SHOULDER PACK AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF

The present invention relates to a novel hinge-lid pack containing smoking articles such as cigarettes and a process for the production of such a pack. It is known to package elongate smoking articles in containers formed from folded laminar blanks. Elongate smoking articles, such as cigarettes and cigars, are commonly sold in hinge-lid packs having a box portion and a lid portion that is hinged to a wall of the box portion. In use, the consumer pivots the lid portion about the hinge to open the pack and so gain access to the smoking articles held in the box portion. One such type of hinge-lid pack is the so-called "shoulder pack". A shoulder pack comprises a box portion typically containing two parallel rows, or layers, of smoking articles and including an opening through which the smoking articles may be removed. The shoulder pack further comprises a lid portion having a top wall that, when the lid is closed, covers the opening in the box portion. The layers of cigarettes in a shoulder pack are typically parallel to both the bottom wall of the box portion and the opening in the box portion, through which they are removed. The cigarettes are therefore exposed along their entire length when the lid portion is open.

It would be desirable to provide a pack that provides novel ways for the consumer to open the lid portion in order to access the smoking articles within the pack and a method for producing such a pack. According to the invention there is provided a method of producing a pack of smoking articles comprising: forming a pack from a laminar blank, wherein the pack comprises a box portion comprising a bottom wall and having an opening, and a lid portion having a top wall which covers the opening in the box portion when the lid portion is closed; cutting the lid portion of the pack to form first and second separable hinged portions connected to the box portion along first and second hinge lines, respectively, wherein each hinge line extends along a side wall of the pack; and filling the pack with one or more layers of smoking articles, each layer being substantially parallel to the opening.

It is preferred to first cut the lid portion of the pack to form the first and second hinge portions and then to fill the pack with smoking articles. Alternatively, the pack may be filled with smoking articles before the lid portion is cut to form the first and second hinge portions.

A laminar blank of the type conventionally used to make shoulder boxes may be used. The blank may be folded and glued in order to assemble the pack using conventional methods and machinery. The cutting step is preferably carried out using a laser.

Preferably, the method of the present invention further comprises the step of applying retention means to the lid portion after the cutting step such that the first and second hinged portions are held together during the filling step. The inclusion of this step advantageously allows for the use of conventional filling machinery, since after the application of the retention

means, the hinged portions are connected to each other and move together as if the lid portion had not been cut. The retention means may be removed from the pack after filling, or may be left on the pack for the consumer to remove. Preferably, the retention means is a removable adhesive label that is applied to the lid portion prior to the filling step and is removed thereafter. Preferably, the filled pack is wrapped in a transparent overwrap. The overwrap retains the hinged portions in the closed position.

According to the invention there is also provided a pack of smoking articles produced by the method described above, the pack comprising: a box portion comprising a bottom wall and having an opening; one or more layers of smoking articles inside the box portion, each layer being substantially parallel to the bottom wall; and a lid portion having a top wall which covers the opening in the box portion when the lid portion is closed. The lid portion comprises first and second separable hinged portions connected to the box portion along first and second hinge lines, respectively, wherein each hinge line extends along a side wall of the pack.

The term "side wall" refers to each of the walls of the pack extending perpendicular to the one or more layers of smoking articles inside the box portion. Each side wall in the pack of the present invention extends between the bottom wall of the box portion and the top wall of the lid portion when the lid portion is in the closed position. In the closed position of the lid portion, the side walls of the pack are formed from the side walls of the box portion and the corresponding side walls of the lid portion, which abut each other. In use, the pack according to the present invention lies on the bottom wall with the opening facing upwards so that when the lid portion is opened smoking articles may be removed from the upper side of the pack.

The term "hinge line" refers to a line about which a part of the lid portion may be pivoted in order to open the pack. A hinge line may be, for example, a crease line, a fold line or a score line in the material connecting a part of the lid portion with a corresponding part of the box portion. Alternatively, a hinge line may be formed by a piece of material connecting both a part of the lid portion and a corresponding part of the box portion. Such a piece of material may be, for example, a label which is permanently or removably attached to a part of the lid portion and the corresponding part of the box portion. In this case, the hinge line is part of the label. The hinged portions may be separate from each other, or may require separation from each other. For example, the hinged portions may be held together with an adhesive label, or other retention means, which the consumer must remove before opening the pack.

Each of the hinged portions acts as a hinge-lid over a portion of the opening. The present invention therefore provides packs of smoking articles having multiple hinge-lids, rather than a single hinge-lid, as is conventional. The hinged portions are preferably pivotable independently from each other. As a result, the consumer is presented with a greater number of ways in which to open the lid portion of the pack in order to access the smoking articles. It

may be possible, for example, to access the smoking articles by opening one of the hinged portions, while leaving the remaining hinged portion or portions closed. Alternatively, all of the hinged portions may be opened in order to expose the entire opening in the box portion. The hinged portions may require opening in a particular order, or the consumer may be able to choose the order in which they are opened.

When the pack is closed, the hinged portions close together to form the top wall and the side walls of the lid portion such that the opening in the box portion is fully covered.

Preferably, the lid portion consists of the first and second hinged portions only. The first and second hinged portions may be provided by cutting the lid portion into two segments along a line extending across the top wall thereof and down the front and rear walls, so that the hinged portions are separable. The line along which the lid portion is cut may be a straight line, or a curved line, or may comprise one or more straight or curved portions or combinations thereof. Alternatively, the line may reflect the brand of the smoking articles contained within the pack, for example, by being cut in the shape of a logo. The size of the first hinged portion may be the same as, or different to the size of the second hinged portion. In addition, the shape of the first hinged portion may be the same as, or different to the shape of the second hinged portion.

The first and second hinge lines may extend along the same side wall of the pack. In this case the first and second hinged portions open towards the same side of the pack. Alternatively, the first and second hinge lines may extend along perpendicular or opposing side walls of the pack so that the first and second hinge lines open towards different sides of the pack.

The lid portion may comprise more than two separable portions. For example, in one preferred embodiment, each of the four side walls of a rectangular pack has a hinged portion connected thereto along a hinge line extending along that side wall. The multiple hinged portions may be provided by cutting the lid portion as described above, but with two or more lines, as appropriate.

The top wall of the lid portion may form the entire top wall of the pack when the pack is closed. Alternatively, the top wall of the lid portion may provide a portion of the top wall of the pack, while the remaining portion of the top wall of the pack is provided by a fixed top wall of the box portion. In the latter case, the opening will not cover the entire surface of the pack and the size of the opening is determined by the size of the fixed portion of the top wall.

Preferably, the pack further comprises an inner frame mounted in the box portion between the box portion and the one or more layers of smoking articles, at least a portion of which projects from the box portion into space covered by the lid portion in a closed position.

Preferably, the pack further comprises lifting means for at least partially raising the smoking articles from within the box portion when the lid portion is opened. The lifting means

may be provided by the inner frame, which may be connected to the inside of a side wall of one of the hinged portions such that the inner frame and one side of the smoking articles mounted inside it is automatically raised out of the box portion when that hinged portion is opened. Alternatively, the pack may comprise an insert, upon which the smoking articles are mounted and which functions in the same way as the inner frame described above. Such an insert is described in detail in US-A-2004/0232015. The insert may be provided, for example, by a laminar sheet of cardboard, or paper. Preferably, the insert is transparent.

Preferably, the pack comprises retention means to help retain the lid portion in a closed position with the edges of the walls thereof abutting the upper edges of the walls of the box portion. Particularly preferably, the retention means are integral to the pack. For example, the integral retention means may comprise a tab provided on the inner frame and a cooperating slot provided in the lid portion of the pack, the slot being positioned to accept the tab when the lid portion is in the closed position. Alternatively, the retention means may comprise features that are incorporated into the pack during or after manufacture, such as magnets, or adhesive labels. For example, a removable adhesive label may be applied over the cut in the lid portion, thereby holding the hinged portions together. The consumer must remove the label before opening the lid portion to access the smoking articles and may re-apply the label once the lid portion has been re-closed.

The hinged portions of the lid portion may each be associated with retention means to retain them in the closed position. Alternatively, one or more of the hinged portions may be retained in the closed position by another of the hinged portions, so that it is not necessary for every hinged portion of the lid to be associated with retention means. For example, the hinged portions may be provided with flaps which interlock with flaps on the adjacent hinged portions.

Alternatively, the hinged portions may be arranged with one hinged portion at least partially overlying an adjacent hinged portion, such that the underlying hinged portion can only be opened once the hinged portion overlying it has been opened. In this way, the number of retention means required to keep all of the hinged portions closed can be minimised. For example, in a preferred embodiment, one hinged lid portion locks the adjacent hinged portion in a closed position due to the slope of the cut of the lid portion along the side walls of the lid portion. Preferably the angle between the cut and the top of the pack is between about 30 degrees and 90 degrees. More preferably the angle is between about 45 degrees to about 75 degrees. More preferably the angle is about 60 degrees.

Preferably, at least one of the separable hinged portions is connected to the box portion by a resilient connecting member such that it springs from a closed to an open position when moved, thereby providing improved access to the smoking articles within the pack. An arrangement of this type is described in WO-A-2006/061563.

Preferably, the pack contains one to five layers, each of about 5 to about 20 smoking articles, more preferably two layers of about 10 smoking articles.

Preferably, the one or more layers of smoking articles are wrapped together as a single bundle in an inner liner of, for example, metal foil, plastic or metallised paper. The inner liner may comprise means to reclose or reseal the bundle. Alternatively, the pack contains two or more bundles of smoking articles. Preferably, the two or more bundles are arranged side by side, each containing one to five layers of smoking articles. Preferably, the two or more bundles of smoking articles contain smoking articles which differ, for example, by length, width, brand or composition or combinations thereof. Packs of smoking articles according to the invention may be substantially rectangular parallelepipedal in shape, with right-angled longitudinal and right-angled transverse edges. Alternatively, the box portion or the lid portion or both the box portion and the lid portion of packs of smoking articles according to the invention may comprise one or more rounded longitudinal edges, rounded transverse edges, bevelled longitudinal edges or bevelled transverse edges, or combinations thereof. For example, by scoring in a known manner a laminar blank from which the box portion and the lid portion of the pack are erected, a "rounded- corner" pack of cigarettes or other smoking articles according to the invention may be produced. Alternatively, the pack according to the invention may be of triangular shape, of trapezoidal shape, of parallelepipedal shape, of rhombic shape, of hexagonal shape, of octagonal shape, of circular shape, of oval shape or have any other boundaries. In the embodiments of the shoulder pack according to the invention which are not rectangular, preferably an inlay is provided inside the box portion to allow a proper alignment of the smoking articles inside the pack. Preferably the space between such a rectangular inlay and the side walls is covered or filled. The smoking articles may be, for example, cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. Preferably, the smoking articles are cigarettes. It will be appreciated that through an appropriate choice of the dimensions thereof, packs according to the invention containing different numbers of conventional size, king size, super-king size, slim or super-slim cigarettes may be produced.

The pack may be formed from any suitable materials including, but not limited to, cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal, or combinations thereof. Preferably, the pack is formed from a folded laminar blank, more preferably from a folded laminar cardboard blank. Preferably, the cardboard has a weight of between about 100 grams per square metre and about 350 grams per square metre.

One or more of the hinged portions of the lid may be formed from a different material to the other hinged portions and the remainder of the pack. For example, one or more of the hinged portions may be formed from a transparent material, while the other portions and the remainder of the pack are formed from cardboard.

Packs of smoking articles according to the invention may be shrink wrapped or otherwise overwrapped with a transparent polymeric film of, for example, polyethylene or polypropylene in a conventional manner. Where packs of smoking articles are overwrapped, the overwrap may include a tear tape. The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a pack of smoking articles according to a first embodiment of the present invention with the lid closed;

Figure 2 shows the pack of Figure 1 with the lid portion open and the smoking articles; Figure 3 shows a pack of smoking articles according to a second embodiment of the present invention with the lid portion closed; and

Figure 4 shows a pack of smoking articles according to a third embodiment of the present invention with the lid portion closed.

The pack 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a rectangular parallelepiped and comprises a lower box portion 14 and an upper lid portion 12 having the same general construction as the box portion and lid portion of a conventional shoulder box for cigarettes.

The lower box portion 14 comprises a bottom wall, a left side wall, a right side wall 16, a front side wall 18 and a rear side wall. A wrapped bundle of cigarettes is mounted inside the lower box portion 14. The bundle consists of two rows, or layers, of cigarettes which are substantially parallel to each other and to the base wall of the box portion. The upper side of the box portion 14 is open so that the cigarettes may be removed from the pack when the lid portion is in the open position. For the sake of clarity, in Figure 2 the pack is shown with the bundle of cigarettes removed.

An inner cardboard frame 20 is mounted in the box portion 14 between the inner walls 16, 18 thereof and the bundle of cigarettes. The inner frame 20 extends upwardly from the side walls of the box portion 14 into space covered by the lid portion 12 when the pack 10 is in a closed position.

The upper lid portion 12 comprises a top wall 22, a left side wall, a right side wall 24, a front side wall 26, 27 and a rear side wall. When the lid portion 12 is closed, the side walls 24, 26, 27 form extensions of the corresponding side walls 16, 18 of the box portion 14 to define the side walls 16, 18, 24, 26, 27 of the pack 10 and the top wall 22 of the lid portion 12 and the base wall of the box portion 14 are parallel and opposed.

The lid portion 12 is made up of right 28 and left 30 hinged portions that are separable along a cut 32 extending in a straight line across the centre of the top wall 28 from front to back thereof and down the front side walls 26, 27 and rear side walls along the cut 33. The front side walls 26, 27 and rear side walls are each cut into a right lid side wall 27 and a left lid side wall

26 at the same angle of approximately 60 degrees to their upper edges. The right hinged

portion 28 is pivotable about a horizontal hinge line 25 that extends along the right side wall 16 of the pack 10. Similarly, the left hinged portion 30 is pivotable about a horizontal hinge line (not visible) that extends horizontally along the left side wall of the pack. Accordingly, the right hinged portion 28 opens towards the right hand side of the pack 10, while the left hinged portion 30 opens towards the left hand side of the pack 10.

The box portion 14 and lid portion 12 are formed from a single cardboard blank and the right side wall 24 of the lid portion 12 and the right side wall 16 of the box portion 14 are integral. The hinge line 25 about which the right hinged portion 28 is pivotable is provided by a fold line extending along the right side wall of the pack. Conversely, the left side wall of the lid portion 12 and the left side wall of the box portion 14 are separate from each other and the hinge line about which the left hinged portion is pivotable is created by the application of a permanent or non-permanent adhesive label on the left side wall of the pack. This label keeps the left side walls of the box portion 14 and lid portion 12 together. The adhesive label is flexible enough that the left hinged portion 30 is pivotable about the connecting line between the left side wall of the box portion 14 and the left side wall of the lid portion 12.

Due to the 60 degree angle of the cut in the front side walls 26, 27 and rear side walls of the lid portion 12 in the closed position, the edge of the left lid side wall 26 effectively locks the edge of the right lid side wall 27. In use, the left hinged portion 30 must therefore be opened before the right hinged portion 28 may be opened. In order to access the smoking articles within the pack 10, the left hinged portion 30 may be opened only to expose one end of the cigarettes, or both hinged portions may be opened to expose the full length of the cigarettes.

The left hinged portion 30 is retained in a closed position by means of a pair of opposed locking devices provided in the front and rear walls of the pack. A first locking device 34 extends horizontally approximately 2 to 7 mm along the front wall of the left hinged portion 30 and consists of a slot 34 in the left lid side wall 26 and a cooperating tab 42 in the inner frame 20, (see Figure 2). The slot 34 is positioned to accept the tab 42 when the left hinged portion 30 is closed. A second, identical locking device is provided opposite the first locking device in the rear wall of the left hinged portion 30.

A conventional shoulder pack blank may be used to produce the pack 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2. The blank is folded and glued in the conventional manner in order to assemble the pack 10 and an adhesive label (indicated by reference numeral 82 in Figure 4) is applied to the top wall 22, also covering each of the side walls of the pack 10. With the adhesive labels on the side walls 16, 18, 24, 26, 27 still intact, the lid portion 12 is cut using a laser, to form the left 30 and right 28 hinged portions. A removable label (not shown) is then applied to the cut top wall 22 of the lid portion 12 in order to hold the hinged portions together and retain the integrity of the top wall 22 of the pack 10 during subsequent steps in the production process. In

particular, the application of an adhesive label to the top wall 22 of the lid portion 12 allows the use of conventional machinery to fill the box portion 14 with the cigarettes.

The adhesive labels covering the front, rear and left side walls of the pack 10 are then cut in the conventional manner, leaving intact the label covering the right side wall that includes the fold line about which the right hinged portion is pivotable.

In the same or a subsequent process, the pack 10 is filled with one or more wrapped bundles of smoking articles, in the conventional manner, and the lid portion 12 is closed. A permanent adhesive label is applied to the left side wall of the pack in order to connect the left hinged portion 30 to the lower box portion 14 and to provide a hinge line about which the left hinged portion pivots. The removable label covering the top wall 22 of the lid portion 12 is then removed and the filled pack 10 is over wrapped in the conventional manner with a transparent film. All of the above steps may be carried out in a semi-automated process and advantageously, all of the conventional process steps may be carried out using conventional machinery. In an alternative process, the removable label on the top wall of the lid portion is left in place such that the consumer needs to remove it before the hinged portions can be opened.

The pack shown in Figures 1 and 2 may alternatively be produced manually, if desired. In the manual production process, the adhesive labels are cut only on the side walls that are not intended to include hinge lines for the lid portion, that is, the front and rear side walls. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply a removable label to the top wall of the lid portion, nor is it necessary to apply an additional adhesive label to the left side wall, since the original adhesive label on the left side wall will not have been cut previously.

The pack 50 shown in Figure 3 is of similar construction to the pack 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, the lid portion 52 is cut into right 54 and left 56 hinged portions along an S- shaped line 58 extending across the centre of the top wall 60 from front to back thereof, rather than a straight line. As in the pack 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2, the front 62 and rear walls of the lid portion 52 are each cut at about 60 degrees to their upper edges.

The pack 50 may be manufactured using the process described above for producing pack 10, except that the top wall 60 of the lid portion 52 is cut along an S-shaped line 58, rather than a straight line.

The pack 70 shown in Figure 4 is of similar construction to the packs 10, 50 shown in Figures 1 to 3. However, the lid portion 72 is cut into four hinged portions 75, 76, 77, 78 along two diagonal lines 73, 74 extending between the corners of the top wall 78 of the lid portion 72 and down the edges between the side walls of the pack 70. Permanent adhesive labels 82 are applied to the front 80, rear and left side walls of the pack 70 in order to provide hinge lines 83 for each of the hinged portions 75, 76, 77, 78 to pivot about.

The pack 70 may be manufactured using a similar process to the process described above for producing pack 10. However, permanent adhesive labels must be applied to the front and rear side walls of the pack 70 in addition to the left side wall. Alternatively, the labels applied to the side walls at the start of the process may all be left intact, rather than cutting them in the conventional manner described above. In addition, the lid portion 72 is cut along two diagonal lines 73, 74 extending between diagonally opposite corners of the top wall 78, rather than in a straight line across the centre.