Cigarette Pack with Transverse Corrugated Bands for Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cigarette packs made from thinner board material are prone to bowing and feel flimsy, limiting shape options and increasing material costs due to the need for additional structural elements like ribbing on the inner frame.
Innovation Solution
The use of sheet board stock material with transverse corrugations on the exterior surface, which are thicker than the regions between them, provides rigidity and strength, allowing for thinner board usage without compromising pack stability and enabling wider pack designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If thinner board material is used to reduce cost, then material cost decreases, but the pack feels flimsy and lacks rigidity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating transverse bands with corrugations at specific locations on the pack panels. These localized corrugated regions provide enhanced rigidity and structural support where needed, while the rest of the panel can remain thin. The corrugations are formed by compression during manufacture, creating a locally reinforced structure that prevents bowing without requiring the entire board to be thick.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively creates a composite structure by combining flat board regions with corrugated band regions within a single panel. The corrugated bands act as a composite reinforcement layer that provides exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, allowing the overall structure to use thinner material while maintaining rigidity. This composite approach merges the simplicity of flat board with the strength of corrugated structure.
2Strength
If thicker board material is used to increase rigidity, then pack strength improves, but material cost increases and transport cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the entire board, the patent applies corrugations only in specific transverse bands where structural support is most needed. This localized reinforcement provides maximum rigidity improvement with minimum material addition, avoiding the costs associated with uniformly thick boards while preventing pack bowing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the board material by compressing it to form corrugations in the transverse bands. This compression creates a denser, more rigid structure in the banded regions without increasing the overall board thickness. The parameter change from flat to corrugated structure provides enhanced strength-to-weight ratio.
3Strength
If ribbing is added to the inner frame to prevent bowing, then pack rigidity improves, but space within the container is used up and material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding internal ribbing to the inner frame as suggested in prior art, the patent inverts the approach by adding external corrugations to the exterior surface of the pack panels. This external reinforcement provides the same structural support without consuming internal container space, allowing maximum space for smoking articles while maintaining rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the reinforcement function from the inner frame structure and relocates it to the exterior panels. By moving the rigidity-providing element from the internal frame to the external panel surface, the design eliminates the need for internal ribbing that would consume valuable container space, while still achieving the goal of preventing pack bowing.
4Strength
If transverse corrugated bands are formed on the exterior surface, then pack rigidity improves and material usage decreases, but additional manufacturing steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugated transverse bands are formed by compression during the blank manufacture process or as a pre-production step before the packing operation. This preliminary formation of corrugations integrates the reinforcement feature into the existing manufacturing workflow without requiring complex post-assembly operations, minimizing additional manufacturing steps while achieving the desired structural enhancement.
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 reduces material and transport costs, enhances pack rigidity, and provides a tactile gripping surface, allowing for thinner board usage while maintaining pack stability and flexibility in design, regardless of board grain direction.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the panels includes a plurality of transverse bands comprising corrugations on the exterior surface thereof formed by compression of the board stock material in the thickness of the sheet material
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~7
AI summary
A pack for smoking articles such as cigarettes comprises front and rear panels 2, 3 connected by opposite side panels 4, 5 a bottom panel 6 and a lid 7, wherein at least one of the panels includes a plurality of transverse rigidifying bands 18 greater in thickness than a region 19 between the bands. The bands 18 may be formed by an embossing method.