A package assembly and a blank for forming an insert.

Field of invention 5

The present invention relates to a controlled easy access package assembly for child resistant storage of products. The package assembly is most preferably suitable for storing cigarettes, but can also be used to store other 0 products which you want to protect from children gaining access to and/or which you want to protect from easily falling out of the package. Thus, it could also be used for candy, tablets, pills or other small articles that are loosely held in the package. The invention further relates 5 to blanks for forming said package assembly.

Background of the invention

WO2006/068602 discloses a package comprising a sleeve 0 and an insert. The sleeve comprises a top panel, a bottom panel, side panels and a locking member. The insert, which may be formed as a blister-pack, comprises several panels that are folded onto each other and one or two locking tabs formed as extensions of one of the panels 5 Although it has been found that this design offers a satisfactory locking function, it requires extra materials since the locking tab extends from one of the panels of the insert. Furthermore, it is not suitable for cigarettes or other loosely held products. 0 One object of the present invention is to provide a package assembly which has protection against children gaining access to the content of the package and which has protection against the content falling out of the package. Yet another object of the present invention is to 5 provide a package assembly which has protection against

children gaining access to the content of the package, but which is yet easy to open for other persons, like elderly or disabled persons.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a child resistant package assembly that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and requires less materials than the prior art solutions.

Summary of the invention

These, as well as other objects, can be achieved by a package assembly comprising a sleeve comprising a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls and a bottom wall, and is provided with at least one first stop panel formed as an extension of one of said walls and folded into the sleeve, which first stop panel comprises a stop edge. The package assembly further comprises an insert comprising an insert front panel, an insert back panel, an insert bottom panel and two insert side panels, and is provided with at least one locking flap comprising a locking edge. The insert is adapted to be inserted into and pulled out of the sleeve in a sliding direction through an opening in the sleeve, and the locking edge of the locking flap is adapted to be in contact with the stop edge of the first stop panel when the insert is inserted in the sleeve, whereby the insert is hindered from being pulled or pushed out of the sleeve.

The sleeve further comprises a release flap, which may be formed as a cutout in one of said walls, adapted to be folded into said sleeve and to push the at least one locking flap such that the locking edge, by a folding motion, is brought out of contact with said stop edge. Thus, the release flap forms a release button. In this way, the stop panel and the locking flap is separated in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, whereby the insert can be pulled or pushed out of the sleeve.

In order to open the package assembly of the invention, the user must first push the release button and then pull or push the insert out of the sleeve. Thus, at least two operations are needed to open the package assembly of the invention. This avoids the accidental opening of the package assembly and makes the package assembly more child resistant .

The at least one locking flap may be formed from an extension of one of the walls of the insert, e.g. from an extension of one of the side walls.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one locking flap is formed as a cutout within one of the walls of the insert, e.g. within the front wall, the rear wall or one of the side walls, and folded outwards from said insert. By forming the locking flap or flaps within one of the walls, the manufacturing process of a conventional package only has to be slightly modified in order to provide an insert with one or several locking flaps.

The at least one locking flap may be formed as a cutout within the front wall. By forming the at least one locking flap in the front wall, the size of the package is not increased substantially.

Preferably, the locking flap has the form of a rectangle extended in the sliding direction and formed as a cutout within the front wall by a crease line and at least one cut line, which crease line is extended in the sliding direction. The rectangle may, e.g., be formed by at three cut lines and a crease line.

In one preferred embodiment, the insert comprises two locking flaps. By forming two locking flaps, the width of the flaps (i.e. the length of the rectangles in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction) can be made shorter which facilitates the manufacturing of the flaps. The manufacturing of the flaps is made easier since it is easier to fold the flaps outwardly when made shorter.

The sleeve may further comprise a second stop panel, comprising a stop edge, which second stop panel is formed as an extension of one of the walls of the sleeve and folded into the sleeve. The insert may further comprise a second locking flap, comprising a locking edge, wherein said locking edge of the second locking flap is adapted to be in contact with the stop edge of said second stop panel when the insert is partly pulled out of the sleeve. In this way, the insert can not be completely removed from the sleeve, but only pulled or pushed out to an extent which enables access to the content of the package. By not allowing complete removal of the insert from the sleeve, the reinsert of the insert in the sleeve is facilitated and the child resistant function of the package is maintained. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the stop edge of the first stop panel is reinforced, e.g. by letting the thickness of the panel being greater at the stop edge than at the rest of the panel. In this way, the contact area between the stop edge of the stop panel and the locking edge of the locking flap is increased, which improves the locking. A larger contact area between the stop edge of the stop panel and the locking edge of the locking flap reduces the risk of the stop edge of the stop panel to be separated from the locking edge of the at least one locking flap in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, which might occur if the panel is folded into the sleeve so that it is in close proximity to the inner wall of the sleeve. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of the undesirable movement of the insert out of the sleeve due to the bending of the upper corner of the at least one locking flap. The upper corner of the at least one locking flap might be bended or tattered if the contact area between the stop edge of the stop panel and the locking edge of the locking flap is very small and limited to the upper corners of the locking flaps.

In one embodiment, the stop edge may be reinforced by the first stop panel being folded in at least two. In this way, an increased contact area is achieved in an easy way. In another embodiment, the stop edge may be reinforced by the first stop panel being folded in at least three. In this way, an even larger contact area is created.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the stop edge is reinforced by the first stop panel being folded about two crease lines, forming three parts of the stop panel, i.e. a first, a second and a third part. The part or area formed between said crease lines, i.e. the second part, faces the locking edge of the locking flap and, thus, forms the stop edge of the stop panel. In this way, an even larger contact area is achieved. The insert may further comprise a lid. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the insert comprises a flip up lid comprising a lid front wall, a lid top wall and two lid side walls and which flip up lid is adapted to be folded in order to open the package. The flip up lid thus forms a hinge lid. The flip up lid ensures that the content of the package do not fall out and provides an extra protection, since the flip up lid can not be folded backwards or opened when the insert is inserted in the sleeve.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the insert comprises a closed top wall, which top wall comprises an opening, such as a tear initiation. Alternatively, one of the walls of the insert, for example the front wall, can comprise an opening, for example a tear initiation. The tear initiation may be formed by a perforation. The package assembly may further comprise a container, e.g. a plastic bag, arranged inside the insert in order to provide an extra protection of the content of the package assembly. The package assembly may, in addition or alternatively, comprise further reinforcement panels, e.g. at the inner side of the front panel, in order to provide

extra support of the locking mechanism and to provide extra protection of the content of the package assembly.

The package assembly is preferably adapted to store cigarettes and is preferably made of cardboard. The invention further relates to a blank for forming an insert to be inserted and pulled out of a sleeve, comprising a front panel, a back panel, two side panels, a bottom panel, a number of sealing panels and sealing flaps, wherein the sealing panels are adapted to be folded about crease lines, the sealing flaps are adapted to be folded about crease lines, the front panel is adapted to be folded about a crease line in relation to the bottom panel, the side panels are adapted to be folded about crease lines and the back panel is adapted to be folded about a crease line in relation to the bottom panel to form a tubular container body and wherein the blank further comprises at least one locking flap comprising a locking edge.

Said locking flap may be formed from a cutout by a crease line and at least one cut line within the front panel, within the back panel or within one of the two side panels .

The blank may further comprise a lid top panel, a lid front panel, two lid side panels and lid sealing flaps, wherein lid front panel is foldable about a crease line, the top panel is foldable about a crease line, the lid side panels are foldable about crease lines to form a flip-up lid.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. Ia shows a perspective view of a package assembly according to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the insert is partly pulled out of the sleeve.

Fig. Ib shows a view of the package assembly in fig. Ia from the side.

Fig. Ic shows a view of the package assembly in fig. Ia from the bottom side. Fig. Id shows a perspective view of a package assembly in fig. Ia wherein the insert is inserted into the sleeve.

Fig. 2. shows a manufacturing blank for the outer sleeve .

Fig. 3. shows a manufacturing blank for the inner insert .

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the sleeve of the package assembly in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an insert for insertion into the package shown in fig 1. Fig. 6 shows a cross section of the package in fig. 1 from the side, wherein the insert is completely inserted in the sleeve.

Fig. 7 shows a cross section of the package assembly in fig. 1 from the side, wherein the insert is partly pulled out of the sleeve, in its outermost position.

Fig. 8 shows a cross section of the package assembly in fig. 1 from the side, wherein the insert is inserted in the sleeve .

Fig. 9 shows a preferred embodiment of the stop panel of the package assembly shown in fig. 1.

Detailed description

Fig. 1 - 9 shows a package assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The package comprises a sleeve (A) and an insert (B) intended to hold the contents of the package. The sleeve (A) and the insert (B) are preferably produced by folding and gluing blanks made of cardboard material (see below). The

insert (B) may be partly pulled out of the sleeve (A) by a sliding motion in a sliding direction (upwards in fig. Ia - Id) . The sleeve comprises a front wall (4) (also referred to as a front panel), a rear wall (5) (also referred to as a back panel), two side walls (also referred to as side panels) and a bottom wall (6) (also referred to as a bottom panel) .

In fig. Ia - Ib, the package is shown when it is opened, i.e. with the insert (B) partly pulled out of the sleeve (A) and the flip up lid (36) folded backwards. In fig. Id, the package is shown when it is closed, i.e. with the insert (B) inserted totally in the sleeve (A) . With reference to fig. Id, the sleeve forms a rectangular cross-section and the sliding direction is directed along a normal to this rectangle. If the insert (B) is pulled or pushed outwardly from the sleeve (A) (upwards in fig. Id), a locking function will prevent the insert from being pulled or pushed out of the sleeve. The user must push a release button (15) before the insert can be released. If the user starts pulling or pushing the insert (B) out of the sleeve (A) before the release button (15) is pushed, it will not help pushing the release button (15) since the locking function in that case has reached a non-openable state. The button must first be pushed to release the locking function and then the insert (B) may be pulled or pushed out of the sleeve (A) . The details of this locking function will be disclosed below.

With reference to fig. Ic, the user may push the insert (B) out of the sleeve (A) by pushing the sleeve upwards through a cutout forming an opening (16) in the bottom wall (6) of the sleeve (A). This makes the package particularly suitable for elderly or disabled persons, since the user does not have to grip the insert.

In an alternative embodiment to the one disclosed in fig. 1 - 8, the sleeve can be provided with a cut-out in at

least one of the walls, for example at the upper edge of the walls, i.e. at the opening of the sleeve, forming an indentation at which the insert can be taken hold of for pulling out. In this alternative embodiment, the opening (16) in the bottom wall (6) of the sleeve (A), as shown in fig. 1 - 8, can be dispensed with.

In yet another embodiment to the one disclosed in fig. 1-8, the insert can be provided with at least one flap at the upper edge of one or several of the walls. In order to pull the insert out of the sleeve, the user can then take hold of the at least one flap.

Fig. 2 discloses a blank for forming said sleeve (A). With reference to fig. 2, the blank forming the sleeve (A) comprises a front panel (4), a back panel (5), a bottom panel (6) and two side panels (7,8) The blank further comprises a first and a second side sealing flap (38, 9), a first and a second bottom sealing flap (10, 11), a first stop panel (14) and a second stop panel (13). The bottom sealing flaps (10, 11) are formed by extensions of respective sealing panel (8, 9) and separated from the bottom panel (6) by cut lines (Cl and C2) .

The panels (1-14) are foldable in relation to each other along a number of crease lines (Ll - LlO) . The first and the second stop panels (14, 13) are adapted to be folded about lines (L8, L3) into the sleeve (A). The first stop panel (14) is intended to be folded over towards the inside of the front panel (4). The second stop panel (13) is intended to be folded over towards the inside of the back panel (5). The length of the first stop panel (14) exceeds the length of the second stop panel (13). The sealing panels (38, 9) are adapted to be mutually foldable about the crease lines (L6 and L7) in relation to the back panel (5). The bottom sealing flaps (10, 11) are adapted to be foldable about the crease lines (L9 and LlO) in relation to the sealing panels (38, 9) and adapted to be sealed, glued or

joined to the bottom panel (6). The front panel (4), the bottom panel (6), the back panel (5), and the side panels (7, 8) are adapted to be foldable in relation to each other about the crease lines (Ll, L2, L4, L5) to form a tubular container body. When forming the tubular container body, the bottom sealing flaps are sealed or glued to the bottom panel (6), and the side panels (7, 8) are sealed or glued to the sealing panels (38, 9).

The front panel (4) of the sleeve is provided with a cut-out (15). In this embodiment, the cut-out (15) has the form of a rectangle; however the cut-out can have any form, such as the form of a circle, half circle or triangle. The cut-out is formed within the front panel (4) by a cut line (C3) and a crease line (L12). The portion of the front panel (4) forming the cut-out (15) is adapted to be folded inwards (into the sleeve) when pushed. The cut-out (15) forms the release button (15), also denoted as the release flap (15), as will be explained in more details below. The bottom panel (6) is provided with a complete cut-out (16) forming an opening. The cut-outs are formed by conventional cutting techniques .

Fig. 4 shows the sleeve (A) formed as a rectangular body. The reference numbers in fig. 4 corresponds to the reference numbers in fig. 3. The first and the second stop panel (13 and 14) comprise a first and a second stop edge (13 ^' and 14 ^' ) .

Fig. 3 discloses a blank (20) for forming said insert (B). With reference to fig. 3, the blank forming the insert (B) comprises a front panel (17), a back panel (18), two side panels, (22,23) and a bottom panel (19). The blank further comprises two sealing panels (24, 25) and two sealing flaps (20, 21). The blank further comprises number of panels (26 - 35) forming a flip up lid (36) . The flip up lid (36) is formed by an extension of the back panel (18) and comprises an extension panel (26), a top panel (27), a

lid front panel (28), two lid side panels (29, 30), lid sealing flaps (31, 32, 33, 34) and a reinforcement panel (35). The panels (18-35) are foldable with relation to each other along a number of crease lines (L13 - L29) . The sealing flaps (20, 21) are separated from the bottom panel (19) and from the side panels (22, 23) by cut lines (C5, C6, C7, C8). The lid sealing flaps (31, 33) are separated from the top panel (27) and from the lid side panels (29, 30) by cut lines (CIl, C12, C13, C14) . The sealing panels (24, 25) are adapted to be folded about the crease lines (L17, L18) in relation to the back panel (18). The sealing flaps (20, 21) are adapted to be folded about the crease lines (L24, L25) and adapted to be sealed or glued to the bottom panel (19). The front panel (17) is adapted to be folded about crease lines (L15) in relation to the bottom panel and the side panels (22, 23) are adapted to be folded about crease lines (L13) and (L14) in relation to the front panel to form a tubular container body. When forming the tubular container body, the inner side of the side panels (22, 23) are sealed or glued to the outer side (i.e. the side not shown in the figure) of the sealing panels (24, 25) and the sealing flaps (20, 21) are sealed or glued to the bottom panel (19).

The reinforcement panel (35) of the flip up lid (36) is folded about crease line (L22) and glued or sealed to the inner side of the lid front panel (28) . When forming the flip up lid, sealing flaps (31, 33) are folded about the crease lines (L25 and L26) and the outer side of the sealing flaps (31, 33) are sealed or glued to the inner side of the lid top panel (28), the sealing flaps (32, 34) are folded about crease lines (L27, L28), the top panel (28) is folded about crease line (L21), the lid side panels (29, 30) are folded about crease lines (L23, L24) and the inner side of the lid side panels (29, 30) are sealed or glued to the outer side of the sealing flaps (32, 34).

The front panel (17) of the insert (B) is provided with two, rectangular, cut outs (40, 41), also denoted as first locking flaps (40, 41), formed within the front panel (17) by cut lines (C17, C18) and crease lines (L30, L31) . The back panel is provided with a cut out (42), also denoted as a second locking flap (42), formed within the back panel (18) by cut line (C19) and crease line (L29).

Fig. 5 shows the insert (B) formed as a tubular container with a conventional flip-up lid (36) . The reference numbers in fig. 5 corresponds to the reference numbers in fig. 3. The cut outs (40, 41) is folded outwards from the front panel (17), forming first locking flaps (40, 41) . The locking flaps (40, 41) have rectangular forms, with the longest side of the rectangles extending in the sliding direction. The locking flaps (40, 41) comprise locking edges (40 ^' , 41 ^' ). As can be seen in fig. 5, the upper edges of the locking flaps (41, 41) forms the locking edges (40', 41').

Fig. 6 - 8 show a cross section from the side of the package assembly. The sliding direction is in the direction from the left to the right in fig. 6 - 8.

Fig. 6. shows a cross section of the package when the insert is completely inserted in the sleeve, i.e. the package is completely closed. As can be seen in fig. 6, the locking flaps (40, 41 and 42) are folded outwards from the insert. The first stop panel (14) is folded into the sleeve so that the stop edge (14 ^' ) of the stop panel is separated from the locking edges (40 ^' , 41 ^' ) of the locking flaps (40) by a small distance dl or, alternatively, the stop edge (14 ^' ) of the stop panel touches the locking edges (40 ^' , 41 ^' ) of the locking flaps (40 and 41) . The first stop panel (14) is adapted to prevent the insert from being drawn or pulled out of the sleeve (A) by virtue of the first locking flaps (40 and 41) coming into engagement with the first stop panel (14). If a person tries to pull or push the insert outwardly from the sleeve (i.e. in the direction to the right in fig.

6), without pushing the release button (not shown in the picture), the locking edges (40 ^' , 41 ^' ) of the locking flaps (40, 41) will come into engagement with the stop edge (14 ^' ) of the stop panel (14) whereby the insert can not be removed. When the insert (B) is inserted completely in the sleeve (A), the flip up lid (36) is prevented from being opened by the stop panel (14) and the front wall (4) of the sleeve (A) .

In order to pull or push the insert (B) out of the sleeve (A), the release button (15) formed by the release flap (15), must be pushed into the sleeve. This is shown in detail in fig. 8, wherein the release flap (15) is folded into the sleeve whereby the locking flaps (40, 41) are folded backwardly. Thus, the release flap (15) pushes the locking flaps (40, 41) backwards. In this way, the locking flaps (40, 41) can slide on the inner side of the stop panel (14), since the locking flaps (40, 41) now is separated from the stop panel (14) in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. Fig. 7 shows the package when the insert (B) is partly pulled out of the sleeve (A), i.e. when the insert (B) is in its outermost position. The insert (B) is hindered from being completely pulled out of the sleeve (A) by the second locking flap (42) and the second stop panel (13). When the insert (B) is partly pulled out of the sleeve (A) , the locking edge (42 ^' ) of the second locking flap (42) touches, or engages with, the stop edge (13 ^' ) of the stop panel (13). The length of the first stop panel (14) exceeds the length of the second stop panel (13) in the sliding direction. The package is adapted so that the lower edge of the lid front panel (28) is above the upper edge of the sleeve (A) when the insert (B) is in its outermost pulled out position, whereby the lid can be flipped up. "Above" means in this context further to the right in fig. 7.

The length of the locking flaps (40, 41) in the sliding direction and the length and the position of the release flap (15) in the sliding direction are adapted so that the upper edge of the release flap (15) is above (i.e. further to the right in fig. 7) the locking edge of the first locking flaps (40, 41) when the insert (B) is in its outermost position, i.e. in the position wherein the second locking flap (42) touches the second stop panel (13) as shown in fig. 7 In this way, the risk of the upper edge (15 ^' ) of the release flap (15) to be folded backwards beneath the locking edge of the locking flaps (40, 41), and thereby hinder the insert (B) to be re inserted into the sleeve (A), is avoided.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the stop panel (14) is reinforced or folded in order to form a larger contact area between the stop edge (14 ^' ) of the stop panel (14) and the locking edge (40 ^' ) of the locking flap(s) (40 and 41) . This is shown in fig. 9, wherein the stop panel is folded about two crease lines (14a, 14b), forming three parts or areas of the stop panel; a first part (14), a second part (14 ^' ) and a third part (14 ^{' '} ). The second part (14 ^' ) formed between said crease lines (14a, 14b) faces the locking edge or edges (40 ^' , 41 ^' ) of the locking flap or flaps (40, 41) and, thus, forms the stop edge of the stop panel (14) . The first and the third parts of the stop panel have their main extension in a direction approximately parallel to the front wall of the sleeve, whereas the second part (14 ^' ) extends in a direction approximately in a direction of a normal to the front wall. In one preferred embodiment, the three parts (14, 14 ^' and 14'') form a triangular shape as seen from the side. The second part (14 ^' ) can form an approximately straight angle to the third part (14 ^{' '} ), and an angle of less than 90 degrees to the first part (14). Alternatively, the second part (14 ^' ) can form an approximately straight angle to the

first part (14) and an angle of less than 90 degrees to the third part (14 ^{' '} ). In one preferred embodiment, the third part (14 ^{' '} ) is glued to the first part (14) at the upper corner of said triangle (i.e. the corner furthest to the right in fig. 9) . This increases the stability of the reinforcement and ensures that the second part (14 ^' ) faces the locking edge (40 ^' ) of the locking flap(s) (40, 41 ^' ). The third part may, in addition or alternatively, be glued to the inside of the front wall. This increases the stability even further .

Similarly, (but not shown in fig. 9) the second stop panel (13) may be folded in the same way as the first stop panel (14) described above. Thus, in addition to the first stop panel being folded, or, alternatively, without the first stop panel being folded, the second stop panel (13) may be folded in at least two in order to create a larger contact area between the stop edge (13 ^' ) of the second stop panel (13) and the locking edge (42 ^' ) or the second locking flap (42) . While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments chosen for purpose of illustration, it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention.