Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02754987 2011-09-09
Package for cigarettes
Description
The invention relates to a pack for cigarettes, having
a slide for accommodating pack contents, in particular
a cigarette group, and having a shell which at least
partially encloses the slide and is open at both ends,
according to the preamble of claim 1.
Such packs of the shell-and-slide type are currently
commercially available in various forms. As is also the
case with other types of pack, there is the problem
that these (cigarette) packs are often copied.
Taking this as a departure point, it is an object of
the invention to develop packs of the type mentioned in
the introduction further, in particular in respect of
making it more difficult to copy the pack and/or
providing a particular design which attracts the
consumer's attention.
In order to achieve this object, a pack according to
the invention has the features of claim 1. Accordingly,
it is provided that an intermediate surface is formed
on two adjacent side walls of the shell, the
intermediate surface extending continuously over parts
of the two adjacent side walls and interrupting a
folding line between the two adjacent side walls,
wherein the adjacent side walls, in the region of the
intermediate surface, follow a course which deviates
from the plane of the respective side walls outside the
intermediate surface.
One advantage of this solution is that the pack, on
account of the intermediate surface, is more
complicated to produce and thus cannot be copied as
easily as, for example, conventional packs of
rectangular cross section. In addition, the
intermediate surface - in particular in conjunction
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with an appropriate print design - makes it possible to
achieve new visual effects, and these attract the
consumer's attention to the pack.
Preferred further developments and advantageous
embodiments of the pack according to the invention can
be gathered from the dependent claims and from the rest
of the description.
According to a preferred embodiment, it is provided
that the pack has only one intermediate surface, in the
region of a pack edge of the shell. In this way, the
intermediate surface can make it easier for the
consumer to arrange the pack in the correct position
for opening purposes. For example, the intermediate
surface may be arranged such that it is arranged in the
region of a left-hand pack edge on the front side of
the pack. It is then possible for the consumer -
without looking at the pack - to feel whether he is
holding the pack in a correct relative position in
order to open the same.
According to another preferred embodiment, it is
provided that the pack has only two intermediate
surfaces, which are arranged in the region of
diagonally opposite pack edges of the shell. Such a
pack is visually pleasing, and the intermediate
surfaces additionally make the pack comfortable to
hold, and the production outlay renders such a pack
even more difficult to copy than the pack with one
intermediate surface.
Of course, it is also conceivable, in principle, to
have packs which have more than two intermediate
surfaces, for example a plurality of intermediate
surfaces in the region of the same pack edge or a
plurality of intermediate surfaces on different pack
edges.
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In order to make it easier to actuate the slide, it may
preferably be provided that the slide has a peripheral
recess which corresponds with the arrangement of the
intermediate surface, in particular such that the
recess is arranged on the periphery of a side flap
and/or of an end flap of the slide. The recess reduces,
or even eliminates the friction between the inwardly
curved shell in the region of the intermediate surface
and the slide. The recess can extend either only over a
region of the slide or over the entire length of the
slide. The recess is preferably of arcuate design, in
order that the friction between the shell and slide
changes during movement. This can provide the consumer
with a tactile means in order to help him feel when the
slide has been pushed out of the shell to a sufficient
extent in order to remove cigarettes. However, it is
also possible for the recess to be formed over the
entire length of the slide, for example in the form of
a relatively short side flap.
A further special feature may reside in a particular
cigarette formation. It is provided, then, that a
cigarette group, as cuboidal pack contents, has such a
formation of cigarettes that there are no cigarettes
arranged in the pack-contents corner regions which are
directed toward an intermediate surface. This allows
the cigarette group to be deformed by the inwardly
curved shell in the region of the intermediate surface
without cigarettes being damaged.
According to a further advantageous development, it is
possible for the slide, in a corner region of the pack,
to have a weakening, in particular at least one
incision running in the longitudinal direction of the
slide, wherein the arrangement of the weakening
corresponds with the position of the intermediate
surface. It is also possible in this way for the pack
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contents to be deformed by the inwardly curved shell in
the region of the intermediate surface.
It is preferably provided, then, that the slide, in a
corner region of the pack, has a plurality of parallel
incisions, in particular at the transition between a
base wall and an adjacent side flap of the slide,
preferably such that two flexible material strips are
formed in the slide, these material strips allowing
deformation of the slide in the region of the
intermediate surface.
A further special feature may reside in the fact that
the shell is processed in a folded-flat configuration,
wherein the shell is folded along folding lines between
the side walls which are located outside the region of
the intermediate surfaces. In other words, the
intermediate surfaces are arranged such that with the
shell in a folded state, they are not located in the
region of the folded edges.
In respect of the design of the intermediate surfaces
it may be provided that the intermediate surface is
delimited by a weakening line which is applied to the
material of the side walls and runs preferably
continuously along the contour of the intermediate
surface, wherein the weakening line is formed, in
particular, by a score and/or groove. This makes it
possible, in a surprisingly straightforward manner, to
predetermine the position of the intermediate surface
on the pack. The weakening line makes it possible for
the deviating course followed by the intermediate
surface to be established automatically during the
otherwise conventional folding operation.
The weakening line is preferably formed on the inside
of the side walls, the inside being oriented toward the
pack contents, wherein preferably the weakening line is
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designed as a score, that is to say as an incision,
which has a depth which corresponds to 1/3 to 2/3 of
the material thickness of the side wall. This means
that the weakening line is not visible to the consumer,
5 and thus does not detract from the appearance of the
finished pack.
A further special feature may reside in the fact that
the side walls follow a curved course in the region of
the intermediate surface. Correspondingly, the shell
has "concavities" in the region of the intermediate
surface. Of course, it is also conceivable for the
intermediate surfaces to be designed, in certain
regions, as "concavities" and as "convexities".
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
it is provided that the upright folding line between
the adjacent side walls is interrupted by the
intermediate surface, wherein the folding line is
continued by transition lines running along the contour
of the intermediate surface between the side walls and
the intermediate surface. In particular, this takes
place such that the transition lines, starting from a
lower end of the folding line at the transition to the
intermediate surface, in the first instance diverge and
then, once a point of maximum width of the intermediate
surface has been reached, converge again to an upper
end of the folding line at the transition to the
intermediate surface.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
it is provided that the intermediate surface has a
lens-shaped contour, preferably such that (upper and
lower) ends of the intermediate surface are located on
the folding line between the adjacent side walls, and
that the intermediate surface extends laterally at a
spacing as far as folding lines at the transition
between the adjacent side walls and further adjacent
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side walls. It is also conceivable for the contour of
the intermediate surface or of the transition lines to
correspond to a quadrilateral positioned on one tip, in
particular a rhombus. As a further variant, it may be
provided that lateral corner points of the intermediate
surface are located on folding lines at the transition
between the adjacent side walls and further adjacent
side walls.
Two exemplary embodiments of the pack will be explained
in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the
drawing, in which:
fig. 1 shows a blank for a shell in the flat, spread-
out position,
fig. 2 shows a blank for a slide in the spread-out
position,
fig. 3 shows a folded blank for a shell,
fig. 4 shows a three-dimensional illustration of a
pack, with a view of a front side of the pack,
fig. 5 shows the pack according to fig. 4 in the
opening position,
fig. 6 shows a plan view of the pack as seen in the
direction of arrow VI in fig. 4,
fig. 7 shows a cross section through the pack taken
along section line VII-VII in fig. 4,
fig. 8 shows a second exemplary embodiment for a blank
for a shell in an illustration analogous to
fig. 1 for the first exemplary embodiment,
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fig. 9 shows a second exemplary embodiment for a blank
for a shell in an illustration analogous to
fig. 2,
fig. 10 shows a folded blank according to fig. 8 for a
shell,
fig. 11 shows a three-dimensional illustration of a
pack made from a shell according to fig. 10,
with a view of the front side of the pack,
fig. 12 shows the pack according to fig. 11, with a
view of the rear side,
fig. 13 shows the pack according to fig. 11 in the open
position,
fig. 14 shows a plan view of the pack as seen in the
direction of arrow XIV in fig. 11, and
fig. 15 shows a cross section through the pack taken
along section line XIV-XIV in fig. 11.
The slide-and-shell-type cigarette pack 10 which is
shown in figures 1 to 7 comprises two parts, mainly an
outer shell 11 and a slide 12 which can be moved
therein, both parts preferably being made of thin
cardboard.
A cigarette group 13 made up of three layers of
cigarettes is shown as the contents of the pack 10. The
cigarette group 13 is enclosed by an inner blank 14 and
thus forms an essentially cuboidal cigarette block 15,
which fits in the pack 10.
The shell 11 and slide 12 each comprise separate
blanks. The slide 11 comprises a carrying wall or base
side wall 16 and mutually opposite plug-in flaps,
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namely a closure flap 17 and an end flap 18 located
opposite. Side flaps 19, 20 are provided laterally on
the base side wall 16. With folding of the slide 12
completed, these side flaps have been folded into an
upright position, and therefore the slide 12 has a U-
shaped cross section in the region of the base side
wall 16.
The closure flap 17 comprises an end wall 20 and an
adjoining plug-in flap 22. Punch cuts 32 delimit the
closure flap 17 from the side flaps 19, 20 to form an
intermediate wall 24. The individual regions or blank
walls are delimited from one another by folding lines
which are illustrated in the drawing by dashes. Further
punch cuts 32 are provided, in addition, along the
folding lines between the base side wall 16 and the
side flaps 19, 20.
The end flap 18 comprises two regions, namely an end
wall 24 and an adjoining plug-in flap 25, which are
likewise delimited by folding lines.
As can be seen from fig. 5, the cigarette block 15, in
the closed position of the pack 10, is enclosed on all
sides, at least partially, by the slide 12. The end
wall 21 butts against one end of the cigarettes or the
cigarette block 15 - in the region of filters in the
case of filter cigarettes - whereas the end wall 25
butts against the cigarette block 15 at opposite ends
of the cigarettes. The plug-in flaps 22 and 26 butt
against the cigarette block 15 on the side located
opposite to the base side wall 16.
The shell 11 is formed by an upper side wall 27, a
lower side wall 28, which is located opposite, and
elongate narrow side walls 29, 30. In order to form a
hollow body of rectangular cross section which is open
on both sides, a peripheral flap 31 of the blank of the
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shell 11 is connected, namely adhesively bonded to a
free peripheral region of the lower side wall 28. The
peripheral flap 31 here butts against the inside of the
lower side wall 28. The upper side wall 27, lower side
wall 28 and narrow side walls 29, 30 of the shell 11
are delimited from one another by folding lines, which
are illustrated in the drawing by dashes.
The shell 11 encloses the slide 12 together with
cigarette block 15 such that the base side wall 16
butts against the inside of the lower side wall 28. The
side flaps 19, 20 are in contact with the inside of the
narrow side walls 29, 30.
The special feature of the pack 10 resides in the
formation of a so-called intermediate surface 32 on the
shell 11, the intermediate surface, in the present
exemplary embodiment, being arranged in the region of
the upper side wall 27 and of the narrow side wall 30
of the pack 10 and extending over the corresponding
pack edge between the two walls. Of course, it is also
possible for the intermediate surface 32 to be arranged
on other side surfaces or walls of the pack 10.
In the region of the intermediate surface 32, the
course followed by the upper side wall 27 and the
narrow side wall 30 deviates from the usual course
followed outside the region of the intermediate surface
32. This gives the pack its characteristic design.
The intermediate surface 32 is arranged such that it
extends over a folding line 33 between the upper side
wall 27 and narrow side wall 30, wherein the folding
line 33 is interrupted in the region of the
intermediate surface 32. The folding line 33 merges, in
the region of the intermediate surface 32, into a
transition line 34 which runs along the circumference
of the intermediate surface 32.
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The contour of the intermediate surface 32 corresponds
to a lens, wherein an upper end or an upper tip of the
lens is spaced apart from an upper periphery 35 of the
blank for the shell 11. A lower end or a lower tip of
the lens is spaced apart correspondingly from a lower
periphery 36 of the blank for the shell 11. The
intermediate surface 32 is thus arranged centrally on
the folding line 33. Of course, the intermediate
surface may also be in some other form, for example
that of a rhombus.
As a result, the upper and lower corner points or ends
of the intermediate surface 32 are thus located on the
point of intersection of three weakening lines, namely
the folding line 33 and the two transition lines 34.
Along the contour of the intermediate surfaces 32, an
incision is provided as material weakening in the
material of the blank. The material weakening or the
incision runs preferably continuously along the contour
of the intermediate surface 32. The material weakening
along the transition lines 34 of the intermediate
surface 32 makes it easier for the blank to be deformed
and thus allows the blank to follow a course which
deviates from that of the upper side wall 27 and of the
narrow side wall 30. The material weakening runs on the
inside of the blank, the inside being oriented in the
direction of the cigarette group 13.
The precise course followed by the blank in the region
of the intermediate surface 32 is given by the contour
of the same and the arrangement on the upper side wall
27 and narrow side wall 30. In the present case, the
intermediate surface 32 runs inward, i.e. is curved in
the direction of the cigarette group 15, and therefore
the cross section of the shell 11 is restricted by the
intermediate surface 32.
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A further special feature of the pack 10 relates to
measures for ensuring that the slide 12 can be
displaced within the shell 11 despite the inwardly
curved intermediate surface 32. For this purpose, the
slide 12, in a region which is directed toward the
intermediate surface 32, has at least one recess, which
makes it possible for the slide 12 to be displaced.
On the one hand, the side flap 20 has a peripheral
recess 37, which extends along the free periphery of
the side flap 20 in the longitudinal direction of the
slide 12. The recess 37 is arcuate and does not extend
over the entire length of the side flap 20. This allows
the slide 12 to be moved relatively easily in the
region of the greatest depth of the recess 37, wherein
the depth of the recess 37 decreasing in both
directions ensures ever greater forces to counteract
displacement. This provides a kind of brake for the
slide 12. As an alternative, it is also conceivable for
the recess to be formed over a greater length, or over
the entire length, of the side flap 20. It is not
necessarily the case here that the periphery of the
side flap 20, during displacement of the side 12, has
to come into contact with the intermediate surface 32
even when the dimensioning of the recess is selected to
be appropriately large and/or the dimensioning of the
depth of the side flap 20 is selected to be
appropriately small.
On the other hand, a second arcuate recess 38 is
provided on the periphery of the end flap 18. The
recess 38 is located at the transition between the end
wall 25 and the plug-in flap 26, on the same side of
the blank as the recess 37. The recess 38 is
dimensioned such that it is easier for the slide 12 to
be introduced into the shell 11.
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A further special feature of the pack 10 resides in the
fact that the essentially cuboidal pack contents, in
the form of the cigarette group 13, does not have any
cigarettes in a corner region 39, which is directed
toward the intermediate surface 32. In the present
case, for this purpose, the layer which is directed
toward the upper side wall 27 has a smaller number of
cigarettes. In addition, this layer is offset in
relation to the layer arranged behind it, as a result
of which the corner region 39 is free. This means that
the cigarettes are not deformed by the deformation of
the slide 12 by the inwardly projecting intermediate
wall 24 during displacement. This is shown, by way of
example, in fig. 7 for a 7-7-6 formation of cigarettes.
A further special feature relates to the arrangement of
the intermediate surface 34 on the blank for the shell
11. The grooving is applied to the blank in the spread-
out state. Thereafter, the peripheral flap 31 is
connected to the lower side wall 38 to produce a closed
shell 11, which is then folded into a flat form around
two folding lines. This allows the shell 11 to be
stored in a space-saving manner and to be kept, for
example, in a magazine for further processing. It is
consciously accepted here that the intermediate
surfaces 32, in the case of the cross-sectionally
rectangular pack, can be formed only in the region of a
maximum of two pack edges, because otherwise these
would be damaged when the shell 11 is folded into the
formation according to fig. 3.
Figures 8 to 15 show a second exemplary embodiment of a
pack 40. Unless described to the contrary hereinbelow,
the pack 40 corresponds, in respect of construction, to
the first exemplary embodiment. Accordingly, the same
parts are provided with corresponding designations in
the drawings.
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A first difference between the pack 40 and the first
exemplary embodiment resides in the fact that the pack
40 has two intermediate surfaces 32, which are formed
in the region of opposite pack edges of the pack 40. A
first intermediate surface 32 is located in the same
position as for the pack 10. The second intermediate
surface 32 is formed at the transition between the
narrow side wall 29 and the lower side wall 28. In
addition, the two intermediate walls 32 have smaller
dimensions, in particular a smaller width, than in the
case of the first exemplary embodiment. This means that
the intermediate walls 32 also extend into the interior
of the shell 11 to a lesser extent than in the case of
the pack 10. It is also conceivable, however, for the
intermediate surfaces 32 to be of equal width to, or of
greater width than, the intermediate surface 32 in the
case of the pack 10.
A second difference from the pack 10 resides in the
fact that, in addition to the recesses 37, 38,
longitudinally directed incisions 41 are formed in the
blank for the slide 12. The arrangement of the
incisions 41 corresponds to the position of the second
intermediate surface 32 on the pack 10. Three incisions
41 are provided in the present case, and these are
formed at the transition between the side flap 19 and
the base side wall 16. The incisions 41 may be designed
like the punch cuts 23, but are preferably of greater
length, corresponding approximately to the length of
the recess 37. However, the recess 37 and the incisions
41 are offset slightly in relation to one another in
the longitudinal direction of the slide 12. A central
incision 41 is arranged precisely along the folding
line between the base side wall 16 and the side flap
19. The two other incisions 41 each run parallel to the
first, at equal intervals therefrom. This means that
the incisions 41 form two flexible material strips 42,
which are positioned in a manner corresponding to the
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second intermediate surface 32. When the slide 12 is
displaced in the shell 11, the material strips 42 are
deformed by the intermediate surface 32, as a result of
which, despite the intermediate surface 32 projecting
into the shell, displacement of the slide 12 is
possible. The inside of the blank in the region of the
intermediate surface 32 butts, at least partially,
against the material strips 42.
In the case of the solution according to the second
exemplary embodiment, there is no need for the corner
regions to be left free. Instead, the layers of
cigarettes are staggered in a 7-6-7 formation.
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List of Designations
Pack
5 11 Shell
12 Slide
13 Cigarette group
14 Inner blank
Cigarette block
10 16 Base wall
17 Closure flap
18 End flap
19 Side flap
Side flap
15 21 End wall
22 Plug-in flap
23 Punch cut
24 Intermediate wall
End wall
20 26 Plug-in flap
27 Upper side wall
28 Lower side wall
29 Narrow side wall
Narrow side wall
25 31 Peripheral flap
32 Intermediate surface
33 Folding line
34 Transition line
Periphery
30 36 Periphery
37 Recess
38 Recess
39 Corner region
Pack
35 41 Incision
42 Material strip
