Cigarette-pack holders have been used for many years, for different purposes such as to prevent crushing of the soft paper pack, or for improving the look of the pack, or merely for asserting the individuality of the owner. Such pack holders have usually been made of expensive and stiff materials such as leather or metal, and therefore have generally not only been expensive, but also stiff, heavy and bulky, which has made their handling in everyday life awkward and unwelcome.

It is now the main object of the invention to provide a cigarette-pack holder which is durable and lightweight, which is not bulky, and which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide a cigarette-pack holder that can be easily decorated.

Another object is to provide a cigarette-pack holder having a socket for a cigarette lighter.

A further object is to provide a cigarette-pack holder that can be assembled from a flat sheet of material without gluing or stapling, so that it can be delivered in a flat condition for the user himself to assemble.

The above and other objects and advantages, such as will appear from the following disclosure, are achieved by the invention with a cigarette pack holder having the features recited in claim 1.

The dependent claims recite further advantageous, though optional, features of the invention.

The invention will now be disclosed in more detail, with reference to a preferred embodiment that is shown in the attached drawings, and wherein : Fig. 1 is a plan view of a main blank used in making a holder according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of an auxiliary blank used for the preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a holder made from the blanks of Figs. 1 and 2, and Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section made along line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, a dashed line is used to indicate a crease or a scoring, while a continuous line is used to indicate a through-cuts.

In Fig. 1, a blank 10 is cut from a thin sheet of semiflexible material, such as a sheet of polypropylene of about 0.5 mm thickness. Blank 10 comprises five con- tiguous, elongated, panels 12,14, 16,18 and 20 that are integral with one another, panels 14 and 18, which are the front and the back panel, respectively, being wider than the remaining panels, which are the side panels. Front panel 14 is shorter than back panel 18, and, accordingly, side panels 12,16 and 18 have inclined upper ends.

The junctions 22,24, 26,28 between individual panels are creased, as shown by dashed lines, to allow folding.

Panels 12,14, 16 an 18 have respective flaps 12a, 14a, 16a and 18a, integrally extending from their lower ends and also foldable along creased junctions shown by dashed lines. Flaps 14a and 18a are fork-shaped and nose-shaped, respec- tively, to allow interlocking as will be explained below, while flaps 12a and 16a have lateral hooks.

Panel 12 has side tabs 12b, 12c, also extending integrally, with creased junctions shown in dashed lines. Also, junction 28 between panels 18 and 20 is cut through to form slits 28b, 28c.

Blank 10 as described so far is folded into a substantially rectangular box as shown on Fig. 3, so that side panel 12 is overlapped over side panel 20 and tabs 12b, 12c are inserted into slits 22b, 22c. Moreover, during assembly, flaps 14a and 18a are folded at right angles and are overlapped over each other, and hooked flaps 12a and 16a are also folded and interleaved with flaps 14a and 18a to lock them together.

Blank 10 also has a three-pronged projection extending integrally from the upper end of back panel 18. The projection comprises a hinge segment 30, an intermediate segment 32 and a final segment 34, all aligned with one another and defined by creased junctions 36,38, 40. Respective gusset flaps 42 and 44 extend symmetrically from opposite sides of hinge segment 30. Gusset flaps 42 and 44 have trapezoidal shapes which follow the slant of panels 16 and 20, and each is provided with integral tabs 42b and 42c, and 44b and 44c, at right angles to each other. Segment 34 also has lateral flags 34b and 34c, with respective slits 34d and 34e along their junctions. All the junctions are creased as shown in dashed lines.

A boxed lid is formed from the above-described three-pronged projection, as follows. Tabs 42c and 44c are folded square and then gusset flaps 42 and 44 are also folded square with respect to hinge segment 30. Segment 32 is then folded square, and then final segment 34 is folded in its turn. Tabs 42c and 44c are then inserted into slits 34d and 34e, thereby completing the assembly of the boxed lid, as shown on Fig. 3. The lid is then hinged around creased junction 36.

A clasp is formed by cutting a slot 46 in front panel 14 and a corresponding curved cut 48 in the final segment 34 of the lid, so that a crescent-shaped portion of the lid can be flexed inwardly and hooked into slot 46 to firmly close the

holder. A second, smaller crescent 50 is also preferably cut in the lid, for hooking the edge of a cigarette pack contained in the holder.

The invention preferably provides a receptacle for holding a small cigarette- lighter (not shown). A substantially rectangular card 52, provided with lateral tabs 54,56, is dinked from the same material of blank 10. Two slits 58 and 60 are cut in side panel 16along creases 24 and 26, and a crescent-shape portion 62 is cut at the base of panel 16 between the slits. Crescent 62 is then folded out and tabs 54,56 are inserted in slits 58 and 60 to form a lateral receptacle for a lighter.

It should be noted that tabs 12b, 12c, 42b, 44b, as well as 54 and 56, are cut to have spurs at their bases, such as 54b, 54c on Fig. 2, so that they can be inserted elastically, or with a snap-action, into the respective slits, but are then locked in the slits by the back contrast of the spurs.

The holder is sized so that a conventional cigarette pack can be fitted tightly in it.

Both hard and soft packs are suitable. Soft, tear-open packs are protected after being torn open. In the case of hard packs having a hinged lid, crescent 50 will hook under the edge of the pack lid, so that when the lid of the holder is lifted, the lid of the pack will follow it.

The above-described cigarette pack holder can be manufactured by a single dinking operation, followed by simple assembly, without use of glue or other bonding material, so that the final product is quite unexpensive. If sheet poly- propylene is used, the holder turns out to be extremely rugged and durable, although lightweight and elastic. Moreover, polypropylene is easy to be printed with different decorations and/or advertising.

The holder of the invention is preferably made of polypropylene for ruggedness and durability, but it can also be made from other semiflexible materials such as cardboard or other plastic sheets such as polyvynilchloride. It should be under- stood that the expression"creasing"as used above is intended as a conventional operation made on cardboard and other materials, which will weaken the material along a desired line, so that the material will fold easily along that line. Such creasing operation is usually a localized crushing made on cardboard, but a scoring or incision made on a plastic material.