WO2016016376A1

WO2016016376A1 - Pack with closure mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2016016376A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/067522
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin Greene
Original assignee: Jt International Sa
Priority date: 2014-08-01
Filing date: 2015-07-30
Publication date: 2016-02-04

Abstract

A pack for smoking articles comprising: a body made of a substantially flexible material, having a front wall and a rear wall connected to each other by side walls and a bottom wall, the front wall, rear wall and side walls defining a top opening opposite the bottom wall; a lid made of a substantially flexible material, for closing the opening of the body, comprising a lid front wall and a rear wall connected by side walls and a lid top wall, the lid being articulated between a closed position and an open position about a hinge connecting the rear wall of the body and the rear wall of the lid; and a closure mechanism having a female part and a male part arranged in the body and the lid respectively or having a female part and male part arranged in the lid and body respectively, wherein the female and male part are configured to engage with each other to retain the lid in the closed position, wherein at least one of the female and male parts comprises plastic material.

Description

PACK WITH CLOSURE MECHANISM

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pack with a closure mechanism. In particular, the invention relates to a pack with a closure mechanism for consumable products, particularly cigarettes.

Background to the Invention

Many examples of packs have been known for containing various consumable products. Examples include packs comprising pressure-sensitive adhesives, slider zipper assemblies or squeeze-openable mechanisms.

Packs having a re-closable hinge-lid have also been known for packaging cigarettes. In such hinge-lid packs, mostly constructed out of a folded cardboard blank, a lid is hinged onto a wall of a pack body defining a container accommodating a bundle of cigarettes, which are accessible to a user through a top opening of the body. The lid is pivotable about the hinge onto the pack body between a closed position preventing access to the pack top opening and an open position allowing access to said top opening to remove cigarettes from the pack. To maintain the lid in the closed position, the pack usually comprises an inner frame extending from the body and delimiting at least partly the top opening. Upon closure, inner sides of the lid engage with outer sides of the inner frame, and the lid is maintained in the closed position by means of friction forces against the inner frame.

A regular shortcoming of existing hinge-lid packs is that the friction forces maintaining the lid in the closed position over the inner frame decrease as the pack is emptied of its content. As a consequence, the lid tends to sit slightly open with respect to the body in the closed position, a phenomenon known as "pack smiling". Such phenomenon is increased by eventual deformation of the pack when constrained by non-linear space, such as that defined by the inside of a user's garment, in particular with packs showing non square angles (round corner pack and bevelled packs for example). This can result in the contents of the pack escaping from the pack in an undesirable manner as well as leaving an aesthetically displeasing pack. In addition, when the pack contains tobacco products, the tobacco tends to dry out resulting in a less desirable smoking experience for the consumer.

Solutions to this known drawback of hinge-lid packs have been proposed in the prior art, most of them relying on the provision of locking parts arranged in the cardboard blank forming the pack, such locking parts often comprising at least a pivotable tab or flap extending from the front panel of the pack body or inner frame and engaging in or against edges of a cut-out or folded panels in the lid of the pack.

However, such prior art solutions are not totally satisfactory. Indeed, they are often either too efficient or not efficient at all for the purpose of maintaining the lid in the closed position. In the former case, users struggle to open the lid manually, leading them to often partially tear off parts of the lid or locking mechanism upon opening. In the latter case, the locking parts do not retain the lid in the closed position and users are left with floppy packs, with useless locking parts.

Accordingly, there is a clear need for a pack having an improved closure mechanism for maintaining the pack in a closed configuration when it is not in use by a consumer. In order to solve the problems posed by the prior art, the present invention provides a re-closable pack for smoking articles comprising:

a body made of a substantially flexible material, having a front wall and a rear wall connected to each other by side walls and a bottom wall, the front wall, rear wall and side walls defining a top opening opposite the bottom wall;

a lid made of a substantially flexible material, for closing the opening of the body, comprising a lid front wall and a rear wall connected by side walls and a lid top wall, the lid being articulated between a closed position and an open position about a hinge connecting the rear wall of the body and the rear wall of the lid; and a closure mechanism having a female part and a male part arranged in the body and the lid respectively or having a female part and male part arranged in the lid and body respectively, wherein the female and male part are configured to engage with each other to retain the lid in the closed position,

wherein at least one of the female and male parts comprises plastic material.

The body and the lid are, preferably, made of the same substantially flexible material. Preferably, such flexible material is cardboard.

The female part may be connected directly to the front side wall of the body, when the male part is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. Alternatively, the male part may be connected to the front side wall of the body, when the female part is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. Preferably, the male part is the part of the closure mechanism which is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall and the female part is the portion of the closure mechanism which is connected to the front side wall of the body. Preferably, at least one of the male and female parts comprises a substantially flat base and at least one protruding member extending from the flat base. More preferably, both the female part and the male part have a flat base and a protruding member extending from the base. It is preferred that the at least one protruding member extending from the female part is resiliently biased, such that it can engage with the male part. The male part may also be resiliently biased, for engagement with the female part.

Preferably, the female part has at least one, preferably one, recessed portion to receive and engage with at least a portion of the male part. The recessed portion may form/is part of the protruding member. Alternatively, the female part may comprise two protruding members, wherein the recessed portion is located between the two protruding members. The male part may comprise a protruding member in the form of a stem having an engagement part arranged distally from the base, wherein the engagement part can engage reversibly with the female part, preferably with the recessed portion of the female part. Alternatively, the male part may comprise a hinged blade extending from the base, the blade preferably being flexible, i.e., such that the flexible blade is capable of bending so that it can engage with the recessed portion of the female part. In other words, the male part comprises a protruding member. As will be appreciated, the female part and the male part may both have at least one, preferably one, protruding member. As already mentioned, the female part is preferably connected to the front side wall of the body and the male part is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. In this case, it will be understood that the protruding member of the male part extends inwards of the lid, i.e., extends from the inner side wall of the lid front wall, such that it is capable of engagement with the protruding member of the female part, wherein the protruding member of the female part extends from the front side wall of the body. The advantage of both the female and male part both having protruding members, such that the protrusion is in opposite directions, as described in this paragraph, is that an efficient closure mechanism is provided.

Preferably, the front side wall of the pack has an aperture. When the female part is connected to the front side wall of the pack, the protruding member protrudes through the aperture. The protruding member extends through the aperture such that it is capable of engaging with the male portion connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. When the male part is connected to the front side wall of the pack, the protruding member of the male part extends through the aperture such that it is capable of engaging with the female part connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. Therefore, the planar face of the base of the female or male part that comprises the portion for engagement is connected to the inner side wall of the front side wall of the pack. The use of an aperture in this way provides support for the part of the closure mechanism that is attached to the front side wall of the pack, so that when the closure mechanism is pulled open by a user, the portion of the closure mechanism is less likely to be detached from the pack.

Preferably, the pack of smoking articles further comprises an inner frame. The inner frame extends vertically from the front side wall of the body. The inner frame is connected to the body by way of an adhesive. In this embodiment, the male or female part may be connected to the front side wall of the inner frame, the front side wall being opposite the rear side wall of the body. Most preferably, the female part is connected to the front side wall of the inner frame and the male part is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. Preferably, the inner frame is made of cardboard.

When the pack further comprises an inner frame, preferably the inner frame comprises an aperture instead of the front side wall of the pack. When the female part is connected to the front side wall of the inner frame, the protruding member protrudes/extends through the aperture such that it is capable of engaging with the male part connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. When the male part is connected to the front side wall of the inner frame, the protruding member of the male part extends through the aperture such that it is capable of engaging with the female part connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall. Therefore, the planar face of the base of the female or male part that comprises the protruding member is connected to the inner side wall of the front side wall of the inner frame. The use of an aperture in this way provides support for the portion of the closure mechanism which is attached to the front side wall of the pack, so that when the closure mechanism is pulled open by a user, the portion of the closure mechanism is less likely to be detached from the pack.

Preferably, the female part is connected to the inner frame, as described above, i.e., the protruding member of the female part extends through an aperture in the inner frame such that the planar face of the base of the female part having the protruding member is connected to the inner side wall of the front side wall of the inner frame. When the female part is connected to the inner frame, the male part is of course connected to the inner side wall of the front side wall of the lid.

The cross-sectional area of the base of the female or male portion of the closure mechanism is larger than the cross-sectional area of the aperture. This means that, when connected to the front side wall of the pack having an aperture or when connected to the front side wall of the inner frame having an aperture, the base forms a seal around the aperture. The protruding members of the female and male parts are substantially the same dimensions as one another. In addition, the protruding members are substantially the same length as the horizontal distance of the aperture when the pack is in an upright position. "Length" in this context is to mean the direction parallel to the bottom side wall of the pack.

The pack is preferably made from cardboard and at least one of the female and male parts is made from a plastics material. The other part can also be made from a plastics material. Alternatively, it may be made from cardboard. For example, when the male part is a hinged blade, it is preferably made from cardboard.

The female and male portions of the closure mechanism may be connected to the pack using an adhesive. Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pack for smoking articles with an open lid and a closure mechanism, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a close-up, side view of a closure mechanism, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is an exploded view of an inner frame for a pack of smoking articles and part of the closure mechanism. Figure 4 is a perspective view of a pack for smoking articles with an open lid and closure mechanism, also showing a close-up, side view of a closure mechanism, in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 5 is a close-up side view of an alternative part of the closure mechanism.

Figure 1 shows a re-closable pack 1 comprising a body 1 1 and a lid 12 and the closure mechanism of the present invention, the closure mechanism having a female portion 14b and a male portion 14a. Body 1 1 comprises a plurality of side walls 1 10, 1 1 1 , 1 14, a bottom end wall 1 12 (not visible) and an open top end 1 13. Lid 12 is provided to close the open top end 1 13 of the body 1 1 . Lid 12 comprises a lid front wall 121 on the side of the lid substantially opposite a lid hinge 13 connecting the lid to a rear side wall 1 14 of the body 1 1 . The lid further comprises lid side walls 122. Lid rear wall 123 is not essential and the lid hinge 13 may optionally be formed directly between rear side wall 1 14 of the pack and top wall 124 of the lid. A number of intermediate side walls 1 1 1 may be disposed between the front wall 1 10 and the rear wall 1 14 of the pack, in any number, to form a pack of a desired shape. For example, as an alternative to the form illustrated in Figure 1 , where a single pair of opposing intermediate side walls 1 1 1 is provided to give the pack a regular box-shaped form, a plurality of intermediate side walls 1 1 1 may be provided in order to give the pack a substantially oval-shaped form when viewed from its bottom wall 1 12 or looking into the open top end 1 13 of the body 1 1 . Other numbers of intermediate side walls 1 1 1 may be provided to provide other outer shapes to the box as appropriate. Front side wall 1 10 is substantially opposite rear side wall 1 14.

In Figure 1 , the male part 14a is connected on the inner side of the lid front wall 121 , and the female part 14b is connected to the front side wall of an inner frame 1 1 a. It is to be understood that the male and female parts can be interchanged. However, they are preferably arranged in accordance with the embodiment shown in Figure 1 . The front side wall of the inner frame 1 1 a is located substantially opposite the rear side wall 1 14 of the pack. Front side wall of the inner frame 1 1 a is located such that the female part 14b may engage with the male part 14a, located on an inner side of the lid front wall 121 .

The dashed lines in Figure 1 represent portions of the inner frame 1 1 a which are not visible. The circles 16 indicate attachment of gluing points, where the inner frame 1 1 a may be attached to the front side wall 1 10 and a side wall 1 1 1 .

Figure 2 illustrates the closure mechanism in a closed configuration, when viewed from the side. In this Figure, the base 142a, stem 141 a and the engagement portion 143a of the male part 14a, and the base 142b and protruding resiliently biased member 141 b of the female part 14a can be seen. As illustrated, the engagement portion 143a and the protruding resiliently biased member 141 b are shaped such that they are capable of reversible engagement with each other. The female part 14b comprises a recessed portion 143b with which the engagement portion 143a is able to engage. The aperture 15 for receiving the male or female part 14a/14b of the closure mechanism is also depicted in Figure 2. In the Figure, the protruding and resiliently biased member 141 b of the female part 14a protrudes through the aperture 15. As will be described with reference to Figure 3, the aperture 15 is preferably in the inner frame 1 1 a. It will be understood, of course, that the stem 141 a and engagement portion 143a of the male portion may protrude through the aperture 15 instead of the protruding, resiliently biased member 141 b of the female part.

Figure 3 depicts an inner frame 1 1 a, which can be used with a pack according to the present invention. In this Figure, the aperture 15 for receiving the male or female portion of the closure mechanism can be seen more clearly.

Figure 4 illustrates a further closure mechanism of the present invention in a closed configuration. In this Figure, the male part 14a comprises a base 142a and a hinged blade 144a. The male part is connected to the inner side of the lid front wall 121 . The hinged blade 144a can be made from plastic or cardboard. The female part 14b is the same as the female part 14b illustrated in Figure 2, and is connected to the inner frame 1 1 a by protrusion through aperture 15 such that the face of the base 142b having the protruding, resiliently biased member 141 b is adhered to the inner side of the front wall of the inner frame 1 1 a.

Figure 5 illustrates part of a closure mechanism according to the present invention. In this Figure, only the female part 14b is shown and the male part 14a has been excluded. The female part 14b comprises two protruding members 141 b defining a recessed portion 143b therebetween. The recessed portion 143b is capable of receiving a male part (not shown). The male part can be the same as that depicted in Figure 2 or Figure 4. In other words, the male part may comprise a stem and an engagement portion (in accordance with Figure 2) or the male part may be a hinged blade (as shown in Figure 4).

In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 5, the female part 14b is connected to an inner frame 1 1 a of the pack 1 1 , and the male part 14a is connected to the inner side wall of the lid front wall 121 . Inner frame 1 1 a is optional and the female part 14b may be directly adhered to the front side wall 1 10 if desired. The inner frame 1 1 a may be attached to the front side wall of the body by using an adhesive, as described with reference to Figure 1 .

Claims

1 . A pack for smoking articles comprising:

a lid made of a substantially flexible material, for closing the opening of the body, comprising a lid front wall and a rear wall connected by side walls and a lid top wall, the lid being articulated between a closed position and an open position about a hinge connecting the rear wall of the body and the rear wall of the lid; and

a closure mechanism having a female part and a male part arranged in the body and the lid respectively or having a female part and male part arranged in the lid and body respectively, wherein the female and male part are configured to engage with each other to retain the lid in the closed position,

wherein at least one of the female and male parts comprises plastic material.

2. The pack according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the female and male parts comprises a plastic strip.

3. The pack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the female and male parts comprises a substantially flat base and at least one protruding member extending therefrom.

4. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the female part comprises at least one recessed portion to receive and engage with at least a portion of the male part.

5. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the female part comprises at least one protruding member.

6. The pack according to claim 5, wherein the at least one protruding member is resiliently biased, such that it can engage with the male part.

7. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein both the female part and the male part have a substantially flat base and at least one protruding member extending from the flat base.

8. The pack according to claim 5, wherein the female part comprises two protruding members spaced from each other, wherein the recessed portion is positioned between the protruding members.

9. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the male part comprises a protruding member in the form of a stem having an engagement part capable of reversible engagement with the female part, such that in use the closure mechanism retains the pack in a closed configuration.

10. The pack according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the male part comprises a flexible hinged blade.

1 1 . The pack according to any preceding claim, wherein the body further comprises an inner frame attached on inner faces of the front wall and side walls of the body and extending vertically from the front wall of the body.

12. The pack according to claim 1 1 , wherein one of the female part and the male part is arranged in the front wall of the body or a front wall of the inner frame, and one of the female part and the male part is arranged in an inner side of the lid front wall.

13. The pack according to claim 1 1 or 12, wherein the female or male part of the closure mechanism protrudes through an aperture in the front wall of the body or the front wall of the inner frame, such that the base of the male or female part is applied to an inner face of the front wall of the body or to inner face of front wall of the inner frame.

14. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the female part and the male part are connected to the body or inner frame and the lid of the pack using an adhesive.

15. The pack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body and the lid are made of the same substantially flexible material, preferably wherein the substantially flexible material is cardboard.

16. A pack according to any preceding claim, wherein the pack is made out of cardboard.

17. A pack according to claim 16, wherein the male part comprises a cardboard flexible blade extending on an inner side of the lid front wall.