WO2016102557A1

WO2016102557A1 - Container with connected inner liner and corresponding packaging method

Info

Publication number: WO2016102557A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/080956
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arjen Hamilcar SLOOFF
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
Priority date: 2014-12-23
Filing date: 2015-12-22
Publication date: 2016-06-30
Also published as: EP3237301A1

Abstract

A container for consumer articles comprising a box portion with a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall and two box sidewalls extending between the box front wall and the box rear wall, and an inner liner which is partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles such that parts of the inner liner are overlapping, wherein the inner liner with the wrapped consumer articles is mounted within the box portion, wherein overlapping parts of the inner liner are connected to each other and wherein the inner liner is glued to the box portion at one or more points. The inner liner comprises an inner liner bottom wall, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, and an inner liner top wall. The widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall, or the depths of the inner liner sidewalls are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the depths of the box sidewalls. The invention is also directed to a method for preparing such containers.

Description

CONTAINER WITH CONNECTED INNER LINER AND CORRESPONDING PACKAGING METHOD

The present invention relates to a novel container for consumer articles. The container comprises a box portion and an inner liner wrapped around the consumer articles. The container of the present invention finds particular application as a container for elongate consumer articles.

It is known to package smoking articles and other consumer articles in containers formed from folded laminar blanks. Elongate smoking articles, such as cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars, are commonly sold in packs having a box for housing the smoking articles and in addition preferably a lid connected to the box about a hinge line extending across the rear wall of the container. Such hinge lid packs are typically constructed from laminar cardboard blanks. In use, the lid is pivoted about the hinge line to open the pack and so gain access to the smoking articles held in the box.

In some cases, there is a need to provide containers that are larger in size than the volume occupied by the consumer articles within the container. For example, a container manufacturer might wish to use a given pack for packing different kinds of consumer goods with different sizes or for packing different numbers of one and the same consumer goods. In both cases, this may result in there being empty space within the container so that the consumer articles are more likely to be displaced or shaken within the container during transport and before the container is opened.

In order to overcome this problem, GB 2 206 328 discloses a cigarette package comprising a planar spacer element which is located between the foil bundled cigarettes and the rear wall of the package to take up the space difference between the foil bundle and the box enclosure. The planar spacer has a thickness sufficient to take up the remaining space in the package and is as wide as the interior of the package.

It would be desirable to provide a novel container for consumer articles that substantially retains the consumer articles before the container is opened in position within the container, where the consumer articles occupy only a portion of the internal space of the container but without the need to insert a separate element into the container. It would be particularly desirable to provide such a novel container that can be readily produced without significant modification of existing container designs or packaging equipment.

According to the invention there is provided a container for consumer articles, the container comprising a box portion with a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall and two box sidewalls extending between the box front wall and the box rear wall. The container further comprises an inner liner which is partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles such that parts of the inner liner are overlapping, wherein overlapping parts of the inner liner are connected to each other. The inner liner with the wrapped consumer articles is mounted within the box portion, and is glued to the box portion at one or more points.

By connecting the overlapping parts of the inner liner together, the inner liner remains tightly wrapped around the consumer articles such that the consumer articles are retained in their initial position at least as long as the container is not opened. "Connecting" in the context of the present invention means that the parts are adhered to each other, for example, by gluing, sealing, bonding welding or any other suitable method known to the person skilled in the art.

By gluing the inner liner at one or more points to an inner wall of the box portion, the inner liner and, thus, the consumer articles are held at their position even if the tightly wrapped collation of consumer articles does not completely fill the internal volume of the container. This offers the advantage to use conventional containers for a variety of bundles of consumer articles, and in particular for bundles having smaller cross-section than the cross-section of box portion of the container.

A further advantage of the present invention is that conventional machine equipment can be used for manufacturing of the containers of the present invention. The equipment requires only minor modifications for adapting to the reduced size of the inner liner and for gluing the inner liner to the box portion of the container.

The inner liner is made of any suitable material and may be made from a laminate material, card board or paper material. The overlapping parts of the inner liner may be connected to each other by gluing, bonding or welding or any other suitable connecting method. The inner liner may have a base weight of below 50 grams per square meter, preferably of below 30 grams per square meter, and most preferably of below 22 grams per square meter.

In a further aspect of the invention the container for consumer articles comprises a box portion comprising a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall and two box sidewalls extending between the box front wall and the box rear wall, and an inner liner which is partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles. The inner liner is made of a material that is stiff enough such that the inner liner after being wrapped around the consumer articles essentially maintains its shape during normal shipping and storage conditions. The inner liner is glued to the box portion at one or more points.

By manufacturing the inner liner from rather stiff material, the inner liner will retain its original shape and stay tightly wrapped around the consumer articles even if the overlapping portions of the inner liner are not connected to each other. According to this aspect of the invention, the inner liner is made of a cellulosic material, such as a card board or a paper, a laminate, such as a laminate of a cellulosic or plastic material with a metal, a plastic material, preferably a cellulosic material, more preferably a paper or a cardboard material, with a base weight of above 49 grams per square meter, preferably of above 70 grams per square meter, and most preferably of above 85 grams per square meter.

Even if the inner liner is made from such stiff material the inner liner may still have overlapping parts that are connected to each other in order to ensure that the inner liner stays firmly wrapped around the consumer articles.

The stiffness of the material of the inner liner may be higher than 0.1 Gigapascals, higher than 1 Gigapascals, and in particular the stiffness may range between 2 Gigapascals and 4 Gigapascals. The stiffness may also be higher than 10 Gigapascals. The stiffness of the material can be chosen according to the desired retention capability of the inner liner and the weight of the products to be packed. The stiffness of the inner liner material can have lower values when overlapping parts of the inner liner are connected to each other.

The inner liner may be partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles with overlapping parts of the inner liner. The inner liner comprises an inner liner bottom wall, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, and an inner liner top wall. The inner liner top wall may be made from overlapping inner liner top wall flaps which are not connected to each other. The inner liner top wall may be partially removable from the rest of the inner liner, and one or both of the two inner liner sidewalls may be made from overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps which are connected to each other. When the inner liner comprises a top wall the consumer articles are retained in their initial position even more reliably. In order to facilitate access to the consumer articles the top wall or a top portion of the inner liner may be removable. To this end, weakening lines such as creasing lines may be provided at the inner liner. Upon first opening of the container, the consumer disconnects the top part of the inner liner from a lower part thereof.

The outer dimensions of the inner liner are smaller than the inner dimensions of the box portion of the container. The widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall can be at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall. The depths of the inner liner sidewalls can be at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the depths of the box sidewalls. The widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall and the depths of the inner liner sidewalls can be at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall and the depths of the inner liner sidewalls. The size of the inner liner can be adapted to the consumer articles that are to be packed within the container. In particular, if the consumer articles are cigarettes, a single size container can be used for packing differently sized bundle of products. The bundle may comprise smaller products or a lower number of products. By tightly wrapping the inner liner around the consumer products and by gluing the inner liner to the inside of the container, different sized bundles of consumer articles can be retained in their initial position.

The gluing between the inner liner and the box portion and, if present, between the overlapping connected parts of the inner liner is made by one, two or more glue spots or glue areas. Inner liner gluing can also be done by pre-applying glue spots on the inner liner or on at least one inner surface of the box portion of the container.

Suitable glues include waterbased glues, polyvinyl alcohol based glues, hot-melt adhesives and 2-component glues. Preferably the glues are in compliance with European Union, United States Federal Drug Administration and German BfR regulations. Such glues are available under the trade names "IpacoN" by Fuller or "TobacoH" by Henkel. The glue can be applied via nozzle, spray, disc, cylinder application.

The glue points may have a minimum strength of 0.2 Newton, preferably of 0.35

Newton and even more preferably of 0.5 Newton. If required the minimum strength of the glue points may even be higher than 2.0 Newton. The minimum strength is defined as the minimum force required for delaminating each glued point.

The container according to any preceding claim further comprising a lid portion comprising a lid top wall, a lid front wall, a lid rear wall and two lid sidewalls extending between the lid front wall and the lid rear wall, wherein the lid portion is connected to the box portion by a hinge line between the upper end of the box rear wall and the lower end of the lid rear wall so that the container can be opened and closed by moving the lid portion about the hinge line between a closed position and an opened position.

The box bottom wall may be located adjacent to the inner liner bottom wall, the box front wall and the lid front wall may be located adjacent to the inner liner front wall, the box rear wall and the lid rear wall may be located adjacent to the inner liner rear wall, the two box sidewalls and the two lid side walls may be located adjacent to the two inner liner sidewalls, and the lid top wall may be located adjacent to the inner liner top wall, and the gluing, if present, between the box portion and the inner liner may be achieved by gluing between the box bottom wall and the inner liner bottom wall, gluing between the box front wall and the inner liner front wall, gluing between the box rear wall and the inner liner rear wall, or gluing between one or both of the box sidewalls and one or both of the inner liner sidewalls, or any combination thereof.

The terms "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "side", "upper", "lower", "height", "width",

"depth" and other terms used to describe relative positions of the components of the container according to the invention refer to the container in an upright position with the consumer goods housed in the container and with an open end of the box portion at the top and the consumer goods accessible from the upper end at the front.

The consumer articles are preferably elongate smoking articles, such as cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars. More preferably, the consumer articles are cigarettes. Thus, the container of the invention is preferably a container for elongate smoking articles and more preferably a cigarette pack. However, containers in accordance with the present invention can also be used with a variety of consumer goods other than smoking articles.

As a result of the elongate nature of the preferred smoking articles it is similarly preferred that the height (corresponding to the distance between the lower end of the container, that is, the box bottom wall, and the upper end of the container, that is, if present the lid top wall) of the container of the invention is larger than the width (corresponding to, for example, the maximum distance between the box side walls) of the container of the invention. It is then also preferred that the width of the container of the invention is larger than the depth (corresponding to, for example, the maximum distance between the box front wall and the box rear wall) of the container of the invention.

The preferred cigarette pack of the invention is a hinged-lid pack. It will be appreciated that through appropriate choices of the dimensions of the inner liner, the cigarette packs according to the invention may be designed for different numbers of cigarettes of conventional size, king size, super-king size, slim or super-slim cigarettes, with diameters for the cigarettes ranging from 4 millimeters to 9 millimeters.

The present invention is also directed to a method for preparing a container comprising the steps of wrapping a plurality of single consumer goods, preferably cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars, more preferably cigarettes, into an inner liner to yield a wrapped collation bundle, placing the wrapped collation bundle onto a blank, folding the blank around the collation bundle to yield the container, applying glue material onto the inner surface of the blank, or onto the outer surface of the inner liner, or onto the inner surface of the blank and onto the outer surface of the inner liner, and applying conditions which lead to gluing between inner liner and blank.

The method may further comprise the additional steps of applying glue material or seal material onto part of the inner liner, and wrapping the consumer goods completely into the inner liner such that the inner liner tightly encloses the consumer goods with an inner liner top wall made from overlapping inner liner top wall flaps which are not connected to each other, the inner liner top wall being partially removable from the rest of the inner liner, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, an inner liner bottom wall and two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, the inner liner side walls being made from overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps, and applying conditions which lead to a connection between the overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps of one or both of the inner liner side walls.

All base weights mentioned in the subject application are determined according to ASTM D646 - 13 (in conjunction with ASTM D685 - 12).

The stiffness of the material used for the inner liner is determined according to ASTM

D790.

A preferred embodiment of the subject invention is the combination of the above- described preferred meanings. A particular preferred embodiment of the subject invention is the combination of the above-described more preferred meanings.

The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a cardboard blank for a conventional hinge lid pack for smoking products;

Figure 2 shows an inner liner connectable to the hinge lid pack of Figure 1.

Typical hinge lid packs used for packaging smoking products like conventional kingsize cigarette containers comprise a box portion 10 and a lid portion 30 and are formed from blanks as shown in Figure 1. The blank comprises a box front wall 12, a box bottom wall 14 and a box rear wall 16. The box front wall 12 comprises side flaps 18a, 18b that are glued to corresponding side flaps 20a, 20b of the box rear wall 16 thereby forming lateral box side walls. The lid portion 30 comprises a lid rear wall 32, a lid top wall 34 and a lid front wall 36. The lid rear wall 32 is hingedly connected to the box rear wall 16. Typically the material of such kingsize container blanks is cardboard with a base weight of 200 grams per square metre. The dimensions of the container are 86 millimeters x 22 millimeters x 55 millimeters.

Figure 2 shows a suitable blank for an inner liner to be mounted in the container obtainable form the blank of Figure 1 . The blank comprises three sections, a central section 40 and two section 60a, 60b. The inner liner comprises an inner liner front wall 42, a bottom wall 44 and a rear wall 46.

When folded around a collation of cigarettes, the central section 40 is wrapped around the lower part of the collation, while the sections 60a, 60b are wrapped around the upper part of the collation. The inner liner front wall 42 comprises side wall flaps 48a, 48b which overlap with corresponding side wall flaps 50a, 50b of inner liner rear wall 46. In use the inner liner is tightly wrapped around a collation of cigarettes such as to form a tightly wrapped bundle. In order to ensure that the inner liner remains tightly wrapped around the cigarettes the corresponding overlapping side wall flaps 48a, 48b and 50a, 50b are connected to each other by one glue point 52 at each side. The width and the depth of the tightly wrapped bundle obtainable by the inner liner blank of Figure 2 are 44 millimeters and 17.6 millimeters, respectively, and are thus about 20 percent smaller than the width and the depth of the kingsize container obtainable by the blank of Figure 1 . In order to prevent that the tightly wrapped bundle moves within the container during normal handling of container, the bundle is fixed to at least one wall of the box portion of the container. In Figure 1 the box front wall 12 comprises a glue point 54 with which the tightly wrapped bundle is connected to the inner surface of the box front wall 12.

The upper part of the inner liner, i.e. the portion of the inner liner formed from sections 60a, 60b is removable from the remaining part of the inner liner. To this end creasing lines are provided between sections 60a, 60b end the central section 40 of the inner liner. Upon first opening of the container, the consumer can separate sections 60a, 60b from the inner liner to gain access to the cigarettes comprised within the container. The glue points 52 are provided at overlapping portions of the inner liner, such that the remainder of the inner liner retains its original shape even after the upper portion of the inner liner has been removed.

Claims

A container for consumer articles comprising

a box portion with a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall and two box sidewalls extending between the box front wall and the box rear wall, and

an inner liner which is partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles such that parts of the inner liner are overlapping,

wherein the inner liner comprises an inner liner bottom wall, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, and an inner liner top wall,

wherein the inner liner with the wrapped consumer articles is mounted within the box portion,

wherein overlapping parts of the inner liner are connected to each other,

wherein the inner liner is glued to the box portion at one or more points, and wherein the widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall, or

wherein the depths of the inner liner sidewalls are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the depths of the box sidewalls.

A container for consumer articles comprising

a box portion comprising a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall and two box sidewalls extending between the box front wall and the box rear wall, and an inner liner which is partially or completely wrapped around the consumer articles, wherein the inner liner comprises an inner liner bottom wall, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, and an inner liner top wall,

wherein the inner liner is made of a material that is stiff enough such that the inner liner after being wrapped around the consumer articles essentially maintains its shape during normal shipping and storage conditions and

wherein the inner liner is glued to the box portion at one or more points, and wherein the widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall are at least

5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall, or wherein the depths of the inner liner sidewalls are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the depths of the box sidewalls.

3. The container according to claim 1 wherein the inner liner is made of a laminate, a card board or a paper material with a base weight of below 50 grams per square meter, preferably of below 30 grams per square meter, and most preferably of below 22 grams per square meter.

4. The container according to claim 2 wherein the inner liner is made of a cellulosic material, such as a card board or a paper, a laminate, such as a laminate of a cellulosic or plastic material with a metal, a plastic material, preferably a cellulosic material, more preferably a paper or a cardboard, with a base weight of above 49 grams per square meter, preferably of above 70 grams per square meter, and most preferably of above 85 grams per square meter.

5. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the material of the inner liner has a stiffness of at least 0.1 Gigapascals, preferably of at least 1 Gigapascals, more preferably of between 2 Gigapascals to 4 Gigapascals, and most preferably of at least 10 Gigapascals.

6. The container according to any preceding claim wherein the inner liner is completely wrapped around the consumer articles with overlapping parts of the inner liner.

7. The container according to 6 wherein the overlapping parts of the inner liner are connected to each other by gluing, bonding or welding at one or more points.

8. The container according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein

the inner liner top wall is made from overlapping inner liner top wall flaps which are not connected to each other,

the inner liner top wall is partially removable from the rest of the inner liner, and one or both of the two inner liner sidewalls are made from overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps which are connected to each other.

9. The container according to claim 8 wherein the widths of the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall and the depths of the inner liner sidewalls are at least 5 percent, preferably at least 10 percent, more preferably at least 20 percent smaller than the widths of the box front wall and the box rear wall and the depths of the inner liner sidewalls.

10. The container according to any preceding claim wherein the gluing between the inner liner and the box portion and, if present, between the overlapping connected parts of the inner liner is made by one, two or more glue spots or glue areas.

1 1 . The container according to any preceding claim further comprising a lid portion comprising a lid top wall, a lid front wall, a lid rear wall and two lid sidewalls extending between the lid front wall and the lid rear wall, wherein the lid portion is connected to the box portion by a hinge line between the upper end of the box rear wall and the lower end of the lid rear wall so that the container can be opened and closed by moving the lid portion about the hinge line between a closed position and an opened position.

12. The container according to claim 1 1 wherein

the box bottom wall is located adjacent to the inner liner bottom wall,

the box front wall and the lid front wall are located adjacent to the inner liner front wall,

the box rear wall and the lid rear wall are located adjacent to the inner liner rear wall, the two box sidewalls and the two lid side walls are located adjacent to the two inner liner sidewalls, and

the lid top wall is located adjacent to the inner liner top wall,

and the gluing, if present, between the box portion and the inner liner is achieved by gluing between the box bottom wall and the inner liner bottom wall,

gluing between the box front wall and the inner liner front wall,

gluing between the box rear wall and the inner liner rear wall, or

gluing between one or both of the box sidewalls and one or both of the inner liner sidewalls,

or any combination thereof.

13. The container according to any preceding claim wherein the consumer articles are tobacco products, preferably cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars, more preferably cigarettes.

14. A method for preparing the container of any of claims 1 to 13 comprising

(a) wrapping a plurality of single consumer goods, preferably cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars, more preferably cigarettes, into an inner liner to yield a wrapped collation bundle,

(b) placing the wrapped collation bundle onto a blank,

(c) folding the blank around the collation bundle to yield the container,

(d) applying any time before step (c) glue material onto the inner surface of the blank, or onto the outer surface of the inner liner, or onto the inner surface of the blank and onto the outer surface of the inner liner, and

(e) applying conditions which lead to gluing between inner liner and blank.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising

• applying before step (a) glue material or seal material onto part of the inner liner,

• wrapping in step (a) the consumer goods completely into the inner liner such that the inner liner tightly encloses the consumer goods with an inner liner top wall made from overlapping inner liner top wall flaps which are not connected to each other, the inner liner top wall being partially removable from the rest of the inner liner, an inner liner front wall, an inner liner rear wall, an inner liner bottom wall and two inner liner sidewalls extending between the inner liner front wall and the inner liner rear wall, the inner liner side walls being made from overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps, and

• applying conditions which lead to a connection between the overlapping inner liner sidewalls flaps of one or both of the inner liner side walls.