GB2273644A - Attachment means - Google Patents

Abstract

Attachment means is to fix a cigarette lighter at the side of a pack of cigarettes in a condition for use, figure 5 shows the lighter projecting from a tube 30 which is made integral with a plate 40 designed to be a push-fit into the pack 12, 16, and with barbs on the limb so as to anchor the attachment securely to the pack, the tube and limb are made integrally of a slightly resilient plastics material so as to enable the tube 30 to be hinged to the position illustrated in the figure when in use, so as to space the flame of the lighter well away from the pack and avoid setting the pack on fire, when the lighter is released it is resiliently urged close against the side of the pack hinging about the point 40. <IMAGE>

Description

ATTACHMENT .MEANS This invention relates to attachment means for mounting a cigarette lighter on a packet of cigarettes.

The invention may be employed with disposable lighters, that is to say ones which are not intended to be refilled when the fuel supply is exhausted, but which nevertheless are capable of use with several successive or even many packets of cigarettes.

There are many prior proposals for the same purposes as the present invention. Thus, USP 3866747 provides an open-topped container into which the cigarette pack may be dropped, with an inverted U-shaped bail hinged to the container which can be swung up to retain the pack in place. The front wall of the container has a second and like compartment in which a lighter may rest, or a match book may be placed, and from which the lighter or match book may be removed when required for use. There are no means provided for retaining the lighter or match book in position.

GB 2199727A is similar except that the lighter compartment is at an edge of the cigarette pack compartment and both are to be held in place by springs.

In USP 4852729, the lighter is intended to remain in -its compartment when used. GB 2006607A also retains the lighter in place when in use, and this would appear possible even if not intended by the designer in the case of the construction of USP 4588076 and FR 1316197.

All of these mentioned constructions suffer from the disadvantage that they are useful only with cigarette packs of specific dimensions. If the smoker changes brand, so that a box of different size is purchased it may not fit into the container, or it may fit so loosely that it becomes separated.

A number of proposals have been made to solve this problem, all of which involve abandoning the use of a container for the pack and substituting a limb to enter the pack.

In USP 4844254 the connection between the lighter and pack is made by three prong-like limbs of which two go into the pack and one outside. It would seem necessary to pierce the pack with the prongs or rely upon the pack having a jacket which creates a space between it and an inner pack: however, where a jacket is provided it is usually of flimsy paper and the security of connection is doubtful. It would not be useful with the kind of pack which has been the industry norm in certain European countries for many years where the pack is made of thin card, because there is no space for the prongs, and it has been found experimentally that attempting to pierce the card tends to crumple the pack and damage the cigarettes.

USP 3608704 and 4750013, and also FR 2414688 are further examples of lighter attachments using limbs which poke into the container or pass between layers of the container, as is EP 435809A. The problem with all of these further listed prior art suggestions is that there is a lack of security. The lighter can easily become detached and separated from the pack and the smoker may as well use an entirely separate lighter, as indeed many do.

The object of the invention is to solve this problem and provide attachment means capable of securely fixing the lighter to the cigarette pack, but capable of reuse with subsequent packs of cigarettes.

According to a first aspect of the invention, attachment means comprise a tube having an internal shape and dimensions apt to mount a cigarette lighter so as to project from the end of the tube in a condition ready or use, said tube being provided with a limb extending substantially normal thereof from the opposite end of the tube to that from which the lighter projects, and which limb is a generally flat plate characterised in that said limb is provided with one or more barbs whereby the limb may e inserted in a pack of cigarettes and the barbs may engage in the pack to hold the said tube securely in position.

According to one possibility the limb is integral and is inclined at an acute angle to the axis of the tube, whereby the action of pressing the limb home as far as possible to the pack stresses the junction of the limb and tube and results in holding the tube closely and securely against the side of the pack.

Desirably the limb has flexibility to enable it to move away from the pack by a hinging action in order to avoid the flame singeing the pack. If the limb is integral as aforesaid such hinging may be against the natural resilience of the material which can return the lighter close to the pack when the displacing force is released.

According to another aspect of the invention, the tube is also made integral with a plate extending generally tangentially of the tube in a plane containing one lateral edge of the limb and the dimension of the plate normal to the axis of the tube being generally similar to that of the limb. The plate overlies the surface of the pack when the device is in use, and that plate may be provided with additional equipment for example with a thin card-like calculator, with a notepad, or simply with information bearing material such as a calender or the like.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the tube forms the body of a cigarette lighter instead of using a separate cigarette lighter which is inserted in the tube and retained therein.

Embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device assembled to a cigarette pack ready for use; Figure 2 is a similar view of a modified device according to the second aspect of the invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device alone dissembled from the cigarette lighter and cigarette pack; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but of the third aspect of the invention; and Figure 5 is a view showing the lighter in a position for use.

Turning now to the drawings, a standard and conventional cigarette pack is made from card creased and folded and glued to provide a generally parallelopiped package made up of a body 16 and a lid 12 which are hinged together along the line 14 and which meet along the diagonal lines 20 at each of the ends of the pack and along the line 22 on the front of the pack. The base of the box portion 16 extends between a pair of lines including the one 18 extending between the ends, and that base is effectively slightly spaced from the end panels 24. This creates a gap 26 which is utilised in the present invention for the attachment means to fix the lighter to the box.

Turning next to Figure 3, this illustrates attachment means according to the first aspect of the invention isolated from the associated parts. Tube 30 is of an internal shape appropriate to the cigarette lighter with which it is to be used, and is shaped internally so that the lighter is a push-fit to wedge in the tube, possibly with a small portion of the body of the lighter projecting from the tube as shown in Figure 1, as well as the knurled wheel 34 and the operating lever 36 (Fig.l).

The tube is in this embodiment made integral with a blade-like limb or plate 40 which is of a width such as to be received between the front and back walls of the cigarette pack. Plate 40 is at an angle to the axis of tube 30 which may be of the order of 85 degrees, plus or minus 1 degree. The purpose of this was explained hereinbefore. The plate 40 is provided with one or more barbs, and in this instance four such barbs 42 are provided.They may be pressed up out of the material forming the plate, but in the preferred embodiments the complete attachment means is made as an injection moulding of a suitable plastics material and in this case the barbs may be projections moulded on the surface of the limb '10. Each projection has a vertical face 44 adjacent the tube and a top face 46 which slopes down from the top of the vertical face back to the surface of the limb. The effect of these barbs in this manner is to allow the limb to be inserted into the mentioned gap, the tube pushed against the adjacent end wall, and then the barbs become embedded in the relatively soft card used so as to prevent the attachment means being easily pulled out.It may be pulled out particularly when it is desired to remove the attachment means from one particular pack of cigarettes and apply it to another, but the barbs may tear the card in so doing.

Turning now to Figure 2, the arrangement is modified by the addition of plate 50 made integral with the tube 30 in a location such as to lie close to the surface of the front (or rear) of the pack and the plate may be used to provide a calculator as illustrated or for other purposes as mentioned.

In the arrangement in Figure 4, the cigarette lighter body 60 takes the place of the tube 30 and is integral with the limb 40.

Figure 5 illustrates a particular feature of the invention. The material from which the tube and limb are made has an inherent resilience and flexibility which allows the limb to flex at its root, i.e. adjacent the tube. When the lighter is used, the same finger or thumb which actuates the lighter to cause ignition may also displace the top of the lighter - with the flame, away from the side of the cigarette pack. This reduces the risk of setting the pack on fire. When the lighter is released it snaps back into the closely-adjacent to the pack position due to the resilience of the plastics material and the shape of the parts, i.e. the blade-like limb 40.

Claims (6)

1. Attachment means comprising a tube having an internal shape and dimensions apt to mount a cigarette lighter so as to project from the end of the tube in a condition ready for use, said tube being provided with a limb extending substantially normal thereof from the opposite end of the tube to that from which the lighter projects, and which limb is a generally flat plate characterised in that said limb is provided with one or more barbs whereby the limb may be inserted in a pack of cigarettes and the barbs may engage in the pack to hold the said tube securely in position.

2. Attachment means as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the limb is integral with the tube and inclined at an acute angle to the axis of the tube.

3. Attachment means as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the angle is about 85 degs.

4. Attachment means as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said tube is made integral with a plate extending generally tangentially of the tube in a plane containing one lateral edge of the limb.

5. Attachment means comprising a tube forming the body of a cigarette lighter with the flame producing means provided at one end of the tube, the other end of the tube being integral with a limb extending substantially normal thereof from the opposite end of the tube to that from which the lighter projects, and which limb is a generally flat plate providing with one or more barbs whereby the limb may be inserted in a pack of cigarettes and the barbs may engage in the pack to hold the said tube securely in a position close to the side of the pack, the tube and plate being unitary and integral and moulded from a plastics material.

6. Attachment means substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.