This disclosure relates to tobacco containers, such as a tobacco container having opposing compartments.

Handmade cigarette are made, usually by the smoker, by wrapping a rectangular sheet of cigarette wrapping paper of the length of the cigarette around loose tobacco. Cigarette papers for hand making, having a moisture activated adhesive strip along one long edge, are usually presented in a small package of card from which one paper protrudes through a slot; the papers are folded longitudinally and interleaved inside the packet so that removal of the protruding paper causes the next paper to protrude through the slot. The wrapping may be done by hand or by use of a cigarette rolling mat or by use of a small hand operated machine. The cigarette may include a filter, or not, according to the smoker's preference.

Tobacco for handmade cigarettes is often supplied in pouch-style containers. Once the tobacco pouch is opened, the tobacco begins to lose moisture and dry out. The pouches may be not considered reusable. Pouches and their openings may deform when handled by a user, which can lead to difficulty in removing the tobacco or wasteful, accidental spills.

A consumer of 'roll your own' or 'make your own' cigarettes requires in addition to tobacco, cigarette papers and, optionally, filters. These may be carried separately from the tobacco, but this can be inconvenient and may result in one of the components being mislaid by the consumer.

If papers or filters are placed in the pouch with the tobacco, they can become mixed up with the tobacco and may be hard to find when required. Also, the relatively high moisture level in tobacco can cause the papers to become damp and the adhesive may be activated so that the papers in the packet of papers adhere to one another, making them inconvenient or impossible to use.

Kits for handmade cigarettes are sometimes provided in packages the size of standard cigarettes and have separate compartments, such as a compartment for semi-made cigarettes including a tobacco rod wrapped in cigarette paper connected to a filter plug with tipping paper and another compartment for filter sleeves combinable with the semi-made cigarette. A standard cigarette package typically is narrow in width and manually extracting loose tobacco from any opening may prove to be difficult. It would be desirable to provide a simple, resealable tobacco container that stores a quantity of loose tobacco and tobacco accessories sufficient to make multiple handmade cigarettes. The tobacco container may limit the transfer of moisture to and from the tobacco with a hermetic compartment for the tobacco. It would also be desirable for the tobacco container to be rigid to provide a stable opening to facilitate easy access to the tobacco and mitigation of accidental spills.

A ready-to-use, resealable tobacco container includes a housing defining two openings and a dividing wall between the openings defining two opposing compartments, which are a tobacco compartment and a tobacco accessory compartment. A lid selectively covers the tobacco compartment and includes a sealing member forming a hermetic tobacco compartment. Another lid selectively covers the tobacco accessory compartment.

In some illustrative embodiments, the opposing compartment, ready-to-use, and resealable tobacco container includes a housing having a sidewall, a first opening, and a second opening opposite the first opening, the sidewall defining a housing volume between the first and second openings. A first lid is hingedly coupled to the sidewall. The first lid is moveable between a closed position sealing the first opening and an open position allowing access through the first opening. A second lid is hingedly coupled to the sidewall. The second lid is moveable between a closed position covering the second opening and an open position allowing access through the second opening. A dividing wall is positioned between the first opening and the second opening dividing the housing volume into a tobacco compartment and a tobacco accessory compartment. The tobacco compartment extends between the dividing wall and the first lid. The tobacco accessory compartment extending between the dividing wall and the second lid. An amount of tobacco is disposed in the tobacco compartment. A tobacco accessory is disposed in the tobacco accessory compartment. The tobacco compartment may be sealed using a liner.

The first lid may comprise an elastic sealing member configured to be compressed between the first lid and the sidewall to facilitate sealing the first opening when the first lid is in the closed position.

The sealing member of the first lid may be formed of a plastisol material. The first lid may comprise a channel configured to maintain the sealing member relative to the first lid. The sidewall of the housing may be formed of two pieces of material and the dividing wall may be disposed between the two pieces of material.

In various illustrative embodiments, a method of using the opposing compartment, ready- to-use, and resealable tobacco container may include removing the tobacco accessory from the tobacco accessory compartment, moving the second lid to a closed position, moving the first lid to an open position; and removing at least some of the amount of tobacco from the tobacco compartment.

The tobacco container may be turned over after moving the second lid to a closed position.

Utilizing an opposing compartment, ready-to-use, and resealable tobacco container provides a number of advantages in the making of a cigarette by hand. The simple-to-use container stores both tobacco and tobacco accessories and may store enough for making multiple handmade cigarettes. When closed in-between uses, the tobacco container provides a resealable tobacco compartment that controls moisture and mitigates drying of the stored tobacco after a first opening. Stable openings are also provided when the tobacco compartment or the tobacco accessory compartment are open to facilitate easy access and to mitigate accidental spills. The opposing compartment design also facilitates a broad opening for accessing the tobacco and tobacco accessories and further encourages closing one compartment before accessing another to mitigate accidental spills.

The terms "upper," "lower," "side," "top," "bottom," and other terms are used to describe relative positions or orientations of the components of the container. The terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "left," and "right" may be used with reference to side walls or edges of the container when viewed from a front side. When describing components according to the present invention, these terms are used irrespective of the orientation of the container being described.

The term "tobacco" refers to a substance including tobacco, which includes tobacco blends or flavoured tobacco, for example.

The term "loose tobacco" refers to an amount of tobacco that does not retain its shape unless disposed in a container or is wrapped, for example, is by cigarette paper.

The term "tobacco accessory" refers to a non-tobacco component used in making cigarettes, particularly handmade cigarettes, which includes cigarette paper, a filter tube, a tubing device, a lighter, or combinations thereof, for example. The term "hermetic" refers to being airtight, substantially airtight, moisture impermeable, or substantially moisture impermeable, and may be used to describe a seal, a membrane, a compartment, or a volume, for example. A hermetically-sealed compartment or volume may define an interior that is hermetically sealed from an exterior environment, and vice versa. The term "plastisol" refers to a suspension of plastic particles, such as vinyl or polyvinyl chloride, in a liquid plasticizer that can flow as a liquid and can be heated to dissolve the plastic particles with the liquid plasticizer or refers to the solid product after curing, for example.

The term "liner" refers to monolayer materials or multilayer materials comprising for example two, three, four, five, or more different materials that allow for sealing of the tobacco compartment. Suitable three-layer liners include an upper layer of polyethylene, a core of low density foam, or a lower layer of polyethylene. Optionally, the liner may include a layer of adhesive that sticks to the rim of the tobacco compartment when pressure is applied to secure the closure in a way that the liner will be sealed to the rims of the compartment. Other suitable liner materials include, cellulosic fibers, such as pulpboard, wax, metal, or polymeric foils. Hermetic sealing through a liner may also be obtained by using a polymer coating suitable for heat-induction sealing.

This disclosure relates to tobacco containers, such as a tobacco container having opposing compartments. The opposing compartment tobacco container may include a housing defining a housing volume, first and second lids, and a dividing wall, and the housing volume may be divided into a first compartment (e.g., tobacco compartment) and a second compartment (e.g., tobacco accessory compartment) between the dividing wall and the first and second lids, respectively.

The tobacco container may include components for making handmade cigarettes, such as an amount of tobacco. At least one compartment contains tobacco material and at least one compartment contains a tobacco accessory such as cigarette paper. Preferably, the compartment that contains the tobacco accessory does not contain tobacco material or is free of tobacco material.

The opposing compartment tobacco container may include compartments that have different sizes or define different volumes. The compartments may be rigid or define fixed volumes. For example, the tobacco compartment may define a first volume greater than a second volume defined by in the tobacco accessory compartment. The first volume may be at least about two, at least about three, or at least about four times the size of the second volume. In some embodiments, the second volume may be described as being less than the first volume. In other embodiments, the compartments may define equal or substantially equal volumes.

The relative sizes of the compartments may depend upon the volume of handmade cigarette components so that all or substantially all of the components are used up at about the same time. In some embodiments, the volume of tobacco used to make one handmade cigarette may be greater than the volume of the tobacco accessory or accessories used to make the one handmade cigarette. For example, the opposing compartment tobacco container may contain an amount of tobacco enough to make about five, ten, fifteen, or more handmade cigarettes and may contain a number of tobacco accessories enough to make about the same number of handmade cigarettes. In other words, when all of the tobacco accessories have been used, all or nearly all of the tobacco may also have been used.

The opposing compartment tobacco container may include a tobacco compartment that is sealed before first use to control the amount of moisture in the tobacco before a user first opens the tobacco compartment. The seal may be hermetic. The tobacco compartment may also be resealable to control the amount of moisture after a user opens and closes the tobacco compartment. The tobacco compartment may be resealed hermetically. The amount of time that the tobacco compartment is open may be reduced by placing tobacco accessories in a different compartment, thereby further controlling the amount of moisture in the tobacco.

The housing may include a sidewall, a first opening, and a second opening. The first and second openings may be disposed opposite from each other. For example, the second opening may be disposed opposite the first opening in a longitudinal direction. The sidewall may define the housing volume between the first and second openings. The sidewall may at least partially define the extent of the compartments. For example, the sidewall may laterally surround one or more compartments. The sidewall may be formed of a material capable of hermetically sealing a compartment.

For example, the sidewall is formed of a plastic, a metal, a cellulosic fiber (e.g., carton paper), or any suitable combination thereof. In various embodiments, the sidewall is formed of a multilayer cardboard or a laminate cardboard with a metallic inner layer. Preferably, the metallic layer is aluminium foil or any layer suitable for preserving tobacco freshness. In some embodiments, the sidewall may form at least one boundary of a hermetic compartment, such as the tobacco compartment. The sidewail may be substantially shape-maintaining or substantially rigid. A substantially rigid sidewall may provide support to retain the shape of the container. A substantially rigid sidewall may also stabilize either or both of the first and second openings for easy access to the respective compartment. Furthermore, a substantially rigid wall may help maintain the shape of either or both openings when engaging with a respective lid to close the compartment.

The sidewall may be formed of one piece. In other embodiments, the sidewall may be formed of two, three, four, or more pieces. In at least one embodiment, the sidewall includes a first sidewall portion defining a tobacco compartment and a second sidewall portion defining a tobacco accessory compartment. A sidewall may shape or define either or both of the first and second openings. Openings may be the same or different shapes. For example, an opening may generally be a polygonal shape, such as a triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, or any other polygon. As another example, an opening may generally be an annular shape, such as a circle, ellipse, oval, or any other annular shape. The shape of an opening and also include portions of various different shapes. In some embodiments, the openings have a rounded quadrilateral shape. In at least one embodiment, the openings have a rounded square shape.

The shape of the sidewall defining either or both of the first and second openings, may also define the shape of the sidewall extending between the first and second openings. In some embodiments, the sidewall may have corners or edges corresponding to the shape of the opening. In at least one embodiment, the sidewall includes rounded corners extending between the first and second openings.

Sidewall may be formed from one or more pieces. In some embodiments, the sidewall is formed of two pieces, which include a first sidewall portion and a second sidewall portion. The first sidewall portion may at least partially define the extent of the tobacco compartment. The second sidewall portion may at least partially define the extent of the tobacco accessory compartment.

In some embodiments, a user may access tobacco through the first opening and access a tobacco accessory through the second opening. In various embodiments, the user may comfortably access loose tobacco through the first opening. In various embodiments, the user may access a tobacco accessory, such as cigarette paper, a filter tube, and a tubing device. In at least one embodiment, the user may also access a lighter. The openings may be substantially wide enough for a user to manually extract tobacco or a tobacco accessory through the respective opening. In some embodiments, a user may be able to pinch a component to extract it from the respective compartment. For example, the fingertips of the user's hand may comfortably pass through the openings. In various embodiments, the depth of the compartment may require the opening to be wide enough to accommodate a user's hand in a grasping position to extract a component in the compartment. For example, the palm of the hand of the user may comfortably pass through the openings.

A first lid may be hingedly coupled to the sidewalk In some embodiments, the first lid may be opened and closed to cover the first opening. In an open position, the first lid may allow access through the first opening. In a closed position, the first lid may seal the first opening to contain tobacco therein or to prevent contaminants from entering the tobacco compartment. Such a seal may be hermetic, for example, to moisture and air permeation to improve the longevity of tobacco storage. However, the tobacco compartment may not be hermetically sealed in other embodiments. The first lid may be formed as an integral piece with the sidewall or may be formed as a separate piece from the sidewall.

The first lid may be formed of a material capable of hermetically sealing to the sidewall. For example, the first lid may be formed of the same material as the sidewall. In other embodiments, the first lid is formed of a different material than the sidewall, such as a plastic, metal, cellulosic fiber (e.g., carton paper), any different type thereof, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the sidewall and the first lid may form at least some boundaries of a hermetic compartment, such as the tobacco compartment. In at least one embodiment, the first lid, the sidewall, and the dividing wall form the boundaries of a hermetically-sealed tobacco compartment.

In various embodiments, the hermetic sealing of the tobacco compartment is obtained by sealing a liner to the first opening. The liner may be applied before the lid is coupled to the side wall.

The first lid may be substantially rigid. A substantially rigid first lid may provide support to retain the shape of the container. A substantially rigid first lid may also facilitate easy opening and closing over a rigidly-formed first opening. Furthermore, a substantially rigid first lid may help stabilize the container in an upright position when placed on a substantially flat surface.

The first lid may include a sealing member. The sealing member may extend around the first lid adjacent the periphery. In some embodiments, the sealing member is a ring applied to the lid. The sealing member may be elastic, for example. An elastic sealing member may be compressed between the first lid and the sidewall to facilitate sealing the first opening to the first lid is closed. The elastic sealing member may be formed of a rubber, such as plastisol, or any other suitable material for forming a hermetic seal when compressed. The particular type of material may be selected based on the first lid material. For example, if the first lid material is a metal, metal alloy, or a composite material containing a metal layer as outer layer, the elastic member may be plastisol.

The sealing member may be maintained by the first lid. In some embodiments, the first lid includes a channel for maintaining the sealing member. The channel may extend around the first lid adjacent the periphery. The channel may extend past the longitudinal extent of the sealing member positioned within the channel.

The first lid may include a first rim portion extending at least partially around the edge of the sidewall at the first opening and engages the sidewall at the first opening. For example, the rim portion may be glued to the sidewall. In some embodiments, the first rim portion extends entirely around the edge of the sidewall at the first opening. The first rim portion may be fixed to the sidewall to form a hermetic seal with the sidewall. The first rim portion may engage with the sealing member to form the hermetic seal. In particular, the first rim portion may engage with the sealing member on a side opposite the sidewall. The first rim portion may also be considered a part of the sidewall once affixed to the sidewall. In other embodiments, the first lid does not include a first rim portion, and the sealing member may engage the sidewall directly.

In some embodiments, the first rim portion includes a protrusion that is at least partially received into a channel maintaining an elastic sealing member when the first lid is in a closed position. The elastic sealing member may be compressed in the channel when engaged by the protrusion of the first rim portion. A second lid may be hingedly coupled to the sidewall. In some embodiments, the second lid may be opened and closed to cover the second opening. In an open position, the second lid may allow access through the second opening. In a closed position, the second lid may cover the second opening to contain tobacco accessories therein or to prevent contaminants from entering the tobacco accessory compartment. The second lid may be formed as an integral piece with the sidewall or may be formed a separate piece from the sidewall. The second lid may be different than the first lid. A hermetic seal may not be necessary for the tobacco accessory compartment that is free of tobacco. However, in other embodiments, the second lid may form a hermetic seal similar to the first lid in other embodiments.

The second lid may be formed of the same material as the sidewail. In other embodiments, the second lid is formed of a different material than the sidewail, such as a plastic, metal, cellulosic fiber (e.g., carton paper), any different type thereof, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the sidewail and the second lid may form at least some boundaries of a hermetic compartment, such as the tobacco compartment. In at least one embodiment, the second lid, the sidewail, and the dividing wall form the boundaries of a tobacco accessory compartment. The second lid may be substantially rigid. A substantially rigid second lid may provide support to retain the shape of the container. A substantially rigid second lid may also facilitate easy opening and closing over a rigidly-formed second opening. Furthermore, a substantially rigid second lid may help stabilize the container in an upright position when placed on a substantially flat surface. The second lid may include a second rim portion extending at least partially around the edge of the sidewail at the second opening and engages the sidewail at the second opening. In some embodiments, the second rim portion extends entirely around the edge of the sidewail at the second opening. The second rim portion may be fixed to the sidewail. The second rim portion may also be considered a part of the sidewail once affixed to the sidewail. In other embodiments, the second lid does not include a second rim portion.

The opposing compartment tobacco container may include one or more closure mechanisms. In some embodiments, either or both of the first and second lids may include a closure mechanism to maintain the respective lid in a closed position. For example, the lid may include a protrusion or recess that engages complementary recess or protrusion in the sidewail or the rim portion of the respective lid, or any other structures suitable for forming a shape-fit seal. The closure mechanism may also include a pivotally-attached flap extending from the respective lid. However, any suitable closure mechanism that maintains the lid in the closed position may be used. The closure mechanism may be released by a user before accessing the respective compartment. The closure mechanism may be secured by user after accessing the respective compartment. In some embodiments, the closure mechanism for the first lid and the second lid are the same. However, the closure mechanisms may be different depending on the requirements of the respective compartment. In at least one embodiment, each of the first and the second lid include a closure mechanism. The opposing compartment tobacco container may include a membrane that forms a hermetic seal over one or more openings. The membrane may be disposed interior to a lid (e.g., over the first opening) or exterior to a lid (e.g., around the rim of the first lid). In at least one embodiment, the membrane may be formed of aluminium foil. The aluminium foil may be adhered, in one example, as described in WO 2014/053635, entitled "SEALING MEMBRANE WITH PULL- TAB." In some embodiments, before a first opening of the first lid, the membrane hermetically seals at least the first opening. Such a membrane may be broken after the first time the lid is opened. After being broken, a membrane may no longer provide a hermetic seal. However, the first lid may continue to provide a hermetic seal over the first opening when the first lid is closed, for example. In various embodiments, the membrane may hermetically seal the tobacco compartment and a tobacco accessory compartment.

The opposing compartment tobacco container may include a dividing wall between the compartments. In some embodiments, the dividing wall is positioned between a first opening and a second opening that divides the housing volume. The dividing wall may at least partially define the extent of the compartments. For example, the dividing wall may define a longitudinal extent of one or more compartments.

The dividing wall may be capable of separating tobacco from tobacco accessories. In some embodiments, the sidewall and the dividing wall may form at least some boundaries of a hermetic compartment, such as the tobacco compartment. The dividing wall may be formed of a material capable of hermetically sealing to the sidewall. For example, the dividing wall is formed of the same material as the sidewall. In other embodiments, the dividing wall is formed of a different material than the sidewall, such as a plastic, metal, cellulosic fiber (e.g., carton paper), any different type thereof, or any suitable combination thereof. Preferably, the dividing wall is formed separately from the sidewall. For example, the dividing wall may be fixedly disposed between first and second sidewall portions and form a hermetic seal with at least the first sidewall portion. In particular, the dividing wall may be sealed onto a metallic inner layer of the sidewalls. In other embodiments, the dividing wall is integrally formed with the sidewall, which provides a hermetic seal therebetween. For example, in some embodiments, the sidewalls and the dividing wall may be formed of a single injection-molded piece. The dividing wall may be substantially planar. In some embodiments, the dividing wall extends about parallel to either or both of the first lid and the second lid in their closed positions. In other words, the dividing wall may extend laterally or almost laterally. However, any suitable orientation for the dividing wall may be used for storing tobacco and tobacco accessories in separate compartments. In other embodiments, the dividing wall is not substantially planar, and may be at least partially curved, only partially planar, or any other suitable geometric configuration for storing tobacco and tobacco accessories in separate compartments.

The opposing compartment tobacco container may be made according to various methods. In some embodiments, a board material (e.g., cardboard) may be folded to form the sidewalls of the container. A dividing wall may then be sealed into the upper third of the formed sidewalls to form the separate opposing compartments. Next, tobacco and one or more tobacco accessories can be fed into their respective compartments. Lids may be applied to the compartments to contain the tobacco and tobacco accessories.

Using the opposing compartment tobacco container may provide an easy manner of retrieving components for making handmade cigarettes. In some embodiments, the opposing compartment includes an amount of tobacco in the tobacco compartment and a tobacco accessory in the tobacco accessory compartment. The tobacco and tobacco accessories may be accessed one-at-a-time.

A user may first orient, or check that, the opposing compartment tobacco container such that the first lid is facing downwardly and the second lid is facing upwardly such that the container is oriented longitudinally or substantially longitudinally such that an upward lid may be opened without spilling the contents of the respective compartment. In some embodiments, the user may rest the opposing compartment tobacco container on the first lid. The user may continue by opening the second lid to retrieve a tobacco accessory from the tobacco accessory compartment. The tobacco accessory may be removed manually. The user may then close the second lid. Next, the user may turn over the opposing compartment tobacco container such that the first lid is facing upwardly and the first lid is facing downwardly. For example, the user may rest the opposing compartment tobacco container on the second lid.

The user can then open the first lid to retrieve tobacco from the tobacco compartment. The tobacco may be removed manually. If the opposing compartment tobacco container has not been used before, the user may break the membrane hermetically sealing the tobacco compartment over the first opening before or after the first lid is opened, as needed. The user may then close the first lid. Upon closing the first lid, the tobacco compartment may be resealed hermetically. The tobacco retrieved may be used with the tobacco accessory by the user to make a handmade cigarette. It should be recognized that methods of retrieving tobacco before the tobacco accessory are also contemplated.

After making the handmade cigarette, the user may also decide to use a lighter stored as a tobacco accessory in the tobacco accessory compartment. Further uses may expend the tobacco or tobacco accessories contained in the opposing compartment tobacco container, the user may decide to refill the tobacco compartment with an amount of tobacco or refill the tobacco accessory compartment with one or more tobacco accessories.

All scientific and technical terms used herein have meanings commonly used in the art unless otherwise specified. The definitions provided herein are to facilitate understanding of certain terms used frequently herein.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" encompass embodiments having plural referents, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and/or" means one or all of the listed elements or a combination of any two or more of the listed elements.

As used herein, "have", "having", "include", "including", "comprise", "comprising" or the like are used in their open ended sense, and generally mean "including, but not limited to". It will be understood that "consisting essentially of, "consisting of, and the like are subsumed in "comprising," and the like.

The words "preferred" and "preferably" refer to embodiments of the invention that may afford certain benefits, under certain circumstances. However, other embodiments may also be preferred, under the same or other circumstances. Furthermore, the recitation of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful, and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the disclosure, including the claims.

The schematic drawings are not necessarily to scale and are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation. The drawings depict one or more aspects described in this disclosure. However, it will be understood that other aspects not depicted in the drawing fall within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Referring now to the drawings, in which some aspects of the present invention are illustrated. FIGS. 1-3 are schematic diagrams of an illustrative opposing compartment tobacco container 10. A housing 12 includes a sidewall 14 extending longitudinally between a first opening 16 and a second opening 18 opposite the first opening. The sidewall 14 has a first sidewall portion 20 defining the first opening 16 and a second sidewall portion 22 defining the second opening 18. A dividing wall 24 is disposed between the first and second openings 16, 18. The dividing wall 24 is also visibly disposed between the first and second sidewall portions 20, 22. It is understood that the first sidewall portion 20, the second sidewall portion 22, and the dividing wall 24 may be integrally formed as a single piece.

A first lid 26 is shown hingedly coupled to the first sidewall portion 20. The first lid 26 may be opened or closed as desired to access or to contain tobacco 28 disposed in a tobacco compartment 30 defined by the first sidewall portion 20, dividing wall 24, and first lid 26. The first lid 26 includes a first rim portion 32 coupled to the edge of the first sidewall portion 20 to facilitate closing and sealing the first lid 26. The interior side of the first lid 26 may include a channel and a sealing member, such as channel 60 and sealing member 58 shown in FIGS. 4-5. A second lid 34 is shown hingedly coupled to the second sidewall portion 22. The second lid 30 may be opened or closed as desired to access or to contain one or more tobacco accessories 38 disposed in a tobacco accessory compartment 40 (FIG. 2). The second lid 34 includes a second rim portion 36 (FIG. 2) coupled to an edge of the second sidewall portion 22 opposite the first lid 26 to facilitate closing the second lid 34. A closure mechanism 42, including a protrusion and a complementary recess, may be disposed on the first and second lids 26, 34 to facilitate maintaining the lids a closed position. As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the first lid 26 is open, and the second lid 34 is closed. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second lid 34 is open, and the first lid 26 is closed. The dividing wall 24 is oriented orthogonally to the sidewall 14 and sidewall portions 20, 22 and parallel to the first and second lids 26, 34 in their closed positions.

FIGS. 4-6 are schematic diagrams of an alternative first lid 56. The alternative first lid 56 is similar to the first lid 26 in many respects. However, the closure mechanism 72 of the first lid 56 includes a pivotally-attached flap as an alternative configuration to closure mechanism 42. Also, FIGS. 4-6 show a sealing member 58 disposed in a channel 60 of the first lid 56, which may be used with any lid, including first lid 26. The sealing member 58 and the channel 60 extend around the first lid 56 adjacent the periphery.

The sealing member 58 may formed of an elastic material. When closed, the sealing member 58 may be compressed by the rim portion 62 of the first lid 56 to form a hermetic seal as illustrated in FIG. 5, which is a schematic cutaway diagram of first lid 56 in a closed position. The channel 60 may extend longitudinally beyond the sealing member 58 as shown in FIG. 6, which is a cross-sectional view of the first lid 56. The rim portion 62 may at least partially engage the sealing member 58 in the channel 60. FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an illustrative method 100 for using an illustrative opposing compartment tobacco container. The method 100 may begin with a user orienting the second lid of the tobacco container upwardly, as needed. The user may check that the tobacco container is oriented upwardly and then open a second lid of the tobacco container 02. A user may then retrieve a tobacco accessory from the tobacco accessory compartment 104, which may be manually performed. The second lid may then be closed by the user 106.

Next, the user may turn over the opposing compartment tobacco container 108. The user may open the first lid 110. Optionally, the user may break a membrane that hermetically seals the tobacco compartment 112 before or after opening the first lid 110. A user may then retrieve tobacco from the tobacco compartment 114, which may be manually performed. The first lid may then be closed by the user 116. Once the contents of the opposing tobacco container have been expended, the user may optionally refill the container with tobacco or tobacco accessories, as desired 118.

The specific embodiments described above are intended to illustrate the invention. However, other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims, and it is to be understood that the specific embodiments described above are not intended to be limiting.