The invention relates to a package for cut tobacco.

EP 2 423 128 A discloses several versions of a package for cut tobacco. The package is designed as a hard box. The versions show different options for opening and closing the package and for providing an easy access to the cut tobacco contained therein .

After cut tobacco has been taken out of a package as described in EP 2 423 128 A or out of a traditional soft pouch package, a cigarette can be rolled in a conventional way ("RYO cigarette") by placing a cigarette paper on some support, putting cut tobacco on the paper, rolling the paper including the tobacco (and optionally a filter) , and finally gluing a longitu- dinal seam of the paper. This procedure involves the risk of spreading tobacco pieces in the surroundings and may be questionable with respect to hygiene, depending on the support used. If only restricted space is available, the user may be inclined to take the package as a support. Rolling a cigarette on a soft pouch package, however, can be quite difficult due to the flexible nature of the pouch material.

EP 0 895 940 A discloses a so-called tongue lid pack for cigarettes . This package comprises a shell having a longitudinal axis and an access opening as well as a lid which is hingedly connected to the shell and covers the access opening when in a closed state. The lid includes a top wall section for covering a top side opening of the shell and a tongue section for covering a part of the access opening in the area of the front wall of the shell. When closed, a free end of the tongue section of the lid is secured at the front wall of the shell, and the tongue section extends over about half of the length of the shell, in longitudinal direction. The object of the invention is to provide an easy way to facilitate the rolling of cigarettes from cut tobacco. This object is achieved by a package for cut tobacco as defined in claim 1. Advantageous versions of the invention follow from the dependent claims .

The package according to the invention comprises a shell, which has a longitudinal axis and an access opening and which is adapted for accommodating cut tobacco. A lid is hingedly connected to the shell at a hinge line and covers the access opening of the shell when in a closed state. The lid includes a tongue section having a free end and extending, in the closed state, over at least 60% of the dimension of the shell in longitudinal direction. The tongue section of the lid comprises at least one longitudinal creasing line extending up to the free end of the tongue section. In advantageous embodiments of the invention, the shell includes a front wall, a rear wall, two lateral walls opposite to each other, a bottom wall, and a top side opening. The lid may comprise a top wall section adapted to cover the top side opening of the shell when the lid is in its closed state, wherein the tongue section is hingedly connected to that top wall section at an intermediate hinge line.

Moreover, in advantageous embodiments, the access opening includes the top side opening as well as a cutout in the front wall of the shell. In this case, the top wall section of the lid may be hingedly connected, at the hinge line of the lid, to the rear wall of the shell, and the tongue section of the lid covers the cutout in the front wall and at least part of the front wall when the lid is in its closed state. The hinge line of the lid may be located at or close to the upper edge of the rear wall of the shell. If, for example, the rear wall of the shell includes an upper part hingedly connected to a lower part so that the upper part can be folded outwardly with respect to the lower part, that upper part by definition is considered as part of the rear wall and not as part of the lid.

Thus, the package may be designed as a hard box (similar to a cigarette pack) that contains so-called RYO/MYO tobacco.

The longitudinal creasing line of the tongue section of the lid is an important feature of the invention. It is a line, running in generally longitudinal direction of the tongue section, which has been pre-formed in the material of the tongue section (e.g., by pressing or slightly cutting). Along this creasing line, the tongue- section can be easily formed to a trough- like part having an essentially V-shaped cross section. If there are two or more longitudinal creasing lines, which preferably run generally in parallel to each other, the cross- sectional shape can be more roundish. Since the tongue section of the lid extends (in the closed state of the lid) over at least 60% of the dimension of the shell in longitudinal direction, the tongue section is relatively long so that the trough-like part formed by means of the creasing ^' line(s) is relatively large. The trough-like part constitutes a convenient support for preparing and rolling a cigarette from the cut tobacco contained in the package. This support is relatively firm and generally clean, and its trough- like shape generally prevents cut tobacco particles from being spread around .

The top wall section of the lid may comprise secondary creasing lines adapted to provide a transition region between the tongue section of the lid, when folded to a trough- like shape along its at least one creasing line, and the hinge line of the lid. By means of this transition region, the trough-like geometry along the tongue section is fitted to the straight- line geometry of the hinge line of the lid. For example, if the tongue section of the lid comprises exactly one longitudi- nal creasing line, which extends up to the intermediate hinge line, two secondary creasing lines may be provided which extend from a respective end of the hinge line of the lid to the point where the longitudinal creasing line meets the intermediate hinge line.

At its free end area, the tongue section of the lid may be rounded or bevelled. This may look better, avoids sharp corners, and may assist in fixing the tongue section of the lid at the shell of the package when the lid is closed.

In advantageous embodiments of the invention, the package includes a fixing device adapted for fixing the area of the free end of the tongue section of the lid at the shell, when the lid is in its closed state. For example, the fixing device may comprise a cut into which the area of the free end of the tongue section of the lid is insertable. This cut may be provided at the front wall of the shell. If a pocket is formed between the front wall of the shell and an inner skirt at an inside of the shell, the area of the free end of the tongue section may be accommodated in this pocket.

The package may be folded from a one-part blank, e.g. from a blank made of cardboard of a usual thickness, e.g. in the weight range from 180 g/m ² to 290 g/m ² . However, the blank may also consist of more than one part. To keep flavourants in the cut tobacco, the package may comprise an inner fresh-keeping layer, e.g. a layer applied to the blank material.

Another or an additional way of maintaining the aromas and flavourants in the cut tobacco is the use of an inner pack, e.g. a pack made of film material, which contains the cut tobacco and is placed inside the package. This inner pack may- comprise a resealable access flap, which preferably is arranged so that it can be easily handled via the access opening of the shell .

In the package according to the invention, at least one auxiliary utensil can be presented at an inner side of the tongue section of the lid. For example, if the cutout in the front wall of the shell as part of the access opening is relatively large and if an inner pack is used, a relatively large volume is available for accommodating auxiliary utensils which protrude into the interior space of the shell, without distorting the tongue section of the lid or being mixed with tobacco par- tides. Examples for such utensils are a booklet with cigarette papers, some supply of filters, or a stuffing tool. The utensils can be loosely attached to the inner face of the tongue section so that they can be removed easily after the package has been opened for the first time and stored else- where. A suitable storage place may be the pocket mentioned above, which is accessible via the cut in the front wall of the shell .

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of an embodiment. The drawings show in

Figure 1 a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of the package according to the invention, the lid being in an open position,

Figure 2 a three-dimensional view of the package according to

Figure 1, the lid being in its closed state,

Figure 3 a plane view of a blank for folding the package ac- cording to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 a three-dimensional view of the package according to Figures 1 and 2, the lid being formed to a troughlike shape, and

Figure 5 a view as in Figure 4, wherein the inner side of the lid is used for rolling a cigarette.

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a package 1 for accom- modating cut tobacco in a three-dimensional view. The package 1 comprises a box-shaped shell 2 and a lid 4. When the lid 4 is in its closed state, see Figure 2, it covers an access opening 6 consisting of a top side opening 8 and a cutout 9 provided in a front wall 10 of the shell 2.

The shell 2 further comprises a rear wall 12, two lateral walls 14 opposite to each other, each including a dust flap 16 emerging from its upper end, and a bottom wall 18, see also Figure 3 , which shows a blank from which the package 1 can be folded. A longitudinal axis of the shell 2 (not shown in the figures) runs in parallel to the major sides of the lateral walls 14, i.e. in the bottom- top direction in Figures 1 and 2.

The lid 4 comprises a top wall section 20 (adapted to close the ^' top side opening 8 of the shell 2) and a tongue section 22. The top wall section 20 is hingedly connected, at a hinge line 24, to the upper edge of the rear wall 12 of the shell 2. The top wall section 20 and the tongue section 22 are separated from each other by an intermediate hinge line 26 running in parallel to the hinge line 24. At its free end 28, the tongue section 22 has a rounded shape.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3 , the tongue section 22 of the lid 4 comprises a longitudinal creasing line 30 extending between the free end 28 and the intermediate hinge line 26. Addition- ally, two secondary creasing lines 32 start at the point where the longitudinal creasing line 30 meets the intermediate hinge line 26 and run to the respective ends of the hinge line 24 of the lid 4. In the embodiment, the secondary creasing lines 32 are curved, as best seen in Figure 3, but straight secondary creasing lines are conceivable as well.

The blank of the package 1 shown in Figure 3 has already been mentioned. In Figure 3, the straight lines are border lines of or cutting lines in the blank, whereas the dashed lines are creasing lines. A creasing line is a pre-formed line at which the material of the blank can be easily folded, as well known in the art. In addition to the parts already explained before and designated in Figure 3 by the same reference numerals as used before, Figure 3 shows a cut 34, two side gluing tabs 36 and two bottom gluing tabs 38. The side gluing tabs 36 and the bottom gluing tabs 38 are used to fix the shell 2 in its three-dimensional shape after it has been folded, as well known in the art .

In order to secure the area of the free end 28 of the tongue section 22 of the lid 4 at the shell 2 when the lid 4 is in its closed state, the area of the free end 28 can be directed through the cut 34. In a variant of the package 1 not shown in the figures, an inner skirt is attached at the inside of the front wall 10 of the shell 2, extending from the bottom wall 18 to somewhat beyond the cut 34. In this way, a pocket is formed which is adapted to accommodate the area of the free end 28 of the tongue section 22 of the lid 4 after the free. end area has been guided through the cut 34.

In the embodiment, the tongue section 22 of the lid 4 extends over almost the full height of the shell 2, i.e. the dimension of the shell 2 in longitudinal direction, when the lid 4 is in its closed state. That means that the lid 4 also forms a rela- tively long support when being in the open state shown in Figure 4. In this state, the tongue section 22 can be folded to a trough- or V-like shape, see Figure 4, wherein the intermediate hinge line 26 and the secondary creasing lines 32 aid in providing a transition area to the straight hinge line 24.

The trough formed in this way constitutes a convenient support for preparing and rolling a cigarette, see Figure 5. To this end, the user places a piece of cigarette paper 40 and a filter 42 on the inside of the tongue section 22, puts and distributes cut tobacco 44 taken from the package 1 and rolls the cigarette paper 40 about the cut tobacco 44 and the filter 42. Finally, the cigarette paper 40 is glued along a longitudinal seam. During these steps, the inside of the lid 4 provides a reliable support, which is relatively strong and clean, and the trough- like shape avoids the spreading around of cut tobacco particles.