Rigid carton and blank thereof

Abstract

A carton (1) with a parallelepiped-like shape that has: an upper wall (2) and a lower wall (3), which are parallel to and opposite one another; a front wall (4) and a rear wall (5), which are parallel to and opposite one another; two side walls (6, 7), which are parallel to and opposite one another; a first connection panel (16), which is connected to the rear wall (5) on the side opposite a first side wall (6) and overlaps and is glued to an inner surface of a second side wall (7); a second connection panel (17), which is connected to the rear wall (5) and overlaps and is glued to an inner surface of the upper wall (2); a filling body (9), which is arranged inside the carton (1) and comprises a first filling panel (10), which is connected to the second connection panel (17), folded by 90° relative to the second connection panel (17) and resting on the front wall (4), a second filling panel (11), which is connected to the first filling panel (10) and is folded by 90° relative to the first filling panel (10), and a third filling panel (12), which is connected to the second filling panel (11), is folded by 90° relative to the second filling panel (11) and is glued to the rear wall (5). The third filling panel (12) is narrower than the first filling panel (10).

Description

[0001] “RIGID CARTON AND BLANK THEREOF”

[0002] Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0003] This Patent Application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No. 102024000012589 filed on June 3, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] Technical Field

[0005] This invention relates to a rigid carton and a blank thereof.

[0006] This invention finds advantageous application in a rigid carton for housing smoking articles, to which the following discussion will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality. It should be noted, in fact, that the proposed rigid carton and its blanks can be used to hold smoking or tobacco industry articles or articles from the food or cosmetics or pharmaceutical industry indiscriminately.

[0007] Prior Art

[0008] Recently, new-generation cigarettes have come onto the market, that is cigarettes without combustion (HNB cigarettes) in which the tobacco is heated electrically in order to sublimate the aromatic substances contained in the tobacco itself.

[0009] For the marketing of the new-generation of cigarettes, a pack consisting of a rigid cardboard carton was proposed, the pack housing a group of heterogeneous articles (that is, of different types) generally comprising an electronic cigarette, a set of single-use (that is, disposable) cartridges for the electronic cigarette, and a printed leaflet (containing instructions for use and warnings).

[0010] For the production of the pack described above, the use of a packaging machine was proposed, the machine comprising a forming unit in which the group of heterogeneous articles is made, a folding unit in which the empty carton is made, an inserting unit in which the group of heterogeneous articles is inserted into the carton, and a closing unit in which the open ends of the carton are closed to complete the production of the pack.

[0011] The cartons are preferably fed already partially formed and flattened to the folding unit, and then each already formed carton is turned upright in the folding unit by rotating two opposite side walls by 90° (that is, performing an operation generally referred to as opening). In particular, each carton is formed by folding a flat blank on itself to give the blank a tubular and flattened (collapsed) shape.

[0012] Patent US4201329A describes a container for dispensing small sweets comprising a pair of tubular compartments; the upper wall of the container comprises a series of dispensing holes, each corresponding to a respective compartment.

[0013] Description of the Invention

[0014] The purpose of this invention is to provide a rigid carton that can be produced so that the carton is a high quality one but, at the same time, can be manufactured quickly and easily. Another purpose of this invention is to provide a blank for making a rigid carton.

[0015] In accordance with this invention, a rigid carton and a blank thereof are provided according to what is set forth in the appended claims.

[0016] The claims also form an integral part of this description.

[0017] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] This invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings that illustrate some non-limiting embodiments thereof, in which:

[0019] • Figures 1 and 2 are two perspective views of a carton containing smoking articles;

[0020] • Figure 3 is a schematic view in cross section of the carton in Figures 1 and 2;

[0021] • Figure 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the carton in Figures 1 and 2;

[0022] • Figure 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of the carton in Figures 1 and 2 according to an alternative embodiment;

[0023] • Figure 6 is a plan view of a completely laid out (that is, unfolded) blank that is folded to make the blank in Figures 1 and 2;

[0024] • Figure 7 is a plan view of the blank in Figure 1 completely laid out and provided with glue areas; and

[0025] • Figure 8 is a plan view of the partially folded blank in Figure 1.

[0026] Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

[0027] In Figure 1, the reference number 1 denotes, as a whole, a carton containing smoking articles.

[0028] The term “smoking articles" refers to tobacco industry articles such as, for example, traditional cigarettes, aerosol-generating articles, oral products with or without tobacco, electronic cigarettes. Alternatively, the carton 1 could contain a different type of article, for example articles from the food industry (sweets, sugared almonds, chocolates) or from the cosmetics or pharmaceutical industry.

[0029] It is understood that these articles may have different shapes and these shapes are not limiting or significant as far as concerns the subject of this invention.

[0030] The carton 1 has a rectangular, parallelepiped shape and has an upper wall 2 and a lower wall 3, which are parallel to and opposite one another; a front wall 4 and a rear wall 5, which are parallel to and opposite one another; and two side walls 6 and 7, which are parallel to and opposite one another. Four longitudinal edges (which may be sharp, that is straight, as illustrated in the attached figures, bevelled or rounded) are defined between the walls 4-7 of the carton 1, while eight transverse edges (which may be sharp, that is straight, as illustrated in the attached figures, bevelled or rounded) are defined between the walls 4-7 and walls 4 and 5 of the carton 1.

[0031] According to what is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the carton 1 delimits a parallelepipedshaped inner volume that is divided into a useful housing space in which (at least) one smoking article 8 is arranged and into a filling body 9 that is arranged next to the useful housing space and is an integral part of the carton 1 (that is, it is seamlessly connected to the carton 1). The filling body 9 is box shaped and is, therefore, hollow inside. Specifically, the filling body 9 consists of: a filling panel 10 that is parallel to and rests against the front wall 4, a filling panel 11 that is connected to the filling panel 10, is folded 90° to the panel 10, is perpendicular to the walls 4 and 5, and is parallel to the walls 2 and 3, and a filling panel 12 that is connected to the filling panel 11, is folded 90° to the filling panel 11, and is parallel to and glued on the rear wall 5.

[0032] According to what is illustrated in Figure 6, the carton 1 is made by using a single blank 13 comprising two pre-weakened transverse folding lines 14 and multiple pre-weakened longitudinal folding lines 15 defining (from right to left and between the two preweakened transverse folding lines 14) the side wall 7, the front wall 4 connected to the side wall 7 by a respective longitudinal folding line 15, the side wall 6 connected to the side wall 7 by a respective longitudinal folding line 15, the rear wall 5 connected to the side wall 6 by a respective longitudinal folding line 15, and a connection panel 16 that is connected to the rear wall 5 by a respective longitudinal folding line 15, forms an internal reinforcement of the side wall 7 and overlaps and is glued to the side wall 7.

[0033] The walls 2 and 3 are arranged at opposite ends of the front wall 4 and are connected to the front wall 4 by the two transverse folding lines 14.

[0034] The blank 13 comprises two connection panels 17 and 18 that are arranged at opposite ends of the rear wall 5 and are connected to the rear wall 5 by the two transverse folding lines 14; the connection panel 17 constitutes an internal reinforcement of the upper wall 2 and overlaps and is glued to the upper wall 2 while the connection panel 18 constitutes an internal reinforcement of the lower wall 3 and overlaps and is glued to the lower wall 3.

[0035] The filling panel 10 of the filling body 9 is connected to the connection panel 18 by a transverse folding line 14, the filling panel 11 of the filling body 9 is connected to the filling panel 10 by another transverse folding line 14, and the filling panel 12 of the filling body 9 is connected to the filling panel 11 by another transverse folding line 14.

[0036] The side wall 7 has a lower tab 19 that is connected to the side wall 7 by a transverse folding line 14, is folded 90° with respect to the side wall 7 and overlaps the connection panel 18.

[0037] The side wall 6 has a lower tab 20 that is connected to the side wall 6 by a transverse folding line 14, is folded 90° with respect to the side wall 6 and overlaps the connection panel 18.

[0038] The blank 13 is partially folded in advance on itself both to give the filling body 9 a tubular and flattened (collapsed) shape and to give the walls 4-7 a tubular and flattened (collapsed) shape.

[0039] Initially, the connection panel 16 is folded 180° around the corresponding longitudinal folding line 15 and against the rear wall 5 to assume the position illustrated in Figures 4 and 8.

[0040] Following this, the filling panel 12 is folded 180° with respect to the filling panel 11 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14 to make contact with said filling panel 11. Then, the first filling panel 10 and the second filling panel 11 (which are coplanar to each other) are folded 180° with respect to the connection panel 17 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14 until the filling panel 12 is placed in contact with the rear wall 5 to which it is glued as a result of a previously applied glue 21. Having reached this point, the filling body 9, which is collapsed outwards (that is, away from the centre of the blank 13), and the blank 13 have the shape shown in Figure 8.

[0041] As an alternative to what has just been described to arrive at the shape of the blank 13 illustrated in Figure 8, the filling body 9 could be formed with an upright shape and then collapsed outwards. In this embodiment, the filling panel 12 is folded 90° with respect to the filling panel 11 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14, then the filling panel 11 is bent 90° with respect to the filling panel 10 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14, then, the filling panel 10 is folded 90° with respect to the connection panel 17 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14, and finally, the connection panel 17 is folded 90° with respect to the rear wall 5 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14 bringing the filling panel 12 into contact with the rear wall 5 to which it is glued as a result of a previously applied glue 21 and completing the formation of the filling body 9 (as illustrated in Figure 3).

[0042] Having reached this point, the filling body 9, which has an upright shape (illustrated in Figures 3 and 4), is collapsed outwards (that is, away from the centre of the blank 13) by folding the panels 17 and 11 by 90° in order to place the filling panel 11 on top of the filling panel 12 (glued to the lower wall 5) and to place the filling panel 10 partly on top of the filling panel 12 (glued to the lower wall 5) and partly on top of the connection panel 17; at the end of this folding, which collapses the filling panel 9, the blank 13 has the shape illustrated in Figure 8.

[0043] According to a different embodiment, the connection panel 16 is folded 180° around the corresponding longitudinal folding line 15 and against the rear wall 5 after collapsing the filling body 9 instead of before producing the filling body 9.

[0044] Following this, the front wall 4 is folded 180° with respect to the side wall 6 and around the corresponding transverse folding line 14, causing the side wall 7 to overlap the previously folded connection panel 16 to which it is glued as a result of a previously applied glue 22 (illustrated in Figures 3 and 7).

[0045] This completes the prior and partial folding of the blank 13, which is then ready to be fed to a packaging machine.

[0046] As best illustrated in Figures 4 and 8, the panels 10, 11 and 12 are shaped so as not to overlap the connection panel 16 when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5. That is, the filling panel 12 is shaped so as not to overlap the connection panel 16 when they are both folded against the rear wall 5. Similarly, the filling panel 11 is also shaped so as not to overlap the connection panel 16 when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5. For this purpose, the panels 11 and 12 are narrower than the filling panel 10 (which has the same width as the connection panel 17) so that the panels 11 and 12 do not interfere with the connection panel 16 (they do not overlap the connection panel 16) when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5. In other words, the panels 11 and 12 have the same width and are narrower than the filling panel 10, which has the same width as the connection panel 17.

[0047] Please note that the term "width” refers to the measurement of a panel or wall along the direction parallel to the transverse folding lines 14.

[0048] Furthermore, when it is stipulated that a said panel is narrower than another panel, it is meant that the width of said panel is smaller than the width of the additional panel. Similarly, when it is stipulated that a said panel is wider than another panel, it is meant that the width of said panel is greater than the width of the additional panel.

[0049] In particular, and as illustrated in Figure 8, the filling panel 11 is shaped not to overlap the connection panel 16 when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5 and the filling panel 11 is folded against the filling panel 12 glued to the rear wall 5; similarly, the filling panel 10 is shaped so as not to overlap the connection panel 16 when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5 and the filling panel 10 is folded against the connection panel 17.

[0050] According to a preferred embodiment, the filling panel 10 has a bevelled edge near the connection panel 16 so as to eliminate any possible interference with the connection panel 16; that is, the bevelled edge of the filling panel 10 prevents the filling panel 10 from overlapping with the connection panel 16 when the filling panel 10 is collapsed.

[0051] These features are very important because they make it possible to achieve precise positioning of the filling panel 12 on the rear wall 5 (to the benefit of the correct shape of the filling body 9), to achieve strong gluing of the filling panel 12 to the rear wall 5, to achieve precise positioning of the connection panel 16 to the rear wall 5 (to the benefit of the correct shape of the side wall 7 when the side wall 7 overlaps and is glued to the connection panel 16) and to achieve strong gluing of the connection panel 16 to the side wall 7.

[0052] Figure 5 illustrates a variant in which the position of the filling panel 12 is altered by folding it 90° in relation to the filling panel 11 in the opposite direction to that illustrated, for example, in Figure 4.

[0053] The embodiments described here can be combined.

[0054] The carton 1 and the respective blank 13 described above have numerous advantages.

[0055] Firstly, the carton 1 described above can be produced by folding the respective, high- quality blank 13, that is with very precise folds that give the carton 1 a perfectly square shape. In other words, if the filling panels 10, 11 and 12 were to overlap the connection panel 16 when the connection panel 16 is folded against the rear wall 5, then the gluing of the rear wall 7 to the connection panel 16 would not occur properly (accurately) due to the different thicknesses underneath the connection panel 16; that is, the presence of the filling panels 10, 11 (and possibly also the filling panel 12) below the connection panel 16 results in the connection panel 16 resting on different thicknesses (that is, a greater thickness where the filling panels 10, 11 and 12 are located) which results in misalignment of the connection panel 16 with respect to the rear wall 7 and poor gluing of the connection panel 16 to the rear wall 7. Consequently, the carton 1 instead of having a perfectly parallelepiped shape (well squared) would have a deformed shape.

[0056] In addition, the carton 1 described above can be produced by folding the respective blanks 13 quickly and easily.

[0057] LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS IN THE FIGURES

[0058] 1 carton

[0059] 2 upper wall

[0060] 3 lower wall

[0061] 4 front wall

[0062] 5 rear wall 6 side wall

[0063] 7 side wall

[0064] 8 smoking article

[0065] 9 filling body 10 filling panel

[0066] 11 filling panel

[0067] 12 filling panel

[0068] 13 blank

[0069] 14 transverse folding lines 15 longitudinal folding lines

[0070] 16 connection panel

[0071] 17 connection panel

[0072] 18 connection panel

[0073] 19 lower tab 20 lower tab

[0074] 21 glue

[0075] 22 glue

Claims

C L A I M S1) A carton (1) with a parallelepiped-like shape comprising: an upper wall (2) and a lower wall (3), which are parallel to and opposite one another; a front wall (4) and a rear wall (5), which are parallel to and opposite one another; two side walls (6, 7), which are parallel to and opposite one another; a first connection panel (16), which is connected to the rear wall (5) along a longitudinal folding line (15) on the side opposite a first side wall (6) and overlaps and is glued to an inner surface of a second side wall (7); a second connection panel (17), which is connected to the rear wall (5) along a first transverse folding line (14) perpendicular to the longitudinal folding line (15) and is overlapped and is glued to an inner surface of the upper wall (2); a filling body (9), which is arranged inside the carton (1) and comprises a first filling panel (10), which is connected to the second connection panel (17) along a second, transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first transverse folding line (14), is folded by 90° relative to the second connection panel (17) and rests on the front wall (4), a second filling panel (11), which is connected to the first filling panel (10) along a third transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first transverse folding line (14) and is folded by 90° relative to the first filling panel (10), and a third filling panel (12), which is connected to the second filling panel (11) along a fourth transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first transverse folding line (14), is folded by 90° relative to the second filling panel (11) and is glued to the rear wall (5); the carton (1) is characterized in that the third filling panel (12) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when they are both folded against the rear wall (5).2) The carton (1) according to claim 1, wherein the third filling panel (12) is narrower along a transverse direction parallel to the transverse folding lines (14) than the first filling panel (10).3) The carton (1) according to claim 2, wherein the second filling panel (11) is narrower along the transverse direction than the first filling panel (10).4) The carton (1) according to claim 3, wherein the second filling panel (11) has the samewidth along the transverse direction as the third filling panel (12).5) The carton (1) according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the first filling panel (10) has the same width along the transverse direction as the second connection panel (17).6) The carton (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 5, wherein the second filling panel (11) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when the first connection panel (16) is folded against the rear wall (5) and the second filling panel (11) is folded against the third filling panel (12) glued to the rear wall (5).7) The carton (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 6, wherein the first filling panel (10) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when the first connection panel (16) is folded against the rear wall (5) and the first filling panel (10) is folded against the second connection panel (17).8) The carton (1) according to one of the claims from 1 to 7, wherein the first filling panel (10) has a bevelled edge on the side closer to the first connection panel (16).9) A blank (13) for manufacturing a carton (1) with a parallelepiped-like shape; the blank (13) comprises: a first side wall (7) of the carton (1); a front wall (4) of the carton (1) connected to the first side wall (7) by a first longitudinal folding line (15); an upper wall (2) and a lower wall (3) of the carton (1) connected to the front wall (4) by, respectively, a first and a second transverse folding line (14) perpendicular to the first longitudinal folding line (15); a second side wall (6) of the carton (1) connected to the front wall (4) by a second longitudinal folding line (15) parallel to the first longitudinal folding line (15); a rear wall (5) of the carton (1) connected to the second side wall (6) by a third longitudinal folding line (15) parallel to the first longitudinal folding line (15); a first connection panel (16) connected to the rear wall (5) by a fourth longitudinal folding line (15) parallel to the first longitudinal folding line (15) and shaped so as to be glued to the first side wall (7); a second connection panel (17) connected to the rear wall (5) by a third transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first and second transverse folding line (14) and shaped so as tobe glued to the upper wall (2); a first filling panel (10) of a filling body (9), which is connected to the second connection panel (17) by a fourth transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first and second transverse folding lines (14); a second filling panel (11) of the filling body (9), which is connected to the first filling panel (10) by a fifth transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first and second transverse folding line (14); and a third filling panel (12) of the filling body (9), which is connected to the second filling panel (11) by a sixth transverse folding line (14) parallel to the first and second transverse folding lines (14) and is shaped so as to be glued to the rear wall (5); the blank (3) is characterized in that the third filling panel (12) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when they are both folded against the rear wall (5).10) The blank (13) according to claim 1, wherein the second filling panel (11) preferably has the same width as the third filling panel (12) along a transverse direction parallel to the transverse folding lines (14) and both the second filling panel (11) and the third filling panel (12) are narrower along the transverse direction than the first filling panel (10), which preferably has the same width along the transverse direction as the second connection panel (17).ID The blank (13) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second filling panel (11) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when the first connection panel (16) is folded against the rear wall (5) and the second filling panel (11) is folded against the third filling panel (12) glued to the rear wall (5).12) The blank (13) according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the first filling panel (10) is shaped so as not to overlap the first connection panel (16), when the first connection panel (16) is folded against the rear wall (5) and the first filling panel (10) is folded against the second connection panel (17).13) The blank (13) according to one of the claims from 9 to 12, wherein the first filling panel (10) has a bevelled edge on the side closer to the first connection panel (16).14) The blank (13) according to one of the claims from 9 to 13, wherein the firstconnection panel (16) is glued to the first side wall (7) and the front wall (4) is folded against the second side wall (6) and against the rear wall (5).15) The blank (13) according to one of the claims from 9 to 14, wherein the third filling panel (12) is glued to the rear wall (5), the second filling panel (11) is folded against the third filling panel (12) and the first filling panel (10) is folded against the second connection panel (17).

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