Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DESCRIPTION
TONGUE-LID PACKAGE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a package, and more
specifically, to a tongue-lid package.
Background Art
Various kinds of containers for accommodating contents
have been developed to fit property of the contents. A
hinge-lid package is a well-known container for accommodating,
for example, tobacco products, such as filter cigarettes and
cigarettes.
For example, a tongue-lid package shown in Patent Document
1 has been proposed as a modification of the hinge-lid package.
A publicly-known tongue-lid package comprises a box with
an open end, a lid for closing and opening the open end of the
box, and contents contained in the box. The contents include
a bundle of rod-shaped smoking articles and a wrapper enclosing
the bundle. A package of this kind is usually made of paper.
Prior Art Document
Patent Document
Patent Document 1
Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-49134
Summary of the Invention
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
Most publicly-known tongue-lid packages are of a simple
paper box type and of much the same design, so that they are
not catchy enough to encourage people to buy.
The invention has been made in light of the foregoing
circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to
provide a package having a simple structure and inducing
customers to buy.
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Means for Solving the Problem
In order to achieve the object, there is provided a tongue-lid package
comprising:
an outer case formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape
and having a front wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and
an open
end at a top thereof;
a tongue lid rotatably connected to a rear edge of the open end through a lid
hinge, said tongue lid including a lid portion for opening/closing the open
end and a
tongue connected to a tip end of the lid portion through a tongue hinge, in
which the
tongue is superimposed upon the front wall of said outer case when the lid
portion is
in a closed position; and
an inner case contained in said outer case, said inner case being formed into
a box-liked shape and having a rectangular recessed area for holding a
content,
wherein:
said outer case, said tongue lid and said inner case are made of transparent
or translucent material; and
said inner case includes a rear wall, a bottom wall and a pair of side walls,
the
rear, bottom and side walls of said inner case defining the recessed area
opening at
top of said inner case.
Other aspects, embodiments, variants and/or resulting advantages of the
present invention, all being preferred, are briefly summarized hereinbelow.
For example, the content in the recessed area appears to be floating within
the case.
The inner holder has a box-like shape and includes a rear wall, a bottom wall
and a pair of side walls defining the recessed area. The shape of the inner
holder is
therefore convenient for being put in and out of the case. The content is held
by the
rear, bottom and side walls within the recessed area.
The bottom and side walls have a hollow structure, providing a given gap
between the inner holder and the bottom, side and rear walls of the case.
More specifically, the side and bottom walls have an inner wall portion
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defining an inner surface of the recessed area and an outer wall portion. The
outer
wall portion is protruding from a virtual plane including the rear wall. The
outer wall
portion thus well absorbs external force acting on the case from outside, and
prevents the content from being applied with the external force.
The case includes a front wall, a U-shaped notch formed
r~
20
r
30
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in an upper edge of the front wall, and a slit formed in the
front wall and located under the notch. The tongue has an
insertion claw for inserting into the slit. The tongue lid
is held in a closed position by inserting the insertion claw
into the slit.
The content preferably includes a bundle of cigarettes
and an inner wrapper enclosing the batch. In this case, the
cigarettes are well prevented from being deformed.
Advantages of the Invention
According to the invention, the case, the tongue lid and
the inner holder that compose the tongue-lid package are all
transparent and colorless, so that the content can be seen
through the package. The package thus has an unique design
and arouses customers' interest.
Since the bottom and side walls of the inner holder have
a hollow structure, the inner holder well absorbs external
force acting on the case from outside and prevents the content
from being directly applied with the external force, thereby
successfully protecting the content.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tongue-lid package
according to an embodiment in a closed position;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the package shown in FIG.
1 in an open position;
FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of the package shown
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section of the package shown
in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross section of the package shown
in FIG. 1.
Best Mode of Carrying out the Invention
With reference to FIG. 1, a tongue-lid package 2 comprises
a case 4 and a tongue lid 6 connected to the case 4. The tongue
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lid 6 has a lid 5 and a tongue 7. An inner holder 10 is contained
in the case 4 and holds an inner pack 8. The inner pack 8 will
be described later. In the present embodiment, the case 4,
the tongue lid 6 and the inner holder 10 are made of transparent
and colorless synthetic resin material.
The case 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular
parallelepiped shape and has an open end 12 at a top thereof.
More specifically, the case 4 includes a front wall 14, a rear
wall 16, a pair of side walls 18 and a bottom wall 20.
As is apparent from FIG. 2, the front wall 14 has a notch
22 in the center of an upper edge thereof. The notch 22 has
a substantially U-like shape and forms a part of the open end
12. The notch 22 allows an upper portion of the front wall
14 of the case 4 to be wide open, and makes it easy to take
out a product contained in the inner pack 8. The front wall
14 further has a slit 24, which is located under the notch 22.
The slit 24 extends along a lower edge of the notch 22, and
has arc-shaped ends.
The rear wall 16 has an upper edge formed as a lid hinge
26. The lid 5 of the tongue lid 6 is connected to the rear
wall 16 through the lid hinge 26, and is turnable about the
lid hinge 26.
In the present embodiment, the side walls 18 are connected
to the bottom wall 20 through rounded corners. The front and
rear walls 14 and 16 are rounded in ends of lower edges thereof
so as to correspond to the rounded corners.
When the tongue lid 6 is turned about the lid hinge 26,
the lid 5 of the tongue lid 6 opens/closes the open end 12 of
the case 4. When the open end 12 is closed with the lid 5,
the tongue 7 of the tongue lid 6 is superimposed upon the front
wall 14.
More specifically, the lid 5 has a rectangular shape of
the same size as the open end 12, whereas the tongue 7 has a
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semicircular shape. The lid 5 and the tongue 7 are connected
to each other through the tongue hinge 28. The tongue 7 is
turnable about the tongue hinge 28 in relation to the lid 5.
The tongue 7 has an insertion claw 30 in the center of a tip
5 end portion thereof. The insertion claw 30 is obtained by
forming a cut in the tongue 7. When the tongue 7 is superimposed
upon the front wall 14, the insertion tab 30 has a semicircular
shape of convex toward the lid 5, that is, a semicircular shape
facing in an opposite direction to the tongue 7. The insertion
claw 30 is insertable into the slit 24 of the front wall 14.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the inner holder 10 has a shape
of a box similar to the case 4, and includes a recessed area
10a in a front face thereof. The recessed area 10a is of a
size capable of receiving the inner pack 8, and opens in an
upper end thereof. More specifically, the inner holder 10 has
a rear wall 32, a pair of side walls 34 and a bottom wall 36.
The recessed area 10a is defined by inner faces of the rear,
side and bottom walls 32, 34 and 36.
When the inner pack 8 is held in the recessed area 10a
of the inner holder 10, the inner pack 8 is surrounded by the
rear, side and bottom walls 32, 34 and 36 of the inner holder
10. The bottom of the inner holder 10 has a configuration
matching with an inner face of the bottom of the case 4.
More specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a given
gap is left between the rear wall 32 of the inner holder 10
and the rear wall 16 of the case 4. In order to secure this
gap, the bottom and side walls 36 and 34 of the inner holder
10 have a hollow structure, which opens only in a rear face
of the inner holder 10. In other words, the bottom wall 36
has an inner wall 36c, an outer wall 36d, and a space 36e left
between these inner and outer walls. The inner wall 36c is
connected to the rear wall 32, whereas a rear edge 36a of the
outer wall 36d is protruding from a virtual plane including
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the rear wall 32 as much as length of the above-mentioned gap.
The side walls 34 also have inner walls 34g, outer walls
34f, and spaces 34e left between the respective inner and outer
walls. The inner walls 34g are connected to the rear wall 32,
whereas rear edges 34a of the outer walls 34f are protruding
from the virtual plane.
As is illustrated in FIG. 3, the rear wall 32 has an upper
wall 34d in an upper end thereof. The upper wall 34d connects
upper walls 34c of the side walls 34 to each other.
As is clear from the foregoing description, when the inner
holder 10 is contained in the case 4 together with the inner
pack 8, the recessed area l0a of the inner holder 10, or the
inner pack 8 in the recessed area 10a, is set away from the
bottom wall 20 and the side walls 18 of the case 4, and the
case 4, the tongue lid 6 and the inner holder 10 are all
transparent. For that reason, the inner pack 8 in the inner
holder 10 appears to be floating within the case 4.
The inner pack 8 has a substantially rectangular
parallelepiped shape. As is obvious from FIG. 5, the inner
pack 8 contains, for example, a bundle of rod-shaped tobacco
products 38 and an inner wrapper 40 enclosing the bundle. The
tobacco products 38 are preferably slim filter cigarettes.
The filter cigarettes each have a length of 98 mm and a
peripheral length of 22 mm. Aluminum deposited paper may be
used for the inner wrapper 40. The aluminum deposited paper
includes base paper and an aluminum film deposited onto
surfaces of the base paper. Such aluminum film not only
protects the tobacco products 38 from moisture but also
prevents the aroma of the tobacco products 38 from escaping.
Instead of the aluminum deposited paper, laminated paper may
be used for the inner wrapper 40. The laminated paper is
provided inside with a shielding layer blocking moisture and
aroma. The shielding layer may be made, for example, of
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paraffin wax.
When a consumer buys the package 2, the tongue lid 6 of
the case 4 is in a closed position (see FIG. 1) . In this state,
the consumer first picks up the tip end portion of the tongue
7 of the tongue lid 6 from the front wall 14 of the case 4,
and pulls the insertion claw 30 out of the slit 24 of the case
4. This action disengages the tongue lid 6 from the case 4
and allows the tongue lid 6 to be opened. After this, whenever
the tongue lid 6 is opened by the consumer, the inner pack 8
is exposed from the open end 12 of the case 4. By removing
a part of the inner wrapper 40 of the inner pack 8, the consumer
can take out a tobacco product 38 from the inner pack 8.
When closing the tongue lid 6 later, the consumer covers
the open end 12 of the case 4 with the lid S. The consumer
then puts the tongue 7 onto the front wall 14 of the case 4
while inserting the insertion claw 30 of the tongue 7 into the
slit 24 of the case 4. The tongue lid 6 is accordingly
maintained in the closed position.
In order to keep the tongue lid 6 in the closed position,
the tongue 7 may be inserted between the front wall 14 and the
inner pack 8. In such an aspect, too, the tongue lid 6 reliably
keeps closing the open end 12 of the case 4 and the notch 22.
When the tobacco products 38 in the inner pack 8 are all
consumed, the consumer retrieves the inner holder 10 from the
case 4, and sets a new inner pack 8 into the retrieved inner
holder 10. The consumer then can insert the inner holder 10
in the case 4 together with the new inner pack 8. Accordingly,
the package 2 of the present invention can be refilled with
the new inner pack 8, which means that the package 2 is reusable.
According to the package 2 of the present invention, since
the case 4, the tongue lid 6 and the inner holder 10 are all
transparent and colorless, the inner pack 8 can be seen through
the case 4. Held in the inner holder 10, the inner pack 8
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appears to be floating within the case 4. Consequently, the
present invention provides an unique package and greatly
arouses consumers' interest.
Since the bottom and side walls of the inner holder 10
have the foregoing hollow structure, the inner holder 10 well
absorbs external force acting on the case 4 from outside and
prevents the inner pack 8 from being directly applied with the
external force. In particular, slim and long filter
cigarettes are key tobacco products targeting women, filter
cigarettes of this type are relatively easy to be deformed when
receiving external force. However, whenever the package of
the present invention is used as one for filter cigarettes of
this type, the filter cigarettes are reliably prevented from
deformation. In general, as women often carry a package for
tobacco products in a bag, the package in the bag more easily
receives compression force than other contents in the bag.
Under such a situation, however, the package 2 of the present
invention can successfully protect the filter cigarettes
contained inside.
The present invention is not limited to the
above-described embodiment, but may be modified in various
ways.
For example, the package 2 of the present invention may
be used instead of an ordinary package of hinge-lid or
tongue-lid type. In the case of the ordinary package, the
inner pack contains twenty filter cigarettes of normal size.
The filter cigarettes each have a length ranging from about
85 to about 95 mm.
The case 4, the tongue lid 6, and the inner holder 10 do
not have to be transparent and colorless, but may be colored
as long as being transparent or translucent.
The package 2 of the present invention can be used for
containing not only tobacco products but also foods including
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confection and the like.
Reference Marks
2 package
4 case
5 lid
6 tongue lid
7 tongue
8 inner pack
inner holder
10 10a recessed area
12 open end
14 front wall
16 rear wall
18 side wall
20 bottom wall
22 notch
24 slit
26 lid hinge
28 tongue hinge
30 insertion claw
32 rear wall
34 side wall
34a rear edge
36 bottom wall
36a rear edge
38 tobacco product
40 inner wrapper
