EP3107832B1

EP3107832B1 - Container for consumer articles with oblique arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP3107832B1
Application number: EP15704563.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lucas Chatelain
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products SA
Current assignee: Philip Morris Products SA
Priority date: 2014-02-19
Filing date: 2015-02-17
Publication date: 2020-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 2035-02-17
Also published as: EP3107832A1; WO2015124554A1

Description

The present invention relates to a novel container for housing consumer articles. The containers of the present invention find particular application as containers for elongate consumer articles, such as smoking articles.
It is known to package consumer articles in containers formed from folded laminar blanks. By way of example, elongate smoking articles, such as cigarettes and cigars, are often sold in rigid box shaped containers, such as hinged lid containers having a box portion and a lid connected to the box about a hinge line extending across the rear wall of the container, a so called Flip-Top™ box. Such packs are typically constructed from one-piece laminar cardboard blanks. DE 1988565 (U ) discloses a box housing a group of cigars lying flat and arranged parallel to one another.
In some cases, the container further includes an inner frame at least partly wrapped around the consumer articles. This may provide further rigidity to the container and protect the consumer articles. In use, the lid is pivoted about the hinge line to open the pack and so gain access to the smoking articles held in the box.
Alternatively, elongate smoking articles are also often sold in soft packs having a box portion wrapped around the consumer articles. Typically, soft packs are constructed from a laminar blank made of a thinner, more easily deformable material, such as paper.
Consumers may find it difficult to extract the first article from the container. This tends to happen, in particular, with smoking articles. Cigarettes are commonly grouped quite tightly within containers, such that, when the container is opened, hardly any room is left for manually accessing the inside of the container.
WO2011/024802 discloses a container for displaying products in which the products are arranged in a slanted position.
It would be desirable to provide an improved container for consumer articles that makes it easier for the consumer to extract the first article from the container, while at the same time being simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a container for elongate smoking articles, the container comprising a box portion. The box portion comprises a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls extending between the front and the rear wall. Further, the container comprises a group of elongate smoking articles. The group comprises at least a row of articles. The articles have a length and are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other. The group is positioned within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and an uppermost edge of the box portion. According to the invention, an internal height of the container is smaller than the length of the smoking articles. In addition, the smoking articles are arranged within the box portion such that the axes of the smoking articles are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of packaging elongate consumer articles. The method comprises forming a group of elongate consumer articles, wherein the group comprises at least a row of elongate consumer articles. The consumer articles have a length and are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other. Further, the method comprises forming a container comprising a box portion. The box portion comprises a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls extending between the front and the rear wall. An internal height of the container is smaller than the length of the consumer articles. Further, the method comprises positioning the group within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and the uppermost edge of the box portion and such that the axes of the consumer articles are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion.
The difference between the external dimension of the container and the internal dimensions of the container is determined by the thickness of the material, the number of layers and additional spacing elements, like for example the thickness of an adhesive. In an exemplary embodiment, an internal height of the container may be measured from a bottom wall of the box portion to an uppermost edge of the box portion.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alternative method of packaging elongate consumer articles. The method comprises forming a group of elongate consumer articles, wherein the group comprises at least a row of elongate consumer articles. The consumer articles have a length and are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other. Further, the method comprises forming around the group of elongate articles a container comprising a box portion. The box portion comprises a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls extending between the front and the rear wall. According to the invention, the internal height of the container is smaller than the length of the consumer articles. Further, the group is arranged within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and the uppermost edge of the box portion such that the axes of the consumer articles are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion.
It will be appreciated that any features described with reference to one aspect of the present invention are equally applicable to any other aspect of the invention.
The terms "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "above", "below", "side", "left", "right", "lateral", "top", "bottom" and other terms used to describe relative positions of the components of containers according to the invention refer to the container in an upright position with an open end of the box portion at the top and the consumer goods accessible from the upper end at the front. The terms "side" and "lateral" are used with reference to side walls of the container when the container is viewed from the front in its upright position. Where the container comprises a hinged lid, the hinge is in the back of the container.
In a container according to the invention, the consumer articles are collated in rows such that all the adjacent consumer articles in a row extend parallel to one another. The group thus formed is lodged inside a box portion having a height smaller than the height of the consumer articles and such that the axes of the consumer articles are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion. Thus, the group of collated consumer articles is held tightly in place when the container is closed or sealed, and stays firmly in place until the container is opened for the first time. When the container is opened, the group of collated consumer articles is allowed to lose its tightness and it is easy for the consumer to extract a first one of them from the container.
In addition, an internal diagonal of the container as measured from the front, left-hand bottom vertex of the box portion to the rear, right-hand top vertex of the box portion is preferably larger than the length of the consumer articles.
Preferably, the longitudinal axes of the consumer articles in the group form an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with the side walls of the box portion, so that a first portion of the internal volume of the box portion free of consumer articles is made available at a top end of the box portion. In other words, consumer articles within the box portion are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion. The consumer articles may be slanted either to the front of the box or the back of the box or the consumer articles may be slanted either to the front of the box and the back of the box. Thus, a fraction of the internal volume of the box portion is advantageously left void of consumer articles. This, on the one hand, provides the consumer with an easy manual access to the inside of the container, which makes grabbing the consumer articles very convenient. On the other hand, that very same fraction of the internal volume of the box portion is available to house another product or accessory.
Preferably, the angle formed by the longitudinal axes of the consumer articles in the group with the side walls of the box portion is from about 5 to about 45 degrees.
Preferably, a second portion of the internal volume of the box portion free of consumer articles provided at a bottom end of the box portion comprises a filling element. The filling element advantageously reinforces the package and stabilises the consumer articles. In particular, after the first consumer article has been extracted from the package, the filling element may help support the remaining consumer articles in the group so that they maintain the desired position within the box portion.
More preferably, the resilient material is cardboard.
The container further comprises a lid portion hinged to the box portion along a hinge line extending across the rear wall of the container, the lid portion having a lid top wall. The group of articles is positioned within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and the lid top wall. By combining a hinged lid aperture with the slanted arrangement of the group of consumer articles within the box portion, ease of access to the consumer products for extracting the first one of them from the group is advantageously further enhanced.
The lid portion further comprises a lid rear wall and a top rear edge between the lid top wall and the lid rear wall.
The group comprises at least two rows of consumer articles and the consumer articles in different rows of the group are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other.
In an alternative embodiments, the group comprises at least two rows of consumer articles and the consumer articles in different rows of the group are arranged with their longitudinal axes transverse to each other. This may advantageously further simplify access to each single row of consumer articles for the consumer.
In any of the embodiments described above, the container is filled with elongate smoking articles, such as, for example, cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. It will be appreciated that through appropriate choices of the dimensions, containers according to the invention may be designed for different numbers of conventional size, king size, super-king size, slim or super-slim cigarettes.
Containers according to the invention will typically be assembled in the conventional way, by folding one or more laminar blanks around the consumer goods and attaching, for example gluing or sealing overlying panels of the laminar blanks together in order to retain the container in the assembled shape. This may be achieved using conventional glues or adhesives.
Containers according to the invention may comprise box portions in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, with right-angled longitudinal and right-angled transverse edges. Alternatively, the box portion may comprise one or more rounded longitudinal edges, rounded transverse edges, bevelled longitudinal edges or bevelled transverse edges, or combinations thereof. For example, the container according to the invention may comprise, without limitation:

one or two longitudinal rounded or bevelled edges on the front wall, and/or one or two longitudinal rounded or bevelled edges on the back wall.
one or two transverse rounded or bevelled edges on the front wall, and/or one or two transverse rounded or bevelled edges on the back wall.
one longitudinal rounded edge and one longitudinal bevelled edge on the front wall, and/or one transverse rounded edge and one transverse bevelled edge on the back wall.
one or two transverse rounded or bevelled edges on the front wall and one or two longitudinal rounded or bevelled edges on the front wall.
two longitudinal rounded or bevelled edges on a first side wall or two transverse rounded or bevelled edges on the second side wall.

Where the container comprises one or more rounded edges and is made from one or more laminar blanks, preferably the blanks comprise three, four, five, six or seven scoring lines or creasing lines to form each rounded edge in the assembled container. The scoring lines or creasing lines may be either on the inside of the container or on the outside of the container. Preferably, the scoring lines or creasing lines are spaced from each other by between about 0.3 mm and 4 mm.
Preferably, the spacing of the creasing lines or scoring lines is a function of the thickness of the laminar blank. Preferably, the spacing between the creasing lines or scoring lines is between about 0.5 and about 4 times larger than the thickness of the laminar blank.
Where the box portion of the container comprises one or more bevelled edge, preferably the bevelled edge has a width of between about 1 mm and about 10 mm, preferably between about 2 and about 6 mm. Alternatively, the container may comprise a double bevel formed by three parallel creasing or scoring lines that are spaced such that two distinct bevels are formed on the edge of the container.
Where the box portion of the container comprises a bevelled edge and is made from one or more laminar blanks, the bevel may be formed by two parallel creasing lines or scoring lines in the laminar blank. The creasing lines or scoring lines may be arranged symmetrically to the edge between a first wall and a second wall. Alternatively, the creasing lines or scoring lines may be arranged asymmetrically to the edge between the first wall and the second wall, such that the bevel reaches further into the first wall of the container than into the second wall of the container.
Through an appropriate choice of the dimensions thereof, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold different total numbers of smoking articles, or different arrangements of smoking articles. For example, through an appropriate choice of the dimensions thereof, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold a total of between ten and thirty smoking articles.
The smoking articles in the container may be arranged in different collations, depending on the total number of smoking articles. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in a single row of six, seven, eight, nine or ten. Alternatively, the smoking articles may be arranged in two or more rows. The two or more rows may contain the same number of smoking articles. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in: two rows of five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten; three rows of five or seven; or four rows of four, five or six. Alternatively, the two or more rows may include at least two rows containing different number of smoking articles to each other. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in: a row of five and a row of six (5-6); a row of six and a row of seven (6-7); a row of seven and a row of eight (7-8); a middle row of five and two outer rows of six (6-5-6); a middle row of five and two outer rows of seven (7-5-7); a middle row of six and two outer rows of five (5-6-5); a middle row of six and two outer rows of seven (7-6-7); a middle row of seven and two outer rows of six (6-7-6); a middle row of nine and two outer rows of eight (8-9-8); or a middle row of six with one outer row of five and one outer row of seven (5-6-7). As mentioned above, where two or more rows of smoking articles are present, the slant of the smoking articles per row may be different from each other, for example one row may be slanted to the left and another row may be slanted to the right. Further, the smoking articles in a single row may be slanted in opposite direction. For example, in a row of six smoking articles, the first three smoking articles from the left may be slanted towards the left, whereas the three smoking articles remaining on the right of those slanted towards the left may be slanted towards the right. Further, the container may comprise two or more bundles, where at least one of the bundles is a slanted bundle. Alternatively, all the bundles in the container may be slanted. Additionally, where more than one bundle is present, the bundles may be slanted in the same or different directions, including slanted by different angles with respect to a same axis of the container.
Containers according to the present invention may hold smoking articles of the same type or brand, or of different types or brands. In addition, both filterless smoking articles and smoking articles with various filter tips may be contained, as well as smoking articles of differing length (for example, between about 40 mm and about 180 mm), diameter (for example, between about 4 mm and about 9 mm). In addition, the smoking articles may differ in strength of taste, resistance to draw and total particulate matter delivery. Preferably, the dimensions of the container are adapted to the length of the smoking articles, and the collation of the smoking articles. Typically, the outer dimensions of the container are between about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm larger than the dimensions of the group or groups of smoking articles housed inside the container.
The length, width and depth of containers according to the invention may be such that, in the closed position, the resultant overall dimensions of the container are similar to the dimensions of a typical cardboard hinge-lid pack of twenty cigarettes.
Preferably, containers according to the invention have a height of between about 60 mm and about 150 mm, more preferably a height of between about 70 mm and about 125 mm, wherein the height is measured from the top wall to the bottom wall of the container.
Preferably, containers according to the invention have a width of between about 12 mm and about 150 mm, more preferably a width of between about 70 mm and about 125 mm, wherein the width is measured from one side wall to the other side wall of the container.
Preferably, containers according to the invention have a depth of between about 6 mm and about 100 mm, more preferably a depth of between about 12 mm and about 25 mm wherein the depth is measured from the front wall to the back wall of the container (comprising the hinge between box and lid).
Preferably, the ratio of the height of the container to the depth of the container is in between about 0.3 to 1 and about 10 to 1, more preferably between about 2 to 1 and about 8 to 1, most preferably between about 3 to 1 and 5 to 1.
Preferably, the ratio of the width of the container to the depth of the container is between about 0.3 to 1 and about 10 to 1, more preferably between about 2 to 1 and about 8 to 1, most preferably between about 2 to 1 and 3 to 1.
Containers according to the invention may be shrink-wrapped or otherwise over wrapped with a transparent polymeric film of, for example, high or low density polyethylene, polypropylene, oriented polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, cellulose film, or combinations thereof in a conventional manner. Where containers according to the invention are over wrapped, the over wrapper may include one or more tear tapes. In addition, the over wrapper may be printed with images, consumer information or other data. The additional outer wrapper may advantageously protect the surface of the container for example against abrasion during handling or because of exposure to other environmental conditions.
As well as housing a group of smoking articles, the container may further comprise other consumer goods, for example matches, lighters, extinguishing means, breath-fresheners or electronics. The other consumer goods may be attached to the outside of the container, contained within the container along with the smoking articles, for example in the portion of internal volume of the box portion free of consumer articles made available at the top of the box portion.
The exterior surfaces of containers according to the invention may be printed, embossed, debossed or otherwise embellished with manufacturer or brand logos, trade marks, slogans and other consumer information and indicia.
The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figure 1, which is a schematic front view of a container for consumer articles according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The container 1 shown in Figure 1 is shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped and comprises a box portion 10. The box portion 10 comprises a front wall 11, a rear wall (not shown), two side walls 12 extending between the front wall 11 and the rear wall, and a bottom wall 13. The upper side of the box portion 10 is open to provide an upper opening through which consumer articles can be removed.
Further, the container 1 comprises a group 20 of elongate consumer articles 21. In more detail, the group 20 comprises a row of consumer articles 21. The articles 21 have a length L and are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other. The group 20 is positioned within the box portion 10 between the bottom wall 13 and an upper most edge 14 of the box portion 10. The height H of the container as measured from the bottom wall 13 of the box portion 10 to the uppermost edge 14 of the box portion is smaller than the length L of the consumer articles 21.
In more detail, the box portion 10 defines an internal volume. The longitudinal axes of the consumer articles 21 in the group form an angle α of about 10 degrees with the side walls 13 of the box portion 10. Thus, a first portion V1 of the internal volume of the box portion free of consumer articles is provided at a top end of the box portion 10.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the container 1 further comprises a lid portion 14 hinged to the box portion 10 along a hinge line (not shown) extending across the rear wall of the container, wherein the lid portion 14 has a lid top wall 15. However, it shall be appreciated that containers according to the invention may be alternatively provided as soft packs having a box portion wrapped around the consumer articles and no hinge lid.

Claims

A container (1) for elongate smoking articles, the container comprising:
a box portion (10) comprising a bottom wall (13), a front wall (11), a rear wall and two side walls (12) extending between the front and the rear wall, an upper side of the box portion (10) being open to provide an upper opening through which smoking articles can be removed;

a lid portion (14) hinged to the box portion (10) along a hinge line extending across a rear wall of the container, the lid portion (14) comprising a lid top wall (15), a lid rear wall and a top rear edge between the lid top wall (15) and the lid rear wall; and

a group (20) of elongate smoking articles (21), the group comprising at least two rows of articles, the articles having a length (L) and being arranged in each row with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other, the group (20) being positioned within the box portion (10) between the bottom wall (13) of the box portion (10) and the lid top wall (15) of the lid portion (14);
wherein the lid portion (14) is pivotable about the hinge line to open the container and gain access to the smoking articles (21);
wherein an internal height (H) of the container is smaller than the length (L) of the smoking articles (21) and wherein the smoking articles (21) are arranged within the box portion (10) such that the axes of the smoking articles (21) are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion (10); wherein the smoking articles in different rows of the group are arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other or with their longitudinal axes transverse to each other.
A container according to claim 1, wherein the box portion (10) defines an internal volume and the longitudinal axes of the smoking articles (21) in the group (20) form an angle with the side walls (12) of the box portion (10), so that a first portion (V1) of the internal volume of the box portion free of smoking articles is provided at a top end of the box portion (10).
A container according to claim 2, wherein the angle formed by the longitudinal axes of the smoking articles (21) in the group (20) with the side walls (12) of the box portion (10) is between 0 degrees and 90 degrees.
A container according to claim 2, wherein the angle formed by the longitudinal axes of the smoking articles (21) in the group (20) with the side walls (12) of the box portion (10) is from about 5 to about 45 degrees.
A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a second portion of the internal volume of the box portion free of smoking articles provided at a bottom end of the box portion (10) comprises a filling element.
A container according to claim 5, wherein the filling element comprises a resilient material.
A container according to claim 6, wherein the filling element comprises cardboard.
A method of packaging elongate smoking articles comprising:
- forming a group of elongate smoking articles comprising at least two rows of elongate smoking articles, the smoking articles in each row having a length and being arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other, the smoking articles in different rows of the group being arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other or with their longitudinal axes transverse to each other;

- forming a container comprising a box portion, the box portion comprising a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls extending between the front and the rear wall, wherein an internal height of the container is smaller than the length of the smoking articles; the container further comprising a lid portion hinged to the box portion along a hinge line extending across a rear wall of the container, the lid portion comprising a lid top wall, a lid rear wall and a top rear edge between the lid top wall and the lid rear wall; wherein an upper side of the box portion is open to provide an upper opening through which smoking articles can be removed; and

- positioning the group within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and the lid top wall of the lid portion, such that the axes of the smoking articles within the box portion are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion, the lid portion being pivotable about the hinge line to open the container and gain access to the group of elongate smoking articles.
A method of packaging elongate smoking articles comprising:
- forming a group of elongate smoking articles comprising at least two rows of elongate smoking articles, the smoking articles in each row having a length and being arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other, the smoking articles in different rows of the group being arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other or with their longitudinal axes transverse to each other;

- forming around the group of elongate smoking articles a container comprising a box portion, the box portion comprising a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls extending between the front and the rear wall, the container further comprising a lid portion hinged to the box portion along a hinge line extending across a rear wall of the container, the lid portion comprising a lid top wall, a lid rear wall and a top rear edge between the lid top wall and the lid rear wall; wherein an upper side of the box portion is open to provide an upper opening through which smoking articles can be removed; wherein an internal height of the container is smaller than the length of the smoking articles, so that the group is arranged within the box portion between the bottom wall of the box portion and the lid top wall of the lid portion and such that the axes of the smoking articles within the box portion are slanted relative to a longitudinal axis of the box portion; the lid portion being pivotable about the hinge line to open the container and gain access to the group of elongate smoking articles.