Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SMOKING ARTICLE PACK WITH A BODY AND AN INNER FRAME
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an inner frame for a pack and to an inner frame for a
tobacco
industry pack. The invention also relates to a pack comprising an inner frame
according
to the invention.
Background
Conventional tobacco industry packs are generally parallelepiped shaped packs
having
.zo a body portion with an access opening that is reinforced by a support
structure that
protrudes from the access opening and surrounds tobacco industry products, for
instance smoking articles such as cigarettes, contained in the pack.
Typically, the pack
further comprises a lid configured to open and close the access opening and
which
extends over the protruding part of the support structure when the lid is
closed.
Summary
According to the invention, there is provided an inner frame for a pack,
comprising a
front panel and a side panel, wherein the front and/or side panels comprise
multiple
layers.
The front and side panels may be formed from a single sheet of material.
Preferably, the
sheet of material includes fold lines to enable the sheet to be folded about
said fold lines
to form said multiple layers.
In some embodiments, the inner frame comprises a side panel and a side
reinforcement
panel, the side reinforcement panel being positionable so that it overlaps its
corresponding side panel to form a multi-layered side wall.
The side panel may join the front panel at a first fold line and the side
reinforcement
panel may join the side panel at a second fold line.
In some embodiments, the first and second fold lines are parallel.
Alternatively, the
first and second fold lines may extend at an angle relative to each other.
In any of the aforementioned embodiments, the front panel may comprise a front
reinforcement panel that joins the front panel at a front panel fold line, the
front
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reinforcement panel being foldable about said front panel fold line so that it
overlaps the front
panel to form a multi-layered front wall.
In another embodiment, the front panel comprises a front reinforcement panel
that joins the
front panel at a front panel fold line and side reinforcement panels that
extend from the front
reinforcement panel and are joined thereto by a second fold line, the front
reinforcement panel
being folded about the front panel fold line so that the front reinforcement
panel overlaps the
front panel and the side reinforcement panels overlap corresponding side wall
panels to form
multi-layered front and side walls.
The side panel may have a major surface that overlaps a major surface of the
side
reinforcement panel. The major surface of the side reinforcement panel can be
held against the
major surface of the side panel by adhesive.
The invention also provides a blank for forming an inner frame according to
the invention, for
a pack.
The invention also provides a method of forming an inner frame comprising the
steps of
providing a blank comprising a front panel, a side panel and a side
reinforcement panel, and
positioning the side reinforcement panel so that it overlaps the side panel.
The invention also provides an inner frame for a tobacco industry pack,
comprising a front
panel and a side panel, wherein the front and/or side panels comprise multiple
layers. The
inner frame may comprise any of the features mentioned above.
The invention also provides a pack comprising the inner frame according to the
invention.
There is also provided a smoking article pack comprising a body having front
and rear walls
separated by side walls, a hinged lid integrally connected to the rear wall
and pivotable
relative to the rear wall between open and closed positions and, an inner
frame received in the
body comprising a front panel that abuts the front wall of the body and side
panels, each side
panel being joined to the front panel by a first fold-line and extending
perpendicularly from
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respective edges of the front panel towards the rear wall, wherein each of the
side panels
comprise side reinforcement panels folded relative to the side panels along a
second fold line
that extends parallel to the first fold line, each side panel and its
associated side reinforcement
panel having major surfaces that abut each other, the major surfaces of each
side panel and its
associated side reinforcement panel being of the same size and shape to
overlap over their
whole surface area, and wherein the major surface of each side panel and its
associated side
reinforcement panel are attached to each other using an adhesive.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only,
with reference
the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an inner frame according to a first
embodiment of the
invention, disposed in a pack;
Figure 2 shows a front view of the inner frame of Figure 1;
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Figure 3 shows a front view of an inner frame according to a second embodiment
of the
invention; and,
Figure 4 shows a front view of an inner frame according to a third embodiment
of the
invention.
Detailed Description
The inner frame of a tobacco industry pack may increase the rigidity of the
pack such
that the tobacco industry products held therein are better protected from
mechanical
damage. The lid and inner frame also engage by friction upon opening and
closing the
/o lid and so reduces the risk of the pack accidentally opening.
A pack 1 is shown in Figure 1 and comprises a generally parallelepiped
container having
a body 2 and a hinged lid 3. The pack 1 has major front and rear walls 4, 5,
minor side
walls 6, 7, a bottom wall 8 and a top wall 9. The front, rear and side walls
4, 5, 6, 7
/5 comprise front, rear and side wall body panels 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, and
front, rear and side
wall lid panels 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b. The hinged lid 3 is integrally connected to
the body 2 at a
folding hinge line 10 between the rear body panel 5a and the rear lid panel 5b
and is
pivotable between an open position in which an access opening 11 in the top of
the body
2 is exposed to allow access to tobacco industry products contained therein,
and a
20 closed position. An inner frame 12 having a front panel 23 and side
panels 24, 25 is
disposed within the body 2 of the pack 1 to project out of the opening ii
therein. The
inner frame 12 may include a cut-out 22 in the front panel 23 to provide easy
access to
the contents of the pack 1.
25 Figure 2 shows a blank 21 used to form the inner frame 12 of Figure 1.
The blank 21
comprises a single sheet of material, such as cardboard, that comprises a
front panel 23
that meets side panels 24, 25 at a first fold line 16, 17. The blank 21 is
folded at each fold
line 16, 17 and is inserted into the body 2 so that the side panels 24, 25
extend at right
angles to the front panel 23. When the inner frame 12 is inserted into the
body 2 the
30 side wall body panels 6a, 7a abut the inner frame side panels 24, 25 and
the front wall
body panel 4a abuts the inner frame front panel 23. When the lid 3 is in the
closed
position the inner frame 12 is received in the lid 3 so that the front wall
body panel 4a
abuts the inner frame front panel 23. Likewise, the side wall lid panels 6b,
7b abut the
inner frame side panels 24, 25. Therefore, the inner frame front panel 23 and
side
35 panels 24, 25 provide an additional layer of material around the opening
ii of the pack
1 to provide reinforcement for the front, rear and side walls 4, 5, 6, 7.
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The side panels 24,25 of the inner frame 12 further comprise side
reinforcement panels
26, 27 that each meet a corresponding side panel 24, 25 at a second fold line
18, 19
which extends in a direction parallel to the first fold line 16, 17. The side
reinforcement
panels 26, 27 are folded at the second fold line 18, 19 so that a major
surface of each
side reinforcement panel 26, 27 abuts against a major surface of a
corresponding side
panel 24, 25 to form a double layer. The side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are
preferably folded about respective second fold line 18, 19 in the direction
down into the
page when viewing Figure 2 so that they lie against an inner surface of the
side panels
_to 24, 25, i.e. the surface of each of the side panels 24, 25 which is not
visible in Figure 2.
However, the side reinforement panels 24,25 may alternatively be folded about
respective second fold line 18, 19 in an opposite direction, so that they lie
across a front
face of the side panels 24, 25, i.e. the face of each of the side panels 24,
25 which are
visible in Figure 2. The side reinforcement panels 26, 27 may be held against
the side
/5 panels 24, 25 using an adhesive. The use of adhesive may further
increase the
robustness and rigidity of the inner frame.
The extra layer of material provided by the side reinforcement panels 26, 27
against the
side panels 24, 25 improves the rigidity and durability of the inner frame 12
and forms
20 a dual layered side wall. Therefore, the contents of the pack 1 is
better protected against
external forces applied to the pack 1. In one embodiment, each side
reinforcement
panel 26, 27 may overlap the whole surface area of a corresponding side panel
24, 25,
i.e. each side reinforcement panel 26, 27 may be the same size and shape as a
corresponding side panel 24,25. However in an alternative embodiment each side
25 reinforcement panel 26, 27 may be of a different size or shape to its
corresponding side
panel 24,25 and so may only overlap a portion of a major surface of
corresponding side
panels 24, 25.
The inner frame 12 may include tabs 20 that extend from the side walls 14, 15
to engage
30 the side wall lid panels 6b, 7b when the lid 3 is in the closed position
to increase the
friction between the lid 3 and the inner frame 12, although these are
optional. The
increased friction provided by the tabs 20 increases the resistance to the
opening of the
lid 3, enabling the lid 3 to better stay in the closed position.
35 It will be appreciated that, in another embodiment one or more further
side
reinforcement panels may extend from the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 and
be
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separated from the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 by a fold-line. The side
panels
24,25, the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 and any additional side
reinforcement
panels provide a multi-layered structure to the inner frame , i.e a side wall
having more
than two layers.
A blank 31 for an inner frame 12 of a second embodiment of the invention is
shown in
Figure 3 and is identical to the first embodiment, with like features
retaining the same
reference numerals, except that each second fold line 18, 19 extends in a
direction
perpendicular to the first fold lines 16, 17. In this embodiment, the side
reinforcement
/o panels 26, 27 are folded in the direction down into the page when
viewing figure 3,
although they could also be folded in the opposite direction.
As mentioned above in connection with the first embodiment, additional side
reinforcement panels may extend from the side reinforcement panels 26,27 to
enable a
/5 multi-layered structure to be formed. Furthermore, a combination of the
embodiments
shown in Figures 2 and 3 is envisaged in which there is a side reinforcement
panel 26,
27 extending from both edges of each side panel 24, 25.
Although in the above described embodiments the second fold lines 18, 19 are
described
20 as extending in a direction perpendicular or parallel to the first fold
lines 16, 17, the
second fold lines 18, 19 may alternatively extend at some other angle to the
first fold
lines 16, 17.
A blank 41 for an inner fame 12 of a third embodiment of the invention is
shown in
25 Figure 4. The blank 41 comprises a front panel 23 that meets side panels
24, 25 at first
fold lines 42, 43. The blank 41 is folded at each first fold line 42, 43 so
that the side
panels 24, 25 extend at right angles to the front panel 23. A front
reinforcement panel
28 meets the front panel 23 at a second fold line 44. The front reinforcement
panel 28
is folded at the second fold line 44 so that a major surface of the front
panel 23 overlaps
30 the front reinforcement panel 28. The blank 41 further comprises side
reinforcement
panels 26, 27 that each meet the front reinforcement panel 28 at a third fold
line 45, 46.
The side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are folded at the third fold lines 45, 46
so that
each of the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 overlaps a corresponding side
panel 24, 25.
The side reinforcement panels 26, 27 and/or front reinforcement panel 28 may
be held
35 against the corresponding inner frame side panels 24, 25 and/or front
panel 23 by
adhesive which may further increase the rigidity and robustness of the inner
frame.
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The increased thickness provided by the front reinforcement panel 28 further
improves
the rigidity and durability of the inner frame 12 and provides a multi-layered
front wall.
Additionally, the increased rigidity and thickness of the inner frame 12
provided by the
front reinforcement panel 28 increases the friction between the inner frame
front
panel 23 and the front wall lid panel 4b, thus helping the lid 3 to stay in
the closed
position.
It will be appreciated that either of the first or second embodiments may also
be
modified so as to provide the inner frame 12 of these embodiments with a front
_to reinforcement panel 28 that extends from the front panel 23 and which
is foldable so
that it overlaps the front panel 23 by folding it about a fold line 44,
similar to that
shown in Figure 4. In these embodiments, the front reinforcement panel 28 will
not
have the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 extending from them, as these extend
from
the front panel 23 in the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3.
Although in the above described embodiments the front reinforcement panel 28
and
side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are held in place by adhesive which may
further
increase the robustness and rigidity of the inner frame. However, in alternate
embodiments (not shown) they may be held in place by other means or, they may
just
be held in place as a result of the pressure applied to the inner frame by the
walls of the
pack and the tobacco industry products contained therein.
It shall be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to both the
side walls
and the front wall of the inner frame comprising a double or multi-layered
structure. In
any of the embodiments described above only one of the side walls may be
formed with
a double or multi-layered structure. Alternatively, only one of the side walls
and the
front wall are formed with multiple layers, or only the front wall is formed
by multiple
layers.
Although in the above described embodiments the side reinforcement panels 26,
27 and
front reinforcement panel 28 are integrally formed with the side panels 24, 25
and front
panel 23 respectively and are positioned by means of folding, in an alternate
embodiment (not shown) the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 and/or front
reinforcement panel 28 may be separate sections of material that are arranged
against
respective side panels 24, 25 and/or front panel using adhesive.
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Although in the above described embodiments the inner frame 12 is described
for use
with a hinged-lid pack, in alternate embodiments (not shown) the inner frame
may be
used with other pack designs, for example, slide-packs or telescopically
extending
packs.
As used herein, the term "smoking article" includes smokeable products such as
cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco, tobacco
derivatives,
expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-
not-burn
products. The smoking article may be provided with a filter for the gaseous
flow drawn
by the smoker.
As used herein, the term "tobacco industry pack" includes any pack that can
receive and
contain a tobacco industry product.
A tobacco industry product refers to any item made in, or sold by the tobacco
industry,
typically including a) cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or
for roll-your-own
cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco,
reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes); b) non-smoking products
incorporating
tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or
tobacco
substitutes such as snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and heat-not-burn products; and
c) other
nicotine-delivery systems such as inhalers, lozenges and gum. This list is not
intended
to be exclusive, but merely illustrates a range of products which are made and
sold in
the tobacco industry.
In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this
disclosure
shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed
invention(s)
may be practiced and provide for a superior inner frame. The advantages and
features
of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only, and are
not
exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in
understanding and
teach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages,
embodiments,
examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the
disclosure are not
to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or
limitations on
equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of
the
disclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist
essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components,
features,
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parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the disclosure includes other
inventions not
presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
