WO2017097999A1

WO2017097999A1 - Improved package for resealable container of consumer articles

Info

Publication number: WO2017097999A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/080483
Authority: WO
Inventors: Timothee NIMPSCH; Timothee CAILLEAUX
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
Priority date: 2015-12-11
Filing date: 2016-12-09
Publication date: 2017-06-15
Also published as: US20180346233A1; CN108290671A; KR20180092945A; SG11201803856WA; RU2018125255A; JP2018536597A; MX2018006827A; EP3386882A1

Abstract

There is provided a resealable container for consumer articles comprising a package of consumer articles, the package having an access opening through which consumer articles can be removed; and a resealable panel covering the access opening of the package and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening of the package. The package is formed by folding a blank of flexible sheet material having a thickness around a group of consumer articles such that a first end portion of the blank overlaps a second end portion of the blank. An area of a surface of the first end portion of the blank is sealed to an area of a surface of the second end portion of the blank. One of the first and second end portions comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion.

Description

IMPROVED PACKAGE FOR RESEALABLE CONTAINER OF CONSUMER ARTICLES

The present invention relates to a container for consumer articles comprising a package enclosing a group of consumer articles, the package being formed from a liner folded about the group. The container of the present invention finds particular application as a container for elongate consumer good items, such as smoking articles.

Smoking articles are typically packaged in rigid hinge-lid containers. The bundle of smoking articles housed in the box is commonly wrapped in an inner liner, or package, of metallised paper, metal foil or other flexible sheet material.

Containers are known, for example from WO-A-2008/142540, wherein the smoking articles are enclosed in an inner package with an extraction opening removably closed by a cover flap that is releasably affixed to the inner package using non-dry adhesive applied to the underside of the cover flap. The cover flap may be glued permanently and non-removably to a surface of the lid so that opening and closing of the lid simultaneously opens and closes the cover flap, as well, thus revealing the extraction opening.

An inner package for use in one such container is known from WO-A-2009/098297. The inner package is formed by folding a rectangular blank of a web material around a group of cigarettes and heat sealing overlapping portions of the folded blank. In more detail, the blank is folded asymmetrically about the group, such as to define a first, short flap resting entirely against a back wall of the group, and a second, long flap projecting from a front wall of the group. The second flap is then folded over the back wall of the group to substantially form a tubular wrapping, such that the second flap overlaps the first flap. When forming the tubular wrapping, the two flaps are positioned perpendicular to the back wall of the group and are superimposed and sealed in such perpendicular arrangement, for example with a gripper, to form a fin seal. In a fin seal, the inner surface of the first and the second flaps of the blank are adhered together and folded flat against the sheet material immediately adjacent the fin seal. By folding the fin seal to lie against the back wall of the group, when the inner package is received within the box portion of a hinge lid container, the seal fin may conveniently be hidden from the consumer's sight.

Manufacture of such containers can be quite complex, because it is important that the access opening of the package be positioned correctly relative to the group of consumer articles. Not only is it desirable that the access opening be in a central location, with respect to a transverse axis of the package, but also it is critical that the access opening occupies a position at the top of the package, and preferably extending over both the top and adjacent walls of the package, so that it is easy for the consumer to extract the articles from within the package. Further, in those containers wherein a removable cover flap is provided over the access opening and wherein the cover flap is attached to the lid of the outer rigid container, it is essential that the access opening and the cover flap be in a position suitable for operative connection with the lid. Thus, during formation of the package, the correct alignment and positioning of the liner blank with respect to the group of consumer articles and to the moving parts of the packing apparatus need to be ensured. Therefore, a great precision is required in an operation that, in order to ensure a satisfactory throughput of the packaging apparatus, needs to be carried out at high speed. Operating at high speed makes the precision requirements more difficult to meet.

Thus, it would be desirable to provide a container for consumer articles comprising a package enclosing a group of consumer articles, such that it is easy to ensure the proper positioning of the access opening of the package with respect to the consumer articles or to other parts of the container or both. Further, it would be desirable to provide method of manufacturing one such containerfor consumer articles that is easy to implement and does not require any major modification of existing packing apparatus.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a resealable container for consumer articles, the container comprising a package of consumer articles, the package having an access opening through which consumer articles can be removed; and a resealable panel covering the access opening of the package and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening of the package. The package is formed by folding a blank of flexible sheet material having a thickness and a first and a second end portion around a group of consumer articles, at least one of the first and second end portions comprising non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion. The blank is folded around the group of consumer articles such that the blank first end portion overlaps the second blank end portion, an area of a surface of the blank first end portion being sealed to an area of a surface of the blank second end portion to form a fin seal.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a blank of flexible sheet material for forming a package for consumer articles. The blank comprises a cut line defining an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package; and a first flap and a second flap, such that, when the blank is folded about a group of consumer articles, the first flap rests against a back wall of the group, whereas the second flap is folded over the back wall of the group to form a tubular wrapping. The second flap overlaps the first flap, and an area of a surface of the first flap is sealed to an area of a surface of the second flap to form a fin seal. Further, one of the first and second flaps comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the flap, the indicia being applied to the one of the first and second flaps prior to forming the fin seal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a package of consumer articles. The method comprises: providing a group of consumer articles; providing a blank of flexible sheet material; and wrapping the group in the blank to obtain the package. The step of wrapping the group in the blank comprises bringing together a first and a second end portions of the blank over a wall of the group; and adhering an area of a surface of the first end portion to an area of a surface of the second end portion to form a fin seal of the package. The method further comprises: forming a cut line extending across a portion of a blank top panel to define an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package; and forming non-printed indicia in one of the first and second end portions at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion prior to forming the fin seal.

It will be appreciated that any features described with reference to one aspect of the present invention are equally applicable to any other aspect of the invention.

In contrast to known containers for consumer articles formed by folding a blank of flexible sheet material around a group of consumer articles, according to the present invention at least one of the blank end portions forming a seal of the container comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion.

Because the non-printed indicia are applied to or formed in the at least one of the blank end portions prior to the formation of the seal, during manufacture of one such container, the packaging apparatus to which the blank is fed can detect the non-printed indicia in at least one of the end portions of the blank that are to be superimposed to form a fin seal of the package. Because the indicia are provided at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion, a reference is advantageously provided for ensuring that, in the finished package, the seal and the access opening are positioned correctly relative to the consumer articles. This is particularly advantageous for blanks comprising a metallic layer, and even more so if a metallic surface of the blank is printed, since detecting registration marks on such blanks may be difficult when operating at high speed.

In some embodiments comprising further optional components of the container, the non- printed indicia may provide a reference for ensuring the correct positioning of the seal and the access opening of the container relative to such optional components. By way of example, when a container according to the present invention is housed in an outer casing, such as a rigid hinge- lid container, it is easy to ensure that the access opening is conveniently accessible for the consumer when the lid of the outer casing is in the open position.

At the same time, the sealing properties of a container according to the present invention are advantageously preserved, since the non-printed indicia are provided in a portion of the blank which does not effectively envelop the consumer articles in the assembled container. In other words, as soon as the non-printed indicia have served their function as registration references, when the fin seal is formed they are effectively prevented from impacting the vapour-tightness of the package, the fin seal acting as a barrier between the indicia and the content of the package. Further, it is easy to ensure that the seal and the indicia are hidden from the consumer's sight in the assembled container, and so the visual impact of the container may advantageously not be altered.

In addition, because the indicia are non-printed, the formation of the indicia advantageously does not involve the use of any material other than the sheet material or sheet materials forming the blank. In particular, the formation of the non-printed indicia does not involve the use of any ink. This is advantageous especially if the container is intended to come into contact with food products, in which case regulations, such as Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006, impose limitations to the type of ink that can be used and other good manufacturing practice provisions. In general, the invention provides a container that is easier to manufacture with high precision. In addition, the method of the present invention can easily be implemented on existing apparatus without the need to introduce any major modification.

As used herein, the terms "front", "back", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom" and "side", refer to the relative positions of portions of containers according to the invention and components thereof when the container is in an upright position with the access opening in an upper portion of the container. When describing containers according to the present invention, these terms are used irrespective of the effective orientation of the container being described.

The term "inner surface" is used throughout the specification to refer to the surface of a component of the assembled container that is facing towards the interior of the container, for example towards the consumer articles. The term "outer surface" is used throughout the specification to refer to the surface of a component of the container that is facing towards the exterior of the container. With reference to a blank used in the assembly of the container, the terms "outer surface" and "inner surface" refer to the sides of the blank which, in the portion of the blank effectively enveloping the consumer articles, face towards the consumer articles, regardless of the presence of any fold in any other portion of the blank, such that the inner surface, or side, of the blank has a different orientation.

The term "longitudinal" refers to a direction from bottom to top or vice versa. The term "transverse" refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

The term "seal" is used herein to refer to a seal which is preferably placed such as not to be visible for the consumer during use of the container. Thus, the term "seal" may refer in particular to a back seal, that is, a seal that runs along the back wall of the container. However, other placements of the seal are also possible. In containers according to the present invention, the end portions of the blank may be adhered to one another to form a "fin seal" (see Figure 1 ). Thus, an area of the inner surface of the first end portion of the blank may be sealed to an area of the inner surface of the second end portion of the blank. As an alternative, the end portions of the blank may be adhered to one another to form a "lap seal" (see Figure 2). Thus, an area of the inner surface of the first end portion of the blank may be sealed to an area of the outer surface of the second end portion of the blank.

The term "indicia" is used to refer to a discrete non-printed element, or repeating non-printed elements or patterns that provides a reference on a surface of a blank for forming a package according to the present invention. The indicia may be in a predetermined position relative to the position of cut line defining the access opening of the package.

Different indicia could be provided on more than a portion of the blank. For example, in one package different indicia may be provided on the first and the second end portions of the blank, respectively.

The indicia may be in the form of an embossed or debossed portion of the blank surface, or they may be provided a hole formed through the blank. In general, the indicia may be in the form of a "processed zone". The term "processed zone" is used herein to refer to an area of an end portion of the blank that has undergone a treatment such that at least some material has been removed. As shall be explained in more detail below, this may refer to a mechanical treatment, wherein material is removed (for example, ablated) from an area of an end portion the blank by means of a blade or a laser beam. As an alternative, where the blank is formed from a multi-layer sheet material, a "processed zone" may refer to an area of an end portion of the blank where one or more layers have been entirely or partially removed.

Accordingly, the residual thickness of a processed zone is less than the thickness of the laminar blank. The "thickness" of the blank is the thickness of the blank after it has been manufactured, but before any ablations or creases or cuts have been formed in the blank. That is, the thickness of the blank is the thickness in any region of the blank not containing an ablated zone or a crease or cut line.

The term "residual thickness" is used herein to refer to the minimum distance measured between two opposite surfaces of the blank or of a wall of the container formed from the blank. In practice, the distance at a given location is measured along a direction locally perpendicular to the opposite surfaces of the sheet material. The "residual thickness" of a processed zone may be constant over the processed zone if material is removed homogenously substantially all over the processed zone (flat profile). This may advantageously be the case where the blank is formed from a multi-layer sheet material. Alternatively, the residual thickness of the ablated zone may vary across the processed zone, if material is removed non-homogeneously over the processed zone. This may lead to non-printed indicia having, for example, a V-shaped or U-shaped profile.

In its most general terms, a resealable container for consumer articles comprises a package of consumer articles, the package having an access opening through which consumer articles can be removed. Further, the container comprises a resealable panel covering the access opening of the package and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening of the package. The package is formed by folding a blank of flexible sheet material having a thickness and a first and a second end portion around a group of consumer articles around a group of consumer articles. At least one of the first and second end portions comprise non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion. The blank is folded around the group of consumer articles such that the first end portion of the blank overlaps the second end portion of the blank, an area of a surface of the first end portion of the blank being sealed to an area of a surface of the second end portion of the blank to form a fin seal.

The flexible sheet material may comprise metallised paper, metal foil or other suitable materials. By way of example, the flexible sheet material may comprise non-woven fibrous material, such as paper, or a polymeric film.

In some embodiment, the flexible sheet material comprises a single layer. In other embodiments, the flexible sheet material comprises two or more layers. In multi-layer sheet materials, the various layers may all be formed from a same sheet material. As an alternative, different layers in a multi-layer sheet material may comprise different materials. In general, an outer surface of the flexible sheet material is opaque. By way of example, it may be formed from a metallised material.

One of the first and second end portions comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion.

In some embodiments, the non-printed indicia are at a location within the sealed area of the blank. Thus, the seal may be formed as near as possible to the edges of the end portions. In other embodiments, the non-printed indicia are at a location between the sealed areas and the edge of the end portion. In these embodiments, at least the end portion comprising the non- printed indicia comprises, on the same side, a first area adhered to a corresponding area of the other end portion, and a second area adjacent the first area. The second area extends from the first area to the edge of the end portion. The non-printed indicia are in such second area. This is advantageous in that it is easier to account for manufacturing tolerances and the non-printed indicia are essentially prevented from having any impact on the effectiveness of the sealing process.

In some embodiments, non-printed indicia are formed in both the first and the second end portions of the blank. The non-printed indicia formed in the first end portion of the blank may be substantially aligned with the non-printed indicia of the second end portion of the blank. Alternatively, the non-printed indicia in the first end portion of the blank may be at a location substantially independent of the location at which non-printed indicia are formed in the second end portion of the blank.

Preferably, the non-printed indicia comprise one or more processed zones having a residual thickness that is less than the thickness of the blank sheet material. The one or more processed zones may have any desirable shape, for example in the form or combination of geometrical forms such a circles, semi circles, ovals, triangles and other polygons or a suitable combination thereof. Further, the one or more processed zones may be in the shape of type, logos, trademarks or other icons, which may or may not relate to the content of the container.

In some embodiments, the one or more processed zones are provided as ablated zones.

In practice, material is removed from said zones by means of a blade or laser beam, such that the one or more processed zones have a non-null residual thickness. Preferably, the one or more processed zones have a residual thickness of less than about 90 percent of the thickness of the blank sheet material. More preferably, the one or more processed zones have a non-null residual thickness of less than about 75 percent of the thickness of the blank sheet material. In addition, or as an alternative, the one or more processed zones preferably have a residual thickness of at least about 30 percent of the thickness of the blank sheet material. More preferably, the one or more processed zones have a residual thickness of at least about 50 percent of the thickness of the blank sheet material.

In other embodiments, the one or more processed zones comprise one or more holes formed through the blank sheet material. Thus, in these embodiments, in the one or more processed zones the residual thickness is null. Preferably, the one or more holes have a diameter of at least about 10 micrometres. More preferably, the one or more holes have a diameter of at least about 25 micrometres. In addition, or as an alternative, the one or more holes have a diameter of less than about 1 millimetre. More preferably, the one or more holes have a diameter of less than about 0.5 millimetre.

The through holes preferably have a shape with few or no sharp edges. This is advantageous in that holes with a more rounded and smooth profile, such as circular or oval holes, are less likely to cause a crack to form and propagate across the blank of flexible sheet material.

In further alternative embodiments, the blank comprises at least a first and a second layer of flexible sheet material. The first layer of flexible sheet material and the second layer of flexible sheet materials have a first and a second thickness respectively. The one or more processed zones comprise one or more zones wherein material has been removed from the first layer of flexible sheet material or from the second layer of flexible sheet material, such that a residual thickness of the blank in the one or more processed zones is substantially equal to the thickness of the other one of the first layer of flexible sheet material and the second layer of flexible sheet material. In practice, a processed zone may be formed by essentially removing one layer of sheet material from an area of an end portion of the blank.

This is advantageous in that forming a processed zone can be particularly easy. Further, different properties of different materials forming the different layers of the blank may advantageously be used to form processed zones that are particularly easy to detect during the container manufacturing process. In addition, because the continuity of the material is not interrupted across the entire thickness of the blank, as with a through hole, but only in one or more of the layers forming the blank, it is advantageously less likely that a crack may propagate from the indicia along the blank.

In some preferred embodiment, at least an outermost layer of flexible sheet material in the blank is substantially opaque and at least one inner layer of flexible sheet material underlying the outermost layer is translucent. Even more preferably, the at least one inner layer of flexible sheet material is transparent. Thus, a processed zone formed by removing the opaque outermost layer and, optionally, as many underlying layers as necessary to expose the translucent or transparent layer differs from the immediately surrounding blank not only in that it has a reduced, non-null residual thickness, but also in that it interacts in a different way with incident visible light.

The term "translucent" is used herein to describe a material that passes at least about 20 percent of light incident upon the material for at least one wavelength of visible light. Hence, "transparent" is a special type of "translucent". That is, for at least one wavelength of visible light, at least about 20 percent of the light incident upon a translucent material is not reflected or absorbed by the material. The term "visible light" is used to refer to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between wavelengths of about 390 and about 750 nanometres.

The term "transparent" is used herein to mean a translucent material that passes light incident upon the material substantially without scattering. That is, light incident upon a transparent material is transmitted through the material in accordance with Snell's law. Transparent materials are a sub-set of translucent materials.

Translucency is measured using the method according to ISO 2471 , which measures the opacity of a sheet material. An opacity of less than about 80 percent indicates that the material is translucent. That is, for a material having an opacity of less than about 80 percent, at least about 20 percent of the light incident upon the material is not reflected or absorbed by the material. Therefore, the translucent layer or layers of a sheet material in accordance with the present invention have an opacity of less than about 80 percent, preferably less than about 50 percent, more preferably less than about 20 percent.

The expression "substantially opaque" is used to describe a material having an opacity of at least about 90 percent, preferably at least about 95 percent.

The translucent layer may comprise a non-woven fibrous material, such as paper. For example, the translucent layer may comprise glassine paper, which is preferably formed using a supercalendering process. In some embodiments, the translucent layer comprises one or more types of pigments. Pigments in the translucent layer may advantageously change the colour of the processed zones. This may help make the processed zones easier to detect during the container manufacturing process.

As an alternative to forming the translucent layer from a fibrous material, the translucent layer can instead comprise a polymeric film. The use of polymeric materials is advantageous in that they typically have better barrier properties and better moisture resistance than paper. Suitable polymeric films include polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride), linear low-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, ultra high-density polyethylene, biaxially oriented polypropylene, cellophane, regenerated cellulose, cellulose acetate, and nylon. Forming the translucent layer from a polymeric film may be preferable in circumstances where a high degree of transparency is required. That is, polymeric films can be more easily formed with high transparency when compared to fibrous materials.

The outermost, opaque layer can be formed from a number of suitable materials, such as a metal foil. Alternatively, the outermost, opaque layer can comprise a metallic material deposited on the surface of an underlying translucent layer to form a partially metallised translucent layer. The metallic material may comprise any suitable metal or alloy, such as aluminium, silver, or gold. Preferably, the metallic layer comprises aluminium.

As an alternative, a metallic layer can be provided underneath an opaque layer, such that when opaque material is removed from the outermost layer, the high-reflectance, metallic layer is exposed. Thus, the resulting non-printed indicia may be detected not only as a variation on the thickness of the blank, but also as a variation in the reflectance of the blank.

As a further alternative, the blank may comprise a first, outermost opaque layer and a second opaque layer underneath the first opaque layer, wherein a colour of the second opaque layer differs from a colour of the first opaque layer. Thus, when material is removed from the first opaque layer, the underlying second opaque layer is exposed. Thus, the resulting non-printed indicia may be detected not only as a variation in the thickness of the blank, but also as a variation in the reflectance or absorption of visible light within a predetermined range of wavelengths.

In any of the embodiments described above, the blank may further comprise a lacquer applied to at least one side, preferably both sides of the blank. The lacquer may provide a uniform surface on one or both sides of the blank, which can provide more consistent and reliable processing of the blank on high-speed manufacturing equipment. Where a lacquer is applied to one or both sides of the blank, the lacquer may be colourless to provide a natural appearance of the underlying metallic material. Alternatively, the lacquer may be coloured to impart a coloured appearance to the sheet material. For example, where the metallic layer comprises a metal with a silver appearance, such as aluminium, the lacquer can comprise suitable pigments or metallic particles to impart a golden appearance to the metallic layer. Various types of non-printed indicia as described above may also be provided, in combination, in a same blank. Thus, an end portion of a blank may, by way of example, comprise both a through hole and an ablated zone with reduced thickness. As an alternative, in a multilayer blank, several processed zones may be provided wherein a different number of layers of material are removed, including a processed zone where all the layers of material are removed.

In containers in accordance with the present invention, the one or more processed zones are preferably aligned along a longitudinal direction of the package or along a transverse direction of the package. This is advantageous in that, during manufacturing of the package, it is easy not only to correlate the location of the non-printed indicia with the location of the edge or edges of the end portions of the blank and of the access opening of the package, but also to control that the blank material is fed into the packaging machine with the correct orientation.

Containers as described above may be used as such or in combination with other elements. For example, a package as described above may be received within a rigid, parallelepiped-shaped container, such as a hinge-lid container, formed from a blank of any suitable material or combination of materials, including, but not limited to, cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal, or combinations thereof.

In the resulting composite container, the resealable panel covering the access opening of the package and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening may advantageously be glued permanently and non-removably to a surface of the lid, so that opening and closing of the lid simultaneously opens and closes the access opening of the package.

One such composite container may optionally further comprise an outer wrapper, which is preferably a transparent polymeric film of, for example, high or low density polyethylene, polypropylene, oriented polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, cellulose film, or combinations thereof and the outer wrapper is applied in a conventional manner. The outer wrapper may include a tear tape. In addition, the outer wrapper may be printed with images, consumer information or other data.

Containers according to the invention find particular application as packs for elongate smoking articles such as, for example, cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. It will be appreciated that through appropriate choices of the dimensions thereof, containers according to the invention may be designed for different numbers of conventional size, king size, super-king size, slim or super- slim cigarettes. Alternatively, other consumer goods may be housed inside the container.

Through an appropriate choice of the dimensions, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold different total numbers of smoking articles, or different arrangements of smoking articles. For example, through an appropriate choice of the dimensions, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold a total of between ten and thirty smoking articles. The smoking articles may be arranged in different collations, depending on the total number of smoking articles.

Containers according to the present invention may be formed from folding around a group of consumer articles a blank of flexible sheet material, the blank comprising a cut line to define an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package. The blank further comprises a first end flap and a second end flap such that, when the blank is folded about a group of consumer articles, the first flap rests against a back wall of the group, whereas the second flap is folded over the back wall of the group to form a tubular wrapping, wherein projects from a top wall of the group and may be folded over the back wall of the group to form a tubular wrapping, wherein the second flap overlaps the first flap and an area of a surface of the first flap is sealed to an area of a surface of the second flap. One of the first and second flaps comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the flap.

In a method for forming a container in accordance with the present invention one such blank is wrapped around a group of consumer articles to obtain the package. This comprises bringing together a first and a second end portions of the blank over a wall of the group; and adhering an area of a surface of the first end portion to an area of a surface of the second end portion to form a seal of the package.

The method further comprises: forming a cut line extending across a portion of a blank top panel to define an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package; and forming non-printed indicia in one of the first and second end portions at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion.

In some embodiments, the cut line and the non-printed indicia may be formed at the same time. As an alternative, the cut line and the non-printed indicia may be formed at different times during the manufacturing process.

Preferably, the end portions of the blank are brought together and adhered to one another to form a seal on a back wall of the group of consumer articles such that, if the resulting package is received inside an outer casing, such as a hinge-lid container, the seal is not visible for the consumer. This is compatible with both longitudinal seals and transverse seals, as well as with both fin seals and tap seals. As an alternative, the end portions of the blank may advantageously be brought together and adhered to one another to form a transverse seal on a bottom wall of the group of consumer articles or a longitudinal seal on a side wall of the group of consumer articles.

As the blank material is fed to the packaging machine, one or more sensors detect the non-printed indicia in at least one of the end portions of the blank. Suitable sensors may include electromagnetic sensors and optical sensors. Preferably, through-beam sensors are used to detect the non-printed indicia in blanks in accordance with the present invention. Through-beam sensors operate on the principle that a light beam having a predetermined wavelength and emitted on one side of the blank will generally not be able to travel through the flexible sheet material of the blank. By contrast, where non-printed indicia are provided to reduce the thickness of the blank or to locally increase the translucency of the material of the blank, the light beam will be at least partly able to travel through the flexible sheet material of the blank and be sensed by sensing means arranged on the opposite side of the blank. Through-beam sensors provide a more reliable reading compared with other types of optical sensors and so detecting the non- printed indicia in blanks in accordance with the present invention provides a more precise and consistent way of ensuring the correct alignment and orientation of the blank with respect to the consumer articles or with respect to other components of the container or both.

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

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic side view of a blank of flexible sheet material forming a fin seal;

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic side view of a blank of flexible sheet material forming a tap seal;

Figure 3 illustrates a schematic top view of a blank of flexible sheet material for forming a container in accordance with the present invention.

Reference numeral 100 in Figure 3 identifies a blank 100 for forming a container for consumer articles in accordance with the present invention. In Figure 3, solid lines indicate cut lines and dashed lines indicate fold lines.

The blank 100 is formed from a substantially rectangular portion of a flexible sheet material and is suitable for wrapping a plurality of consumer articles grouped together, for example, in a bundle, to form a package of consumer articles. The blank 100 comprises a cut line 102 defining an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package. Further, the blank 100 comprises a first end flap 104 and a second end flap 106 such that, when the blank 100 is folded about a group of consumer articles, the first flap 104 rests against a wall of the group, whereas the second flap is folded over the wall of the group to form a tubular wrapping. In the assembled packages, the second flap 106 overlaps the first flap 104, and an area 108 of a surface of the first flap 104 is sealed to an area 1 10 of a surface of the second flap 106. The first flap 104 comprises non-printed indicia 1 12 at a predetermined location relative to an edge 1 14 of the first flap 104. The non-printed indicia 1 12 comprise 4 processed zones having a residual thickness less than about 70 percent of the thickness of the blank sheet material.

Claims

A resealable container for consumer articles comprising:

a package of consumer articles, the package having an access opening through which consumer articles can be removed; and

a resealable panel covering the access opening of the package and extending beyond the periphery of the access opening of the package;

the package being formed by folding a blank of flexible sheet material having a thickness and a first and a second end portion around a group of consumer articles, at least one of the first and second end portions comprising non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion; the blank being folded such that the blank first end portion overlaps the blank second end portion, an area of a surface of the blank first end portion being sealed to an area of a surface of the blank second end portion of the blank to form a fin seal.

A container according to claim 1 , wherein the non-printed indicia are at a location within the sealed areas of the blank.

A container according to claim 1 , wherein the non-printed indicia are at a location between the sealed areas and the edge of the end portion.

A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein both the first and the second end portions of the blank comprise non-printed indicia.

A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the non-printed indicia comprise one or more processed zones having a residual thickness that is less than the thickness of the blank sheet material.

A container according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processed zones are ablated zones.

A container according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processed zones comprise one or more holes formed through the blank sheet material.

A container according to claim 7, wherein the one or more holes have a diameter of at least about 10 micrometres.

9. A container according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the one or more holes have a diameters of less than about 1 millimetre.

10. A container according to claim 5, wherein the blank comprises at least a first and a second layers of flexible sheet material, the first and the second layers of flexible sheet materials having a first and a second thickness, respectively; and wherein the one or more processed zones comprise one or more zones wherein material has been removed from the first layer of flexible sheet material or the second layer of flexible sheet material, such that a residual thickness of the blank in the one or more processed zones is substantially equal to the thickness of the other one of the first layer of flexible sheet material and the second layer of flexible sheet material.

1 1 . A container according to any one of the claims 4 to 10, wherein the one or more processed zones are aligned along a longitudinal direction of the package or along a transverse direction of the package.

12. A container according to any one of the claims 4 to 10, wherein the one or more processed zones form a pattern.

13. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the group of consumer articles is a group of smoking articles.

14. A blank of flexible sheet material for forming a package for consumer articles, the blank comprising:

a cut line defining an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package; and

a first end flap and a second end flap such that, when the blank is folded about a group of consumer articles, the first flap rests against a wall of the group, whereas the second flap is folded over the wall of the group to form a tubular wrapping;

wherein the second flap overlaps the first flap, and an area of a surface of the first flap being sealed to an area of a surface of the second flap to form a fin seal; and

wherein one of the first and second flaps comprises non-printed indicia at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion, the indicia being applied to the one of the first and second flaps prior to forming the fin seal.

15. A method of making a package of consumer articles according to claim 1 comprising: providing a group of consumer articles;

providing a blank of flexible sheet material;

wrapping the group in the blank to obtain the package;

wherein the step of wrapping the group in the blank comprises bringing together a first and a second end portions of the blank over a wall of the group; and adhering an area of a surface of the first end portion to an area of a surface of the second end portion to form a fin seal of the package;

the method further comprising:

forming a cut line extending across a portion of a blank top panel to define an access opening of the package through which consumer articles can be removed from the assembled package; and

forming non-printed indicia in one of the first and second end portions at a predetermined location relative to an edge of the end portion prior to forming the fin seal.