GB2510914A

GB2510914A - Cases for cigarette packets

Info

Publication number: GB2510914A
Application number: GB1302891.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Constant
Original assignee: DENNIS CONSTANT Ltd
Current assignee: DENNIS CONSTANT Ltd
Priority date: 2013-02-19
Filing date: 2013-02-19
Publication date: 2014-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 2033-02-19
Also published as: GB201302891D0; GB2510914B

Abstract

A case to accommodate a cigarette packet which enables a user to readily and easily customise its appearance. The case 100 comprises of a shell 101 defining an interior volume dimensioned so as to snugly accommodate a cigarette packet, wherein at least a portion of the shell 101 is translucent or transparent; and at least one slot 105 for receiving an image card 106, wherein the image card is visible externally of the shell through said translucent or transparent portion when placed in the slot. The case may further contain a through hole at the bottom to allow easy removal of a cigarette packet, as well as hinged intersections allowing the case to be folded flat. There may also be a light source, possibly formed of LEDs, combined with a light disperser, a motion sensor and a power source comprising of common or rechargeable batteries, in order to illuminate the image that is in the slot.

Description

CASES FOR CIGARETTE PACKETS

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to cases for cigarette packets, and in particular cases that allow the visual appearance of the case to be changed with ease.

Background of the Invention

Custom cases for cigarette packets are known and are widely available. It is also known to provide stickers which can be attached to cigarette packets changing their appearance.

All such products currently available have fixed images or colouring. The user is in no way able to alter or customise the appearance of the product after it has been manufactured. The only current option for a user wishing to change the appearance of their case is to purchase a completely new case, which could be expensive.

It is an objective of the present invention to allow a user to readily and easily customise the appearance of a case for a cigarette packet.

Summary of Invention

The present invention provides a case for a cigarette packet, the case comprising: a shell defining an interior volume dimensioned so as to snugly accommodate a cigarette packet, wherein at least a portion of the shell is translucent or transparent; a slot for receiving an image card, wherein the image card is visible externally of the shell through said translucent or transparent portion when placed in the slot.

Accordingly, the user is provided with an easily and readily customisable case as simply changing the image card will significantly alter the appearance of the case.

The interior volume of the case may be defined by the internal surfaces of four upstanding faces and a base.

The base may include a through hole.

The intersections between adjacent faces may comprise hinged intersections which enable the case to be folded flat.

The case may comprise slots on different respective faces for receiving respective image cards.

The case may further comprise: a light source, wherein light from the light source is visible externally of the shell through said translucent or transparent portion.

The light source may comprise an LED.

The case may further comprise a light disperser operatively connected to the light source.

The case may further comprise a motion sensor coupled to the light source.

The case may further comprise a power source operatively connected to the light source.

The power source may comprise one or more batteries.

The or each battery may be a rechargeable battery.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure Ia depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upright position; Figure lb depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upside down position; Figure Ic depicts the base of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with base panels unfolded; Figure Id depicts the base of the exemplary embodiment of Figure Ic with the base panels folded together; Figure 2 depicts the exemplary embodiment in use with a cigarette packet and an exemplary image card inserted into it; Figure 3 depicts the exemplary embodiment in a flattened position; Figure 4a depicts a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upright position; Figure 4b depicts the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upside down position; Figure 5 depicts various components of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention when removed from the case; Figure 6 depicts the position of the fibre optic mesh when placed inside the shell of the case of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 depicts the second exemplary embodiment in use with a cigarette packet and an exemplary image card inserted into it; Figure 8a depicts a variation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upright position; Figure 8b depicts a variation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in an upside down position; Figure 9 depicts various components of the variation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention when removed from the case; and Figure 10 depicts the variation of the second exemplary embodiment in use with a cigarette packet and an exemplary image card inserted into it.

Detailed description

In the following description, reference will be made to an exemplary hard" packet of cigarettes. Such packets typically have dimensions of approximately mm high, 50 mm wide and 20 mm deep, where having a 20 cigarette capacity. It will be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable to cigarette packets with other dimensions and capacities. Another typical standard dimension for a packet of 20 cigarettes is 86mm high, 54.5mm wide and 22.5mm deep. The invention is also equally applicable to packet types other than the commonly named "hard" packet type, one example being the commonly named "soft" packet. The dimensions of the case may be adjusted to suit a variety of different packet sizes, for example to be suitable for accommodating a packet of 10 cigarettes. Moreover, the invention is equally applicable to packets for other rod-like smoking related articles, such as packets of cigarillos, electronic cigarettes or nicotine inhalers.

Figure 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The case is depicted in both an upright position (Figure Ia) and an upside down position (Figure ib). The case comprises an outer shell having front and rear faces 101, 102, side faces 103 and a base 104.

Two internal panels, III, 113 are located within the shell parallel to the front and rear faces 101, 102, and defining respective slots 105 therebetween. The front and rear faces 101, 102 are made of a transparent material. Here and throughout the description transparent is intended to include any material which allows at least a portion of light to pass through it, i.e., also translucent. The inside surfaces of the internal panels 111, 113, together with the inside surfaces of the two side faces 103 and the inside surface of the base 104, define an interior volume sized to snugly accommodate a cigarette packet of given dimensions. Taking the exemplary packet having external dimensions of approximately 85 mm high, 50 mm wide and 20 mm deep, exemplary interior dimensions of a case may be 85.1 mm high, 50.1 mm wide and 20.1 mm deep, or whatever dimensions are large enough to accommodate the packet 201 yet without being so large that the packet is only loosely fitted inside and is liable to fall out; some frictional interference between the outer dimensions of the cigarette packet 201 and the internal surfaces of the case is envisaged to prevent such falling out.

Although not illustrated, the case may further comprise a top flap for closing the interior volume and covering the top of the slots 105. Such a top flap would act to prevent the cigarette packet from falling out of the case when closed, so such a case would not need to rely on a frictional fit between the cigarette packet and the case and hence could afford to have larger internal dimensions (to accommodate a greater range of cigarette packets).

The slots 105 are each designed to receive an image card 106 such that the image card is held against the respective transparent faces of the shell, such that the image cards 106 are visible externally of the shell through the transparent faces. The perpendicular distance between the front and rear faces 101, 102 and their respective internal panels 111, 113 is sufficient to snugly accommodate the image card 106, which is to say the gap defined by the slot is large enough to accommodate the card thickness, width and height, yet not so large that the card is loose within the slot and liable to slipping out inadvertently.

By way of example, an image card 106 may have a thickness of approximately 0.18mm (7 mil), in which case the slot 105 may have a perpendicular distance of 0.23mm between the face 101; 102 and internal panel 111; 113, the resultant depth of the gap defined by the slot 105 being 0.23mm, 0.05mm greater than the thickness of the image card.

The image card 106 is an interchangeable graphic panel which enables customisation of the case. The image cards may include user generated content (e.g. images that the user uploads to a website or via an app. Such images may subsequently be printed and sent to the user). It is envisaged that designs, images and logos belonging to third parties may be printed onto the image cards, provided the relevant permissions are obtained. As such, the image cards might also be seen as collectable items.

The shell is typically made of a relatively rigid plastic, such as polypropylene, or polycarbonate, but it could also be made of a more flexible material; one example being silicone. It will be understood that other suitable materials are also envisaged.

In the illustrated embodiment, the entire front and rear faces 101, 102 are transparent. However, it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to faces that include only a portion that is transparent, for the corresponding portion of an image card 106 to be visible therethrough.

Rather than having two slots 105 adjacent to opposite front and rear faces, the shell may have just a single slot adjacent only one face. Typically, this would be one of the main (i.e. front or rear) faces, but could instead be a side face 103.

The shell may instead define three or four slots adjacent to respective front, rear and side faces, configured to accept a respective three or four image cards 106.

Particularly where an image card 106 adjacent to each of the four faces of the shell, the entire shell may be made of transparent material.

In an alternative embodiment, rather than the slot(s) 105 for receiving the respective image card(s) 106 being defined by the space between an interior panel and a respective inside surface of a corresponding one of the shell faces, the or each slot may instead be defined simply by a deliberate gap between the inside surface of a shell face and a cigarette packet inserted in the shell. In this alternative embodiment, the cigarette packet then acts to hold the or each image card against the inside surface of a face of the shell. In such an embodiment, the or each slot 105 may include additional features for guiding or retaining the associated image card 106 within the slot. For example, there may be a guide slit (not shown) located at the top end of the slot, or a pair of guide channels running along at least a part of the height of the slot. Such features would help to retain the card in situ within the slot, mitigating against a loose fit.

A single slot may extend around more than one of the faces of the shell. Such an arrangement would enable the insertion of a single image card for covering multiple faces of the shell. The image card may have one or more folds which enable it to lie level against the multiple faces of the shell encompassed by the single slot.

It is envisaged that the case may comprise a combination of one or more of the above outlined variations.

The shell may further comprise a notch 107 at the top of one or each slot 105 for enabling easy removal of the associated image card 106 once it has been fully inserted into the slot 105. The illustrated case 100 of Figure 1 comprises two such notches 107, one above each slot.

As shown for example in Figure Ib, the base 104 may include a hole 108 for enabling an inserted cigarette packet to be pushed out of the case with ease.

Figure 2 depicts the exemplary case 100 in use with a cigarette packet 201 and an exemplary image card 106 inserted into it. The inserted image card 106 can be seen through the shell. In the illustrated embodiment, the entire shell has been made using transparent material, and accordingly where there is no image card 106, the cigarette packet 201 is visible through the shell. It will be appreciated that the entire shell need not necessarily be transparent. Preferably at least the whole of the front face 101 is made of transparent material where there is a slot 105 disposed next to the front face. Preferably, where there are more slots, the associated faces are also transparent. As such, an image card placed in a slot would be visible externally of the case through the transparent portion.

Optionally, the exemplary case 100 may comprise features which enable it to be collapsible to a flattened position. Figure 3 depicts such a case in its flattened position. Such a case may comprise hinged intersections between the adjacent faces of the shell. The hinges at intersections may simply comprise scoring of the material from which the shell is manufactured, which enables mobility between the two faces. The base 104 may itself be collapsible, such as via a suitable arrangement of hinged base panels 1, 2, 3 and 4 (shown in Figures ib, c and d).

The base panels may be hinged via cuts or scoring along lines 109, 110, 111 and 112 (shown clearly in Figure id). In order to form the base, the hinged base panels are folded in the order 1, 2, 3, 4 to create the base 104 as shown in Figure id. In order to collapse the case, the panels can be unfolded and individually folded into the space defined by the interior region of the shell.

Alternatively, the base 104 may be removably attached to the shell on three of its four sides and permanently attached via a fold or hinge on its fourth side.

Such arrangements would allow the base to be folded inside the shell and for the shell to be flattened as depicted, with the front face 101 laid substantially flat against the rear face 102. The base 104 need not necessarily be removably attached to the shell on three of its sides; it may simply be removably secured to it. It will be appreciated that the flattening mechanism described is merely exemplary and that any appropriate, commonly known mechanism for flattening a similarly-shaped container is envisaged.

Figures 4 to 7 depict another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The case 400 is substantially identical to that described by reference to Figures I to 3, but having a different base section 404 and incorporating an illuminating means 503 for generating light to shine through the or each transparent face.

Like parts are referenced by the same numerals as the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3.

The shell of case 400 may incorporate any or all of the above-described features of the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, including at least one slot 105 configured to receive the image card 106 and at least one notch 107 configured to enable easy removal of the image card 106.

As best seen in Figure 5, the base 404 includes a circuit board 502 and an associated power source 501 electrically connected to it. The circuit board 502 includes a pair of light sources 503, which may for example be white LEDs.

Disposed above each light source 503 is an associated light disperser 510 (only that corresponding to the rear face 102 is shown in Figure 5 for clarity -the light disperser 510 for the front face 101 being omitted). As illustrated, the light disperser 510 comprises a fibre optic mesh which acts to transmit and disperse light form the associated LED 503.

Figure 6 depicts the position of the fibre optic mesh 510 when placed inside the shell of case 400. The fibre optic mesh 510 is placed against the inside surface of the rear internal panel 113 located within the shell. The slot 105 is disposed outwardly thereof, and an image card 106 may be placed into slot 105. As such, it will be appreciated that light emitted by the light source 503 and dispersed by the fibre optic mesh 510 acts to illuminate the removable image card 106.

Particularly for use with the illuminated case, the image card 106 may be produced by a transfer print process called Lambda. This is a unique process where the graphics are printed at a high resolution onto, in this case, translucent film. The contrast of the print is very high, which essentially allows for a solid black and/or a completely clear white (amongst all other colours) to be printed on the one sheet.

It will be appreciated that the image card 106 may comprise a material with a transparent quality so that light may pass through it such that it appears illuminated by the illuminating means. The image card 106 may have decorative graphics printed or otherwise applied to it. Possible constituent materials may be or include Duratrans, Duraclear, Fujitrans and Fujiclear materials, or may be transparent acetates and tracing papers as well as any appropriate material with an appropriate transparency that can be printed on in full colour.

There may be multiple illuminating means. For example, where there are multiple slots 105, there may be an illuminating means configured to illuminate the image card 106 corresponding to each slot 105. This may comprise a light source 503 and an associated light disperser 510 for each slot 105, or could instead comprise an arrangement whereby light from a single source 503 is redirected to illuminate all of the slots 105.

The illuminating means may comprise any of the following or any combinations thereof of light sources and associated dispersers: OLED screens, flexible OLED screens, EL paper, EL wire, LEDs, edge lit plastic and acrylic glass like Perspex, glow in the dark paints (micro particles, tritium etc.), fibre optics and fibre optic meshes.

In one embodiment, the power source 501 comprises a pair of coin batteries accessible via removable battery caps 401 in the base 404, thereby facilitating simple and easy replacement as necessary. The base 404 may comprise different numbers of such caps where different numbers of batteries are used.

The use of other removable power sources is also envisaged.

The optional feature of a motion sensor 505 is depicted in Figure 5. Upon detecting a motion, the motion sensor 505 causes the illuminating means to emit light, for example on detecting that the case has been shaken.

Figure 7 depicts the exemplary second embodiment of a case 400 in use with a cigarette packet 201 inserted into it. In the depicted embodiment the entire shell has been made using transparent material and a different image card is shown.

It will be appreciated that the entire shell need not necessarily be transparent.

Figures 8 to 10 depict a variation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the power source comprises a low-profile rechargeable battery 901 (depicted in Figure 9). In this variant, the circuit board 502 further includes a micro-USB recharging port 801 through which the battery 901 may be recharged. The base 804 in this variant therefore includes a hole through which the micro-USB port 801 is accessible. Figure 10 depicts the variant second embodiment of the case 800 in use with cigarette packet 201 inserted into it and showing the micro-USB port 801. It will be understood that, rather than recharging in situ via the micro-USB port, the battery 901 may instead be recharged by an alternative mechanism. Options include alternative standard or proprietary electrical connections or induction charging. Moreover, the rechargeable battery 901 could be removably attached to the base 804 for charging remotely of the base 804. Alternatively, the base 804 could be removable from the rest of the case as a unit for remote recharging.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A case for a cigarette packet, the case comprising: a shell defining an interior volume dimensioned so as to snugly accommodate a cigarette packet, wherein at least a portion of the shell is translucent or transparent; and a slot for receiving an image card, wherein the image card is visible externally of the shell through said translucent or transparent portion when placed in the slot.
2. The case of claim 1, wherein the interior volume is defined by the internal surfaces of four upstanding faces and a base.
3. The case of claim 1, wherein the base includes a through hole.
4. The case of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the intersections between adjacent faces comprise hinged intersections which enable the case to be folded flat.
5. The case of any preceding claim comprising slots on different respective faces for receiving respective image cards.
6. The case of any preceding claim, further comprising: a light source, wherein light from the light source is visible externally of the shell through said translucent or transparent portion.
7. The case of claim 7, wherein the light source comprises an LED.
8. The case of claim 6 or claim 7, further comprising a light disperser operatively connected to the light source.
9. The case of any of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a motion sensor coupled to the light source.
10. The case of claims 6 or 8, further comprising a power source operatively connected to the light source.
11. The case of claim 10, wherein the power source comprises one or more batteries.
12. The case of claim 11, wherein the or each battery is a rechargeable battery.
13. In combination, the case of any preceding claim and one or more image cards for insertion in the or each slot.
14. A case for a cigarette packet, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.