EP2822875B1

EP2822875B1 - Packet for tobacco products

Info

Publication number: EP2822875B1
Application number: EP13720050.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Patrizio Roila; Roberto Polloni; Marco Ghini; Stefano Negrini
Original assignee: GD SpA
Current assignee: GD SpA
Priority date: 2012-03-07
Filing date: 2013-03-04
Publication date: 2015-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2033-03-04
Also published as: JP2015512836A; CN104159835A; CN104159835B; EP2822875A1; PL2822875T3; ITBO20120114A1; JP6174607B2; WO2013132411A1

Description

Technical field

This invention relates to a packet for tobacco products.
Hereinafter in this description, reference is made to tobacco products consisting of cigarettes, without thereby restricting the scope of the invention.

Background art

Known in the prior art are numerous types of cigarette packets, in particular hard packets of the kind known as "hinge-lid", present on the market, or not yet on the market but described and illustrated in patent documents.
These packets (known for example from EP1250272 ) comprise an outer container, generally made of paperboard or a plastic material, which forms a box body and a lid hinged along one edge of the box body, and which houses an inner container which accommodates a group of cigarettes.
In many cases, the inner container, generally made of a soft material, usually foil paper, is initially closed and has an upper portion which can be torn off and removed the first time the packet is opened in order to take out the cigarettes inside it.
Often, the inner container applies a certain amount of lateral compression on the group of cigarettes inside it. Thus, when the cigarette packet is new, that is to say, when the group of cigarettes it contains is whole, the lateral compression applied to the group of cigarettes may be relatively high and may make it quite difficult to take out the first cigarette from the group of cigarettes owing to the friction between it and the cigarettes around it.
A further disadvantage of packets of this kind is that the smoker has to use both hands to take out a cigarette. In effect, the box body must be held firmly in one hand while the other hand is used to open the lid and to keep it open in order to take a cigarette out of the packet.

Disclosure of the invention

This invention has for an aim to provide a packet for tobacco products which overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages, which can be opened and a cigarette taken out of it with one hand only, and which is at once easy and inexpensive to make.
The technical purpose indicated and the aims specified are achieved by a packet for tobacco products comprising the technical features set out in the independent claim 1.

Brief description of drawings

The invention will now be described with reference to tobacco products consisting of cigarettes, but without thereby limiting the scope of the invention, and with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a non-limiting embodiment of it and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette packet according to the invention in a first, closed working configuration;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cigarette packet of Figure 1, in a second, open working configuration;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the packet of Figure 2, with some parts cut away in order to better illustrate others;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a component of the packet of Figure 2;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a detail of the component illustrated in Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of another detail of the component of Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the component of Figure 4, with some parts cut away in order to better illustrate others;

Also another sort of packets is known from EP1829799 , which is regarded as the closest prior art and discloses a rigid parallelepiped-shaped package for tobacco articles having a container with a withdrawal opening and a cup-shaped lid hinged to the container along a hinge to rotate between an open position and a closed position respectively opening and closing the withdrawal opening, wherein the container and the lid are formed by folding two respective independent, separate blanks and wherein the lid is glued to a connecting tab integral with a bottom end wall of the container.

Figures 8 and 9 are plan views showing two blanks used to make the component of Figure 4;
Figure 10 is a plan view showing a blank used to make a further component of the packet illustrated in Figure 2;
Figure 11 shows, in a perspective view and partly assembled, the blank of Figure 10, forming the further component of the packet illustrated in Figure 2.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a packet for cigarettes 2.
The packet 1 is formed from several components and comprises an outer package 3 forming two larger lateral walls 4, two smaller lateral walls 5, a top 6 and a bottom 7. The bottom 7 comprises a first base portion 8 and a second base portion 9 (Figure 3) which are connected to each other by a line of weakness perpendicular to the larger lateral walls 4 and forming a hinge line 10.
The packet 1 also comprises a first inner package 11 and a second inner package 12, both located inside the outer package 3. Each of the inner packages 11,12 contains a respective group 13,14 of cigarettes 2.
Each group 13,14 of cigarettes 2 consists preferably, as illustrated in Figure 5, of a row of cigarettes 2 parallel with each other, positioned side by side in pairs and aligned to form a row. The cigarettes 2 might also be positioned side by side in two or more rows and they each comprise a pickup portion 16 which can be manually gripped at one end 15 and an end portion 17 opposite the pickup portion 16.
When the packet 1 is not in use, the cigarettes 2 are positioned with their axes vertical and, in particular, in the description which follows, the term "vertical" (and similar terms) will be used, for explanatory purposes, to describe the position adopted by the packet 1 when it is not in use and the cigarettes 2 inside it, are positioned with their axes vertical and the zone where the cigarettes 2 themselves are taken out of the packet 1 is located at the top of the packet 1 itself. The terms "upper" and "lower" (and like terms, such as "top" and "bottom") will also be used to designate the corresponding portions of the packet 1 when it is in the vertical position. As shown in Figure 4, the first inner package 11 and the second inner package 12 each comprise two larger lateral walls 18, two smaller lateral walls 19, a top 20 with an opening 21 for taking out at least one cigarette 2, and a bottom 22. Each bottom 22 of the first inner package 11 and of the second inner package 12 is connected, respectively, to the first base portion 8 and to the second base portion 9 of the outer package 3. Preferably, the take-out openings 21 may be initially closed by tear strips, not illustrated, or they might also be provided with removable sealing labels, also not illustrated.
The first inner package 11 and the second inner package 12 are able to move about the hinge line 10 between a position in which the packet 1 (Figure 1) is closed, in which the first and second inner packages are superposed and substantially aligned, and a position in which the packet 1 is opened fan-style (Figure 2), in which the first and second inner packages are offset from each other by a predetermined opening angle α. More precisely, the opening angle α is the angle made by the directions occupied by the first portion 8 and the second portion 9, as shown in Figure 2.
As shown in Figures 1,2,3, the packet 1 has a first strap 23 and a second strap 24, each of which is connected to a respective larger lateral wall 4 of the outer package 3 and to a respective inner package 11, 12 adjacent to the opposite larger lateral wall 4 of the outer package 3. Thus, during use, the straps 23,24 come into contact with each other (figure 2) to form the fan-style open position of the packet 1. Further, the first strap 23 and the second strap 24 at least partly form the top 6 of the outer package 3.
In the closed position the top 6 of the outer package 3 covers at least the take-out opening 21 of each of the first and second inner packages 11 and 12. In the open position the first inner package 11 and the second inner package 12 are partly superposed and the respective take-out openings 21 are uncovered.
As shown in Figures 3 to 7, each of the inner packages 11,12 comprises an inner container 25, preferably hard, which is housed in a linearly slidable manner in an outer container 26, also preferably hard, made of cardboard or the like, so it can move in both directions with a linear movement between a retracted position (illustrated in Figure 5), in which the inner container 25 is at it lowermost position inside the outer container 26, and a raised position or position for taking out the cigarette 2 (illustrated in Figure 7) in which the inner container 25 is at its uppermost position inside the outer container 26 and one cigarette 2 is kept in a partly extracted position (upwardly) from the inner container 25 itself.
The inner container 25 (Figure 5) has the shape of a parallelepiped, with a substantially "cupped" form, and has a lower wall 27, two parallel larger lateral walls 28,29, which are parallel and opposite to one another, and two smaller parallel lateral walls 30,31 which are interposed between the larger lateral walls 28,29. The inner container 25 has an open upper end 32 which defines, in the proximity of the smaller lateral wall 31, a zone Z for taking out one cigarette 2 at a time and through which, when the inner container 25 is in the "raised" position (whose features and purposes are described below) it is possible to take out a cigarette 2 from the packet 1. As illustrated, in particular in Figure 6, the outer container 26 also has the shape of a parallelepiped and has a lower wall 33, an upper wall 34, two larger lateral walls 35,36 which are parallel and opposite to each other and two smaller lateral walls 37,38.
In a zone substantially half way along the edge 39 where the lateral walls 35 and 38 of the outer container 26 meet, there is an opening 40 comprising a slot 55 made in the blank 44 (Figure 9) which makes up the outer container 26 itself and through which a smoker can touch a front zone 41 of the inner container 25. The shape and size of the slot 55 are such as to allow the smoker to apply, through the slot 55 itself, a pushing action on the front zone 41 of the inner container 52 in such a way as to move it vertically in both directions, making it slide within the outer container 26 between the aforementioned retracted and raised positions. It should be noted that in variant embodiments, not illustrated, of the packet 1, the slot 55 might be made in only one of the larger lateral walls 35 (preferably the front one), or one of the smaller lateral walls 38 of the outer container 26.
Preferably, the size of the opening angle α is such that, in use, the slot 55 is completely uncovered when the packet 1 is opened fan-style (Figure 3). In order to facilitate the manual pushing action applied by the smoker on the front zone 41 of the inner container 25, the exposed surface of the front zone 41 may be provided with knurling, not illustrated, or other roughening feature.
The upper wall 34 of the outer container 26 has a grip opening 42, with a substantially square shape, which defines the above mentioned opening 21 for taking out the cigarettes 2, as shown clearly in Figure 4.
The containers 25 and 26 of the cigarette packet 1 are obtained from corresponding blanks 43 and 44, respectively, illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, respectively. Each of the blanks 43 and 44 comprises a plurality of elements, which, where possible, are denoted by primed reference numerals which are the same as the unprimed reference numerals denoting the corresponding elements of the respective container 25 or 26. With reference to Figure 8, the blank 43 has two longitudinal lines of weakness 45 and two transversal lines of weakness 46 which define (from the bottom up in the figure), between the two longitudinal lines of weakness 45, a panel 28' constituting one larger lateral wall 28, a panel 27' constituting the lower wall 27 and a panel 29' constituting the other larger lateral wall 29.
The panel 28", located at the bottom in Figure 8, has a pair of side flaps 30', 31', left and right, respectively, which constitute an inner part of the smaller lateral walls 30, 31', are located on opposite sides of the panel 28' adjacent to them and are separated from the panel 28' by the longitudinal lines of weakness 45. Similarly, the panel 29', located at the top in Figure 8, has a pair of side flaps 30", 31", left and right, respectively, which constitute an outer part of the smaller lateral walls 30, 31', are located on opposite sides of the panel 29' adjacent to them and are separated from the panel 29' by the longitudinal lines of weakness 45.
The panel 27' constituting the lower wall 27, is provided, on the part of it on the left in Figure 8, with a line of weakness 47 which is substantially in the shape of a "U" with concavity facing towards the left and having two opposite long sides 48 coinciding with respective portions of the two longitudinal lines of weakness 45 which delimit two opposite sides of the panel 27' itself.
The line of weakness 47 extends towards the right of the panel 27' to a distance from that end which is just a little longer than the diameter of a cigarette 2. The portion of the panel 27' between the right-hand end of the panel 27' itself and the line of weakness 47 will hereinafter be referred to as "supporting portion", denoted by the reference numeral 47'.
With reference to Figure 9, the blank 44 has two longitudinal lines of weakness 49 and a plurality of transversal lines of weakness 50 which define (from the bottom up in the figure), between the two longitudinal lines of weakness 49, a panel 35' constituting one larger lateral wall 15, a panel 33' constituting the bottom wall 33 and a panel 36' constituting the other larger lateral wall 36.
The panel 35' has a pair of side flaps 37' and 38', left and right, respectively, in Figure 9, which are located on opposite sides of the panel 35' itself, are separated from the panel 35' by the longitudinal lines of weakness 49, are substantially rectangular in shape and constitute an outer portion of the smaller lateral walls 37 and 38, respectively. Similarly, the panel 36' has a pair of side flaps 37" and 38", left and right, respectively, in Figure 9, which are located on opposite sides of the panel 36', are separated from the panel 36' itself by the longitudinal lines of weakness 49, are substantially rectangular in shape and constitute an inner portion of the smaller lateral walls 37 and 38, respectively. The horizontal sides of the side flaps 37' and 38' located at the top in Figure 9 are connected, by end portions of the transversal line of weakness 50 which separates the panel 33' from the panel 35', to two flaps 51 extending towards, and almost touching, the flaps 37" and 38", respectively. Each of the panels 35' and 36' has a horizontal side, located respectively at the bottom and top in Figure 9, and connected to a respective flap 52 located on the opposite side with respect to the panel 33' and separated from the respective panel 35', 36' by a transversal line of weakness 53.
The transversal dimension of the flaps 52 in the direction of the transversal lines of weakness 53 is smaller than the transversal dimension of the panels 35' and 36', and the flaps 52 are positioned relative to the respective panels 35' and 36' in such a way that they are clear of respective lateral portions of the panels 35' and 36' situated on the right in Figure 9 and whose width is just larger than the diameter of a cigarette 2. The side flap 38' connected to the edge of the panel 35' situated on the right in Figure 9 is provided, at a longitudinally middle zone of it, with a recess 54 which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of extension of the blank 44 and whose depth is substantially equal to half the width of the flap 38' itself.
The zone of connection between the panel 36' and the side flap 38" situated on the right in Figure 9 is crossed at a longitudinally middle part of it, by a substantially rectangular elongate slot 55 which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of extension of the blank 44, whose length is substantially equal to that of the recess 54 and whose width, at the portion of it corresponding to the side flap 38", is equal to that of the recess 54, whilst at the portion of it situated on the panel 36' is preferably greater than the width of the recess 54, being substantially equal to 7-10 mm.
It should be noted that in variant embodiments of the invention not illustrated, the slot 55 might be situated at any position on the panel 36' and/or on the flap 38", and it might be of any shape and size, in any case different from the shape and size of the slot 55 shown in Figure 6.
The outer package 3 of the cigarette packet 1 is obtained from a blank 56, as illustrated in Figure 10.
The blank 56 comprises two large panels 4' defining the larger lateral walls 4 of the outer package 3.
The large panels 4' are connected to each other by a panel 7', defining the bottom 7 of the outer package 3 through two transversal lines of weakness 57. The connecting panel 7' is divided into a first sub-panel 8' and a second sub-panel 9' which define the first portion 8 and the second portion 9 of the bottom 7, respectively, and which are connected to each other by a line of weakness 58 constituting the aforementioned hinge line 10. More specifically, in order to allow the packet 1 to be opened fan-style, the first sub-panel 8' is connected to the large panel 4', on the left in the drawing, by the transversal line of weakness 57, and is separated from the other large panel 4', on the right in the drawing, by a first cutting line 59. Similarly, the second sub-panel 9' is connected to the large panel 4', on the right in the drawing, by the transversal line of weakness 57, and is separated from the other large panel 4', on the left in the drawing, by a second cutting line 60.
Each of the large panels 4' has a respective first flap 5', defining an inner reinforcement for the outer package 3 (Figure 11) and a respective second flap 5", each defining a respective smaller lateral wall 5 of the outer package 3. The first flap 5' and the second flap 5" are connected to the large panel 4' by a longitudinal line of weakness 61.
More specifically, as shown in Figure 10 the first flap 5' and the second flap 5" are each connected to the respective large panel 4' on opposite sides of the large panel 4' itself.
Each large panel 4' also has a respective lateral wing 23',24', each connected to the respective large panel 4' on the side of the large panel 4' opposite the panel 7'. The first lateral wing 23' and the second lateral wing 24' define the aforementioned connecting straps 23,24, respectively.
Each lateral wing 23',24' is connected to the respective large panel 4' by a line of weakness 62. Preferably, each lateral wing 23',24' is connected to the respective large panel 4' in the proximity of the first flap 5'.
The blank 56 further comprises a pair of openings 63, each made substantially half way along the line of weakness 61 connecting the large panel 4' to the second flap 5".
Advantageously, each of the openings 63 is made in the shape of a right-angled trapezium whose bases are perpendicular to the line of weakness 61, whilst the oblique side is on the respective large panel 4' and is inclined at a semiangle α relative to a direction perpendicular to the main direction of extension of the blank. That way, it is easier for the smoker to open the packet fan-style with one hand only.
In a first alternative embodiment, each opening 63 is made only on a respective large panel 4'. In a second alternative embodiment, each opening 63 is made only on a respective second flap 5".
At a substantially middle zone, each second flap has a U-shaped indentation 64. During assembly of the packet 1, each U-shaped indentation 64 faces the recess 54 of the blank 43, partly defining, when the packet 1 is complete, the grip opening 42 of the outer package 26.
In the blanks 43, 44 and 56 shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10, the parts where glue must be applied in order to assemble the inner and outer containers 25 and 26 and the outer package 3 are represented as hatched areas
The inner container 25 is assembled by folding the panels 28',29' squarely relative to the panel 27', towards each other, about the transversal lines of weakness 48 which join them to the panel 27' itself. The side flaps 30 and 31' are then folded squarely about the longitudinal lines of weakness 45 which join them to the panel 28', in such a way that they cover the space between the two panels 28' and 29', and the side flaps 30" and 31" are in turn folded squarely over the respective side flaps 30' and 31' which have already been folded. The glue on the blank 43, as specified above, keeps the inner container 25 in the shape thus obtained.
The outer container 26 is assembled in a similar way to the inner container 25, since the panels 35' and 36' are folded squarely about the transversal lines of weakness 50 which join them to the panel 33'. The side flaps 37" and 38" are folded squarely about the longitudinal lines of weakness 49 which join them to the panel 36', in such a way that they cover the space between the two panels 35' and 36'. The flaps 51 are folded squarely about the transversal lines of weakness 50, which join them to the respective flaps 37' and 38', and are placed over the panel 33'. Lastly, the side flaps 37' and 38' are folded squarely over the respective side flaps 37" and 38" which have already been folded. These operations are performed by shaping the outer container 26 around the inner container 25 already erected and housing inside it a row 13 of cigarettes 2. When the outer container 26 has been completed, the flaps 52 are folded squarely over each other in such a way as to close the outer container 26. The glue on the blank 44, as specified above, keeps the outer container 26 in the shape thus obtained.
It should be noted that on the face of it which is on the outside of the inner container 25, the portion of the panel 27' of the blank 43 enclosed within the line of weakness 47 is provided with glue which, after the containers 25 and 26 have been assembled, causes it to adhere to the panel 33' of the blank 44.
As a result, the blank 43 is easy to handle while the inner container 25 is being made, since its bottom panel 47' connects the panels 28' and 29' to each other for as long as the line of weakness 47 remains intact, thus giving the blank 43 good shape stability and sufficient rigidity.
Once the inner package has been completed, the first time the inner container 25 is made to slide upwards within the outer container 26, as mentioned above and as will be explained in more detail below, the line of weakness 47 is torn, the inner container 25 comes completely free of the outer container 26 and the walls 28 of the inner container 25 remain connected to each other only by the zone of the panel 27 outside of the line of weakness 47. From this moment on, the inner container 25 is open at the bottom except only the zone of the panel 27' outside the line of weakness 47, that is to say, except the supporting portion 47' of the wall 27.
In other words, according to the above, the bottom wall of the inner container 25 is defined by a lower wall 27 in which a tearable line of weakness 47 is made which delimits an area of the selfsame lower wall 27. A portion of the lower wall 27 outside that area defines the supporting portion 47' and the area is connected by adhesive to the lower wall 33 of the outer container 26.
As shown in Figure 11, the outer package 3 is assembled by first folding the side flaps 5' about the longitudinal lines of weakness 61 until they match the respective large panel 4'. The first side flaps 5' are glued to the large panels 4' by glue applied to the flaps 5' themselves, thus constituting the inner reinforcements for the outer package 3.
Next, the first inner package 11 and the second inner package 12 are applied side by side to the respective sub-panels 8',9' of the panel 7' by the glue present on the lower panel 33' of each outer container 26.
As shown in Figure 9, the glue is applied to the lower panel 33' on only a portion of the panel 33' itself. More specifically, the glue is applied on the panel 33' for a length substantially equal to, and preferably smaller than, the length of the respective sub-panel 8',9' of the blank 56 to which the respective inner package will be applied, so as not to hinder opening the packet 1 fan-style.
Once the inner packages 11,12 have been applied to the outer package 3, the second flaps 5" are folded squarely about the longitudinal lines of weakness 61 to match the lateral wall 38 of the outer container 26 of each inner package 11,12.
Each second side flap 5" adheres solidly to the lateral wall 38 thanks to the glue applied to the panel 38' of the blank 44 defining the lateral wall 38 itself.
Lastly, the lateral wings 23' and 24' are folded squarely to adhere solidly to the top 20 of the respective inner package 11,12, to define the aforementioned straps 23,24.
In use, to take a cigarette 2 out of the packet 1, all the smoker has to do is to press both of the openings 63 simultaneously in such a way as to cause the packet 1 to open fan-style and to make both of the take-out openings 21 accessible.
When a cigarette 2 does not need to be taken out, the inner container 25 must occupy its lowermost retracted position (Figures 4,5) where its lower wall 27 is in contact with the lower wall 33 of the outer container 26. Under these conditions, the cigarettes 2 inside the inner container 25 are capable of sliding translationally towards the wall 31 of the inner container 25 perpendicularly to their axes. As a result of this sliding, the cigarette 2 closest to the wall 31 of the inner container 25 moves onto the zone of the wall adjacent to the wall 31 itself, that is to say, onto the supporting portion 47'.
According to what has been described above, since part of the lower wall of the inner container 25 is torn and remains connected to the lower wall 33 of the outer container 26, no steps are formed on the bottom and the cigarette can thus move easily onto the supporting portion 47'.
At this point, all the smoker has to do is press a finger on the front zone 41 of the inner container 25 through the opening 40 in such a way as to urge the inner container 25 upwards from the retracted position to the raised position and to cause an upper portion of the cigarette 2 resting on the supporting portion 47' of the wall 7 to protrude through the grip opening 42 of the upper wall 34 of the outer container 26 (Figure 7).
Preferably, the slots 55 may be covered by panels, not illustrated in the drawings, to be torn the first time the packet is opened.
As shown in Figure 7, since the bottom of the inner container 25 is open except for the supporting portion 47' of the wall 7, the other cigarettes 2 in the group 13 remain in the lowered position in contact with the lower wall 33 of the outer container 26.
Once the cigarette 2 protruding partly from the packet 1 has been taken out, the inner container 25 must be returned to the initial retracted position by pressing a finger on the front zone 41 in order to allow another cigarette 2 to move onto the supporting portion 47' of the wall 7, as described above.
The packet 1 comprises indicator means 65 for indicating to the smoker how to take out the cigarette 2 and how to load the next cigarette 2 onto the supporting portion 47'.
The indicator means are defined by a first arrow, labelled A in Figure 5, indicating the direction of sliding of the inner container 25 for taking out the cigarette 2, and a second arrow, labelled B in Figure 5, indicating the direction of sliding of the inner container 25 for loading the next cigarette 2 onto the supporting portion 47'.
The arrows A,B are visible when the packet 1 is opened fan-style (Figure 2).
The arrows A,B are at the front zone 41 of each inner container 25, and can be seen through the opening 40 in the respective outer container 26. More specifically, when the packet 1 is opened fan-style, the inner container 25 is in the retracted position and only the first arrow A is visible (Figure 4). This shows the smoker the correct direction in which the inner container 25 must be made to slide in order allow the cigarette 2 to be taken out.
When the inner container 25 is moved to the raised position, the first arrow A is hidden by a portion of the larger wall 35 of the outer container 26 and only the second arrow B is visible through the opening 40 (Figures 2,3). This shows the smoker the correct direction in which the inner container 25 must be made to slide in order load the next cigarette 2 onto the supporting portion 47'.
When the inner container 25 is moved back to the retracted position, the second arrow B is hidden behind a portion of the larger wall 35 of the outer container 26 and only the first arrow A is visible through the opening 40.
Further, in a variant embodiment not illustrated, the packet 1 has an elastic element housed inside the inner container 25 in order to facilitate sliding of the remaining cigarettes 2 back towards the wall 31 after a cigarette 2 has been taken out and the inner container 25 has been returned to the initial retracted position. The elastic element is preferably a spring made (for example) by zigzag folding a sheet consisting (for example) of paperboard or plastic material and capable of urging the cigarettes 2 inside the inner container 25 to slide transversely towards the wall 31, that is to say, towards the zone of action of the supporting portion 47'.
It should be noted that in a further variant embodiment of the invention not illustrated, the supporting portion 47' and the take-out zone Z might be of a size, measured along the longitudinal direction of extension of the panel 7' substantially equal to a multiple of the diameter of a cigarette 2. In this case, the upward movement of the inner container 25 would cause the upper portions of two or more cigarettes 2 to come out through the zone Z. After taking out one of these cigarettes 2, the smoker would re-lower the inner container 25, thereby causing the remaining, partly protruding cigarettes 2 to return into the outer container 26.
In a yet further variant embodiment not illustrated, the cigarettes 2 inside the inner container 25 might also be arranged in two or more rows side by side, instead of in a single row. In this case, too, the supporting portion 47' might have two or more cigarettes 2 on it, side by side, the upward movement of the inner container 25 would cause the upper portions of two or more cigarettes 2 to come out through the zone Z and after taking out one of these cigarettes 2, the smoker would re-lower the inner container 25, thereby causing the remaining, partly protruding cigarettes 2 to return into the outer container 26.

Claims

A packet for tobacco products, characterized in that it comprises:
- an outer package (3) forming two larger lateral walls (4), two smaller lateral walls (5), a top (6) and a bottom (7), the bottom (7) comprising a first base portion (8) and a second base portion (9) which are connected to each other by a line of weakness perpendicular to the larger lateral walls (4) and forming a hinge line (10); characterised by:

- a first inner package (11) and a second inner package (12) each for containing a respective group (13) of tobacco products (2);

- the first inner package (11) and the second inner package (12) each comprising two larger lateral walls (18), two smaller lateral walls (19), a top (20) with an opening (21) for taking out at least one tobacco product (2) and a bottom (22), each bottom (22) of the first inner package (11) and the second inner package (12) being connected to the first portion (8) and respectively to the second portion (9) of the bottom (7) of the outer package (3);

- the first inner package (11) and the second inner package (12) being able to move about the hinge line (10) between a position in which the packet (1) is closed, in which the first and second inner packages are superposed and substantially aligned, and a position in which the packet (1) is opened fan-style, in which the first and second inner packages are offset from each other by a predetermined opening angle (α).
The packet according to claim 1, characterized in that in the closed position the top (6) of the outer package (3) covers at least the take-out opening (21) of each of the first inner package (11) and the second inner package (12).
The packet according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the open position the first inner package (11) and the second inner package (12) are partly superposed and the respective take-out openings (21) are uncovered.
The packet according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a first strap (23) and a second strap (24); each strap (23, 24) connecting the outer package (3) with a respective inner package (11,12).
The packet according to claim 4, characterized in that each strap (23, 24) connects a respective larger lateral wall (4) of the outer package (3) with a respective inner package (11, 12) adjacent to the opposite larger lateral wall (4) of the outer package (3).
The packet according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each inner package (11, 12) comprises an inner container (25), housing a group (13) of tobacco products (2) and an outer container (26) housing the inner container (25) in such a way that the inner container (25) can slide parallel with the axes of the tobacco products (2), thus allowing the inner container (25) to slide between a retracted position, in which the inner container (25) has its lower wall (27) adjacent to a lower wall (33) of the outer container (26) and all of the tobacco products (2) are completely contained in the inner container (25), and an extracted or raised position, in which the inner container (25) is positioned close to an upper wall (34) of the outer container (26).
The packet according to claim 6, characterized in that the lower wall (27) of the inner container (25) forms a supporting portion (47') designed to support at least one of the tobacco products (2) present in the inner container (25) and each sliding action of the inner container (25) towards the extracted or raised position in practice causes an axial movement towards the upper wall (34) of the outer container (26) of the at least one tobacco product (2) supported by the supporting portion (47') and at least partly causes the tobacco product (2) to come out through the take-out opening (21) of the inner package (11, 12).
The packet according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a portion of the lower wall (27) of the inner container (25) is open, allowing the tobacco products (2) to touch a lower wall (33) of the outer container (26).
The packet according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the supporting portion (47') has smaller dimensions than the transversal dimensions of the inner container (25).
The packet according to any of the claims from 6 to 9, characterized in that the outer container (26) is provided with a further opening (40) through which a smoker can manually act on the inner container (25) to cause sliding actions of the inner container (25) between the retracted position and the extracted or raised position.
The packet for tobacco products according to claim 10, characterized in that the further opening (40) is made in a substantially middle zone of the edge which joins one larger lateral wall (35) and one smaller lateral wall (38) of the outer container (26).
The packet for tobacco products according to claim 10, characterized in that the further opening (40) is made in a larger lateral wall (35) of the outer container (26).
The packet for tobacco products according to claim 10, characterized in that the further opening (40) is made in a smaller lateral wall (35) of the outer container (26).
The packet for tobacco products according to any of the claims from 6 to 13, characterized in that the lower wall (27) of the container (25) comprises a weakened line (47) which can be torn, delimiting an area of the lower wall (27); a portion of the lower wall (27) which is outside said area forming the supporting portion (47'), and the area being connected by adhesive to the lower wall (33) of the outer container (26).
The packet according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises indicator means (65) for indicating to the smoker how to take the tobacco product (2) out of the packet (1) and how to load a subsequent tobacco product (2) on the supporting portion (47').
The packet according to claim 15, characterized in that the indicator means (65) comprise a first arrow (A), indicating the direction of sliding of the inner container (25) for taking out the tobacco product (2), and a second arrow (B), indicating the direction of sliding of the inner container (25) for loading a subsequent tobacco product (2) on the supporting portion (47').
The packet according to claim 16, characterized in that the arrows (A, B) are visible when the packet (1) is in the fan-style open position.
The packet according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the arrows are at the front zone (41) of each inner container (25), and can be seen through the opening (40) in the respective outer container (26).
The packet according to any of the claims from 16 to 18, characterized in that only one arrow (A, B) at a time is visible.