WO2022096341A1

WO2022096341A1 - Package of cigarettes with inner lifter

Info

Publication number: WO2022096341A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/079811
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nimue NEUKIRCH
Original assignee: Jt International Sa
Priority date: 2020-11-03
Filing date: 2021-10-27
Publication date: 2022-05-12

Abstract

The present application relates to a smoking articles box (1) for housing a charge of smoking articles (10) with an outer packaging (2) surrounding a volume for housing the smoking articles, wherein the outer packaging comprises a body section (22) and a lid (24), the lid (24) being hinged on the body section (22), with an inner lifter body (4) arranged at least partially inside the outer packaging (2) and suited for supporting at least a part of the smoking articles, wherein the inner lifter body (4) comprises at least two sections (42, 44) folded with respect to each. According to the invention the inner lifter body comprises a front panel (42), the front panel (42) being displaceable with respect to the outer packaging along a longitudinal direction (L) of the smoking articles (10), wherein the front panel (42) comprises a display surface (42a) which displays information to a consumer, the display surface (42a) becoming at least partially visible upon displacement of the front panel (42) with respect to the outer packaging.

Description

PACKAGE OF CIGARETTES WITH INNER LIFTER

Description

The present invention relates to a box or package for housing smoking articles, especially cigarettes. Hinge-lid type boxes for housing consumer products such as cigarettes are known from the state of the art. Usually these boxes comprise a reception volume for housing a plurality of products in a substantially parallelepipedal body portion of the box. This box usually can be opened by flapping a lid section around a predetermined swivelling axis formed by a hinge at one of the sides of the reception volume.

While the outer surface of such boxes is usually printed with various information such as warning advices and advertising, the inner surface is not used. One result for that is, that usually most of the inner surface of such boxes is covered by an inner packaging or the housed articles themselves. Currently, all reverse side printed designs of smoking articles boxes are partially visible on the inner side of the top lid only and if the consumer particularly looks or views this area. Other areas, and in particular at the inner backside of the body part of the box receiving the smoking articles collation, are kept void of any printing since it is in use covered by an inner liner foil preventing direct contact of the cigarette collation to the board material of the box.

Furthermore, the removal of housed articles is usually difficult, since the individual articles can be closely packed in the box. For this reason people might touch several more articles in the box than they intend to. This can be a hygienic issue considering that usually people don’t wash their hands every time before reaching into the box and afterwards, regarding to the direction of the articles inside the box, having mouth contact with the before touched part of the article.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide more surface, respectively area, in the box, especially for marketing purposes and also for solving possible removing issues of articles. This object is achieved by the smoking articles box of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are object of the subclaims.

A smoking articles box according to the invention for housing a charge of smoking articles comprises an outer packaging surrounding a volume for housing the smoking articles, wherein the outer packaging comprises a body section and a lid, the lid being arranged and especially hinged on the body section.

Preferably the outer packaging extends in a longitudinal direction which is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the smoking articles inside the smoking articles box. Preferably the outer packaging further extends in a lateral direction which is preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Very preferably the outer packaging has a parallelepipedal shape.

In another preferred embodiment a foil is arranged outside the outer packaging. Preferably this foil element at least partially and preferably completely surrounds and encloses the outer packaging.

According to the invention the smoking articles box further comprises an inner lifter body arranged at least partially inside the outer packaging and suited for supporting at least a part of the smoking articles, wherein the inner lifter body comprises at least two sections folded with respect to each other.

According to invention the inner lifter body comprises a front panel, the front panel being displaceable with respect to the outer packaging along the longitudinal direction of the smoking articles, wherein the front panel comprises a display surface for displaying information to a consumer. The display surface is arranged on the front panel directing towards the front wall of the body section. The display surface becomes at least partially visible upon displacement of the front panel with respect to the outer packaging. Therefore the display surface can comprise prints or other advertisement. It is conceivable that the front panel can be lifted along the longitudinal direction of the smoking articles box. Preferably in a non-lifted state of the front panel the display surface is at least partially covered by a front wall of the outer packaging or a wall of an inner packaging and in a lifted state the displayed surfaces becomes larger. Preferably the display surface can illustrate prints or other advertisement. It is conceivable that small mechanical and/or electrical parts might be included in the front panel of the inner lifter body and/or display surface. Also an interactive design could be possible where the panel is able to be displaced further and by that releasing more information after each row of smoking article is consumed.

In a preferred embodiment the inner lifter body comprises a support section for supporting at least a part of the smoking articles at an end face of the smoking articles. Preferably the inner lifter body supports all smoking articles. It is conceivable that in a closed state of the box the support section is parallel to the outer packaging bottom part of the smoking articles box. Also the support section is preferably the same size than the inner surface area of the outer packaging bottom part.

In another preferred embodiment upon a displacement of the front panel at least a part of the smoking articles are displaced along their longitudinal direction. Preferably all smoking articles are displaced along their longitudinal direction. It is conceivable that due to the design of the inner lifter body the smoking articles are shifted by different distances.

In a preferred embodiment the smoking articles are displaceable along their longitudinal direction. The smoking articles are arranged next to each other in lateral direction which is preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the smoking articles and parallel to a plain of the front panel. Preferably the smoking articles are arranged in at least one row, the rows being arranged in a third direction which is preferably perpendicular to both of the previously specified directions. It is conceivable that a first row of smoking articles is arranged the closest to the font panel and a last row is arranged the closest to the backwall section of the outer packaging.

It is conceivable that the displacement of the front panel lifts the support section in a way that the first row of smoking articles is displaced the furthest out of the box and the last row the least. Preferably this displacement of the smoking articles results in a better opportunity to reach at least one of the smoking articles in the first row, touching the rest of the smoking articles less, preferably not at all.

It is conceivable that the inner lifter body can be displaced back into the box and by that the smoking articles are also displaced back into the box. Due to that the plane of the support section is now again parallel to the bottom of the box.

Preferably the inner lifter body is made of paper or a different cardboard material. Preferably the inner lifter body is made of other materials such as plastic, wood or metal; also a combination of different materials is conceivable. Very preferably the material can also be a different arranged layer material.

In a preferred embodiment the inner lifter body comprises a backwall section. The backwall section has a preferably rectangular shape, but also a round shape, other geometric forms are possible.

In a preferred embodiment the backwall section is shorter than the front panel in the longitudinal direction of the smoking articles box. Preferably the height is less than 80% of the front panel, less than 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%.

In a preferred embodiment the backwall section comprises an adhesive section to be attached to another element of the Smoking articles box. This attachment might prevent the inner lifter body from falling or getting pulled out of the box. Preferably the backwall section is attached to the outer packaging. Very preferably the backwall section is attached to the back- wall of the outer packaging or an inner box. Therefore the most likely way of attaching is with adhesive. It is conceivable that also other attachments such as adhesive tape or stapling can be used.

In preferred embodiment the inner lifter body consists exclusively of the front panel a support section and a backwall section which are attached to each other. It is conceivable that the parts of the inner lifter body are attached to each other via creases. Another possibility of fixing would be perforated creases. Therefore the attachment is free of adhesives. Preferably the support section is connected to the front panel and the backwall is connected to the support section. It is conceivable that the lifter body is a three side folded lifter. Preferably all parts of the lifter body have the same width. It is conceivable that the parts of the lifter body have different shapes, sizes and colors.

In a preferred embodiment the lifter body comprises a flap attached to the front panel. Preferably the Flap extends from the upper edge of the front panel section in the longitudinal direction of the smoking articles box. It is conceivable that the flap can also be cut out of the front panel, the front panel then having a hole in it, preferably in the visible lid section and the flap being bend to the frontside 21 of the smoking articles box. Another design of the flap could be made by making two parallel cuts in the longitudinal direction of the front panel and then folding out the part. Another possible design would be to bend at least one of the corners of the front panel and by that creating a flap to pull at. Preferably the flap has a round shape, but also a triangular, rectangular or similar geometric design can be possible. Very preferably the flap can also be glued to the front panel and by that being made of a different material than the front panel.

Preferably the inner lifter body with its flap, front panel, support section and backwall section consists of one continuous piece of material.

In another embodiment the smoking articles box comprises an inner packaging arranged at least partially inside the outer packaging and suited for housing the smoking articles, wherein the inner packaging comprises an inner packaging body section and an inner packaging lid section. It is conceivable that the inner packaging comprises three sections, one front sections and two side sections wherein the planes of the side sections are parallel to each other and the side sections are bent at predetermined creases so that their planes are perpendicular to the plane of the front section. Preferably the inner packaging is fixed to the outer packaging, very preferably via its three plane sections. Preferably the inner packaging comprises at least one inner liner part. Preferably this inner liner part is folded around the charge of smoking articles and very preferably it can be removed. Preferably the inner lifter body replaces at least a part, preferably the front and bottom part of the inner liner and by that having direct contact to at least a few smoking articles.

In another embodiment the inner lifter body is arranged at least partially inside the inner packaging. It is conceivable that the inner lifter body is arranged completely inside the inner packaging and thus only the flap of the front panel is visible when opening the smoking arti- cles box. Preferably at least a part of the inner lifter body is placed outside the inner packaging. Very preferably the front panel extends over the inner packaging in the longitudinal direction of the box and/or it reaches to the smoking articles. It is conceivable that in a closed state of the box the flap is bent over the smoking articles.

In a preferred embodiment the inner packaging comprises a front part arranged adjacent to the front panel of the inner lifter body, wherein the front face comprises a recess. Preferably the front part of the inner packaging is parallel to the front panel of the inner lifter body and by that also parallel to the frontwall and backwall of the outer packaging. It is conceivable that the recess enables a view of the front panel. In another version the recess hides a predetermined section of the front panel. Preferably the recess can be a horizontal cutout inside the inner packaging and by that creating a window through which one can see possible advertising or other content on the display surface of the front panel.

In a preferred embodiment the front panel is displaceable with respect to the outer packaging by a distance that is larger than 0,3 cm, preferably larger than 0,5 cm, preferably larger than 0,8 cm and preferably larger than 1 cm and/or the front panel is displaceable with respect to the outer packaging by a distance that is smaller than 4 cm, preferably smaller than 3 cm, preferably smaller than 2,5 cm und preferably smaller than 2,0 cm.

The invention reaches more visible space for design and communication activities in consumer product packages such as hinge-lid boxes for smoking articles, especially at the inner parts of the packages. Further advantages and embodiments are illustrated in the attached drawings.

Herein show:

Fig. 1 smoking articles box 1 according to the invention

Fig. 2 smoking articles box 1 according to the invention with displaced front panel 42

Fig. 3 cutter guide of the outer packaging 2 of a smoking articles box 1 as it is known from the state of the art

Fig. 4 cutter guide of the inner packaging 6 of a smoking articles box 1 as it is known from the state of the art

Fig. 5 cutter guide of the inner lifter body 4 according to the invention Fig. 1 shows a smoking articles box 1 according to the state of the art with the inner lifter body 4. This smoking articles box 1 comprises an outer packaging 2 which in a closed state of the box 1 has a preferably parallelepipedal, but mostly cuboid shape. This outer packaging 2 has a body section 22 and a lid 24, which is hinged on the body section 22 so as to open the smoking articles box 1 and allow access to smoking articles 10 arranged in a collation in the inner volume of the body section 22 with their longitudinal direction parallel to the L axis.

The lid 24 is the closure of the smoking articles box 1. In figure 1 the lid 24 is shown in an open state of the box 1. In a closed state of the box 1 the lid 24 fits perfectly on top the body section 22 and it is slipped over the inner packaging 6 and by that the lid 24 hides all parts which are attached inside the lid 24 section of the box 1. These include the inner liner 8, the inner packaging 6 the smoking articles 10 and the inner lifter body 4 with its attached flap 5.

Reference numeral 4 refers to the inner lifter body 4 according to the invention. In this figure the inner lifter body’s 4 front panel section 42 as well its display surface 42a are illustrated as partially visible, but mostly covered by the inner packaging 6. The display surface can be designed in various colours and shapes, but may also contain perforations, embossings and prints. Also the flap 5 of the lifter body is shown.

The flap 5 is attached to the front panel 42 of the lifter body 4, preferably via a predefined crease 29 so that the flap 5 can be bent on a predefined path.

This figure shows a state of the box 1 where the front panel 42 is not displaced alongside the longitudinal direction L. By that the inner lifter body 4 has the same position as in a closed state of the box 1. The lifter body 4 has the same width alongside the B axis as the inner packaging 6 has as internal dimension. In the illustrated state the support section 44 of the inner lifter body 4 is parallel to the bottom part 23 of the outer packaging 2 and by that the plane of the support section 44 perpendicular to the L axis. In figure 1 also the backwall section 46 and its attachment to the outer packaging 2 body section 22 via the adhesive surfaces 46a and 26a are shown. The surface of the backwall section 46 is parallel to the surface of the front panel 42 and thus also perpendicular to the support section 44.

The inner liner 8 inside the smoking articles box 1 wraps around the smoking articles 10 collation in the body section 22 to protect it from contacting the inner surfaces of the body section 22 and lid 24 before first opening of the box 1, thereby controlling moisture egress and sensory characteristics of the smoking articles 10 during storage. In figure 1 the inner liner 8 only appears in the back side 20 of the box 1 , regarding to the depth D of the box 1. In the front part of the box 1 the inner liner 8 is replaced by the front panel 42 of the inner lifter body 4. Thereby the inner lifter body 4 prevents the smoking articles 10 from touching the outer packaging 2.

Fig. 2 shows the same smoking articles box 1 as in figure 1 , also in an open state of the box 1 , but now with a displaced front panel 42. The front panel 42 is displaced by pulling the flap 5 of the inner lifter body 4 along the longitudinal direction L towards the top of the box 1 , wherein the top of the box is the place where also the lid section 24 is attached. By this displacement of the front panel 42 alongside the longitudinal direction L the function of the lifter body 4 which is lifting the smoking articles 10 is illustrated. By displacing the front panel 42, the support section 44 of the inner lifter body 4 is also displaced. Due to the attachment of the inner lifter body’s 4 backwall section 46 to the outer packaging 2 body section 22, the support section 44 is only shifted at the edge of the support section 44 which represents the connection to the front panel 42. The edge of the support section 44 which is connected to the backwall section 46 of the inner lifter body 4 remains in position and does not shift. Thus the support section 44 is no longer parallel to the bottom part 23 of the outer packaging 2 body section 22. Instead, the support section 44 is shifted at an angle a referred to the surface of the bottom part whereby the angle refers to the position of the support section 44 in relation to the bottom section in the direction D. The shifted support section 44 causes the smoking articles 10 to be lifted, whereby the first row of smoking articles 10 regarding to the direction D is lifted the most. The smoking articles 10 are displaced because they are arranged on top of the support section 44 and the support section 44 pushes them up in the longitudinal direction. The different rows of cigarettes 10 thus form steps to each other in the D direction.

In the state of figure 2 a larger display surface 42a of the front panel 42 compared to the state in figure 1 is shown. The display surface 42a becomes larger regarding to the displacement of the front panel 42, because the previously hidden part behind the inner packaging 6 can now be seen. Due to that fact the display surface 42 can be divided into two sections whereby one section is always visible and one surface is only visible in the lifted state. The part of the display surface 42a which is always visible is arranged above partly hidden part of the display surface 42a according to the longitudinal direction L. Thus the partly hidden part replaced the always visible part of the display surface 42a by displacing the front panel alongside the direction L.

Fig. 3 shows the cutter guide for manufacturing the outer packaging 2 of a smoking articles box 1. The cutter guide is a template, which forms the smoking articles box 1 when cut out and put together in the right places. The manufacturing process preferably includes cutting processes, as well as gluing and bending. In the following only the fixing method of gluing is used for the description, whereby all attachment methods such as stapling or the usage of adhesive tape should be taken into account. For the manufacturing process the dashed lines are cutting lines 28 which have to be cut before the smoking articles box 1 can be formed, whereby forming means the bending of the template at predetermined bending lines 29 which represent all normal lines except the outer line.

To get the smoking articles box 1 permanently shaped after bending the carton parts, these can be glued together via the hatched areas. All hatched areas represent adhesive surfaces 26a-d on which glue will be applied whereby the single hatched areas are adhesive surfaces 26b-d for attaching the smoking articles box 1 itself. With the adhesive surface 26b the bottom part 23 of the smoking articles box 1 is glued to the frontside 21 and backside 20 of the smoking articles box 1. With the adhesive surface 26c the frontside 21 and backside 20 of the smoking articles box 1 are glued together and by that forming the body section 22 of the outer packaging 2. The adhesive surfaces 26d are attaching the lid 24 of the smoking articles box 1. The double hatched area is the adhesive surface 26a for attaching the backwall section 46 of the inner lifter body 4 to the smoking articles box 1. By this fact the white surfaces shown in figure 3 are going to be the inner surfaces of the smoking articles box 1.

Fig. 4 shows a cutter guide for the inner packaging 6 with its front part 32, side parts 33, the recess 34, and the respective adhesive surfaces 30a and 30b which are arranged on the side parts 33. It also comprises bending lines 29 which separate the front part of the inner packaging 6 from the side parts 33. The side parts 33 are bent so that they are perpendicular to the surface area of the front part 32. The inner packaging 6 is attached to the frontside 21 of the body section 22 with the adhesive surface 30a. The adhesive surfaces 30b are attached to the side 33 parts of the smoking articles box 1 with their respective adhesive surfaces 26c. Fig. 5 shows the cutter guide for the entire inner lifter body 4 with its flap 5, the front panel 42 and its display surface 42a, as well as the support section 44 and backwall section 46. The bending lines 29 divide the 4 sections from each other. The double hatched surface of the backwall section 46 of the inner lifter body 4 is the adhesive surface 46a by which the inner lifter body 4 is attached to the adhesive surface 26a of the backside 20 of the outer body section 22 of the smoking articles box 1 . In figure 4 the inner lifter body 4 is illustrated in a preferably square shape with its width in the width direction B having preferably the same width as the width of the inner packaging 6 front part 32 in the width direction B. As presented the flap 5 is preferably arranged at the upper edge according to L in the middle of the front panel 42 according to the width B and has semi a round shape. It extends in the longitudinal direction L from the mainly rectangular body which is formed by the front panel 42, the support section 44 and the backwall section 46. The front panel’s 42 upper edges according to the longitudinal direction L are rounded. The front panel 42, the support section 44 and the back- wall section 46 have the same size according to direction B, but they have not the same size according to the longitudinal direction L. Preferably, the front panel 42 has the greatest size according to the longitudinal direction L. Preferably the support section 44 is limited in its size, because it must not extend size of the bottom part 23 of the smoking articles box 1 according to the longitudinal direction L in figures 3 and 4. The size of the backwall section 46 in the longitudinal direction L is preferably the same size as the adhesive area 26a on the backside 20 of the outer packaging 2 measure along the longitudinal direction L. The display surface 42a of the front panel 42 is in an attached state of the smoking articles box 1 preferably visible through at least a part of the recess 34 of the inner packaging front part 32. The size of the visible part of the display surface 42a is proportional to the displacement of the front panel 42 in the direction L.

Reference signs

1 smoking articles box

2 outer packaging of the smoking articles box

4 inner lifter body

5 flap

6 inner packaging

8 inner liner

10 smoking articles

20 backside of outer packaging

21 frontside of outer packaging

22 body section

23 bottom part of outer packaging

24 lid of the outer packaging

26a adhesive surface for lifter body’s backwall section in the box

26b adhesive surface of the bottom section of the box

26c adhesive surface of the front section of the box

26d adhesive surface of the lid section of the box

28 cutting lines

29 bending lines

30a adhesive surface of the inner packaging front part

30b adhesive surface of the inner packaging side part

32 front part of inner packaging

33 side parts of inner packaging

34 recess

42 front panel section

42a display surface of front panel

44 support section

46 backwall section

46a adhesive surface of the backwall section of inner lifter body

B width direction of the box

L longitudinal direction of the box

D depth direction of the box

Claims

Claims Smoking articles box (1) for housing a charge of smoking articles (10) with an outer packaging (2) surrounding a volume for housing the smoking articles, wherein the outer packaging comprises a body section (22) and a lid (24), the lid (24) being hinged on the body section (22), with an inner lifter body (4) arranged at least partially inside the outer packaging (2) and suited for supporting all of the smoking articles, wherein the inner lifter body (4) comprises at least two sections (42, 44) folded with respect to each other, characterized in that the inner lifter body comprises a front panel (42), the front panel (42) extending along a width direction (B) of the smoking articles box (1) and being displaceable with respect to the outer packaging along a longitudinal direction (L) of the smoking articles (10), wherein the front panel (42) comprises a display surface (42a) which displays information to a consumer, the display surface (42a) becoming at least partially visible upon displacement of the front panel (42) with respect to the outer packaging. Smoking articles box (1) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the inner lifter body (4) comprises a support section (44) for supporting the smoking articles (10) at an end face of the smoking articles (10). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that upon displacement of the front panel (42) at least a part of the smoking articles (10) is also displaceable along their longitudinal direction (L). Smoking articles box (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the smoking articles (10) being displaceable along their longitudinal direction (L) are arranged next to each other in the direction (B) being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L) of the smoking articles (10) and parallel to a plain of the front panel (42). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner lifter body (4) is made of a paper or a cardboard material. Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner lifter body (4) comprises a backwall section (46). Smoking articles box (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the backwall section (46) is shorter than the front panel in the longitudinal direction (L). Smoking articles box (1) according to one of the preceding claims 6 - 7 characterized in that the backwall section (46) comprises an adhesive section to be attached to another element of the Smoking articles box (1). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner lifter body (4) consists exclusively of the front panel (42) a support section (44) and a backwall section (46) which are attached to each other. Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lifter body (4) comprises a flap (5) attached to the front panel (42). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the smoking articles box (1) comprises an inner packaging (6) arranged at least partially inside the outer packaging (2) and suited for housing the smoking articles (10). - 14 - Smoking articles box (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the inner lifter body (4) is arranged at least partially inside the inner packaging (6). Smoking articles box (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lifter body (4) and thereby preferably also the front panel (42) comprise the same size in the width direction (B) as the inner packaging (6). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 11 - 13 characterized in that the inner packaging (6) comprises a front face (21) arranged adjacent to the front panel (42), wherein the front face (21) comprises a recess (34). Smoking articles box (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 11 - 13 characterized in that the front panel (42) is displaceable with respect to the outer packaging (2) by a distance that is larger than 0,3 cm, preferably large than 0,5 cm, preferably larger than 0,8 cm and preferably larger than 1cm and/or the front panel (42) is displaceable with respect to the outer packaging (2) by a distance that is smaller than 4 cm, preferably smaller than 3 cm, preferably smaller than 2,5 cm und preferably smaller than 2,0 cm.