TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a package for a smoking article with an elongated shape.

The present invention finds advantageous application to a package for a single electronic cigarette, which the following disclosure will make explicit reference without losing any generality .

PRIOR ART

Recently, electronic cigarettes have been commercially marketed, which, unlike traditional cigarettes, are being used by the smoker several times (usually by replacing from time to time a disposable single-dose cartridge containing the aromatic substances that are consumed during use) . Consequently, consumers buy a single electronic cigarette at a time (instead of a package containing several traditional cigarettes) that is used for a relatively long period of time; therefore packages suitable for containing a single electronic cigarette (such as described in patent applications US2014263596A1 and US2016075467A1) have been developed.

Patent application GB455724A describes a package of cigarettes comprising a box-like body having an upper wall in which five through holes are obtained, each of which is adapted to receive and hold a corresponding cigarette; a rear wall of the box-like body rises above the upper wall and beyond the ends of the cigarettes and supports a hinged lid that is suitable to cover the part of the cigarettes which protrudes out of the upper wall .

The known packages for housing the electronic cigarettes offer adequate mechanical protection to electronic cigarettes, but they require a large amount of wrapping material (therefore they have both a high monetary cost and a high environmental impact) . DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a package for an article with an elongated shape, which is both easy and inexpensive to implement and above all it allows to reduce the consumption of wrapping material while continuing to provide an adequate mechanical protection to the smoking article.

According to the present invention, a package for a smoking article with an elongated shape is provided, as claimed in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of a non- limiting embodiment, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a package for an electronic cigarette made according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the package of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a front view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a left side view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a right side view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 7 is an upper view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 8 is a lower view of the package of Figure 1 ;

Figure 9 is an enlarged scale view of a detail of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a blank used to make the package of

Figure 1 ;

Figure 11 is a plan view of an alternative of the blank of Figure 9 ; and

Figure 12 is a plan view of a further alternative of the blank of Figure 9.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In Figure 1, number 1 denotes, as a whole, a package for a smoking article 2 with an elongated cylindrical shape. By way of non-limiting example, the smoking article 2 can be formed by an electronic cigarette or by a plastic cylinder (more or less transparent) containing an electronic cigarette and at least one refill cartridge for the electronic cigarette itself.

As illustrated in Figures 1-8, the package 1 comprises a front wall 3, a rear wall 4 opposite the front wall 3, a lower wall 5, which connects the front wall 3 to the rear wall 4, and an upper wall 6 which is parallel to and opposite the lower wall 5 and connects the front wall 3 to the rear wall 4. The four walls 3-6 define a three-dimensional ring-like structure that defines a space within which the smoking article 2 is housed; said space is frontally delimited by the front wall 3, is laterally delimited by the rear wall 4, is inferiorly delimited by the lower wall 5, is superiorly delimited by the upper wall 6, and is laterally substantially open.

According to a preferred, but not limiting embodiment, the upper wall 6 has a smaller size than the lower wall 5 and therefore the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 are not perfectly parallel to one another but are inclined towards one another, so as to converge towards a point arranged higher than the upper wall 6. Whereas, as mentioned before, the lower wall 5 and the upper wall 6 are perfectly parallel to one another. According to an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the upper wall 6 has the same size as the lower wall 5 and therefore the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 are perfectly parallel to one another.

The package 1 comprises an intermediate wall 7 which is arranged between the lower wall 5 and the upper wall 6 and has a through hole 8 (shown in Figure 10), through which the smoking article 2 is arranged. In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the intermediate wall 7 is parallel to the lower wall 5 and to the upper wall 6; according to a different embodiment not illustrated, the intermediate wall 7 is inclined with respect to the lower wall 5 and to the upper wall 6 (i.e. the plane of the intermediate wall 7 forms an acute/obtuse angle with the plane of the lower wall 5 and with the plane of the upper wall 6) . In the area comprised between the intermediate wall 7 and the upper wall 6 no side walls are provided, arranged perpendicularly to the front, rear, lower and upper walls 3-6 so that the smoking article 2 can be seen from the side (as is evident in Figures 5 and 6) .

According to a preferred, but not limiting, embodiment, the package 1 comprises two support walls 9 and 10, each of which is connected on one side to the lower wall 5 and on the other side to the intermediate wall 7. As better illustrated in Figure 10, the support wall 9 is connected to the intermediate wall 7 along a pre-weakened folding line (i.e. the support wall 9 is connected to the intermediate wall 7 without interruptions), whereas the support wall 10 ends with a connecting tab 11 which is glued to the intermediate wall 7 (in particular it is glued to a lower face of the intermediate wall 7 to be hidden beneath the intermediate wall 7) .

According to a preferred but not limiting embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, each support wall 9 and 10 comprises two connecting tabs 12 arranged on opposite sides of the support wall 9 and 10 and respectively glued to the front wall 3 and to the rear wall 4.

According to a preferred but not limiting embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-8, the package 1 comprises an intermediate wall 13 which is arranged between the intermediate wall 7 and the upper wall 6 and has, at the centre, a through hole 14 (shown in Figure 10) through which the smoking article 2 is arranged. In other words, the smoking article 2 is inferiorly contained by the through hole 8 (shown in Figure 10) obtained through the intermediate wall 7 and is superiorly contained by the through hole 14 (shown in Figure 10) obtained through the intermediate wall 13. According to a different embodiment of the invention not illustrated, the package 1 has no intermediate wall 13 (i.e. in this case the smoking article 2 is only contained by the through hole 8 obtained through the intermediate wall 7) . In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the intermediate wall 13 is parallel to the intermediate wall 7 and is thus parallel to the lower wall 5 and to the upper wall 6; according to a different embodiment not illustrated, the intermediate wall 13 is inclined with respect to the lower wall 5 and to the upper wall 6 (i.e. the plane of the intermediate wall 13 forms an acute/obtuse angle with the plane of the lower wall 5 and with the plane of the upper wall 6) . In particular, the intermediate wall 13 can be parallel to the intermediate wall 7 but can also not be parallel to the intermediate wall 7.

According to a preferred but not limiting embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, the through hole 8 has a circular shape (having a diameter only slightly larger than the diameter of the smoking article 2 to contain the smoking article 2 itself with a minimum clearance) and is arranged at a distance other than zero from both the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4; whereas the through hole 14 has a rectangular shape extending from the wall 3 to the rear wall 4 (therefore the through hole 14 allows the smoking article 2 to "shake" inside the through hole 14 in a direction perpendicular to the front wall 3 and to the rear wall 4) .

According to a preferred but not limiting embodiment illustrated in Figure 9, the upper wall 6 is formed by overlapping an outer panel 15, which is connected along a pre-weakened folding line to the front wall 3 and an inner panel 16, which is connected along a pre-weakened folding line to the rear wall 4 (alternatively the outer panel 15 could be connected along a pre-weakened folding line to the rear 4 wall and the inner panel 16 could be connected along a pre-weakened folding line to the front wall 3) . The intermediate wall 13 is connected to the inner panel 16 without interruptions; in particular, a connecting tab 17 is provided which is interposed between the inner panel 16 and the intermediate wall 13 and rests against as well as is glued to the front wall 3 (or, alternatively, to the rear wall 4) and a connecting tab 18 which is opposite the connecting tab 17, is connected to the intermediate wall 13 and rests against as well as is glued to the rear wall 4 (or, alternatively, to the front wall 3) . In other words, the intermediate wall 13 is arranged between the connecting tabs 17 and 18 and all three together, the intermediate wall 13 and the connecting tabs 17 and 18, form a "U"-shaped structure arranged between the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4.

As illustrated in Figure 10, the package 1 is made by folding and gluing a single flat blank 19 having a substantially rectangular elongated shape. The blank 19 has the outer panel 15, which makes up an outer part of the upper wall 6, a panel 3' , which makes up the front wall 3 and is connected to the outer panel 15 along a pre-weakened folding line, a panel 5' , which makes up the lower wall 5 and is connected to the panel 3' along a pre-weakened folding line, a panel 4', which makes up the rear wall 4 and is connected to the panel 5' along a pre- weakened folding line, and the inner panel 16, which makes up an inner part of the upper wall 6, overlaps and is glued to the outer panel 15 and is connected to the panel 4' along a pre- weakened folding line.

To the inner panel 16 and along a pre-weakened folding line the connecting tab 17 is connected, to the connecting tab 17 and along a pre-weakened folding line a panel 13' is connected, which defines the intermediate wall 13, to the panel 13' and along a pre-weakened folding line the connecting tab 18 is connected . On opposite sides of the panel 5' two panels 9' and 10' are arranged, which are connected to the panel 5' itself by respective pre-weakened folding lines and make up the support walls 9 and 10. To the panel 9' and along a pre-weakened folding a panel 7' is connected, which makes up the intermediate wall 7, whereas to the panel 10' and along a pre-weakened folding line the connecting tab 11 is connected. The panels 9' and 10' are provided with corresponding connecting tabs 12.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-10, the intermediate wall 7 has a single through hole 8 which houses the smoking article 2. In the alternative illustrated in Figure 11, the intermediate wall 7 has a further through hole 20 which is arranged adjacent to the through hole 8 and houses an accessory (i.e. the accessory is arranged through the through hole 20); as an example, the accessory might be a USB device (i.e. a device provided with a USB port) or a rechargeable cartridge. Generally the accessory is much shorter than the smoking article 2, therefore the accessory does not reach the intermediate wall 13 (i.e. the intermediate wall 13 does not have through holes for the accessory) . According to further embodiments, the package houses more than one smoking article 2 (e.g. two or three smoking articles arranged adjacent to each other) each having its own through hole 8 independent of the passing through holes 8 of the other smoking articles 2; whereas, the various smoking articles 2 share the same through hole 14 obtained through the intermediate wall 13.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, the blank 19 (used to make the package 1) has a longitudinal development, wherein the panel 3' which makes up the front wall 3, the panel 5' which makes up the lower wall 5, and the panel 4' which makes up the rear wall 4 are mutually aligned longitudinally to one another. In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 12, the blank 19 (used to make the package 1) has a transverse development, wherein the panel 3' which makes up the front wall 3 and the panel 4' which makes up the rear wall 4 are arranged side by side with the interposition of the panel 9' which makes up the support wall 9. In this embodiment, the panel 10' which makes up the support wall 10 has a connecting flap 21 which is folded relative to the panel 10' and is glued to the inner surface of the panel 3' which makes up the front wall 3. In this embodiment, the lower wall 5 is formed by the union (overlapping and gluing) of four panels 5', 5", 5"' and 5"".

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, near the lower wall 5, the front wall 3 has two circular-shaped protrusions arranged on opposite sides of the front wall 3 (i.e. the two protrusions form two circular "wings" of the front wall 3) . Likewise, near the lower wall 5 the rear wall 4 also has two circular protrusions arranged on opposite sides of the rear wall 4 itself (the two protrusions form two circular "wings" of the rear wall 4) . Preferably but not in a binding manner, the circular protrusions of the rear wall 4 are larger than the circular protrusions of the front wall 3. Said circular protrusions have an aesthetic function, therefore their position, size and shape can be varied as desired; obviously the circular protrusions can also be eliminated.

The above-described package 1 has many advantages.

First, the above-described package 1, with respect to similar known packages, uses a reduced amount of wrapping material while still providing adequate mechanical protection to the smoking article 2.

The structure of the package 1 described above allows to have different alternatives for making groups of multiple packages 1; moreover, there are many possibilities for varying the shape of the package 1 described above (for example, by modifying the cutting profile of the front wall 3 and/or of the rear wall 4) . Thus, the structure of package 1 described above offers many aesthetic alternatives for proposing the product on the market. The above-described package 1 is not associable in aesthetic terms to conventional tobacco products and is therefore commercially highly innovative.

The above-described package 1 allows to laterally have a good visibility of the smoking article 2 and thus allows a user to "directly" see what one is buying.