Patent Application
20160001963
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.
Conventional tobacco industry packs are generally parallelepiped shaped packs having 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.
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 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.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference the accompanying drawings in which:
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 lid and so reduces the risk of the pack accidentally opening.
A pack 1 is shown in
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
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 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 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 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.
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 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
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 multi-layered structure to be formed. Furthermore, a combination of the embodiments shown in
Although in the above described embodiments the second fold lines 18, 19 are described 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
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 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
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.
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, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1303444.2 | Feb 2014 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2014/050531 | 2/21/2014 | WO | 00 |
