KR20150024442A - Packaging for smoking articles - Google Patents

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to an article of manufacture comprising a sealing enclosure 302 of a layer of barrier material 303 around a charger of a smoking article, a smoking article access opening formed in the barrier material, And a cover layer (310) extending outwardly. The cover layer has a permanent adhesive surface that overlaps the barrier material at all its openable edges. The cover layer is formed such that at least a portion of the cover layer can be completely removed from the package. A smoking article access opening is formed in the barrier material by cutting lines or soft lines 309. These lines are in closed form and are blocked by at least one uncut or non-fragile tab area.

Description

Packaging for smoking articles {PACKAGING FOR SMOKING ARTICLES}

The present invention relates to the packaging of smoking articles and other tobacco products and smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars, small cigarillos and loose tobacco.

It is common to serve as an inner wrap or outer wrap of a cigarette carton or to provide a barrier layer as inner wrap and outer wrap. It is somewhat basic that in the area with hostile climatic conditions, in particular in the region of high temperature and humidity, the cigarettes must have some kind of commercial shelf life.

The barrier layer described above may be provided with a releasable layer on the access aperture of the pack to provide protection to the product before and / or after the initial opening of the pack and / or to warn the consumer when the pack is exposed to an illegal opening Respectively. International Patent Publication No. WO 98/22367 discloses a pack for a smoking article such as a cigarette having a sealable enclosure with a resealable access opening to the envelope and a barrier material. The cover on the opening has a permanent adhesive surface that overlaps the barrier material on every openable edge. A label is provided that has a tab that can be grasped by the user and pulled back to reveal the access opening.

International Patent Publication No. WO 01/89962 discloses a sealing envelope of sheet barrier material that includes a cover layer and a cigarette removal access opening that serve to sealably close the access opening. The access opening is provided by cutting the barrier material and removing the cut portion from the opening. The barrier material portion formed is removed by adhesively connecting the cover layer and the barrier layer so as to remove the barrier layer portion from the release back portion of the cover layer to provide access to the cigarette bundle. The cover layer provides evidence of an illegal opening of the pack to reseal the access opening after the initial opening of the surrounding portion.

U.S. Patent No. 5,333,729 discloses a soft package comprising a cigarette. Such a package includes an upper closure tab that serves to reclose the package after the package is opened. An adhesive may be applied to the tab to aid in resealing the package. The package includes an inner container surrounded by a sealing film. The upper tab is placed on the sealing film and comprises a weakened region in the sealing film. When the upper tab is pulled, the bottom of the sealing film is also removed to expose the cigarettes in the package.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a consumer with the option of easily removing the resealable label from the pack or, if necessary, resealing the pack. Thus, the provision of a cover layer that sealably closes and recloses the access opening may be burdensome to the consumer, since the cover layer must be peeled off and reapplied to the barrier layer each time the cigarette is removed from the bundle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a smoking article package provided with a resealable label which can be removed from the package without causing visible damage to the barrier material.

Thus, one embodiment of the present invention provides an article of manufacture comprising a seal surrounding portion of a barrier material layer around a charge of a smoking article, a smoking article access opening formed in the barrier material, A smoking article package comprising an extended cover layer. The cover layer has a permanent adhesive surface that overlaps the barrier material on all its openable edges. The cover layer is formed such that at least a portion of the cover layer can be completely removed from the package. A smoking article access opening is formed in the barrier material by a cutting line or softening line. These cut lines or soft lines form a closed form and are interrupted by a number of uncut or non-fragile tab areas.

The cover layer may be associated with a portion of the barrier material forming the access opening and may be removed from the seal enclosure with a portion of the barrier layer forming the access opening.

It is preferable that the entire cover layer can be completely removed from the seal surrounding portion. In this way, the initially sealed surrounding portion around the garage of the smoking article may have a permanent access opening, or alternatively, the user may reposition the removed cover layer and a portion of the barrier material to reseal the envelope .

Thus, the user of the smoking article package has the freedom of choice as part of the barrier layer forming the access opening and when the cover layer is removed from the package. If the user wishes to do so, the cover layer and barrier material may be actuated to provide a resealable closure so that the permanent adhesive surface of the cover layer after the initial opening of the access opening is aligned with the barrier material layer < RTI ID = 0.0 > So that the surrounding portion can be resealed. Optionally, the user may choose to remove and discard a portion of the barrier material and cover layer forming the access opening.

It is preferable that the sealing surrounding portion around the charger of the smoking article is a surrounding portion including two main surfaces (front surface and rear surface), two side surfaces, and two end surfaces (top and bottom). The sealing envelope thus formed is embedded in the outer body of the smoking article known in the art, for example as a hinge-lid pack. The smoking article access opening of the sealing envelope thus formed is extended from the upper end surface to the front major surface of the surrounding portion.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the cover layer includes a detachable portion, so that the periphery of the cover layer can be removed from the smoking article package with a portion of the barrier material forming the access opening.

The portion of the cover layer may be separated along the cutting lines or soft lines. The cutting line or softening line of the cover layer extends across the entire width of the cover layer and parallel to the edge of the smoking article access opening, i.e. the transverse edge of the opening.

Thus, the cover layer portion can be separated along the cut or soft line to provide a removable cover layer portion and a fixed cover layer portion. The fixed cover layer portion remains attached to the barrier material as it separates from the removable cover layer portion. And the fixed cover layer portion is preferably disposed on the rear main surface of the seal surrounding portion.

It is preferred that the cut line or soft line of the cover layer is adjacent to the edge of the seal envelope between the rear major surface and the upper end surface. Most preferably, the cut line or soft line of the cover layer is at the edge of the seal envelope between the rear main surface and the upper end surface. Optionally, the cutting line or softening line of the cover layer may be adjacent to the rear major surface of the seal surrounding portion.

The portion of the fixed cover layer is attached to the barrier material by a permanent adhesive. Optionally, the portion of the fixed cover layer can have a permanent adhesive property, as provided on another overlapping surface of the cover layer, if the cut line or the soft line is sufficiently easily cut relative to the degree of adhesion between the portion of the fixed cover layer and the underlying barrier material Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > material. ≪ / RTI >

Another alternative to permanent adhesive is to provide selective permanent adhesion means such as a hot melt material to bond the fixed cover layer portion to the barrier material, or other means of providing permanent welding between these two materials.

It is preferable that a part of the barrier material forming the access opening is completely removed from the seal surrounding portion. Thus, a portion of the barrier material forming the access opening is attached to the cover layer by a permanent adhesive. Whereby a portion of the barrier material forming the access opening can be removed from the seal envelope with the cover layer.

The cover layer has a pull tab that can be grasped and pulled by the user to peel away the access opening. The pull tab is not connected to the underlying barrier material. Thus, the tabs include an emollient that is free of the adhesive and / or neutralizes the viscosity of the adhesive applied to the tab.

In a preferred embodiment, the smoking article access opening is formed to extend from the upper end surface of the seal surrounding portion to the front major surface of the seal surrounding portion. Preferably, the cover layer extends from the rear major surface to the front major surface of the seal envelope. It is also preferred that the cover layer is stretched onto the rear main surface to provide a barrier material of the rear main surface in the edge overlap region.

The edge overlapping region is elongated at a distance ranging from 1 mm to 12 mm from the edge of the sealing envelope joining the upper end face and the rear peripheral wall to the lower edge of the cover layer. The range is preferably 2 mm to 8 mm, and most preferably 5 mm to 7 mm. The lower limit value in the above range is increased in units of 1 mm, such as 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, etc., and / or the upper limit value is reduced in units of 1 mm, for example, 9 mm, 8 mm,

A portion of the barrier material forming the smoking article access opening is provided by cutting the barrier material into a closed form, e.g., a square shape, and applying the cover layer to that portion of the barrier material. Thus, when the cover layer is peeled off, the aforementioned barrier material portion is removed from the opening.

The portion of the barrier material forming the access opening is formed by a cut line or a soft line which is blocked by a soft portion or an uncut cut tab region. According to this approach, the portion of the barrier material forming the smoking article access opening is initially connected to the barrier material by the tab region.

The tab region has a dimension such that it can be easily broken when the cover layer is peeled off from the barrier material layer. Thus, the tabs can be formed without damaging them, for example by cutting the barrier material layer of the seal encapsulation, such that the portion of the barrier layer forming the access opening and the cover layer secured thereto can be removed from the seal envelope, Is easily cut off compared to the degree of adhesion between the cover layer forming the access opening outside the soft wire and the barrier material layer at the bottom.

The portion of the barrier material forming the access opening is attached to the barrier material web by a plurality of tabs spaced along the cut line or soft line. It will be appreciated that the tab area is different from any of the perforations in the soft line. Therefore, even if the soft wire itself includes perforations, such perforations are blocked in the tab area. Preferably, two to twelve tab regions, particularly four to eight tab regions, are preferred. However, other embodiments may have a different number of tab regions.

The tab region preferably has a substantially equal distance from the periphery of the access opening in the closed configuration. This ensures better adherence of the portion of the barrier material in the access opening to the rest of the barrier material. However, in other embodiments it may have less regular spacing, which helps assure the overall shape of the package (e.g.). In one embodiment, at least two of the tabs are provided at the edge of the access opening disposed at the rear major surface or upper end surface of the seal enclosing portion, that is, at the sealing enclosure nearest to the rear major surface thereof, And is disposed on a cutting line or a soft line of the semiconductor device.

The tab is a bridge of barrier material with a length of 3 mm or less (preferably 1 mm or less) along a cutting line or a soft line. The dimension of the tab along the cutting or softening line is small enough to prevent rupture of the barrier material to portions of the barrier layer forming the access opening and to the outside of the access opening upon removal of the cover layer. On the other hand, the tab is of a size sufficient to provide a connection between the barrier material outside the access opening and the part of the barrier material forming the access opening, during manufacture and formation of the material including the sealing envelope around the charger of the smoking article .

The cutting line or softening line comprising a blocking portion with a limited number of dimensions and number in combination with the dimension of the edge region of the cover layer extending onto the rear major surface of the seal enclo- sure portion allows the user to form an access opening without damaging the remainder of the barrier material It should be formed so as to easily remove the portion of the barrier material and the cover layer.

The preferred material for the barrier layer is a plastic / metal foil laminate or a metal-clad plastic, since these two materials provide significantly favorable barrier properties. The barrier layer continues over one minor end of the pack or charge and has a side seam along a similar fold over the minor side of the pack and the envelope or opposite minor end. The barrier layer need not be applied in the manner described above, but may be applied over one minor side to seal over the minor end and one minor side.

The seam of the barrier layer is formed using a heat-sealable strip or glue applied to the barrier layer, for example by printing. This has particular applicability when the barrier layer is a metal / paper laminate or a metal coated paper. However, the at least one outer surface of the plastic laminate or foil may be a heat sealable material. The barrier material is a paper laminate material.

The flavor may be added to an integer contained within the smoking article packaging within the barrier layer. The monolith may include a sheet of paper with a porous substrate, such as, for example, a pad, or may be a card inner frame of a semi-solid pack. Alternatively, the flavoring agent may be encapsulated or included in a sachet, and the capsule or sachet is contained inside the packaging. Such flavoring agents penetrate the cigarettes contained in the packaging, and thus may affect the taste or flavor of the smoke produced when the cigarette is smoked. A good flavor agent includes menthol.

Flavors are added to the packaging in the form of so-called " scratch and sniff "panels. That is, the flavoring agent is coated in the packaging in a form that allows release of the flavoring agent when peeled (e.g., microencapsulated). Such scratch-and-sniff panels are well known, for example, for magazine advertisements for perfumes.

The complete composition containing the flavoring agent may be contained in the interior of the barrier layer, for example in a sachet, capsule, or porous sheet. Alternatively, the inner frame may be coated or made in the form of a card, e.g. containing a flavoring agent.

The smoking article package may be a hard pack or alternatively a soft cup pack. Preferably, the smoking article package comprises an outer body; The body has a front wall, a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall, and at least two side walls. The outer body provides a so-called hinge-lid pack, as is known in the smoking article packaging art.

The wall of the outer body is formed to provide a parallelepiped pack. Most preferably, the walls each take a rectangular shape. It is appropriate for the front and rear walls to have a height dimension greater than the width dimension. The term front wall, top wall, rear wall, bottom wall does not confer any particular orientation of the pack; The first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall. The main surface of the sealing envelope around the charger of the smoking article is placed adjacent to the front and rear walls of the outer body of the smoking article pack.

The smoking article package has an inner slide and an outer cell (hereinafter referred to as a "slide-cell pack"). A slide-and-shell pack for a smoking article, such as a cigarette, is different from a conventional hinged lid pack in that a smoking article is provided in the inner cell in which the user slidably moves relative to the outer cell for access to the smoking article . Some slide-cell packs have a cover opening mechanism that is activated by movement of the slide within the cell.

Most of the cover opening mechanisms for the slide-cell packs disclosed in the prior art are of the type having a connection between the outer cell and the cover of the inner slide such that the cover is hinged open when the inner slide is moved relative to the cell. The connection is permanent (typically including an adhesive in this case) or it depends on the mechanical coupling between the respective parts on the outer cell and the inner slide. The present invention relates to a cover opening mechanism that relies on mechanical coupling.

The smoking article package may optionally include a lube, or flattened, box (also known as a shoulder pack). Such boxes are well known in the art and are generally made of thick card or similar material and are rigid and hinged along the minor edge of the major surface or along the main-median line or minor surface.

The smoking article package, the sealing enclosure and / or the outer body portion of the smoking article package is generally a square having four sides erected from a rectangular base. The pack has two main surfaces erected from the base and two surfaces that meet at two edges. In a given embodiment, the edge is formed by a surface at a right angle. This is not essential to the present invention; The smoking article package, the seal encircling portion and / or the outer body portion may have at least an edge between the front and rear walls and the sidewalls, which may be round, oblique or elliptical, or any other form known in the art.

For example, the cross-sectional shape of the base of the pack containing the cigarette may take other forms than quadrilateral, for example quadrilateral, or any other quadrilateral.

It should be appreciated that the smoking article package described in the present invention is used in the art to enclose a cigarette powder charcoal, or other cigarette, or a smokable substance, referred to as "self-cigarette smoking ". The package is also used to contain chewing tobacco-containing articles such as snus and the like.

The smoking article package further includes an inner frame. The inner frame may be disposed inside the seal encircling portion, or alternatively may be disposed around the seal encircling portion.

In a preferred embodiment, the frame has flap means comprising a main-panel, two elongated panels, a (bottom) end panel and two flaps. The long edges of the side panels and end panels are the main-edge and minor edge of the major surface. The flap is disposed at the upper end of the side panel. Thus, when folded, the frame forms the major surface of the cube, two long side faces, and bottom leg face; The frame forms two portions of the incomplete upper end face.

Preferably, the main surface has a recess in the top edge rather than a complete square. When such recesses are present, the end panels can be configured to have a shape that minimizes the amount of material that is required to be placed in an end-to-end checkerboard pattern (i.e., can be placed next to each other without overlapping or gaps) Lt; / RTI >

Of course, the inner frame may have a single fold between the panels (creating a slanted edge). Optionally, the sides of the frame may be rounded so as to be used in a so-called "oval" pack.

The present invention is not limited to a single cigarette bundle. For example, multiple bundles may be included in a releasable barrier material and then inserted into a single outer shell. Optionally, the plurality of bundles in each inner frame may be wrapped in a single packed sheet to form a semi-solid pack comprising a plurality of bundles.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a known barrier layer as viewed from above.
FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of a portion indicated in the barrier layer of FIG. 1; FIG.
2 is a plan view of the barrier layer, viewed from above, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 2A and 2B are enlarged views of a marked portion of the barrier layer of Figure 2;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the sealing gap of the smoking article from the front and from above. Fig.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the vehicle of Fig. 3 viewed from the rear and from below. Fig.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a sealing gap of a smoking article according to another embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the front and from above. FIG.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the carage of Fig. 5, showing another embodiment of the cover layer, from the rear and from below. Fig.
7 is a perspective view of a smoking article package according to one embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the top and also from the front, with the sealing garments of the smoking article of Figs. 3 and 5 in the hinge-lid outer body;

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a layer of a known barrier material (1). The barrier material 1 is unwound from the spool in the direction of arrow A to form a flat sheet of material. The barrier material 1, which can be formed into a seal envelope, has a front major surface 2 and a rear main surface 4 connected by a top end surface 6 along a common longitudinal axis. The portion of the bottom end face 8 is suspended at the end edges of the front and rear main surfaces. The side surfaces 10, 12 are suspended on opposite side edges of the front and rear main surfaces. The cover layer 14 is applied to the barrier material 1 in a portion of the barrier material 16 forming a smoking article access opening. The portion of the barrier layer 16 forming the smoking article access opening is formed in the barrier material 1 by a cutting line or softening line 18. [ The cutting line is suitably provided throughout the thickness of the barrier material (1). The soft line is a perforated line or a graduated line, for example.

Cutting line 18 has a cutout or non-cutout area 20 spaced along its length. The area of the cut line 18 closest to the rear major surface 4 of the barrier material is a tab area 20a having a dimension capable of resisting separation of the part of the barrier material 16 forming an access opening from the remaining barrier material ) to be. The blocking or non-breaking region 20 and the tab region 20a may be formed at the beginning of a portion of the barrier material 16 forming an access opening during the forming and processing of the sealed envelope around the charge of the smoking article, Thereby preventing the initial opening of the access opening prior to opening by the consumer. In the absence of the blocking portion 20 and the tab region 20a, the portion of the barrier material 16 that forms the access opening may be separated from the barrier material and / or allow moisture and air into and out of the seal enclosure, To influence the quality of the smoking article.

The cover layer 14 additionally includes a pull tab or flap 22 free of adhesive or has an emollient applied to neutralize the effect of the adhesive on the flap 22, Which is not connected to the material, thereby providing a place for the consumer to grasp the cover layer 14 and to strip it from the barrier layer.

To facilitate separation of the portion of the barrier material 16 forming the access opening from the barrier layer, the cover layer 14 is applied thereto. The cover layer 14 typically takes the form of a label; Typically in the form of a film of plastic material coated on the lower surface with a permanent adhesive, i.e. coated with a permanent adhesive material, so that it can be adhered to the barrier layer and then re-adhered thereto. The cover layer 14 extends over all edges of the opening indicated by the cutting line 18 on the back main surface of the barrier material. The cover layer 14 overlaps and adheres to the barrier material in the outer region of the cutting line 18 and is then secured to the portion of the barrier material 16 that forms the access opening. The adhesive force to the portion of the barrier material 16 forming the access opening is such that the portion of the barrier material 16 forming the access opening is sufficient to be removed with the cover layer 14 when the cover layer is stripped from the barrier material Do.

The edge overlap of the curved layer 14 in the rear main surface 4 and the tab region 20a together with the barrier material in use supports the cover layer 14 together with the portion of the barrier material 16 forming the access opening , Allowing the consumer to open and reseal the access opening every time the smoking article is withdrawn from the sealed enclosure.

Figure IA provides an enlarged view of the cutting line 18 in the non-cut region 20. In order to remove a portion of the barrier material 16 forming an access opening from an adjacent barrier material, the non-cut region 20 is cut by a shear force.

Figure 2 illustrates a layer of barrier material 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The barrier material 100 has a front major surface 112 and a rear major surface 114 that are interconnected along the longitudinal axis by an upper end surface 106.

The cover layer 104 is applied to the barrier material 100 in a portion of the barrier material 116 forming the smoking article access opening. The portion of the barrier layer 116 forming the smoking article access opening is formed in the barrier material 100 by cutting lines or soft lines 118. [ The cutting line 118 is suitably provided through the entire thickness of the barrier material 100; The cutting line 118 is provided in a closed configuration, in this embodiment as a square. Cutting line 118 is a perforated line or, for example, a scale line. Cutting line 118 has a cutout or non-cutout area 120 spaced along its length. The area of the cutting line 118 closest to the rear major surface of the barrier material 100 is formed by a tab region 120a having a dimension that allows separation of the portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening from the remaining barrier material, to be. The blocking or non-breaking region 120 and the tab region 120a connect the portion of the barrier material 116 that forms the access opening during processing and shaping of the sealing envelope around the charge of the smoking article to the rest of the barrier material Thereby preventing the initial opening of the access opening prior to opening by the consumer. In the absence of the blocking portion 120 and the tab region 120a, the portion of the barrier material 116 that forms the access opening may be separated from the barrier material and / or by allowing the possibility of moisture and air to enter the seal enclosure, To influence the quality of the smoking article.

The tab region 120a also aids in the application of the cover layer 104 and eliminates the need to remove portions of the barrier material that form the access opening 116. This facilitates on-line product handling and simple addition of cover layers.

To facilitate complete removal of a portion of the barrier material 116 that forms an access opening from the barrier layer, the cover layer 104 may be deposited over a portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening, . The cover layer 104 typically takes the form of a label; The film is in the form of a film of plastic material coated with a permanent adhesive, i.e. coated with a permanent adhesive material, so that the lower surface is adhered to the barrier layer, if desired, and can be reattached to the barrier layer, if desired. The cover layer 104 extends over all edges of the opening indicated by the cutting line 118 on the rear major surface 114 of the barrier material. The cover layer 14 overlaps and adheres to the barrier material at the outer region of the cut line 118 and is then secured to the portion of the barrier material 116 that forms the access opening. The adhesion to the portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening is such that the portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening is sufficient to be removed with the cover layer 104 when the cover layer is stripped from the barrier material Do.

The dimension of the tab region 120a is insufficient to support a portion of the barrier material 116 that forms an access opening with the barrier material layer when the cover layer is stripped from the barrier material. In addition, the edge overlap of the cover layer 104 on the rear major surface 114 is reduced in size relative to the corresponding overlap in the cover layer 14 shown in FIG. A state reduction, which may be 8 mm in length dimension of the edge overlap of the cover layer 104 at the rear major surface 114, is a reduction in the thickness of the barrier layer 16 from the barrier material layer to the entire cover layer 104, Thereby facilitating easy removal of the portion of the substrate. If the edge overlap of the cover layer 104 is the same as that provided in FIG. 1 for the cover layer 14, then the adhesive force that maintains edge overlap on the back main surface of the barrier material is such that when the user wishes to remove the cover layer, It will be sufficient to cause visible damage to the material layer. With a statistically reduced longitudinal dimension of the edge overlap of the cover layer 104 on the rear major surface 114, the tab region 120a can be used to minimize the risk of rupture or damage of the barrier material layer ), Providing complete removal of the cover layer 104.

2A is an enlarged view of the cutting line 118 in the uncut region 120 wherein the cutting line is used to provide a tab or pip of material that supports the portion 116 along with the front major surface of the barrier material It is discontinuous. In order to remove a portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening from adjacent barrier material, the non-cut region 120 is cut by a shear force.

Fig. 2B shows an enlarged view of the tab region 120a at the cut line 118. Fig. In the illustrated embodiment, the cutting line 118 is disposed on the rear major surface of the barrier material adjacent the fold line 124. In another embodiment, the cut line 118 is positioned co-linear with the fold line 124. The linear dimension along the cutting line 118 in the tab region 120a is smaller than the tab region 20a shown in Fig. The tab region 120a may allow separation from the remaining barrier material without causing damage or rupture so that a portion of the barrier material 116 forming the access opening can be completely removed with the cover layer 104 Should be small enough. In contrast, the tab region 20a of FIG. 1 has a dimension that is resistant to separation of the portion of the barrier material 16 that forms an access opening from the barrier material. 1, the greater the dimension of the rear edge overlap of the cover layer 14, provides a continued resistance to separation of the cover layer 14 from the barrier material. The separation of the cover layer 14 of Fig. 1 from the barrier material is a forced removal which causes the seal envelope to cause visible damage.

 3 and 4 includes a cigarette block (not shown) selectively adapted by a frame of card material (not shown), wherein the cigarette block and optional frame are secured to a seat Wrapped around the seal encapsulation 302 of the layer of barrier material and embedded within the encapsulation encapsulation 302 of the layer of sheet barrier material 303. The sheet barrier material 303 is, for example, a metal / plastic laminate or a vacuum metallized plastic material. Alternatively, a mono-metallized plastic film with sufficiently high barrier properties may be used. Paper laminate materials having sufficient barrier properties can also be used.

The seal surrounding portion 302 is formed with a square blank of sheet barrier material as shown in FIG. The rectangular blank of sheet barrier material is positioned within the frame (if provided) so as to extend continuously from the front portion 304 of the charge 300 through the top portion 305 to the rear portion 306, And wrapped around the cigarette block around the frame. The sealing seam is formed on the sides of the charge 300 and on the base 308 as shown in Figures 3 and 4 (307 shows one of the two sides).

The seal surrounding portion 302 has a cigarette approach / removal opening formed by the portion of the barrier material 320 and separated by a dashed line 309 in FIG. The opening formed by the portion of the barrier material 320 extends from the top 305 to the front portion 304 of the charge 300 and is formed by a cut line or a soft line at dotted line 309. Seal encapsulation 302 may be adhesively attached to the rear, upper, and front portions of the encapsulation 302 such that it overlies and extends all the edges of the opening formed by a portion of the barrier material 320 And a cover layer 310 applied thereto. The edge overlap of the cover layer 310 at the rear of the surrounding portion 302 is greater than that provided by the portion of the cover layer 310 overlying the barrier material 320 at the top and front portions of the surrounding portion 302 Has a dimension that does not provide more resistance to removal of the cover layer 310 from the portion 302.

The outer side of the dotted line 309 showing the opening formed by a portion of the barrier material 320 is a continuous area of permanently tacky adhesive; This region is distinguished by the outermost edge of the cover layer 310, the dotted line 309 and the top edge or fold line of the pull tab 315 of the cover layer 310.

The adhesive acts to secure the cover layer 310 to that portion of the barrier material 320 forming the access opening. This adhesive is a permanent adhesive, facilitating complete removal of the cover layer 310 with the portion of the barrier material 30 forming the access opening. The pull tab 315 is not secured to the underlying barrier material 303 so that it can be easily gripped.

Upon opening of the cigarette charger 300 by the consumer to gain access to the cigarette, the consumer grasps the pull tab 315 and pulls it upwards and backwards. This operation of the consumer causes the cover layer 310 to be stripped from the barrier material 303. Because the portion of the barrier material that forms the access opening is secured to the cover layer 310, the operation is performed from a barrier material 303 extending outwardly from the dashed line 309 along a dashed line 309, Causing separation of that portion of material 320 at the same time.

The cut line 309 is a portion of the barrier material 320 forming an access opening with the barrier material 303 extending outwardly from the dashed line 309 when the cover layer 310 is stripped from the barrier material 303. [ The consumer does not damage the rest of the barrier material 303 and does not damage the barriers (not shown) that form the access openings, since they include tab areas (not shown) that are interspersed along cutting lines that are small enough to initially support, The relevant portions of the material 320 and the cover layer can be completely removed. Thereafter, the consumer may choose to re-apply the cover layer 310 to the seal surrounding portion 303, or optionally discard it without further use. Likewise, the edge overlap of the cover layer 310 with the rear portion of the seal surrounding portion 302 has a length dimension such that the underlying barrier material 303 may be intact when the cover layer 310 is removed.

The features of Figs. 5 and 6, which are common to Figs. 3 and 4, are shown with similar reference numerals. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the cover layer 310 that includes a cut line or a soft line 330. The cutting line 330 is stretched across the entire width of the cover layer 310 between its transverse edges. The cutting line 330 is appropriately parallel to the transverse edge of the cover layer 310 and the upper edge of the rear surface of the surrounding portion 302.

As the cover layer 310 is peeled off, the cover layer 310 is separated into two portions 310A and 310B along the cut line 330. The portion 310B is irreversibly severed from the portion 310A and also from the seal surrounding portion 302. [ The portion 310A of the cover layer remains fixed to the rear surface of the seal envelope after removal of portion 310B. In this way, the consumer may be required to remove the associated entire portion of the barrier material 320 forming the access opening from the main portion of the cover layer 310, leaving only a portion of the portion 310A of the cover layer associated with the rear surface of the surrounding portion 302. [ Portion can be removed from the seal encircling portion 302.

The cigarette charger 300 is used as a smoking article package somewhat similar to the conventional soft cup package, and the cigarette charger 300 is considerably harder than the conventional soft cup pack, even in the presence of the inner frame.

An optional mode of use of the cigarette charger 300 is such that the cigarette charger 300 is disposed as an intimate insert within the outer body portion, which is very similar to a so-called hinge-lid pack, for example. Such a smoking article package is shown in Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the hinge back of the lid portion 400 of the outer body portion will be arranged to provide complete access to the cover layer 310 of the cigarette case 300, including the pull tab 315. 7, the lower edge of the cover layer 310 at the rear of the seal enclosing portion 302 will be placed over the hinge line 402 of the outer body portion for complete removal of the cover layer 310 . The cutting line 330 may be disposed over the hinge line 402 of the outer body portion for complete removal of the cover layer 310 when the cover layer 310 includes a cross cutting line 330 . Therefore, it is preferable that the lower edge of the cover layer at the rear of the pack is disposed in a straight line with the hinge or slightly above the hinge. However, in other embodiments the cover layer is stretched to some extent below the hinge line (but the cover layer is still removable).

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

1: barrier material 4: main surface
6: upper end face 8: bottom end face
10, 12: side face 14: cover layer
16: barrier material 18: soft wire

Claims (34)

A smoking article package comprising:
A sealing enclosure 302 of a layer of barrier material around the charger of the smoking article;
A smoking article access opening formed in the barrier material; And
A cover layer (310) extending over the access opening and extending outwardly of the edge of the access opening,
The cover layer having a permanent adhesive surface that overlaps the barrier material on all openable edges,
The cover layer is formed such that at least a portion of the cover layer can be completely removed from the package,
The portion of the barrier material forming the smoking article access opening is formed by a cutting or softening line extending through the entire thickness of the barrier material,
Wherein the cutting line or softening line forms a closed form and is interrupted by a plurality of uncut tab areas along the cutting line or softening line to form a portion of the barrier material forming the smoking article access opening, Wherein the barrier material is connected to the barrier material by a non-tab region. The method of claim 1, wherein the cover layer (310) can be joined to a portion of a barrier material forming an access opening and can be removed from the seal enclosure (302) with a portion of the barrier material forming an access opening Wherein the smoking article package comprises: The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the entire cover layer (310) can be completely removed from the seal enclosure (302). 3. A smoking article according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sealed enclosure (302) around the garment of the smoking article comprises two main surfaces (304,306), two side surfaces (307), two end surfaces (305,307) 308). ≪ / RTI > 5. The package of claim 4, wherein the seal surrounding portion (302) is embedded in the outer body portion (400). The method of claim 1, wherein the cover layer (310) comprises detachable portions (310a, 310b) and the main portion (310b) of the cover layer (310) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > package. 7. The package of claim 6, wherein the portions of the cover layers (310a, 310b) are separable along the cutting lines or soft lines (330). 8. The package of claim 7 wherein the cut line or soft line (330) in the cover layer (310) extends across the entire width of the cover layer (310) and parallel to the edge of the access opening. 9. The smoking article package of claim 8, wherein the edge of the smoking article access opening is a transverse edge. 10. A method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the cover layer portions (310a, 310b) are separable to provide a removable cover layer portion (310b) and a fixed cover layer portion (310a) Smoking goods package. 11. The package of claim 10, wherein the fixed cover layer portion (310a) is attached to the seal enclosure (302) upon removal from the removable cover layer portion (310b). 11. The package of claim 10, wherein the fixed cover layer portion (310a) is disposed on the rear major surface (306) of the seal surrounding portion (302). 10. A method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein in the cover layer (310) the cutting line or softening line (330) comprises a seal enclosing portion (302) between the rear main surface (306) and the upper end surface (305) The edge being adjacent to an edge of the smoking article package. 14. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that in the cover layer (310) the cutting line or softening line (330) is arranged at the edge of the sealing sidewall (302) between the rear main surface (306) Smoking article package. 11. The package of claim 10, wherein the fixed cover layer portion (310a) is attached to the barrier material of the seal enclosure (302) by a permanent adhesive. The method of claim 10, wherein the fixed cover layer portion (310a) is affixed to the barrier material of the seal encapsulation (302) by the same permanent adhesive adhesive provided on another overlapping surface of the cover layer (310) Wherein the softening line is easily cut relative to the degree of fixation between the fixed cover layer portion (310a) and the underlying barrier material. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the portion of the barrier material forming the access opening can be completely removed from the seal surrounding portion (302). The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover layer (310) has a tab (315) that is not connected to the barrier material of the seal enclosure (302). 19. The package of claim 18, wherein the tabs (315) are free of adhesives. 19. The package of claim 18, wherein the tab (315) comprises an emollient that neutralizes the adhesive properties of the adhesive applied to the tab. 5. The smoking article package of claim 4, wherein the smoking article access opening is formed to extend from an upper end surface of the seal surrounding portion (302) to a front major surface (304) of the sealing sidewall (302). 22. The article of claim 21 wherein the cover layer (310) extends from the rear major surface (306) through the upper end surface (305) to the front major surface (304) of the seal encirclement (302) . 22. The package of claim 21, wherein the cover layer (310) extends onto the rear main surface (306) to provide a barrier material of the rear major surface (306) in the edge overlap region. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the edge overlapping region extends from an edge of the seal surrounding portion (302) adjacent the upper end surface (305) and the rear major surface (306) to a lower edge of the cover layer (310) Smoking goods package. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the edge overlapping region is spaced from the edge of the sealing sidewall portion (302) adjacent the upper end surface (305) and the rear major surface (306) by a distance in the range of 1 mm to 12 mm To-face direction. 26. The package of claim 25, wherein the distance ranges from 2 mm to 8 mm. 27. The package of claim 26, wherein the distance ranges from 5 mm to 7 mm. The smoking article package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tab region (20a, 120a) is 3 mm or less in length along the cutting line or the soft line. 29. The package of claim 28, wherein the tab regions (20a, 120a) are 1 mm or less in length along the cutting lines or soft lines. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein the tab regions (20a, 120a) are equally distributed around the circumference of the closed form. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein two to twelve tab regions (20a, 120a) are provided. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The non-cut tab region has a length such that each of the non-cut tab regions has a length so that there is no tearing of the barrier material out of the access opening and facilitates removal of a portion of the barrier material that forms the smoking article access opening,
Wherein each of the non-cut tab regions is spaced apart from an adjacent uncut tab region along the cut line or soft line by a distance greater than a respective length of the non-cut tab region. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the cutting line or soft line extends continuously between adjacent non-cut tab regions. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein a portion of the barrier material forming the smoking article access opening is formed by a cutting line extending as a continuous cut in between adjacent non-cut tab regions.

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