WO2013190568A4 - A package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism - Google Patents

A package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013190568A4
WO2013190568A4 PCT/IN2013/000358 IN2013000358W WO2013190568A4 WO 2013190568 A4 WO2013190568 A4 WO 2013190568A4 IN 2013000358 W IN2013000358 W IN 2013000358W WO 2013190568 A4 WO2013190568 A4 WO 2013190568A4
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
package
amended
cigarette
casing
air
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IN2013/000358
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2013190568A1 (en
Inventor
Chitra GOWTHAMAN
Paul SHUKLA
Abraham MALINI
Original Assignee
Gowthaman Chitra
Shukla Paul
Abraham MALINI
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Gowthaman Chitra, Shukla Paul, Abraham MALINI filed Critical Gowthaman Chitra
Publication of WO2013190568A1 publication Critical patent/WO2013190568A1/en
Publication of WO2013190568A4 publication Critical patent/WO2013190568A4/en

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24F—SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES
    • A24F15/00—Receptacles or boxes specially adapted for cigars, cigarettes, simulated smoking devices or cigarettes therefor
    • A24F15/12—Receptacles or boxes specially adapted for cigars, cigarettes, simulated smoking devices or cigarettes therefor for pocket use
    • A24F15/14—Receptacles or boxes specially adapted for cigars, cigarettes, simulated smoking devices or cigarettes therefor for pocket use with appliances for releasing a single cigar or cigarette
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D5/00—Rigid or semi-rigid containers of polygonal cross-section, e.g. boxes, cartons or trays, formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper
    • B65D5/42—Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
    • B65D5/72—Contents-dispensing means
    • B65D5/724—Internal fittings facilitating the discharge of contents, e.g. guiding panels, movable bottoms or lifting strips
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
    • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles
    • B65D85/08—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular
    • B65D85/10—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes
    • B65D85/1009—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes provided with proffering means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2203/00—Decoration means, markings, information elements, contents indicators
    • B65D2203/12—Audible, olfactory or visual signalling means

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism, which comprises a partition member affixed to the inner surface of the casing space to split the casing space into multiple air-tight chambers, pushing members each inserted and placed into each chamber, and a cover member composed of tearing portions located and positioned in relation to the respective chambers, wherein after inserting the smoking articles into the respective chambers to rest on the pushing members, the cover member is air-tightly affixed to the casing member to seal the open top face of the casing member in such a way that the smoking articles in the respective chambers are forcibly pressed against resilient action of the respective pushing members to be in a compressed state in each chamber. Thus, the package of the present invention is capable of maintaining freshness of the tobacco/smoking articles by preventing exposure of the smoking articles retained inside the package to atmospheric air/contaminant/moisture/temperature, and automatically lifting the smoking articles from the package casing.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 10 january 2014 (10.01.2014)
1. A package (1000) for smoking articles (500), comprising:
a casing member (100) having a front, back, two side and bottom sections (102, 104, 106, 108, 110) that are arranged to define a space (101) for accommodating multiple smoking articles (500), where the casing space (101) is accessed through an open top face of the casing member (100); and
a lid member (150) having a front, back, two side and top sections (152, 154, 156, 158, 160), hingedly attached to the casing member (100) in such a way that the lid member (150) is movable with respect to the casing member (100) for opening and enclosing the top face of the casing member (100);
characterized in that an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism, comprising:
at least one partition member (10) formed of a primary sheet layer (12) and a plurality of secondary sheet layers (14), and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space (101) by inserting through the open face of the casing member (100) to split the casing space (101) into multiple independent air-tight chambers (101a);
a plurality of pushing members (20, 20a) each inserted and placed into each chamber (101a) to rest on the bottom section (110) of the casing member (100) in such a way that at least one smoking article (500) is rested on each pushing member (20, 20a),
at least one cover member (30) composed of a plurality of extended portions (38) and a plurality of tearing portions (32) that are respectively located and positioned in relation to the chambers (101a) of the casing member (100),
wherein after inserting the smoking articles (500) into the respective chambers (101a) to rest on the pushing members (20, 20a), the cover member (30) is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member (100) through the extended portions
(38) and the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers (12, 14) are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member (100) in such a way that each smoking article (500) is arranged to be independently air-tight in each chamber (101a) and forcibly pressed against resilient action of the respective pushing members (20, 20a) to be in a compressed state in each chamber (101a).
2. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein once the tearing portions (32) are separated from the cover member (30), the upward resilient force exerted by the pushing members (20, 20a) automatically lifts up the smoking articles (500) from the chambers (101a) in the casing member (100) for easy access of the smoking articles (500) by the user.
3. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein each pushing member (20, 20a) is arranged with a resting portion (22, 22a) and a resilient portion (24, 24a) that are attached to each 21
other to make the pushing members (20, 20a) being positioned in a compressed state and an uncompressed state with respect to the bottom section (110) of the casing member (100).
4. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one end of the resilient portion (24, 24a) of each pushing member (20, 20a) is attached to the lower surface of the resting portion (22, 22a), whereas other end of the resilient portion (24, 24a) is rested on or affixed to the inner surface of the bottom section (110) of the casing member (100).
5. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resting portion (22, 22a) of each pushing member (20, 20a) is formed as a flat sheet structure on which the smoking articles (500) are rested inside the package (1000).
6. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the resilient portion (24, 24a) of each pushing member (20, 20a) is formed as a zigzag or springy structure to accumulate resilient force in it while compressing for automatic upward lifting of the smoking articles (500) rested on the resting portion (22, 22a) of each pushing member (20, 20a) to a desired height with respect to the top face edge of the casing member (100).
7. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 6, wherein the tearing portions (32) of the cover member (30) are formed as perforated tearing portions, where the perforation (36) of the tearing portions (32) is made in such a way to withstand the upward resilient force exerted by the pushing members (20, 20a) when the pushing members (20, 20a) are in compressed state.
8. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration of each chamber (101a) in the casing member (100) is formed to accommodate at least one smoking article (500).
9. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each secondary layer (14) of the partition member (10) is intersected on the primary sheet layer (12) in an upright position, in particular perpendicular to the surface of the primary sheet layer (12).
10. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an inner wrapper attached to the inner surface of the casing space (101) of the casing member (100), so that the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers (14) are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the wrapper.
11. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each tearing portion (32) is provided with an extended protrusion (34) on its upper side so that the tearing portions (32) are separated from the cover member (30) by manually pulling its extended protrusions (34).
12. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pad filled with menthol is attached at the lower surface of the cover member (30) to maintain the smoking articles (500) with menthol flavor inside the package (1000). 22
13. A package (1000) for smoking articles (500), comprising:
a casing member (100) having a front, back, two side and bottom sections (102, 104, 106, 108, 110) that are arranged to define a space (101) for accommodating multiple smoking articles (500), where the casing space (101) is accessed through an open top face of the casing member (100); and
a lid member (150) having a front, back, two side and top sections (152, 154, 156, 158, 160), hingedly attached to the casing member (100) in such a way that the lid member (150) is movable with respect to the casing member (100) for opening and enclosing the top face of the casing member (100);
characterized in that an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism, comprising:
at least one partition member (10) formed of a primary sheet layer (12) and a plurality of secondary sheet layers (14), and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space (101) by inserting through the open face of the casing member (100) to split the casing space (101) into multiple independent air-tight chambers (101a);
a plurality of lifting members (40) each located and positioned inside each chamber (101a) to rest on the bottom section (110) of the casing member (100) in such a way that at least one smoking article (500) is rested on each lifting member (40),
at least one cover member (30) composed of a plurality of extended portions (38) and a plurality of tearing portions (32) that are respectively located and positioned in relation to the chambers (101a) of the casing member (100) such that at least a portion of each lifting member (40) is respectively attached to at least a portion of each tearing portion (32) of the cover member (30),
wherein after inserting the smoking articles (500) into the respective chambers (101a) to rest on the respective lifting members (40) to be in a lowered state in each chamber (101a), the cover member (30) is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member (100) through the extended portions (38) and the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers (12, 14) are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member (100) in such a way that each smoking article (500) is arranged to be independently air-tight in each chamber (101a).
14. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, wherein once the tearing portions (32) are separated from the cover member (30), the lifting members (40) are pulled upwards by further pulling the tearing portions (32) to manually lift up the smoking articles (500) from the respective chambers (101a) in the casing member (100) for easy access of the smoking articles (500) by the user.
15. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13 or 14, wherein each lifting member (40) is arranged with a resting portion (42) and a strip portion (44) that are attached to each other to make the 23
lifting members (40) being positioned in a lowered state and a raised state with respect to the bottom section (110) of the casing member (100).
16. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the resting portion (42) of each lifting member (40) is formed as a flat sheet structure on which the smoking articles (500) are rested inside the package (1000).
17. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein one end of the strip portion (44) of each lifting member (40) is attached to at least a portion of the resting portion (42), whereas other end of the strip portion (44) of each lifting member (40) is attached to at least a portion of the lower side of each tearing portion (32) of the cover member (30).
18. The package (1000) as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein after separating the tearing portions (32) from the cover member (30), the strip portions (44) of the lifting members (40) are pulled upwards using the tearing portions (32) for manual upward lifting of the smoking articles (500) rested on the resting portions (42) of the lifting members (40) to a desired height with respect to the top face edge of the casing member (100).
19. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the configuration of each chamber (101a) in the casing member (100) is formed to accommodate at least one smoking article (500).
20. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, wherein each secondary layer (14) of the partition member (10) is intersected on the primary sheet layer (12) in an upright position, in particular perpendicular to the surface of the primary sheet layer (12).
21. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, further comprising an inner wrapper attached to the inner surface of the casing space (101) of the casing member (100), so that the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers (12, 14) of the partition member (10) are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the wrapper.
22. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the tearing portions (32) of the cover member (30) are formed as perforated tearing portions.
23. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, wherein each tearing portion (32) is provided with an extended protrusion (34) on its upper side so that the tearing portions (32) are separated from the cover member (30) by manually pulling its extended protrusions (34).
24. The package (1000) as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a pad filled with menthol is attached at the lower surface of the cover member (30) to maintain the smoking articles (500) with menthol flavor inside the package (1000).

24

Statement under Article 19(1)

In view of the documents (Dl to D5) cited in the International Search Report:

(i) Claims 1 to 28 have been amended by inserting the reference numerals in support with the Figures 1-10;

(ii) Amended Claim 1 is a combination of the features of original claim 1, 10 and 12;

(iii) Amended Claim 13 is a combination of the features of original claim 15, 23 and 26;

(iv) Original Claims 9 and 22 are amended;

(v) Original Claims 2-8, 11, 13, 14, 16-21, 24, 25, 27 and 28 are unchanged; and

(vi) Original Claims 10, 12, 23 and 26 are cancelled, and accordingly remaining claims have been renumbered and dependency changed.

The amended claims 1 to 24 are inventive over the cited documents Dl to D5. The distinguishing features of the present invention in relation to the cited documents Dl to D5 are as follows:

1. Comparative Analysis of US2,812,057 A (Dl) & PCT/IN2013/000358

The cited document Dl (US 2,812,057 A) is closer prior art to the present invention and relates to a unique container or package for cigars or cigarettes. The objective of Dl focuses on the drawback of prior art packages or container which are hard to open and hard to keep air out after being opened (refer column 1 lines 18-19). In Dl, a plurality of individual tubular receptacles 12 is provided to accommodate each cigarette individually in it (refer column 1 lines 53-55), and a flexible strip 14 whose one end is attached to a portion 20 of the top of the cigarette case. In Dl, it is very clearly suggest that only the flexible strip 22 of each portion 20 is adhesively secured to the side (outside or external top surface) of the package 10 (refer column 1 lines 61-63), which points out that the adjacent portions 20 for the respective adjacent tubular receptacles 12 is just placed one above the other. From Fig.l of Dl, it is seen that two adjacent receptacles 12 having cigarette are individually secured using the respective sidewise adjacent portions 20 that are directly placed one above the other at its end portions. Alternatively, even in case of, the sidewise adjacent portions 20 are adhesively secured to one above the other at its end portions, which is neither disclosed nor suggested in D 1.

In D 1 , still the disadvantage is that when the user wants to tear the strip 22 of one portion 20 to remove the cigarette from one of the receptacles 12, it will damage other adjacent portion 20 covering other adjacent receptacle 12, which makes the cigarette in the adjacent receptacle 12 to be exposed to outside, i.e. freshness of this cigarette will get lost. Further, according to the teachings of D 1 , it is very difficult for the user to remove the strip 22 of one portion 20 without damaging the adjacent portion 20, which burden the user more.

Whereas, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "at least one partition member 10 formed of a primary sheet layer 12 and a plurality of secondary sheet layers 14, and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space 101 by inserting through the open face of the casing member 100 to split the casing space 101 into multiple independent airtight chambers 101a (refer original claim 1)" are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited 25

document Dl. In Dl there are plurality of individual tubular receptacles 12 for the cigarette (refer column 1 lines 52-53).

Further, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "the cover member 30 is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member 100 through the extended portions 38 of the cover member 30 (refer originally filed claim 12 and Fig. 3), the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member to make each chamber of the package to be in air-tight manner (refer originally filed claim 10)", are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D 1.

With this present invention, the air-tight affixation of the cover member as well as the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers with the inner surface of the casing member, provides cent percent air-tight protection to the cigarette, which maintains the freshness of each cigarette. Further, the tearing portions in the cover member are independently arranged with one another, which allows the user to easily tear the tearing portions without affecting the freshness of the adjacent cigarette, which is not achieved by the cited document Dl. Therefore, the characterized features of the amended principle claim 1 of the present invention are inventive over the prior art document D 1.

Also, in Dl, the portions 20 covering the individual cigarette are directly exposed to atmosphere. Whereas, in the present invention, the cover member already provides air-tight protection to the cigarettes and additionally, the lid member covering the cover member provides further moisture protection to the cigarettes in the package.

In D 1 , the strips 22 have serrated edges 24 for easy tearing off of the portion 20 (refer column 1 lines 63-64), which makes the adjacent receptacle 12 being partly exposed to the external moisture affecting the freshness of the cigarette contained in it. However, in the present invention, the tearing portions in the cover member are independently arranged with one another, which allows the user to easily tear the tearing portions without affecting the freshness of the adjacent cigarette.

Further, in Dl, the strip 14 whose one end is fastened by scotch tape 30 to the cork tip end CI of the cigarette (refer column 2 lines 6-8). This will damage the cork tip end of the cigarette while removing the cigarette from the package as well as also unnecessary burden to the user for removing the attached strip in the cigarette when the user wants to smoke it. Whereas, in the present invention, there is no such scotch tape or strip is directly attached to the cigarette. Thus, the features claimed in the amended claims of the present invention will never make such damage to the cigarette as well as burden to the user.

Moreover, the features of original claim 1 "a plurality of pushing members 20, 20a each inserted and placed into each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each pushing member 20, 20a" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D 1. 26

Likewise, the arguments as mentioned above also apply for amended independent claim 13. Further, the features of amended claim 13 "a plurality of lifting members 40 each located and positioned inside each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each lifting member 40" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D 1.

Therefore, it is concluded that the characterized features of the amended claims 1 and 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document Dl and the features of claims 2 to 12 and 14 to 24 being dependent on the amended claims 1 and 13, respectively are also neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document Dl and as such the present invention as claimed in the amended claims 1 to 24 is inventive as compared to prior art document D 1.

2. Comparative Analysis of EP 2 366 638 Al (D2) & PCT/IN2013/000358

The cited document D2 (EP 2366638 Al) relates to a package of cigarettes with a pull-up tape. Firstly, D2 is not a relevant prior art to the present invention since D2 never taught or suggest the air-tight protection claimed in the present invention. D2 specifically teaches about to simplify removal of the first cigarette from the group with the help of pull-up tape since the cigarettes inside the package are difficult to remove due to lateral pressure on the group of cigarettes (refer paragraph [0004]). In particular, D2 mainly discloses about the pull-up tape used to remove the first cigarette from the package, which loosens the group of cigarettes inside the package, i.e. relax the lateral pressure on the group of cigarettes, in order to facilitate the user to manually and easily remove other cigarettes from the package. Thus, D2 is proved to be not a relevant prior art to the present invention, which could not be combined with D 1.

Whereas, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "at least one partition member 10 formed of a primary sheet layer 12 and a plurality of secondary sheet layers 14, and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space 101 by inserting through the open face of the casing member 100 to split the casing space 101 into multiple independent airtight chambers 101a (refer original claim 1)" are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2.

Further, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "the cover member 30 is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member 100 through the extended portions 38 of the cover member 30 (refer originally filed claim 12 and Fig. 3), the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member to make each chamber of the package to be in air-tight manner (refer originally filed claim 10)", which are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2.

Moreover, D2 discloses a whole a rigid packet of cigarettes comprising a cup-shaped outer container 2 of rigid cardboard; and an inner package 3 housed inside container 2 (refer column 2 lines 43-46). Such features have not been claimed in the present invention. 27

Furthermore, the features of original claim 1 "a plurality of pushing members 20, 20a each inserted and placed into each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each pushing member 20, 20a" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2.

Likewise, the arguments as mentioned above also apply for amended independent claim 13. Further, the features of amended claim 13 "a plurality of lifting members 40 each located and positioned inside each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each lifting member 40" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2.

Therefore, it is concluded that the characterized features of the amended claims 1 and 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2 and the features of claims 2 to 12 and 14 to 24 being dependent on the amended claims 1 and 13, respectively are also neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D2 and as such the present invention as claimed in the amended claims 1 to 24 is inventive as compared to prior art document D2.

3. Comparative Analysis of US 2,071,167 (D3) & PCT/IN2013/000358

Similar to the cited document D2, the cited document D3 (US 2,071,167 A) is not a relevant prior art to the present invention since D3 never taught or suggest the air-tight protection claimed in the present invention. D3 specifically teaches about the invention which allows the user readily to grasp the projecting end of the partially ejected first cigarette (removal of first cigarette) when the package is opened. It eliminates the unsatisfactory practice of tapping the package endwise to shake loose the first cigarette, or to grip the end of the cigarette with the fingernails to loosen the first cigarette.

In particular, D3 specifically discloses about a cigarette package having a spring 17 that is interposed between the end of one of the cigarettes 16 and one of the end walls 18 of the package. The spring 17 ejects the cigarette 16 to a suitable extent to permit the ready removal of the first cigarette, which loosens the group of cigarettes inside the package, i.e. relax the lateral pressure on the group of cigarettes, in order to facilitate the user to manually and easily remove other cigarettes from the package. Thus, D3 is proved to be not a relevant prior art to the present invention, which could not be combined with D 1 and D2.

Whereas, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "at least one partition member 10 formed of a primary sheet layer 12 and a plurality of secondary sheet layers 14, and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space 101 by inserting through the open face of the casing member 100 to split the casing space 101 into multiple independent airtight chambers 101a (refer original claim 1)" are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D3.

Further, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "the cover member 30 is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing 28

member 100 through the extended portions 38 of the cover member 30 (refer originally filed claim 12 and Fig. 3), the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member to make each chamber of the package to be in air-tight manner (refer originally filed claim 10)", which are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D3.

Moreover, the features of original claim 1 "a plurality of pushing members 20, 20a each inserted and placed into each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each pushing member 20, 20a" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D3.

Therefore, it is concluded that the characterized features of the amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D3 and the features of claims 3 to 6 being dependent on the amended claim 1 are also neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D3 and as such the present invention as claimed in the amended claims 1 and 3 to 6 is inventive as compared to prior art document D 1.

4. Comparative Analysis of US 1,224,996 A (D4) & PCT/IN2013/000358

The cited document D4 (US 1,224,996 A) discloses a cigarette box that is provided with a sealing cover to maintain the article in good condition and in semi-airtight compartments. In particular, D4 specifically teaches a blank 18 in which a longitudinal line of perforations 19 being formed and extending throughout the length of the blank as well as transverse perforations 20 intersect the perforations 19 forming cover sections 21 (refer column 2 lines 66-71). To extract the cigarette from the box, one of the tabs 22 is grasped and one of the sections 21 is removed from the blank 18 along one of the lines of perforations (refer column 2 lines 84-87). Further, the blank 18 is provided with gummed portions 23 along the margins and the perforations 19 (refer column 2 lines 78-81; Fig.4), which points out that the blank 18 is just placed on the transverse perforations 20, and thus it will allow moisture to easily enter into the adjacent cigarette when the user removes one of the sections 21.

In D4, still the disadvantage is that when the user wants to tear one of the sections 21 of the blank 18 to remove the cigarette from the box, it will damage other adjacent sections 21 covering other adjacent cigarette, which makes the cigarette to be exposed to outside, i.e. freshness of this cigarette will get lost. Further, according to the teachings of D4, it is very difficult for the user to remove one of the sections 21 from the blank 18 without damaging the adjacent sections 21, which burden the user more, i.e. the adjacent perforations 20 as well as the adjacent perforations 19 will get disturbed when the user tears one of the sections 21, which makes the adjacent cigarette to lose its freshness as it is exposed to outside atmosphere. Thus, D4 is proved to be not a relevant prior art to the present invention, which could not be combined with Dl, D2 and D3.

Whereas, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "at least one partition member 10 formed of a primary sheet layer 12 and a plurality of secondary sheet layers 14, and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space 101 by inserting through the 29

open face of the casing member 100 to split the casing space 101 into multiple independent airtight chambers 101a (refer original claim 1)" are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D4.

Further, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "the cover member 30 is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member 100 through the extended portions 38 of the cover member 30 (refer originally filed claim 12 and Fig. 3), the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member to make each chamber of the package to be in air-tight manner (refer originally filed claim 10)", which are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D4.

In addition, the present invention teaches about that the tearing portions in the cover member are independently arranged with one another, which allows the user to easily tear the tearing portions without affecting the freshness of the adjacent cigarette, which is not achieved by the cited document D4. Also, in D4, the blank 18 covering the individual cigarette are directly exposed to atmosphere. Whereas, in the present invention, the cover member already provides air-tight protection to the cigarettes and additionally, the lid member covering the cover member provides further moisture protection to the cigarettes in the package.

Moreover, the features of original claim 1 "a plurality of pushing members 20, 20a each inserted and placed into each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each pushing member 20, 20a" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D4.

Likewise, the arguments as mentioned above also apply for amended independent claim 13.

Therefore, it is concluded that the characterized features of the amended claims 1 and 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D4 and the features of amended claims 9 & 10 and claims 20 & 21 being dependent on the amended claims 1 and 13, respectively are also neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D4 and as such the present invention as claimed in the amended claims 1, 9, 10, 13, 20 and 21 is inventive as compared to prior art document D4.

5. Comparative Analysis of GB 2467971A (D5) & PCT/IN2013/000358

Similar to the cited documents D2, D3 and D4, the cited document D5 (GB 2467971 A) is not a relevant prior art to the present invention since D5 never taught or suggest the air-tight protection claimed in the present invention. D5 specifically teaches about a pack for tobacco industry products with a pull strip 32 extends towards the bottom edge 33B of the front face of the main body 2, where the region 32B of the lowermost edge of the pull strip 32 overlies a carrier in the form of a pad 34 impregnated with menthol flavourant, which is attached to the inside of the front face 33 of the main body (refer page 4 lines 17-20). Thus, the menthol can be released from the pad into the pack after opening by the user. However, the menthol flavourant passed to the left out cigarettes in the pack is lesser compared to the first cigarette of the pack during initial 30

opening. Thus, the menthol flavourant for all the unused cigarettes in the pack is unsatisfactory due to exposure of this menthol flavourant to the atmosphere after initial opening of the pack.

Whereas, in the present invention, the menthol pad is attached at the lower surface of the cover member to independently and individually provide the menthol flavourant to each cigarette in the pack. Even in case, the user tries to take out one of the cigarette (with menthol flavor) from the pack, which will never affect the menthol flavor provided on the adjacent cigarette, which is not achieved by the cited document D5. Thus, D5 is proved to be not a relevant prior art to the present invention, which could not be combined with Dl to D4.

Whereas, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "at least one partition member 10 formed of a primary sheet layer 12 and a plurality of secondary sheet layers 14, and affixed to the inner surface of the casing space 101 by inserting through the open face of the casing member 100 to split the casing space 101 into multiple independent airtight chambers 101a (refer original claim 1)" are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D5.

Further, the amended claim 1 of the present invention is characterized with the features of "the cover member 30 is air-tightly affixed at the inner surface of the open top face of the casing member 100 through the extended portions 38 of the cover member 30 (refer originally filed claim 12 and Fig. 3), the edges of the primary and secondary sheet layers are air-tightly affixed to the inner surface of the casing member to make each chamber of the package to be in air-tight manner (refer originally filed claim 10)", which are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D5.

Moreover, the features of original claim 1 "a plurality of pushing members 20, 20a each inserted and placed into each chamber 101a to rest on the bottom section 110 of the casing member 100 in such a way that at least one smoking article 500 is rested on each pushing member 20, 20a" in combination of the characterizing of amended claim 1 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D5.

Likewise, the arguments as mentioned above also apply for amended independent claim 13.

Therefore, it is concluded that the characterized features of the amended claims 1 and 13 are neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D5 and the features of amended claims 12 and 24 being dependent on the amended claims 1 and 13, respectively are also neither disclosed nor suggested by the cited document D5 and as such the present invention as claimed in the amended claims 1, 12, 13 and 24 is inventive as compared to prior art document D5.

6. SYNOPSIS

The package for cigarettes as disclosed in the cited documents (Dl to D5) are all not under the concept of cent percent air-tight package and lifting mechanism and as such total contrast to that employed in the International Application No. PCT/IN2013/000358. 31

It is of utmost important to note that the invention covered by PCT/IN2013/000358 relates to a package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism capable of automatically lifting the smoking articles and also maintaining freshness of the smoking articles by preventing exposure of the smoking articles retained inside the package to atmospheric air/contaminants/moisture/temperature, with the help of airtight multiple chambers. None of the cited documents (Dl to D5) provides cent percent air-tight locking and lifting mechanism which is achieved by the characterizing of amended claim 1 and 13.

In addition, according to PCT/IN2013/000358, the invention provides even more than cent percent air-tight package due the feature lid member 150.

The invention covered by PCT/IN2013/000358 employs a package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism, which is simple and easy to manufacture and to assemble with the existing package of smoking articles in a cost effective manner.

Therefore, from the distinguishing features of the present invention (covered by PCT/IN2013/000358) over the cited references D1-D5 elaborately identified and discussed in the comparative analysis 1-5, Dl is directed at an approach to the problem that is completely different from that of the present invention approach (covered by PCT/IN2013/000358). Therefore, the skilled person starting from Dl would not find any hint or suggestion to amend the teachings of Dl in a manner that would bring him to the characterized features of the amended set of claims of the present invention (covered by PCT/IN2013/000358). Therefore, the skilled person would not be able to come to the characterized features of the amended set of claims of the present invention (covered by PCT/IN2013/000358) based only on the teachings of Dl alone or in combination with the cited documents D2 as well as in combination with other cited documents D3-D5.

In particular, it is clarified that D1-D5 do not teach or suggest all technical features of amended principle claims 1 and 13 of the present invention (covered by PCT/IN2013/000358), which are applicable to solve the problem of the present application. In any case, in view of the teaching of the prior art documents D1-D5, the skilled worker would not prompt to have arranged them in the manner necessary to reach all the features of the claim 1.

Therefore, it is concluded that the claimed invention is inventive over the cited references Dl- D5. As all the dependent claims 2-12 and 14-24 depend from and are referred back to the principle claims 1 and 13, respectively, thus the dependent claims involve inventive step implicitly at least for the same reasons in connection with the principle claims 1 and 13.

PCT/IN2013/000358 2012-06-21 2013-06-06 A package for smoking articles having an air-tight locking and lifting mechanism WO2013190568A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IN2456CH2012 2012-06-21
IN2456/CHE/2012 2012-06-21

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WO2013190568A4 true WO2013190568A4 (en) 2014-02-27

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CN108367859A (en) * 2015-12-23 2018-08-03 菲利普莫里斯生产公司 Sealing container for distributing the consumer goods

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US2071167A (en) * 1933-08-16 1937-02-16 William W Kellett Cigarette package
US2491617A (en) * 1948-10-09 1949-12-20 John L Lebach Cigarette case
US2812057A (en) * 1953-07-07 1957-11-05 Charles F Brownfield Unique container or package
US2803376A (en) * 1953-08-03 1957-08-20 Kampff Arthur Matchless cigarette pack
US3108711A (en) * 1961-07-19 1963-10-29 Evan J Anton Cigarette package with an ejector strip for each cigarette
US4444308A (en) * 1983-01-03 1984-04-24 Sealright Co., Inc. Container and dispenser for cigarettes
BRPI0506010A (en) 2005-12-22 2007-10-02 Souza Cruz Sa cigarette packaging
US20090084694A1 (en) 2007-09-28 2009-04-02 Erdinc Agirbas Cigarette Packet With Tab
GB2467971A (en) * 2009-02-24 2010-08-25 British American Tobacco Co Pack for tobacco industry products
IT1398821B1 (en) * 2010-03-16 2013-03-21 Gd Spa PACKAGING OF CIGARETTES WITH EXTRACTION RIBBON AND CORRESPONDING METHOD OF WRITING AND PACKAGING MACHINE.
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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN108367859A (en) * 2015-12-23 2018-08-03 菲利普莫里斯生产公司 Sealing container for distributing the consumer goods
CN108367859B (en) * 2015-12-23 2020-08-11 菲利普莫里斯生产公司 Sealed container for dispensing consumer goods

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