Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles
  • B65D85/08—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular
  • B65D85/10—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles rod-shaped or tubular for cigarettes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D43/00—Lids or covers for rigid or semi-rigid containers
  • B65D43/14—Non-removable lids or covers
  • B65D43/16—Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement
  • B65D43/162—Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement the container, the lid and the hinge being made of one piece
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2251/00—Details relating to container closures
  • B65D2251/10—Details of hinged closures
  • B65D2251/1016—Means for locking the closure in closed position
  • B65D2251/1058—Latching mechanisms

Definitions

• the present invention relates to containers for smoking articles such as cigarettes, and in particular to a container made out of plastic.
• Cigarette packs are normally made out of cardboard, such as a standard (rectangular) hinged-lid carton (HLC).
• HLC hinged-lid carton
• One drawback with such cardboard packs is that they provide little in the way of protection for the cigarettes.
• the cigarettes can gain moisture from or lose moisture to the atmosphere (depending on the relative moisture content of the cigarettes and the atmosphere).
• An HLC is usually provided with a cellophane overwrap to provide some form of moisture barrier. The effectiveness of this barrier depends on the accuracy of folding and bonding the overwrap. However, the overwrap is breached and discarded when the HLC is first opened, and so therefore does not provide any subsequent protection for the contents of the HLC.
• one embodiment of the invention provides a container for smoking articles.
• the container is made from moulded plastic and comprises a body for holding smoking articles, a lid for closing the container, the lid being attached to the body by a hinge, and a latch mechanism located on the body and the lid for retaining the container in the closed position.
• the lid In the closed position, the lid meets the body along a line of closure, the lid and body overlapping along the line of closure to provide an inner wall and an outer wall.
• the latch mechanism comprises a recess in the inner wall; an inwardly directed tab attached to the outer wall for engagement with the recess to set the latch mechanism; a flexure comprising part of the body adjacent the line of closure, the flexure being partly separated from the remainder of the body to permit inward movement of the flexure with respect to the remainder of the body; and a button located on the flexure to allow a user to push the flexure inward with respect to the remainder of the body to release the latch mechanism.
• Such a container offers good protection for the cigarettes or other smoking articles housed within the container.
• the latch mechanism is easy to operate (generally with just one hand), and also flexible in terms of the design of the remainder of the container.
• the container is generally formed from moulded plastic.
• the latch mechanism may also be formed from moulded plastic.
• the latch mechanism may be cut or machined if appropriate. For example, the partial separation between the flexure and the remainder of the body may be achieved as part of the moulding process and/or via some subsequent cutting or machining operation.
• Some or all of the latch mechanism e.g. the button
• the outer wall with the attached tab is part of the lid, and the inner wall with the recess is part of the body.
• the recess is located on the flexure between the button and the line of closure.
• the flexure comprises a strip that is attached to the body at one end and is separated from the remainder of the body along the sides of the flexure.
• the recess is located at the opposite end of the strip from the point of attachment to the rest of the body, adjacent the line of closure. The flexure is therefore able to move or pivot about the point of attachment to the rest of the body, subject to pressing the button, thereby causing movement of the recess to release the latch.
• the lid comprises a reduced thickness portion which forms the outer wall and a full thickness portion.
• the opposite end of the strip (beyond the hole in the strip) is sandwiched between the inwardly directed tab and the full thickness portion of the lid when the lid is closed. This configuration helps the latch mechanism to engage more firmly.
• the recess comprises a hole that passes all the way through the flexure and is elongated parallel to the line of closure.
• the recess may comprise just a dip or notch in the flexure, and/or may have any other appropriate shape (e.g. round, square, star, etc).
• the container has major front and back faces which are substantially rectangular.
• the hinge between the body and the lid is located on the back panel and the line of closure is located on the front panel with the latch mechanism.
• the line of closure is parallel to and below the hinge.
• the outer wall and the attached tab are part of the body, and the inner wall with the recess is part of the lid.
• the flexure In the closed position, the flexure abuts against the inner wall of the lid; in particular, the flexure abuts against a portion of the inner wall that extends below the recess.
• the flexure comprises a strip that is attached to the body at one end away from the line of closure and is separated from the remainder of the body along the sides of the flexure. The opposite end of the flexure, away from the point of attachment to the body, abuts against the inner wall of the lid.
• the button is located between the two ends of the strip. - A -
• the hinge is located along the top of the container such that the lid opens and closes towards a side of the container, with the latch mechanism being located on this side of the container.
• lid is biased to open automatically from the closed position when the latch mechanism is released. This may be accomplished, for example, by incorporating a spring into the hinge joining the lid to the body.
• the hinge comprises a region of flexible, resilient material that generally acts to try to open the lid. This arrangement is convenient in that it allows a user to open the pack with just a press on the button.
• a container such as described above may be used to hold smoking articles, such as cigarettes, cigarillos, tobacco substitute products, and so on.
• Figure 1 is a front view of a container for smoking articles in accordance with one embodiment of the invention with the lid closed;
• Figure 2 is a front view of the container of Figure 1 with the lid open;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 1 with the lid open;
• FIG. 4 depicts in more detail the latch mechanism of the container of Figure 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of a container for smoking articles in accordance with another embodiment of the invention with the lid closed;
• Figure 6 is a side view of the container of Figure 5 with the lid open;
• FIG 7 depicts in more detail the latch mechanism of the container of Figure 5 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a container 10 for smoking articles made out of moulded plastic in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• the use of moulded plastic for the container provides a high degree of protection for the smoking articles within the container, for example helping to prevent the ingress or egress of moisture.
• the container 10 has a generally bevelled shape. This makes handling the container easier, for example when removing the container from a pocket or inserting the container into a pocket, as well as helping to strengthen the container.
• the container comprises a body 11 for holding the smoking articles and a lid 21.
• the lid is attached to the body by a hinge 40 located at the back of the container.
• the hinge allows the lid to rotate between a closed position (as in Figure 1) and an open position (as in Figure 2).
• the lid 21 meets the body 11 along a line of closure 50, located at the front of the container and parallel to the hinge 40.
• the body includes a ledge at the base of reduced thickness portion 14 and the lid includes an overhang at the top of the reduced thickness portion 24.
• the lid region 24 of reduced thickness lies outside the body region 14 of reduced thickness, and the body ledge abuts against (mates with) the lid overhang.
• the container 10 is provided with a latch mechanism to retain the lid in the closed position.
• the latch mechanism includes an inwardly directed tab or protuberance 25 located on the inside of the reduced thickness region 24 of the lid 21, plus a corresponding, outwardly facing hole or recess 15 located on the reduced thickness region 14 of the front wall of the body 11. When the pack is shut, the tab 25 engages or enters the recess 15 to retain the pack in the closed position.
• the latch mechanism also includes a button 35 located on the front wall of the body 11 of the container.
• the button 35 is pressed to release the latch. More particularly, when button 35 is pressed, this disengages the tab 25 from the hole 15, thereby allowing the lid 21 to open.
• the lid may be biased towards the open position, for example by a spring mechanism incorporated into the hinge 40.
• the lid 21 is automatically moved to the open position shown in Figures 2 and 3. This allows a user to readily operate the container 10 with a single hand by just pushing on button 35, without requiring a separate action to open the lid 21 (i.e. the single operation of pushing the button both releases the latch mechanism and also opens the lid).
• the button 35 is surrounded by a ridge 36, which is generally level with or higher than the surface of button 35 (compared to the main surface of the front wall of the body 11). This ensures that if a flat surface is brought into contact with the main surface of the front wall of the body 11 , for example by placing the container 10 into a bag, on a table, etc, the flat surface is supported by ridge 36 rather than contacting (or more particularly operating) button 35. This therefore helps to protect against accidental opening of container 10 (which might otherwise lead to loss of or damage to the smoking articles contained therein).
• FIG 4 is a more detailed view of the latch mechanism from inside container 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This shows the tab 25 protruding inwards from the reduced thickness portion 24 of the front wall of the lid 21 (the step or overhang of this reduced thickness portion 24 of the lid is indicated schematically by the dotted line in Figure 4).
• the body 11 includes a strip or flexure 17 that is defined by two substantially parallel cuts 18 A, 18B extending down from the top edge of the front wall of the body.
• the strip 17 is generally coplanar with the remainder of the front wall of the body.
• the hole or recess 15 is located at the top end of strip 17.
• the strip is attached to the rest of the front wall of the body by bridge 19 (in the particular embodiment of Figure 4, bridge 19 comprises two, narrow and parallel stretches of material).
• bridge 19 comprises two, narrow and parallel stretches of material.
• strip 17 may be formed directly by moulding, or by partial cutting of the front wall of the body 11 , or by any other suitable technique.
• the thickness of strip 17 and bridge 19 corresponds approximately to that of reduced thickness portion 14 along the top of the front wall of the body.
• all of the body wall within ring or ridge 36, including strip 17, has this reduced thickness. In part this helps to accommodate button 35 (so that it does not protrude above ridge 36).
• the reduced thickness helps bridge 19 to serve as a point of flexion, about which strip 17 can move forwards and backwards in relation to the rest of the front wall of the body (i.e. in a direction into and out of the container).
• the button 35 is mounted on the outside surface of strip 17. Pressing the button 35 causes the strip to flex inwards, which acts to releases the latch mechanism. In particular, assuming that the tab 25 is initially located within the hole 15 to hold the lid shut, as strip 17 flexes inwards, hole 15 is likewise carried inwards. Tab 25 therefore disengages from within the hole 15, thereby allowing the lid to open.
• button 35 is the only external manifestation of the latch mechanism when the container is shut.
• the action of button 35 in conjunction with strip 17 provides a simple and effective mechanism for releasing the latch mechanism to open the container 10.
• button 35 allows a user to immediately determine how to open the container.
• strip 17 as defined by cuts 18A, 18B avoids the user having to deform a complete wall of the body 11 in order to open the container 10.
• the main portion of the body can therefore be constructed in accordance with the general requirements for rigidity and robustness of the container, without also having to accommodate an opening movement.
• FIGs 5 and 6 illustrate a container 100 for smoking articles in accordance with another embodiment of the invention (such smoking articles are indicated by the dashed lines 200 in Figure 6).
• the container 100 again comprises a body 111 for holding the smoking articles and a lid 121, which is joined to the body 111 by a hinge 140.
• the hinge 40 runs along the back wall of the container
• the hinge runs across the top of the container from the front of the container to the back of the container.
• the lid 121 represents approximately one-half of the top of the container.
• the configuration of Figures 4 and 5 is referred herein as a corner-opening container.
• the lower edge of the lid 121 includes a ledge which defines a reduced thickness portion 124.
• the upper edge of the body (where it meets lid 121) comprises an overhang which defines a reduced thickness portion 114.
• the reduced thickness portion 124 of the lid and the reduced thickness portion 114 of the body overlap and abut one another when the pack is closed, with the lid overhang mating against the body ledge.
• the reduced thickness portion of the lid 124 is inside the reduced thickness portion of the body 114 (this is the opposite arrangement to the configuration of Figures 1 to 3).
• the container 100 is provided with a latch mechanism to retain the lid in the closed position.
• the latch mechanism includes an inwardly directed tab or protuberance 125 located on the reduced thickness region 114 of the body 111, plus a corresponding outwardly facing hole or recess 115 located on the reduced thickness region 124 of the side wall of the lid 121 (this allocation of the hole 115 and the tab 125 to the body 111 and to the lid 121 respectively in the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6 is the opposite to the allocation for the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3).
• the tab 125 engages or enters the recess 115 to retain the container in the closed position.
• the latch mechanism also includes a button 135 located on the side wall of the body 111 of the container.
• the button 135 is pressed to release the latch. More particularly, when button 135 is pressed, this disengages the tab 125 from the hole 115, thereby allowing the lid 121 to open.
• the lid may be biased towards the open position, for example by a spring mechanism incorporated into the hinge 140.
• the lid 121 is automatically moved to the open position shown in Figure 6. This allows a user to readily operate the container 110 with a single hand by just pushing on button 135, without requiring a separate action to open the lid 121.
• the button 135 is located in a slight recess 137 of the side wall. Consequently the button is generally level with or below the remaining surface of the side wall of the body 111. This ensures that if a flat surface is brought into contact with the side wall of the body 111, for example by placing the container 110 into a bag, on a table, etc, the flat surface is supported by side wall of the body, rather than contacting (or more particularly operating) button 135. This therefore helps to protect against accidental opening of container 100 (which might otherwise lead to loss of or damage to the smoking articles contained therein).
• Figure 7 is a more detailed view of the latch mechanism from inside container 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This shows the tab 125 protruding inwards from the reduced thickness portion 114 of the side wall of the body 111. The tab 125 mates with a corresponding hole 115 in the reduced thickness portion 124 of the side wall of the lid 121.
• the latch mechanism can be released by a strip or flexure 117 that extends into a hole in the side wall of the body.
• the strip comprises two parallel strands that are joined together at their top ends (i.e. at the ends closest to the lid).
• the strip is joined to the main side wall of the body at its bottom end and is generally coplanar with this side wall.
• the thickness of strip 117 corresponds approximately to that of reduced thickness portion 114 along the top of the side wall of the body. In part this helps to accommodate button 135 (so that it does not protrude above recessed portion 137). In addition, the reduced thickness helps strip 117 to be flexible, whereby strip 117 can move forwards and backwards in relation to the rest of the side wall of the body (i.e. in a direction into and out of the container) .
• the button 135 is mounted on the outside surface of strip 117. Pressing the button 135 causes the strip to flex inwards, which acts to release the latch mechanism.
• the strip 117 engages and pushes inwards the portion 126 of the lid rim immediately below the hole 115. This in turn moves hole 115 inwards, so that tab 125 disengages from the hole 115, thereby allowing the lid to open.
• This latch mechanism shares many of the benefits discussed above in relation to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, such as single-handed operation, smooth external profile, no need to reduce the general strength of the side walls, etc.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=38543167

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (3)

Citations (6)

• 2007
  • 2007-08-07 GB GBGB0715367.9A patent/GB0715367D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2008
  • 2008-07-29 CL CL2008002229A patent/CL2008002229A1/es unknown
  • 2008-08-01 WO PCT/EP2008/060147 patent/WO2009019217A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2008-08-06 TW TW097129749A patent/TW200936066A/zh unknown
  • 2008-08-07 AR ARP080103447A patent/AR067831A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (6)

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