Special receptacle or package – For tobacco – pipe or cigarette holder – With opening or separating means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-08-21
Foster, Jim (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For tobacco, pipe or cigarette holder
With opening or separating means
C206S273000, C229S933000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276522
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to smoking article packaging, and in particular cigarette or cigar packs or packages.
An effect of our more eco-friendly environment is the attention being paid to packaging waste associated with the articles to be packaged. A recent EC directive even goes so far as to impose a financial penalty on the amount of material wasted in a packaging print layout. A print layout is the way in which each blank for an article package is laid out on a predetermined width of packaging sheet material. Thus, not only do manufacturers wish to be able to provide packages which use the minimum amount of packaging material at the minimum weight for adequate product protection and pack strength but they also want to provide a package which on a print layout wastes the minimum amount of material.
In the tobacco industry cigarettes are commonly provided in hard cup or soft cup packs. Hard cup packs offer the maximum protection because they are made of cardboard, which is available in various weights, as specified. The most common cigarette hard cup pack is a hinge-lid pack, which usually has an inner frame located within the upper part of the pack. The inner frame may be produced as an integral part of the hinge-lid pack blank, but is most commonly produced as a separate blank from an additional reel of cardboard.
Relatively simple cigarette packs are known, for example, the packs described in GB 1 036 825, GB 880 956, GB 1 330 270 and DE 17 61 738. However, the blanks for these packs are not designed to provide maximum use of cartonboard and minimum waste of cartonboard in a print layout. All of the side walls are of double thickness in GB 1 036 825, GB 1 330 270 and DE 17 61 738, and in GB 880 956, the top and bottom walls are of double thickness. The blanks cannot be interdigitated with one another on a print layout, thus increasing waste and decreasing maximum usage of the cartonboard. Similarly, GB 1 475 684 depicts in
FIGS. 5
to
7
an integral cartonboard blank with an upper wall opening arrangement. Once again, this arrangement has a high cartonboard usage and double thickness walls.
It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative to a hinge-lid smoking article pack, which pack alternative saves cartonboard for a blank and on a print layout.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a hard cup smoking article pack which in print layout has a reduced amount of cartonboard wastage, and hence a lower financial waste penalty to the manufacturer.
The present invention provides a smoking article pack blank comprising a front wall, a top wall, a rear wall and a bottom wall, said front wall and said rear wall being interconnected by said bottom wall, characterised in that each of said front wall and said rear wall has a single side wall depending from a side margin thereof, each of the two side walls being located depending from an opposing side margin of each of said front wall and said rear wall, each of said side two walls extending along the full length of said side margin of said front wall and said rear wall, and optional adjacent side flap depending from the other opposing side margin of each of the front wall and the rear wall, said side flap being of a width which is less than the width of said two side walls, one of said two side walls or said top wall having opening flap retaining means, and one or more of the other of said side walls or said top wall having one or more portions defining an opening flap and opening flap crease margin therein.
The present invention also provides a smoking article pack produced from said smoking article pack blank.
The terms front wall, top wall, rear wall and bottom wall do not imply any particular orientation of the pack and can equally well be replaced by the terms first wall, second wall, third wall and fourth wall respectively, where each occurs.
Preferably the side walls have an adjacent side flap attached thereto. In the alternative, a side wall depends from an opposing side margin of each of the front wall and rear walls, and a side flap depends from each of the other opposing side margins of the front wall and rear wall.
Preferably the margins of the opening flap are part of the crease margins of adjacent walls and those parts of the margins are perforated to enable the opening flap to be pulled back to the opening flap crease margin.
Advantageously the opening flap comprises an end portion which tapers, tapering aiding the opening flap to be located within the opening flap retaining means. The opening flap may comprise two portions, one portion in two adjacent walls.
Preferably the wall having the opening flap retaining means is also provided with opening flap removal means. Advantageously the opening flap removal means comprises a thumb cut. Advantageously the opening flap retaining means comprises a slit.
Advantageously, the one of said side walls or said top wall having opening flap retaining means is a side wall, and the one or more of said side walls or said top wall having a portion defining an opening flap and opening flap crease margin therein is a top wall and side wall or bottom wall and side wall.
Advantageously either the front wall or the rear wall has a margin from which depends an inner flap bottom wall. Preferably the inner flap bottom wall has a side flap depending from each of the inner flap bottom wall side margins.
Preferably, the top wall has an inner side flap at the side margin opposite to the opening flap. Advantageously the inner side flap, at that margin opposite the side margin of the top wall, is shaped such that an opening flap of an adjacent pack blank fits into the inner side flap shape and the combined width of the side wall portion of said opening flap extending from the top wall opening flap crease margin, and the minimum width of said inner flap being no greater than the combined width of one of said side walls and one of said side flaps.
The present invention further provides a print layout for a non-hinge lid smoking article pack, the print layout producing less than 22% waste material from a layout of about 478 mm by about 577 mm, the print layout comprising a plurality of smoking article pack blanks according to the invention.
The present invention further provides a print layout for a non-hinge lid smoking article pack, the print layout having at least a 10% saving in cartonboard usage over the print layout of a conventional smoking article hinge-lid pack, the print layout comprising a plurality of smoking article pack blanks according to the invention.
Advantageously the saving in cartonboard usage can be about 15% or more over a conventional hinge-lid pack, and there may also be similar savings for non-hinged packs.
The print layout for the blank of the present invention provides the same number of blanks from a board layout of about 478 mm (B in
FIG. 3
) by about 577 mm (A in
FIG. 3
) as from a conventional board area of about 480 mm by about 600 mm. Advantageously the preferred blank provides a layout of blanks which have all the cut and crease lines in parallel arrangement. The crease lines in particular all fall along three main horizontal lines and four main vertical lines (vertical being the longer length of the print layout). The print layout is also more suited to fast moving cigarette pack cartoning machines.
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patent: 2133590 (1938-10-01), Stopper
patent: 2931554 (1960-04-01), Matern
patent: 3708109 (1973-01-01), Rosenburgh, Jr.
patent: 3828923 (1974-08-01), Phillips, Jr.
patent: 3897900 (1975-08-01), Gorski et al.
patent: 4106688 (1978-08-01), Berger et al.
patent: 4718557 (1988-01-01), Friedman
patent: 5005701 (1991-04-01), Dutcher
patent: 5379889 (1995-01-01), Cobler
patent: 1 761 738 (1971-08-01), None
patent: 702235 (1954-01-01), None
patent: 880956 (1961-10-01), None
patent: 1 330 270 (1973-09-01), None
International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/GB97/024000 co
British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited
Foster Jim
Pitney Hardin Kipp & Szuch LLP
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