Cigarette Inner Package U-Shaped Stiffener
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rigid, hinged-lid packets of cigarettes face issues with tobacco deterioration due to exposure to atmosphere, and the use of airtight inner wrapping leads to mechanical stress and deformation, making it difficult to withdraw remaining cigarettes without collapsing the package, requiring expensive specialized machines for production.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a U-shaped stiffener made of rigid cardboard is integrated inside the inner package, with a sheet of airtight wrapping folded asymmetrically and heat-sealed to maintain shape, allowing for easy production on standard packing machines and preventing collapse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sheet of airtight inner wrapping is used to preserve tobacco, then tobacco preservation is improved, but mechanical stress and thermal stress cause local deformation and tobacco fallout
Solution Approach 1:
A stiffener made of rigid material is introduced as an intermediary element between the airtight wrapping sheet and the cigarettes. The stiffener contacts the cigarettes and provides mechanical support, preventing the wrapping sheet from applying excessive mechanical stress and thermal stress to the tobacco during heat sealing, while still allowing the wrapping to maintain its airtight function.
2Reliability
If the inner package is made airtight with heat-sealed wrapping, then tobacco preservation is improved, but the package collapses when cigarettes are removed, making it difficult to withdraw remaining cigarettes
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffener acts as a structural intermediary that maintains the inner package's shape and prevents collapse when cigarettes are removed. It provides mechanical support to the collapsing wrapping sheet, ensuring the package remains openable and usable while maintaining the airtight seal for tobacco preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner wrapping sheet functions as a flexible barrier that can be heat-sealed to create an airtight seal for tobacco preservation, while the stiffener provides the structural rigidity needed to prevent collapse during handling and cigarette withdrawal.
3Shape
If a rigid collar with cardboard stiffener is inserted inside the inner package, then package shape maintenance is improved, but production complexity and machine cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffener is extracted from the complex rigid collar structure and simplified into a separate, simpler component that can be easily integrated into the packing process. This extraction allows the stiffener to be added as a discrete element without requiring complex specialized packing machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffener is designed as a simple, inexpensive component made of rigid material that can be easily produced and integrated into standard packing machines. It serves its structural function during packaging and can be discarded or reused without requiring expensive specialized equipment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides mechanical and thermal protection to cigarettes, prevents package collapse, and allows for easy production on standard machines, ensuring the quality and ease of handling of cigarettes while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
heat sealing the superimposed portions of the sheet of airtight inner wrapping
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5
AI summary
A package of cigarettes, having: a group (4) of cigarettes; an inner package (3) enclosing the group (4) of cigarettes and made from a sheet (22) of wrapping folded about the group (4) of cigarettes; and a U-shaped stiffener (25) made of rigid material and located inside the inner package (3), contacting the group (4) of cigarettes; the sheet (22) of wrapping has two flaps (23) which are superimposed and heat sealed to each other at a rear wall or front wall of the group (4) of cigarettes defined by the cylindrical lateral walls of the cigarettes.