This application is the National Phase of International Application PCT/IB01/02568 filed Dec. 17, 2001 which designated the U.S. and that International Application was published under PCT Article 21(2) in English.
The present invention relates to a diecut blank for use in manufacturing of a packet of cigarettes.
The prior art embraces a packet of rigid type as disclosed in European patent EP 0 545 723, to which reference may be made for a full description, intended to hold a group of cigarettes enveloped previously in a respective inner wrapper of metal foil paper. The packet comprises a container with an internal stiffening frame, also a lid hinged to the container and rotatable about the respective hinge line between an open position affording access to the container, and a closed position in which the lid fits snugly over the frame and is held thus stably in place. The packet in question presents a cross section of substantially flattened oval profile and is fashioned from a flat precreased diecut blank referable to a predominating axis disposed transversely to the axis of the finished packet and presenting a plurality of panels, aligned along the selfsame axis, destined to provide both the sides of the container and of the lid, and the internal frame.
Also forming part of the blank are two pairs of end folds, each presenting an outline of substantially flattened oval profile, aligned in two sets of two along the aforementioned transverse axis and providing the elements by which the top end and bottom end faces of the packet are fashioned.
Besides being unsuitable for use on today's high speed packer machines, which will only handle blanks exhibiting a transverse dimension decidedly less than the longitudinal dimension, the type of blank described above can also be affected by the problem of incorrect mutual positioning between the outer wrapper and the inner wrapper. In effect, given the particular geometry of the blank, the packet is fashioned by bending the blank about an axis perpendicular to the transverse axis and rolling it gradually into a tube around the inner wrapper, interacting in the process with the selfsame inner wrapper, to the point of assuming the aforementioned substantially flattened oval profile. Thus, the inner wrapper functions to all intents and purposes as a mandrel around which the blank is formed by degrees.
It has been found by experiment that this type of wrapping operation can occasion relative movement between the inner wrapper and the outer wrapper, resulting in the drawback mentioned above and consequently in a loss of the correct mutual positioning between the two wrappers.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above noted drawbacks.
It is also known, from document U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,905, a hinged lid packet for cigarettes which comprises a pack part and a lid pivotally attached to the pack part. The pack part presents a front panel, a rear panel, two lateral panels and a bottom; the lid comprises a lid front panel, a lid rear panel, two side panels and an end panel. The four longitudinal edges of the packet are rounded and are defined by a plurality of parallel grooves. The packet is formed from a first blank presenting a central panel, two intermediate panels and two end panels. The intermediate panels, which form the bottom and the end panel of the packet, present a substantially rectangular shape with rounded edges. The packet further comprises a collar formed from a separate blank.
The stated object is realized according to the present invention in a blank for manufacturing a packet of cigarettes exhibiting a cross section of substantially flattened oval profile, characterized in that it presents a substantially elongated rectangular outline referable to a longitudinal axis parallel with the longitudinal axis of the relative packet and comprises, aligned along the selfsame axis, a central panel, two intermediate panels and two end panels, of which the intermediate panels each present a substantially flattened oval outline and are joined respectively to the two contiguous panels along rectilinear borders extending transversely to the longitudinal axis and interconnected in pairs by way of respective arcuate borders with no break in linear continuity, whilst the central panel and end panels present respective flat central longitudinal areas, terminating longitudinally in extremities that coincide with the rectilinear borders, and two respective lateral longitudinal bands designed to meet the intermediate panels along the arcuate borders.
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to
Referring to
The packet 4 presents a top end face 10 and a bottom end face 11 of substantially flattened oval outline, and a lateral surface 12 including two mutually parallel flat portions denoted 13 and 14, front and rear respectively. The two flat portions 13 and 14 are interconnected by two arcuate portions 15.
As illustrated in
The two intermediate panels 18 and 19 present a substantially flattened oval outline and are joined to the respective contiguous panels 20-17 and 21-17 along rectilinear borders 22 that extend transversely to the longitudinal axis 16 and are interconnected in corresponding pairs by respective arcuate borders 23 with no break in linear continuity.
The central panel 17 and the end panels 20 and 21 each exhibit a central longitudinal area 24 of width equal to the length of the aforementioned rectilinear borders 22, so that the extremities of these same areas 24 coincide with the borders 22 along which the intermediate panels 18 and 19 are joined, also two lateral longitudinal bands 25 extending parallel to the central area 24 and designed, when the packet 4 is erected, to meet the intermediate panels 18 and 19 along the aforementioned arcuate borders 23 whereupon they are anchored to the selfsame panels 18 and 19 by means of flaps 26. In the example of
In particular, the central longitudinal portion 24 of the central panel 17 coincides with the rear flat portion 14 of the packet 4, the central portions 24 of the end panels 20 and 21 coincide with the front flat portion 13 of the packet 4, and the intermediate panels 18 and 19 coincide respectively with the top end face 10 and with the bottom end face 11 of the packet 4. Finally, the lateral longitudinal bands 25 coincide with the arcuate portions 15 of the packet 4 and are secured one to another along a narrow overlap denoted 27.
In contrast to the example of
In the example of
In the example of
Importantly, the separation between the lateral longitudinal bands 25 and the central area 24 is not evidenced by a clear line of demarcation; rather, the bands 25 and the central area 24 merge with no break in continuity, so that the packet 4 can be fashioned without any ridges generated between the flat portions 13 and 14 and the arcuate portions 15.
In the same manner as described for the packet blanks 1, the blanks 3 utilized for the frames 2 illustrated in
Likewise in the case of the blanks 3 from which the frames 2 are fashioned, the separation between the lateral bands 30 and the central area 29 is not evidenced by a clear line of demarcation; rather, the bands 30 and the central area 29 merge with no break in continuity and are thus able to bond completely with the internal surface of the packet 4.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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BO2000A0729 | Dec 2000 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB01/02568 | 12/17/2001 | WO | 00 | 6/18/2003 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO02/49940 | 6/27/2002 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040055909 A1 | Mar 2004 | US |