Hinged-lid pack for cigarettes or the like

• US 6,276,600 B1
• Filed: 04/18/2000
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Meadwestvaco (WestRock Company)
• Original Assignee: Westvaco Corporation (Meadwestvaco Corporation)
• Inventors: Rigby, William Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US09/552,300
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 229/128, 229/146, 229/160.1, 206/268, 206/273
• US Class Current: 229/128
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 85/10484 having rounded corners

Abstract

This invention relates to a modification for a round-corner flip top cigarette pack and the like. Such structures of this type, generally, relocate the inner frame in order to improve reclosability of the pack.

Claims

1. A container comprising:

a round-corner body and a round-corner lid hingedly attached to said body along a curved perimeter;

a plurality of elongated articles located substantially within said body and extending out of said body; and

an inner frame having a front and two side panels secured to the interior of said body opposite said hinge and extending from said body and said inner frame being substantially surrounded by said lid when said lid is in a closed position.

2. The container as in claim 1, wherein said inner frame comprises:

a plurality of parallel groves located at approximately the perimeter of said front panel and said side panels;

a shoulder located adjacent to said parallel groves; and

a radius located adjacent to said shoulder.

3. The container, as in claim 1, wherein said inner frame has a top surface with a u-shaped cavity between said shoulders and radius.

4. The container, as in claim 1, wherein said lid comprises:

a first, second, third and fourth panel such that said first panel is hingedly connected to said body and said second panel is connected to said third panel and said third panel is connected to said fourth panel;

a plurality of parallel grooves substantially located on said first and third panel; and

a panel extension hingedly attached to said fourth panel.

5. A container comprising:

a round-corner body and a round-corner lid such that said lid is hingedly secured to said body along a curved perimeter;

a plurality of elongated articles located substantially within said body; and

an inner frame having a front panel and two side panels such that a top of said inner frame is located substantially inside said body opposite said hinge and said inner frame is substantially surrounded by said lid when said lid is in a closed position, and wherein said inner frame comprises a plurality of parallel grooves located at approximately the perimeter of said front panel and said side panels, a shoulder located adjacent to said parallel grooves, and a radius located adjacent to said shoulder.

6. The container, as in claim 5, wherein said lid and body are formed from the same substrate by folding said substrate along a curved perimeter to form said lid and said body.

7. The container, as in claim 5, wherein said inner frame has a top surface with a cavity between said shoulder and radius.

8. The container, as in claim 5, wherein said lid comprises:

a first, second, third and fourth panel and said first panel is hingedly connected to said body along a curved perimeter, said second panel is hingedly connected to said third panel, and said third panel is hingedly connected to said fourth panel and wherein said first and third panels comprise a plurality of parallel grooves, and wherein a panel extension is hingedly attached to said fourth panel.

9. A container comprising:

a body with four sides, rounded corners, a closed end, and an open end;

a lid with four sides, rounded corners, a closed end, and an open end, said lid hingedly secured to said body along a curved perimeter; and

an inner frame having a front panel and at least two side panels, said inner frame secured to said body opposite said hinge, wherein said inner frame at least partially extends past said open end of said body and said lid contacts at least a portion of a top surface of said inner frame when said lid contacts said body opposite said hinge and wherein at least a portion of said inner frame is surrounded by said lid when said lid is in a closed position.

10. The container as in claim 9, wherein said inner frame comprises:

a plurality of parallel groves located at approximately the perimeter of said front panel and said at least two side panels.

11. The container as in claim 10, wherein said inner frame comprises a shoulder located adjacent to said parallel groves on said top surface of said inner frame, said shoulder extending from said parallel grooves to a curved surface on said front panel of said inner frame.

12. The container as in claim 11;

wherein at least a portion of said top surface of said inner frame front panel has a cavity.

13. The container as in claim 12, wherein said cavity is u-shaped.

14. The container, as in claim 13, wherein said u-shape extends from said curved surface on said front panel to said body.

15. The container as in claim 9, wherein said lid and said body are formed from the same substrate by folding a portion of said substrate along a curved perimeter to form a hinge, a lid, and a body.

16. The container as in claim 9, wherein said container is suitable for holding cigarettes.