KR20100112143A - Packaging for tobacco industry products - Google Patents

Abstract

Packaging materials for tobacco industry products such as cigarettes have a main body 2 and a flip top 3 and are provided with a transparent plastic material to provide an air-tight seal. 6) a closed container 1 coated with a continuous layer of 6). The vessel 1 can be pressurized with, for example, nitrogen gas via the one-way valve 8. The present package may be biodegradable, wherein both the container 1, its inner packaging material 5 and its outer coating 6 can be made of biodegradable material.

Description

Packing material for tobacco industry products {PACKAGING FOR TOBACCO INDUSTRY PRODUCTS}

The present invention relates to the packaging of tobacco industry products, for example tobacco products for smoking, such as cigarettes.

Conventional packaging of cigarette boxes consists of a bundle of cigarettes enclosed in a sheet of paper / metal foil, typically housed in a container formed of a carton board. The container usually has a hinged lid to allow it to reach a bunch of cigarettes. Containers are often formed from preprinted semifinished SBS boards, which are folded and wrapped around a bundle of cigarettes. The container is surrounded by a heat sealable transparent film, most commonly polypropylene, with a tear tape embedded to facilitate opening.

Of these packaging material components, only the outermost film contributes significantly to the shelf life stability of the packaged cigarettes. The plastic film acts as a moisture barrier but its effectiveness is highly dependent on obtaining proper sealing in the folded and overlapped areas of the film packaging material. Nevertheless, when a packaged cigarette is exposed to an environment having either a relative humidity or a low relative humidity higher than the internal humidity of the cigarette pack, the low moisture barrier penetration rate through the plastic film will result in the initial incidence of the cigarette. It helps to retain moisture and other volatile components. Polypropylene film is commonly used as the outer packaging material and other film materials, such as vacuum metallized plastic films, are used which provide a low moisture vapor rate, but these materials are folded and overlapped areas of the film when wrapped around the container. It relies heavily on achieving proper sealing of.

Alternative packages have been proposed in place of internal packaging or SBS boards that provide the necessary moisture-proof properties and thereby make the outer film of plastic material unnecessary as an over-wrap. Examples include rigid injection molded plastic packs with an integral seal. However, this method is not suitable for use with conventional carton board containers produced in large quantities by mass production techniques.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a package comprising a closed container containing a tobacco industry product and a coating of plastic material applied to the container as a layer providing an air tight seal between the inside and the outside of the container. ).

By applying the plastic material as a coating, a continuous layer can be provided over the entire exterior of the container, avoiding the need to provide a sealed connection and thereby providing improved sealing between the interior and exterior of the container.

Valves may be provided to create a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the vessel. The pressure difference may include an increase in pressure in the vessel, which is produced, for example, with an inert gas such as nitrogen.

Interior wrapping may be provided between the container and the tobacco product, which may be biodegradable.

The container may be made of a breathable material such as a carton board, for example SBS, and the plastic layer may extend over the outer surface of the container to provide an airtight seal. The plastic layer may comprise a polymer, for example polypropylene or polyethylene, and may include additives to promote decomposition of the plastic material, and / or additives to enhance the airtight seal provided by the plastic material.

The container may have a lid that can be opened to reach the body and the tobacco product, and the layer of plastic material provides a seal between the body and the lid.

To facilitate opening of the lid a weak strip in the form of a tear strip or reduced thickness line may be provided in the layer of plastic material.

The invention also includes a method for packaging a tobacco industry product, comprising applying a coating of plastic material to a container containing a tobacco product to seal the container.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for packaging a tobacco industry product, comprising a packaging mechanism operable to package the tobacco industry product in a container, and a coating mechanism for coating the plastic material into the container in a layer providing an airtight seal. .

In another aspect, the present invention provides a package comprising a container and a tobacco product in a flexible bag that is hermetically sealed within the container.

Valves may be provided in the envelope to create a pressure differential between the inside and outside of the envelope. Means may be provided for rupturing the airtight sealed envelope to allow access to the tobacco industry product.

In order that the present invention may be more fully understood, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
1 is a perspective view of a pack of cigarettes with the lid open.
Figure 2 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 1 with the lid closed.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the pack shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
4 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for packing cigarettes.
5A-5C are schematic views of the progress of a container through an alternative form of coating station using a curtain of coating material.
6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a coating station using a tunnel of heated air.
7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a cigarette pack according to the present invention.

1 to 3 show a container 1 in the form of a rectangular body 2 with a hinged flip-top lid 3 and containing two rows of parallel filter cigarettes 4 contained in the inner packaging material 5. Including, a pack of cigarettes according to the present invention is shown.

The container 1 can be made from a carton board such as SBS by folding from a semi-finished product preprinted in a known manner. The inner packaging material 5 can be formed from paper and need not comprise a metal foil laminate, which is also biodegradable.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the outer surface of the container 1 is coated with a plastic material to provide a continuous coating 6 which provides an airtight seal. As shown in FIG. 2, the tear strip 7 allows the user to remove the tear strip 7, thereby breaking the continuous state of the coating 6 and allowing the lid 3 to open. To this end, it is arranged around the junction between the body 2 and the lid 3. The tear strip 7 can be applied to the container before or after the application of the coating 6. The tear strip 7 thus provides a fragile line that allows the lid to open. The fragile line may be produced in other ways, for example the plastic coating 6 may be drawn or otherwise thinned without breaking along the periphery of the lid 3 to open the lid.

One directional valve 8 is attached to the wall of the container 1. The valve may generate a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the vessel. Conveniently, the valve can create excess pressure in the container, which is not significantly lost over time because a coating 6 is provided which is hermetically sealed on the outside of the container. The valve 8 comprises a unit that is push-fit to a small hole in the side wall of the container before or after application of the coating 6. If installed after application of the coating 6, the valve 8 may be combined with the coating 6 when the coating cures. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the valve 8 includes a central passage 10 comprising a one-way integral flap valve 11 such that gas can be pumped into the vessel to provide excess pressure. The main body 9 provided with () is included. The level of excess pressure will depend on the structural integrity of the coated container 1. Application of excess pressure provides both functional and user benefits. Excess pressure improves the shelf life of the cigarette by reducing the internal vapor pressure of water and other volatile components as compared to the corresponding hermetically sealed container at atmospheric pressure, thereby reducing the likelihood of dirt and staining of the cigarette 4. Also, for the user, excess pressure hardens the container 1, which gives the pack a unique feel. When opened, the user can hear the gas leak, which has a scent that confirms the freshness of the cigarette and provides clues as to the freshness of the tobacco product.

The coating 6 applied to the container 1 may be a polymer such as polypropylene or polyethylene having certain physical and barrier properties. The coating is selected to easily adhere to the surface of the container 1 and is preferably selected to solidify such that the printed surface of the container 1 is substantially transparent to be visible through the coating. The plastic coating 6 may be chosen such that a specific haptic or visual impression is obtained on the outer surface. Depending on the plastic material chosen, it may be desirable to use an ink coating of a clear lacquer or varnish to facilitate bonding of the plastic coating 6 to the printed area of the container 1.

The plastic material may introduce additive materials to facilitate the plastic coating 6 to disintegrate in a compost or landfill environment. In this way, the inner packaging material 5 which does not need to contain metal foil is all biodegradable at the same time as the container 1 and the plastic coating 6 and can be recognized as a degradable or biodegradable structure. The additive material used for the decomposition may be selected from products sold by EPI Environment Plastics Inc (Vancouver, BC), or other similar available products.

Plastic coating 6 may also include additive materials to improve the air barrier properties of the coating without compromising its optical transparency. One such material is sold by Nanolock ™ (InMat Inc., Hillsboro, New Jersey, USA). These additives greatly improve the storage stability of the resulting package to nearly airtight in order to improve the shelf life and freshness of tobacco products to the user.

4 shows an apparatus for packaging a tobacco product for providing a pack as shown in FIGS. 1-3. In general, the packaging machine 12 in a conventional manner wraps a bundle of cigarettes with an inner packaging material 5 and then wraps it with a preprinted semifinished product of SPS material to form a container 1. A continuous pack of cigarettes having a container made by the machine 13 is sent along the conveyor 13 in a direction 14 to the station 15, where the joint between the lid 3 and the body 2 is present. At the point a tear strip 7 is applied to the container 1. The vessel 1 then moves from the tear strip installation station 15 to the coating station 16, where a liquid or molten plastic polymer material containing the additives described above is sprayed from the reservoir 17 onto the spray head 18. Pumped through to completely spray coat each vessel 1, thereby providing a continuously sealed coating 6 shown in FIG. 3. The coated vessel is moved from the coating station 16 to the valve-attaching station 19, where the valve 8 is press-attached in the vessel. The pack then moves to the gas supply station 20, where the gas is pumped through the one-way valve 9 to pressurize the vessel 1. The gas may comprise filtered air or an inert gas such as nitrogen. In another arrangement, the gas supply is replaced by a vacuum pump and air is evacuated from the vessel.

The pressurized container 1 can then be sent from the conveyor 13 to a packing stating (not shown) and packed in a larger container for transportation. In order to improve the seal provided by the one-way valve 8, the outside of the valve, which may be formed of plastic material, may be heated to partially melt the plastic material and may close the central opening 10. .

Another embodiment of the coating station 16 is shown in FIG. 5, in which the container 1 is passed through a curtain 21 of liquid coating material. The curtain 21 is discharged from the series of nozzles 22, falls down to the reservoir 23 and pumped back to the nozzles 22 by a pump not shown. The conveyor 13 consists of two parts 13a and 13b, and the curtain of liquid 21 falls between them. 5a shows that the uncoated container 1 approaches the coating station 16 and the curtain 21 of the liquid coating material. The container 1 is operated along the conveyor portion 13a to the curtain 21 to be coated with the coating material from the curtain 21 on all sides including the lower side, as shown in FIG. 5B. The container 1 with the coating material 6 from the curtain 21 then moves onto the conveyor portion 13b, and FIG. 5c shows the whole coating moving towards the valve attachment station 19 shown in FIG. 4. 1 is shown.

6 shows an alternative method for forming a coating 6 on a container 1, wherein the container 1 on the conveyor portion 13a is in a unpacked manner with a sheet of plastic material 24. It is loosely prepackaged and then falls into the tunnel 25 to which a rising flow of heated air by the blower 26 is supplied. A series of containers 1, each of which is packed with a sheet 24, is fed to the upper opening 25a of the tunnel and falls through the heated air on the conveyor portion 13b to the tunnel opening 25b, as shown in FIG. 4. To the valve attachment station 19. The container 1 free-falls under the influence of gravity and passes heated air from the blower 26, and the packaging material 24 melts to form a coating 6 which is hermetically sealed. The vertical arrangement of the tunnel 25 has the advantage that the container 1 is not supported by the conveyor 13 during the melting process, which makes it easy to form a continuous hermetic coating 6 over the entire container 1. However, the tunnel 25 can be arranged in another manner, for example in a horizontal manner, and drive the conveyor therein.

Another embodiment of a cigarette pack according to the invention is shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the container 1 has a structure similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and has a body 2 and a lid 3. However, the cigarette 4 is contained in a flexible sealed bag 27 that can be pressed. The inner packaging material 5 of this embodiment is omitted and no outer coating of the plastic material 6 is provided. The cigarette is packaged by first placing it in a plastic bag 27 through an opening in the top and then being heat-sealed and closed with a welded rib 28 along the top of the bag as shown in FIG. 5. Is formed. The envelope 27 is then pressed in this example through a valve 8 arranged at the bottom of the envelope. The envelope 27 may be pressurized with inert gas or filtered air in the manner described above. The flexible sealed bag 27 may be made of a polymer, for example polyethylene or polypropylene described above, and may include the aforementioned additives to provide biodegradability. The line of weakness 29 may be formed along the top of the envelope to facilitate the user to open the envelope and reach the cigarette 4. In addition, sharp protrusions 30 may be provided in the container to allow the user to press the envelope onto the protrusions, drill holes in the envelope and degas the envelope. This embodiment allows the cigarettes to be packaged in a conventional container 1 made of SBS board without the need for external transparent plastic packaging material or internal packaging material 5 and the cigarettes are kept fresh and packaged. The whole has the advantage of being biodegradable.

Many modifications and variations of the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the plastic material may be applied by methods other than the described method, for example by dipping. In addition, while the described package relates to tobacco industry products in the form of cigarettes, these packages may also be used for other such products, and the term "tobacco industry products" as used herein refers to all items manufactured or sold in the tobacco industry. And typically such terms are: a) cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipe tobacco or roll-your-own cigarettes (cigarettes, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobaccos) expanded tobacco), based on recycled tobacco or tobacco substitutes); b) tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, recycled tobacco or tobacco substitutes, such as snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and heat-not-burn products Non-smoking products; And c) smoking cessation aids such as adhesive patches, inhalers, lozenges and gums and other nicotine-delivery systems. This list is not intended to be exhaustive and merely illustrates a range of products that are manufactured and sold in the tobacco industry.

Claims (46)

A closed container 1 containing a tobacco industry product 4 and a coating 6 of plastic material applied to the container as a layer providing an airtight seal between the inside and the outside of the container. Package. The package according to claim 1, comprising a valve (8) for generating a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container. The package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein there is a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container. 4. The package of claim 2 or 3, wherein the pressure difference comprises an increase in pressure in the vessel. 4. The package of claim 3, wherein the container contains an inert gas. 6. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising an interior wrapping (5) between the container and the tobacco product. The package of claim 6 wherein the inner packaging material is biodegradable. 8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container comprises a body (2) and a lid (3) which can be opened to reach the tobacco industry product, with a layer of plastic material between the body and the lid. Package providing a seal. 8. The package of claim 7, comprising a line of weakness in the layer of plastic material to facilitate opening of the lid. 9. The package of claim 8 comprising a tear strip (7) for providing a weak line. The package of claim 8, wherein the fragile line comprises a reduced thickness line in the plastic layer. The package of claim 1, wherein the container is made of breathable material and the plastic layer extends over the entire outer surface of the container. 13. The package of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is made of carton board material. The package according to claim 1, wherein the plastic layer comprises a polymer, for example polypropylene or polyethylene. The package of claim 1, wherein the plastic layer comprises an additive for promoting decomposition of the plastic material. The package of claim 1, wherein the plastic layer comprises additives to enhance the hermetic seal provided by the plastic material. A method of packaging a tobacco industry product, comprising applying a coating of plastic material to a container containing a tobacco product to seal the container. 18. The method of claim 17 comprising spray-coating the outside of the container with a plastic material. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the coating is applied by passing the container through a curtain of liquid coating material. The method of claim 17, wherein the coating is applied by wrapping the container with a sheet of meltable plastic material and melting the sheet to form a coating. 21. The method of claim 20 including passing the container through a tunnel supplied with heated air to melt the packaging material. 22. The method of claim 21 including free-falling the vessel downwards through the tunnel as opposed to an ascending flow of heated air. 18. The method of claim 17 including immersing the container in plastic material to form a layer. 24. A container according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the container comprises a body and a lid that can be opened to reach the tobacco industry product, the layer of plastic material providing a seal between the body and the lid, Providing a line of weakness in the layer of plastic material to enable opening of the. The method of claim 24 comprising providing a tear strip on the container before or after applying the plastic layer. 26. The method of any one of claims 17-25, comprising the step of generating a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container when coated with a plastic material. 27. The method of claim 26 including attaching a valve to the vessel and generating a pressure differential through the valve. 28. The method of claim 26 or 27, comprising pumping the gas into the vessel to generate a positive pressure therein. 29. The method of any one of claims 17-28, comprising providing an additive in the plastic material to promote degradation of the plastic material. 30. The method of any one of claims 17 to 29, comprising providing an additive in the plastic material to enhance the hermetic seal provided by the plastic material. Packaging a tobacco industry product, comprising a packaging device 12 operable to package the tobacco product into a container and a coating device 16, 17, 18 for coating the container with a layer of plastic material providing an airtight seal. Device for. 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the coating apparatus comprises a spray coating apparatus. 31. The device according to claim 30, wherein the coating mechanism is operable to form a curtain (21) of liquid coating material through which the container passes. 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the coating apparatus is operable to package the container with a sheet of molten plastic material and to melt the sheet to form a coating. 35. An apparatus according to claim 34 comprising a tunnel (25) supplied with heated air for melting the packaging material. 36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the tunnel is vertically arranged such that the vessel free-falls downwardly through the tunnel as opposed to an ascending flow of heated air. 37. The apparatus of any of claims 30 to 36, comprising a mechanism for attaching a valve to the vessel for generating a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the vessel. 38. The apparatus of claim 37, comprising a gas source (20) for pumping gas into the vessel through the valve. 38. The apparatus of claim 37 comprising a vacuum pump for evacuating gas from the vessel through the valve. 40. The apparatus of any of claims 31 to 39, comprising a mechanism for attaching the tear strip to the container. 41. The apparatus of any one of claims 31 to 40 comprising a mechanism for forming a line of weakness in the plastic layer on the container. A package comprising a container (1) and a tobacco product (4) in a flexible bag (21) hermetically sealed in the container. 43. The package of claim 42, wherein the bag comprises a valve (8) for generating a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the bag. 44. A package according to claim 42 or 43, comprising means (24) for rupturing a hermetically sealed bag to reach a tobacco product. 45. The package of any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein the container is made of carton board and the bag is made of plastic material. 46. The package according to any one of claims 1 to 16 or 42 to 45, wherein the tobacco industry product comprises cigarettes.

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