WO2024003676A1 - Wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product - Google Patents

Wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024003676A1
WO2024003676A1 PCT/IB2023/056421 IB2023056421W WO2024003676A1 WO 2024003676 A1 WO2024003676 A1 WO 2024003676A1 IB 2023056421 W IB2023056421 W IB 2023056421W WO 2024003676 A1 WO2024003676 A1 WO 2024003676A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
wrap
wrapping sheet
wrapping
cut
transition portion
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2023/056421
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Roberto Polloni
Luca PARADISO
Original Assignee
G.D S.P.A.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by G.D S.P.A. filed Critical G.D S.P.A.
Publication of WO2024003676A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024003676A1/en

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
    • B65D75/04—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks
    • B65D75/06—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes
    • B65D75/08—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in single sheets or wrapper blanks in sheets or blanks initially folded to form tubes with the ends of the tube closed by folding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
    • B65D65/02—Wrappers or flexible covers
    • B65D65/10—Wrappers or flexible covers rectangular
    • B65D65/12—Wrappers or flexible covers rectangular formed with crease lines to facilitate folding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
    • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles
    • B65D85/08—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular
    • B65D85/10—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes
    • B65D85/1072—Bundle of cigarette packs

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product.
  • the present invention finds advantageous application to a wrap containing a group of packs of smoking articles, in particular cigarettes (namely, to a “ carton” of packs of smoking articles), to which the following disclosure will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality.
  • a “carton” of packs of cigarettes contains a group of packs of cigarettes having an overall parallelepiped shape; usually ten packs of cigarettes divided into two rows of five packs of cigarettes each are provided.
  • the group of packs of cigarettes is contained in a rigid container obtained by folding a rigid blank around the group of packs of cigarettes or in a soft wrap obtained by folding a soft wrapping sheet around the group of packs of cigarettes.
  • the wrapping sheet is generally folded around the group of packs of cigarettes initially forming a tubular wrapping (namely, a tube) which has two open lateral ends; subsequently the two open lateral ends of the tubular wrapping are closed by means of the so-called “ soap-bar fold” that for each lateral end provides for: folding two opposite flaps (that is, originating from parallel sides) against the group of packs of cigarettes, thus defining lower flaps of the wrap; folding a flap against the group of packs of cigarettes and on top of the two previously folded lower flaps obtaining a first upper flap; and finally folding another flap against the group of packs of cigarettes and on top of the two lower flaps and of the first upper flap previously folded to obtain a second upper flap.
  • the first upper flap and the second upper flap can overlap at an overlapping area.
  • said folds can be stabilized by gluing (namely, by means of glue previously applied to the wrapping sheet) or by means of heat sealing, namely, by heat sealing the overlapping parts of the wrapping sheet.
  • Patent application GB29865A describes a wrap which contains a parallelepiped-shaped group of cigarettes and is made by folding a tinfoil wrapping sheet around the group of cigarettes.
  • Patent application DE1486575A1 describes a wrap which contains a parallelepiped- shaped group of cigarettes and is made by folding a heat-sealable wrapping sheet and comprising a hydrophilic layer and an impermeable layer around the group of cigarettes.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product and which allows to obtain a symmetrical appearance of all the folds with all the possible formats of the product and, at the same time, is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
  • a wrap is provided containing a parallelepiped- shaped product, according to what is claimed in the attached claims.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrap containing a group of packs of cigarettes
  • Figure 2 is a view of a lateral face of the wrap of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 is a perspective view of a parallelepiped group of packs of cigarettes contained in the wrap of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 4 is a plan view of an unfolded wrapping sheet used to manufacture the wrap of Figure 1;
  • Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing step of the wrap of Figure 1 ;
  • Number 1 in Figure 1 denotes as a whole a wrap which contains a parallelepiped-shaped product 2 (illustrated in Figure 3), namely, with a rectangular cross-section having a longer side and a shorter side (less extended than the longer side).
  • the parallelepiped- shaped product 2 could have a substantially square cross-section.
  • the product 2 (illustrated in Figure 3) is formed by a group of (ten) packs 3 of cigarettes arranged in two overlapping rows; namely, the wrap l is a “carton” of packs of cigarettes.
  • the wrap 1 comprises a wrapping sheet 4 with a rectangular shape, (illustrated unfolded in Figure 4) which is folded around the product 2 (namely, around the group of packs 3 of cigarettes).
  • the wrapping sheet 4 is wrapped like a tube (namely, it forms a tubular wrapping) around the product 2 by overlapping two opposite edges 5 and 6 (illustrated in Figure 4) of the wrapping sheet 4.
  • the wrapping sheet 4 wrapped like a tube has two opposite ends, each of which has been folded using the so-called “ soap-bar fold” and comprises two lower flaps 7 and 8 (also indicated as larger flaps 7 and 8 ) folded against an end wall of the product 2 (the group of packs of cigarettes 3), an upper flap 9 (also referred to as smaller flap 9) folded against the end wall of the product 2 and over the two lower flaps 7 and 8 previously folded, and an upper flap 10 (also referred to as smaller flap 10) folded against the end wall of the product 2 and over the two lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flap 9 previously folded.
  • the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the longer (namely, more extended) sides of the product 2 while the upper flaps 9 and 10 originate from the shorter (namely, less extended) sides of the product 2; consequently, the lower flaps 7 and 8 (equal to one another) have a greater extension than an extension of the upper flaps 9 and 10 (equal to one another).
  • the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the shorter (namely, less extended) sides of product 2 whereas the upper flaps 9 and 10 originate from the longer (namely, more extended) sides of product 2.
  • the problem disclosed in the preamble of the present description and which the solution proposed herein solves, can occur both in the case in which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the longer sides of the product 2 and in the case in which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the shorter sides of product 2.
  • the problem disclosed above occurs when the side of product 2 from which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate has a length greater than the difference between the length of the side of product 2 from which the upper flaps 9, 10 and the height of the overlapping area of the upper flaps 9, 10 originate.
  • the two lower flaps 7 and 8 do not overlap one another (namely, they do not touch one another) while according to an alternative embodiment (namely, in the presence of given shape ratios which tend to give the cross-section a square shape) the two lower flaps 7 and 8 overlap (partially in the central area) one on top of the other (namely, they touch one another).
  • all the flaps 7-10 (lower and upper, or rather, larger and smaller) have an isosceles trapezoidal shape which has two bases parallel to one another (the smaller base coincides with the margin 11 of wrapping sheet 4) and two inclined sides in the area of two inclined folding lines 12.
  • each transition portion 13 is interposed, which is delimited by two inclined folding lines 12 that originate from the edge 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 and join at a vertex (therefore each lower flap 7 or 8 is connected to a respective upper flap 9 or 10 by means of a corresponding transition portion 13 of the wrapping sheet 4); namely, each transition portion 13 has a triangular shape delimited by the edge 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 delimiting the lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flaps 9 and 10 of the same end of the tubular wrapping and by two folding lines 12 tilted towards one another until they meet at a vertex.
  • the wrapping sheet 4 comprises four through cuts 14 (namely, passing through the wrapping sheet 4 from side to side), each originating from a margin 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 delimiting the lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flaps 9 and 10 of a same end of the tubular wrapping. That is, each cut 14 is arranged at a respective end of the tubular wrapping. In particular, two through cuts 14 are arranged at one end of the tubular wrapping (namely, on a side of the wrapping sheet 4) and the other two through cuts 14 are arranged at the other end of the tubular wrapping (namely, on the other side of the wrapping sheet 4). According to a preferred embodiment, each cut 14 is at least partially arranged in the area of a transitional portion 13 (having a triangular shape) connecting a lower flap 7 or 8 to an upper flap 9 or 10.
  • each cut 14 is arranged closer to a lower flap 7 or 8 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13 and further away from an upper flap 9 or 10 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13; namely, each cut 14 is not arranged symmetrically at the centre of the respective transition portion 13 but is moved towards the side of the respective transition portion 13 facing the lower flap 7 or 8 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13.
  • Each cut 14 extends at least as far as a folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, each cut 14 extends exactly up to the folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13 (namely, it ends in the area of the folding line 12), whereas in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6 each cut 14 extends beyond the folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13 crossing the folding line 12.
  • each cut 14 has a rectilinear extension; according to other embodiments not illustrated each cut 14 can have a more or less curvilinear or broken extension.
  • each cut 14 is parallel to a (longer) side of the wrapping sheet 4.
  • each cut 14 forms an acute angle with a side (larger or smaller) of the wrapping sheet 4 and is parallel to a folding line 12 delimiting a transition portion 13; in particular, each cut 14 overlaps a folding line 12 delimiting a transition portion 13.
  • the wrapping sheet 4 is wrapped like a tube around the product 2 by overlapping two opposite edges 5 and 6 of the wrapping sheet 4; at each end of the tubular wrapping, the lower flap 7 is formed in part by the edge 5 of the wrapping sheet 4 and in part by the edge 6 of the wrapping sheet 4 overlapping the edge 5.
  • the wrapping sheet 4 can be opaque (in this case it is generally paper-based and is stabilized by gluing) or it can be transparent (in this case it is made of plastic material, typically polypropylene, and is stabilized by heat-sealing).
  • the proposed solution finds advantageous application both with a paper-based wrapping sheet and with a plastic material wrapping sheet. In the case of a paper-based wrapping sheet, which has greater rigidity and less transparency than a sheet of plastic material, the problem described above is particularly evident; consequently, the proposed solution is particularly advantageous.
  • the cuts 14 can be made in the wrapping sheet 4 before the wrapping sheet 4 is fed to a packing machine which produces the wrap 1 (namely, the packing machine receives wrapping sheets 4 already provided with the cuts 14) or the cuts 14 can be made in the wrapping sheet 4 inside the packing machine which produces the wrap 1 (namely, the packing machine receives wrapping sheets 4 devoid of the cuts 14).
  • the wrapping sheet 4 comprises four cuts the wrapping sheet 4 comprises a greater number of cuts 14 (for example eight cuts 14, that is, four for each end of the tubular wrapping).
  • each cut 14 is at least partially arranged in the area of a transition portion 13 connecting a lower flap 7 or 8 to an upper flap 9 or 10; according to other embodiments not illustrated, (at least) a cut 14 could be completely formed in a lower flap 7 or 8 or could be completely formed in an upper flap 9 or 10 (that is, a cut 14 could not be formed at least partially in the area of a transition portion 13).
  • the product 2 is formed by a group of packs 3 of cigarettes; according to other embodiments not illustrated, the product 2 can be formed by a group of articles other than the packs 3 of cigarettes or by a single article which can be a pack of cigarettes or even another type of object.
  • the wrap 1 described above has numerous advantages.
  • the wrap 1 described above always has perfectly symmetrical folds at its ends regardless of its size. This important result is obtained due to the presence of the cuts 14 which, by increasing the degrees of freedom in the upper flaps 9 and 10, allow to avoid negative interferences between the various parts making up the upper flaps 9 and 10 at the time of their folding and therefore allowing to avoid interference in the folding of the upper flaps 9 and 10 that could cause asymmetry.
  • the cuts 14 are completely invisible in the finished wrap 1 as they are covered by other parts of the upper flaps 9 and 10 and therefore have no impact on the aesthetics of the wrap 1.
  • the wrap 1 described above is simple and inexpensive to produce, since the folding methods of the wrapping sheet 4 are completely identical to the folding methods of a traditional wrapping sheet and since the performing of the cuts 14 on the wrapping sheet 4 can be obtained with the same cutting device that separates the wrapping sheet 4 from a strip unwound from a reel with a substantially negligible cost increase of the cutting device.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Abstract

A wrap (1) containing a parallelepiped-shaped product (2) and having a parallelepiped cross section. The wrap (1) is provided with a wrapping sheet (4) with a rectangular shape, which is folded around the product (2) so as to form a tubular wrapping having two opposite ends. Each end of the tubular wrapping has: two lower flaps (7, 8) folded against an end wall of the product (2), a first upper flap (9) folded against the end wall of the product (2) and on top of the two lower flaps (7, 8), which were previously folded, and a second upper flap (10) folded against the end wall of the product (2) and on top of the two lower flaps (7, 8) and of the first upper flap (9), which were previously folded. The wrapping sheet (4) has four through cuts (14), each originating from a margin (11) of the wrapping sheet (4), which delimits the lower flaps (7, 8) and the upper flaps (9, 10) of the same end of the tubular wrapping.

Description

“WRAP CONTAINING A PARALLELEPIPED-SHAPED PRODUCT”
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
This Patent Application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No. 102022000013447 filed on June 27, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product.
The present invention finds advantageous application to a wrap containing a group of packs of smoking articles, in particular cigarettes (namely, to a “ carton” of packs of smoking articles), to which the following disclosure will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality.
Prior Art
A “carton” of packs of cigarettes contains a group of packs of cigarettes having an overall parallelepiped shape; usually ten packs of cigarettes divided into two rows of five packs of cigarettes each are provided. The group of packs of cigarettes is contained in a rigid container obtained by folding a rigid blank around the group of packs of cigarettes or in a soft wrap obtained by folding a soft wrapping sheet around the group of packs of cigarettes.
In the case of soft wrap, the wrapping sheet is generally folded around the group of packs of cigarettes initially forming a tubular wrapping (namely, a tube) which has two open lateral ends; subsequently the two open lateral ends of the tubular wrapping are closed by means of the so-called “ soap-bar fold” that for each lateral end provides for: folding two opposite flaps (that is, originating from parallel sides) against the group of packs of cigarettes, thus defining lower flaps of the wrap; folding a flap against the group of packs of cigarettes and on top of the two previously folded lower flaps obtaining a first upper flap; and finally folding another flap against the group of packs of cigarettes and on top of the two lower flaps and of the first upper flap previously folded to obtain a second upper flap. In particular, the first upper flap and the second upper flap can overlap at an overlapping area.
After completing the folding of the wrapping sheet around the group of packs of cigarettes, said folds can be stabilized by gluing (namely, by means of glue previously applied to the wrapping sheet) or by means of heat sealing, namely, by heat sealing the overlapping parts of the wrapping sheet.
It has been observed that with some formats of the group of packs of cigarettes (namely, when the group of packs of cigarettes has given ratios between its height and its width) the folding of the lateral ends of the wrapping sheet is not symmetrical. Said problem arises in particular when the sides from which the lower flaps originate have a length greater than the difference between the length of the side from which the upper, first and second flaps originate, and the height of the overlapping area of said upper flaps.
With said proportions it has been observed that the two lower flaps overlap one another in the centre and this prevents the folded symmetry of both the lower flaps and the upper flaps from being maintained (namely, the folding of the lateral ends of the wrapping sheet is not symmetrical). Consequently, the two ends of the wrap have an asymmetrical (irregular) appearance which, despite being functional, gives users a feeling of low quality of the package. In other words, the visual rendering that symmetry creates pleases the human eye and a lack of symmetry is instead a defect.
Patent application GB29865A describes a wrap which contains a parallelepiped-shaped group of cigarettes and is made by folding a tinfoil wrapping sheet around the group of cigarettes.
Patent application DE1486575A1 describes a wrap which contains a parallelepiped- shaped group of cigarettes and is made by folding a heat-sealable wrapping sheet and comprising a hydrophilic layer and an impermeable layer around the group of cigarettes.
Description of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to provide a wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product and which allows to obtain a symmetrical appearance of all the folds with all the possible formats of the product and, at the same time, is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. According to the present invention, a wrap is provided containing a parallelepiped- shaped product, according to what is claimed in the attached claims.
The claims describe embodiments of the present invention forming an integral part of the present description.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate some non-limiting embodiments thereof, wherein:
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrap containing a group of packs of cigarettes;
• Figure 2 is a view of a lateral face of the wrap of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of a parallelepiped group of packs of cigarettes contained in the wrap of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 4 is a plan view of an unfolded wrapping sheet used to manufacture the wrap of Figure 1;
• Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a manufacturing step of the wrap of Figure 1 ; and
• Figures 6 and 7 are two plan views of respective alternatives of the wrapping sheet of Figure 4. Preferred Embodiments of the Invention
Number 1 in Figure 1 denotes as a whole a wrap which contains a parallelepiped-shaped product 2 (illustrated in Figure 3), namely, with a rectangular cross-section having a longer side and a shorter side (less extended than the longer side). As an alternative to what has been illustrated, the parallelepiped- shaped product 2 could have a substantially square cross-section. In the preferred but not limiting embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the product 2 (illustrated in Figure 3) is formed by a group of (ten) packs 3 of cigarettes arranged in two overlapping rows; namely, the wrap l is a “carton” of packs of cigarettes.
The wrap 1 comprises a wrapping sheet 4 with a rectangular shape, (illustrated unfolded in Figure 4) which is folded around the product 2 (namely, around the group of packs 3 of cigarettes). In particular, the wrapping sheet 4 is wrapped like a tube (namely, it forms a tubular wrapping) around the product 2 by overlapping two opposite edges 5 and 6 (illustrated in Figure 4) of the wrapping sheet 4. The wrapping sheet 4 wrapped like a tube (namely, the tubular wrapping) has two opposite ends, each of which has been folded using the so-called “ soap-bar fold" and comprises two lower flaps 7 and 8 (also indicated as larger flaps 7 and 8 ) folded against an end wall of the product 2 (the group of packs of cigarettes 3), an upper flap 9 (also referred to as smaller flap 9) folded against the end wall of the product 2 and over the two lower flaps 7 and 8 previously folded, and an upper flap 10 (also referred to as smaller flap 10) folded against the end wall of the product 2 and over the two lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flap 9 previously folded.
According to a possible (but not limiting) embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the longer (namely, more extended) sides of the product 2 while the upper flaps 9 and 10 originate from the shorter (namely, less extended) sides of the product 2; consequently, the lower flaps 7 and 8 (equal to one another) have a greater extension than an extension of the upper flaps 9 and 10 (equal to one another). According to an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the shorter (namely, less extended) sides of product 2 whereas the upper flaps 9 and 10 originate from the longer (namely, more extended) sides of product 2.
The problem disclosed in the preamble of the present description and which the solution proposed herein solves, can occur both in the case in which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the longer sides of the product 2 and in the case in which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate from the shorter sides of product 2. In fact, the problem disclosed above occurs when the side of product 2 from which the lower flaps 7 and 8 originate has a length greater than the difference between the length of the side of product 2 from which the upper flaps 9, 10 and the height of the overlapping area of the upper flaps 9, 10 originate. According to a possible embodiment (namely, in the presence of given shape ratios which tend to give the cross-section a rectangular shape), the two lower flaps 7 and 8 do not overlap one another (namely, they do not touch one another) while according to an alternative embodiment (namely, in the presence of given shape ratios which tend to give the cross-section a square shape) the two lower flaps 7 and 8 overlap (partially in the central area) one on top of the other (namely, they touch one another).
At each end of the tubular wrapping, all the flaps 7-10 (lower and upper, or rather, larger and smaller) are delimited by the same edge 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 and which, in the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, forms a short side of the wrapping sheet 4.
As illustrated in Figure 4, in each end of the tubular wrapping, all the flaps 7-10 (lower and upper, or rather, larger and smaller) have an isosceles trapezoidal shape which has two bases parallel to one another (the smaller base coincides with the margin 11 of wrapping sheet 4) and two inclined sides in the area of two inclined folding lines 12. Between each lower flap 7 or 8 and an adjacent upper flap 9 or 10 a triangular- shaped transition portion 13 (isosceles in the example illustrated in the attached figures, which, in any case represents a particular case) is interposed, which is delimited by two inclined folding lines 12 that originate from the edge 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 and join at a vertex (therefore each lower flap 7 or 8 is connected to a respective upper flap 9 or 10 by means of a corresponding transition portion 13 of the wrapping sheet 4); namely, each transition portion 13 has a triangular shape delimited by the edge 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 delimiting the lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flaps 9 and 10 of the same end of the tubular wrapping and by two folding lines 12 tilted towards one another until they meet at a vertex.
As illustrated in Figure 4, the wrapping sheet 4 comprises four through cuts 14 (namely, passing through the wrapping sheet 4 from side to side), each originating from a margin 11 of the wrapping sheet 4 delimiting the lower flaps 7 and 8 and the upper flaps 9 and 10 of a same end of the tubular wrapping. That is, each cut 14 is arranged at a respective end of the tubular wrapping. In particular, two through cuts 14 are arranged at one end of the tubular wrapping (namely, on a side of the wrapping sheet 4) and the other two through cuts 14 are arranged at the other end of the tubular wrapping (namely, on the other side of the wrapping sheet 4). According to a preferred embodiment, each cut 14 is at least partially arranged in the area of a transitional portion 13 (having a triangular shape) connecting a lower flap 7 or 8 to an upper flap 9 or 10.
According to a preferred embodiment, each cut 14 is arranged closer to a lower flap 7 or 8 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13 and further away from an upper flap 9 or 10 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13; namely, each cut 14 is not arranged symmetrically at the centre of the respective transition portion 13 but is moved towards the side of the respective transition portion 13 facing the lower flap 7 or 8 adjacent to the respective transition portion 13.
Each cut 14 extends at least as far as a folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, each cut 14 extends exactly up to the folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13 (namely, it ends in the area of the folding line 12), whereas in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6 each cut 14 extends beyond the folding line 12 delimiting the corresponding transition portion 13 crossing the folding line 12.
In the embodiments illustrated in the attached figures, each cut 14 has a rectilinear extension; according to other embodiments not illustrated each cut 14 can have a more or less curvilinear or broken extension.
In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 4 and 6, each cut 14 is parallel to a (longer) side of the wrapping sheet 4. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, each cut 14 forms an acute angle with a side (larger or smaller) of the wrapping sheet 4 and is parallel to a folding line 12 delimiting a transition portion 13; in particular, each cut 14 overlaps a folding line 12 delimiting a transition portion 13.
As previously stated, the wrapping sheet 4 is wrapped like a tube around the product 2 by overlapping two opposite edges 5 and 6 of the wrapping sheet 4; at each end of the tubular wrapping, the lower flap 7 is formed in part by the edge 5 of the wrapping sheet 4 and in part by the edge 6 of the wrapping sheet 4 overlapping the edge 5.
The wrapping sheet 4 can be opaque (in this case it is generally paper-based and is stabilized by gluing) or it can be transparent (in this case it is made of plastic material, typically polypropylene, and is stabilized by heat-sealing). The proposed solution finds advantageous application both with a paper-based wrapping sheet and with a plastic material wrapping sheet. In the case of a paper-based wrapping sheet, which has greater rigidity and less transparency than a sheet of plastic material, the problem described above is particularly evident; consequently, the proposed solution is particularly advantageous.
It is important to note that the cuts 14 can be made in the wrapping sheet 4 before the wrapping sheet 4 is fed to a packing machine which produces the wrap 1 (namely, the packing machine receives wrapping sheets 4 already provided with the cuts 14) or the cuts 14 can be made in the wrapping sheet 4 inside the packing machine which produces the wrap 1 (namely, the packing machine receives wrapping sheets 4 devoid of the cuts 14).
In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the wrapping sheet 4 comprises four cuts
Figure imgf000007_0001
the wrapping sheet 4 comprises a greater number of cuts 14 (for example eight cuts 14, that is, four for each end of the tubular wrapping).
In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, each cut 14 is at least partially arranged in the area of a transition portion 13 connecting a lower flap 7 or 8 to an upper flap 9 or 10; according to other embodiments not illustrated, (at least) a cut 14 could be completely formed in a lower flap 7 or 8 or could be completely formed in an upper flap 9 or 10 (that is, a cut 14 could not be formed at least partially in the area of a transition portion 13).
In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the product 2 is formed by a group of packs 3 of cigarettes; according to other embodiments not illustrated, the product 2 can be formed by a group of articles other than the packs 3 of cigarettes or by a single article which can be a pack of cigarettes or even another type of object.
The embodiments described herein can be combined with one another without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The wrap 1 described above has numerous advantages.
Primarily, the wrap 1 described above always has perfectly symmetrical folds at its ends regardless of its size. This important result is obtained due to the presence of the cuts 14 which, by increasing the degrees of freedom in the upper flaps 9 and 10, allow to avoid negative interferences between the various parts making up the upper flaps 9 and 10 at the time of their folding and therefore allowing to avoid interference in the folding of the upper flaps 9 and 10 that could cause asymmetry.
Furthermore, the cuts 14 are completely invisible in the finished wrap 1 as they are covered by other parts of the upper flaps 9 and 10 and therefore have no impact on the aesthetics of the wrap 1.
Finally, the wrap 1 described above is simple and inexpensive to produce, since the folding methods of the wrapping sheet 4 are completely identical to the folding methods of a traditional wrapping sheet and since the performing of the cuts 14 on the wrapping sheet 4 can be obtained with the same cutting device that separates the wrapping sheet 4 from a strip unwound from a reel with a substantially negligible cost increase of the cutting device.
List of Reference Numbers of the Figures
1 wrap
2 product
3 packs of cigarettes
4 wrapping sheet
Figure imgf000008_0001
lower flap
8 lower flap
9 upper flap
10 upper flap 11 margin
12 folding lines
13 transition portion
14 cuts

Claims

1) A wrap (1) containing a parallelepiped- shaped product (2); wherein the wrap (1) comprises a wrapping sheet (4) with a rectangular shape, which is folded around the product (2) so as to form a tubular wrapping having two opposite ends; wherein each end of the tubular wrapping comprises: two lower flaps (7, 8) folded against an end wall of the product (2), a first upper flap (9) folded against the end wall of the product (2) and on top of the two lower flaps (7, 8), which were previously folded, and a second upper flap (10) folded against the end wall of the product (2) and on top of the two lower flaps (7, 8) and of the first upper flap (9), which were previously folded; wherein each lower flap (7, 8) is connected to a respective upper flap (9, 10) by means of a corresponding transition portion (13) of the wrapping sheet (4); the wrap (1) is characterized in that the wrapping sheet (4) comprises at least four through cuts (14), which are arranged two at one end of the tubular wrapping and two at the other end of the tubular wrapping and each originating from a margin (11) of the wrapping sheet (4), which delimits the lower flaps (7, 8) and the upper flaps (9, 10) of an end of the tubular wrapping.
2) The wrap (1) according to claim 1, wherein each cut (14) is at least partially arranged in the area of a transition portion (13) connecting a lower flap (7, 8) to an upper flap (9, 10).
3) The wrap (1) according to claim 2, wherein each cut (14) is arranged closer to a lower flap (7, 8) adjacent to the respective transition portion (13) and further from an upper flap (9, 10) adjacent to the respective transition portion (13).
4) The wrap (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein each transition portion (13) has a triangular shape delimited by the margin (11) of the wrapping sheet (4) and by two folding lines (12) inclined towards one another, which delimit the lower flaps (7, 8) and the upper flaps (9, 10).
5) The wrap (1) according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein each cut (14) extends at least up to a folding line (12) delimiting the corresponding transition portion (13).
6) The wrap (1) according to claim 5, wherein each cut (14) extends exactly up to the folding line (12) delimiting the corresponding transition portion (13).
7) The wrap (1) according to claim 5, wherein each cut (14) extends beyond the folding line (12) delimiting the corresponding transition portion (13), crossing the folding line (12).
8) The wrap (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 7, wherein each cut (14) has a straight development.
9) The wrap (1) according to claim 8, wherein each cut (14) is parallel to a side of the wrapping sheet (4).
10) The wrap (1) according to claim 9, wherein each cut (14) is parallel to a side of the wrapping sheet (4).
ID The wrap (1) according to claim 8, wherein each cut (14) forms an acute angle with a side of the wrapping sheet (4).
12) The wrap (1) according to claim 11, wherein each cut (14) is parallel to a folding line (12) delimiting a transition portion (13) connecting a lower flap (7, 8) to an upper flap (9, 10) and overlaps a folding line (12) delimiting a transition portion (13).
13) The wrap (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 12, wherein the wrapping sheet (4) is wrapped like a tube around the product (2) by_overlapping two opposite edges (5, 6) of the wrapping sheet (4). 14) The wrap (1) according to claim 13, wherein, in each end of the tubular wrapping, a lower flap (7) partly is formed by a first edge (5) of the wrapping sheet (4) and partly is formed by a second edge (6) of the wrapping sheet (4) overlapping the first edge (5).
PCT/IB2023/056421 2022-06-27 2023-06-21 Wrap containing a parallelepiped-shaped product WO2024003676A1 (en)

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IT202200013447 2022-06-27

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB191329865A (en) * 1913-12-29 1914-03-26 Albert Falk Improvements in and relating to Wrappers for Tobacco Packages and the like.
DE1486575A1 (en) * 1964-12-11 1969-04-24 Philip Morris Inc Pack for tobacco products
WO2015101456A1 (en) * 2013-12-30 2015-07-09 Philip Morris Products S.A. Package having sealed side wall fold

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB191329865A (en) * 1913-12-29 1914-03-26 Albert Falk Improvements in and relating to Wrappers for Tobacco Packages and the like.
DE1486575A1 (en) * 1964-12-11 1969-04-24 Philip Morris Inc Pack for tobacco products
WO2015101456A1 (en) * 2013-12-30 2015-07-09 Philip Morris Products S.A. Package having sealed side wall fold

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