Flip-top packet for cigarettes

• US 7,992,708 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2007
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Focke & Company
• Original Assignee: Focke & Company
• Inventors: Hein, Viktor, Buse, Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Pickett; J. Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Collins; Raven
• Application Number:
  US12/304,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20090205982A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,564 Days
• Field of Search: 206/250, 206/268, 206/270, 206/264, 206/273, 206/242, 206/271, 206/254, 206/100, 206/236, 206/485, 206/578, 206/249, 206/251, 229/160.1, 229/129.1, 229/125.08, 220/628, 220/711, 220/359.3, 220/835
• US Class Current: 206/249
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/38 Drawer-and-shell type containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 85/1054 combined with an outer sleeve connected to the lid

Abstract

A cigarette pack of the hinge-lid-box type comprises an outer pack (13) and an inner pack which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction within the outer pack (13). A hinge lid (36) is fitted on one side of the outer pack (13). This hinge lid is moved into an open position by displacement of the inner pack (12) relative to the outer pack (13), to be precise by an opening force being transmitted by means of a pushing-action tab (27) arranged within the pack.

Claims

1. A pack with at least one hinge lid (36, 53) for a cigarette group (11), having an inner pack (12) and an outer pack (13) which at least partially encloses the inner pack (12) and in which the inner pack (12) can be displaced, the inner pack (12) and outer pack (13) being connected to one another by an actuating means for pivoting the hinge lid (36, 53) by relative displacement between the inner pack (12) and outer pack (13), characterized by the following features:

a) the hinge lid (36, 53) is fitted in a pivotable manner on the outer pack (13),

b) a pushing-action tab (27, 62), for pivoting the hinge lid (36, 53), is arranged within the pack as a connecting means between the inner pack (12) and hinge lid (36, 53),

c) the pushing-action tab (27, 62), is either connected to an inner front wall (14) of the inner pack (12) and the inside of lid front wall (31) of the hinge lid (36,53)

or

to an inner rear wall (65) of the inner pack (12) and the inside of lid rear wall (57) of the hinge lid (36, 52),

such that, when the inner pack (12) is pushed within the outer pack (13) in the direction of the open position, a compressive force is transmitted to the inside of the hinge lid (36, 53) by the pushing-action tab (27, 62) for pivoting the hinge lid (36, 53) into an open position,

d) the pushing action tab (27, 62) for pivoting the hinge lid (36, 52) on the outer pack (13) can be subjected to compressive loading and comprises tab portions or legs (49, 50, 51) which are delimited from one another by linear articulations (46, 47, 48) which are directed transversely to the pushing movement of the inner pack (12).

2. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that tab portions or legs (49, 50, 51) are delimited from one another by linear articulations (46, 47, 48), with the linear articulations (46 . . . 48), in order to transmit the pushing force, having different levels of deformation resistance.

3. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the different levels of deformation resistance of the linear articulations (46 . . . 48) are created by different perforations.

4. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pushing-action tab (27, 62) is part of the blank of the inner pack (12), in particular on a region of an inner front wall of the inner pack (12) which is directed toward the hinge lid (36, 53), with the pushing-action tab (27, 62) having three parallel, differently spaced-apart linear articulations (46, 47, 48), of which the linear articulation (46), which is directed toward the inner front wall (14), is formed with a relatively higher level of pivoting resistance.

5. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that an outer, end region of the pushing-action tab (27, 62) is connected to the inside of the hinge lid (36, 53) by adhesive bonding or the like.

6. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in a region which is directed toward the hinge lid (36, 53), the inner pack (12) has cutouts (24, 63, 64) which, on the one hand, bound the pushing-action tab (27, 62) and, on the other hand, form an opening for the removal of cigarettes (10).

7. The pack as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the cutouts (24) extend into the region of side walls of the inner pack (12) or into the region of overlapping outer flaps (18) and inner flaps (19) such that cigarettes along the periphery or at the corners are exposed.

8. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the hinge lid (36, 53) is connected to the outer pack (13) via a transversely directed linear articulation (39, 55), the linear articulation (39, 55) having a continuous interruption in a central region in the form of an opening (40, 56) in the region of adjacent outer walls (30, 54, 31, 57).

9. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in a base region, the outer pack (13) has a cutout (44) for access to the inner pack (12) extending around the corner in the region of the base wall (29) and outer front wall (30) with a detachable piece of material (45).

10. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the inner pack (12) largely encloses the pack contents with the exception of the cutouts (24;

63, 64) in the front region and an exposed region of the inner end wall (17), which extends over part of the width or depth of the end side.

11. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the outer pack (13), including the hinge lid (36, 53), fully encloses the inner pack (12) in the closed position.

12. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized by two lids arranged on opposite sides of the outer pack (13), namely a hinge lid (36), on the one hand, and inner lid (53), on the other hand, the hinge lid (36) being fitted on an outer front wall (30) and the inner lid (53) being fitted on an outer rear wall.

13. The pack as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the hinge lid (36) and inner lid (53) can be moved approximately simultaneously into the open position by displacement of the inner pack (12) in the outer pack (13) by way of a pushing-action tab (27, 62) assigned to each lid (36, 53).

14. The pack as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the inner pack (12) or a blank of the same has two mutually opposite pushing-action tabs (27, 62) as part of the inner front wall (14) and of an inner rear wall (65), respectively, the pushing-action tabs (27, 62) being delimited by cutouts (63, 64) exclusively in the region of the inner front wall (14) and inner rear wall (65), respectively.

15. The pack as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the cutouts (63, 64) are spaced apart in each case from adjacent outer flaps (66) and inner flaps (67), respectively, of the inner pack (12) such that the inner front wall (14) and the inner rear wall (65) form material webs (68) which enclose the pack contents in the region of the front side and rear side.

16. The pack as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that an end wall (32) of the hinge lid (36) or an inner end wall (17) of the inner pack (12), have in each case corner flaps on both sides, namely lid corner flaps (38), on the one hand, and end flaps (21), on the other hand, with the folded lid corner flaps (38) being connected to side parts of the pack or of the hinge lid (36) or the folded end flaps (21) are connected to side walls of the inner pack (12), namely to lid side flaps (37), on the one hand, and to outer flaps (18), on the other hand.

17. The pack as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that, in the case of a configuration with an outer hinge lid (36), on the one hand, and inner lid (53), on the other hand, lid corner flaps (60) assigned to a lid end wall (59) of the inner lid (53) are connected to lid side flaps (58) and butt against the inside of the lid end wall (59) and are connected to the same.