PACK FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Technical field

This invention relates to a pack for consumer products.

More specifically, the invention has for its object a pack used to contain products such as cigarettes, sweets, cough drops, chocolates, pharmaceuticals and the like.

In this specification, reference is made by way of example, and for simplicity of description, to a pack or packet of cigarettes without thereby limiting the scope of the invention. Background art

Rigid, hinged-lid packets for cigarettes are currently the cigarette packets of the most widespread type on the market because they are simple to make, easy and practical to use and provide good mechanical protection for the cigarettes they contain.

In addition to rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packets, rigid, slide-open or swing- open cigarette packets comprising two containers inserted one inside the other in partly separable manner have also been proposed. In other words, a rigid, slide-open or swing-open cigarette packet comprises a first container which receives a group of cigarettes and which is housed in a second container in such a way that it can be displaced relative to the outer container between a closed position, in which the inner container is housed inside the outer container, and an open position, in which the inner container is extracted from the second container. The displacement of the first container relative to the second container may be determined by a linear movement between the two containers (slide-open packet) or by a rotational movement between the two containers about a hinge which connects the two containers (swing-open packet) and causes at least one lid the second container is provided with to be opened automatically. Some embodiments of rigid slide-open cigarette packets which open by a linear movement are described in EP183397A2, WO2007144043A1 , FR1417552A and GB979302A. An embodiment of a rigid swing-open cigarette packet is described in US20090038966AI. Prior art rigid cigarette packets of this type have some disadvantages, however, in that they are complex and expensive to make and opening them involves unpleasant, irregular movements.

Known from patent documents US4588081A, WO2013170975A1 and FR1099328A are packets comprising an inner container for housing the products and having an opening at the top of it for taking out the products and an outer container which houses the inner container and which is defined by two mutually connected shells. The shells are movable relative to each other between a first position where the shells themselves define the closed packet and the inner container is completely enclosed in the outer container and a second, open position where the inner container is partly outside the outer container. These packets comprise connecting means by which the inner container is connected to respective positions of the two shells of the outer container so that, in use, the inner container comes partly out of the outer container when the user of the packet moves the two shells to the second, open position in order to open the packet. These packets are not free of disadvantages, since the movement by which the inner container comes out of the outer container is not well controlled and the inner container often adopts an off-centre, skew position and during this movement it is not rare for the inner container to get stuck against parts of the outer container. Disclosure of the invention

The aim of this invention is to provide a pack for consumer products which is free of the disadvantages described above with reference to the prior art and which, more specifically, is easy and inexpensive to make.

According to the invention there is provided a pack for consumer products as set out in the appended claims.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting embodiment of it, and in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of the pack of this invention in the closed and open conditions, respectively;

Figures 3 and 5 illustrate three blanks used to make respective portions of the pack of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 3a shows a variant embodiment of the blank of Figure 3;

Figures 6 and 7 are cross sectional views of the pack of this invention in the closed and open conditions, respectively;

Figure 7a is a cross sectional view of a variant embodiment of the pack of this invention, using the blank of Figure 3a, in the open condition;

Figure 8 shows a further blank used to make a portion of the pack of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 9 illustrates the blank of Figure 8 in a partly folded condition;

Figure 10 shows a detail of the blank of Figure 9;

Figures 1 1 and 12 show two further blanks used to make a portion of the pack of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 13 illustrates the blank of Figure 12 in a partly folded condition; Figure 14 shows a detail of the blank of Figures 12 and 13;

Figures 15, 16 and 17 show three variant embodiments of the blank of Figure 3; and Figures 16a and 17a are two schematic cross sectional views of packs obtained from the blanks of Figures 16 and 17, respectively.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a cigarette pack comprising an inner container 2 open at the top and substantially in the shape of a parallelepiped, designed to house a group of cigarettes (not illustrated) wrapped in a sheet of wrapping material, for example, foil paper. The container 2 has, at the top of it, a top end wall comprising an opening 3 for taking out the cigarettes and, when the packet 1 is closed, is housed in an outer container 2' defined by two shells 4 and 5 connected to each other at respective base portions in such a way that they can move relative to each other in a manner described below.

The container 2 comprises a pair of large side walls 6 which are parallel and opposite to each other, a pair of small side walls 7 which are parallel and opposite to each other and transverse to the large side walls 6, and a bottom base wall 8.

The two shells 4 and 5 are substantially the same except for their base portions by which they are joined to each other, are hollow, open at the top and hinged to each other at the bottom along a hinge 9 (illustrated in Figures 1 and 2) to rotate relative to each other and relative to the container 2 between a spaced-apart, open position and a close-together closed position of the outer container 2', that is, of the packet 1 .

Each of the shells 4 and 5 has a pair of large side walls 10, parallel and opposite to each other, a small side wall 1 1 transverse to the large side walls 10 and positioned to join the large side walls 10 to each other, a top base wall 12 and a bottom base wall 13 parallel and opposite to the top base wall 12. When the packet 1 is closed, the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 5 situated on the right in Figures 1 and 2 has a length, measured along a direction perpendicular to the small side walls 1 1 of the two shells 4 and 5, which is substantially the same as the width of the packet 1 , measured along the same direction, and has, running through a median zone of it, a line of weakness 14 perpendicular to the main direction of extension of the base wall 13 itself and constituting the aforementioned hinge 9. The bottom base wall 13 of the shell 4 situated on the left in Figures 1 and 2, on the other hand, has a length which is substantially equal to half the width of the packet 1 . One half of the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 5 is positioned on top of, and in contact with, the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 4 and is glued to that bottom base wall 13.

Along one side of them, the large side walls 10 are defined by an arcuate lateral edge 15 opposite to the straight edge which is connected to the respective side wall 1 1 .

The inner container 2 and the shells 4 and 5 are made by folding respective blanks 16, 17 and 18 illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

In the description which follows, the terms "longitudinal" and "transverse" refer to the direction of the axis of the cigarettes housed in the inner container 2, parallel to the main direction of extension of the packet 1 .

With reference to Figure 3, the blank 16 has two longitudinal lines of weakness 19 and two transverse lines of weakness 20 which define from the bottom up in the blank 16, between the two longitudinal lines of weakness 19, a panel 21 constituting one large side wall 6 of the container 2, a panel 22 constituting the base wall 8 and a panel 23 constituting the other large side wall 6.

The panel 21 has a pair of side flaps 24 constituting an outer part of the small side walls 7 of the container 2, located on opposite sides of the panel 21 and separated from the panel 21 itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 19. The panel 23 has a pair of side flaps 25 constituting an inner part of the small side walls 7, located on opposite sides of the panel 23 and separated from the panel 23 by the longitudinal lines of weakness 19. The side flaps 24 are connected to the panel 21 , by respective longitudinal lines of weakness 19, for only part of their length since a portion of them opposite to the one which is close to the panel 22 is separate from the panel 21 itself. A portion of each of the side flaps 24 substantially coinciding with the zone where the stretch of the side flap 24 detached from the panel 21 starts is weakened by a set of lines of weakness 24' running side by side and perpendicular to the longitudinal lines of weakness 19. The lines of weakness 24' provide the flaps 24 with considerable flexibility and pliability, which are properties useful for optimum handling of the packet 1 because they allow smooth, regular movements during opening and closing.

The side flaps 24 adjacent to the panel 21 have, on the side opposite to the panel 22, a pair of tongues 26, each of which is separated from the respective side flap 24 by a transverse line of weakness 27.

One end edge of each side flap 25 directed towards a side flap 24 has attached to it a tongue 29 separated from the respective side flap 25 by one of the aforementioned transverses line of weakness 20.

With reference to Figure 4, the blank 17 relating to the shell 4 has one longitudinal line of weakness 30 and a plurality of transverse lines of weakness 31 which define, on the right of the longitudinal line of weakness in Figure 4 itself and from the bottom up, a panel 32 constituting one of the aforementioned large side walls 10, an intermediate panel 33 constituting the bottom base wall 13 and a panel 34 constituting the other large side wall 10. Each panel 32, 34 is integral with a respective tongue 35 located on the side of the respective panel 32, 34 opposite to the panel 33 and is separated from the respective panel 32, 34 by a transverse line of weakness 31 .

On the left of the longitudinal line of weakness 30 (Figure 4), one edge of each of the panels 32 and 34 is connected to a respective rectangular panel 36, 37. An edge at the top of the panel 36 in Figure 4, on the same side as the panel 37, is connected to an edge of a reinforcement tongue 38 extending upwards and connected to the panel 36 by a transverse line of weakness 31 . A bottom portion of the panel 36 (Figure 4) is integral with a reinforcement tongue 39 located on the side opposite to the tongue 38 and is separated from the panel 36 itself, by a transverse line of weakness 31 .

With reference to Figure 5, the blank 18 relating to the shell 5 is the same as the blank 17 just described with the only difference that the blank 18 comprises an intermediate panel 40 which constitutes the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 5 and whose length, measured along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal line of weakness 30, is twice the length of the intermediate panel 33 of the blank 17, and in a median zone of the panel 40 there is a line of weakness 41 ', parallel to the longitudinal line of weakness 30, which defines a portion 41 of the intermediate panel 40 itself intended to project outwardly from the shell 5.

To make the container 2, the tongues 29 are folded by 90° about the top transverse line of weakness 20 of the blank 16, and the blank 16 is then folded by 90° along the two transverse lines of weakness 20 in such a way that the two panels 21 and 23 are positioned to face each other and are perpendicular to the panel 22 constituting the base wall 8 of the container 2 itself. The side flaps 25 are then folded by 90° about the longitudinal lines 19 which separate them from the panel 23 in such a way as to bring the tongues 29 underneath them to overlap and adhere to the panel 22; The side flaps 24 are also folded by 90° about the longitudinal lines 19 which separate them from the panel 21 and, thanks to a film of glue present thereon, they adhere to respective, previously folded side flaps 25. The tongues 26 are folded substantially by 180° towards the outside of the container 2, about the lines of weakness 27 for reasons which will become clearer as this description continues.

Each of the shells 4 and 5 is made by folding the tongue 38 by 90° about the transverse line of weakness 31 which connects it to the panel 37; by folding the two panels 32 and 34 by 90° (together with the panels which are integral therewith) along two transverse lines of weakness 31 in such a way that they are positioned to face each other and are perpendicular to the panel 33, 40 constituting the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 4, 5 itself; by folding the panel 36 by 90° about the longitudinal line of weakness 30 which separates it from the panel 32, in such a way as to make the tongue 38 integral with the panel 36 by overlapping and adhering to the panel 33, 40 constituting the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 4, 5, thereby connecting the tongue 38 to the panel 33, 40 by means of a film of glue on the panel 33, 40 itself; by folding the panel 37 by 90° about the longitudinal line of weakness 30 which separates it from the panel 34, in such a way as to make the panel 37 overlap and adhere to the panel 36 by means of a film of glue; by folding the tongue 39 by 90° about the transverse line of weakness 31 which connects it to the panel 36; in such a way as to position it parallel and opposite to the panel 33, 40; by folding the tongue 35 of the panel 32 by 90°about the transverse line of weakness 31 which connects it to the panel 32; in such a way that it overlaps and adheres to the tongue 39 by means of a film of glue; by folding the tongue 35 of the panel 34 by 90°about the transverse line of weakness 31 which connects it to the panel 34; in such a way as to place the tongue 35 of the panel 34 into contact with the tongue 35 of the panel 32 and to connect them to each other by means of a film of glue.

To make the packet 1 , as illustrated in particular in Figures 1 , 2, 6 and 7, the shells 4 and 5 and the container 2 are assembled as described below. After making a container 2 housing a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet, for example a sheet of foil paper, a shell 5 is made around the container 2 by folding the respective blank 18 in the manner described above. During this folding operation, the intermediate panel 40 which constitutes the bottom base wall 13 of the shell 5 is positioned underneath and in contact with the panel 22 constituting the base wall 8 of the container 2 itself. A shell 4 is then made by folding the respective blank 17 in the manner described above around the shell 5 already substantially formed and around the container 2 enclosed therein, and the surface of the panel 33 inside the shell 4 is positioned in contact with the surface of the portion 41 of the panel 40 outside the shell 5, thus connecting the panels 33 and 40 thanks to the glue on the outside portion 41 of the panel 40 itself.

The tongues 26, which, as described above, have been folded substantially by 180° towards the outside of the container 2 about the respective lines of weakness 27 thus adhere to the surfaces of the panels 36 inside the shells 4 and 5, and are securely connected to the panels 36 thanks to the films of glue on the surfaces of the tongues 26 which are in contact with the panels 36. These surfaces in contact with, and glued to each other, constitute the only connecting constraint between the inner container 2 and the outer container 2'.

In use, when the packet 1 is closed, the container 2 is completely enclosed within the shells 4 and 5, in the condition illustrated in Figures 1 and 6, and the shells 4 and 5 are partly interpenetrated to form in their entirety a box-shaped body substantially in the shape of a parallelepiped whose shape and size are the same as those of the container 2.

To open the packet 1 , it is necessary to grip the upper zones of the two shells 4 and 5, that is zones of the packet 1 opposite to the hinge 9, and to gently pull the upper zones of the two shells 4 and 5 away from each other.

When pulled in this way, the two shells 4 and 5 rotate about the hinge 9 and are moved from the condition shown in Figure 6 to that shown in Figure 7. During this rotation, the connection of the tongues 26 of the container 2 to the panels 36 of the shells 4 and 5 creates a pulling action to be applied to the container 2 through the flap 24 (upwards in Figure 7, that is, in the direction of the side opposite to the hinge 9), thereby pulling it out partly from the space between the shells 4 and 5 themselves. In this condition, the smokers' articles can be taken out of the packet 1 particularly easily.

As a result of what has just been described, the side flaps 24 (and the tongues 26 integral therewith) will hereinafter also be referred to as connecting means by which the inner container 2 is connected to respective portions of the two shells 4, 5 of the outer container 2. It should be noted that in use, the connecting means, which comprise portions of the inner container 2, have a plurality of parallel hinges, coinciding respectively with the set of lines of weakness 24' and with the transverse line of weakness 27 of the side flaps 24 of the blank 16.

After taking out a smokers' article, the user moves the shells 4 and 5 towards each other again, thus causing the container 2 to return between the shells 4 and 5 and closing the packet 1 .

It should be noted, as better illustrated in Figure 9, that the panels 32, 34 of the shell 5 have a longitudinal dimension which is slightly smaller than that of the corresponding panels 32, 34 of the shell 4 so as to allow the shell 5 to be partly inserted into the shell 4 so that, on completion of folding the packet 1 of Figure 1 is formed.

Figure 3a shows a variant embodiment of the blank 16 of Figure 3. In this variant embodiment, the side flaps 24 of a blank 53 both have a pair of lines of weakness 24', 24" which are spaced from each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal lines of weakness 19. The line of weakness 24' is located at a zone where the stretch of the side flap 24 separated from the panel 21 starts, and the intermediate line of weakness 24" is located at an intermediate zone between the lines of weakness 24' and 27. Figure 7a shows a packet 1 in cross section in the spaced-apart open position where the inner container 2 is obtained by folding the blank 53 of Figure 3a.

It should be noted that, in use, the connecting means (embodied by the side flaps 24 of the blank 53) have three parallel hinges, coinciding with the three lines of weakness 24', 24" and 27, respectively, which allow more regular and symmetrical rotational movements of the two shells 4 and 5 of the outer container 2'. More specifically, the intermediate hinges of the connecting means, corresponding to the intermediate lines of weakness 24" of the side flaps 24 of the blank 53, like the set of lines of weakness 24' of the side flaps 24 of the blank 16, allow the inner container 2 to come out with a smooth, easy movement because the intermediate hinges act as external centres of rotation. In effect, if the side flaps 24 had only two hinges 24' and 27, they would be subject to elastic yielding during rotation of the two shells 4 and 5, which would cause unpleasant, irregular movements.

Moreover, connecting means with sets of lines of weakness 24' and/or intermediate lines of weakness 24" on the side flaps 24 allow greater tolerance to assembly imprecision of the packet 1 .

Figure 8 shows a variant embodiment of the blanks 17 and 18 of Figures 4 and 5. In this variant embodiment, the blanks 17 and 18 may be substituted for a single blank 42 having the shape and components (denoted by the same reference numbers) of two blanks 17, 18 joined to each other by a connecting panel 43 whose dimensions are substantially the same as those of the intermediate panel 33 of the blank 17, at the edges of the panels 33, 40 opposite to the edges of them which face the panels 38; that is to say, the panel 43 is interposed between the edges of the panels 33, 40 opposite to the respective longitudinal lines of weakness 30.

The panels 33, 40 of the blanks 17, 18 are joined to the connecting panel 43 by respective lines of weakness 44 to form the blank 42.

Before being folded to form the shells 4 and 5, the blank 42 is doubly pre- folded (this operation being performed by the packing machine which makes the packets 1 or directly by the manufacturer of the blanks) at the lines of weakness 41 ' and 44 according to a style shown in Figures 9 and 10 (the latter showing a cross section X-X of the blank of Figure 9), so that the panels 32 and 34 corresponding to those of one blank 18 and the panels 32 and 34 corresponding to those of the other blank 17 are partly overlapped in pairs.

In the folding style illustrated in Figure 10, the portion 41 of the panel 40 is folded by 180° in one direction about the line of weakness 41 ' and by 180° in the opposite direction about the line of weakness 44 which joins the portion 41 itself to the connecting panel 43. After folding, the portion 41 is positioned in between the connecting panel 43 and the rest of the panel 40 and is fixed stably to the panels 43, 40 by means of glue.

According to an alternative folding style (not illustrated), the connecting panel 43 is folded by 180° about both lines of weakness 44, in opposite directions, and after folding, the panel 43 is positioned in between the intermediate panel 33 and the portion 41 of the panel 40 and is fixed to the panel 33 and to the portion 41 by means of glue.

The blank 42 thus pre-folded has a very stable shape and can be easily handled by a packing machine.

To make a packet 1 using a blank 42, a container 2 housing a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet is positioned with one large wall 6 in contact with the panels 32 of a blank 42 having the form shown in Figures 9 and 10. The tongues 38 are then folded by 90° about the transverse line of weakness 31 which connects it to the respective panels 36.

The panels 36 are then folded by 90° about the longitudinal lines of weakness 30 which separate them from the panels 32 in such a way as to bring the panels 36 into contact with the corresponding small walls 7 of the inner container 2 and the tongues 38 integral with the selfsame panels 36 into contact with the bottom base wall 8 of the inner container 2.

The two panels 34 are then folded, rigidly together with the panels 33, 40 and 43, by 90° about the transverse line of weakness 31 which joins the panels 33 and 40 to the panels 32, and the panels 34 are folded by 90° about the transverse line of weakness 31 which joins them to the panels 33 and 40, in such a way as to bring the selfsame panels 34 into contact with the large wall 6 of the container 2 opposite to the one already in contact with the panels 32. Next, the panels 37 are folded by 90° about the longitudinal lines of weakness 30 which separate them from the panels 34 and are connected stably to respective panels 36 by means of suitable films of glue.

Next, the tongues 39 are folded by 90° about the transverse lines of weakness 31 which join them to the respective panels 36. The tongues 35 connected to the panels 32 are then folded by 90° about respective transverse lines of weakness 31 against the top end wall of the container 2 and, lastly, the tongues 35 connected to the panels 34 are folded by 90° about respective lines of weakness 31 onto the tongues 35 just folded and are joined stably thereto by means of films of glue.

The single blank 45 of Figure 1 1 is similar in structural and functional terms to the single blank 42 of Figures 8-10. In the blank 45, the intermediate panels 33 and 40 of the blanks 17 and 18 are not joined to each other by the panel 43 and it is the tongues 35 of the blank 17 which are joined to respective tongues 35 of the blank 18 by respective pairs of connecting panels 46, 47 substantially the same as the panel 43 and mutually adjacent, joined to each other and to the tongues 35 themselves by lines of weakness 48.

The steps of assembling the packet 1 using the single blank 45 are similar to those described with reference to the blank 42, with the only difference that once the packet 1 has been made, central lines of weakness 48 between the pairs of panels 35, preferably the lines of weakness 48 between the panels 46 and 47, must be cut in such a way as to detach the upper zones of the two shells 4 and 5 from each other.

Figure 12 shows a further variant embodiment of the blanks described above, where the blanks 17 and 18 are substituted for a single blank 49. The blank 49 extends along a transverse line 51 ' along which the blank 49 itself has several weakened stretches which, in the following description, are referred to as transverse lines of weakness 51 . The blank 49 comprises a plurality of longitudinal lines of weakness 52 perpendicular to the transverse line 51 ' and has a substantially symmetrical structure about a longitudinal central reference line 52' parallel to the longitudinal lines of weakness 52.

The single blank 49 has a right-hand portion which is the same as the portion of the blank 45 located under the panels 34 and 37 in Figure 1 1 . The parts of this right-hand portion are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used for the corresponding parts of the blank of Figure 1 1 . With reference to Figure 12, the left-hand edge of the right-hand portion of the blank 49 is connected by a line of weakness 50 parallel to the longitudinal lines of weakness 52 of the right-hand portion itself to a left-hand portion whose shape is the same but vertically upturned as the shape of the portion of the blank 45 which, in Figure 1 1 , is located above the panels 32 and 36, without the panels 38 and without one of the panels 37.

In other words, the blank 49 extends along a transverse line 51 ', comprises a plurality of longitudinal lines of weakness 52 perpendicular to the transverse line 51 ' and has a substantially symmetrical structure about a longitudinal central reference line 52' parallel to the longitudinal lines of weakness 52. At the central longitudinal reference line 52' the blank 49 has a central panel 36 delimited on two opposite sides by two lines of weakness 50, 52. Following each other from the central panel 36 in two opposite directions along the transverse line 51 ' are first extended panels 32, 34 constituting a first large side wall 10 of one shell 4, 5. Connected by respective transverse lines of weakness 31 ', 51 to two opposite edges of the first panel 32, 34 parallel to the transverse line 51 ' are respective first tongues 33, 35 and a further tongue 35 connected to one of the first tongues 35 by two further panels 46, 47 which follow each other along the direction of the transverse line 51 ' and separated from each other by a line of weakness 48. One edge of the further tongue 35 parallel to the transverse line 51 ' is connected by a transverse line of weakness 51 to one edge of a second extended panel 32, 34 constituting a second large side wall 10 of a shell 4, 5. A further edge of the second extended panel 32, 34, opposite to the edge connected to the further tongue 35, is connected by a line of weakness 31 ' to a tongue 40. An end panel 36, 37 defining a small side wall 1 1 of a shell 4, 5 is connected to one side of the second extended panel 32, 34 by a longitudinal line of weakness 52 parallel to the longitudinal reference line 52'. Connected to two opposite edges of the end panel 36 (or, alternatively, of the panel 37) and of the central panel 36 by respective transverse lines of weakness 31 ', 51 perpendicular to the longitudinal reference line 52' are respective tongues 38, 39.

Before being folded to form the shells 4 and 5, the blank 49 is pre-folded (this operation being performed by the packing machine which makes the packets 1 or directly by the manufacturer of the blanks) at the two leftmost lines of weakness 48 and the two rightmost lines of weakness 48 relative to the line of weakness 50, according to a style shown in Figures 13 and 14, so that the panels 32 and 34 corresponding to those of one blank 18 and the panels 32 and 34 corresponding to those of the other blank 17 are partly overlapped in pairs. Similarly to what was described above for the blank 45, the panels 46, 47 folded about the lines of weakness 48 are stably connected to each other and to the first tongue 35 or to the further tongue 35 adjacent to them by films of glue.

To make a packet 1 using a blank 49, a container 2 housing a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet is positioned with one large wall 6 in contact with the panels 32 of a blank 49 having the form shown in Figures 13 and 14 (the latter showing a cross section XIV-XIV of the blank of Figure 13). The panels 36 are then folded by 90° about the longitudinal lines of weakness 52 which separate them from the panels 32, the panels 34 are in turn folded by 90° about the line of weakness 50 and the panel 37 is folded by 90° about the longitudinal line of weakness 52 which delimits it and adheres and is glued to an end panel 36 of the blank 49.

All the tongues 38 and 39 are then folded by 90° against the top end wall and against the bottom base wall 8 of the container 2, respectively, about the transverse lines of weakness 31 ', 51 which join them to respective panels 36 (or, alternatively, to the panel 37) and, lastly, all the tongues 33, 40 and 35 are folded by 90° against the top end wall and against the bottom base wall 8 of the container 2, respectively, about the transverse lines of weakness 31 ', 51 which join them to respective panels 32 and 34. If a container 2 is made using the blank 16 of Figure 3, when the packet 1 is open and the container 2 is partly extracted from the shells 4, and 5, there is no connection between the upper portion of the panel 21 and the flaps 24, thus leaving between the panel 21 and the folded flaps 25 a gap which alters the appearance of the packet 1 (Figure 7).

In order to overcome this drawback, it is possible, in a first variant embodiment of the blank 16 shown in Figure 15 and denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 54, to make in each flap 24 an indentation 28 (shown by way of example as having a right-angle trapezoidal shape) in the portion of the flap 24 adjacent to the panel 21 and extending from the transverse line of weakness 27 delimiting the tongue 26 up to the zone which, as described above, is weakened by a set of lines of weakness 24'. At each indentation 28 of a flap 24, the panel 21 has a tab 28' protruding laterally thereof, preferably being of the same shape and size as the indentation 28 and housed inside the indentation 28 itself. Each tab 28' is joined to the panel 21 by a portion of the aforementioned longitudinal lines of weakness 19.

When the container 2 made using the blank 54 is assembled, each tab 28' is folded by 90° about the longitudinal line of weakness 19, which joins it to the panel 21 , and is glued to a portion of the folded flap 25 adjacent thereto inside the container 2. This eliminates the gap between the panel 21 and the flaps 25 and appreciably improves the appearance of the packet 1 .

The aforementioned drawback, consisting of gaps between the panel 21 and the flaps 25, can also be overcome using the blank shown in Figures 16 and 16a and denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 55.

The blank 55 differs from the blank 16 of Figure 3 in that the edges of the flaps 25 opposite to those which delimit the panel 23 are joined by respective lines of weakness 56 to respective flaps 57 extending alongside the flaps 25 themselves.

When the container 2 made using the blank 55 is assembled, each flap 57 (as shown in Figure 16a) is folded by 90° about the line of weakness 56, which joins it to the flap 25, and is glued to a corresponding portion of the panel 21 inside the container 2. In this case, too, the above mentioned gap between the panel 21 and the flaps 25 is no longer present.

The aforementioned drawback, consisting of gaps between the panel 21 and the flaps 25, can also be overcome using the blank shown in Figures 17 and 17a and denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 58.

The blank 58 is similar to the blank 16 of Figure 3 but does not have the tongues 26 and the edges of the flaps 24 opposite to those which delimit the panel 21 are partly joined by respective lines of weakness 59 parallel to the longitudinal lines of weakness 19 to respective flaps 60 extending alongside the flaps 24 themselves. The side flaps 60 are connected to the flaps 24, by respective lines of weakness 59, for only part of their length since a portion of them opposite to the one which is close to the panel 22 is separate from the flap 24 itself. Each of the flaps 60 is substantially the same as the flaps which, in the blank 16 of Figure 3, are denoted by the reference numeral 24, is connected at the end of it furthest from the panel 22 to a tongue 62 equal to the aforementioned tongue 26 by a transverse line of weakness 61 and is provided with the same set of lines of weakness 24' running side by side and perpendicular to the longitudinal lines of weakness 59.

When the container 2 made using the blank 58 is assembled, each flap 24 (as shown in Figure 17a) is folded by 90° about the longitudinal line of weakness 19, which joins it to the panel 21 , and is glued to a corresponding portion of the panel 25. Each flap 60 is in turn folded by 180° relative to the flap 24 adjacent thereto about a line of weakness 59 in such a way as to be placed against the flap 24 itself.

As result, while a packet 1 is being assembled using a blank 58, each tongue 62 of a flap 60 is connected to one of the shells 4, 5 in the same way as the tongue 26 of the blank 16 but, in this case, the problem created by the presence of the gap between the panel 21 and the flaps 25 in the panel 16 is no longer present.

In a variant embodiment not illustrated, instead of the sets of lines of weakness 24', the blanks 54, 55 and 58 may have a single line of weakness 24' and a further, intermediate line of weakness 24" located, respectively, in an intermediate zone of the stretch of the side flap 24 detached from the panel 21 (in the blanks 54 and 55) or of the stretch of the flap 60 detached from the side flap 24 (in the blank 58).

The packet 1 of this invention is therefore free of the defects of prior art, swing-open rigid packets, is simpler to make and allows the outer container 2' to be opened and closed with a continuous, smooth and easy movement. Moreover, rotation of the two shells 4 and 5 of the outer container 2' is symmetrical about the inner container 2 so that, during opening, the inner container 2 does not jam against one of the shells 4 and/or 5 and the opening 3 for taking out the cigarettes comes all the way out of the outer container 2' and is in a centred position when the packet 1 is in the spaced-apart, open position.