WO2018215992A1

WO2018215992A1 - A packet of smoking articles provided with a coupon

Info

Publication number: WO2018215992A1
Application number: PCT/IB2018/053756
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michele Ferrari; Alessandro Venturoli; Roberto Gubbellini; Luca Federici
Original assignee: G.D Società per Azioni
Priority date: 2017-05-25
Filing date: 2018-05-25
Publication date: 2018-11-29
Also published as: DE112018002697T5; IT201700056580A1

Abstract

Packet (1) of smoking articles provided with a coupon (6), and method for manufacturing the same, wherein the packet comprises: a group of articles; a wrapping (3) that wraps the group of articles; a container (4) that contains the group of articles and which comprises an open upper end (40); a lid (5) that is hinged to the container (4) for opening and closing the open upper end (40); a collar (2) that is arranged in the container (4) and which protrudes from the open upper end (40); a coupon (6) arranged in the container (4). The collar (2) comprises a fixed portion (20), which comprises a front wall (20a) and an upper wall (20b), an extraction opening (21) of the smoking articles, and a mobile portion (22) hinged to the fixed portion (20) for opening and closing the extraction opening (21). The packet (1) comprises a connection element (7) that is connected to the coupon (6) and which is fixed to the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) so that, at the first opening of the collar (2), the coupon (6) is automatically extracted from the container (4).

Description

PACKET OF SMOKING ARTICLES PROVIDED WITH A COUPON

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No. 102017000056580 filed on May 25, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention falls within the technical field of packets of smoking articles provided with a coupon. In detail, the invention relates to a packet of smoking articles provided with a collar, and comprising a coupon, and to a manufacturing method thereof. PRIOR ART

As is known, the use of informative coupons is often provided in packets of smoking articles, such as cigarettes, cigars, electronic cigarettes or heat-not-burn products, since the outer surface of the packets is often insufficient to contain the information needed to be expressed (for example, health risks, brand, short description of the product) .

A packet of smoking articles provided with a collar is described in the patent application WO2016120674A1. This packet comprises: a wrapping that wraps a group of smoking articles; a container that contains the group of smoking articles wrapped by the wrapping and which comprises an open upper end; a lid that is hinged to the container and is mobile for opening and closing the open upper end of the container.

Said packet comprises, furthermore, a collar that is arranged inside the container, between the container and the wrapping, and which partially protrudes from the open upper end of the container .

The collar comprises a fixed portion, glued to the container, which has a front wall, two side walls and an upper wall. Furthermore, the collar has an extraction opening of the smoking articles, which involves the front wall and the upper wall of the fixed portion, and a mobile portion which is hinged to the fixed portion for opening and closing the extraction opening of the smoking articles.

Generally, as is also known from the patent application W02016059366A1 , the coupon is arranged in the front part of the packet so as to be visible at the first opening of the packet .

The patent US5375704A describes a rigid packet of cigarettes with a hinged lid, wherein a "L"-folded coupon is partially inserted inside the lid to be in contact, when the lid is closed, with a top wall of the lid, with a front wall of the lid, and with a front wall of a container to which the lid is hinged . Patent application EP0647571A1 describes a rigid packet of cigarettes with a hinged lid, wherein a coupon is integrated into a front wall of the lid, or forms a continuation of the front wall of the lid, and is arranged, "L"-folded, inside the lid.

Patent application DE10208026A1 describes a rigid packet of cigarettes with a hinged lid, wherein a flat coupon is arranged resting on a front wall of the lid. Patent application WO2016087818A1 describes a rigid packet of cigarettes with a hinged lid, wherein a coupon is arranged inside a sealed inner wrapping provided with a repositionable closing label and is glued to the repositionable closing label to be lifted when the repositionable closing label is opened.

However, if the coupon is not extracted by the user at the first opening of the packet, it may be an obstacle for accessing the smoking articles. In other cases, the coupon may inadvertently slip out of the container, or it may be lost before the user accesses the respective informative content.

Furthermore, the coupon may not be extracted from the container or remain semi-hidden: therefore, it is not guaranteed that the user can access the informative content of the coupon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

This object is achieved by proposing a packet of smoking articles provided with a coupon and a method for the manufacturing thereof according to the appended claims. Advantageously, the packet and method proposed guarantee the extraction of the coupon at the first opening of the packet: in this way, the coupon is not an obstacle for accessing the smoking articles. Moreover, there is no risk that the coupon inadvertently slips out of the container before the user accesses the respective informative content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of a non-limiting embodiment, wherein:

- Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views, respectively in closed configuration and in an open configuration, of a packet object of the present invention;

- Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the packet of Figures 1 and 2, respectively, in which some parts have been removed to better highlight others; - Figure 5 is a perspective view of the collar and of the coupon of the packet of Figure 1, in an intermediate opening step with respect to the views of Figures 3 and 4;

- Figure 6 is a plan view of the coupon and of the connection element of the packet of Figure 1;

- Figures 7 and 8 are perspective views, front and side, of a further embodiment of the collar and of the coupon of a packet object of the present invention;

Figures 9 and 10 are views, front and rear, respectively, of the blank intended to form the collar of Figures 7 and 8 and of the coupon.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the attached figures, a packet of smoking articles provided with a coupon object of the present invention, has been generically denoted with reference number 1.

The term "smoking article" means an article relating to the tobacco industry such as a cigarette, a cigar, an electronic cigarette, a cartridge for an electronic cigarette or a heat- not-burn product. Generally, a smoking article is an object having a cylindrical shape with a longitudinal development along a respective development axis.

With reference to Figures 1-6, a first embodiment of the packet object of the present invention is described in the following . The packet 1 of smoking articles provided with a coupon 6 comprises: a group of smoking articles; a wrapping 3 that wraps the group of smoking articles; a container 4 that contains the group of smoking articles wrapped by the wrapping 3 and which comprises an open upper end 40; a lid 5 that is hinged to the container 4 and that is mobile for opening and closing the open upper end 40 of the container 4; a collar 2 that is arranged inside the container 4, between the container 4 and the wrapping 3, and which partially protrudes from the open upper end 40 of the container 4. The collar 2 comprises in turn: a fixed portion 20 that comprises a front wall 20a and an upper wall 20b; an extraction opening 21 of the smoking articles, the which extraction opening 21 is formed at least at the upper wall 20b; a mobile portion 22 which is hinged to the fixed portion 20 for opening and closing, at least partially, the extraction opening 21 of the smoking articles.

The packet 1 comprises, furthermore, a coupon 6 which is arranged in the container 4 and a connection element 7 that is connected to the coupon 6 and which is fixed to the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 so that, when the collar 2 is opened at the first time, by rotating the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 with respect to the fixed portion 20, the coupon 6 is automatically extracted from the container 4.

Advantageously, the aforesaid packet 1 guarantees the extraction of the coupon 6 at the first opening of the packet 1. At the same time, the aforesaid packet 1 ensures that the coupon 6 does not inadvertently slip off from the container 4 before the user has had access to the respective informative content .

The wrapping 3 can be made, for example, with a sheet of heat- sealable material comprising a label or with a tin foil sheet comprising a tearable portion (called "pull") that can to be torn away at the first opening of the packet 1.

The container 4 comprises a bottom wall 41, opposite to the extraction opening 21, and a side wall 42 which rises from the bottom wall 41. The side wall 42 comprises a front wall 42a, a rear wall 42b opposite and parallel to the front wall 42a, and two side walls 42c which connect the front wall 42a and the rear wall 42b to one another.

The lid 5 also comprises, a front wall 5a, a rear wall 5b opposite and parallel to the front wall 5a, and two side walls 5c which connect the front wall 5a and the rear wall 5b to one another. Furthermore, the lid 5 comprises an upper wall 5d which faces the extraction opening 21.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, the rear wall 5b of the lid 5 is hinged, at a respective hinge line, to the rear wall 42b of the side wall 42 of the container 4 (rigid packet 1 of hinged-lid type) .

Alternatively, according to an embodiment not illustrated, the lid 5 could be formed by: an upper wall which is hinged to the rear wall 42b of the side wall 42 of the container 4 and which faces the extraction opening 21; a front wall that protrudes from the upper wall and which, in the closed configuration, faces the front wall 42a of the side wall 42 of the container 4 (an example of said packet is described in the Italian patent application No. 102016000065691) .

In detail, the coupon 6 is arranged between the collar 2 and the wrapping 3. In particular, the collar 2 is fixed (for example by means of glue) to the container 4, in particular to the front wall 42a of the side wall 42.

With particular reference to Figures 3-5, the fixed portion 20 of the collar 2 comprises the front wall 20a which faces the front wall 42a of the side wall 42 of the container 4, a rear wall 20c that is opposite and parallel to the front wall 20a and that faces the rear wall 42b of the side wall 42 of the container 4, two lateral sides 20d that connect the front wall 20a and the rear wall 20c of the collar 2 and which face the lateral sides 42c of the side wall 42 of the container 4.

Moreover, the upper wall 20b of the collar 2 has an orthogonal development with respect to the development of the front wall 20a, of the rear wall 20c and of the side walls 20d of the collar 2 and connects said walls to one another.

The extraction opening 21 is obtained at the upper wall 20b and at the front wall 20a of the collar 2. This embodiment of the collar 2 (Figures 3-5) is described in detail in the patent application No. WO2016120674.

It is understood that other embodiments of the collar 2 are possible. In particular, a further embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figures 7-10.

With reference to Figure 4, the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 comprises a panel 22a hinged to the fixed portion 20 of the collar 2 and a flap 22b which protrudes from the free side of the panel 22a. The connection element 7 is fixed to the aforementioned panel 22a.

In detail, the panel 22a is hinged to the upper wall 20b of the fixed portion 20. The flap 22b protrudes from the side of the panel 22a which is opposite (and parallel) to the side of the panel 22a, hinged to the fixed portion 20.

Moreover, the panel 22a and the flap 22b are shaped so as to completely close the extraction opening 21 of the collar 2.

The flap 22b is fixed inside the lid 5 (Figure 2) .

Advantageously, by rotating the lid 5 with respect to the container 4, the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 is simultaneously moved with respect to the fixed portion 20. In this way, at the first opening of the pack 1, the user, by rotating the lid 5 with respect to the container 4 also causes the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 to rotate with respect to the fixed portion 20 thus causing the automatic extraction of the coupon 6 from the container 4.

In detail, the flap 22b of the collar 2 is fixed (by means of glue) to the inner surface of the front wall 5a of the lid 5. The packet 1 comprises glue 10 (for example, glue points or a glue strip or an adhesive) between the connection element 7 and the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2, in detail between the connection element 7 and the panel 22a of the mobile portion 22.

Said glue 10 can be a permanent or repositionable type of glue. Moreover, said glue 10 can be more or less strong as long as it maintains the connection element 7 fixed to the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 during the extraction of the coupon 6 (the glue 10 must overcome the frictional force of the coupon 6 at the act of extracting the same from the container 4) .

Preferably, the connection element 7 is made in one piece with the coupon 6. Furthermore, the packet 1 also comprises a pre- breaking line 8, arranged between the connection element 7 and the coupon 6, for facilitating the separation of the coupon 6 from the connection element 7. Advantageously, this specification is practical for the user, who can quickly separate the coupon 6 from the connection element 7 once the coupon 6 is outside the container 4.

A pre-breaking line means a line, even partial, comprising one or more cuts/incisions, to facilitate the detachment of the coupon 6 from the connection element 7. As an alternative to the first pre-breaking line 8 a weakening line can be provided (i.e. a creased line or an embossed line suitable to allow the coupon 6 to detach from the connection element 7) , or a through cut at an edge of the connection element or a piercing point in the latter (cases not illustrated) .

In the event that the pre-breaking line 8 is not present and the coupon 6 is made in one piece with the connection element 7, the coupon 6 and the connection element 7 can be made of a material such as to allow, in any case, the separation thereof by a user. For example, the material may be paper or cardboard, and the user can tear the coupon 6 from the connection element 7.

With reference to Figures 7-10, a further embodiment of the collar 2 is described in the following (alternative to the collar illustrated in Figures 3-5) .

The collar 2 comprises a fixed portion 20 comprising in turn a front wall 20a, which faces the front wall 42a of the side wall 42 of the container 2, a rear wall 20b that is opposite and parallel to the front wall 20a and which faces the rear wall 42b of the side wall 42 of the container 2, and two lateral sides 20d which face the lateral sides 42c of the side wall 42 of the container 4 and which connect the front wall 20a and the rear wall 20b. Moreover, the collar 2 comprises an upper wall 20b which has an orthogonal development with respect to the development of the front wall 20a and of the lateral sides 20d of the collar 2 and connects the latter to one another.

The collar 2 further comprises an extraction opening 21 of the smoking articles that is obtained at the upper wall 20b and at the front wall 20a. Moreover, said collar 2 comprises a mobile portion 22 comprising a panel 22a hinged to the fixed portion 20 of the collar 2 (in particular, to the upper wall 20b) and a flap 22b which protrudes from the free side of the panel 22a. The connection element 7 is fixed to the aforementioned panel 22a.

This embodiment of the collar 2 is obtained starting from the blank 2' illustrated in Figures 9 and 10.

The blank 2' comprises a first portion 20', which is designed to define the fixed portion 20 of the collar 2 and a second portion 22', which is designed to define the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2.

In detail, the first portion 20' of the blank 2' comprises a front panel 20a' that defines the front wall 20a of the collar 2, an upper panel 20b' that defines the upper wall 20b of the collar 2 and which is articulated with the front panel 20a', and a rear panel 20c' which defines the rear wall 20c of the collar 2 and which is articulated to the upper panel 20b' . Moreover, the first portion 20' of the blank 2' comprises two side panels 20d' that define the lateral sides 20d of the collar 2 and which are laterally articulated to the front panel 20a' and/or with the upper panel 20b' (or optionally with the rear panel 20c') .

The extraction opening 21 of the collar 2 is obtained by incising the upper panel 20b' and possibly also the front panel 20a' (possibly, even only the front panel 20a') . Moreover, by this incision the second portion 22' of the blank 2' is defined. Said second portion 22' is hinged to the first portion 20' at an articulation line which will identify the hinge line between the mobile portion and the fixed portion of the collar 2. The second portion 22' of the blank 2' comprises the panel 22a and the flap 22b.

With particular reference to Figure 10, the connection element 7 is fixed to the second portion 22' of the blank 2' by means of glue 10 (for example, glue points 10), in particular to the panel 22a of the second portion 22.

A method for manufacturing any of the aforementioned embodiments of the packet 1 object of the present invention is described in the following.

The method comprises the steps of:

a) wrapping a wrapping 3 around a group of smoking articles; b) incising a blank 2' intended to form the collar 2 so as to define the fixed portion 20, the mobile portion 22 and the extraction opening 21 of the collar 2;

c) fixing the connection element 7 to the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2;

d) arranging the coupon 6 so that it is connected to the connection element 7;

e) folding the blank 2', intended to form the collar 2, around the section 3 containing the group of smoking articles so as to form the collar 2;

f) folding a blank (not illustrated) , intended to form the container 4 and the lid 5, around the collar 2, the coupon 6 and the wrapping 3 containing the group of smoking articles so as to form the container 4 and the lid 5 of the packet 1. Preferably, step c) comprises the step of applying glue 10 at the connection element 7 and/or at the mobile portion 22 defined in the blank 2' intended to form the collar 2.

In the case in which the connection element 7 is made in one piece with the coupon 6, the method comprises a further step of making a pre-breaking line 8 between the connection element 7 and the coupon 6 for facilitating the separation of the coupon 6 from the connection element 7.

This step of making the pre-breaking line 8 is performed before step c) .

According to a particular embodiment of the method, steps c) and d) are performed before step e) . In this case, the connection portion 7 is fixed (by means of glue 10) to the blank 2' intended to define the collar 2 and then said blank 2' is folded around the group of smoking articles wrapped around the wrapping 3.

Alternatively, according to a different embodiment of the method, steps c) and d) can be performed simultaneously with step e) . In this case, the blank 2' is folded simultaneously to define the collar 2 and to fix the connection element 7 to the collar 2. The wrapping 3 can be wrapped around the group of smoking articles or with the known procedure of soap-bar folding or flow-wrap type of wrapping.

Before proceeding with step e) , the method provides for arranging the blank 2', the coupon 6 and the group of smoking articles wrapped by the wrapping 3 so that the coupon 6 is between the blank 2' and the smoking articles wrapped by wrapping 3. In the case where the mobile portion 22 of the collar 2 comprises the panel 22a and the flap 22b, the method can comprise the step of fixing the flap 22b to the blank intended to form the container 4 and the lid 5 (in particular, at the part of blank intended to form the lid 5) .

Claims

1. A packet (1) of smoking articles provided with a coupon (6) and comprising:

a group of smoking articles;

a wrapping (3) that wraps the group of smoking articles;

a container (4) that contains the group of smoking articles wrapped by the wrapping (3) and which comprises an open upper end (40) ;

a lid (5) which is hinged to the container (4) and which is mobile for opening and closing the open upper end (40) of the container ( 4 ) ;

a collar (2) which is arranged inside the container (4), between the container (4) and the wrapping (3), and which partially protrudes from the open upper end (40) of the container (4) ; and

a coupon (6) which is arranged in the container (4) ;

wherein the collar (2) comprises: a fixed portion (20) that comprises a front wall (20a) and an upper wall (20b) ; an extraction opening (21) of the smoking articles, the which extraction opening (21) is obtained at least at the upper wall (20b) ; and a mobile portion (22) that is hinged to the fixed portion (20) for opening and closing, at least partially, the extraction opening (21) of the smoking articles;

the packet (1) being characterized in that it comprises a connection element (7) that is connected to the coupon (6) and fixed to the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) so that, at the first opening of the collar (2), by rotating the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) with respect to the fixed portion (20), the coupon (6) is automatically extracted from the container (4) .

2. The packet (1) according to claim 1, wherein the coupon (6) is arranged between the collar (2) and the wrapping (3) .

3. The packet (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) comprises a panel (22a) hinged to the fixed portion (20) of the collar (2) and a flap (22b) extending from the free side of the panel (22a) ; the connection element (7) being fixed to said panel (22a) .

4. The packet (1) according to claim 3, wherein the flap (22b) is fixed inside the lid (5) so that by rotating the lid (5) with respect to the container (4) the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) is simultaneously moved.

5. The packet (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connection element (7) is made in one piece with the coupon (6) and wherein the packet (1) further comprises a pre-breaking line (8), arranged between the connection element (7) and the coupon (6), for facilitating the separation of the coupon (6) from the connection element (7) .

6 . The packet (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising glue (10) between the connection element

(7) and the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) .

7. A method for manufacturing the packet (1) of smoking articles according to claim 1 and comprising the following steps :

a) wrapping a wrapping (3) around a group of smoking articles; b) cutting a blank (2') intended to form the collar (2) so as to define the fixed portion (20), the mobile portion (22) and the extraction opening (21) of the collar (2) ;

c) fixing the connection element (7) to the mobile portion (22) of the collar (2) ;

d) arranging the coupon (6) so that it is connected to the connection element (7);

e) folding the blank (2') intended to form the collar (2) around the wrapping (3) containing the group of smoking articles so as to form the collar (2) ; and f) folding a blank, intended to form the container (4) and the lid (5) , around the collar (2) , the coupon (6) and the wrapping (3) containing the group of smoking articles so as to form the container (4) and the lid (5) of the packet (1) .

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step c) comprises the step of applying glue (10) at the connection element (7) and/or at the mobile portion (22) defined in the blank (2') intended to form the collar (2) .

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the steps c) and d) are performed prior to step e) or simultaneously with step e) .

10. The method according to any one of the claims from 7 to 9, wherein the connection element (7) is made in one piece with the coupon (6) and wherein the method comprises a further step of making a pre-breaking line (8) between the connection element (7) and the coupon (6) for facilitating the separation of the coupon (6) from the connection element (7) .