WO2017194704A1

WO2017194704A1 - A container with movable inner stiffener, stiffener, method

Info

Publication number: WO2017194704A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/061393
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lucas Chatelain; Luiz Andre RODRIGUES
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
Priority date: 2016-05-13
Filing date: 2017-05-11
Publication date: 2017-11-16

Abstract

A container for smoking articles having an outer housing comprising a box and a lid hingedly attached to the box, wherein the box comprises a front wall, a rear wall and opposing side walls, an inner liner disposed within the housing, the inner liner defining an interior volume for the smoking articles, the inner liner being sealed around the smoking articles and having an access opening with a closure flap. An inner stiffener having at least side walls depending from a main panel for at least partially surrounding the smoking articles is provided within the inner liner, the inner stiffener is provided with an movable member for engagement with at least part of a smoking article provided in line with the access opening, wherein movement of the movable member lifts the smoking article through the opening.

Description

A CONTAINER WITH MOVABLE INNER STIFFENER

The present invention relates to a container for smoking articles, such as cigarettes. In particular, the present invention relates to a container that includes an inner liner sealed around the smoking articles with an inner stiffener between the inner liner and the smoking articles.

Smoking articles such as cigarettes and cigars are commonly packaged in rigid hinge-lid containers having a box and a lid connected to the box portion about a hinge line extending across the rear wall of the container. Such hinge-lid containers are typically constructed from one-piece laminar cardboard blanks. In use, the lid portion is pivoted about the hinge line to open the container and so gain access to smoking articles housed in the box portion.

A group of smoking articles housed in the box portion is typically wrapped in an inner liner of metallised paper, metal foil or other flexible sheet material, to form an inner bundle.

To improve the barrier properties of the inner package, the inner liner wrapped around the smoking articles may be heat sealed and sometimes has a cigarette access opening closed by a reusable cover flap. A cardboard stiffener, for example in the form of a U-shaped frame, may be placed inside the inner bundle about the articles to maintain the shape of the inner package and to protect the smoking articles when folding and heat sealing the inner liner around the articles,. It is important for the shape of the inner bundle to be maintained so that the contents may be withdrawn through the access opening. However, it can be difficult to withdraw a first article from the package due to the tight packing of the bundle. International patent application WO 201 1 /012235 A1 describes a container for smoking articles which includes a lifting element with an engaging portion

engageable with an outside upper end portion of the smoking article. The lifting element extends from the opening of the box and has a hook for engaging a ring-like shoulder formed by an edge of tipping paper wrapped around the smoking article. The lifting agent may be attached to a pull foil of the inner liner.

International patent application WO 2009/004421 A2 discloses a similar type of package for smoking articles which includes an inner stiffener that is able to exert an elastic thrust on the group of smoking articles by means of concertina side walls so as to keep the group of articles in a central position facing the access opening.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved container for smoking articles that aids removal of a smoking article from the container, in particular aiding removal of a first or final smoking article from a bundle of articles. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention provides a container for smoking articles comprising an outer housing comprising a box and a lid hingedly attached to the box. The box comprises a front wall, a rear wall and opposing side walls. An inner liner is disposed within the housing. The inner liner defines an interior volume for the smoking articles. The inner liner is sealed around the smoking articles and comprises an access opening with a closure flap. The inner stiffener comprises at least side walls depending from a main panel for at least partially surrounding the smoking articles within the inner liner. According to the invention the inner stiffener is provided with a movable member for engagement with at least part of a smoking article provided in line with the access opening, wherein movement of the movable member lifts the smoking article through the opening.

The box may include a box front wall, a box left side wall, a box right side wall, a box back wall and a box bottom wall. The lid may include a lid front wall, a lid left side wall, a lid right side wall, a lid back wall and a lid top wall.

The inner liner, inner stiffener and smoking articles together form an inner bundle. The container may also include an inner frame disposed between the inner bundle and the box of the housing. Prior to first opening, the filled container may be wrapped in an outer wrapping film. The access opening is located at the top of the bundle, additionally, the access opening may extend into the front wall pf the bundle, the rear wall of the bundle or both, the front wall and the rear wall of the bundle.

According to the invention, the movable member of the stiffener raises at least one smoking article partially through the access opening relative to the other smoking articles not engaged with the movable member. The movable member may frictionally engage with a longitudinal edge of the smoking article or may include a platform for engaging a base of a smoking article. This advantageously allows a consumer to get easy access to the first smoking article in the pack.

In an embodiment, the access opening extends partially into the front wall of the container and the moveable member engages with a smoking article provided at the front of the bundle in line with the access opening to enable a first smoking article to be removed from the bundle. However, it is to be appreciated that the moveable member may engage with a smoking article at the rear of the bundle to enable a final smoking article to be removed more easily.

Preferably, the inner stiffener and movable member are provided as a one- piece blank. The invention is in particular advantageous as it provides the inner stiffener with a second function other than to protect the smoking articles during production, in particular during sealing. In an embodiment, at least part of the movable member comprises a pull tab, said pull tab being accessible through the access opening to enable movement of the member from a first position to a second position to effect lifting of the smoking article through the opening.

The movable member may be substantially U-shaped and comprise a strip of material cut within, or attached to, the inner stiffener and folded substantially 180 degrees. The movable member includes at least one transverse line of weakness to create a rolling surface. Preferably, the movable member comprises a group of between 2 and 12 weakening lines. The term "weakening line" is used throughout this document to indicate one or a combination of crease lines, scoring lines, fold lines, ablated lines, perforated lines or other lines that reduce the structural strength of the movable member in a direction transvers to the movement of the movable member. A weakening lines may be straight or curved or comprise multiple straight or curved segments.

The main panel of the inner stiffener may be provided with a pair of substantially parallel longitudinal slots extending partially along its length for receipt and longitudinal movement of the member.

In a preferred embodiment, the main panel of the inner stiffener has an inverted U-shaped cut for forming a pull tab and parallel, longitudinal cut lines extending from a base of the panel to beyond the ends of the U-shaped cut, the distance between the longitudinal cut lines being greater than the distance between longitudinal sides of the U-shaped cut and wherein a first line of weakness is provided between each end of the U-shaped cut and its adjacent parallel cut line and a second line of weakness is provided between the upper ends of the parallel cuts whereby the member is moveable about the first and second lines of weakness. The region between the two lines of weakness provides for a rolling movement of the movable member.

The distance between lines of weakness that provide a rolling surface for movement of the member will depend upon the material of the stiffener and the amount of pressure required to be exerted on the smoking article. To create sufficient friction between the movable member and the engaged smoking article, lines of weakness of between about 0.5 mm and about 2.0 mm apart may be provided. The larger the distance between the lines of weakness, the higher will be the force exerted on the smoking articles. Multiple lines of weakness may be provided having different distances between the points of weakness. A change in distance between the lines of weakness enables a step to be provided in the folded region increasing the friction between the moveable member and the smoking article. In a particular preferred embodiment, two sets of between about 2 to about 4 closely spaced weakening are separated by a larger gap. This will result in a smooth rolling movement in the beginning, then the appearance of a step that will catch the smoking article and initiate the lifting, followed by a further smooth lifting movement. In embodiments of the invention, the inner stiffener may include a bottom panel forming part of the moveable member, the bottom panel defining a platform for receipt of a lower end of at least one smoking article provided in line with the access opening. The bottom panel may comprise a panel depending from a bottom edge of the main panel and folded through substantially 180 degrees to form the platform, the opposing free edge of the platform having the moveable member extending upwardly to the access opening.

The bottom panel may have side walls extending upwardly from the bottom panel between the bottom panel and the movable member, thereby strengthening the platform that supports the smoking article. Preferably, the bottom panel is integral with the inner stiffener. For example, the bottom panel is provided with cut lines and weakening lines for folding into the platform and side walls. An integral movable member has the additional advantage of giving the inner stiffener a second function, in addition to the protection that is provides during packaging and handling of the bundle, in particular during sealing of the inner liner.

The dimensions of the movable member and bottom panel may be selected according to the size and number of smoking articles to be raised through the opening. Preferably, the width of the movable member corresponds to the width of at least one smoking article. Preferably, the depth and width of the bottom panel corresponds to at least a radius of at least one smoking article, more preferably corresponding to between about 30 percent and about 70 percent of the diameter of a smoking article.

The container, inner frame, inner bundle, and outer wrapper may be formed from any suitable materials including, but not limited to, cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal or combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the inner liner comprises metallised paper or metal foil and the inner stiffener is comprised of cardboard. The cardboard may have a weight of between about 100 grams per square meter and about 350 grams per square meter.

Containers according to the invention may be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, with right-angled longitudinal and right-angled transverse edges. Alternatively, the container may include one or more rounded longitudinal edges, rounded transverse edges, bevelled longitudinal edges, or bevelled transverse edges, or combinations thereof.

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

Through an appropriate choice of dimensions, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold different total number 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 lid of the housing is hingedly attached to the box and is adapted to be manipulated between an open position and a closed position. In the open position, the consumer can access the consumer goods disposed within the housing following opening of the inner bundle. The lid can be hingedly attached to the box along a hinge line that extends across a rear wall of the container. The term "hinge line" refers to a line about which the lid may be pivoted to open the container. A hinge line may be, for example, a fold line or a score line in the panel forming the back wall of the housing.

According to the invention, the inner liner is preferably wrapped around the inner stiffener which has been placed around the smoking articles and then the liner is sealed at its overlapping edges. Preferably, the inner liner has a front wall, a rear wall, opposing side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall, preferably being sealed at overlapping regions provided on one or both side walls typically also one of the bottom wall, the front wall or the back wall. The inner liner has an access and the closure flap preferably comprises a re-sealable flap. The closure flap may be provided with a tab. The access opening may be formed by a pre- perforated portion of the inner liner that is removed upon first opening of the inner liner which is then closed by the closure flap. In one or more embodiments, the access opening can be disposed such that it is located on a front wall of the inner bundle. In one or more embodiments, the access opening can be disposed such that it is located on a top wall of the inner bundle. In one or more embodiments, the access opening can be disposed such that it is located across a portion of the front wall and the top wall of the inner bundle. The access opening can take any suitable shape, for example rectangular or trapezoid.

The closure flap is adapted to reattach to the inner liner when the flap is in the closed position. Preferably, the closure flap is adapted to overlap the access opening in a seal region such that the flap attaches to the inner liner within the seal region when the closure flap is in the closed position. The adhesive disposed between the closure flap and the seal region allows for repeated opening and closing of the flap so that the smoking articles disposed within the inner bundle can be accessed when the closure flap is in the open position, and so that the articles remain sealed within the inner bundle when the closure flap is in the closed condition. Preferably, the adhesive disposed between the closure flap and the seal region provides sufficient adhesion for the flap to be reattached at least as many times as there are smoking articles within the inner bundle such that the consumer can open and reseal the inner bundle until it is empty.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided an inner stiffener member for placement around a charge of smoking articles, the inner stiffener comprising at least side walls depending from a main panel for placement adjacent a face and sides of a charge of smoking articles respectively, the inner stiffener including at least one movable member cut within, or attached to, the main panel for engagement with at least one smoking article.

In an embodiment, the inner stiffener includes a bottom panel depending from the main panel. The bottom panel may be provided with side walls. The moveable member may be provided with a pull tab. It is to be appreciated that the main panel of the stiffener may be a front or rear panel of the inner stiffener for placement adjacent front or rear faces of the bundle of smoking articles respectively, or both.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of packaging a charge of smoking articles, the method comprising placing on a main panel of an inner stiffener a plurality of smoking articles in a predetermined collation and angular orientation to form a charge of smoking articles. According to this aspect of the invention, the inner stiffener comprises at least side walls depend from the main panel and at least one movable member cut within, or attached to, the main panel. The method further comprises the steps of folding the side walls to lie adjacent sides of the charge of smoking articles and wrapping and sealing an inner liner around the inner stiffener and charge of smoking articles to form an inner bundle.

In a preferred embodiment, a laminar blank is folded around the inner bundle to form an outer housing containing the bundle of smoking articles. A transparent outer wrapping film with tear tape may be wrapped around the outer housing.

Referring now to the drawings, in which some aspects of the invention are illustrated.

FIG. 1 a is a schematic partial perspective front view of a container according to an embodiment of the invention, shown with the outer housing and an inner liner in an open position and illustrating with dashed lines the position of a moveable member of an inner stiffener, prior to movement of the member;

FIG. 1 b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 1 a in relation to the smoking articles;

FIG. 2a is a schematic partial perspective front view of the container of Fig. 1 a, after movement of the member;

FIG. 2b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig 2a in relation to the smoking articles; FIG. 3a is a schematic perspective front view of a container according to another embodiment of the invention, shown with the outer housing and an inner liner in an open position and illustrating the position of a moveable member of an inner stiffener, prior to movement of the member; FIG. 3b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 3a in relation to the smoking articles;

FIG. 4a is a schematic partial perspective front view of the container of Fig. 3a, illustrating with dashed lines the movement of the member;

FIG. 4b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig 4a in relation to the smoking articles;

FIG. 5a is a schematic partial perspective front view of a container according to another embodiment of the invention, shown with the outer housing and an inner liner in an open position and illustrating the position of a moveable member of an inner stiffener, prior to movement of the member; FIG. 5b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 5a in relation to the smoking articles;

FIG. 6a is a schematic partial perspective front view of the container of Fig. 5a, after movement of the member, showing part of the member in dashed lines;

FIG. 6b is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 6a in relation to the smoking articles;

FIG. 7a is a schematic partial perspective view of an inner stiffener according to one embodiment of the invention, shown with the moveable member in an inferior position;

FIG. 7b illustrates the circled area of Fig. 7a prior to assembly; FIG. 7c is a schematic partial perspective front view of a container according to an embodiment of the invention, shown with the outer housing and an inner liner in an open position and illustrating in dashed lines the position of the inner stiffener shown in Fig. 7a, prior to movement of the member;

FIG. 7d is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 7c in relation to the smoking articles; FIG. 8a is a schematic partial perspective view of the inner stiffener of Fig. 7a, shown with the moveable member in the superior position;

FIG. 8b is an expanded view of the circled area in Fig. 8a;

FIG. 8c is a schematic partial perspective front view of the container of Fig. 7c, shown with the outer housing and an inner liner in an open position and illustrating in dashed lines the position of the inner stiffener shown in Fig. 8a, after movement of the member; and

FIG. 8d is a schematic side view illustrating the positioning of the moveable member shown in Fig. 8c in relation to the smoking articles.

The present invention provides a modified inner stiffener for placing between an inner liner and a charge of smoking articles, the inner stiffener having a movable member for engagement with at least part of a smoking article provided in line with an access opening of the inner liner, wherein movement of the movable member lifts the smoking article through the opening. The inner stiffener may be modified in a variety of ways to create a moveable member for lifting a smoking article through an access opening.

Figures 1 a to 2b of the accompanying drawings illustrate a container 10 for smoking articles 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The container 10 includes an outer housing in the form of a box 12 and a lid 14 hingedly attached to the box via a hinge line 18. The hinge line 18 extends across the back of the box 14 of the container 10, and acts to allow the lid 14 to be moved from a closed position (not shown) to an open position (shown). An inner liner 20 is disposed within the housing. The inner liner 20 is made from a barrier material or materials to hermetically seal the smoking articles before the container is opened for the first time. The barrier material may be a metal foil or a plastic and metal laminate. The inner liner 20 is made from a sheet of material with the liner being wrapped around a bundle of smoking articles, for example cigarettes 30, to form an inner bundle having a front wall 20a, a back wall, opposing side walls 20c, a bottom wall and a top wall 20e. A permanent adhesive is used to seal overlapping folded regions 22 of the sheet thereby sealing the goods within the bundle. An access opening 26 is provided in the top and front walls for accessing the contents of the bundle, the opening having a re-sealable tab 24.

The inner bundle also includes an inner stiffener disposed within the inner liner 20 about the smoking articles 30. An inner frame (not shown) may also be provided between the inner liner and the box. The inner stiffener is made from a cardboard blank that at least partially surrounds the smoking articles within the bundle to impart strength to the bundle and includes a moveable member providing the additional function of raising one or more of the smoking articles contained within the bundle through the opening 26 to allow easier access to the contents of the container.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 a to 2b the inner stiffener is provided with a folded region 72 attached to an inner face of the stiffener including a pull tab 74. In the accompanying figures, the main body of the stiffener is omitted for the sake of simplicity but the stiffener is provided with U-shaped cut on the upper part of a front panel with a folding line through 180 degrees to provide the folded region 72. The folded region provides a moveable member 70 for frictional engagement with one or more smoking articles 30 provided within the inner liner, the member being moveable between an inferior position (Figures 1 a and 1 b) and a superior position (Figures 2a and 2b). The member 70 is located centrally in the stiffener and the total length of the panel that forms the moveable member 70 is long enough that, when folded through 180 degrees inside the bundle, the pull tab 74 is still visible and accessible to the consumer through the opening 26 when the bundle is opened. Thus, the consumer is able to pull tab 74 upwardly creating friction between the member 70 and an adjacent cigarette 30 to move the cigarette up out of the opening 26 thereby assisting access to a first cigarette in the bundle. The distance between lines of weakness that provide the folded region 72 to create a rolling surface for movement of the member will depend upon the material of the stiffener and the amount of pressure required to be exerted on the smoking article. Lines of weakness of around 0.5- 2.0 mm apart may be acceptable for creating the member if, for example, the cardboard of the stiffener has a weight of less than 120 grams per square metre. A change in distance between the lines of weakness may be provided to provide a step in the folded region (not shown), thereby increasing the friction between the moveable member and the smoking article. Figures 3a to 4b illustrate an alternative inner stiffener according to the present invention for placement between the inner liner 20 and smoking articles 30 that form the inner bundle. Identical features to those shown in relation to Figures 1 a to 2b are given the same reference numerals and only the differences will be described in detail. The one-piece blank forming the inner stiffener 80 is provided with a bottom panel 84 separated from a front panel by hinge lines. The bottom panel is folded in half through 180 degrees to form a platform for receipt of the smoking articles 30 (see Figures 3b and 4b) and a moveable member 82 extends upwardly from a front edge of the platform substantially parallel with the front panel 80 of the inner stiffener into the access opening 26 to form a pull tab that may be accessed by the consumer upon opening of the bundle. In this manner, when the pull tab of the moveable member 82 is pulled upwardly through opening 26, the platform is moved upwardly away from the bottom panel 84 to lift the smoking articles through the opening, thereby assisting access to a first or subsequent article.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 5a to 6b. Like the embodiment shown in Figures 3a to 4b, the stiffener is provided with a platform positioned beneath a smoking article in line with the access opening 26 of the bundle whereby the platform can be raised to lift the article through the opening. The stiffener is provided with a sliding frame located centrally within the front panel of the stiffener having a moveable member 90 with a pull tab 92 extending into the access opening and a bottom panel 94 depending from the member that is folded substantially perpendicularly to the vertical member to form a horizontal platform. The dimensions of the bottom panel will depend upon the number of smoking articles to be received on the platform but in the illustrated example, the panel is of a width and depth to receive two smoking articles located at the front and centre of the charge of articles. Opening of the bundle exposes the pull tab 92 which is then pulled upwardly by the user to effect lifting of the bottom panel 94 thereby raising the two smoking articles above the opening (see Figs. 6a and 6b).

A further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 7a to 8d. This embodiment provides an inner stiffener 100 from a one-piece blank which has both a moveable member 102,105 configured to exert frictional pressure on a longitudinal surface of a smoking article and a bottom panel 104 forming a platform for receipt of a lower end of the smoking article 30. In detail, a front panel of the inner stiffener 100 is provided with an inverted U-shaped cut 120 for form a pull tab 102. Additionally, parallel, vertical cut lines 122 extend from the base of the front panel to almost the top, the distance between the vertical cut lines 122 being greater than the distance between the longitudinal sides of the U-shaped cut 120 forming the tab 102. Lines of weakness A are provided between the lower end of the U-shaped cut and parallel cut lines 122 and between the upper ends of the parallel cuts 122 to provide a moveable zone B (see Fig. 7a and 8a) wherein a consumer may pull the tab 102 upwardly to enable the member 105 to fold around a S-curve formed by the lines of weakness thereby allowing the member to move upwardly while keeping the member connected to the stiffener 100 (see Fig. 8b). The member may frictionally engage with an abutting smoking article contained in the bundle to raise it through the opening 26 of the container.

The distance between lines of weakness that provide the S-curve to create a rolling surface for movement of the member will depend upon the material of the stiffener and the amount of pressure required to be exerted on the smoking article. Lines of weakness of around 0.5- 2.0 mm apart may be acceptable for creating the member if, for example, the cardboard of the stiffener has a weight of less than 120 grams per square metre. A change in distance between the lines of weakness may be provided to provide a step in the folded region (not shown), thereby increasing the friction between the moveable member and the smoking article. Additionally, the stiffener is provided with a bottom panel 104 forming a platform dimensioned to receive a lower end of one or more smoking articles. In the assembled stiffener, the bottom panel is in line with the access opening 26 and extends from the base of the moveable member 102, depending from the member by crease lines. Vertical side walls 106 extend from side edges of the bottom panel 104 to the base of the moveable member 102 to increase the support provided by the platform.

The bottom panel 104 and side walls 106 are formed from the one-piece cardboard blank by a series of cut lines and crease lines, as illustrated in Fig. 7b, forming side and back flaps. Two inverted L-shaped cut lines 108 extend from each side of the moveable member close to its base to provide back flaps and a diagonal cut line 104a extends from each base flap to each outer corner of the bottom panel 104 to form side flaps. Crease lines 104b are provided between the side and back flaps co-extensive with the hinge line between the member and bottom panel and between the side flaps and the bottom panel. The back flaps are folded inwardly to overlie the base of the moveable member causing the side flaps to extend vertically forming side walls 104a.

Packaging of the smoking articles is achieved by placing a plurality of smoking articles 30 on the main panel of the inner stiffener in a predetermined location and angular orientation to form a charge of smoking articles, the inner stiffener including at least side walls depending from the main panel and at least one movable member cut within, or attached to, the main panel. The side walls of the stiffener are folded inwardly to lie adjacent sides of the charge of smoking articles and an inner liner is then wrapped around the inner stiffener and charge of smoking articles, and sealed to form an inner bundle. A laminar blank is folded around the inner bundle to form the outer housing 10 containing the bundle of smoking articles. A transparent outer wrapping film with tear tape (not shown) may be sealed around the outer housing.

Claims

1. A container for smoking articles, comprising: an outer housing comprising a box and a lid hingedly attached to the box, wherein the box comprises a front wall, a rear wall and opposing side walls; an inner liner disposed within the housing, the inner liner defining an interior volume for the smoking articles, the inner liner being sealed around the smoking articles and having an access opening with a closure flap; an inner stiffener having at least side walls depending from a main panel for at least partially surrounding the smoking articles within the inner liner; wherein the inner stiffener is provided with an movable member for engagement with at least part of a smoking article provided in line with the access opening, wherein movement of the movable member lifts the smoking article through the opening.

2. The container of claim 1 , wherein the inner stiffener and movable member are provided as a one-piece blank.

3. The container of claim 1 or 2 wherein at least part of the movable member comprises a pull tab, said pull tab being accessible through the access opening to enable movement of the member from a first position to a second position to effect lifting of the smoking article through the opening.

4. The container of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the movable member is substantially U-shaped and comprises a strip of material cut within, or attached to, the inner stiffener and folded substantially 180 degrees and including at least one transverse line of weakness to create a rolling surface.

5. The container of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the main panel of the inner stiffener is provided with a pair of substantially parallel longitudinal slots extending partially along its length for receipt and longitudinal movement of the member.

6. The container of claim 5 wherein the main panel of the inner stiffener has an inverted U-shaped cut for forming a pull tab and parallel, longitudinal cut lines extending from a base of the panel to beyond the ends of the U-shaped cut, the distance between the longitudinal cut lines being greater than the distance between longitudinal sides of the U-shaped cut and wherein a first line of weakness is provided between each end of the U-shaped cut and its adjacent parallel cut line and a second line of weakness is provided between the upper ends of the parallel cuts whereby the member is moveable about the first and second lines of weakness.

7. The container of any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein multiple lines of weakness are provided having different distances between the points of weakness.

8. The container of any one of the preceding claims wherein the inner stiffener includes a bottom panel forming part of the moveable member, the bottom panel defining a platform for receipt of a lower end of at least one smoking article provided in line with the access opening.

9. The container of claim 8 wherein the bottom panel has side walls extending upwardly therefrom between the bottom panel and the movable member.

10. The container of claim 9 wherein the bottom panel is provided with cut lines and crease lines for folding into the platform and side walls.

1 1 . The container of claim 8 wherein the bottom panel comprises a panel depending from a bottom edge of the main panel and folded through substantially 180 degrees to form the platform, the opposing free edge of the platform having the moveable member extending upwardly to the access opening.

12. An inner stiffener for placement around a charge of smoking articles, the inner stiffener comprising at least side walls depending from a main panel for placement adjacent a face and sides of a charge of smoking articles respectively, the inner stiffener including at least one movable member cut within, or attached to, the main panel for engagement with at least one smoking article.

13. The inner stiffener of claim 12 further comprising a bottom panel depending from the main panel.

14. A method of packaging a charge of smoking articles, the method comprising: placing on a main panel of an inner stiffener a plurality of smoking articles in a predetermined location and angular orientation to form a charge of smoking articles, the inner stiffener including at least side walls hingedly connected to the main panel and at least one movable member cut within, or attached to, the main panel; folding the side walls to lie adjacent sides of the charge of smoking articles; and wrapping and sealing an inner liner around the inner stiffener and charge of smoking articles to form an inner bundle.

15. A method of claim 14 further comprising folding a laminar blank around the inner bundle to form an outer housing containing the bundle of smoking articles.