WO2009020383A1

WO2009020383A1 - Package for smoking articles and blank therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2009020383A1
Application number: PCT/NL2007/000324
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harold Hendricus Bernardus Franciscus Peters; Patrick Tensen
Original assignee: Gestel Holding B.V.
Priority date: 2007-08-08
Filing date: 2007-12-21
Publication date: 2009-02-12

Abstract

The present invention relates to a package for smoking articles, comprising a container portion (1a) having a central part and an upright circumferential (1a1) edge, which circumferential edge (1a1) forms an opening for introducing the smoking articles into the container portion, a closing portion (1a) having a central part and an upright circumferential wall (1b1), as well as a strip-shaped neck element (1c), which neck element (1c) is provided along part of the circumferential edge (1a1) of the container portion (1a), whilst the closing portion (1b) abuts against the circumferential edge (1a) of the container portion (1a) with its circumferential edge in the closed position of the package, wherein said container portion (1a), said closing portion (1b) and said neck element (1c) form part of one blank, from which the package can be assembled.

Description

PACKAGE FOR SMOKING ARTICLES AND BLANK THEREFOR

DESCRIPTION The invention relates to a package for smoking articles, comprising a container portion having a central part and an upright circumferential edge, which circumferential edge forms an opening for introducing the smoking articles into the container portion, a closing portion having a central part and an upright circumferential wall, as well as a strip-shaped neck element, which neck element is provided along part of the circumferential edge of the container portion, whilst the closing portion abuts against the circumferential edge of the container portion with its circumferential edge in the closed position of the package.

At present packages for smoking articles, such as cigarettes and cigars, are manufactured by machines, during which process the various parts of which a package is eventually formed are conveyed along a conveying path towards several processing stations, where the various parts of the package are subjected to several operations. Said operations may concern the cutting to size or the folding of the parts as well as the joining together of the various parts of the package, the application of labels, etc. Since various adhesives are used during the forming of the cigar packages, a finished package is not immediately ready for packaging cigars therein. The package, which is still too moist, would thus disturb the relative humidity of the cigars, which would adversely affect the quality of the smoking articles.

Thus the packages formed must be stored elsewhere for a relatively long period of time, one to two days, in order to thus decrease the moisture content of the packaging material. After this comparatively long drying period, the packages can subsequently be filled with the cigars by mechanical means. Thus, the current production technology has a relatively long lead time before the package, filled with smoking articles, finds its way to the customer. Because of the drying period of one to two days, the packaging manufacturer is constantly confronted with a stock of packages having too high a moisture content, which need to remain in a storage space for a certain period of time in order to dry.

Another thing is that the packaging method in which the package is assembled from various parts is usually complex and, because several parts are supplied, includes an inordinate number of operations. What is more, an inordinate amount of space is taken up for the further processing or transportation of the formed packages to the location where they are to be filled with the smoking articles, resulting in unnecessarily high transport costs. It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a package as referred to in the introduction, which on the one hand requires fewer manufacturing steps but which, in addition, can be transported to the end user in the form of a semi-finished product of minimum dimensions, which significantly reduces the transport costs. According to the invention, the package is to that end characterised in that said container portion, said closing portion and said neck element form part of one blank, from which the package can be assembled. In this way it is no longer necessary to supply several parts separately to the packaging device, where said parts are to be combined to form a package. Forming the package according to the invention from one blank not only reduces the transport costs significantly, but in addition the process of obtaining a package is significantly accelerated and simplified.

According to the invention, the embodiment is to that end characterised in that the container portion and the neck portion form a substantially rectangular blank portion, whilst the neck element is configured as a blank lip projecting from the rectangular blank portion.

More in particular, the blank lip forming the neck element extends in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular blank portion. Thus the package can be assembled in one operation, with the blank lip functioning as a neck element. According to specific embodiments, the package according to the invention is characterised in that the rectangular blank portion is provided with two first fold lines extending in the longitudinal direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two longitudinal sides thereof, and in that the rectangular blank portion is provided with two second fold lines extending in the transverse direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two lateral sides thereof.

In functional embodiments, the rectangular blank portion is furthermore provided with two third fold lines extending in the transverse direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two lateral sides thereof, which third fold lines are located between the second fold lines. In this way the package can be folded together along the various first, second and third fold lines in an efficient manner.

According to the invention, one of said third fold lines may be cut open from the two longitudinal sides up to the first fold lines, and the first fold lines are furthermore each cut open from the cut-open portion of the third fold line up to the other third fold line.

More specifically, the package according to the invention is characterised in that the second fold line directly adjacent to the cut-open third fold line is cut open from the two longitudinal sides up to the first fold lines, wherein the blank section formed by the cut-open second and third fold line and the first fold line is provided with a fourth fold line extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, which fourth fold line is spaced from the longitudinal sides and from the first fold line by an equal distance.

To fit the blank lip in the assembled package in an efficient manner, said blank lip may according to the invention be provided with a fifth fold line, which is spaced from the free end thereof by a distance equal to the distance between the longitudinal side and the first fold line. The projecting blank lip may be provided with a sixth fold line, which coincides with the lateral side of the rectangular blank portion. The invention also relates to a blank for assembling a package according to the invention.

The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to a drawing, in which:

Figures 1a and 1b show a first embodiment of a package according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a blank from which a package according to the invention can be assembled;

Figures 3a-3b show a second embodiment of a package according to the invention; Figures 4a-4b show a third embodiment of a package according to the invention; and

Figures 5a-5b show a fourth embodiment of a package according to the invention.

Like parts as shown in the various Figures will be indicated by the same reference numerals in the description of the Figures below.

In Figures 1a and 1 b, but also in Figures 3a-3b, 4a-4b and 5a-5b, reference numeral 1 indicates an assembled package according to the invention for smoking articles. It should be noted that the term "smoking articles" is understood to mean cigarettes as well as cigars.

The package 1 is built up of a container portion 1a, which has a central part and an upright circumferential edge 1a1 , in which the smoking articles can be contained. A closing portion 1 b is connected to the container portion 1a by means of a hinge 1', which closing portion likewise has a central part and an upright circumferential edge 1b1. The package according to the invention also comprises a strip-shaped neck element 1c, which is provided along part of the circumferential edge 1a1 of the container portion 1a.

Although Figures 1a and 1 b show the package 1 in the open position thereof, the closing portion 1 b abuts against the circumferential edge 1a1 of the container portion with its circumferential edge 1b1 in the closed position of the package. The smoking articles are thus fully enclosed within a package.

Upon opening the package, the closing portion 1b can be simply moved up by hand, pivoting about the film hinge V via which it is connected to the container portion. From the package thus opened, the user can remove a smoking article (cigarette or cigar) contained in the container portion 1a, which operation can be simplified by the recess 1 d formed in the neck element 1 c.

Figure 2 discloses a blank from which the package as shown in Figures 1a-1 b can be assembled in one operation. It is apparent that the package, unlike the prior art, is made of only one part. Not only does this simplify the process of assembling the package, but it also reduces the transport costs, because only flat blanks need to be transported to the location where they are to be assembled to form a package.

The blank portion 1' has longitudinal sides 10a-10b and lateral sides 11a-11 b. According to the invention, the container portion 1a and the closing portion 1 b form a substantially rectangular blank portion, whilst the neck element 1 c is configured as a blank lip projecting from the rectangular blank portion. As is clearly shown in Figure 2, the neck element 1 c extends in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular blank portion.

The rectangular blank portion is provided with two first fold lines 21 a-21b extending in the longitudinal direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two longitudinal sides 10a-10b thereof. Said fold lines form the fold line for the upright circumferential edge 1a1-1b1 (edge portions IaI₁-IaI₃ and 1 b1_r1b1₃) both for the container portion 1a and for the closing portion 1b. As shown in Figure 2, the rectangular blank portion is provided with two second fold lines 22a-22b extending in the transverse direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the lateral sides 11a-11b thereof. Said fold lines, too, form part of the bent-over circumferential edges 1a1-1 b1 (edge portions 1a1₂ and 1 b1₂, respectively).

Figure 2 furthermore shows third fold lines 23a-23b, which likewise extend in the transverse direction of the blank portion, equally spaced from the two lateral sides 11a-11 b. It will be apparent that the third fold lines 23a-23b are located between the second fold lines 22a-22b. The third fold line 23a forms a folding edge of the upright circumferential edge 1a1 (edge portion 1a1₄) of the container portion 1a, whilst the fold line 23b forms the film hinge 1', being the hinge connection between the container portion 1a and the closing portion 1 b.

To form the upright edge 1a1 of the container portion 1a, one of the third fold lines, more in particular the third fold line 23a, is cut open from the two longitudinal sides 10a-10b up to the first fold lines 21a-21b. Said cut-open portion of the third fold line 23a is indicated by reference numerals 23a'-23a". Likewise, the first fold lines 21a-21 b are each cut open from the cut-open portions 23a'-23a" of the third fold line 23a up to the other third fold line 23b. The cut-open portions of the first fold lines 21a-21 b are indicated by reference numerals 21a¹ and 21 b', respectively, in Figure 2.

Likewise, the second fold line 22a directly adjacent to the cut-open third fold line 23a are cut open from the two longitudinal sides 10a-10b up to the first fold lines 21a-21 b. Said cut-open portions are indicated by reference numerals 22a'-22a" in Figure 2.

To form the circumferential edge 1 b1 of the closing portion 1 b, fourth fold lines 24a-24b are provided in longitudinal direction in the blank section formed by the cut-open second and third fold line 22a'-23a' and 22a"-23a", respectively. Said fourth fold line 24a-24b is spaced from the first fold line 21a-21 b and from the longitudinal sides 10a-10b by an equal distance.

As shown, the blank lip 1c is provided with a fifth fold line 25 and with a sixth fold line 26, which coincides with the lateral side 21 b of the rectangular blank portion. The part 21 b" of the first fold line 21 b is cut open from the lateral side

11b up to the second fold line 22b.

Upon forming the package, the circumferential edge 1a1 of the container portion is folded along the fold lines 21a, 22b and 21b, and also about the fold line 23b. The blank lip 11c, together with the circumferential edge portion 1a1₂, forms the neck element. Said neck elements may be provided with the recess 1c1 , as shown in Figure 1.

To form the closing portion 1 b, the circumferential edge portions

I bI ₁-I bI₂-I bI₃ are folded along respective fold edges 21a-22a-21 b, with the fold line 23a functioning as a film hinge 1 '. The circumferential edge portions 1 b1 _r1b1₃ are glued to the circumferential edge portions IaI₁-IaI₂₁ after which the fold line

24a-24b is cut open. Thus the closing portion 1 b can be pivoted up along the fold line 23a-1' for opening and closing the package thus formed.

Figures 3a-3b, 4a-4b and 5a-5b show three further embodiments in which the circumferential edges 1a1-1 b1 are provided with bevelled edges 1b1'-1a1 '

(Figures 3a-3b). In Figures 4a-4b, the closing portion 1 b is provided with a slightly forwardly positioned film hinge 1 ', so that the closing portion 1 b has a flat portion 1 b¹ that does not pivot along. The edges 1 b1 ' and 1a1' of the closing portion and the container portion, respectively, are straight edges in that embodiment. In Figures 5a-5b, said edges 1a1'-1 b1" extend at an angle.

Claims

1. A package for smoking articles, comprising a container portion having a central part and an upright circumferential edge, which circumferential edge forms an opening for introducing the smoking articles into the container portion, a closing portion having a central part and an upright circumferential wall, as well as a strip-shaped neck element, which neck element is provided along part of the circumferential edge of the container portion, whilst the closing portion abuts against the circumferential edge of the container portion with its circumferential edge in the closed position of the package, characterised in that said container portion, said closing portion and said neck element form part of one blank, from which the package can be assembled.

2. A package according to claim 1 , characterised in that the container portion and the neck portion form a substantially rectangular blank portion, whilst the neck element is configured as a blank lip projecting from the rectangular blank portion.

3. A package according to claim 2, characterised in that the blank lip forming the neck element extends in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular blank portion.

4. A package according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the rectangular blank portion is provided with two first fold lines extending in the longitudinal direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two longitudinal sides thereof.

5. A package according to claim 4, characterised in that the rectangular blank portion is provided with two second fold lines extending in the transverse direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two lateral sides thereof.

6. A package according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the rectangular blank portion is furthermore provided with two third fold lines extending in the transverse direction of said blank portion, equally spaced from the two lateral sides thereof.

7. A package according to claim 6, characterised in that said third fold lines are located between the second fold lines.

8. A package according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that one of said third fold lines is cut open from the two longitudinal sides up to the first fold lines.

9. A package according to claim 8, characterised in that the first fold lines are each cut open from the cut-open portion of the third fold line up to the other third fold line.

10. A package according to claim 9, characterised in that the second fold line directly adjacent to the cut-open third fold line is cut open from the two longitudinal sides up to the first fold lines.

11. A package according to claim 10, characterised in that the blank section formed by the cut-open second and third fold line and the first fold line is provided with a fourth fold line extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, which fourth fold line is spaced from the longitudinal sides and from the first fold line by an equal distance.

12. A package according to any one of the claims 2-11 , characterised in that the projecting blank lip is provided with a fifth fold line, which is spaced from the free end thereof by a distance equal to the distance between the longitudinal side and the first fold line.

13. A package according to claim 12, characterised in that the projecting blank lip is provided with a sixth fold line, which coincides with the lateral side of the rectangular blank portion.

14. A blank for assembling a package according to any one or more of the preceding claims.