JP2011506220A - Inner liner perforation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container (20) for a smoking article (2) having a box (28), a lid (29) and a hinge (30), the box comprising a bottom wall, a front wall (22) and a rear wall. The lid includes a front wall, a rear wall, and the entire top wall of the container, and the lid (29) can pivot about its hinge (30) to open the container (20); The container (20) includes an inner liner (10) for wrapping around several smoking articles (2), the inner liner (10) includes an upper panel (103), and the upper panel of the inner liner (10). (103) includes at least a portion of a first upper portion (100) and a second upper portion (110), wherein the first upper portion (100) is permanently from the remainder of the inner liner (10). Can be removed.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to containers for smoking articles such as cigarettes.

For packaging purposes, a plurality of smoking articles of a predetermined collation are wrapped in an inner liner to form a wrapped bundle. Typically, the wrapped bundle is then inserted into a rigid outer pack, such as a hinged lid pack, a slide and shell pack, or a shoulder box.
In the case of a hinged lid pack, the entire upper portion of the inner liner is typically removable to access all smoking articles. In the case of a smoking article having a filter, such as a cigarette with a filter, the upper portion of the inner liner covers the filter end of the smoking article. To facilitate the removal of the upper portion of the inner liner, the inner liner is usually provided with a perforation line. However, with the entire upper portion of the inner liner removed, the inner liner can no longer be closed, reducing the protection function of the inner liner.

  During manufacture of the pack, the smoking articles are arranged in a predetermined collation within the wrapped bundle. After some smoking articles are removed from the pack, the collating order of the smoking articles in the wrapped bundle is disturbed. Typically, at least a portion of the remaining smoking article tends to line up in a position that is naturally biased with respect to the side wall of the container. At this point, some of the tips of these biased smoking articles may be captured by the front wall or side wall of the pack lid when the pack closes. This can result in undesirable mechanical damage to the tip of the smoking article.

  There is a need for a container for smoking articles that provides improved protection from inadvertent physical damage, heat, and loss of moisture after the wrapped bundle has been opened resulting in a potential degradation of the quality of the smoking article Exists.

According to the present invention, there is provided a smoking article including a box portion, a lid, and a hinge, wherein the box portion includes a bottom wall, a front wall, and a rear wall, and the lid includes the front wall, the rear wall, and the entire upper wall of the container. To provide a container for. The lid can pivot about its hinge to open the container. The container further includes an inner liner for wrapping around a number of smoking articles to form a wrapped bundle. The inner liner includes an upper panel, and the upper panel includes at least a portion of a first upper portion and a second upper portion. The first upper portion can be permanently removed from the remainder of the inner liner to create an opening that accesses the smoking article.
Throughout this specification, the term “top” is used to mean the end of a container or inner liner that covers the upper end of a smoking article that was first removed from the container. In normal use, the second upper portion is not removed.

  The remaining second upper portion of the inner liner covers the end of at least a portion of the smoking article in the container, significantly reducing the risk of inadvertent mechanical damage to the covered smoking article. The remaining upper portion of the inner liner forms a smooth surface for the lid wall surface while the lid is closed. This makes it easy to close the hinged lid pack. Furthermore, the remaining second upper portion protects the smoking article covered by its inherent barrier properties. Further, the second upper portion of the inner liner stabilizes the smoking article remaining in the container. Yet another advantage is that the inner liner according to the present invention can be handled during manufacture in the same way as the inner liner of a conventional hinged lid pack. This guarantees good machinability at high speed and low cost.

Preferably, the second upper portion of the inner liner according to the container of the present invention is removable from the inner liner as well, independently of the first upper portion. In this embodiment of the invention, the upper portion of the inner liner includes two portions that are independently removable. This leaves the consumer the choice of which part of the top wall to remove to access the smoking article.
Preferably, the first upper portion and the remaining portion of the inner liner are connected by at least one line of weakness. The line of weakness can be a crease line, a notch line, or a perforation line. A perforation line is a preferred method that allows the first upper portion to be separated from the remainder of the inner liner.

Preferably, the first upper portion includes one, two, or three additional panel portions of the inner liner in addition to the upper panel. This improves the convenience of consumers accessing the smoking article through the opening in the inner liner.
Preferably, the size of the portion of the first upper portion extending across the upper panel has a size of at least 1/4 of the upper panel size. For example, it may have a size that is 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 of the inner panel top panel size, or any other suitable size.

Preferably, the first top portion extends from the front panel to the back panel of the inner liner across the top panel. This embodiment allows for particularly convenient access to the smoking article while still providing protection against loss of mechanical force, heat, moisture and humidity on the smoking article remaining on the inner liner. In a preferred embodiment, the first upper portion further extends across the edge of the sidewall so as to include a portion of the sidewall of the inner liner.
Preferably, the hinge of the hinged lid pack is provided on the back wall of the pack, and the second upper portion includes an upper panel of the inner liner adjacent one of the side walls of the pack. This advantageously protects the smoking article in the container that has the highest risk of being affected by the lid sidewall when such a hinged lid pack is closed.

Alternatively, in hinged lid packs with open sides, the hinges are provided on the side walls of the container. Preferably, in such a pack, the second upper portion of the inner liner includes an upper panel adjacent to the aforementioned side wall of the container including a hinge. This advantageously protects smoking articles in containers that have the highest risk of being affected by the front or back wall of the lid when such side open hinged lid packs are closed.
Preferably, the container according to the invention comprises an inner frame. The inner frame is typically used to enhance the structural strength of the container for smoking articles. More preferably, a portion of the inner frame extends over at least a portion of the upper wall portion of the inner liner. This feature further enhances the protection of the top end of the covered smoking article.

  In general, the first upper portion of the inner liner can have any suitable shape, such as a triangle, rectangle, hexagon, semi-circle, ellipse, or a combination of those shapes, or a company logo, for example. It can be set as an irregular shape. The first upper portion can also have one specific shape, such as a triangular shape, on the front panel of the inner liner and another shape, such as a semi-circular or rectangular shape, on the upper panel. be able to.

In one particular embodiment of the container according to the invention, the shape of the first upper part is trapezoidal when viewed from the side and spans the front panel, the upper panel, the back panel and includes a part of the side panel. So as to extend across the edge of the side panel.
Containers according to the present invention can be designed to accommodate different numbers of individual bundles of smoking articles through appropriate selection of their dimensions. Alternatively or additionally, containers according to the present invention can be designed to accommodate individual bundles of smoking articles of different dimensions (eg, cigarettes of different lengths or perimeters). Containers according to the present invention can be, for example, short (about 70 mm to 75 mm in length), regular size (about 80 mm in length), king size (about 84 mm in length), super king size, slim, super slim, or wide It can be designed to accommodate one or more bundles of cigarettes.

  The container can also be designed to hold a total of, for example, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, or 25 smoking articles through appropriate selection of its dimensions. These can be arranged in different collations depending on the total number of smoking articles. For example, a smoking article may have 5-6, 6-7, 7-8 in one row of 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 in two rows of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. 2-5, 5-5-5, 5-6-5, 6-5-6, 5-6-7, 6-7-6, 7-5-7, 7-6-7, 7-7- 7, 8-9-8 can be arranged in three rows, four, five or six rows.

  A variety of different types of cigarettes are produced and sold. For example, to produce brands of cigarettes with different characteristic flavors, different types of tobacco with independent characteristic flavors and aromas such as Bur1ey, Orienta1, and Virginia tobacco may be used alone or in various tobacco blends. Used in quantity. In addition, as with cigarettes that differ in length (eg, regular size, king size, or super king size), perimeter length (eg, slim or super slim), flavor intensity, suction resistance, and total particulate matter delivery, Both unfiltered cigarettes and cigarettes with many different types of filter tips have been manufactured. Furthermore, a cigarette containing a flavoring agent such as menthol can also be used.

A container according to the invention can contain one or more bundles of smoking articles with different tobacco formulations or flavorings. Alternatively or additionally, the container according to the invention is one or more of one or more smoking articles of different sizes (different lengths, different perimeters, or both different lengths and perimeters) A bundle can be accommodated.
Preferably, the container according to the invention is substantially parallelepiped. More preferably, the container according to the invention is substantially a cuboid. Alternatively, containers according to the present invention can have different cross sections, such as triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, semicircular, or semielliptical.

A container according to the invention comprises one or more right-angled vertical edges, one or more right-angled transverse edges, one or more rounded longitudinal edges, One or more round transverse edges, one or more sloped longitudinal edges, one or more sloped transverse edges, or any suitable thereof You can have a combination.
The container according to the present invention may be a hinged lid pack, a shoulder box, or a slide and shell pack with a hinge. For example, the lid can be connected through a hinge to a flap slidably connected to the box of the container.
Further advantageous aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention.

1 is a perspective view of an open container according to one embodiment of the present invention having a single obliquely placed cigarette. FIG. FIG. 6 is a front view of a wrapped bundle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a top view of an embodiment of an inner liner in an unfolded manner. FIG. 4 is a top view of a wrapped bundle according to the present invention including the inner liner of FIG. 3 wrapped around a 19 cigarette collation, with the removable portion of the inner liner removed.

  FIG. 1 shows a container 20 according to an embodiment of the invention from which most of the cigarette 2 has been removed. The container includes a box portion 28 and a lid 29. The lid 29 can pivot about the hinge 30 to open the container. The container 20 further includes a front wall 22, a rear wall 25, and two side walls 24. In FIG. 1, there is no longer a removable first upper portion 100 of the inner liner 10 and only a second upper portion 110 is present. You can see the cigarette 2 placed diagonally through the opening. Since the cigarette 2 is placed diagonally, its upper end protrudes above the side wall of the container. In this case, the side wall of the lid 29 may damage the cigarette 2 when the container 20 is closed. On the other hand, the second upper portion 110 of the upper panel 103 of the inner liner 10 prevents the cigarette 2 placed at an angle from protruding onto another side wall 24 or the front wall 22 of the container 20, so Prevent mechanical damage of the cigarette 2 inside.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of a wrapped bundle 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention that includes an inner liner 10 wrapped around a collation (not visible) of a smoking article. The first upper portion 100 of the inner liner 10 is connected to the rest of the inner liner 10 through a perforated line 101. The first upper portion 100 is not separated from the rest of the inner liner 10. The first upper portion 100 has a triangular shape on the front panel 102 of the inner liner 10. On the back panel of the inner liner 10, although not visible in FIG. 2, the first upper portion 100 has a similar triangular shape. Triangular portions on the front panel and on the back panel are connected through perforated lines 101. The perforation line 101 extends over the top panel 103 and over the side panel 104. At the upper end of the triangular portion on the front panel 102, the perforation line 101 remains straight across the upper panel 103 toward the upper end of the triangular portion of the rear panel. At the lower end of the triangular portion on the front panel 102, the perforation line 101 remains straight across the side panel 104 toward the lower end of the triangular portion on the back panel of the inner liner 10.

  To access the smoking article, the first upper portion 100 is removed from the rest of the inner liner 10 by being separated along the perforation line 101. In this manner, the upper right corner of the inner liner 10 is completely removed with the first upper portion 100 separated from the rest of the inner liner 10. In this way, an opening is created in the inner liner 10 that is accessible to the consumer in a convenient manner to the smoking article.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the inner liner 10 in an unfolded manner. The perforation line 101 is indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 3 and forms the boundary of the removable first upper portion 100. Also shown are various fold lines that form the boundaries of the front panel 102, back panel 105, sidewall panels 104 and 106, and bottom panel 107.
Inner liner 10 can be made from any suitable material, for example, from paper or aluminum foil, or from a combination of packaging materials, for example, paper, aluminum foil, and plastic material.

  FIG. 4 shows a wrapped bundle 1 of smoking articles 2 comprising 19 filtered cigarettes 2. The filter cigarette filter 20 is arranged adjacent to the upper panel 103. The removable part 100 has already been removed from the rest of the inner liner 10, so that only the second upper part 110 is left. The location 21 of the cigarette 2 that is missing in the 19 cigarette packages is covered by the second upper portion 110.

2 Smoking article 10 Inner liner 20 Container 22 Front wall 28 Box portion 29 Lid 30 Hinge 100 First upper portion 110 Second upper portion

Claims (10)

A box (28), a lid (29), and a hinge (30), the box including a bottom wall, a front wall (22), and a rear wall, the lid comprising a front wall and a rear wall; The lid (29) is a container (20) for a smoking article (2) that can pivot with respect to the hinge (30) to open the container (20). And
An inner liner (10) for wrapping around a number of smoking articles (2);
The inner liner (10) includes an upper panel (103);
The upper panel (103) of the inner liner (10) includes at least a portion of a first upper portion (100) and a second upper portion (110), and the first upper portion (100) Can be permanently removed from the rest of the inner liner (10),
A container (20) characterized in that.   The smoking article (2) of claim 1, wherein the second upper portion (110) is removable from the inner liner (10) independently of the first upper portion (100). Container for (20).   3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first upper part (100) and the rest of the inner liner (10) are connected by at least one line of weakness (101). A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to paragraph.   The first upper portion (100) further extends over one, two, or three additional panels (102, 104, 105) of the inner liner (10) in addition to the upper panel (103). A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that.   The first upper portion (100) extends from the front panel (102) of the inner liner (10) to the back panel (105) across the upper panel (103). Container (20) for smoking article (2).   The container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to claim 4, wherein the first upper portion (100) further extends over an edge of a side panel (104) of the inner liner. . The hinge (30) is located on the rear wall (25) of the container (20);
The second upper portion (110) covers the upper panel (103) of the inner liner (10) adjacent to one of the side walls (24) of the container (20);
A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that. The hinge (30) is located on the side wall (24) of the container (20);
The second upper portion (110) of the inner liner (10) covers the upper panel (103) adjacent to the sidewall (24) including the hinge (30);
A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that.   A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising an inner frame.   A container (20) for a smoking article (2) according to claim 8, wherein a portion of the inner frame extends over at least a portion of the upper panel (103) of the inner liner (10). .

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