Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles
  • B65D85/08—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular
  • B65D85/10—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes
  • B65D85/1036—Containers formed by erecting a rigid or semi-rigid blank
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/38—Drawer-and-shell type containers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
  • B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
  • B65D5/44—Integral, inserted or attached portions forming internal or external fittings
  • B65D5/441—Reinforcements

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to the field of packaging for tobacco products such as smoking articles.
• the present invention relates to improved packaging comprising a sliding or swinging chamber, and a method for construction of such packaging.
• Cigarette packaging must meet a range of challenging requirements. In particular, not only should the packaging be cheap and capable of mass production, but it should also be sufficiently robust to protect the cigarettes, maintain their freshness and retain its integrity over multiple sequences of opening and closing the packaging.
• the most common design for cigarette packaging today can be characterised as a hinged lid pack.
• a cardboard pack is provided with a hinged lid integrally formed at an upper end.
• the cigarettes are disposed longitudinally such that a user may remove the cigarettes by their ends when the lid is open.
• Various smoking articles packaging designs are also often used nowadays. For example, some designs include side-slide or side-swing opening mechanisms.
• GB 21 15386 A, WO 2004024295 A and WO 201 1154822 A1 disclose packaging of that kind.
• an inner packet part which holds the cigarettes is disposed within an outer packet part.
• an opening of the inner packet part is covered by the outer packet part, while the inner packet part is movable relative to the outer packet part through a side opening in the outer packet part to an open position in order to allow access to the cigarettes stored within.
• the inner packet part moves relative to the outer packet part with a linear motion, while in a swing arrangement the inner packet part moves relative to the outer packet part with motion comprising at least some rotation.
• consumer may complain about the reduced rigidity of the inner packet part when grasped by users in the open position of the packaging once a few cigarettes have been removed from the inner packet part.
• packaging for smoking articles comprising: an outer packet part comprising a front wall and a back wall connected to each other by at least a top wall, a bottom wall and preferably a side wall to form a sleeve with at least one side-opening opposite the side wall; an inner packet part comprising a front wall and a back wall connected to each other by at least a bottom wall and two opposite side walls to define an enclosure for housing a bundle of smoking articles, said enclosure having at least one top opening between said front, back and side walls, the inner packet part being housed within the outer packet part and being movable relative to the outer packet part through the at least one side- opening between a closed position, in which the inner packet part is fully inserted in the outer packet part, and an open position, in which the inner packet part is at least partly extracted from the outer packet part, wherein the inner packet part further comprises reinforcement means configured to increase resistance of at least one of its front and back walls to compression forces having at least one component exerted perpen
• the reinforcement means are configured to improve resistance of the front and/or rear walls of the inner packet part at least to compression forces applied to these walls by consumers upon opening of the packaging and removing of smoking articles.
• compression forces as encompassing any kind of pressure force exerted directly on one of the walls of the inner packet part, said force having at least a component exerted perpendicularly towards a wall.
• compression forces are the cause of inner pack crushing with prior art side and swing pack designs and the packaging of the invention now provides much improved resistance to these compression forces through the arrangement of reinforcement means for the inner packet means.
• the reinforcement means comprises at least one reinforcement plate positioned against one of said front and back walls at least.
• Such reinforcement plate is an advantageous reinforcement means for the front and/or back walls of the inner packet part, which can be easily manufactured in different materials and different shapes to give the appropriate strength depending of the material of the inner packet part, which is usually of cardboard.
• a reinforcement plate is further very easy to handle and add to the packaging of the invention inside or outside of the inner packet part, without a need for important machine changes in the existing manufacturing lines for existing cigarette packaging with slide or swing opening mechanisms.
• the reinforcement means is further configured to improve resistance to compression forces of at least one of the corners between at least one of said front and back walls and at least one of said side walls of the inner packet part.
• the reinforcement means preferably extends against at least one of said side walls of the inner packet part.
• the reinforcement means is positioned against both of said front and back walls and further against at least one of said side wall and is attached thereto.
• Such embodiment is particularly advantageous in that the inner packet part is thereby reinforced against compression forces on at least three of its four walls, the front and back walls and also one of the side walls, preferably the side wall being extracted from the outer packet part in the open position of the packaging and subject to manual pressure from a user.
• the reinforcement means is made of a same material as the inner packet part, preferably of cardboard.
• the present invention proposes a method for making a packaging as previously disclosed, the method comprising at least the steps of: a) forming an inner packet part comprising parallel front and back walls connected in a spaced relationship by at least a bottom wall and two opposite parallel side walls by folding and gluing of a first blank comprising at least : i. first and second main panels for forming said front and back walls, ii. a connection panel attached along folding lines to a bottom side of said first and second main panels to form said bottom wall, iii. side counter-panels attached along folding lines on longitudinal sides of the first and second main panels , iv.
• side counter-panels of the first and second main panels being superimposed and glued to form the side walls of the inner packet part and define an enclosure having at least one top opening (O) for housing a smoking article bundle (B), b) forming an outer packet part (2) comprising parallel front and back walls connected by at least top and bottom walls by folding and gluing of a second blank comprising : i. first and second main panels for forming said front and back walls , ii. a connection panel attached along folding lines to a longitudinal side of said first and second main panels to form said side wall , iii. top counter-panels attached along folding lines on top sides of the first and second main panels, iv. bottom counter-panels attached along folding lines on bottom sides of the first and second main panels, v.
• step d) preferably comprises attaching at least one reinforcement plate to one of said front and back walls at least.
• the reinforcement means is attached to at least one of the first and second main panels of the first blank before or during step a).
• step a) comprises folding and gluing said first blank about a wrapped smoking article bundle to house said bundle in the enclosure of said inner packet part and wherein step d) comprises positioning, and preferably attaching, said reinforcement means to the wrapped smoking article bundle before step a).
• steps b) and c) are simultaneous by folding and gluing said second blank about the inner packet part containing the wrapped smoking articles bundle formed in step a).
• Figure 1A shows a side-slide packaging according to the prior art in a closed position
• Figure 1 B shows a side-slide packaging according to the prior art in an open position
• Figure 2 shows a top view of a side-slide packaging according to the prior art in an open position with a user grasping the inner packet part and crushing it;
• Figure 3 shows a blank for use in the production of the outer packet part of the packaging represented in fig 1 A and a first preferred embodiment of a packaging according to the invention;
• Figure 4 shows a blank for use in the production of the inner packet part of the packaging represented in fig 1 A and a first preferred embodiment of a packaging according to the invention
• Figure 5A shows a side-slide packaging according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention in a closed position
• Figure 5B shows a side-slide packaging according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention in an open position
• Figure 6 is a front view of a first embodiment of a reinforcement plate for a packaging as shown in Fig. 5A and 5B;
• Figure 7 is a side view illustrating the position of the reinforcement plate of Fig. 6 in the inner packet part of the packaging shown in Fig. 5A and 5B;
• Figure 8 is a top view of the inner packet part including a reinforcement plate as represented in Fig. 7;
• Figure 9 represents a manufacturing process for a packaging of Fig. 5A and 5B including a reinforcement plate of Fig. 6;
• Figure 10 shows details of the manufacturing process of Fig. 9 in a first station S1 ;
• Figure 1 1 shows a front view of a second embodiment of a reinforcement plate for a packaging as shown in Fig. 5A and 5B;
• Figure 13A and 13B show details of the manufacturing process of Fig. 9 in a first station S1 with the reinforcement plate of Fig. 1 1 ;
• Figure 14 shows a second preferred embodiment of a blank for forming an inner packet part of a packaging according to the invention as represented in Fig. 5A and 5B;
• Figure 15 shows a pre-folding step of the blank of Fig. 14 for making an inner packet part of the packaging of the invention in stations S3 and S4 of the process described in Fig. 9
• the user may effect sliding of the inner packet part 3 by pushing the part of the inner packet part 3 that is exposed through an opening 26 in the outer packet part 2 with a thumb or finger.
• a user can manually draw on the inner packet part 3 to open it fully and to expose, after removal of a protective foil on the first opening, a cigarette bundle B contained therein.
• the outer packet part 2 comprises a front wall 21 and a rear wall 22 which oppose each other when the outer packet part 2 is formed.
• the front wall 21 and the rear wall 22 are connected by a side wall 25, a top wall 23 and a bottom wall 24.
• the opening 26 is formed in the side wall 25.
• the outer packet part 2 and the inner packet part 3 are coupled to each other in such a way as to prevent the inner packet part 3 from being fully extracted and removed from the outer packet part 2. Furthermore, retaining elements may be provided for preventing accidental movement of the inner packet pack 3 relative to the outer packet part 2.
• Figures 3 and 4 representing respectively a blank 200 for making the outer packet part and a blank 300 for making an inner part.
• the outer packet part is formed by folding and gluing a cardboard blank 200, illustrated in Figure 3.
• a top wall 23 of the outer packet part 2 is formed of at least two top counter- panels 204, 205 articulated on a top side of a rear main panel 202 and a front main panel 201 for forming the back and front walls 22, 21 of the outer packet part respectively.
• the top wall 23 is further formed from a side top counter panel 208 extending on a top side of a connection panel 203 for forming the side wall 25 of the outer packet part 2, said connection panel 203 being attached along folding lines 11 , I2 to a longitudinal side of said first and second main panels 201 , 202.
• the folding lines 11 , I2 consists each of multiple creases adapted to form rounded corners for the outer packet part 2. However, they could also be formed of a single crease line to form a square corner pack or dual creases to form bevelled corners.
• top counter-panel 204 and side top counter-panel 208 are glued to an underside of top counter-panel 205.
• a bottom wall 24 of the outer packet part 2 is formed of at least two bottom counter-panels 206, 207 articulated on a bottom side of the rear main panel 202 and the front main panel 201.
• the bottom wall 24 is further formed from a side bottom counter panel 209 extending on a bottom side of the connection panel 203.
• bottom counter- panel 206 and side bottom counter-panel 209 are glued to an upperside of bottom counter-panel 207.
• the outer packet part 2 further comprises front and back restraining flaps (not shown in fig.
• the inner packet part 3 comprises a front wall 31 and a rear wall 32 which oppose each other when the inner packet part 3 is formed.
• the front wall 31 and the rear wall 32 are connected by a base wall 33.
• a first side wall 35 and a second side wall 34 connect the base wall 33 and front and rear walls 31 , 32 to define an enclosure opened at the top and housing the cigarette bundle B.
• Each main panel 301 , 302 comprises a top cut-away portion 310, 31 1 to define a front and rear access to the enclosure and cigarettes in the inner packet part 3.
• the cut-away portions 310, 311 are symmetrical in the main panels 301 , 302 with regards to the connection panel 303.
• front and rear restraining tabs 312, 313 are provided in the main panels 301 , 302. The restraining tabs 312, 313 are disposed in cut away portions 314, 315 of the main panels 301 , 302, preferably in a symmetrical position with regards to the connection panel 303.
• the restraining tabs 312, 313 are advantageously provided to form in the inner packet part 3 restraining means complementary to the restraining flaps 210, 21 1 of the outer packet part 2 to limit the movement of the inner packet part 3 in the open position and prevent full extraction thereof from the outer packet part 2 by mutual hooking engagement of the restraining tabs 312, 313 in between the restraining flaps 210, 21 1 and front and back walls of the outer packet part 2.
• the blank 300 comprises longitudinal side counter panels 305, 307 and 304, 306 articulated along folding lines I3, I4, I5, I6 on the longitudinal sides of the front main panel 301 and rear main panel 302 respectively.
• the folding lines I3, I4, I5, I6 consists each of multiple creases adapted to form rounded corners for the outer packet part 2.
• they could also be formed of a single crease line to form a square corner pack or dual creases to form bevelled corners.
• additional bottom flaps 308, 309 are also provided on a bottom side of the side counter panels 304, 306 to provide anchoring means for the side walls 34, 35 of the inner packet part 3 to the bottom wall 33 as described herein after.
• main panel 302 is first brought in perpendicular position to the connection panel 303 and the bottom flaps 308, 309 glued to an inner surface of the connection panel 303, thereby maintaining side counter-panels 304, 306 folded about their respective folding lines in perpendicular orientation with regard to the main panel 302. Then main panel 301 is also brought perpendicular to the connection panel 303 and its side counter-panels 305, 307 are glued to an upper face of side counter-panels 304, 306 of the second main panel 302 respectively to form the inner packet part 3.
• a disadvantage of the prior art side-slide packs (and side-swing packs), particularly when the inner packet part has rounded corner as represented here, can be the reduced rigidity of the front and back walls 31 , 32 of the inner packet part when grasped by users in the open position of the packaging once the inner packet part 3 is partially empty.
• This reduced rigidity leads to the inner packet part 3 being partially crushed under compression forces Fc applied substantially perpendicularly to front and back walls by user's fingers upon grasping of the inner packet part.
• This crushing of the inner packet part can both damage the remaining cigarettes as well as the structural integrity of the inner packet part.
• This also provides users with a negative impression about the quality of the packaging.
• the present invention provides an improved packaging 10 as represented in figures 5A to 12 and described hereinafter.
• FIG. 5A and 5B A first embodiment of a packaging according to the invention is represented in figures 5A and 5B, which is shown in closed and open position respectively.
• the packaging 10 of the invention comprises an outer packet part 2 and an inner packet part 3 slidable between closed and open positions as known from the prior art slide packs and previously described in relation to figures 1 to 4.
• the packaging 10 further comprises reinforcement means 4 configured to increase resistance of the front wall 31 to compression forces.
• the reinforcement means 4 can advantageously take the form of a reinforcement plate 40 as represented in figure 6.
• These side panels 42, 43 further provide extensions of the main panel 41 to the corners and side walls 34, 35 of the inner packet part 3 and thereby improve resistance to compression forces of at least one of the corners between at least one of said front and back walls 31 , 32 and at least one of said side walls of the inner packet part 3, as can be seen from figure 8 where the side panels 42, 42 of the reinforcement plate 40 are applied against side walls 34, 35 of the inner packet part 3 and front rounded corners thereof.
• the reinforcement plate 40 is configured to match the top side at least of the inner packet part 3 where a top opening is formed to access the interior of the inner packet part.
• the reinforcement plate preferably comprises a top cut-away portion 44 of same shape and dimensions as the cut-away parts 310, 31 1 in the front and rear walls 31 , 32.
• the reinforcement plate 40 can advantageously be formed from a reel of cardboard material, for example a same or similar cardboard material as the one of the inner packet part 3.
• the reinforcement plate 40 further comprises a bottom tongue 45 corresponding to the cut-away portion 44 in the top side of the main panel 41.
• the reinforcement plate 40 could also be free from bottom tongue 45 and show a straight bottom side or any other shape and be provided in stacks to be used during manufacture of the packaging 1.
• Reinforcement means 4 for the packaging 10 of the present invention can be provided on either an external face or an internal face of the front and back walls 31 , 32 of the inner packet part 3 at least.
• a preferable embodiment has the reinforcement means 4 being provided inside the inner packet part 3, for example by means of a reinforcement plate 40 as described above and represented in figures 6 to 8.
• the provision of the reinforcement means 4 inside the inner packet part 3 allow for a sleeker and smoother outer surface of the front and back walls 31 , 32, which is preferable for proper sliding of the inner packet part 3 within the outer packet part 2 between closed and open positions.
• a method for manufacturing a packaging 10 according to the present invention is represented schematically in figure 9, where a reinforcement plate 40 as represented in figure 6 is provided as reinforcement means 4 for the inner packet part 3.
• the method of the invention comprises at least the main steps of: a) forming the inner packet part 3 by folding and gluing of a first blank 300 as represented in figure 4, b) forming the outer packet part 2 by folding and gluing of a second blank 200as represented in figure 3, c) inserting the inner packet part 3 in the outer packet 3 part such that is movable relative to the outer packet part through the at least one side- opening between a closed position and an open position, and d) providing reinforcement means 4 for the inner packet part 3 before inserting it in the outer packet part.
• step d) for providing the reinforcement means 4 in the inner packet part 3 is advantageously carried out before formation of the inner packet part 3 by positioning the reinforcement means about a bundle of cigarettes B wrapped in a protective foil sheet before forming the inner packet part 3 directly about said bundle B and reinforcement means.
• cigarette bundles B made of previously collected groups of cigarettes wrapped in a protective foil sheet are provided to a first station S1 of a packing line where reinforcement means 4 in the form of a reinforcement plate 40 is fed from a feeding station S2 to each cigarette bundle B.
• Reinforcement plates 40 are individually detached or cut in the feeding station S2 from a reel R and then provided with glue dots from a glue applicator G.
• Individual reinforcement plates 40 are then transferred, as represented in details in figure 10, by any appropriate transfer system T onto a cigarette bundle B to stick the reinforcement plate 40, i.e. the main panel 41 and side panels thereof onto a main face and side faces of the cigarette bundle B.
• Cigarette bundles B equipped with a reinforcement plate 40 are then transferred by conveying means (suction belts of the like for example) to a first blank feeding station S3 where blanks 300 for forming the inner packet part 3 of the packaging 10 are provided from stacks.
• first blank feeding station S3 the cigarette bundles B are positioned onto one of the main panels 301 , 302 such that the cutaway portion 44 of the reinforcement plate 40 is superimposed with a corresponding cut-away 310, 31 1 of said main panel 301 ,302.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)
• Making Paper Articles (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=49880388

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2014
  • 2014-11-24 MY MYPI2016702108A patent/MY177257A/en unknown
  • 2014-11-24 KR KR1020167018671A patent/KR20160095153A/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 2014-11-24 EA EA201691000A patent/EA032125B1/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2014-11-24 WO PCT/EP2014/075359 patent/WO2015086298A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2014-11-24 JP JP2016538694A patent/JP6426186B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2014-11-24 EP EP14802433.4A patent/EP3079997B1/de active Active
  • 2014-11-24 PL PL14802433T patent/PL3079997T3/pl unknown
  • 2014-11-24 CN CN201480075286.8A patent/CN105980256A/zh active Pending
  • 2014-12-10 TW TW103143099A patent/TWI624411B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation

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