U.S. patent application number 12/810796 was filed with the patent office on 2011-07-28 for packaging for tobacco industry products.
Invention is credited to Kevin Blick, Dennis Lee Potter.
Application Number | 20110180432 12/810796 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40344319 |
Filed Date | 2011-07-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110180432 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Blick; Kevin ; et
al. |
July 28, 2011 |
Packaging for Tobacco Industry Products
Abstract
Packaging for tobacco industry products such as cigarettes
comprises a closed container (1) having a main body (2) and a flip
top (3), coated with a continuous layer of transparent plastics
material (6) to provide an air-tight seal. The container (1) can be
pressurised with e.g. nitrogen gas through a one-way valve (8). The
package can be biodegradable, with the container (1), its interior
wrapping (5) and outer coating (6) all being made of biodegradable
material.
Inventors: |
Blick; Kevin; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Potter; Dennis Lee; (Tokyo, JP) |
Family ID: |
40344319 |
Appl. No.: |
12/810796 |
Filed: |
November 26, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
November 26, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP08/66246 |
371 Date: |
February 28, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/265 ; 53/203;
53/396 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/2053 20130101;
B65B 33/00 20130101; B65D 85/1054 20130101; B65D 81/2084 20130101;
B65D 81/2076 20130101; B65B 19/02 20130101; B65D 85/1045 20130101;
B65D 81/2061 20130101; B65D 81/2015 20130101; Y02W 90/10
20150501 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/265 ; 53/396;
53/203 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/10 20060101
B65D085/10; B65B 11/00 20060101 B65B011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 27, 2007 |
JP |
2007-335780 |
Claims
1. A package, comprising a closed container that contains tobacco
industry products, and a coating of plastics material that has been
applied to the container in a layer that provides an airtight seal
between the interior and exterior of the container.
2. The package according to claim 1, including a valve to that
establishes a pressure differential between the interior and
exterior of the container.
3. The package according to claim 1, with a pressure differential
between the inside and the outside of the container.
4. The package according to claim 2, wherein the pressure
differential comprises increased pressure within the container.
5. The package according to claim 3, wherein the container contains
an inert gas.
6. The package according to claim 1, including an interior wrapping
between the container and the tobacco industry products.
7. The package according to claim 6, wherein the interior wrapping
is biodegradable.
8. The package according to claim 1, wherein the container
comprises a main body and a lid that when opened provides access to
the tobacco industry products, the layer of plastics material
providing a seal between the main body and the lid.
9. The package according to claim 8, including a line of weakness
in the layer of plastics material to facilitate opening of the
lid.
10. The package according to claim 8, including a tear strip that
provides the line of weakness.
11. The package according to claim 9, wherein the line of weakness
comprises a line of reduced thickness in the plastics layer.
12. The package according to claim 1, wherein the container is made
of air-permeable material and the plastics layer extends over the
entire exterior surface of the container.
13. The package according to claim 1, wherein the container is made
of carton board material.
14. The package according to claim 1, wherein the plastics layer
comprises a polypropylene polymer or a polyethylene polymer.
15. The package according to claim 1, wherein the plastics layer
includes an additive to facilitate decomposition of the plastics
material.
16. The package according to claim 1, wherein the plastics layer
includes an additive to enhance the airtight seal provided by the
plastics material.
17. A method of packaging tobacco industry products, comprising
applying an airtight sealant coating of plastics material to a
container containing the tobacco products airtight.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein applying includes
spray-coating the exterior of the container with the plastics
material.
19. The method according to claim 17, wherein applying includes
passing the container through a curtain of liquid coating
material.
20. The method according to claim 17, wherein applying includes
wrapping the container with a sheet of meltable plastics material
and melting the sheet to form the coating.
21. The method according to claim 20, including passing the
container through a tunnel fed with heated air to melt the
wrapping.
22. The method according to claim 21, including allowing the
container to free-fall downwardly through the tunnel against an
upward flow of the heated air.
23. The method according to claim 17, wherein applying includes
dipping the container in the plastics material to form the
layer.
24. The method according to claim 17, wherein the container
comprises a main body and a lid that when opened povides access to
the tobacco industry products, the layer of plastics material
providing: a seal between the main body and the lid, and a line of
weakness in the layer of plastics material that facilitates opening
of the lid.
25. The method according to claim 24, including providing a tear
strip on the container either before or after applying the plastics
layer.
26. The method according to claim 17, including creating a pressure
differential between the interior and the exterior of the container
when coated with the plastics material.
27. The method according to claim 26, including fitting a valve to
the container and establishing the pressure differential through
the valve.
28. The method according to claim 26, including pumping a gas into
the container to create a positive pressure therein.
29. The method according to claim 17, including providing an
additive in the plastics material to facilitate decomposition of
the plastics material.
30. The method according to claim 17, including providing an
additive in the plastics material to enhance the quality of
airtight seal provided by the applied plastics material.
31. An apparatus for packaging tobacco industry products, the
apparatus comprising: a packaging device operable to pack tobacco
products into a container, and a coating device operable to coat
the container with a plastics material in a layer that provides an
airtight seal.
32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the coating device
comprises a spray coating device.
33. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the coating device
is operable to create a curtain of liquid coating material through
which the container passes.
34. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the coating device
is operable to wrap the container with a sheet of meltable plastics
material and melt the sheet to form the coating.
35. The apparatus according to claim 34, including a tunnel fed
with heated air to melt the wrapping.
36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the tunnel is
disposed vertically so that the container free-falls downwardly
through the tunnel against an upward flow of the heated air.
37. The apparatus according claim 31 including a device for fitting
a valve to the container for establishing a pressure differential
between the interior and exterior thereof.
38. The apparatus according to claim 37, including a gaseous supply
source for pumping gas into the container through the valve.
39. The apparatus according to claim 37, including a vacuum pump
for evacuating gas from the container through the valve.
40. The apparatus according to claim 31 including a device for
fitting a tear strip to the container.
41. The apparatus according to claim 31, including a device for
forming a line of weakness in the plastics layer on the
container.
42. A package comprising: a container, and tobacco products within
a flexible hermetically sealed bag, within the container.
43. The package according to claim 42, including a valve in the bag
that establishes a pressure differential between the interior and
exterior of the bag.
44. The package according to claim 42, including means for
rupturing the hermetically sealed bag and allowing access to the
tobacco products.
45. The package according to claim 42 wherein the container is made
of carton board and the bag is made of plastics material.
46. The package according to claim 42, wherein the tobacco industry
products comprise cigarettes.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to packaging tobacco industry
products, for example smokeable tobacco products such as
cigarettes.
[0002] Conventional cigarette box packaging consists of a bundle of
cigarettes wrapped in a paper/metal foil laminate sheet, received
in a container typically formed of carton board. The container
usually has a hinged lid to provide access to the cigarette bundle.
The container is often formed from a pre-printed blank of SBS board
stock which is folded and wrapped around the cigarette bundle. The
container is wrapped in a heat sealable clear film, most commonly
polypropylene with an embedded tear tape to assist in easy
opening.
[0003] Of these packaging components, only the outermost film
contributes in a significant manner to the shelf life stability of
the packaged cigarettes. The plastics film acts as a moisture
barrier but its effectiveness is highly dependent upon obtaining
adequate seals in the folded, overlapped areas of the film wrap.
Nevertheless, the low moisture barrier transmission rate through
the plastics film helps maintain the starting moisture and other
volatile components of the cigarettes as manufactured, when the
packaged cigarettes are exposed to environments that have either a
higher or lower relative humidity than the internal humidity of the
cigarette pack. Whilst polypropylene film has commonly been
employed as the outer wrapping, other film materials have been used
which offer reduced moisture transmission rates, for example vacuum
metallised plastics films but these materials are still highly
dependent upon achieving a proper seal of the folded, overlapped
areas of the film when wrapped around the container.
[0004] Alternative packages have been proposed to replace the
interior wrapping or the SBS board with materials and structures
that provide the requisite moisture barrier properties, thereby
eliminating the need for an exterior film of plastics material as
an over-wrap. Examples include rigid, injection moulded plastic
packs with integral seals. However, these approaches are not
suitable for use with conventional, carton board containers
produced in high volume by mass production techniques.
[0005] In one aspect, the invention provides a package comprising a
closed container that contains tobacco industry products, and a
coating of plastics material that has been applied to the container
in a layer that provides an air tight seal between the interior and
exterior of the container.
[0006] By applying the plastics material as a coating, a continuous
layer can be provided over the entire exterior of the container
avoiding the need to provide sealed joints, and thereby providing
an improved seal between the interior and exterior of the
container.
[0007] A valve may be provided to allow a pressure differential to
be established between the interior and exterior of the container.
The pressure differential may comprise an increased pressure within
the container, created for example with an inert gas such as
nitrogen.
[0008] An interior wrapping may be provided between the container
and the tobacco products, which can be bio-degradable.
[0009] The container may be fabricated of air-permeable material
such as carton board, for example SBS, and the plastics layer may
extend over the entire exterior surface of the container to provide
the airtight seal. The plastics layer may comprise a polymer for
example polypropylene or polyethylene, and may include an additive
to facilitate decomposition of the plastics material and/or an
additive to enhance the airtight seal provided by the plastics
material.
[0010] The container may have a main body and a lid that can be
opened to provide access the tobacco products, the layer of
plastics material providing a seal between the main body and the
lid.
[0011] A line of weakness may be provided in the layer of plastics
material to facilitate opening of the lid, in the form of a tear
strip or a line of reduced thickness in the plastics layer.
[0012] The invention also includes a method of packaging tobacco
industry products, comprising applying a coating of plastics
material to a container containing the tobacco products, to render
the container airtight.
[0013] The invention further provides apparatus for packaging
tobacco industry products, the apparatus including a packaging
device operable to pack tobacco industry products into a container,
and a coating device to coat the container with a plastics material
in a layer that provides an airtight seal.
[0014] In a further aspect the invention provides a package
comprising a container, and tobacco products within a flexible
hermetically sealed bag, within the container.
[0015] A valve may be provided in the bag to allow a pressure
differential to be established between the interior and exterior of
the bag. Means for rupturing the hermetically sealed bag may be
provided to allow access to the tobacco industry products.
[0016] In order that the invention may be more fully understood
embodiments thereof will now be described by way of illustrative
example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pack of cigarettes with
its lid open;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 with
the lid shut;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a pack shown in FIGS. 1 and
2;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of apparatus for
packaging cigarettes;
[0021] FIGS. 5A-5C are schematic illustrations of the progress of a
container through an alternative form of coating station that
utilises a curtain of coating material;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a schematic part sectional view of another
embodiment of coating station that utilises a heated tunnel of air;
and
[0023] FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of an alternative
embodiment of cigarette pack in accordance with the invention.
[0024] FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate a pack of cigarettes in accordance
with the invention that comprises a container 1 in the form of a
rectangular main body 2 with a hinged, flip-top lid 3 that contains
two parallel rows of filter cigarettes 4 contained with an inner
wrapping 5.
[0025] The container 1 may be made from carton board such as SBS by
folding from a pre-printed blank in a manner known per se. The
inner wrapping 5 may be formed of paper and need not include a
metal foil laminate, and so is bio-degradable.
[0026] As shown clearly in FIG. 3, the outer surface of the
container 1 is coated with a plastics material to provide a
continuous coating 6 which provides an airtight seal. As
illustrated in FIG. 2, a tear strip 7 is configured around the join
between the main body 2 and the lid 3, so as to allow the user to
remove the strip 7 and thereby break the continuity of the coating
6 and permit the lid 3 to be opened. The tear strip 7 may be
applied to the container prior to the application of the coating 6
or subsequently. The tear strip 7 thus provides a line of weakness
to enable opening of the lid. The line of weakness can be created
in alternative ways and for example, the plastics coating 6 may be
scored or otherwise thinned without rupturing along the perimeter
of the lid 3 to permit opening of the lid.
[0027] A one-way valve 8 is fitted into a wall of the container 1.
The valve allows the pressure differential to be established
between the interior and exterior of the container. Conveniently,
the valve can permit an over-pressure to be created within the
container, which does not dissipate significantly over time due to
the provision of the airtight, sealed coating 6 on the exterior of
the container. The valve 8 comprises a unit which can be
push-fitted into a small aperture in a side wall of the container
either before or after application of the coating 6. If applied
after application of the coating 6, the valve 8 may bond with the
coating 6 as it hardens. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the valve
8 includes a main body 9 with a central passageway 10 that contains
a one-way integral flap valve 11 so that gas can be pumped into the
container to provide the over-pressure. The level of overpressure
will depend upon the structural integrity of the coated container
1. The application of over-pressure provides both functional and
user benefits. The overpressure improves the shelf life potential
of the cigarettes by reducing internal vapour pressures of the
water and other volatile components thereby reducing the potential
for spotting and staining of the cigarettes 4 as compared with a
corresponding hermetically sealed container at atmospheric
pressure. Also, for the user, the overpressure rigidifies the
container 1, which provides the pack with a distinctive touch and
feel. When opened, the escaping gas is audible to the user,
confirming the freshness of the cigarettes, and has an aroma which
provides a cue as to the freshness of the tobacco product.
[0028] The coating 6 applied to the container 1 may be a polymer
such as polypropylene or polyethylene with desired physical and
barrier properties. The coating is selected such that it readily
adheres to the surface of the container 1 and preferably solidifies
so as to be substantially transparent in order that printed
surfaces of the container 1 remain visible through the coating. The
plastics coating 6 may be selected to give a particular tactile
feel or visual impression on the exterior surface. Depending on the
plastics material selected, it may be desirable to use clear
lacquered or varnished ink coating to aid in bonding the plastic
coating 6 to printed areas of the container 1.
[0029] The plastics material may incorporate an additive material
for causing the plastics coating 6 to decompose easily in a compost
or landfill environment. In this way, the interior wrapping 5,
which need not include metallic foil, along with the container 1
and the plastics coating 6 are all biodegradable and may be
certifiable as a degradable or biodegradable structure. The
additive material of a used decomposition may be selected from
products offered by EPI Environment Plastics Inc (Vancouver, BC) or
other similar available products.
[0030] The plastics coating 6 may also include an additive material
for improving the air barrier properties of the coating without
interfering with its optical transparency. One such material is
Nanolock.TM. marketed (by InMat Inc., Hillsboro, N.J., USA). This
additive greatly improves the shelf stability of the resulting
package to a near hermetic level so as to improve the shelf life
and freshness of the tobacco product for the user.
[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates an apparatus for packaging tobacco
products to provide packs as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. A packaging
machine 12 in a generally conventional manner, wraps bundles of
cigarettes with the interior wrapping 5 and then with a pre-printed
blank of SPS material to form the container 1. Successive packs of
cigarettes with containers 1 fabricated by the machine 13 are fed
along a conveyer 13 in direction 14 to station 15 at which the tear
strip 7 is applied to the container 1 at the join between the lid 3
and main body 2. The containers 1 then move from the tear strip
fitting station 15 to coating station 16 at which liquid or molten
plastics polymer material containing the aforementioned additives
is pumped from a reservoir 17 through spray heads 18 to spray coat
each container 1 completely and thereby provide the continuous,
sealed coating 6 shown in FIG. 3. The coated containers are moved
from the coating station 16 to a valve-fitting station 19 at which
the valve 8 is press-fitted into the container. The packs then move
to a gas supply station 20 at which gas is pumped through the
one-way valve 9 so as to pressure the container 1. The gas may
comprise filtered air or an inert gas such as nitrogen. In an
alternative arrangement the gas supply is replaced by a vacuum pump
and the containers are evacuated of air.
[0032] Thereafter, the pressurised containers 1 may be passed from
the conveyor 13 to a packing station (not shown) to be packed into
larger containers for transport. In order to improve the seal
provided by the one-way valve 8, the exterior of the valve, which
may be formed in plastics material, may be heated in order to
partially melt the plastics material and close the central opening
10.
[0033] An alternative embodiment of the coating station 16 is shown
in FIG. 5 in which the container 1 is passed through a curtain 21
of liquid coating material. The curtain 21 is emitted by a line of
nozzles 22 and falls into a reservoir 23 to be pumped back to the
nozzles 22 by a pump, not shown. The conveyor 13 is configured in
two parts 13a, 13b with the curtain 21 of liquid falling between
them. FIG. 5A illustrates an uncoated container 1 approaching the
coating station 16 and the curtain 21 of liquid coating material.
The container 1 is driven in to the curtain 21 by the conveyor part
13a so as to be coated with the coating material from the curtain
21 on all sides, including the underside, as illustrated in FIG.
5B. The container 1 with a coating 6 of material from the curtain
21 then moves onto the conveyor part 13b and FIG. 5C shows the
fully coated container 1 moving toward the valve fitting station 19
shown in FIG. 4.
[0034] FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative way of creating the
coating 6 on the container 1, in which container 1 on conveyor part
13a, is loosely pre-wrapped with a sheet of plastics material 24 in
a non-sealed manner and then dropped into a tunnel 25 that is fed
with an upward flow of heated air by a blower 26. A succession of
containers 1 each wrapped with a sheet 24 are fed into the upper
opening 25a of the tunnel and fall through the heated air onto
conveyor part 13b to the tunnel opening 25b, to be fed to the valve
fitting station 19 shown in FIG. 4. The containers 1 free-fall
under the effect of gravity through the heated air from the blower
26 and the wrapping 24 melts to form the sealed, airtight coating
6. The vertical arrangement of the tunnel 25 has the advantage that
the containers 1 are unsupported by the conveyor 13 during the
melting process, which facilitates formation of a continuous
airtight coating 6 over the entire container 1. However, the tunnel
25 could be arranged in other ways, for example horizontal, with
the conveyor running through it.
[0035] Another embodiment of a cigarette pack in accordance with
the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the
container 1 is of a similar construction to that shown in FIGS.
1-3, with a main body 2 and lid 3. However, the cigarettes 4 are
contained within a flexible, sealed bag 27 that may be pressurised.
The interior wrapping 5 of the previous embodiment is omitted and
no exterior coating of plastics material 6 is provided. The
cigarettes are packaged by placing them initially in the plastics
bag 27 through an opening at the top, which is then heat-sealed
close so as to produce a welded rib 28 along the top of the bag as
shown in FIG. 5. The bag 27 is then pressurised through valve 8
which in this example, is disposed at the bottom of the bag. The
bag 27 may be pressurised with an inert gas or filtered air in the
manner previously described. The sealed, flexible bag 27 may be
made of a polymer such as polyethylene or polypropylene as
previously described and may include the aforementioned additive to
render it biodegradable. A line of weakness 29 may be formed along
the top of the bag to assist the user in opening it to provide
access to the cigarettes 4. Also a sharp spike 30 may be provided
within the container to allow the user to press the pressurised bag
onto the spike in order to puncture the bag and deflate it. This
embodiment has the advantage that the cigarettes can be packaged in
a conventional container 1 made of SBS board without the need for
an exterior, plastics transparent wrapping or the interior wrapping
5, and with the advantage that the cigarettes are kept fresh and
the overall package is biodegradable.
[0036] Many modifications and variation to the described
embodiments will be evident to those skilled in the art. For
example, the plastics material can be applied by methods other than
those described, for example dipping. Also, whilst the described
packages are for tobacco industry products in the form of
cigarettes, they may also be used for other such products and as
used herein the term "tobacco industry product" refers to any item
made in, or sold by the tobacco industry, typically including a)
cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for
roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco
derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco
substitutes); b) non-smoking products incorporating tobacco,
tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or
tobacco substitutes such as snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and
heat-not-burn products; and c) smoking cessation aids and other
nicotine-delivery systems such as adhesive patches, inhalers,
lozenges and gum. This list is not intended to be exclusive, but
merely illustrates a range of products which are made and sold in
the tobacco industry.
* * * * *