PACKAGE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a container for products related to tobacco. The tobacco-related products may include, for example, cigars, cigars, cigarettes, tobacco or chewing tobacco or snuff.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally the package for tobacco-related products, such as cigars, cigars and cigarettes, is in the form of a cardboard box for containing the smoking articles therein. Said box may have an articulated lid to close the package. Alternatively, a casing and slide cover pack can be used where the cigarettes are held in a tray-like member and accessed thereon by sliding the cassette tray surrounding the tray. The housing and sliding cover package is closed when the tray is enclosed and surrounded by the housing. The two packages described above were generally made of cardboard or rigid paper in the form of a blank cut piece. The blank piece is bent to form a package, and usually the surface that
The shape of the exterior of the package formed is coated to provide a surface that can be cleaned with a canvas, which also helps to reduce the entry of moisture to the cigars through the package, thus keeping the content fresh. However, by folding the blank in the structure described above, the structure has overlapping sections which can provide gaps through which moisture can enter the package and cause deterioration of the cigars contained therein due to moisture .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention provides a collapsible and waterproof container having reclosable sealing means for closing the container, wherein the container encloses and houses a package of smoking articles. The waterproof collapsible container is sealable in such a way that a (essentially) airtight seal is formed. The container can be made, for example, of rubber, latex or silicone rubber, and can be translucent or transparent. The container may include an impression on at least a part of its outer surface (regardless of whether this surface is transparent or not). In one embodiment, the container has a base
rectangular. Each edge of the base has a panel coupled to it and in a vertical position therefrom. These panels define a container having an essentially rectangular cross section. The sealing means may be provided at one end of the container, for example, the end opposite the base. In one embodiment, the closure of the container by the sealing means is effected by putting the end sections of the two facing panels in face-to-face contact, which were used to carry the sealing means. Accordingly, the sealing means on both faces act together to perform the closure and form a (essentially) hermetic seal. When closing, the other panels (for example, without sealing means coupled thereto) are deformed by bending inside the container to make the sealing (essentially) hermetic. In one embodiment, the closure of the container by the sealing means is a magnetic closure, and the sealing means comprises one or more magnets located on each of the two opposed panels, near the end of the container. The two opposing panels that the magnets usually have are those panels in vertical position from the longer edges of the rectangular base. The placement of sealing means
(magnets) near the ends of these panels reduces the possibility that the closure of the package may damage the smoking articles contained therein. Additionally, the amount of material used to produce the container can be reduced. The magnets can be coupled to the inner surface of the two opposing panels so that the magnetic surface is exposed and the closure is made by contact between magnets. For an (almost) watertight seal that uses contact between magnets, in one embodiment, the magnet (s) can extend essentially along the total width of the panel. In another embodiment, the magnets can be embedded in the material forming the container, so that the closure is carried out by face-to-face contact of the interior surfaces of the two panels. For an essentially hermetic seal using face-to-face contact, the magnets may extend over part or the entire width of the panel. In a specific embodiment, the sealing means for face-to-face sealing comprises two bar magnets placed with a space between them in each of the two opposing facing panels. The space between the magnets provides an area / vacuum free of magnets. Providing an area / vacuum free of magnets can help open the closed container. For example, you can
Make an opening by inserting an implement such as a nail between the two panels at the location of the magnet-free area / vacuum to break the magnetic seal. Alternatively, a transverse load can be applied to the ends of the sealed section such that the seal breaks in the magnet free area / vacuum (then, this will simultaneously break the magnetic contact). The package of tobacco products can be formed with any suitable packaging material, such as paper, cardboard or film. The package can be a conventional package for smoking items, such as a package with hinged lid for cigars. The package may be made of aluminum or aluminized paper, and may be additionally wrapped in cellophane. A further aspect of the present invention provides a collapsible, waterproof container having reclosable sealing means for closing the container. The container can be used to enclose and house tobacco products. The specific and preferred aspects of the present invention are described in the claims. The features of the dependent claims may be combined with the features of the independent claims as appropriate and in combination with others other than those established.
explicitly in the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The embodiments of the present invention will be described only by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a transparent container containing a packet of cigars in accordance with a embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the container of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the container of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of the upper part of the container of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a plan view showing the base of the container of Figure 1; and Figures 6A to 6C illustrate the shape of the container when it is open (Figure 6A), the shape of the container when it is partially closed (Figure 6B) and the shape of the container when closed (Figure 6C).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the container (100) is designed to contain a bundle of articles for
smoking, like cigars, where the bundle is wrapped in aluminized paper to form a package (12). In the example shown the package (12) is wrapped in an outer cellophane wrapper. In another embodiment, the bundle of smoking articles may be arranged in a conventional cigarette package and inserted into the container (100). The container (100) is made of a transparent waterproof material such as rubber, silicone or latex, which is foldable to the touch. The container (100) has an essentially rectangular cross section as shown by the shape of the base (2) illustrated in Figure 5. In vertical position from the edges of the base (2) there are four essentially rectangular panels ( 4), (6), (8) and (10). The opposite front and rear panels (4), (8) of the container (100) have essentially the same height (length) and width, and both are slightly higher than the two opposite side panels (6) and (10). The difference in height of the front and rear panels (4), (8) in relation to the side panels (6), (10) corresponds to the upper section TS, which is the section that provides the sealing closure for the container (100). The container (100) is higher than the package (12) inside. The difference in height of the container (100) in relation to the package (12) contained in its
interior is such that the container (100) can be closed by causing the upper section TS of the inner faces of the front and rear panels (4) and (8) to come into contact with each other, while avoiding the application of pressure to the interior. package (12) and smoking items contained inside. In the example shown in Figure 1, the pack (12) of cigarettes has a height of 86 mm, a width of 53 mm and a width of 18 mm. The container (100), which is suitable for holding the package (12) has front and rear panels (4) and (8), which are 113 mm high, and side panels (6) and (10), the which are 105 mm high. The width of the container (100) is 60 mm and the width is 30 mm. It will be appreciated that the dimensions of the container (100) are adequate to the size of the package to be contained therein and therefore the dimensions given above are not intended to be limiting. The container can be suitably sized to contain more than one package arranged side by side and / or stacked. The difference in height of the container (100) in relation to the package (12) generally at least coincides with the width of the container (100), which in the example illustrated is 30 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in height of the container (100) in relation to the package (12) is expressed by a formula in terms
of the width dimension of the package (12) contained inside. The difference can be expressed as at least the square root of the sum of half the width of the packet squared and the width of the packet squared. The achievement of an (almost) hermetic seal and a clean seal is helped by the arrangement of the material molding of the container in the upper section TS where the side panels (6), (10) and the front and rear panels (4), (8) join. Referring to Figures 6A to 6C, the profile, in cross-section of the molding in the upper section TS has the shape of a triangle TR in both front and rear panels (4), (8) adjacent to the region where they join the side panels (6), (10). Where the side panels (6), (10) are attached to the front and rear panels (4), (8), each upper edge of the side panels (6), (10) is formed with the radius R at its ends . The movement of the front and rear panels (4), (8) toward each other to make the closure causes the panels (6), (10) to bend inside the container (100) (see Figure B), therefore helping to provide a clean and (almost) airtight seal. A closure member (14) is provided in the upper section TS of each of the front and rear panels (4) and (8). In one embodiment, the magnets arranged in the upper section TS of the front panels and
rear (4) and (8) provide the closing member (14). One or more magnets (14A) and (14B) on each face can be used to achieve closure. Each magnet can be provided in essentially the full length of the face to which it is applied or through part of the width. The magnets can be attached to the surface of each face. In a specific embodiment, the magnets (14A) and (14B) are embedded in the material forming the container (100). In the illustrated example, each of the panels (4) and (8) has two bar magnets (14A), (14B) embedded in the material forming the upper section TS of the container (100). The magnets (14A) and (14B) of each panel are spaced from one another to define the spacing (20). Embedding the magnets in the container material (100) helps achieve an (almost) watertight seal by closing the container through face-to-face contact near the two edges of the two panels (4) and (8). In another example (not illustrated) the closure member (14) is not embedded, but fixed in the upper section TS to the interior surfaces of the front and rear panels (4) and (8) in such a way as to achieve contact of magnet to magnet. In this example, the magnets can extend across the full width of the upper section TS of the front and rear panels (4) and (8) to provide an almost watertight seal.
As the upper sections TS of the front and rear panels (4) and (8) come together, the magnetic attraction of the magnets (14A) and (14B) help close the container to provide an (almost) watertight seal. When closed, the upper section of each side panel (6), (10) deforms inward to help provide the (almost) watertight seal, while forming a clean seal. The upper end of the container (100) deforms when the container is closed and when viewed from the direction of the side panels 6 and 10 it takes the form of a triangle (see Figures 1.3 and 6C). Due to the shape and arrangement of the molding and the edges formed on the upper part of the front, rear and side panels (4), (6), (8) and (10), together with the magnets (14A) and (14B) ), the closure of the container (100) is effected almost automatically by applying even a light touch to one or both of the front and rear panels (4), (8) near the top of the package. By separating the upper section TS by, for example, inserting the tip of a fingernail or the like into the junction of the magnets or within the gap (20), it breaks the magnetic seal and thereby opens the container (100). Alternatively, opening the closed container (100) can be done by simultaneously pushing the edges (16) and (18)
from the closed end toward each other, which corresponds to the sides of the container (100). The application of the load P along the closed end pressing on the ends (16) and (18) causes the panels (4) and (8) to separate in the separation (20) in the direction P '(see Figure 5) . The space in the separation (20) causes a simultaneous separation in the magnets (14A) and (14B) in each panel, thus opening the container (100). The container (100) may be printed / decorated with indicators, bands and / or other material, including relevant information of the brand. Alternatively, or additionally, the package (12) of smoking articles can be decorated with indicators, bands, advertisements, etc., which are visible through the transparent or translucent outer lid provided by the container (100). In the examples shown (see Figures 1 to 5), the package (12) is a bundle comprising twenty (20) cigars, which are wrapped in aluminized paper. The package (12) has a folded lid, which has a tape seal T applied for disposal by the consumer so that the package (12) opens to allow access to the cigarettes inside. The package may also be wrapped in an outer wrap made of cellophane. In one modality, the
Cigarettes are removed from the aluminized package (12), without the need to remove the complete package (12) from the container (100). The package (12) can be any package containing tobacco-related products, including articulated lid packages, housing and slide-out cover packages and bags containing, for example, tobacco or smokeless tobacco. The container (100) is formed with foldable material such as rubber, latex or silicone rubber. The container (100) can be made by molding. Alternatively, the container can be made by folding the material of the sheet. The individual sheets can be used to provide each panel, where the sheets are joined at their respective edges to form the container. The example of the container (100) as illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 has rectangular edges, but the invention can be used with edges of other shapes. For example, the edges adjacent to the front, rear and bottom panels of the container may be rounded, bevelled or elliptical, or may take other forms including those known in the art.