U.S. patent application number 14/770758 was filed with the patent office on 2016-01-07 for inner frame.
The applicant listed for this patent is BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED. Invention is credited to Paul Hodges.
Application Number | 20160001963 14/770758 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48092156 |
Filed Date | 2016-01-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160001963 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hodges; Paul |
January 7, 2016 |
Inner Frame
Abstract
An inner frame (12 for a pack (1) is disclosed. It comprises a
front panel (23) and a side panel (24, 25), wherein the front (12)
and/or side panels (24, 25) comprise multiple layers.
Inventors: |
Hodges; Paul; (London,
GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED |
London |
|
GB |
|
|
Family ID: |
48092156 |
Appl. No.: |
14/770758 |
Filed: |
February 21, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
February 21, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB2014/050531 |
371 Date: |
August 26, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/259 ;
493/374 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24F 15/00 20130101;
B65D 85/1045 20130101; B65D 5/441 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/10 20060101
B65D085/10; B65D 5/44 20060101 B65D005/44; A24F 15/00 20060101
A24F015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 27, 2014 |
GB |
1303444.2 |
Claims
1. A pack comprising a body having front and rear walls separated
by side walls, a hinged lid integrally connected to the rear wall
at a hinge line such that it is pivotable relative to the rear wall
between open and closed positions, and an inner frame received in
the body that comprises a front panel that abuts the front wall and
two side panels that extend along fold lines perpendicular to the
front panel so that each side panel abuts a respective side wall of
the body, wherein the front and/or side panels comprise multiple
layers, each layer having a major surface which abuts the major
surface of another layer in the same panel, wherein the side
reinforcement layers overlap the whole surface area of the
corresponding panel.
2. The pack according to claim 1, wherein the front and side panels
are formed from a single sheet of material.
3. The pack according to claim 2, wherein the sheet of material
includes fold lines to enable the sheet to be folded about said
fold lines to form said multiple layers.
4. The pack according to claim 3, comprising a side panel and a
side reinforcement panel, the side reinforcement panel being
positionable so that it overlaps its corresponding side panel to
form a multi-layered side wall.
5. The pack according to claim 4, wherein the side panel joins the
front panel at a first fold line.
6. The pack according to claim 5, wherein the side reinforcement
panel joins the side panel at a second fold line.
7. The pack according to claim 6, wherein the first and second fold
lines are parallel.
8. The pack according to claim 6, wherein the first and second fold
lines extend at an angle relative to each other.
9. The pack according to claim 1, wherein the front panel comprises
a front reinforcement panel that joins the front panel at a front
panel fold line, the front reinforcement panel being foldable about
said front panel fold line so that it overlaps the front panel to
form a multi-layered front wall.
10. The pack according to claim 3, wherein the front panel
comprises a front reinforcement panel that joins the front panel at
a front panel fold line and side reinforcement panels that extend
from the front reinforcement panel and are joined thereto by a
second fold line, the front reinforcement panel being folded about
the front panel fold line so that the front reinforcement panel
overlaps the front panel and the side reinforcement panels overlap
corresponding side wall panels to form multi-layered front and side
walls.
11. A blank for forming an inner frame as claimed in claim 1 for a
pack.
12. A method of forming an inner frame comprising the steps of
providing a blank comprising a front panel, a side panel and a side
reinforcement panel, and positioning the side reinforcement panel
so that it overlaps the side panel.
13.-15. (canceled)
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an inner frame for a pack and to an
inner frame for a tobacco industry pack. The invention also relates
to a pack comprising an inner frame according to the invention.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Conventional tobacco industry packs are generally
parallelepiped shaped packs having a body portion with an access
opening that is reinforced by a support structure that protrudes
from the access opening and surrounds tobacco industry products,
for instance smoking articles such as cigarettes, contained in the
pack. Typically, the pack further comprises a lid configured to
open and close the access opening and which extends over the
protruding part of the support structure when the lid is
closed.
SUMMARY
[0003] According to the invention, there is provided an inner frame
for a pack, comprising a front panel and a side panel, wherein the
front and/or side panels comprise multiple layers.
[0004] The front and side panels may be formed from a single sheet
of material. Preferably, the sheet of material includes fold lines
to enable the sheet to be folded about said fold lines to form said
multiple layers.
[0005] In some embodiments, the inner frame comprises a side panel
and a side reinforcement panel, the side reinforcement panel being
positionable so that it overlaps its corresponding side panel to
form a multi-layered side wall.
[0006] The side panel may join the front panel at a first fold line
and the side reinforcement panel may join the side panel at a
second fold line.
[0007] In some embodiments, the first and second fold lines are
parallel. Alternatively, the first and second fold lines may extend
at an angle relative to each other.
[0008] In any of the aforementioned embodiments, the front panel
may comprise a front reinforcement panel that joins the front panel
at a front panel fold line, the front reinforcement panel being
foldable about said front panel fold line so that it overlaps the
front panel to form a multi-layered front wall.
[0009] In another embodiment, the front panel comprises a front
reinforcement panel that joins the front panel at a front panel
fold line and side reinforcement panels that extend from the front
reinforcement panel and are joined thereto by a second fold line,
the front reinforcement panel being folded about the front panel
fold line so that the front reinforcement panel overlaps the front
panel and the side reinforcement panels overlap corresponding side
wall panels to form multi-layered front and side walls.
[0010] The side panel may have a major surface that overlaps a
major surface of the side reinforcement panel. The major surface of
the side reinforcement panel can be held against the major surface
of the side panel by adhesive.
[0011] The invention also provides a blank for forming an inner
frame according to the invention, for a pack.
[0012] The invention also provides a method of forming an inner
frame comprising the steps of providing a blank comprising a front
panel, a side panel and a side reinforcement panel, and positioning
the side reinforcement panel so that it overlaps the side
panel.
[0013] The invention also provides an inner frame for a tobacco
industry pack, comprising a front panel and a side panel, wherein
the front and/or side panels comprise multiple layers. The inner
frame may comprise any of the features mentioned above.
[0014] The invention also provides a pack comprising the inner
frame according to the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way
of example only, with reference the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an inner frame according
to a first embodiment of the invention, disposed in a pack;
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the inner frame of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 shows a front view of an inner frame according to a
second embodiment of the invention; and,
[0019] FIG. 4 shows a front view of an inner frame according to a
third embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The inner frame of a tobacco industry pack may increase the
rigidity of the pack such that the tobacco industry products held
therein are better protected from mechanical damage. The lid and
inner frame also engage by friction upon opening and closing the
lid and so reduces the risk of the pack accidentally opening.
[0021] A pack 1 is shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a generally
parallelepiped container having a body 2 and a hinged lid 3. The
pack 1 has major front and rear walls 4, 5, minor side walls 6, 7,
a bottom wall 8 and a top wall 9. The front, rear and side walls 4,
5, 6, 7 comprise front, rear and side wall body panels 4a, 5a, 6a,
7a, and front, rear and side wall lid panels 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b. The
hinged lid 3 is integrally connected to the body 2 at a folding
hinge line 10 between the rear body panel 5a and the rear lid panel
5b and is pivotable between an open position in which an access
opening 11 in the top of the body 2 is exposed to allow access to
tobacco industry products contained therein, and a closed position.
An inner frame 12 having a front panel 23 and side panels 24, 25 is
disposed within the body 2 of the pack 1 to project out of the
opening 11 therein. The inner frame 12 may include a cut-out 22 in
the front panel 23 to provide easy access to the contents of the
pack 1.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows a blank 21 used to form the inner frame 12 of
FIG. 1. The blank 21 comprises a single sheet of material, such as
cardboard, that comprises a front panel 23 that meets side panels
24, 25 at a first fold line 16, 17. The blank 21 is folded at each
fold line 16, 17 and is inserted into the body 2 so that the side
panels 24, 25 extend at right angles to the front panel 23. When
the inner frame 12 is inserted into the body 2 the side wall body
panels 6a, 7a abut the inner frame side panels 24, 25 and the front
wall body panel 4a abuts the inner frame front panel 23. When the
lid 3 is in the closed position the inner frame 12 is received in
the lid 3 so that the front wall body panel 4a abuts the inner
frame front panel 23. Likewise, the side wall lid panels 6b, 7b
abut the inner frame side panels 24, 25. Therefore, the inner frame
front panel 23 and side panels 24, 25 provide an additional layer
of material around the opening 11 of the pack 1 to provide
reinforcement for the front, rear and side walls 4, 5, 6, 7.
[0023] The side panels 24,25 of the inner frame 12 further comprise
side reinforcement panels 26, 27 that each meet a corresponding
side panel 24, 25 at a second fold line 18, 19 which extends in a
direction parallel to the first fold line 16, 17. The side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 are folded at the second fold line 18,
19 so that a major surface of each side reinforcement panel 26, 27
abuts against a major surface of a corresponding side panel 24, 25
to form a double layer. The side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are
preferably folded about respective second fold line 18, 19 in the
direction down into the page when viewing FIG. 2 so that they lie
against an inner surface of the side panels 24, 25, i.e. the
surface of each of the side panels 24, 25 which is not visible in
FIG. 2. However, the side reinforement panels 24,25 may
alternatively be folded about respective second fold line 18, 19 in
an opposite direction, so that they lie across a front face of the
side panels 24, 25, i.e. the face of each of the side panels 24, 25
which are visible in FIG. 2. The side reinforcement panels 26, 27
may be held against the side panels 24, 25 using an adhesive. The
use of adhesive may further increase the robustness and rigidity of
the inner frame.
[0024] The extra layer of material provided by the side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 against the side panels 24, 25 improves
the rigidity and durability of the inner frame 12 and forms a dual
layered side wall. Therefore, the contents of the pack 1 is better
protected against external forces applied to the pack 1. In one
embodiment, each side reinforcement panel 26, 27 may overlap the
whole surface area of a corresponding side panel 24, 25, i.e. each
side reinforcement panel 26, 27 may be the same size and shape as a
corresponding side panel 24,25. However in an alternative
embodiment each side reinforcement panel 26, 27 may be of a
different size or shape to its corresponding side panel 24,25 and
so may only overlap a portion of a major surface of corresponding
side panels 24, 25.
[0025] The inner frame 12 may include tabs 20 that extend from the
side walls 14, 15 to engage the side wall lid panels 6b, 7b when
the lid 3 is in the closed position to increase the friction
between the lid 3 and the inner frame 12, although these are
optional. The increased friction provided by the tabs 20 increases
the resistance to the opening of the lid 3, enabling the lid 3 to
better stay in the closed position.
[0026] It will be appreciated that, in another embodiment one or
more further side reinforcement panels may extend from the side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 and be separated from the side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 by a fold-line. The side panels 24,25,
the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 and any additional side
reinforcement panels provide a multi-layered structure to the inner
frame , i.e a side wall having more than two layers.
[0027] A blank 31 for an inner frame 12 of a second embodiment of
the invention is shown in FIG. 3 and is identical to the first
embodiment, with like features retaining the same reference
numerals, except that each second fold line 18, 19 extends in a
direction perpendicular to the first fold lines 16, 17. In this
embodiment, the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are folded in the
direction down into the page when viewing FIG. 3, although they
could also be folded in the opposite direction.
[0028] As mentioned above in connection with the first embodiment,
additional side reinforcement panels may extend from the side
reinforcement panels 26,27 to enable a multi-layered structure to
be formed. Furthermore, a combination of the embodiments shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3 is envisaged in which there is a side reinforcement
panel 26, 27 extending from both edges of each side panel 24,
25.
[0029] Although in the above described embodiments the second fold
lines 18, 19 are described as extending in a direction
perpendicular or parallel to the first fold lines 16, 17, the
second fold lines 18, 19 may alternatively extend at some other
angle to the first fold lines 16, 17.
[0030] A blank 41 for an inner fame 12 of a third embodiment of the
invention is shown in FIG. 4. The blank 41 comprises a front panel
23 that meets side panels 24, 25 at first fold lines 42, 43. The
blank 41 is folded at each first fold line 42, 43 so that the side
panels 24, 25 extend at right angles to the front panel 23. A front
reinforcement panel 28 meets the front panel 23 at a second fold
line 44. The front reinforcement panel 28 is folded at the second
fold line 44 so that a major surface of the front panel 23 overlaps
the front reinforcement panel 28. The blank 41 further comprises
side reinforcement panels 26, 27 that each meet the front
reinforcement panel 28 at a third fold line 45, 46. The side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 are folded at the third fold lines 45,
46 so that each of the side reinforcement panels 26, 27 overlaps a
corresponding side panel 24, 25. The side reinforcement panels 26,
27 and/or front reinforcement panel 28 may be held against the
corresponding inner frame side panels 24, 25 and/or front panel 23
by adhesive which may further increase the rigidity and robustness
of the inner frame.
[0031] The increased thickness provided by the front reinforcement
panel 28 further improves the rigidity and durability of the inner
frame 12 and provides a multi-layered front wall. Additionally, the
increased rigidity and thickness of the inner frame 12 provided by
the front reinforcement panel 28 increases the friction between the
inner frame front panel 23 and the front wall lid panel 4b, thus
helping the lid 3 to stay in the closed position.
[0032] It will be appreciated that either of the first or second
embodiments may also be modified so as to provide the inner frame
12 of these embodiments with a front reinforcement panel 28 that
extends from the front panel 23 and which is foldable so that it
overlaps the front panel 23 by folding it about a fold line 44,
similar to that shown in FIG. 4. In these embodiments, the front
reinforcement panel 28 will not have the side reinforcement panels
26, 27 extending from them, as these extend from the front panel 23
in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0033] Although in the above described embodiments the front
reinforcement panel 28 and side reinforcement panels 26, 27 are
held in place by adhesive which may further increase the robustness
and rigidity of the inner frame. However, in alternate embodiments
(not shown) they may be held in place by other means or, they may
just be held in place as a result of the pressure applied to the
inner frame by the walls of the pack and the tobacco industry
products contained therein.
[0034] It shall be appreciated that the present invention is not
limited to both the side walls and the front wall of the inner
frame comprising a double or multi-layered structure. In any of the
embodiments described above only one of the side walls may be
formed with a double or multi-layered structure. Alternatively,
only one of the side walls and the front wall are formed with
multiple layers, or only the front wall is formed by multiple
layers.
[0035] Although in the above described embodiments the side
reinforcement panels 26, 27 and front reinforcement panel 28 are
integrally formed with the side panels 24, 25 and front panel 23
respectively and are positioned by means of folding, in an
alternate embodiment (not shown) the side reinforcement panels 26,
27 and/or front reinforcement panel 28 may be separate sections of
material that are arranged against respective side panels 24, 25
and/or front panel using adhesive.
[0036] Although in the above described embodiments the inner frame
12 is described for use with a hinged-lid pack, in alternate
embodiments (not shown) the inner frame may be used with other pack
designs, for example, slide-packs or telescopically extending
packs.
[0037] As used herein, the term "smoking article" includes
smokeable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos
whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco,
reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-not-burn
products. The smoking article may be provided with a filter for the
gaseous flow drawn by the smoker.
[0038] As used herein, the term "tobacco industry pack" includes
any pack that can receive and contain a tobacco industry
product.
[0039] A 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)
other nicotine-delivery systems such as 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.
[0040] In order to address various issues and advance the art, the
entirety of this disclosure shows by way of illustration various
embodiments in which the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and
provide for a superior inner frame. The advantages and features of
the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments only,
and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented only to
assist in understanding and teach the claimed features. It is to be
understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions,
features, structures, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are
not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by
the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that
other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made
without departing from the scope and/or spirit of the disclosure.
Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist
essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements,
components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, the
disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but
which may be claimed in future.
* * * * *