EP3259194B1

EP3259194B1 - Rigid hinged-lid package containing a group of small-sized tobacco articles

Info

Publication number: EP3259194B1
Application number: EP16714528.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Polloni; Giuseppe Marchitto; Luca PARADISO; Luca Federici
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2015-02-20
Filing date: 2016-02-19
Publication date: 2019-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 2036-02-19
Also published as: WO2016132333A1; EP3259194A1; PL3259194T3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a rigid hinged-lid package containing small-sized tobacco articles.
The present invention finds advantageous application to a package of cigarettes, to which the following description will make explicit reference without implying any loss of generality.

PRIOR ART

The patent US4771882A1 describes a rigid hinged-lid package of cigarettes that has been modified to house a group of small-sized cigarettes, i.e. a group of cigarettes smaller with respect to the total inner volume (because the group of cigarettes is composed of a number of cigarettes fewer than the number of standard cigarettes, and/or because the cigarettes have a smaller diameter than the standard diameter). In particular, the package of cigarettes comprises a filler, which is made of corrugated cardboard and is inserted inside the package of cigarettes to occupy the portion of the inner volume left free by the group of cigarettes. The function of the filler is to avoid empty spaces inside the packet of cigarettes and thus preventing the group of cigarettes from "shaking" inside the package of cigarettes; in fact, if the group of cigarettes were free to "shake" inside the package of cigarettes, the movement of the group of cigarettes during the handling of the package of cigarettes (both in the production step, and during the distribution and sales step) would subject the cigarettes to mechanical stress that could easily determine an emptying of the tips (i.e. loss of tobacco fibers from the free ends of the cigarettes).
However, the filler described in patent US4771882A1 has some drawbacks. First, the insertion of the filler inside of the package of cigarettes involves considerable constructional complications in the packing machine that must be modified for handling relatively large-sized solid objects (the fillers). In particular, the fillers always occupy significant volumes and therefore require a large occupation of space for their handling; consequently, in an existing packing machine it is challenging to find free space for adding the necessary elements for handling the fillers. Moreover, said filler uses a relatively high amount of material with an evident increase of expenses and environmental costs of production and disposal (after the use) of the package of cigarettes; consider, for example that the mass of the filler is comparable, if not higher, to the total mass of the wrapping material used to form the package of cigarettes.
Patent applications EP0443365A2 , EP0801011A1 and EP2666736A1 describe a rigid hinged-lid package of cigarettes that has been modified to house a group of small-size cigarettes. The package of cigarettes comprises a collar, which is provided with containment elements that project inwards to rest against the group of cigarettes in order to prevent the group of cigarettes from "shaking" inside the package of cigarettes. However, this technical solution has some drawbacks, since it is not always able to adequately hold the group of cigarettes in place (i.e. is not always able to effectively prevent the group of cigarettes from "shaking" inside the package of cigarettes).
The patent US2983424A1 describes, in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 26-30, a rigid hinged-lid package of cigarettes that has been modified to house a group of small-sized cigarettes. The package of cigarettes comprises a collar, which comprises an intermediate wall dividing the inner volume of the container into a main compartment which is open on the upper side and in a second compartment arranged alongside the main compartment. However, this technical solution has some drawbacks as it requires the use of a single complexly shaped blank that for its production entails a considerable waste of wrapping material and, above all, the folding thereof requires extremely complex folding devices.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a rigid hinged-lid package containing small-sized tobacco articles, which rigid package is free from the drawbacks described above and is, at the same time, easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
According to the present invention, a rigid hinged-lid package containing small-sized tobacco articles, as claimed in the attached claims is provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some examples of non-limiting embodiments, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective front view of a rigid package of cigarettes in a closed configuration produced according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1 in a closed configuration;
Figures 3 and 4 are two different front perspective views of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1 in an open configuration;
Figure 5 is a plan view of a group of cigarettes housed in the package of cigarettes of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a plan view of a different embodiment of the group of cigarettes of Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a schematic view and in cross section of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a collar of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1;
Figure 9 is a further perspective and partially unfolded view of the collar of Figure 1;
Figure 10 is a plan view of a blank used to produce a container of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1;
Figure 11 is a plan view of a blank used to produce the collar of Figure 8;
Figure 12 is a schematic view and in cross section of an alternative of the package of cigarettes of Figure 1; and
Figure 13 is a plan view of an alternative of the blank of Figure 11 used for producing the package of cigarettes of Figure 12.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In Figures 1-4, number 1 denotes as a whole a rigid package of cigarettes, which comprises a parallelepiped-shaped container 2 and a single (one) inner wrapper 3 (illustrated in Figures 3 and 4) which encloses a group of cigarettes (illustrated in figure 5) and is housed inside the container 2. The inner wrapper 3 is parallelepiped-shaped and is is made from a metal wrapping foil wrapped around the group of cigarettes. As illustrated in Figure 5, the group of cigarettes comprises twenty cigarettes arranged in four rows each having five cigarettes; alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 6, the group of cigarettes comprises twenty cigarettes arranged in six rows arranged laterally and aligning three cigarettes and a row arranged centrally and aligning two cigarettes.
As illustrated in Figures 1-4, the container 2 has an open upper end 4 and is provided with a lid 5, which is cup-shaped and is hinged to container 2 along a hinge 6 to rotate, with respect to the container 2, between an open position (illustrated in figures 3 and 4) and a closed position (illustrated in figures 1 and 2) of the open upper end 4.
The lid 5, when in its closed position, gives the container 2 a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an upper wall 7 and a lower wall 8 parallel and opposite to each other, a front wall 9 and a rear wall 10 parallel and opposite to each other, and two side walls 11 parallel and opposite to each other. Between the side walls 11 and the front 9 and rear 10 walls four longitudinal edges are defined, while between the upper 7 and lower 8 walls and the front 9, rear 10 and side walls 11 eight transverse edges are defined; in particular, between the upper 7 and lower 8 walls and the front 9 and rear 10 walls four larger transverse edges are defined, while between the upper 7 and lower 8 walls and the side walls 11 four smaller transverse edges are defined.
As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the inner wrapper 3 (i.e. the group of cigarettes contained inside the inner wrapper 3) has a smaller (significantly) cross section than the cross section of the container 2, and therefore in the container 2 a space of significant size remains (approximately 10-50% of the total volume of the container 2) not occupied by the inner wrapper 3. In particular, the inner wrapper 3 is narrower with respect to the container 2 (i.e. the width of the inner wrapper 3 is smaller than the width of the container 2), the inner wrapper 3 has the same depth of the container 2 (i.e. the depth of the inner wrapper 3 is equal to the depth of the container 2), and the inner wrapper 3 has the same height of the container 2 (i.e. the height of the inner wrapper 3 is equal to the height of the container 2). According to a different embodiment not illustrated, the inner wrapper 3 is narrower with respect to the container 2 (i.e. the width of the inner wrapper 3 is smaller than the width of the container 2) and, at the same time, the inner wrapper 3 is also less in depth with respect to the container 2 (i.e. the depth of the inner wrapper 3 is smaller than the depth of the container 2) and/or the inner wrapper 3 is also lower with respect to the container 2 (i.e. the height of the inner wrapper 3 is smaller than the height of the container 2). The width of the inner wrapper 3 and of the container 2 is measured perpendicular to the side walls 11 of the container 2, the depth of the inner wrapper 3 and of the container 2 is measured perpendicular to the front 9 and rear 10 walls of the container 2, and the height of the inner wrapper 3 and of the inner container 2 is measured perpendicular to the upper 7 and lower 8 walls of the container 2. Usually, the group of cigarettes has a smaller size with respect to the standard size because the group of cigarettes is composed of a number of cigarettes fewer than the number of standard cigarettes, and/or because the cigarettes have a diameter smaller than the standard diameter (the so-called "slim" or "superslim" cigarettes).
As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the package 1 also comprises a collar 12 which embraces the inner wrapper 3, is connected (by means of glue) inside the container 2 to project partly outwards of the open upper end 4 and to engage a corresponding inner surface of lid 5 when lid 5 is arranged in the aforementioned closed position.
As illustrated in Figure 7, the collar 12 comprises a side wall 13 which innerly rests against and is glued (by means of glue A) to a corresponding side wall 11 of the container 2, a front wall 14 which innerly rests against and is glued (by means of glue B) to the front wall 9 of the container 2, a side wall 15 which is opposite to the side wall 13 and innerly rests against and is glued (by means of glue C) to a corresponding side wall 11 of the container 2, a rear wall 16 which is opposite to the front wall 14 and innerly rests against and is glued (by means of glue D) to the rear wall 10 of the container 2 (alternatively the rear wall 16 could only innerly rest against without being glued to the rear wall 10 of the container 2, i.e. the glue D may not be provided), and an intermediate (partition) wall 17 which is arranged between the side walls 13 and 15 of the collar 12 (i.e. arranged in a central position), is perpendicular to the walls 14 and 16 of the collar 12, is parallel to the side walls 13 and 15 of the collar 2, and divides the inner volume of the container 2 into a main compartment 18 which is open on the upper side and houses inside the inner wrapper 3 and a second compartment 19 which is open on the upper side and is arranged next to the main compartment 18. In other words, the intermediate wall 17 is located inside the container 2 and divides the inner volume of the container 2 into the main compartment 18 and into the second compartment 19; accordingly, the intermediate wall 17 separates the two compartments 18 and 19 one with respect to the other and forms the boundary between the two compartments 18 and 19 themselves. In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the two compartments 18 and 19 roughly have the same width (i.e. the same size as a whole). According to other and perfectly equivalent embodiments the two compartments 18 and 19 have different widths (and therefore size); in this case the main compartment 18 may be either larger (therefore larger as a whole) or narrow (therefore smaller as a whole) than the second compartment 19.
It is important to note that the front wall 9 and the side walls 11 of the container 2 have respective upper edges which delimit the open upper end 4 of the container 2; the front wall 14 and the side walls 13 and 15 of the collar 12 projecting beyond the upper edges of the corresponding front wall 9 and side walls 11 of the container 2.
It is important to note that the glue D interposed between the rear wall 16 of the collar 12 and the rear wall 10 of the container 2 is useful for stiffening the collar 12 and thus making the partition wall 17 of the collar 12 more stable; however, the glue D is not indispensable and could therefore also not be applied.
As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the front wall 14 of the collar 12 has on the upper side a window 20 that is arranged outside of the container 2 (i.e. is located completely in the part of the front wall 14 that projects from the container 2) at the main compartment 18 (i.e. at the inner wrapper 3) and is "U"-shaped; the window 20 has the function of facilitating the extraction of the cigarettes from the inner wrapper 3.
The collar 12 has the function of maintaining in a correct position the inner wrapper 3, i.e. to prevent the inner wrapper 3 from performing unwanted movement inside the container 2 (since the inner wrapper 3 is smaller than the container 2). Furthermore, the collar 12 also has the function of maintaining the lid 5 in the closed position with a given force to prevent unwanted openings of the lid 5; said "locking" function of the lid 5 in the closed position is carried out thanks to the fact that when the lid 5 is in the closed position the collar 12 partially projects from the open end of the container 2 and then engages a corresponding inner surface of lid 5: in this way to open the lid 5 it is required to elastically and slightly deform the lid 5 and/or the collar 12 and therefore it is required to apply a given force to the lid 5 to open the lid 5. According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the front wall 14 of the collar 12 is provided with a pair of extensions which project laterally to engage with interference the lid 5 when the lid 5 is in the closed position so as to maintain with greater force the lid 5 in the closed position. According to a different embodiment not illustrated, the front wall 14 of the inner collar 12 is free from the extensions.
The inner wrapper 3 is maintained in a correct position by compensating the smaller width of the inner wrapper 3 with respect to the width of the container 2 due to the presence of the intermediate wall 17 against which the inner wrapper 3 rests. In other words, the inner wrapper 3 on the front side rests against the front wall 14 of the collar 12 and against the front wall 9 of the container 2, on the rear side rests against the rear wall 10 of the container 2, and, from one side, laterally rests against the side wall 13 of the collar 12 and against a side wall 11 of the container 2 and, from the opposite side, against the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12.
As illustrated in Figures 7, 8 and 9, the collar 12 comprises a support element 21, which is raised (projects) towards the inside and rests against the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 (on the opposite side with respect to the inner wrapper 3) maintaining the intermediate wall 17 in the correct position (i.e. to support the intermediate wall 17). In other words, the support element 21 forms a projection that projects towards the inside from the side wall 15 of the collar 12 and rests against the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 to support the intermediate wall 17; in this way, the support element 21 maintains the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 perpendicular to the two front walls 14 and 15 of the collar 12. As a result, the support element 21 prevents the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 from rotating (collapsing) inside the second compartment 19; it is important to note that the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 cannot rotate (collapse) inside the primary compartment 18 as the primary compartment 18 is fully engaged by the inner wrapper 3 (in other words, towards the primary compartment 18 the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 rests against the inner wrapper 3), whereas the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 may rotate (collapse) inside the second compartment 19 which is empty. The support element 21 is "L"-shaped in cross section and comprises a panel 22 which originates from the side wall 15 of collar 12 and is arranged perpendicular to the side wall 15 and a panel 23 which is joined to the panel 22 along a pre-weakened folding line, it originates from the front wall 14 of the collar 12, is arranged perpendicular to the front wall 14 and rests against the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12.
According to a preferred (but not binding) embodiment, the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is constrained to the panel 23 of the support element 21 so as to prevent a relative movement between the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 and the panel 23 of the support element 21. Thanks to the connection (constraint) between the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 and the panel 23 of the support element 21, the position of the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is more stable, particularly (but not only) during the production of the package 1 of cigarettes, i.e. when the collar 12 has been folded and coupled to the inner wrapper 3 and has not yet been inserted inside the container 2.
According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-11, the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is mechanically constrained to the panel 23 of the support element 21 by means of a mechanical interlocking joint.
According to a preferred (but not binding) embodiment, the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 comprises two through cuts 24, each of which is arranged at an edge of the panel 23 of the support element 21 and is suited to receive in the inside thereof the edge of the panel 23. In other words, by pushing laterally (i.e. externally to the through cuts 24) the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 towards the panel 23 of the support element 21, the intermediate wall 17 is slightly deformed at the through cuts 24 inserting inside the through cuts 24 corresponding edges of the panel 23 and thereby obtaining a mechanical interlocking joint between the wall 17 and the panel 23. According to a preferred embodiment, each through cut 24 is inclined relative to the corresponding edge of the panel 23 of the support element 21, or form an obtuse angle (or an acute angle depending on the side of observation) with the edge of the panel 23; accordingly, each through cut 24 is also inclined relative to the edges of the intermediate wall 17, i.e. forms an acute angle (or obtuse depending on the side of observation) with the edges of the intermediate wall 17; preferably, the two through cuts 24 are inclined so as to be diverging from each other (i.e. entering inside the intermediate wall 17 the two through cuts 24 progressively move away one from the other). Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment, each through cut 24 ends with a curl 25 (i.e. with a "U"-shaped portion) to prevent the cut 24 from continuing along the remaining part of the intermediate wall 17 thus tearing the cardboard constituting the intermediate wall 17. There also may be only one through cut 24 arranged on a single side of the panel 23 of the support element 21 instead of two through cuts 24 arranged from opposite sides of the panel element 23 of the support element 21.
According to other embodiments not illustrated other methods of forming a mechanical interlocking joint between the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 and the panel 23 of the support element 21, different from the cuts 24 described above, are also possible.
As illustrated in Figure 10, the container 2 is obtained starting from a flat blank 26 having a known type substantially rectangular elongated shape.
As illustrated in Figure 11, the collar 12 is obtained starting from a flat blank 27 which is shaped to be cut without waste (scrap) from a continuous strip of wrapping material. As illustrated in Figure 11, the panels 22 and 23 of the support element 21 are made up of part of the front wall 14 of the collar 12 and of a part of the side wall 15 of collar 12 and are separated from the front wall 14 and from the side wall 15 by means of two through incisions 28 parallel to each other which are arranged above and under the panels 22 and 23. Laterally the panel 22 is delimited by a pre-weakened folding line 29 which is arranged perpendicular to the through incisions 28 and also coincides with the edge of the side wall 15 of the collar 12; the panel 23 is laterally delimited by a pre-weakened folding line 30 that is arranged perpendicular to the through incisions 28 and is arranged in a central area of the front wall 14 of the collar 12. As previously mentioned, the two panels 22 and 23 are separated by a pre-weakened folding line 31 that is parallel to the pre-weakened folding lines 29 and 30 and is perpendicular to the through incisions 28. As illustrated in Figure 11, the rear wall 16 of the collar 12 is connected along a pre-weakened folding line to the side wall 15 of the collar 12 and the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is connected along a further pre-weakened folding line to the rear wall 16 of the collar 12.
According to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-11, the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is mechanically constrained to the panel 23 of the support element 21 by means of a mechanical interlocking joint. Alternatively and according to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 12 and 13, the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is glued to the panel 23 of the support element 21 by means of at least one point of glue E which is interposed between the intermediate wall 17 and the panel 23; in this embodiment, the cuts 24 are normally not provided (as illustrated in Figure 13) as redundant and therefore not necessary. Said solution allows to achieve a stronger constraint between the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 and the panel 23 of the support element 21, but on the other hand requires the insertion of a further gumming device in the packing machine.
In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the second compartment 19 is open on the upper side exactly like the main compartment 18; however, while the main compartment 18 houses the one and only inner wrapper 3 of the package 1 of cigarettes, the second compartment 19 is empty and is used to house other objects (e.g. a lighter) that may be inserted during the formation of the package 1 of cigarettes or can be inserted in use by the user after the first opening of the package 1 of cigarettes. According to an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the collar 12 comprises an upper wall, which is arranged at the second compartment 19 and closes, on the upper side, the second compartment 19.
The package 1 of cigarettes described above has numerous advantages.
In the first place, the package 1 of cigarettes described above is easy to produce even in an existing packing machine (which is to be subjected to a few but not too invasive modifications). In fact, the package 1 of cigarettes described above does not have any additional component with respect to a standard package of cigarettes and, in the package 1 of cigarettes described above, the only differences with respect to a standard package of cigarettes are all concentrated on the collar 12 which however has a shape relatively similar to a standard shape and is obtainable without waste from a continuous strip of wrapping material with similar processing to that performed for producing a standard collar.
Furthermore, in the package 1 of cigarettes described above the increase in wrapping material for producing the intermediate wall 17 of the collar 12 is decidedly modest resulting in a low impact on the expenses and environmental costs of production and disposal (after the use) of the package 1 of cigarettes.
Finally, in the package 1 of cigarettes the inner wrapper 3 described above it is supported (i.e. locked) inside the main compartment 18 in a particularly stable and robust manner; consequently, in the package 1 of cigarettes described above the inner wrapper 3 is effectively prevented from "shaking" inside the package 1 of cigarettes.

Claims

A rigid package (1) for tobacco articles comprising:
a container (2), which has a parallelepiped shape, is obtained starting from a first blank (26), and has: an open upper end (4), a front wall (9), a rear wall (10), a lower wall (8) and two side walls (11);

a single inner wrapper (3) which encloses a group of tobacco articles, is housed inside the container (2) and has a width that is smaller than the width of the container (2);

a lid (5), which is hinged to the container (2)so as to close an open upper end (4) of the container (2); and

a collar (12), which is obtained starting from a second blank (27) initially separate and independent from the first blank (26), is arranged on the inside of the container (2) and is connected by gluing to the container (2) so as to partially project outwards from the open upper end (4) and comprises: a first side wall (13), which rests against a side wall (11) of the container (2), a front wall (14), which rests against the front wall (9) of the container (2), and a second side wall (15) which is opposite to the first side wall (13) and rests against the other side wall (11) of the container (2);

wherein the collar (12) comprises a rear wall (16), which rests against the rear wall of the container (10) (2), and an intermediate wall (17), which is arranged between the side walls (13, 15) and divides the inner volume of the container (2) into a main compartment (18) which is open on the upper side and houses the inner wrapper (3) and in a second compartment (19), which is arranged next to the main compartment (18);

the package (1) for tobacco articles is characterized in that the collar comprises a support element (21), which rests against the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) on the opposite side relative to the inner wrapper (3), has, in a cross-sectional view, an "L" shape and comprises: a first panel (22), which originates from the second side wall (15) of the collar (12) and is arranged perpendicular to the second side wall (15); and a second panel (23), which is joined to the first panel (22) along a folding line (31), which originates from the front wall (14) of the collar (12), is arranged perpendicular to the front wall (14) and rests against the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 1, wherein the panels (22, 23) of the support element (21) are made up of part of the front wall (14) of the collar (12) and of part of the second side wall (15) of the collar (12) and are separated from the front wall (14) and from the second side wall (15) by means of two through incisions (28) that are parallel to one another.
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) is constrained to the second panel (23) of the support element (21) .
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) is mechanically constrained to the second panel (23) of the support element (21) by a mechanical interlocking joint.
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 4, wherein the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) comprises at least one through cut (24), which is arranged at an edge of the second panel (23) of the support element (21) and is suited to receive the edge of the second panel (23).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate wall(17) of the collar (12) comprises two through cuts (24), each of which is arranged at an edge of the second panel (23) of the support element (21) and is suited to receive the edge of the second panel (23).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the through cut (24) is inclined relative to the corresponding edge of the second panel (23) of the support element (21) so as to form an acute angle with the edge of the second panel (23).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the through cut (24) ends with a curl (25).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) is glued to the second panel (23) of the support element (21).
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to one of claims from 1 to 9, wherein the rear wall (16) of the collar (12) is connected to the second side wall (15) of the collar (12) along a folding line and the intermediate wall (17) of the collar (12) is connected to the rear wall (16) of the collar (12) along a further folding line.
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to one of claims from 1 to 10, wherein the front wall (14) of the collar (12) has, in the upper part, a window (20) which is arranged outside of the container (2) at the main compartment (18) and is "U"-shaped.
A package (1) for tobacco articles according to one of claims from 1 to 11, wherein:
the front wall (9) and the side walls (11) of the container (2) have respective upper edges which delimit the open upper end (4) of the container (2); and

the front wall (14) and the side walls (13, 15) of the collar (12) project beyond the upper edges of the corresponding front wall (9) and side walls (11) of the container (2).