Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pack of tobacco industry products. In particular, the invention relates to a pack of tobacco industry products commonly referred to as being of the‘clam-shell’ type.

Background

Clam-shell packages have been used in the tobacco industry for holding tobacco industry products, which may be smoking articles such as cigarettes. Such packages are generally formed from a cardboard blank. One format of this pack may hold up to thirty individual cigarettes in two rows.

A clam-shell pack typically comprises an outer shell and an inner shell which may be received in the outer shell when the pack is closed. The inner and outer shells can be rotated relative to each other between open and closed positions about a fold-line that forms a hinge between the inner and outer shells. Access to the tobacco industry products can be obtained when the outer and inner shells are rotated relative to each other into their open position.

Summary

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, there is provided a pack of tobacco industry products, comprising outer and inner shells rotatable relative to each other about a fold-line between a closed position in which the inner shell is received in the outer shell, and an open position, wherein the inner shell contains separately wrapped bundles of smoking articles that remain fixed relative to the inner shell when the outer shell is rotated relative to the inner shell into an open position, said bundles being positioned in side-by-side relation in a direction of the fold-line with the smoking articles of each bundle extending in a longitudinal direction away from said fold-line towards a remote end of the bundle, each bundle having an openable access region in the wrapping for the extraction of smoking articles from said remote end when the pack is in said open position. The outer and inner shells may each comprise a major panel. The outer shell may also include an end panel depending from its major panel, and the fold-line about which the inner and outer shells rotate relative to each other may be formed between the end panel of the outer shell and the major panel of the inner shell. The inner shell may comprise an end panel depending from the inner shell major panel at an end of the inner shell remote from the fold-line.

A recess or cut-out may be formed in an edge of the end panel. In another embodiment, the pack may comprise a divider that is received in the inner shell to divide the inner shell into adjacent side-by-side pockets with a wrapped bundle of smoking articles being received in each pocket.

The divider may comprise a front wall extending over a front face of each bundle. Preferably, the front wall is separated into a pair of front wall sections by an intermediate dividing wall.

Each front wall section may extend partially across a front face of a bundle. The intermediate dividing wall may divide the inner shell into adjacent side-by- side pockets, with a wrapped bundle being received in each pocket.

The intermediate dividing wall may extend from the front wall towards the major panel of the inner shell. Preferably, the intermediate dividing wall is not directly attached to the inner shell.

Facing side panels may upstand from the major panel of the inner shell and the divider may comprises side walls depending from the front panel, each of which are attached to a facing side panel of the inner shell.

The intermediate dividing wall and/or the side walls of the divider may extend for the full length of the inner shell between its end walls.

In preferred embodiments, the divider is formed from a single sheet of material, preferably card-like material that can be folded. The intermediate dividing wall is preferably folded out of the plane of the front wall of the divider. The side walls may also be folded out of the plane of the front wall of the divider. In some embodiments, an end wall flap may depend from each of the side walls of the divider, each end wall flap may be foldable relative to the side wall from which it depends to extend across a bottom of a bundle of tobacco industry products received in the pack. Preferably, the openable access region formed in the wrapper of each bundle extends across the remote end of the bundle and partially across a front face of the bundle.

A cover flap may extend across the openable access region of each bundle.

The cover flap extending across the openable access region in the wrapper of each bundle may be resealable and can be at least partially coated with a pressure sensitive re-stick adhesive that adheres to the wrapper around the periphery of the openable access region when closed over the openable access region.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a divider for a pack of smoking articles, comprising a front wall separated into a pair of adjacent front wall sections by an intermediate dividing wall that is foldable out of the plane of the front wall to extend perpendicular thereto, and a side wall extending from opposite edges of said front wall, said side walls being foldable out of the plane of the front wall to extend parallel to said intermediate dividing wall. Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view from the front and above of a pack, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when closed;

Figure 2 shows another perspective view from the rear and above of the package when closed; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the pack shown in Figure 1 or 2 in an open position;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the pack shown in Figure 3 which includes a divider; and

Figure 5 shows a plan view of a blank from which the divider shown in the pack of Figure 4 is formed.

Detailed Description

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a package 1 containing two wrapped bundles 2, each containing a group of tobacco industry products 3 such as cigarettes (see Figure 4) according to embodiments of the invention. The package 1 comprises inner and outer shells 4, 5 that are rotatable relative to each other, in the direction indicated by arrow‘A’ in Figure 3, about a hinge 6 between a closed position of the pack 1, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and an open position as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The pack 1 is preferably formed from a sheet of material, preferably card or card-like material such as cardboard, which may be folded from a flat sheet or blank, using cigarette pack manufacturing machinery, to form the assembled and filled pack 1. Whilst the pack 1 may be formed from a unitary sheet, if the pack 1 also has a divider, as described below with reference to the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, the pack 1 may be formed from two sheets of similar material, the inner and outer shells 4, 5 being formed together from one sheet, and the divider being formed from a second sheet which is attached to the inner shell 4 during folding/ assembly, preferably using an adhesive.

The outer shell 5 comprises a rectangular shaped outer shell major panel 7, outer shell side panels 8 and outer shell minor end panels 9, all of which upstand from the periphery of the outer shell major panel 7 around its circumference. The outer shell minor side and end panels 8, 9 are integral with the outer shell major panel 7 and are each separated therefrom by a fold-line 10.

An upper edge of one of the outer shell minor end panels 9 is connected to an edge of a rear major panel 11 of the inner shell 4 for rotation of the inner and outer shells 4, 5 relative to each other about the hinge 6. The hinge 6 is formed by a linear fold-line extending between the inner and outer shells 4, 5. The inner shell 4 has a pair of parallel, facing, inner shell side panels 14, and an end panel 15, each of which are folded relative to, and upstand from, the major rear panel 11. The side panels 14, and end panel 15, are integral with the major rear panel 11 and are separated therefrom by a fold-line 16.

The end panel 15 has a cut-out or recess 17 along its upper edge to enable a consumer to access and extract smoking articles from each of the bundles more easily.

As can be seen most clearly from Figure 3, the separately wrapped bundles 2 are received in side-by-side relation in a direction of the fold line that forms the hinge 6 and so that the smoking articles 3 received in each bundle extend substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis 6 in a direction towards a remote end of the bundle 2, which is adjacent to the front end panel 15 of the inner shell 4. Each bundle 2 is attached to the inner shell 4 or otherwise fixed in position in the inner shell 4 so that it cannot move relative to the inner shell 4, even when the outer shell 5 is rotated relative to the inner shell 4 about the hinge 6. By having two bundles, the smoking articles 3 in the unopened bundle 2 remain fresh whilst the smoking articles 3 in the opened bundle are consumed first. The wrapping material 18 which surrounds each group of smoking articles 3 to form a wrapped bundle 2 has an openable access region 19 at its remote end, i.e. the end of the bundle 2 spaced away from the hinge axis 6, to facilitate removal of smoking articles 3 from each bundle 2. The openable access region 19 may be formed in an end face of the wrapped bundle 2 and extend from the end face partially across the front face of the wrapped bundle 2.

The access region 19 in each bundle 2 maybe covered by a sealing flap 21. Preferably, the sealing flap extends from the end face of the bundle and onto the front face to completely cover the access region 19. Most preferably, the sealing flap 21 extends beyond the region 19 and is coated around its periphery with pressure sensitive re-stick adhesive to enable the sealing flap 21 to be lifted and repositioned a number of times to seal the bundle 2.

The rear face of each bundle 2 may be attached or glued directly to the major panel 11 of the inner shell 4. However, in another embodiment, the pack 1 may be provided with a divider 22 which is an additional component that is attached to the inner shell 4 using adhesive.

The divider 22 is formed from a single piece of folded card. It comprises a front wall 23 positioned to extend partially over the front face of each bundle 2. The front wall 23 is separated into two front wall sections 23a, 23b by an intermediate wall 24, having intermediate wall sections 24a, 24b, and which extends out of the plane of the front wall 23 in a direction towards the major panel 11 of the inner shell 4. Each front wall section 23a, 23b extends across part of the front face of one of the bundles 2. A cut out 20 may be formed in each front wall section 23a, 23b that is similar in shape to, and surrounds, the access regioni9. The intermediate wall section 24 separates the inner shell 3 into separate pockets with a wrapped bundle 2 being received in each pocket. The intermediate wall 24 is of double thickness, as the intermediate wall sections 24a, 24b, are folded so that they overlap each other and extend out of the plane of the front wall 23.

A side wall 25 also depends from the edge of each front wall section 23a, 23b. The side walls 25 are parallel, but spaced from, the intermediate wall 24. The side walls 25 are attached to corresponding side panels 14 of the inner shell 4 to attach the divider 22 to the inner shell 4 with the front wall 23 extending across the inner shell 4 parallel to and spaced from the inner shell major panel 11.

As used herein, the term“tobacco industry product” is to be understood as including smoking articles comprising combustible smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitutes or other smokable material), electronic smoking articles such as e-cigarettes, heating devices that release compounds from substrate materials without burning such as tobacco heating products; and hybrid systems to generate aerosol from a combination of substrate materials, for example hybrid systems containing a liquid or gel or solid substrate.

In one embodiment, the tobacco industry product is a smoking article for combustion selected from the group consisting of a cigarette, a cigarillo and a cigar. In one embodiment, the tobacco industry product is a non-combustible smoking article.

In one embodiment the tobacco industry product is a heating device which releases compounds by heating, but not burning, a substrate material. The material may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment the heating device is a tobacco heating device.

In another embodiment the tobacco industry product is a hybrid system to generate aerosol by heating, but not burning, a combination of substrate materials. The substrate materials may comprise for example solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel substrate and a solid substrate. The solid substrate may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. In one embodiment the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel substrate and tobacco.

Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to tobacco industry products, for example cigarettes. However, it will be appreciated that packages of the invention may alternatively be used for non-tobacco industry related products.

In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety of this disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide a superior package for tobacco industry products. The advantages and features of the disclosure are of a representative sample of

embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/ or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and/ or spirit of the disclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.