5,762,186.

In the present soft packs, a (control) band 40 extending transversely over the end wall 17 is provided in the region of the end wall 17. The paper band 40 is connected here by thermal sealing to both the front wall 12 and rear wall 13 and to the front wall 17. In these areas, the plastic layer 19 is turned outwards, so that the band 40 can be sealed over the entire surface, corresponding to the hatching in FIG. 1.

Another special feature is that adjacent to the front wall 17 in the area of the front wall 12, rear wall 13, side walls 14 and 15 a circumferential double folding device is formed, namely a Z-fold 41. This consists of a material strip 42 of the blank 10 with two legs 43, 44 of the Z-fold 41. The Z-fold 41 is designed so that a lower folding edge 45 within the blank forms the (apparent) upper edge of front wall 12, rear wall 13, etc. (FIG. 7). A lower folded edge 46 cannot be seen on the outside due to the internal Z-fold 41. An upper folded edge 47 forms the transition into the end wall 17. The Z-fold 41 is designed so that the two legs 43 and 44 with their (outer) plastic layers 19 lie against each other. A seal along the Z-shaped folded material strip 42 causes a continuous connection of the legs 43, 44 to one another.

A further special feature is the formation of an opening aid in the region of the end wall 17. The opening aid, namely a detachable opening flap 48, is created in that areas of folding tabs to be connected to one another by seals are not connected to one another by seals due to the corresponding design. As a result, an outer folding flap can be gripped by hand and used to separate the opening flap 48.

A side region of the outer longitudinal tab 24 lying next to the band 40 is not connected to the facing (upper) side of the lower longitudinal tab 25. For this purpose, a protective layer 49 is attached to the blank 10, namely on the top of the (inner) longitudinal tab 25, next to the band 40. The protective layer 49 (protective lacquer) is arranged and designed such that a free edge region of the longitudinal tab 24 next to the Banderole 40 detected and a three eckörmi ger handle part 50 (Fig. 8) of the opening tab 48 can be separated from the longitudinal tab 24.

The opening tab 48 is defined by a U-shaped weakening line 51 in the blank 10. 9, the line of weakness 51 extends from the free edge of the blank in the area of the two longitudinal tabs 24, 25 up to the folded edge 47 or slightly beyond this. The opening flap 48 accordingly comprises parts of the longitudinal tabs 24, 25, the side tabs 26 and the folding gussets 28, 29. As a result, an end region of the end wall 17 next to the band 40 is completely separated, so that an approximately rectangular opening is created.

The weakening line 51 can be designed as a perforation line. In the present case, however, a weakening line 51 is formed with the aid of a corresponding mechanical separating member or a laser device, which extends only over part of the cross section of the packaging material, namely on the inside only in the area of the paper layer 18 and - if present - in the area of the Inner layer 20 (Figs. 10 and 11). The outer layer or the plastic layer 19 is retained throughout, but is cut due to the small thickness when the opening tab 48 is removed.

The blanks according to FIG. 9 are made from a continuous material web in which the folding strips 36 and material strips 42 extend in the longitudinal direction of the material web.

The blank can be printed on the outside, namely in the area of the outer plastic layer, in the usual way.

12, 13 and 14 show details of a (cigarette) pack with a modified embodiment of an opening aid, namely an opening flap 48 in the region of the end wall 17. The blank 10 used for this embodiment can be in the manner described be formed, but alternatively also without a sealable coating, for example made of (coated) paper or the like.

In the upper area facing the end wall 17 there is a double fall formed in the manner described and running around it. device attached, namely the Z-fold 41. This is important for the arrangement of the opening aid or the opening tab 48. In the starting position (FIG. 12, FIG. 13) U-shaped weakening line 51 with a longitudinal leg 53 and transverse schenkein 54 is positioned so that preferably the complete weakening line 51 is invisible in the (closed) package, but is nevertheless effective. For this purpose, the longitudinal leg 53 extends at a distance from the folded edge 47 in such a way that, after the Z-fold 41 (FIG. 13) has been formed, the longitudinal leg 53 of the weakening line 51 is covered by the Z-fold 41, namely below the fold edge 45 as the upper, visible edge of a (apparent) cup (Fig. 13). In the finished pack (FIG. 14), the two overlapping cross legs 54 for separating a part of the longitudinal tabs 24, 25 are also in a hidden position, namely below the band 40 (FIG. 14). To open the package formed in this way, a triangular or trapezoidal grip part 50 of the outer longitudinal tab 24 is grasped and separated by lifting, along the outer transverse leg 54. By further actuating the grip part 50, the entire opening tab 48 along the (hidden) line of weakness 51 separated.

In order to indicate the presence of an opening aid, the grip part 50 of the longitudinal tab 24 to be detected is provided with a marking. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 14, this is a printed arrow 55, which at the same time indicates the direction of actuation. As an alternative or in addition, an outwardly visible marking can be provided adjacent to the edge of the band 40 by means of a notch or slot in the handle part 50.

The opening aid according to FIGS. 12 to 14 can also be used in an analogous manner for cigarette packs of the soft cup type in a conventional design, the longitudinal leg of the weakening line 53 being below an upper edge of the soft cup (consisting of a separate blank).

In this exemplary embodiment, the band 40 is fixed to the pack by adhesive, specifically in the region of a transverse web 56 of the band 40 by means of two glue points 57 which are arranged outside the region of the weakening line 51.

Reference character list

10 cut 44 legs

11 cigarette group 45 folded edge

12 front wall 46 folded edge

13 rear wall 47 folded edge 4 side wall 48 opening flap 5 side wall 49 protective layer 6 bottom wall 50 handle part 7 end wall 51 weakening line 8 paper layer 52 edge strips 9 plastic layer 53 longitudinal leg 0 inner layer 54 cross leg 1 edge strip 55 arrow 2 edge strip 56 cross bar 3 seal strip 57 glue point 4 longitudinal tabs 5 longitudinal tabs 6 side tabs 7 side tabs 8 folding gusset 9 folding gusset 0 bottom longitudinal tab 1 bottom longitudinal tab 2 bottom side tab 3 bottom side tab 4 bottom folding gusset 5 bottom folding gusset 6 folding strips 7 folding edge 8 part actual tire 9 part actual tire banderole 1 Z-fold material strip thighs

Claims

claims

1. cigarette pack, in particular cigarette soft pack, with at least one blank (10) of multilayer packaging material surrounding a cigarette group (11), folding tabs being connected to one another by thermal sealing, characterized by the following features:

a) the packaging material consists at least of an inner paper layer (18) and an outer plastic layer (19),

b) the outer plastic layer (19) consists of thermally sealable material, in particular polyethylene or polypropylene.

2. Cigarette pack according to claim 1, characterized in that the paper layer (18) is provided on the inside with a further layer, namely with an inner layer (20), in particular made of metal or plastic.

3. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that folding tabs in the region of the end wall (17) and / or bottom wall (16) and / or side wall (15) are connected to one another by thermal sealing, the outer plastic layer (19) Folding tab with the outer plastic layer (19) or with the inner paper layer (18) or inner layer (20) of another folding tab is connected by thermal sealing.

4. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that folding tabs are double-walled in the region of the bottom wall (16), such that the folding tabs have the outwardly facing, thermally sealable plastic layer (19) on both sides.

5. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that double-layer folds, in particular Z-folds (41) of the blank (10) are formed such that legs (43, 44) of the Z-fold (41) with the sealable plastic layers (19) lie against one another and are connected to one another at least in partial areas by thermal sealing.

6. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that in the region of the end wall

(17) surface areas of the blank (10), in particular adjacent surface areas of the longitudinal tabs (24, 25), are designed such that a connection by thermal sealing does not take place, in particular by applying a protective layer (49) (protective lacquer), in such a way that an area of the outer longitudinal tab (24) can be grasped and an opening tab (48) is created by separating it from the blank (10).

7. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that an area of the blank (10), in particular the end wall (17), forms a detachable opening tab (48) by at least one line of weakness (51), preferably in a lateral one Area of the end wall (17), next to a band (40) extending transversely across the end wall (17).

8. Cigarette pack according to claim 7 or one of the further claims, characterized in that the line of weakness (51) does not completely penetrate the multilayer blank (10), in particular the outer plastic layer (19) leaves closed.

9. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that the paper layer (18) of the multilayer blank (10) has a greater thickness in relation to the plastic layer (19) and optionally to the inner layer (20), in particular the three- up to five times Basis weight of the plastic layer (19) or the inner layer (20).

10. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that a weakening line (51), in particular a perforation line, for delimiting a removable opening tab (48) is at least partially covered when the pack is closed, in particular by the band (40) and / or through the Z-fold (41).

11. Cigarette pack according to claim 10, characterized in that the line of weakness (51) in the region of the front wall (12), rear wall (13) and side wall (14) - the longitudinal leg (53) of the line of weakness (51) - at a short distance below the (Upper) folded edge (45) of the Z-fold (41) and (two) cross legs (54) of the weakening line (51) are positioned overlapping one another below a cross piece (56) of the band (40).

12. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that a grip part (50) of the opening tab (48) or an outer longitudinal tab (24) has a marking as an indication of an opening aid, in particular a printed arrow (55) and / or a mark formed by punching.

13. Cigarette pack according to claim 1 or one of the further claims, characterized in that the band (40) with the front wall (17) and / or with the front wall (12) and rear wall (13) is connected by thermal sealing, preferably the band (40) has a sealable coating on the inside.