GB2171081A - Hinged lid packet - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinged lid packet, made from a one-piece blank, has outer side wall flaps 9 and 8 extending from the rear walls 3 and 4 of the body and lid portions respectively. The flaps 8 and 9 are preferably connected by a short frangible connecting portion 14 to ensure that the lid is held closed until torn open by the consumer. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Hinged lid packets This invention relates to hinged lid packets for containing groups of cigarettes or other articles, and to a method of forming such packets.

Hinged lid packets, sometimes known as "flip-tops", have for many years been widely accepted in the tobacco industry as very satisfactory containers for holding cigarettes in a crush resistant manner. However in their well-known sophisticated form they are relatively expensive to produce, and probably for this reason they have not been so readily adopted in some parts of the world. For example in Russia it is more common to use a simpler type of semi-rigid cigarette packet made of card.

A significant part of the cost of the content and manufacturing cost of a conventional hinged lid packet lies in the collar or inner frame, which is usually glued to the inside of the body portion of the packet. Many proposals have been made, so far with iittle success, to eliminate such an inner frame and to produce an integral or one-piece hinged lid packet of cheaper design.

One such early proposal suffers from the considerable disadvantage that the lid has to be formed after the body portion. If the packet is then not overwrapped (or the lid is not secured to the body portion by a revenue stamp, banderole or the like) there is a danger of the lid tending to open. Furthermore in that event the consumer cannot be assured that the contents are fresh and have not been tampered with.

In another proposal the forming of the onepiece packet can be achieved with the lid closed, but at the expense of a weakening of the walls of the lid, which may be unacceptable especially where inferior adhesives or card material is employed.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a hinged lid packet formed from a single blank of material, and having body and lid portions each with side walls formed by inner and outer flaps, in which the outer flaps thereof extend from the rear wall of the body or lid portion respectively.

Preferably the inner flaps and the sides of the front wall of the body portion are of substantially the full height of the packet. The top of the front wall, whose sides may be of the full height of the packet, may have a cut-out between its sides in order to facilitate access to the contents of the packet.

The front wall of the lid portion may be strengthened by a reinforcement panel whose shape in the blank corresponds to the cut-out in the front wall of the body portion.

Preferably the outer flaps of both the lid and body portion extend from the respective rear walls, and the respective outer flaps at each side are connected by a short frangible land portion positioned towards the front of the packet.

The invention also extends to a blank for forming such a hinged lid packet.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a hinged lid packet in which the front wall of the body portion and the adjoining base and side flaps are folded into a tray-like shape open at the lid end, the contents to be packed (e.g. a group of cigarettes) are inserted therein, and the folding and sealing of the packet is then completed.

The rear walls and the top of the lid may be successively folded around the contents while the packet is moving sideways, i.e. in a direction parallel to the base and front wall of the body portion.

The inner flap of the lid may then be folded while the packet is moved axially with the top of the lid leading. Finally, the outer flaps of the body and lid (which may be joined by said short frangible land portion) may be folded and secured to the underlying inner flaps, after adhesive has been applied thereto, while the packet is moved with its rear wall leading.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an open cigarette packet according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a schematic view in perspective of a method in accordance with the invention for forming the packet of Fig. 1.

Referring first to the packet of Fig. 1 and to the card blank from which it is made, shown at B at the top of Fig. 2, the packet comprises the following components connected respectively to one another: a body front wall 1 formed with a cut-out 1 A, a base 2, a body rear wall 3 connected by a hinge line L to a lid rear wall 4, a top 5, and lid front wall 6 to the inside of which may optionally be connected a reinforcement panel 12 (Fig. 1) of a shape corresponding to the cut-out 1A.

The sides of the packet are formed by pairs of flaps and tabs extending from each side of some of these components, as follows: a lid inner flap 7 connected to the lid front wall 6, a lid outer flap 8 connected to the lid rear wall 4, a body outer flap 9 connected to the body rear wall 3, a body inner flap 11 connected to the body front wall 1, and a bottom tab 10 connected to the body inner flap and adapted in the erected packet to lie against the inside of the base 2.

Extending sideways from the top of the body front wall 1 are a pair of conventional ears 13 which assist in frictionally holding the lid closed. At 14 is shown a short frangible land, which connects the lid and body outer flaps 8 and 9 at each side before the lid is first hinged open to break the lands.

Fig. 2 illustrates a method according to the invention of forming a succession of such hinged lid packets, the mechanical devices for so forming the packets having been omitted.

The blank B is removed from a vertical stack of blanks and while it is horizontal the reinforcement panel 12 (if any) is folded and secured against the inside of the lid front wall 6.

The blank is next folded from its horizontal position, with its outer printed surface facing downwards, into a tray-like shape of the body, in which only the body front wall 1 remains horizontal. Such folding may be accomplished by a downward plunging movement against fixed folding tools, for example as disclosed in British patent specification No.

1459091, with particular reference to Fig.

1 8A thereof.

A group or bundle of cigarettes C (which may for example be of the Papirosi type of Russian cigarettes, having hollow tubular mouthpieces) is then pushed horizontally into the tray-like shape. The partly folded blank B with its contents is then indexed sideways past a succession of stations during which a fixed plough folder first folds down the rear walls 3 and 4 against the top of the cigarette group. The top 5 of the lid is next folded over the ends of the group by a similar fixed plough folder.

The lid front wall 6 may likewise be folded under the packet while it is moving sideways as shown; alternatively such folding may take place while the packet is moved axially along a horizontal path 15 with its lid top 5 leading.

The lid inner flaps 7 are then also folded upwards against the body inner flaps 11 while the packet is moving axially. Adhesive is next applied to the inside surfaces of the projecting outer flaps 8 and 9, for example by a pair of gravure type gum wheels disposed along the path 15.

The last operation consists in feeding the packet into a pocket of an indexable drying drum, in which the outer flaps 8 and 9 are folded down and secured against the underlying lid inner flap 7 and body inner flap 11 respectively. While indexing in the drying drum the adhesive between the inner and outer flaps is allowed to set before the completed packet is ejected in the direction of arrow 16 before it has turned through a full circle on the drum.

It will be appreciated that the packet construction described is of simple design, utilising a minimum of card material; and that the method of forming the packet is correspondingly simple, so that it can be made on a relatively inexpensive packing machine.

Claims (7)

1. A hinged lid packet formed from a single blank of material, and having body and lid portions each with side walls formed by inner and outer flaps, iri which the outer flaps thereof extend from the rear wall of the body or lid portion respectively.

2. A packet according to claim 1 in which the inner flaps and the sides of the front wall of the body portion are of substantially the full height of the packet.

3. A packet according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the outer flaps of both the lid and body portion extend from the respective rear walls, and the respective outer flaps at each side are connected by a short frangible land portion positioned towards the front of the packet.

4. A method of forming a hinged lid packet in which the front wall of the body portion and the adjoining base and side flaps are folded into a tray-like shape open at the lid end, the contents to be packed (e.g. a group of cigarettes) are inserted therein, and the folding and sealing of the packet is then completed.

5. A method according to claim 4 in which the rear walls and the top of the lid are successively folded around the contents while the packet is moving sideways, i.e. in a direction parallel to the base and front wall of the body portion.

6. A hinged lid packet formed from a single blank of material substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of forming a hinged lid packet substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.