Patent Application
20240383669
The present invention relates to a tobacco product packaging material and a tobacco product package.
There are various packaging materials for packaging tobacco products. Typical known examples of the packaging materials include hard packages and soft packages in which a predetermined number of (for example, about 20) tobacco articles are bundled together and packaged.
For example, a widely known form of the hard package is a hinged-lid package including an outer box and a lid connected to the outer box in an openable-closable manner by a hinge. In general, tobacco products accommodated in the outer box are wrapped in an inner pack formed of a folded soft sheet material and then accommodated in the outer box. The soft package is typically formed by wrapping tobacco products in an inner pack formed by folding an inner wrapping sheet and then wrapping the inner pack with a soft external wrapping sheet.
Moreover, in recent years, in order to impart aromas other than the original flavor and taste of tobacco and to further strengthen the original flavor and taste of tobacco, there has been increasing use of packaging materials that contain a flavoring component on a surface serving as an inside surface when assembled. In general, in such a packaging material containing a flavoring component, a layer formed of a metal foil, such as an aluminum foil, is provided on a side opposite to the surface containing the flavoring component to prevent the flavoring component from leaking from the inside surface to the outside surface.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a packaging material formed of a metal foil or metallized paper having a region scented with an aromatic substance, and Patent Document 2 discloses a packaging material produced by laminating a paper layer containing menthol as an aromatic substance and a metal foil.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-241504
Patent Document 2: International Publication No. 2005/007512
As described above, in the existing tobacco product packaging materials containing a flavoring component, in order to prevent the flavoring component from leaking to the outside, a metal foil such as an aluminum foil has been used as a layer located outside the layer containing the flavoring component when assembled. While a metal foil has excellent barrier properties for preventing the leakage described above, the metal foil is expensive to produce and thus undesirable in view of the current circumstances that require sustainable products. Simply removing the metal foil may cause not only the problem of leakage, but also the problem of deterioration in appearance due to leakage. To solve these problems, there is still room for improvement in the development of packaging materials from the viewpoint of improving the configuration.
In view of the above, a first object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco product packaging material capable of reducing leakage of a flavoring component contained in a paper layer to the outside and a tobacco product package formed using the tobacco product packaging material, and a second object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco product packaging material capable of reducing deterioration in appearance and a tobacco product package formed using the tobacco product packaging material.
As a result of extensive studies, the inventors of the present invention have found that the above objects can be achieved by a configuration at least including a paper layer containing a flavoring component and a barrier layer having barrier properties against the flavoring component and conceived the present invention.
[1] A tobacco product packaging material, the packaging material being a sheet-packaging material for packaging a tobacco product, the packaging material at least including:
The present invention can provide a tobacco product packaging material capable of reducing leakage of a flavoring component contained in a paper layer to the outside and reducing deterioration in appearance and a tobacco product package formed using the tobacco product packaging material.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below. However, the following descriptions are merely examples (representative examples) of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these descriptions without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In this description, a numerical range expressed using “to” means a range including numerical values before and after “to” as a lower limit value and an upper limit values, respectively, and “A to B” means A or more and B or less.
In this description, a plurality of embodiments will be described, and various conditions in each embodiment can apply to other embodiments in applicable ranges.
Embodiments of the tobacco product packaging material and package according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of structural elements described in the embodiments are merely examples.
A tobacco product packaging material according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “tobacco product packaging material” or “packaging material”) is a sheet-packaging material for packaging a tobacco product, the packaging material at least including:
A tobacco product packaging material 200 illustrated in
A flavoring material contained in a paper layer causes deterioration in appearance due to leakage. In particular, in an exemplary embodiment in which a crystalline substance such as menthol is contained in the flavoring material, in the case of the storage in an environment at a low atmospheric temperature such as in the winter season, the crystalline substance such as menthol leaked on the surface is crystallized, and the crystallized substance is seen by the user, which may cause deterioration in appearance that looks like dirt.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 according to this embodiment includes the barrier layer 202 having barrier properties against the flavoring component, and the flavoring component contained in the paper layer 201 does not permeate through the barrier layer 202; therefore, the problem of leakage does not occur in the packaging material.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 may have any sheet shape. The shape in the planar direction may be, for example, a polygonal shape, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or a shape intended for the assembly of a package (for example, the shape in
The basis weight of the tobacco product packaging material 200 is not particularly limited but is preferably 30 gsm or more, more preferably 40 gsm or more, and preferably 200 gsm or less, more preferably 150 gsm or less, still more preferably 100 gsm or less from the viewpoint of machine suitability. The basis weight in this description is calculated on the basis of the dry weight of the target substance unless otherwise specified. In particular, the basis weight of a substance formed through a process of, for example, application of a liquid is calculated on the basis of the dry weight after solidification by a process such as solvent removal. The basis weight of a substance formed through a process of, for example, melting is calculated on the basis of the dry weight after solidification by a process such as cooling solidification.
The area of the tobacco product packaging material 200 is not particularly limited, can be appropriately set according to tobacco products to be accommodated, and may be, for example, 20 cm2 or more, 45 cm2 or more, 80 cm2 or more, 125 cm2 or more, and 1,000 cm2 or less, 500 cm2 or less, and less than 20 cm2, and more than 1,000 cm2.
An exemplary embodiment of the paper layer 201 is not particularly limited, publicly known paper can be used, for example, Western paper can be used, and specifically, printing paper, wrapping paper, thin paper, or the like can be used. From the viewpoints that bending of the packaging material 200 when the packaging material 200 is folded around the tobacco products is facilitated and the production process is simplified, and that the paper layer 201 can be more easily decomposed, and therefore, a package that is more environmentally conscious can be provided, the content of a fibrous cellulose-based material is typically 30% by weight or more, preferably 50% by weight or more, more preferably 70% by weight or more. There is no need to set the upper limit, and the content of the fibrous cellulose-based material may be 100% by weight and may be 100% by weight or less.
The basis weight of the paper layer 201 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of machine suitability, it is 25 gsm or more, preferably 30 gsm or more, more preferably 40 gsm or more, and is 120 gsm or less, preferably 100 gsm or less, more preferably 90 gsm or less. In general, in the technical field of paper, the basis weight is used as a parameter instead of the thickness.
The type of the flavoring component contained in the paper layer is not particularly limited, and publicly known flavoring components can be used. Examples thereof include menthol, leaf tobacco extract, natural vegetable flavors (e.g., cinnamon, sage, herb, chamomile, kudzu, sweet Hydrangea leaves, clove, lavender, cardamom, Eugenia caryophyllus, nutmeg, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, rose oil, lemon, orange, cassia bark, caraway, jasmine, ginger, coriander, vanilla extract, spearmint, peppermint, cassia, coffee, celery, cascarilla, sandalwood, cocoa, ylang-ylang, fennel, anise, licorice, Saint John's bread, plum extract, and peach extract), saccharides (e.g., glucose, fructose, isomerized sugar, caramel, honey, and molasses), cocoas (e.g., powder and extract), esters (e.g., isoamyl acetate, linalyl acetate, isoamyl propionate, and linalyl butyrate), ketones (e.g., menthone, ionone, damascenones, and ethyl maltol), alcohols (e.g., geraniol, linalool, anethole, and eugenol), aldehydes (e.g., vanillin, benzaldehyde, and anisaldehyde), lactones (e.g., γ-undecalactone and γ-nonalactone), animal flavors (e.g., musk, ambergris, civet, and castoreum), and hydrocarbons (e.g., limonene and pinene). These substances may be used alone, or any two or more of them may be used in combination in any ratio.
Of these, menthol is preferred. In the exemplary embodiment in which a crystalline substance such as menthol is contained in the flavoring material, the above-described problem of deterioration in appearance due to crystallization is likely to occur; therefore, the effect obtained by employing the configuration of this embodiment is significant.
The content of the flavoring component contained in the paper layer is not particularly limited but is typically 2 gsm or more, and 20 gsm or less from the viewpoint that a sufficient amount of flavoring component can be imparted to tobacco products.
The barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited as long as it has barrier properties against the flavoring component and is a non-metal layer. Herein, the non-metal layer is not a layer composed only of a metal, such as an aluminum foil, but is a layer containing at least a non-metal material.
The material (main constituent material) of the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited as long as it is a non-metal, and may be, for example, a resin. Specifically, examples thereof include nitrocellulose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxyethylmethyl cellulose, starch, completely saponified polyvinyl alcohol, partially saponified polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-copolymerized polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, alkyd resins, polyamide resins, polyester resins, copolymer such as styrene-butadiene, and aqueous dispersion emulsions of polyolefins or the like. Examples of the resin that is particularly preferably used in an extrusion method include low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene. These may be used alone, or any two or more of them may be combined in any ratio and used as a mixture.
The barrier layer 202 may be formed of two or more layers formed by using different types of materials.
The content of the main constituent material in the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint that permeation of the flavoring component can be sufficiently reduced, the content is typically 50% by weight or more, preferably 60% by weight or more, more preferably 70% by weight or more, still more preferably 80% by weight or more. There is no need to set the upper limit, and the content of the main constituent material may be 100% by weight or less and may be 90% by weight or less.
The method for forming the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited, and the barrier layer 202 can be formed by, for example, a coating method or an extrusion method. When the barrier layer 202 is formed by any of these methods, only the barrier layer 202 may be prepared, and the barrier layer 202 may then be laminated with other layers (e.g., the paper layer 201 and/or a masking layer 203), or the preparation of the barrier layer 202 and lamination with the other layers may be performed at the same time. Exemplary embodiments of the coating method and the extrusion method are not particularly limited, and publicly known methods can be appropriately employed.
The thickness of the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component, it is typically 0.2 μm or more, preferably 0.7 μm or more, more preferably 2 μm or more, and from the viewpoint of the ease of production, it is typically 60 μm or less, preferably 45 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or less.
In particular, when the barrier layer 202 is formed by a coating method, from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component and the viewpoint that it becomes difficult to achieve a complete cover with a coating liquid in the case of the formation by coating, the thickness of the barrier layer 202 is typically 0.2 μm or more, preferably 0.3 μm or more, more preferably 0.7 μm or more, and from the viewpoint of reducing the load on drying after coating, it is typically 25 μm or less, preferably 19 μm or less, more preferably 13 μm or less.
When the barrier layer 202 is formed by an extrusion method, from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component and the viewpoint that it becomes difficult to achieve a complete cover in the case of the formation by extrusion, the thickness of the barrier layer 202 is typically 15 μm or more, and from the viewpoint of the ease of production, it is typically 60 μm or less, preferably 45 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or less.
The basis weight of the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component, the basis weight of the barrier layer 202 is typically 0.3 gsm or more, preferably 1 gsm or more, more preferably 3 gsm or more, still more preferably 10 gsm or more, particularly preferably 13 gsm or more, and from the viewpoint of the ease of production, it is typically 56 gsm or less, preferably 42 gsm or less, more preferably 20 gsm or less.
In particular, when the barrier layer 202 is formed by a coating method, the basis weight of the barrier layer 202 is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component and the viewpoint that it becomes difficult to achieve a complete cover with a coating liquid in the case of the formation by coating, the basis weight of the barrier layer 202 is preferably 0.3 gsm or more, more preferably 0.5 gsm or more, still more preferably 1 gsm or more, still further more preferably 2 gsm or more, particularly preferably 3 gsm or more, and from the viewpoint of reducing the load on drying after coating, it is typically 20 gsm or less, preferably 15 gsm or less, more preferably 10 gsm or less.
When the barrier layer 202 is formed by an extrusion method, from the viewpoint of being capable of achieving a sufficient barrier against the flavoring component and the viewpoint that it becomes difficult to achieve a complete cover in the case of the formation by extrusion, the basis weight of the barrier layer 202 is typically 13 gsm or more, and from the viewpoint of the ease of production, it is typically 56 gsm or less, preferably 42 gsm or less, more preferably 19 gsm or less.
When the barrier layer 202 is formed by coating, the method for coating is not particularly limited, and the coating can be performed by any publicly known coating device or coating system. Examples of the coating device include a blade coater, a bar coater, a roll coater, an air knife coater, a reverse roll coater, a curtain coater, a spray coater, a size press coater, and a gate roll coater. Examples of the coating system include a water-based coating system using a solvent such as water and a solvent-based coating system using a solvent such as an organic solvent. As a method for drying the barrier layer 202, an ordinary method using, for example, a steam heater, a gas heater, an infrared heater, an electric heater, a hot air heater, a microwave oven, or a cylinder dryer can be used.
The barrier layer 202 may contain a component other than the main constituent material, and the other component may be, for example, a filler or a pigment.
When the barrier layer 202 is formed by an extrusion method, production conditions are not particularly limited, and the barrier layer 202 can be formed by applying, to a surface of the paper layer, a molten product of a material, such as a resin, melted at a temperature appropriate to the material and performing cooling. Alternatively, such a molten product may be applied to another member without being directly applied to a surface of the paper layer, and then separated to prepare a barrier layer, and this barrier layer may be bonded to the paper layer.
The extrusion temperature can be appropriately set according to the raw material but is typically 200° C. or higher, and typically 400° C. or lower.
The barrier properties of the barrier layer 202 can be evaluated by the following methods, and preferably satisfy (Condition 1) or (Condition 2) below and particularly preferably satisfy (Condition 1) and (Condition 2) below.
(Condition 1) Operations (1) to (4) below using the barrier layer are performed five times, and permeation of ethanol is not visually observed in any of the resulting five specimens.
The type of the substrate is not particularly limited as long as a barrier layer can be formed, and the substrate may be, for example, paper (which may be paper other than the paper used as the paper layer), or the material of a masking layer described later. For example, the foregoing Western paper such as printing paper, wrapping paper, or thin paper can be used as the paper. A substrate containing a flavoring component may be used, and, for example, the paper layer may be used.
The specimen used may be one prepared by removing the barrier layer from the tobacco product packaging material and disposing the barrier layer on a substrate, or one prepared by disposing, on a substrate, a layer formed of the same material as the material of the barrier layer and having the same thickness as that of the barrier layer. When the packaging material includes a layer other than the paper layer and the barrier layer, a specimen prepared by removing the layer other than the paper layer and the barrier layer may be used. The size of the specimen is not particularly limited as long as the above operations can be performed, can be appropriately determined according to the size of the tobacco product packaging material 200, and may be, for example, 20 mm×20 mm, 30 mm×30 mm, 40 mm×40 mm, or 50 mm×50 mm.
The evaluation is conducted in an environment at a temperature of 23° C.±1° C. and a humidity of 50%±3%.
(Condition 2) When a third layer is not disposed on a surface of the barrier layer on an opposite side from a surface on which the paper layer is disposed, (Condition 2-1) below is satisfied, and when a third layer is disposed on the surface of the barrier layer on the opposite side from the surface on which the paper layer is disposed, (Condition 2-2) below is satisfied.
A test under (Condition 2′) below can also be performed as a test alternative to the test under (Condition 2).
A test under (Condition 2″) below can also be performed as a test alternative to the test under (Condition 2).
Whether or not the leakage of the flavor occurs on the surface of the barrier layer under this (Condition 2″) may be checked by visual observation. The evaluation criteria of leakage under (Condition 2″) are substantially the same as the evaluation criteria of permeation under (Condition 2) above. Accordingly, for example, in the case where the test is performed using a packaging material in which paper is disposed on the surface of the barrier layer located on the opposite side from the side where the paper layer is present (or in the case of a packaging material that does not include such paper, when paper is disposed on the surface of the barrier layer located on the opposite side from the side where the paper layer is present, and the test is performed using the resulting packaging material), observation of the test result of “permeation did not occur” shown in
The tests under (Condition 2), (Condition 2′), and (Condition 2′') above are performed in a state where the test object is disposed such that the paper layer (or paper) to which the flavor is applied is directed vertically upward.
In the test under (Condition 2), the test under (Condition 2′), and the test under (Condition 2″), the same evaluation results are usually obtained because there is no difference in the barrier layer.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 may further include layers (other layers) other than the paper layer 201 and the barrier layer 202. The tobacco product packaging material 200 may include, for example, a masking layer 203 on the side opposite to the side where the paper layer 201 is located when viewed from the barrier layer 202, a coat layer 204 serving as an outermost layer on the side opposite to the side where the paper layer is located when viewed from the barrier layer 202, a glue layer, or the like.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 may further include a masking layer 203 on the side opposite to the side where the paper layer is located when viewed from the barrier layer, as illustrated in
Examples of the method for forming the masking layer include, but are not particularly limited to, a method including applying a molten liquid of the material constituting the masking layer 203 to the barrier layer 202, and then performing curing, a method including applying a solution prepared by dissolving or dispersing the material constituting the masking layer 203 into a solvent, and then performing curing by removing the solvent, a method including providing a masking layer on the barrier layer 202 by printing means such as flexographic printing, and a method including forming an extrusion resin on the barrier layer in the form of a film. The solvent is not particularly limited as long as the material constituting the masking layer 203 can be dissolved or dispersed therein.
The material of the masking layer 203 is not particularly limited as long as the material has a masking property and may be, for example, the paper layer described above or a resin or ink containing a masking agent.
The volume-average particle size of the masking agent used as the material of the masking layer is not particularly limited, but is usually 0.01 μm or more, preferably 0.1 μm or more, more preferably 0.5 μm or more, and is usually 50 μm or less, preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 2 μm or less. The volume-average particle size of the masking agent used as the material of the masking layer is determined by measuring the masking agent which is a raw material by a publicly known method.
The material of the ink used as the material of the masking layer is not particularly limited as long as the masking agent can be dissolved or dispersed in the material. Examples of the material of the ink include a solvent, a dispersing agent, a viscosity modifier, and an antifoaming agent in addition to the masking agent but are not limited thereto.
The thickness of the masking layer 203 is not particularly limited, but is usually 0.1 gsm or more, preferably 1 gsm or more, more preferably 2 gsm or more, and is usually 15 gsm or less, preferably 10 gsm or less, more preferably 5 gsm or less. When the masking layer 203 is formed of a plurality of layers, the above thickness may be treated as the overall thickness or may be treated as the thickness of each layer.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 may further include a coat layer 204 serving as an outermost layer on a side opposite to a side where the paper layer 201 is located when viewed from the barrier layer 202, as illustrated in
Examples of the method for forming the coat layer 204 include, but are not particularly limited to, a method including applying a molten liquid of the material constituting the coat layer 204 to the barrier layer 202 or the masking layer 203, and then performing curing, a method including applying a solution prepared by dissolving the material constituting the coat layer 204 into a solvent, and then performing curing by removing the solvent, a method including providing a coat layer on the barrier layer 202 or the masking layer 203 by flexographic printing or gravure printing, and a method including providing a coat layer on the barrier layer 202 or the masking layer 203 by coating using the coating device described above. The solvent is not particularly limited as long as the solvent can dissolve the material constituting the coat layer 204.
The material of the coat layer 204 is not particularly limited as long as coating can be performed, but is preferably, for example, acryl; a cellulose derivative such as nitrocellulose or ethyl cellulose; or an aqueous dispersion emulsion of a polyolefin, acryl, or the like from the viewpoint that the material is excellent in terms of not having adhesiveness in relation to the flavoring component contained in the paper layer.
The basis weight of the coat layer 204 is not particularly limited, but may be 0.1 gsm or more, and preferably 10 gsm or less, more preferably 4 gsm or less, still more preferably 2 gsm or less.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 may include a glue layer for bonding layers. For example, the glue layer may be provided between the barrier layer 202 and the masking layer 203. The material of the glue layer is not particularly limited as long as two layers to be bonded can be bonded together and may be, for example, a starch-based or vinyl acetate-based material, and specifically, for example, starch or vinyl acetate.
The basis weight of the glue layer is not particularly limited and may be 0.3 gsm or more, and preferably 4 gsm or less, more preferably 2 gsm or less, still more preferably 1.5 gsm or less.
From the viewpoint of solving the problems of high production cost and a difficulty in recyclability when used as a packaging material, preferably, the tobacco product packaging material 200 does not include a metal layer such as a metal foil, e.g., an aluminum foil. In this description, this metal layer does not include a layer containing a metal powder such as a metal pigment, for example, a printed layer containing a metal pigment.
In the tobacco product packaging material 200, an ink related to a design, a brand logo, or the like may be printed on a surface of the outermost layer on the side opposite to the side where the paper layer 201 is located when viewed from the barrier layer 202.
The method for producing the tobacco product packaging material 200 is not particularly limited, and the tobacco product packaging material 200 can be produced by a publicly known method that enables production of a laminate or by combining publicly known methods. Specific examples of the production method are described below.
In the methods (1) and (2) above, a wet laminator can be used. The solvent used in these methods is not particularly limited as long as the solvent can dissolve the material constituting the barrier layer 202.
In the method (3) above, an extruder can be used.
The other layers such as the masking layer 203 and the coat layer 204 can be formed by the same methods as those described above or other suitable methods.
The tobacco product packaging material 200 described above can be used in an available range, but preferably can be used for a tobacco product package described below.
A tobacco product package which is another embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “tobacco product package” or a “package”) is a package formed using a tobacco product packaging material,
Specific embodiments of the tobacco product package will be described below. Embodiments 1 and 2 described below are exemplary embodiments in which bonding is performed using an adhesive but, alternatively, may be exemplary embodiments in which no adhesive is used, for example, exemplary embodiments in which the tobacco product packaging material 200 is folded to accommodate tobacco products.
The outer sheath 3 of the package 1 is formed by folding the sheet-packaging material 2 and bonding edge portions of the packaging material 2 together by application of an adhesive such as a glue to seal the internal container that accommodates the tobacco products. In the example illustrated in
Reference numeral 31 shown in
In the present embodiment, in order to bond the packaging materials together, a method of providing bonded portions is employed. Alternatively, a method of fixing from the outside with an adhesive tape or the like may be employed without using an adhesive.
As illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
The outer sheath 3 of the package 1 includes a separable section 34 extending to the tab 33. The separable section 34 is a strip-shaped section demarcated by a pair of first separation lines 37 so as to extend from a back edge 35A of an upper surface 35 of the outer sheath 3 to a front surface 36 of the outer sheath 3. The first separation lines 37 extend upward from both ends of the V-shaped tab 33 and across the upper surface 35 and reach the back edge 35A. On the front surface 36 of the outer sheath 3, a second separation line 38 is provided above the tab 33. The second separation line 38 extends in the width direction of the package 1. The first separation lines 37 and the second separation line 38 are formed of weakened portions. The “weakened portions” are a part of the surface of the outer sheath 3 of the package 1 (or the packaging material 2 forming the outer sheath 3), the part having a strength weaker than that of the other part. For example, the weakened portions may be formed by subjecting the packaging material 2 to processing (for example, half-cutting) such that the thickness of the weakened portions is smaller than that of the other part. In the present embodiment, preferably, rows of perforations formed by forming small holes in the packaging material 2 are not used as the “weakened portions” in order to ensure hermeticity of the package 1. Reference numeral 39 shown in
Portions where the packaging materials 2 are laminated together may be bonded with an adhesive such as a glue.
Reference numeral 20B shown in
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
As illustrated in
The tobacco products accommodated in the internal container of the package 1 in the present embodiment are not particularly limited, and various types of products containing tobacco raw materials can be used. For example, the tobacco products may be smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars, or cigarillos or snuff such as snus. The tobacco products accommodated in the package 1 may be non-combustible smoking articles including a carbonaceous heat source and an aerosol generation unit. The tobacco products may be tobacco sticks used for non-combustion-heating-type tobacco products.
Next, the form of folding the packaging material 2 when the package 1 is assembled will be described with reference to
More specifically, the packaging material 2 has regions including a lower front surface region 64 that becomes a part of the front surface 36 of the outer sheath 3 and further including a bottom surface region 80 that becomes the bottom surface of the outer sheath 3, a back surface region 86 that becomes the back surface of the outer sheath 3, an upper surface region 92 that becomes the upper surface of the outer sheath 3, and an upper front surface region 98 that becomes the rest of the front surface 36 of the outer sheath 3, which are located in this order on the upper side of the lower front surface region 64. Furthermore, side surface regions 66, 82, 88, 94, and 100 that form side surfaces of the outer sheath 3 are located on the left and right sides of the regions 64, 80, 86, 92, and 98, respectively.
Notch portions 74 and 102 that form the V-shaped tab 33 are formed in a lower end portion of the lower front surface region 64 of the packaging material 2 and an upper end portion of the upper front surface region 98, respectively. In the lower front surface region 64, the upper front surface region 98, and the upper surface region 92, weakened portions 106 for forming the first separation lines 37 and weakened portions 76 for forming the second separation line 38 are provided to form the separable section 34 described above. Note that dash-dotted lines in the side surface regions 82 and 94 of the packaging material 2 indicate that the packaging material 2 is to be gusseted in these side surface regions 82 and 94 when the packaging material 2 is folded. Lower edge portions 54a of the lower front surface region 64 and the side surface regions 66 (the lower edge portions being hatched in
The packaging material 2 configured as described above is folded around the bundle of the tobacco products to form the outer sheath 3 having the internal container that encloses the tobacco products in a sealed manner. In the formation of the packaging material 2 into a package form, first, the bundle of the tobacco products is placed on, for example, the back surface region 86 of the packaging material 2, and in this state, the regions of the packaging material 2 are then successively folded along the fold lines. In this case, the lower edge portions 54a of the lower front surface region 64 and the side surface regions 66 and the upper edge portions 54b of the upper front surface region 98 and the side surface regions 100 are bonded together so as to overlap with each other. At this time, the overlapping edge portions of the packaging material 2 are bonded together such that bonding portions formed as the outer layer on the first surface 20B side overlap with each other.
As a result, the bonding portions are bonded to each other, and the lateral bonded portion 31A is thereby formed.
Once the lateral bonded portion 31A has been formed, the packaging material 2 forms rectangular portions protruding from both sides of the bundle of the tobacco products. These rectangular portions are gusseted in the side surface regions 82 and 94, the side surface regions 66, 82, 88, 94, and 100 are folded along fold lines so as to cover the side surfaces of the bundle of the products on the respective sides to form the side surfaces of the outer sheath 3. The gussets in the side surface regions 82 and 94 are formed along the dash-dotted lines in the side surface regions 82 and 94 illustrated in
As described above, the outer sheath 3 is formed from the packaging material 2, and the formation of the package 1 with the tobacco products sealed in the internal container is completed. The packaging material 2 according to the present embodiment includes the paper layer 201 and the barrier layer 202. This can provide a packaging material 2 that can reduce leakage of the flavoring component contained in the paper layer to the outside and deterioration in appearance and a package 1 (outer sheath 3) using the packaging material 2.
As illustrated in the enlarged view of region A in
As illustrated in the enlarged view of region B in
The layer structure of the packaging material 2 in the present embodiment is not limited to that described in
Next, a package 1A according to Embodiment 2 will be described. In the present embodiment, the same structural elements as those in the embodiments described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their detailed description will be omitted.
In the example illustrated in
In the figure, reference numeral 34 represents an upper surface of the package 1A, and reference numeral 36 represents a front surface of the package 1A, and reference numeral 39 represents a side surface of the package 1A. The package 1A has a withdrawing opening 11 through which a tobacco product can be withdrawn from the inside of the outer sheath 3A, and the withdrawing opening 11 is covered with a cover flap 12. The cover flap 12 is attached to the surface of the outer sheath 3A with, for example, a weak adhesive glue and is a re-peelable cover. The cover flap 12 has a tab 12A. The user can withdraw a tobacco product accommodated in the internal container by pulling up the cover flap 12 while pinching the tab 12A, and peeling at least a portion of the cover flap 12 from the outer surface 30A of the outer sheath 3A to thereby open the withdrawing opening 11.
In assembling the package 1A, first, the packaging material 2C is folded along fold lines (not illustrated) in a U-shape so as to surround tobacco products TA as illustrated in
Next, in the packaging material 2C, protruding portions that protrude from both side surfaces of the bundle of the tobacco products TA are gusseted to form trapezoidal flaps 43 to 46 as illustrated in
As described above, the packaging material 2C in the present embodiment and the package 1A formed using the packaging material have the same effects as those of the packaging materials and the packages according to Embodiment 1 and the modifications described above. Specifically, the tobacco products TA can be sealed without sealing the package 1A with a separate external resin film, and the amount of resin material used can be reduced to provide the packaging material 2C and the package 1A that are more environmentally conscious than those in the related art.
The packages 1 and 1A formed using any of the packaging materials according to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 described above may be distributed in the form of a pillow package illustrated in
The embodiments of the tobacco product packaging material according to the present invention and the package formed using the tobacco product packaging material have been described. Exemplary embodiments disclosed in this description can be combined with any other features disclosed in this description.
In the measurement of the properties in this description, unless otherwise specified, a measurement sample is held in an environment similar to the measurement environment for 48 hours or more before the measurement. Unless otherwise specified, the measurement temperature, the measurement humidity, and the measurement pressure are normal temperature (22±2° C.), normal humidity (60±5% RH), and normal pressure (atmospheric pressure), respectively.
The present invention will be more specifically described below by way of Examples. However, the present invention is not construed as being limited to Examples described below.
Barrier properties in the cases of using various materials were evaluated by the following method.
Operations of (1) to (4) below were performed five times, and whether or not permeation of ethanol was visually observed in the resulting five specimens was checked.
(3) Three drops of ethanol (purity: 99.5% or more) were dropped from a height of 25 mm onto the film with a pipette. This operation was performed such that the pipette did not touch the film.
Cases where permeation was not observed in all the five visual observations of permeation using the above five specimens were rated as “T”, and cases other than this were rated as “F”. The results are shown in Table 1.
The evaluation was conducted in an environment at a temperature of 23° C.±1° C. and a humidity of 50%±3%.
The basis weight (gsm) in Table 1 is the weight per unit area, and this weight is a dry weight.
As shown in Table 1, it was found that the films of Reference Examples 2 and 3, 5 and 6, 8 and 9, and 11 to 14 had barrier properties and could be used as barrier layers.
First, a paper layer (manufactured by Chuetsu Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd., RAICHO 60 gsm) and a solution A in which ethyl cellulose was dissolved in ethyl acetate so as to have a solid content concentration of 10% by weight were prepared. The solution A was gravure-printed on a surface of the paper layer such that the weight per unit area (the basis weight of the final barrier layer) became 0.5 gsm to form a barrier layer. Subsequently, one black ink layer serving as a masking layer, two white ink layers serving as a masking layer, and a coat layer were printed in this order by a gravure printing machine such that the black ink layer had a basis weight of 1 gsm, the white ink layers each had a basis weight of 2 gsm, and the coat layer had a basis weight of 1 gsm, and a mixture of a flavor (menthol) and a solvent was then applied to the surface of the paper layer using a nozzle such that the basis weight of the flavor became 10 gsm to produce a tobacco product packaging material.
A tobacco product packaging material was produced by the same method as in Example 1 except that, with regard to the formation of the masking layer, only one black ink layer serving as a masking layer was printed so as to have a basis weight of 1 gsm.
A tobacco product packaging material was produced by the same method as in Example 1 except that, with regard to the formation of the masking layer, one black ink layer serving as a masking layer and one white ink layer serving as a masking layer were printed in this order so as to have a basis weight of 1 gsm and 2 gsm, respectively.
A tobacco product packaging material was produced by the same method as in Example 1 except that, with regard to the formation of the barrier layer, molten low-density polyethylene (LDPE, SUMIKATHENE L420, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) was extruded by an extruder on a surface of the paper layer and then solidified by cooling to provide a barrier layer having the thickness shown in Table 2.
A tobacco product packaging material was produced by the same method as in Example 1 except that the weight per unit area of the solution A printed on the surface of the paper layer (the basis weight of the final barrier layer) was 0.25 gsm.
After the tobacco product packaging materials were each produced by the methods described above, packing of the tobacco product packaging material was performed (by employing a general packing method including assembling without sealing) so as to package tobacco products using a tobacco packaging machine, and packaging suitability was evaluated. In Table 2, “o” of packaging suitability indicates that permeation of the flavor into the masking layer forming the product packaging material did not occur at the time of packing, and “x” indicates that permeation of the flavor into the masking layer forming the product packaging material occurred at the time of packing.
Furthermore, at the times when 3 days, 7 days, and 14 days passed after the packing, the package was opened, and whether or not permeation of the flavor occurred was checked. In Table 2, “o” of permeation evaluation indicates that permeation did not occur, and “x” indicates that permeation occurred. The packaging material rated as “x” in the packaging suitability was not subjected to the permeation evaluation.
This evaluation of the occurrence of permeation can be regarded as the evaluation of barrier properties in (Condition 2′) described above. The masking layer corresponds to the substrate in (Condition 2′) in the evaluation of barrier properties described above. For packaging materials rated as “o” in the permeation evaluation in Table 2, deterioration in appearance was not observed when the paper layer was observed from the side where the masking layer was provided.
1 . . . package
2 . . . packaging material
3 . . . outer sheath
201 . . . paper layer
202 . . . barrier layer
203 . . . masking layer
204 . . . coat layer
The present invention contains subject matter related to PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2022/004401, filed on Feb. 4, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2022/004401 | Feb 2022 | WO |
| Child | 18786632 | US |
