TWI435830B - Packaging for smoking articles - Google Patents

Description

Packaging for smoking articles

The present invention relates to packaging for smoking articles and other tobacco and smokable products (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, and bulk tobacco). These are referred to below as smoking articles for illustration.

A common cigarette carton is added as a barrier layer as an inner wrap or outer wrap or both. If the cigarette has any commercial shelf life in areas with unfavorable weather conditions (especially in high temperature, high humidity areas), it is necessary to add more or less barrier layers.

The foregoing barrier layer provides a resealable layer on the cigarette access aperture of the package to protect the product before and after the occurrence of the first opening of the package and/or Warn that the consumer package has been improperly opened. World Patent No. WO 98/22367 discloses a package for a smoking article (e.g., a cigarette) having a sealed enclosure made of a barrier material in which the seal can be resealed. Access window for enclosures. The lid above the aperture has a permanent adhesive surface covering the barrier material over all of the openable edges. The label is provided with a tab that the user can grasp and pull open to expose the access opening.

World Patent No. WO 01/89962 discloses a sealing enclosure made of a sheet-like barrier material comprising a take-up cigarette access aperture and a cover layer for sealing the access aperture. By cutting the resistance The access window is provided by the spacer material and by removing the cut-out portion from the aperture. The cover layer and the barrier layer are adhesively joined to form a barrier material for removing a predetermined portion, so that the cover layer can be removed to remove the barrier layer portion of the window, thereby allowing access to the entire bundle of cigarettes. The cover layer is used to indicate whether the package is unlawfully opened and used to reseal the access aperture after opening the enclosure for the first time.

U.S. Patent No. 5,333,729 discloses a flexible package containing a cigarette. The package contains a top closure tab that is used to re-package the package after it has been opened. The tongue can be coated with an adhesive to reseal the package. The package may contain an inner container surrounded by a sealing film. The upper tab covers the upper surface of the sealing film, including a weakened area of the sealing film. When the upper tab is pulled off, the bottom portion of the sealing film is also removed to expose the cigarettes in the package.

It is an object of the present invention to enable a consumer to selectively reseal the package after it has been easily removed from the resealable label of the package. Providing a cover that seals and reseals the access aperture for this purpose is cumbersome for the consumer because each time a cigarette is to be withdrawn from it, the cover layer must be peeled off and then reapplied to the barrier layer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a smoking article package having a resealable label from which the resealable label can be removed without appreciable damage to the barrier material.

Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is a smoking article package constructed from a layer of a sealed enclosure made of a barrier material, the barrier material being Surrounding a plurality of smoking articles, a smoking article access aperture defined in the barrier material, and a cover layer extending across the access aperture and extending beyond an edge of the access aperture. On the fully openable edge of the cover layer there is a permanent adhesive surface that overlaps the barrier material. The cover layer is configured to completely remove at least a portion of the cover layer from the package. In the barrier material, a line of cut or line of weakness is used to define the smoking article access aperture. This line forms a closed pattern and is blocked by a plurality of uncut or un-attenuated tab regoins.

Preferably, the cover layer is engageable with a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture and is detachable from the sealed enclosure together with a portion of the barrier layer defining the access aperture.

It is preferred that the cover layer be entirely detachable from the sealed enclosure. In this manner, the initially sealed enclosure around the batch of smoking articles can be provided with permanent access apertures, or alternatively, the user can replace the removed cover layer and the portion of the barrier material to reseal the enclosure. Sealing.

Thus, the user of the smoking article package determines when the cover is removed from the package and a portion of the barrier defining the access aperture. If the user wants this, the cover layer and the barrier material can be manipulated to provide a resealable closure whereby the permanent adhesive surface of the cover layer can be accessed adjacently after opening the access aperture for the first time. The layer of barrier material at the edge of the aperture rejoins to reseal the enclosure. Alternatively, the user may choose to remove and discard the cover layer and a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture.

The sealing enclosure around the batch of smoking articles may comprise two main faces (front and back), two sides, and two end faces (top and bottom) Enclosure. The seal enclosure configured in this manner can be contained within a body of a smoking article package such as the art-like hinge-lid package. It is preferred that the smoking article access aperture of the sealed enclosure be configured to extend into the front major face of the closure.

In an alternative configuration of the invention, the cover layer can comprise a plurality of separable portions whereby a major portion of the cover layer can be unloaded from the smoking article package together with a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture under.

Preferably, the portions of the cover layer are separated along a cut line or a line of weakness. It is advantageous for the incision line or the line of weakness of the cover layer to extend parallel to one side of the smoking article access aperture (i.e., the lateral edge of the aperture) across the full width of the cover layer.

Thus, the portions of the cover layer can be separated along the score line or line of weakness to provide a removable cover portion and a fixed cover portion. The fixed portion of the cover layer remains attached to the barrier material after being separated from the removable portion of the cover layer. It is advantageous that the fixed portion of the cover layer is located on the rear major face of the previously sealed enclosure.

It is advantageous for the incision line or the weakening line of the cover layer to be adjacent to the edge of the sealing enclosure between the rear major face and the top face. The incision line or the weakening line of the cover layer is preferably located at the edge of the seal enclosing material between the rear main surface and the top end surface. Alternatively, the score line or line of weakness of the cover layer may be adjacent to the rear major face of the seal enclosure.

The fixed portion of the cover layer can be attached to the barrier material by a permanent adhesive. Alternatively, the fixed portion of the cover layer may be attached to the seal enclosure by the same permanent adhesive applied to the other overlapping faces of the cover layer. The barrier material of the closure, provided that the score line or line of weakness is relatively susceptible to breakage as compared to the degree of adhesion of the fixed cover layer to the underlying barrier material.

Another alternative to permanent adhesives is to provide an alternative permanent adhesive structure (e.g., a hot melt material) that can bond the fixed cover portion to the barrier material or to provide a permanent weld between the two materials.

It is preferred that a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture is completely removable from the sealed enclosure. Thus, a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture can be attached to the cover layer by a permanent adhesive. Thus, a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture can be removed from the sealed enclosure together with the cover layer.

The cover layer is preferably provided with a pull tab that the user can grasp and pull to expose the access opening. It is advantageous that the tab is not attached to the underlying barrier material. Thus, the tab has no adhesive and/or contains a deadening agent which neutralizes the adhesive properties of the adhesive applied to the tab.

In a preferred embodiment, the smoking article access aperture is configured to extend from a top end face of the sealing enclosure to a front major face of the sealing enclosure, the cover layer being sealed by the seal It is preferred that the rear major surface of the enclosure extends over the top surface to the front major surface. It is also preferred that the cover layer extends to the rear major surface so as to have an edge overlap region with the barrier material of the rear major surface.

Preferably, the edge overlap region extends from the edge of the sealing envelope adjacent the edge of the top and rear major faces to a lower edge of the cover layer of from 1 mm to 12 mm. The distance is preferably in the range of 2 mm to 8 mm, and preferably between 5 and 7 mm. In the above range of distances, The lower limit may be incremented by 1 mm, such as 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, etc., and/or the upper limit of the range may be reduced by 1 mm, such as 9 mm, 8 mm, 7 mm, and the like.

A portion of the barrier material defining the access opening of the smoking article is provided by cutting the barrier material into a closed pattern (eg, a rectangular shape) and applying the cover layer to the portion of the barrier material. Therefore, when the cover layer is peeled off, the portion of the barrier material is removed from the aperture.

A portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture is defined by a score line or a line of weakness that is cut into unbroken or uncut regions. In this manner, a portion of the barrier material that initially defines the smoking article access aperture is joined to the barrier material web by the tab regions.

The tongue regions are sized to break when the cover layer is peeled off by the barrier material layer. Thus, the tongues are relatively susceptible to breakage as compared to the degree of adhesion of the cover layer and the underlying barrier material layer outside the score line or line of weakness defining the access aperture, whereby for example, when peeled off The seal enclosure removes a portion of the barrier layer defining the access aperture and a cover layer secured thereto without damaging the barrier material layer of the seal enclosure.

A portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture is attached to the barrier material web by a plurality of tabs spaced along the score line or line of weakness. It should be understood that the tongue regions are different from any perforations in the line of weakness. Thus, although the line of weakness itself may comprise a plurality of perforations, the perforations are intermittent in the region of the tongues. There are preferably 2 to 12 tongue areas, and a 4 to 8 tongue area is particularly preferred. However, other embodiments may have a different number of tongue regions.

Preferably, the tongue regions are distributed at substantially uniform intervals around the closed pattern of the access aperture. This ensures that some of the barrier material within the access aperture is more reliably attached to the other barrier material. However, other embodiments may have relatively irregular spacing; this helps to conform to the overall shape of the package, for example. In a specific embodiment, at least two tabs are located in the transverse incision line or the weakening line (which defines the access aperture at the edge of the top or rear main surface of the sealing enclosure; that is, in In the sealed enclosure, the access aperture is closest to the rearmost edge of the rear major surface.

Preferably, the tabs are barrier material bridges having a length of less than 3 mm (preferably less than 1 mm) along the incision line or line of weakness. The size of the tabs along the incision line or the weakening line is small enough to prevent the barrier material from being torn outside the access window after removing the cover layer and a portion of the barrier layer defining the access aperture. Drop it. In another aspect, the tabs are formed to be of sufficient size to provide a barrier material outside the access aperture when manufacturing the material forming the seal enclosure and forming a seal enclosure around a plurality of smoking articles. A connection to a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture.

The score line or the line of weakness comprises a plurality of dimensions and a limited number of interruptions, combined with the dimensions of the edge region of the cover extending over the major face of the sealed enclosure, such that the user facilitates removal of the cover layer and defines the access Part of the aperture blocks the material without damaging the remaining barrier material.

The preferred material for the barrier layer is a plastic/metal foil laminate or metallised plastic because both materials provide excellent barrier properties. The barrier layer can continuously pass over the primary end of the package or pouch and along the two minor sides of the package And a side seam on the envelope or similar pleat on the opposite minor end. The barrier layer need not be added in the manner described above, and it may be applied continuously over the primary side and sealed to the two secondary ends and the primary side.

The seam of the barrier layer can be formed by a glue or a heat-sealable strip added to the barrier layer, for example, by printing. We have found that this is particularly suitable when the barrier layer is a metal/paper laminate or a metalloid paper. However, one or more outer surfaces of the plastic laminate or foil may be a heat seal material. The barrier material can be a paper laminate.

The whole contained in the packaging of the smoking article in the barrier layer may be added to a flavourant. The entirety may comprise a porous substance such as a pad, a sheet of paper, or a card inner frame which may be a semi-rigid package. Alternatively, the flavorant is encapsulated or contained within the pouch, and the capsule or pouch is placed in the package. The flavorant can penetrate the cigarettes in the package, thereby affecting the taste or odor of the smoke produced during smoking. A preferred flavorant is menthol.

It can be packaged in the form of a so-called "squeaky" panel with flavoring. That is, the flavorant form (e.g., microencapsulated) may be applied to the package when rubbed. Such scented panels are well known in perfume magazine advertisements.

For example, a pouch, capsule or multiwell plate within the barrier layer may contain a whole with flavorant. Alternatively, the inline frame can be made from a card that is coated with a flavorant or contains a flavorant (eg, menthol).

The smoking article package may be a rigid package or, alternatively, may be Soft cup package. Preferably, the smoking article package comprises an outer body portion having a front wall, a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall and at least two side walls. As is well known in the art of packaging smoking articles, the outer body can provide a so-called link cover package.

The wall of the outer body can be configured to provide a package in the form of a parallelepiped. The shapes of the walls are each preferably rectangular. The height dimensions of the front and rear walls are suitably larger than the width dimensions. The terms front wall, top wall, rear wall, and bottom wall are not meant to imply any orientation of the package and may be replaced with the terms first wall, second wall, third wall, and fourth wall. Preferably, the sealing enclosure encloses the major side of the batch of smoking articles adjacent the front and back walls of the outer body of the smoking article package.

The smoking article package may have an inner slidc and an outer casing (hereinafter referred to as a sliding shell type package). A slip-type package of a smoking article (e.g., a cigarette) differs from a conventional link-cover package in that the inner casing is mounted such that the user can slide it relative to the outer casing to obtain a smoking article. Some slide-type packages are provided with a lid-opening mechanism that is activated by movement of the slide within the housing.

The most common opening mechanism for prior art slide-type packages is that the outer casing is coupled to the cover of the inner slide, whereby the cover is pivotally opened when the inner slide is moved relative to the housing. The attachment may be permanent (in this case, usually with an adhesive) or mechanical engagement of the components on the outer casing and the inner slide. The capping mechanism described herein relies on mechanical engagement.

Alternatively, the smoking article package may comprise a Laubé or flat box (also known as a shoulder pack). Such boxes are conventional in the art and are generally rigid, and are made of thick cards or the like. Made of material and pivoted along the secondary edge of the major face or along the major midline or secondary surface.

The outer body portion of the smoking article package, the sealing enclosure, and/or the smoking article package described herein is generally rectangular having four surfaces that are vertically from the bottom of the rectangle. The package may have two major faces that are vertical from the bottom, the two surfaces meeting at the two edges. In the embodiment given, the edges are formed with a right angled surface. This is not critical to the invention; the smoking article package, the sealing enclosure and/or the outer body portion have a rounded, tapered or elliptical edge at least between the side walls and the front and rear walls, or the art The edge of the known shape.

The bottom cross-sectional shape of the package containing, for example, a cigarette may be a shape other than a rectangle, such as other quadrilateral shapes, such as a square.

It will be appreciated that the smoking article package described herein can be used to encase a batch of loose tobacco, known in the art as roll-your-own tobacco, or other tobacco or other smokable material. . The package can also be used to contain oral type tobacco-containing products, such as smokeless tobacco (snus).

The smoking article package can further comprise an inline frame. The inline frame can be disposed within the sealed enclosure or, alternatively, can be disposed about the seal enclosure.

In a preferred configuration, the frame has a major face, two elongated sides, and a (bottom) end face, and a pleated member of two pleats. The long sides of the side faces and the end faces are the main side and the minor side of the main face, respectively. The pleats are on the top of the side. Therefore, after folding, the frame will form the main face of the cube, two long The side and bottom end faces, wherein the pleats form two portions of the incomplete top end face.

The main surface is not completely rectangular but preferably has a recess at the upper edge. In the case of such a recess, it is preferable to form the end face into two blank unfolded frames which can be arranged end to end in a checkerboard (i.e., can be side by side without overlap or gap), thereby minimizing the need The amount of material.

Of course, the inline frame can have a single fold between the panels, which creates a bevelled edge. Alternatively, the sides of the frame may be circular, for example for use in so-called "elliptical" packages.

The invention is not limited to a bundle of cigarettes. For example, multiple bundles of cigarettes are sealed within a resealable barrier material and then inserted together into a single outer casing. Alternatively, multiple bundles of cigarettes (inside the inline frame) can be overwrap into a single package to form a semi-rigid package containing multiple bundles of cigarettes.

In order to make the invention easy to understand and to facilitate implementation, the following figures are provided as examples.

Fig. 1 illustrates a specific embodiment of a layer of conventional barrier material indicated by the symbol 1 of the element. The barrier material 1 is unwound from the reel in the direction of the arrow A to form a flat piece of material. The barrier material 1 capable of forming a sealed enclosure has a front major surface 2 and a rear major surface 4, which are joined to the common longitudinal axis by the distal end surface 6. Relying on the end edges of the front and rear main faces are the portions of the bottom end face 8. Relative to the side edges of the front and rear main faces are the sides 10, 12. A cover layer 14 is applied to the barrier material 1 in a region defining a portion of the barrier material 16 of the smoking article access aperture. Partial barrier material defining the access opening of the smoking object The material 16 is formed in the barrier material 1 by a score line or a line of weakness 18. A cut line passing through the entire thickness of the barrier material 1 may be appropriately added. The line of weakness can be, for example, a line of perforation or a score line.

The score line 18 has a plurality of interrupted or uncut regions 20 spaced apart along the length. In the region of the major face 4 after the cut line 18 is closest to the barrier material 1, there is a tongue region 20a sized to prevent separation of the portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture from the remaining barrier material. During the processing and formation of the sealed enclosure around a batch of smoking articles, the interrupted or uncut regions 20 and the tongue regions 20a initially connect the portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture to the remaining barrier material to prevent storage. The window opening is opened before being opened by the consumer. Without interruption 20 and tongue region 20a, the portion of barrier material 16 defining the access aperture may be detached by the barrier material and/or may allow moisture and air to enter and exit the sealing enclosure to affect the quality of the enclosed smoking article. .

The cover layer 14 further comprises a pull tab or pleat 22 which is free of adhesive or is coated with a smearing agent to neutralize the effect of the adhesive on the gusset 22 such that the gusset 22 remains unattached to the barrier material 1 so that the consumer has a place The cover layer 14 can be grasped and the cover layer 14 can be peeled off by the barrier layer.

In order to facilitate separation of the portion of the barrier material 16 that defines the access aperture from the barrier layer, a cover layer 14 is applied to the portion of the barrier material 16. The cover layer 14 is typically in the form of a label, typically a film made of plastic, and the bottom surface is coated with a permanent adhesive, i.e., a permanent adhesive material that allows it to adhere to the barrier layer and re-stick. The cover layer 14 extends beyond all edges of the apertures defined by the score line 18 and onto the rear major face 4 of the barrier material. Cover layer 14 The region outside the incision line 18 overlaps and adheres to the barrier material and adheres to a portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture. The portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture has sufficient adhesion such that when the portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture is removed by the cover layer 14, a portion of the barrier material 16 can be simultaneously peeled off by the barrier material.

In use, the edges of the cover layer 14 are overlapped on the rear major face 4 and the tongue region 20a to allow the portion of the barrier material 16 and the cover layer 14 defining the access aperture to remain attached to the barrier material and allow the consumer to open and each time The smoking object is withdrawn from the sealed enclosure and the access window is resealed.

The exploded view of Fig. 1A illustrates the kerf line 18 in the uncut region 20. In order to remove a portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture from the adjacent barrier material, the uncut region 20 is separated by a shearing force.

Figure 2 illustrates a layer of barrier material, indicated by reference numeral 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The barrier material 100 has a front major surface 112 and a rear major surface 114 that are interconnected with the top end surface 106 along a common longitudinal axis.

A cover layer 104 is applied to the barrier material 100 in a region defining a portion of the barrier material 116 of the smoking article access aperture. A portion of the barrier layer 116 defining the smoking article access aperture is formed in the barrier material 100 by a score line or line of weakness 118. A cut line 118 that passes through the full thickness of the barrier material 100 and a cut line 118 that provides a closed pattern may be suitably added, which in this embodiment is rectangular. The score line 118 can be, for example, a perforation line or a scribe line. The score line 118 has a plurality of interrupted or uncut regions 120 spaced apart from each other along the length. In the region of the major face 114 after the incision line 118 is closest to the barrier material 100, there is a tongue region 120a that is sized to prevent partial obstruction of the access aperture. Material 116 is separated from the remaining barrier material. During the processing and formation of the sealed enclosure around a batch of smoking articles, the interrupted or uncut regions 120 and the tongue regions 120a connect the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture to the remaining barrier material to prevent access. The window opening is opened before being opened by the consumer. Without the interruption 120 and the tongue region 120a, the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture may be detached by the barrier material and/or may allow moisture and air to enter and exit the sealing enclosure to affect the quality of the enclosed smoking article. .

The tongue regions 120a also help to coat the cover layer 104 and help to avoid the need to remove portions of the barrier material that form the access aperture 116. This facilitates the in-line production process and can be simply added to the overlay.

To facilitate complete removal of the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture from the barrier layer, a cover layer 104 is applied to the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture to overlap all of the edges. The cover layer 104 is typically in the form of a label, typically a film made of plastic, and coated with a permanent adhesive on the underside, that is, a permanent adhesive material that allows it to adhere to the barrier layer and can be re-used by the user when desired. stick on. The cover layer 104 extends beyond the edge of the aperture defined by the scribe line 118 and onto the rear major surface 114 of the barrier material. The cover layer 104 overlaps and adheres to the barrier material in the region outside the incision line 118 and adheres to a portion of the barrier material 116 that defines the access aperture. The portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture has sufficient adhesion such that when the cover layer 104 is removed from the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture, the portion of the barrier material 116 can be simultaneously stripped from the barrier material.

When the cover layer is peeled off by the barrier material, the size of the tongue region 120a is not sufficient to ensure that the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture and the barrier material are layered. Hold the connection. Moreover, the size of the edge of the cover layer 104 superimposed on the rear major surface 114 is less than the corresponding overlap of the cover layer 14 of FIG. The relatively reduced length dimension (which may be 8 mm) of the edge of the overlay layer 104 overlying the back major surface 114 facilitates easy removal of the entire cover layer 104 and the portion of the barrier material 16 defining the access aperture by the barrier material layer. If the edge overlap of the cover layer 104 is the same as that of the cover layer 14 of FIG. 1, the edge overlaps the main surface of the barrier material to maintain sufficient adhesion and may cause damage to the barrier layer when the user attempts to remove the cover layer. Obvious damage. The consideration of the length dimension of the tongue region 120a and the edge of the relatively reduced cover layer 104 overlying the rear major surface 114 may result in complete removal of the cover layer 104 while minimizing or reducing the risk of tearing or otherwise damaging the barrier material layer.

The exploded view of Fig. 2A illustrates a scribe line 118 in the uncut region 120, wherein the scribe line is severed to provide a tab or sub-sheet that maintains the portion 116 in contact with the front major surface of the barrier material ( Pip) material. In order to remove a portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture from the adjacent barrier material, the uncut region 120 is broken by shear.

The exploded view of Fig. 2B illustrates the tongue region 120a in the score line 118. In the illustrated embodiment, the score line 118 is located on the rear major surface of the barrier material proximate the fold line 124. In an alternative configuration, the score line 118 can be collinear with the fold line 124. The linear extent of the tongue regions 120a along the score line 118 is less than the tongue region 20a illustrated in FIG. In order for the portion of the barrier material 116 defining the access aperture to be completely detachable from the cover layer 104, the tongue region 120a must be small enough to not be damaged or torn when separated from the remaining barrier material. On the contrary, the size of the tongue area 20a of the first figure is made to resist the defined access A portion of the barrier material 16 of the aperture is separated from the barrier material. The larger overlap of the trailing edge of the cover layer 14 in Figure 1 further resists the separation of the cover layer 14 from the barrier material. The separation of the cover layer 14 from the barrier material of Figure 1 is a forced removal of visible damage to the sealed enclosure.

A group of sealed smoking articles (generally indicated by reference numeral 300) illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 contains a group of cigarettes (not shown), optionally encased in a frame made of card material (not shown). Shown that the set of cigarettes and the desired frame are enclosed within a sealed enclosure 302 made of a layer of barrier material 303. The sheet-like barrier material 303 can be, for example, a metal/plastic laminate or a vacuum metallised plastic. Alternatively, a mono non-metallised plastics film having a high barrier property can be used. In addition, it is possible to use a paper laminate having sufficient barrier properties.

The seal enclosure 302 is formed from a rectangular blank of sheet-like barrier material as shown in FIG. The rectangular blank of sheet-like barrier material encases the set of cigarettes and frame, if any, so as to extend continuously (i.e., without gaps) from the front face 304 of the batch 300 over the top surface 305 to the back surface 306. . As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a sealed seam is formed on the side of the batch 300 (one of the two sides is indicated by reference numeral 307) and the bottom surface 308.

The seal enclosure 302 is provided with an access/removal aperture defined by a barrier material 320 and bounded by a broken line 309 in FIG. The aperture defined by the portion of barrier material 320 extends from the top surface 305 of the batch 300 to the front surface 304 and is bounded by a broken line 309 (which is a cut line or a line of weakness). The sealing enclosure 302 is further provided with The adhesive layer is applied to the back, top and front cover layers 310 of the enclosure 302 for covering and extending beyond all edges of the aperture defined by the portion of barrier material 320. The overlap of the edges of the cover layer 310 on the back side of the enclosure 302 is such that the cover layer 310 is removed from the enclosure 302 by no more than a portion of the cover layer 310 covering the barrier material 320 at the enclosure 302. The resistance provided by the top and front.

Outside of the dashed line 309 defining the aperture defined by the portion of barrier material 320 is a continuous region of permanent adhesive that is the outermost edge of the cover layer 310, the dashed line 309, and the cover layer 310. The upper edge or fold line of the sheet 315 is bounded.

The adhesive is used to secure the cover layer 310 to a portion of the barrier material 320 that defines the access aperture. The adhesive can be a permanent adhesive and facilitates complete removal of the cover layer 310 and a portion of the barrier material 320 defining the access aperture. In order to facilitate grasping, the pull tab 315 does not adhere to the underlying barrier material 303.

After the consumer opens the cigarette batch 300, in order to obtain the cigarette therein, the consumer grasps the pull tab 315 and pulls it up and pulls it outward. This action by the consumer can strip the cover layer 310 of the barrier material 303. Since the portion of the barrier material 320 defining the access aperture is the adhesive cover layer 310, this action simultaneously causes a portion of the barrier material 320 defining the access aperture to be along with the barrier material 303 extending from the break line 309 and to the outside thereof. The broken line 309 is separated.

Since the incision line 309 includes a plurality of tongue regions (not shown) that are spread along the incision line, they are small enough to initially extend the portion of the barrier material 320 defining the access aperture from the broken line 309. The barrier material 303 to the outside remains connected, but is allowed when the cover layer 310 of the barrier material 303 is peeled off Separating, the consumer can completely remove the cover layer and the portion of the barrier material 320 that defines the access aperture without damaging the remaining barrier material 303. Thereafter, the consumer may choose to re-cover the cover layer 310 with the seal enclosing material 302, or throw it away and no longer use it. Likewise, the overlap of the cover layer 310 with the edge of the back side of the seal enclosure 302 has a length dimension that allows the underlying barrier material 303 to remain intact after removal of the cover layer 310.

The same features in FIGS. 5 and 6 as those in FIGS. 3 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In an alternative configuration of FIG. 6, overlay 310 includes a score line or a line of weakness 330. The score line 330 extends the full width of the cover layer 310 between the lateral edges. The score line 330 is suitably parallel to the lateral edges of the cover layer 310 and the upper edge of the back of the enclosure 302.

After the cover layer 310 is peeled off, the cover layer 310 is divided into two portions 310A and 310B along the cut line 330. Portion 310B is irreversibly separated from portion 310A and sealing enclosure 302. After the portion 310B is removed, the portion 310A of the cover layer is still secured to the back of the sealed enclosure. In this manner, the consumer removes the major portion of the cover layer 310 and completely removes the portion of the barrier material 320 defining the access aperture from the sealed enclosure 302, leaving a portion that is associated with the rear surface of the enclosure 302. Cover layer 310A.

The cigarette batch 300 can be used as a smoking article package somewhat similar to the conventional soft cup package, however, if there is an inner frame, the cigarette batch 300 may be significantly harder than the conventional soft cup package. .

An alternative mode of using the cigarette batch 300 is that the cigarette batch 300 is snugly disposed within the outer body portion much like, for example, a so-called link cover package. This smoking article package is shown in Figure 7. In this specific embodiment The cover portion 400, which is configured to pivot the outer body portion rearward, can completely remove the cover layer 310 of the cigarette batch 300, and of course also includes the removable tab 315. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, the lower edge of the cover layer 310 on the back side of the sealing enclosure 302 will be above the pivot axis 402 of the outer body portion thereby completely removing the cover layer 310. Alternatively, if the cover layer 310 has a transverse cut line 330, the cut line 330 will be above the pivot axis 402 of the outer body portion thereby completely removing the cover layer 310. Therefore, it is preferred that the cover layer is coincident with the pivot axis or a little above the pivot at the lower edge of the back of the package. However, in other embodiments, to some extent, the cover layer may extend below the pivot axis (although the cover layer may still be removed).

Thus, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations are possible in the specific embodiments described. For example, although the invention has been generally described in the context of packaging cigarettes, the invention is applicable to a wide range of smoking articles, such as cigars, smokeless tobaccos, and the like. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents.

1‧‧‧Barrier material

2‧‧‧ front main face

4‧‧‧ After the main face

6‧‧‧ top surface

8‧‧‧ bottom end

10,12‧‧‧ side

14‧‧‧ Coverage

16‧‧‧Partial barrier material

18‧‧‧cut line

20‧‧‧Uncut area

20a‧‧‧ tongue area

22‧‧‧ pleats

100‧‧‧ Barrier material

104‧‧‧ Coverage

106‧‧‧ top surface

112‧‧‧ front main face

114‧‧‧Main face

116‧‧‧Blocking materials

118‧‧‧cut line

120‧‧‧Uncut area

120a‧‧‧ tongue area

124‧‧‧ fold line

300‧‧‧A batch of sealed smoking articles

302‧‧‧Seal enclosure

303‧‧‧ Barrier material

304‧‧‧ front

305‧‧‧ top surface

306‧‧‧Back

307‧‧‧ side

308‧‧‧ bottom

309‧‧‧Drag line

310‧‧‧ Coverage

310A, 310B‧‧‧Parts

315‧‧‧ pull-up

320‧‧‧ Barrier material

330‧‧‧cut line

400‧‧‧ cover part

402‧‧‧ pivot axis

1 is a top plan view of a conventional barrier layer; FIG. 1A is an exploded cross-sectional view of a portion of the barrier layer shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a specific embodiment of the barrier layer of the present invention; And Fig. 2B is an exploded cross-sectional view of a portion of the barrier layer shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is a front upper perspective view of a package of sealed smoking articles; and Fig. 4 is a lower rear perspective view of the smoking article package of Fig. 3; Figure 5 is a front upper perspective view showing a package of sealed smoking articles in accordance with an alternative configuration of the present invention; and Figure 6 is a lower rear perspective view of the smoking article package of Figure 5, which is an alternative configuration of the cover layer; Figure 7 is a front upper perspective view of one embodiment of a smoking article package of the present invention, wherein the smoking article seal packages of Figures 3 and 5 are in the outer portion of the link cover.

100‧‧‧ Barrier material

104‧‧‧ Coverage

106‧‧‧ top surface

112‧‧‧ front main face

114‧‧‧Main face

116‧‧‧Blocking materials

118‧‧‧cut line

120‧‧‧Uncut area

120a‧‧‧ tongue area

124‧‧‧ fold line

Claims (31)

A smoking article package comprising a sealing enclosing material made of a barrier material, the barrier material surrounding a plurality of smoking articles, a smoking article access window defined in the barrier material, and an extension over the a cover layer that accesses the aperture and extends beyond the edge of the access aperture, and has a permanent adhesive surface overlying the barrier material on the fully openable edge of the cover layer, the cover layer being configured to cover the cover layer At least a portion of the layer is completely removable from the package, wherein one of the barrier materials defines the smoking article access aperture and the portion is defined by a line of cuts extending through the entire thickness of the barrier material, The incision line forms a closed pattern and is blocked by a plurality of uncut tongue regions along the incision line such that the portion of the barrier material defining the smoking article access aperture is An uncut tongue region is coupled to the barrier material, each uncut tongue region having a length such that the uncut tongue region is susceptible to breakage to allow removal of the barrier material defining the smoking article access window The portion of the barrier material is not torn away from the access aperture, and each uncut tongue region is spaced apart from an adjacent uncut tongue region along the line of tangent This length is much longer than each of the uncut tongue regions. The smoking article package of claim 1, wherein the cover layer is engageable with a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture and is separable from a portion of the barrier layer defining the access aperture The seal is removed. A smoking article package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover layer is entirely detachable from the sealed enclosure. The smoking article package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealed enclosure around the batch of smoking articles is a closure comprising two major faces, two sides and two end faces. The smoking article package of claim 4, wherein the sealed enclosure is contained in an outer body portion. The smoking article package of claim 1, wherein the cover layer comprises a plurality of separable portions, and a main portion of the cover layer can be with the portion of the barrier material defining the access window from the smoking The object package is removed. The smoking article package of claim 6, wherein the portions of the cover layer are separable along a cut line or a line of weakness. The smoking article package of claim 7, wherein the incision line or the weakening line of the cover layer extends across the side of one side of the smoking article access window across the full width of the cover layer. The smoking article package of claim 8, wherein the side of the smoking article access window is a lateral edge. The smoking article package of claim 6, wherein the cover portions are separable to provide a removable cover portion and a fixed cover portion. The smoking article package of claim 10, wherein the fixed portion of the cover layer is separated from the removable portion of the cover layer Still attached to the sealed enclosure. The smoking article package of claim 10, wherein the fixed portion of the cover layer is located on a rear main surface of the sealed enclosure. The smoking article package of claim 7, wherein the incision line or the weakening line of the cover layer is adjacent to an edge of the seal enclosing material between the rear main surface and the top end surface. The smoking article package of claim 13, wherein the incision line or the weakening line of the cover layer is located at an edge between the rear main surface and the top end surface of the sealing enclosure. The smoking article package of any one of clauses 10 to 14, wherein the fixed portion of the cover layer is a barrier material attached to the seal enclosure with a permanent adhesive. The smoking article package of claim 10, wherein the fixing portion of the covering layer is adhered to the sealing material of the sealing enclosure by using the same permanent adhesive applied to the other overlapping faces of the covering layer. And the incision line is relatively easy to break compared to the degree of adhesion of the fixed cover layer to the underlying barrier material. A smoking article package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion of the barrier material defining the access aperture is completely detachable from the sealing enclosure. A smoking article package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover layer is provided with a tongue which is not connected to the barrier material of the sealed enclosure. Such as the smoking article package of claim 18, wherein the tongue The film has no adhesive. A smoking article package according to claim 18, wherein the tongue comprises a fading agent which neutralizes the adhesive properties of the adhesive applied to the tongue. The smoking article package of claim 4, wherein the smoking article access aperture is configured to extend from a top end face of the sealing enclosure to a front major face of the sealing enclosure. The smoking article package of claim 21, wherein the covering layer extends from the rear major surface of the sealing enclosure over the top surface to the front major surface. The smoking article package of claim 21, wherein the cover layer extends to the rear major surface to have an edge overlap region with the barrier material of the rear major surface. A smoking article package according to claim 23, wherein the edge overlap region extends from an edge of the sealing envelope adjacent to the top end surface and the rear main surface to a lower edge of the cover layer. The smoking article package of claim 23, wherein the edge overlap region extends from the edge of the sealing envelope adjacent to the top end surface and the rear main surface to a lower edge of the cover layer from 1 mm to 12 The distance of millimeters. A smoking article package of claim 25, wherein the distance is in the range of 2 mm to 8 mm. A smoking article package as claimed in claim 26, wherein the distance is in the range of 5 mm to 7 mm. The smoking article package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the length of the tongue region along the incision line or the weakening line is less than 3 mm. The smoking article package of claim 28, wherein the tongue regions are less than 1 mm along the length of the cut line. A smoking article package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tongue regions are evenly distributed around the closed figure. For example, in the smoking article package of claim 1 or 2, there are 2 to 12 tongue areas.