BACKGROUNDART Cigarette ash and butts are unsightly, have an unpleasant smell, and can cause fires if not dispose of properly. Ashtrays are used, but are not always handy. However, it is usual for a smoker to be in possession of a cigarette packet.

Attempts have been made to provide some sort of ash retaining means with decorative cigarette boxes. These boxes are usually formed from metal and cigarettes are placed in the box. An ash receptacle can be part of the box to hold cigarette ash. However, cigarette boxes do not find general favor and are not well used as most people simply have a packet of cigarettes. The temptation is then to simply flick the ash on the ground and to drop the butts, which is not environmentally appropriate, and is unsightly and unhygienic.

Cigarette packets having some form of ash box are known. One type has a slide out open topped tray. A disadvantage with this arrangement is that the tray spills ash if the packet is tipped, for instance if the packet is in a person's pocket, and the person bends over. Hot ash can also ignite the packet. Another type has a separate bottom compartment formed with a hole just large enough to allow a butt to be pushed through the hole. This arrangement has the disadvantage that ash from a cigarette which is being smoked is difficult to push through the hole. Another type has a separate fixed compartment with a flip open lid. This suffers from the disadvantage that the lid can inadvertently open in a person's pocket to spill hot ash. A variation to the flip open lid is a slide lid, but the lid slides in guides which need to be small and are easily crushed and damaged which can prevent smooth sliding movement of the lid.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directe to a cigarette packet, which has an associated receptacle to hold ash and butts.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cigarette packet which may overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in a cigarette packet having an associated receptacle to hold ash and butts.

Suitably, the cigarette packet has a lower slide out drawer which has an attache closed lid which can be opened to allow ash and/or cigarette butts to be deposited in the drawer.

Suitably, the drawer needs to be fully removed from the packet before the lid can be opened.

The cigarette packet and the drawer can be formed from the usual material of which cigarette packets are made and this is usually paper, wax paper and the like. It is considered desirable that the packet has the overall appearance of a normal cigarette packet as it is believed that this will improve consumer acceptability of the product.

The packet can therefore have a hinged top flap to access cigarettes, this being entirely normal for conventional cigarette packets. The packet can be dimensioned to hold a usual number of cigarettes and this can be between 10 to 50 or more cigarettes. Cigarettes are conventionally stacked upright in the packet and can be removed individually by opening the top of the packet.

The slide out drawer is preferably at the lower end of the packet and the drawer can slide out one side wall of the packet such that the drawer itself can extend along the entire width of the packet giving it a good size to hold ash. The size of the drawer can vary but it is preferred that the drawer is such that it can hold the ash of a plurality of cigarettes. Of course, the drawer could be made smaller but this may require periodic emptying of the drawer before the cigarettes are smoked. After all the cigarettes have been smoked, the empty packet and the ash-laden drawer can be simply dispose of in the

usual manner.

In one form of the invention, and typically for safety reasons, the slide out drawer is separate from the remainder of the packet which holds the cigarettes. This minimizes the possibility of any hot ash igniting a cigarette. It also reduces smells and smoke from passing through the cigarettes in the packet. In one form, this can be simply achieved by having a dividing wall or panel in a lower end of the packet and above the slide out drawer and this wall or panel can also form the bottom wall of the part of the packet which holds the cigarettes.

The slide out drawer should have an open top or open area sufficient to allow ash to be flicked into the drawer with little likelihood of ash spilling over the drawer. That is, the opening of the drawer should not be too small of finicky to prevent easy depositing of ash into the drawer.

To reduce smoke and smells from the drawer, and to facilitate extinguishment of hot ash or lit butts, a lid is associated with the drawer. The lid can be opened such that ash can be flicked or placed in the drawer and can be subsequently closed to reduce smoke and smell from the drawer.

The drawer can have upwardly extending side walls and end walls and an open top to form a box-like arrangement, and the lid can be a flap which extends over the open top of the drawer but also down one or both side and/or end walls of the drawer. By having the lid overlapping the side walls of the drawer, the lid can be pushed into a fairly tightly shut configuration as the drawer is slid back into the lower end of the cigarette packet. This minimizes spilling and hastens extinguishment by oxygen starvation.

The cigarette packet is formed with a recess or opening in which the drawer can slide. This opening may be entirely open adjacent one or two ends such that the drawer can slide out the left-hand side, the right-hand side or as an option both sides of the cigarette box.

In one form, the slide out drawer is formed from sheet material and can comprise the same or similar sheet material which cigarette packets are usually made of. The sheet material can be folded and glued or

otherwise fastened to form the box-like drawer with one side wall having an integrally extending flap, which comprises the fold over lid.

It is considered desirable that the outward appearance of the cigarette packet is smooth such that the packets can be stacked next to each other or on top of each other. For this reason, the slide out drawer should not project from the cigarette packet but should be preferably flush with the side wall when the drawer is closed.

To assist in pulling out of the drawer, a pull-tab or other means may be provided which can be grasped to allow the drawer to be pulled out.

On the other hand, if the cigarette packet is open at both ends (i. e. to allow the drawer to slide out either side wall), the slide out drawer can be simply pushed out by a person's finger.

To prevent the drawer from inadvertently falling out of the packet, a drawer holding means can be provided. The holding means can comprise a folding tab which can be attache to the drawer and which can be folded over the top of the lid. Alternatively, the holding means can comprise a folding tab which can be attache to the packet, for instance at the bottom wall of the packet, and which can be folded over the top of the lid. When the drawer is in the packet, the tab can press against the wall of the packet to hold the drawer in place. The tab can be pulled open to also function as the pull-tab as described above. The folding tab can also assist in holding the lid closed when the drawer is in the packet. The folding tab may replace the pull-tab or the folding tab may be present with the pull-tab.

The drawer can be formed from, coated with, impregnated with, or otherwise formed to make it fire resistant at least on the inside and this can be achieved by lining or coating the inside of the drawer with a fire resistant material. An Alum based material can be used which can express moisture under high temperatures and which can form a non-flammable barrier to the outside box. Other materials can be used which emit carbon dioxide or other extinguishing gas under high temperatures.

The drawer may be fitted with a separate safety lining which can be formed of fire resistant/retardant material. The liner can be formed

separately and inserted into the drawer.

Fragrances, odor absorbent or other compound or compositions can be added to or associated with the drawer or cigarette packet to neutralize odors, smoke and the like from the drawer.

The drawer of course need not be limited to holding ash and butts and can also hold other waste products such as gum and the like.

The cigarette packet, drawer, and safety lining can be formed from flat templates which can be formed with cut lines and fold lines and then assemble to form the resultant article. Adhesive or other form of attachment means can be used to glue or hold required tabs or zones together to form the packet with the slide out drawer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which Figure 1 is a view of a cigarette packet according to an embodiment of the invention in a closed position.

Figure 2 is a"see-though"view showing some of the internal components and with a slide out drawer in a fully closed position.

Figure 3 shows the slide out drawer in a partially open position.

Figure 4 is a view of the slide out drawer.

Figure 5 is a side view of the cigarette packet showing the slide out drawer fully inserted into its respective opening.

Figures 6A-6C illustrate a drawer having a fold tab.

Figure 7 is a template for a drawer according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 8 is a template of a lining which is insertable into the drawer of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a template of a cigarette pack having a large flap which extends from one wall of the cigarette packet.

Figure 10 is a general illustration of the template of Figure 9 folded into a cigarette packet and illustrating the side flap.

BEST MODE Referring to the figures, there is illustrated a cigarette packet 10 which has a lower slide out drawer 11. The cigarette packet is formed from card, paper or other material conventionally used to manufacture cigarette packets. The packet has an entirely conventional flip open top 12, which can be manually opened to access cigarettes (not shown), which are inside the packet. The cigarette packet in Figure 1 approximates the actual size of the packet and it can be seen that the packet is slightly longer than a conventional cigarette packet because of the lower slide out drawer 11.

Figures 2 and 3 show more clearly the slide out drawer. The bottom of the cigarette packet 10 is formed with a separate recess 13 (see Figure 3) the recess being rectangular. The recess houses the sliding drawer 11, which is clearly shown in Figure 3. Recess 13 has a top dividing wall 14, which extends across the inside of the packet to separate recess 13 from the remainder of the packet. Wall 14 forms the bottom wall of the portion of the packet, which holds the cigarettes. The lower end wall 15 of the cigarette packet is entirely open and it is through this opening that drawer 11 passes.

It is possible for a similar opening to be on the other end wall of the packet although in the embodiment only one opening is shown.

Drawer 11 is better illustrated in Figure 4 and in the embodiment is made from folded sheet material which is folded and glued or otherwise fastened to form an open topped box-like arrangement 16 which has a fully open top such that ash can be easily flicked into the drawer. A folding lid 17 closes off the box-like arrangement 16. Lid 17 is integrally formed with the remaining of the drawer and is an extension of the back wall 18 of the box.

Lid 17 has a first hinge line 19 to allow it to fold over the top of the remainder of the drawer and has a second hinge line 20 to allow it to extend over the front wall 21 of the drawer. The reason for this is better illustrated in Figure 5 where it can be seen that the lid 17 fits over the top an part of wall 21 and when pushed into recess 13 of the cigarette packet, the lid is pushed up against the remainder of the drawer which forms a seal of sorts to minimize smell and smoke from passing out of the drawer.

The drawer 11 when inserted in the packet is flush with end wall 22 of the packet and this is illustrated in Figure 1. A small lift tab 23 is hingedly attache to the drawer and can be pulled out to the position illustrated in Figure 3 and Figure 4 and gripped by a person's finger to allow the drawer to be easily slid out of the cigarette packet. Tab 23 in Figure 1 is illustrated as extending from the top of the drawer. Tab 23 can also extend along a bottom wall of the drawer or a side wall.

In use, the drawer is slid entirely out of packet 10 and the lid is opened to allow ash to be flicked into the drawer. When the lid is opened, it can also from an abutment or wall against which the cigarette can be tapped to cause ash to fall into the drawer, or to extinguish the cigarette. The lid can then be folded shut and the drawer can be pushed back into the cigarette packet to retain the ash and to reduce smell and any residual smoke from the ash. The lid forms an air resistant seal, which hastens extinguishment of hot ash in the drawer by oxygen starvation. The packet can be tipped, shaken, or even inverted with the ash staying in the drawer.

Figures 6A-6C illustrate a variation to the design of the drawer.

The drawer has a lid 31 which is a replica of an existing cigarette packet flip top lid, and which again closes off the drawer to extinguish hot ash, and to prevent ash from falling out of the drawer. The drawer has a side fold tab 33, which extends from a lower side edge 34 of the drawer that is also a fold line.

Tab 33 is of sufficient length to allow it to fold over part of the top of the lid 31.

The drawer can then be pushed into the recess. The top of the tab which overlies a portion of the lid helps to secure the drawer, by being positioned between the lid and the roof of the recess which houses the drawer. The tab can function to keep the drawer in place and/or function as a drawer pull out tab handle. The drawer illustrated in Figures 6A-6C has a separately formed liner 36 which is inserted in the drawer and which is made of fire resistant or fire retardant material.

Figure 7 illustrates a template for the drawer according to an embodiment of the invention. In Figure 7, solid internal lines are fold lines while hatched lines are cut lines.

Figure 8 illustrates a safety liner insert template which can be folded to form liner 36 and which is inserted into the drawer. Again, solid internal lines indicate fold lines and hatched lines indicate cut lines.

Referring to Figure 7, there is illustrated a template for a drawer according to an embodiment of the invention. The template shows internal solid lines which are fold lines and hatched lines which are cut lines. The template can be folded about the various fold lines and glued together to form the drawer. The template defines a floor 40, a back wall 41, and a lid 42.

Floor 40 is attache to back wall 41 through fold line 43. Back wall 41 is folded about fold line 43 to be at right angles to floor 40. Floor 40 has a front wall 44 connecte to floor 40 by fold line 45 and front wall 44 is folded at right angles to floor 40. Left-hand end tab 46 is folded about its fold line 47 to be at right angles to floor 40. Tab 48 folds about fold line 49 to sit in front of or behind but against tab 46 and the two tabs are fastened together (typically by adhesive). Back wall 41 has an end tab 50 which folds at right angles to wall 41 via fold line 51. Tab 50 is folded to sit on the outside of the formed drawer, and therefore against and on the outside of tabs 46 and 48. Tab 50 has a fold down portion 52 which folds about fold line 53 and folds over tabs 50,46 and 48 to form one end wall of the drawer.

On the other side of template is tab 54 which folds about fold line 55 and which is attache to tab 56 which folds about its fold line 57. Tab 56 has a fold over portion 57, and the function of tab 56 and fold over portion 57 is the same as tab 50 and its fold over portion 52 to complete the other end wall of the drawer. Fold over portion 57 folds about fold line 58. The difference between this end wall is the larger tab 59 which is attache to floor 40 via attachment line 60. Tab 59 is longer than tab 46 and functions as the pull-tab. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a pull-tab 23 which is similar to pull-tab 59 except that pull-tab 59 is on the bottom wall of the drawer while pull-tab 23 extends from the top of the drawer.

Lid 42 has two opposed tabs 61,62 which fold at right angles about fold line 63,64 to side tabs 65,66, the side tabs 65,66 having associated fold over tab portions 67,68. Tabs 61,62 are folded at right

angles about their fold lines and sit against elongate tab 69. Thereafter, portions 67,68 are folded over to sit against tabs 65,66. This forms the side walls of the lid and strengthens the side walls. Tab 69 is folded at right angles to fold line 70 to form the front wall of the lid and tab 6 has a fold over portion 71 which folds over and against tab 69 and over tabs 61,62 to form the front of the lid and to strengthen the front of the lid.

Referring to Figure 8, there is illustrated a template of an insert lining which inserts into the drawer formed by folding and gluing the various tabs of Figure 7.

The lining of Figure 8 folds into an open topped box with the box having a floor 80 and opposed side walls 81,82. Side walls 81,82 fold at right angles relative to floor 80 about fold lines 83,84. Each side wall has a pair of end tabs 85-88 which fold at right angles about their respective fold lines 89-92. Floor 80 also has a pair of opposed tabs 93,94 which fold at right angles about respective fold lines 95,96. In use, the side walls 81,82 are folded upwardly at right angles relative to floor 80. Tabs 93,94 are also folded upwardly at right angles to form the open box-type liner. Tabs 85-88 are then folded against each other and glued or otherwise attache to form the open box. The open box can then be inserted into the drawer to provide a safety lining. The material forming the safety lining can be made of fire resistant or fire retardant material.

Figure 9 illustrates a cigarette packet template which, when folded, forms a cigarette packet having a large side flap generally illustrated in Figure 10.

In Figure 9, there is illustrated in plan a cigarette packet having a lower opening in which the slide out drawer can be fitted. The packet has a lid portion 100, a back wall 101, the associated front wall 102, and a lower box-like open portion 103 which, when folded, defines an open lower area in which the drawer can slide. The packet has a lowermost floor 104 and walls 101,102 fold upwardly at right angles relative to floor 104 by fold lines 105, 106. Adjacent floor 104 are two panel areas 107,108 which define the side walls of the bottom open box-like recess in which the drawer slides. Lines

109,110 are not fold lines but are lines to delineate the panel areas. Front walls 101,102 define the cigarette holding part of the cigarette packet, while panel areas 107,108 define the back and front wall of the open box-like area.

Front wall 102 has a side tab 111 which is attache to front wall 102 by a fold line 112. Tab 111 folds at right angles relative to this fold line.

Front wall 112 has an opposing tab 113 which is shorter than tab 111 but which is again attache to wall 102 via a fold line 114 which allows tab 113 to fold at right angles relative to wall 102.

Rear wall 101 also has a pair of opposing tabs 115,116 each attache to rear wall 101 by a fold line 117,118 to allow the tab to fold at right angles relative to wall 101. Attache to the lower end of tab 115 is a smaller tab 119 which is attache to tab 115 by a fold line 120. Tab 116 also has a lower tab 121 which is attache to tab 116 by fold line 122. Tab 121 is quite long and becomes the large side tab illustrated in Figure 10. Tab 121 has a lower lip tab 123 which is attache to tab 121 via fold line 124 this also being illustrated in Figure 10.

In use, the front and back walls 101,102 are folded upwardly at right angles relative to floor 104 and about fold lines 105,106. Tab 111,115 overlie each other and are attache together, while tab 119 folds about fold line 120 to overlie floor 104. Tab 113 lies against tab 116 and is attache thereto, while tab 121 folds about fold line 122 to provide the side flap illustrated in Figure 10. As tab 113 is not as long as tab 111, an open mouthed box-like configuration is provided in the bottom of the formed cigarette packet in which the sliding drawer can slide.

The lid arrangement is quite standard for cigarette packets and has various portions and side tabs which fold and overlie each other to form a lid which can close off the open top of the cigarette packet which holds the cigarettes.

The packet illustrated in Figure 9 and Figure 10 has tab 121 extending outwardly from the side of the cigarette box. The tab is used as a hinged fastening flap to secure the slide out drawer in the recess. The tab however usually forms part of the dividing wall between the cigarette-

containing area and the ashtray-containing area. Therefore, a separate dividing wall can be inserted and attache. Alternatively, a separate sleeve or separate box can be slid and glued into position to form the dividing wall.

In the embodiment, the drawer is sized sufficiently to hold the ash from several cigarettes. However, a smaller drawer could be used but this may require periodic emptying.

When all the cigarettes have been smoked, the ash-laden drawer and the empty packet are simply thrown away.

The cigarette packet according to an embodiment of the invention is elongated to look more or less exactly like an ordinary cigarette packet only slightly longer to supply the extra room to insert the drawer which is preferably made from non-flammable or flame resistant material. The drawer can be used to hold the cigarette ash but also the butts of a cigarette.

The pull tab 23 is initially pressed down flat up against the remainder of the drawer when the clear plastic wrap is around the cigarette packet, and when the wrap is removed, the pull flap can be slightly biased to extend outwardly slightly to allow it to be readily grasped by a person's finger.

The drawer is disposable, is a non-obtrusive component of the cigarette packet, is part of the cigarette packet therefore a person no longer needs to hunt around for an ash tray or simply drop the ash or butt onto the ground, is configure in a convenient way to the user. The drawer can be made detachable from the rest of the packet to allow it to be easily emptied and then slid back into the packet. The lid on the drawer reduces sillage and undesirable odors from escaping and, as mentioned above, it is preferred that the drawer is made from flame retardant material.

In the embodiment described, the drawer has an overlying lid which extends over the entire length of the drawer. To open the lid, the drawer has to be slid entirely out of the packet. In an alternative, the drawer may have a lid which does not extend across the entire length of the drawer.

For instance, a half lid or three-quarter lid length may be provided with the remainder of the top of the drawer being closed off. The allows the drawer to be pulled only partially out of the cigarette packet while still allowing the lid to

be opened. In this embodiment, the drawer may be attache (for instance by a flexible tape or tab) which prevents it from being pulled entirely out of the cigarette packet but where the tab or tape is of a length to allow the drawer to be pulled out just the right length to allow the lid to be opened.

In another embodiment, the liner which can sit inside the slide out drawer may be removed from the drawer with the ash being in the liner can be emptied or dispose of while keeping the drawer separate. In this variation, the liner may be provided with its own lid.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.