PT2814763T - Container with adhesive label with adhesive free area - Google Patents

Description

are provided in a sealed casing of a layer of barrier material having an access port defined therein. The access aperture is covered by a cover layer with a permanently sticky surface which can be engaged with the layer of barrier material to close the container after the first opening. A frame against which the cover layer may be pressed is provided in the sealed container between the smoking articles and the layer of barrier material. EP-A-2 366 637 describes a container for consumer goods, the container having the features of the preamble of claims 1 and 6. WO-A-2008/142540 discloses a package of smoking articles with a hinged lid wherein the smoking articles are enclosed in an inner package with an extraction aperture closed by a cover flap which is secured to the inner package using non-dry adhesive applied to the bottom of the lid flap. In one embodiment, an outer surface of a lower flap of the cover layer is permanently and non-removably bonded to an inner surface of the front wall of the cover so that the opening and closing of the cover simultaneously also opens and closes the flap of the cover . In this embodiment, the cover flap forms an S-shaped fold when opening the cover of the package of the hinge cover. The term "S-shaped" is used to refer to a shape having the shape of a curve with an inflection point.

Due to the S-shape of the cover flap, at a specific angle during opening and closing of the cover, a portion of the cover layer may undesirably come into contact with another portion of the cover layer or with the lower edge of the front wall of the cover. As the two portions of the cover layer have a non-dry remaining adhesive, the portions may come together and affect the closure of the cover. It is an object of the present invention to avoid this disadvantage of the prior art package.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a container according to claim 1.

By providing an adhesive label, a container may be provided with an enclosable inner carton which allows the container to be closed more easily. The container can be closed more easily because the adhesive label does not adhere to itself, or the inner surface of the lid, during opening or closing. In addition, a securely closed inner package may be provided because the resealable adhesive portion of the supplied adhesive label only adheres to the inner package and thus can be effectively sealed a plurality of times. The adhesive label is at least partially releasably affixed to the inner package by a resealable adhesive provided in a first area of the inner surface of the adhesive label which extends at least to the lower periphery of the access opening of the inner package.

A second area of the inner surface of the adhesive label is substantially free of adhesive, wherein a first area of the outer surface of the adhesive label is permanently affixed to the inner surface of the front wall of the outer shell cap, and wherein the second area of the inner surface of the adhesive label and the first area of the outer surface of the adhesive label at least partially cover another one.

This reduces the forces between the back of the first outer surface area and the resealable adhesive provided in the first area of the inner surface. By providing such an adhesive label, there may be provided a container with an enclosable inner package, which allows the container to be closed more easily. The container can be closed more easily because the adhesive label does not adhere to itself, or the inner surface of the lid, during opening or closing. In addition, a securely closed inner package may be provided because the resealable adhesive portion of the supplied adhesive label only adheres to the inner package and thus can be effectively sealed a plurality of times. The area of the second area of the adhesive label is between 100 percent and about 50 percent of the area of the first outer surface area of the adhesive label. Advantageously, where the second area is smaller than the first area, the adhesive label has less tendency to separate from the lid when the container is opened. The height of the second area of the inner surface may be at least about 1 mm, preferably at least about 2 mm, and most preferably at least about 3 mm. The height of the first area of the outer surface of the adhesive label may be at least about 3 mm, preferably at least about 4 mm, and most preferably at least about 6 mm. The adhesive label provided in the first embodiment of the present invention for sealing the access portion along the access aperture comprises a resealable adhesive such that the label can be removed from a surface of the inner package and re-attached several times. This allows the repeated opening and closing of the inner packaging to access the consumer goods individually. The resealable adhesive on the adhesive label will preferably provide sufficient adhesion so that the label is reattached at least as often as there are consumer goods within the inner package. This allows the consumer to open and close the internal package until the package is empty.

Suitable resealable adhesives are known to the skilled person and a wide variety of adhesives are commercially available from various suppliers. Selection of a suitable adhesive may depend on the material forming the inner packaging to which the adhesive label is sealed or resealed during use. The adhesive label comprises an adhesive free surface area, wherein this adhesive free surface area corresponds in size to the access aperture in the inner package. When the lid is in the closed position with the adhesive label sealed to the inner carton, this adhesive free surface area covers the access aperture in the inner carton. This will prevent dust or small particles, for example, tobacco shorts or other waste from consumer goods inside the packaging, adhere to the adhesive label. This can happen, for example, if the adhesive label comes into contact with the consumer goods inside the inner packaging.

In an alternative embodiment to have an adhesive free area corresponding in size to the access aperture in the inner package, in the first and second aspects of the present invention, the access aperture of the inner package is defined by one or more lines of weakness in the package internal. The one or more lines of weakness define an access portion of the inner carton. By providing the inner carton with a defined access portion, the inner carton may be safer prior to first opening the container. This can increase the storage life of consumer goods contained in the container. More preferably, the adhesive label comprises an additional area of the inner surface of the adhesive label permanently affixed to the access portion of the inner package delimited by one or more lines of weakness. The access portion of the inner carton is preferably partially separated from the remainder of the inner carton along one or more lines of weakness in the first opening of the cover of the outer housing so that the access portion of the inner carton remains attached to the remainder of the during the subsequent opening and closing of the outer casing lid. The resealable adhesive provided in the first area of the inner surface of the adhesive label may extend substantially over the entire periphery of the access portion of the inner package.

Preferably, the adhesive label is permanently affixed to the inner carton, at least partially. More preferably, the adhesive label is permanently affixed to the inner package by a connecting edge of the adhesive label adjacent an edge of the access portion. Preferably, the edge of the connection is located at the back of the top of the inner carton.

Preferably, in the first and second aspects of the present invention, the container further comprises an inner structure within the inner package. Most preferably, the inner structure is a U-shaped inner structure having a front wall and a pair of opposed side walls. Alternatively, the inner structure may be provided between the container and the inner carton. Advantageously, an internal structure with a large surface area increases the structural strength of the vessel. The increased structural strength provided by the internal structure allows a secure closure of the adhesive label. This is particularly advantageous for subsequent closing operations when the container is not full. The term "U-shaped" is used to refer to a shape comprising three parts, wherein the first and third portions are parallel to each other and extend in the same direction perpendicular to the second portion.

When the inner structure is provided between the container and the inner package, the inner structure may comprise a cover layer wherein the surface structure of the cover layer is selected such that substantially no adhesive is transferred from the adhesive label to the layer when the adhesive label is attached to the cover layer of the inner structure. For example, the inner structure may comprise a cover layer having polyethylene laminated phthalate (PET). The cover layer may be transparent or metallized. Preventing the transfer of adhesive from the label to the inner structure has the advantage that dust or small particles, for example "tobacco chips", do not attach to the inner structure.

Preferably, consumer goods are articles for smoking. However, the container may be suitable for a variety of consumer goods, such as confectionery, dry food products or the like.

As used herein, the terms 'front', 'back', 'top', 'bottom', 'top', 'bottom' and 'side' refer to the relative positions of container portions according to the invention and its components when the container is upright with the outer housing cover in the closed position and the hinge line on the back of the container. In describing containers according to the present invention, these terms are used regardless of the orientation of the container being described. The rear wall of the container is the wall comprising the hinge line. The term "hinge line" refers to a line over which the cap may be hinged to open the container. A hinge line may be, for example, a fold line or a dotted line on the panel forming the rear wall of the container. The term "longitudinal" refers to a direction from the bottom up or vice versa. The term "transverse" refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

As used herein, the term "height" refers to the size of the respective portion of the adhesive label measured in the longitudinal direction when the adhesive label is affixed to the inner carton. The term "width" refers to the size of the respective portion of the adhesive label measured in the transverse direction when the adhesive label is affixed to the inner package.

The containers according to the invention find particular application as packages for elongated smoking articles such as, for example, cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. It will be appreciated that through appropriate choices of their dimensions, the containers according to the invention can be designed for different numbers of conventional sized, king size, super-king size, slim or super-slim cigarettes. Alternatively, other consumer goods may be housed within the container.

By an appropriate choice of dimensions, the containers according to the invention may be designed to hold different total numbers of smoking articles or different arrangements of smoking articles. For example, through an appropriate choice of dimensions, the containers according to the invention may be designed to hold a total of between ten and thirty articles for smoking.

Smoking articles can be arranged in different collations depending on the total number of smoking articles. For example, smoking articles can be arranged in a single line of six, seven, eight, nine or ten. Alternatively, smoking articles may be arranged in two or more rows. The two or more lines may contain the same number of smoking articles. For example, smoking articles can be arranged in two rows of five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten; three lines of five or seven; or four lines of four, five or six. Alternatively, the two or more rows may include at least two rows containing different numbers of smoking articles for each other. For example, smoking articles can be organized into: a line of five and a line of six (5-6); a row of six and a line of seven (6-7); a row of seven and a line of eight (7-8); a middle row of five and two outer rows of six (6-5-6); a middle row of five and two outer lines of seven (7-5-7); a middle row of six and two outside lines of five (5-6-5); a middle line of six and two outer lines of seven (7-6-7); a middle row of seven and two outer rows of six (6-7-6); a middle row of nine and two outer rows of eight (8-9-8); or an intermediate line of six with an outer row of five and an outer row of seven (5-6-7).

The containers according to the present invention may contain smoking articles of the same type or brand, or of different types or brands. In addition, non-smoking articles and smoking articles with multiple filter tips, as well as smoking articles of different sizes (for example, between about 40 mm and about 180 mm), diameter (e.g., between about 4 mm and about 9 mm). In addition, smoking articles may differ in taste strength, stretch resistance, and total particle delivery. Preferably, the dimensions of the container are adapted to the length of the smoking articles and the grouping of smoking articles. Typically, the outer dimensions of the container are between about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm larger than the beam dimensions or bundles of smoking articles housed within the container. The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a representation of a container which is not part of the claimed invention; Figure 2 shows a side view of the container shown in Figure 1 with the cap in the open position; Figure 3 shows a side view of the container shown in Figure 1 with the cap in the closed position; Figure 4 shows the inner surface of an adhesive label used in a container; Figure 5 shows the outer surface of the adhesive label shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 shows a side view of a container according to the invention, with the lid in the open position; Figure 7 shows a side view of the container of Figure 6, with the lid in the closed position; Figure 8 shows the inner surface of an adhesive label used in the container of Figure 6; and Figure 9 shows the outer surface of the adhesive label shown in Figure 8. The hinge cover container 100 shown in Figure 1, which is not part of the claimed invention, is a rectangular parallelepiped and comprises a lower case 102 and an upper cover 104 which is hinged to the carton 102 along a hinge line extending substantially horizontally along the rear wall of the container 100. Figure 1 shows the container with the lid of the flap 104 in an open position. A package of cigarettes (not shown) is housed in the carton 102 of the container 100. The package is wrapped in an inner carton 106, described in more detail below. The overall size and construction of the carton 102 and the lid 104 of the container 100 are substantially the same as those of a hinge cover of a standard cigarette pack. The carton 102 has a carton front wall, a left carton side wall, a carton right side wall, a carton back wall and a carton bottom wall. The upper side of the carton 102 is open to provide an upper aperture through which the cigarettes can be removed.

When the upright container is open, the cigarettes contained in the carton 102 may be removed from the upper end of the container 100. The lid 104 has a lid front wall, a left side wall of the lid, a right side wall of the lid, the back wall of the cover and an upper lid wall. When the container 100 is closed, the free edges of the lid walls 104 abut the free edges of the carton walls 102 along an abutment line. In the closed position, the walls of the cap 104 therefore form extensions of the corresponding walls of the carton 102 to define the walls of the container 100.

An internal structure (not shown) is mounted within the inner package 106 of the container 100. The inner structure comprises a front wall of the inner structure, a left side wall of the inner structure and a right side wall of the inner structure which are connected to the inner surface the side wall of the inner carton and the side wall of the inner carton, respectively. The front wall of the inner structure includes a rectangular cut in the upper free edge so as to facilitate removal of the cigarettes from the carton 102. The rectangular cutout substantially corresponds to a front wall portion of the access opening in the inner carton. The walls of the inner structure extend above the upper edges of the carton 102.

Prior to first opening, the container 100 is wound in an outer shell (not shown) formed of a transparent film, in the conventional manner. The inner package 106 includes a cut through which the cigarettes can be removed. When the inner cigarette pack is in place within the carton, the cut is positioned at the open upper end of the carton 102.

A rectangular self-adhesive label 108 is attached to the outer surface of the inner package so that the label 108 covers the cut defining the access aperture in the inner package 106. The free end 110 of the tag 108 is permanently affixed to a portion of the inner surface of the cap 104. The tag 108 includes a sealable adhesive area 112 on the inner surface of the tag 108, which overlies a portion of the inner package substantially around the periphery of the access port. When the lid is in the closed position, the resealable adhesive area 112 forms a seal between the adhesive label 108 and the inner package 106.

Further, the tag 108 is sealed to the inner carton at the upper and rear edge of the inner carton using a strip of permanent adhesive. This provides a hinge line on which the adhesive label can be hinged to open and close the inner carton.

To access the cigarettes within the inner carton, the hinge cover is moved from the closed position to the open position shown in Figure 1. As the lid is moved from the closed position, the tag 108 is cut from the inner carton 106 from the end free layer 110 of the tag 108 is permanently affixed to the cap, thereby uncovering the access aperture in the inner package through which one or more cigarettes may be removed. Figure 2 shows a side view of the container 100 with the cap 104 in the open position. As described above, the label 108 is affixed permanently using the adhesive 200 on the inner surface of the cap 104 substantially adjacent the lower edge of the cap. The portion 202 located adjacent the permanent adhesive portion 200 is substantially free of adhesive. The free portion of adhesive is provided to prevent the adhesive label from adhering to the inner surface of the cap in the region of the lower edge of the cap. By preventing the adhesive label from adhering to the lid, the container can be opened and closed more easily. Figure 3 shows a side view of the container 100 with the cap 104 in the closed position. As can be seen, the portion 200 of the adhesive label permanently affixed to the inner surface of the lid is folded substantially 180 degrees away from the inner carton. The adhesive label 108 is shown affixed to the inner carton 106. Figure 4 shows the adhesive label 108. The portion 200 is provided with a permanent adhesive such that the lower edge of the adhesive label can be permanently affixed to the inner surface of the cap 104 as described above. The portion 202 is substantially adhesive free and is located adjacent the permanent adhesive portion 200. Alternatively, the portion 200 may be neutralized by adhesive to ensure that it does not adhere to the inner surface of the cap. The resealable adhesive portion 112, described above, is shown around the periphery of the portion 400. The resealable adhesive portion 112 is adapted to close again to the inner package around the access aperture to provide a sealed inner package. The portion 400 is provided with a permanent adhesive adapted to permanently affix the adhesive label to an access portion of the inner package. The access part is, prior to the first opening of the container, connected to the inner packaging by lines of weakness, such as perforations, crease lines or punctuation lines. Specifically, the lines of weakness are provided on the left, right side and bottom side of the access opening when the container is viewed from the front with the lid on top. The adhesive label is permanently attached to the access portion so that, in the first opening of the container, the access portion is separated from the inner package along the lines of weakness, but remains attached to the inner package along a formed hinge line in the upper back corner of the inner carton. Figure 5 shows the outer surface of the adhesive label 108. As can be seen, the surface 500 is adhesive free.

In this label the height of the free adhesive portion is less than the height of the permanent adhesive portion 610. The height of the adhesive free portion is about 3 mm and the height of the permanent adhesive portion is about 4 mm. The relative dimensions of the free adhesive portion and the permanent adhesive portion of the adhesive label are such that the resealable adhesive portion does not contact the inner surface of the cap when the cap is in the open position. Further, the relative dimensions are such that the resealable adhesive portion provides a seal with the area surrounding the access portion of the inner package. The container 600 according to the invention shown in Figure 6 is similar in construction to the container 100 shown in Figures 1 to 3 as described above. The container 600 has a carton 602 and a cap 604 which is hinged to the carton 602 along a hinge line which extends substantially horizontally along the rear wall of the container 600. However, the inner carton 606 is provided with a label adhesive portion 608. In this alternative, a portion 610 of the outer surface of the adhesive label 608 is permanently affixed to the inner surface of the cap 604. A portion 612 of the inner surface of the adhesive label 608 is substantially adhesive-free. Similarly to the free adhesive portion 202 provided on the adhesive label 108 as described above, the adhesive free portion 612 is provided so that the adhesive label does not adhere when the cover is in the open position. The container can therefore be opened and closed more easily. Figure 7 shows a side view of the container 600 with the cap 604 in the closed position. As can be seen in this embodiment, portion 610 of the adhesive label permanently affixed to the inner surface of the closure is not folded relative to the inner carton. The adhesive label 108 is shown detachably attachable to the inner carton 606.

Similar to the container 100 described above, an inner structure (not shown) is mounted within the inner package 606 of the container 600. The inner structure comprises a front wall of the inner structure, a left side wall of the inner structure and a right side wall of the inner structure which are connected to the inner surface of the front wall of the inner package, the side wall of the inner package and the side wall of the inner package, respectively. The front wall of the inner frame includes a rectangular cutout at the free upper edge so as to facilitate removal of the cigarettes from the carton 602. The rectangular cutout substantially corresponds to a front wall portion of the access aperture in the inner carton. The walls of the inner frame extend above the upper edges of the carton 602.

Prior to first opening, the container 600 is wound in an outer shell (not shown) formed of a transparent film, in the conventional manner. The inner package 606 includes a cut through which the cigarettes can be removed. When the inner pack of cigarettes is within the carton, the cut is positioned at the open upper end 602. Figure 8 shows the adhesive label 608. The portion 612 is substantially adhesive-free and is located adjacent the lower edge of the adhesive label 608. Alternatively, portion 612 may be neutralized by adhesive to ensure that it does not adhere when the cap is in the open position. The resealable adhesive portion 800 is shown around the periphery of the portion 802. The resealable adhesive portion 800 is adapted to retractively affix the adhesive label to the inner package 606 around the access aperture to provide a sealed inner package. Portion 802 is provided with a permanent adhesive adapted to permanently affix the adhesive label to an access portion of the inner package. The access portion is, prior to the first opening of the container, connected to the inner package by lines of weakness, such as perforations. Specifically, the lines of weakness are provided on the left, right side and bottom side of the access opening when the container is viewed from the front with the lid on top. The adhesive label is permanently attached to the access portion so that, in the first opening of the container, the access portion is separated from the inner package along the lines of weakness, but remains attached to the inner package along a formed hinge line in the upper back corner of the inner carton. Figure 9 shows the outer surface of the adhesive label 608. As can be seen, the permanent adhesive portion 610 is provided on the lower edge of the outer surface of the adhesive label. The remainder 900 of the outer surface of the surface adhesive label is adhesive free. The height of the free adhesive portion is less than the height of the permanent adhesive portion 610. The height of the adhesive free portion is about 3 mm and the height of the permanent adhesive portion is about 6 mm. The relative dimensions of the free adhesive portion and the permanent adhesive portion are such that the elastic properties of the adhesive label material prevent the resealable adhesive portion from contacting when the cover is in the open position.

Containers 100 and 600 may be filled and assembled using conventional apparatus and methods, modified to include the step of applying the adhesive label 108, 608 over the access port of the inner package 106, 606.

Container (600) for consumer goods comprising: an external housing comprising: a housing (602); and a lid (604) hinged to the carton (602) along a hinge line extending through a rear wall of the container, the lid being rotatable about the hinge line between a closed position and an open position; an inner package (606) of consumer goods within the outer carton comprising an access aperture through which consumer goods may be removed; and an adhesive label (608) covering the access opening of the inner package (606) and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening of the inner package (606), wherein the adhesive label (608) is affixed at least partially (606) by a resealable adhesive provided in a first area (800) of the inner surface of the adhesive label (608) extending at least on the lower periphery of the access opening of the inner package (606); a second area 612 of the inner surface of the adhesive label 608 is substantially free of adhesive, wherein a first area 610 of the outer surface of the adhesive label is permanently affixed to the inner surface of the front wall of the cap 604, the outer area (610) of the outer surface of the adhesive label (608) being at the lower edge of the outer surface of the adhesive label (608); the second area 612 of the inner surface of the adhesive label 608 and the first area 610 of the outer surface of the adhesive label 608 at least partially covers one another;

Claims (9)

characterized in that the area of the second area (612) of the adhesive label (608) is between 100 percent and about 50 percent of the area of the first area (610) of the outer surface of the adhesive label (608); and a height of the second adhesive free area 612 of the inner surface of the adhesive label 608 is less than a height of the first area 610 of the outer surface of the adhesive label that the cover 604 of the outer housing . A container (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the access opening of the inner package (606) is defined by one or more lines of weakness in the inner package (606). A container (600) according to claim 2, wherein the adhesive label (608) comprises an additional area of the inner surface of the adhesive label (608) permanently affixed to the portion of the inner package (606) delimited by one or more lines of weakness. A container (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first area (610) of the inner surface of the adhesive label (608) extends substantially the entire periphery of the access opening of the inner package (608). A container (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive label (608) is permanently affixed permanently to the inner package (606). A container (600) according to claim 5, wherein the adhesive label (608) is permanently affixed to the inner package (606) by a connecting edge of the adhesive label (608) adjacent an edge of the access portion, the connecting edge being located at the back of the top of the inner carton. A container (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an inner structure within the inner package (606). A container (600) according to claim 7, wherein the inner structure is a U-shaped inner structure comprising a front wall and a pair of opposing side walls. A container (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the consumer goods are smoking articles.