Cigarette Product Pack With Residual-Connection Tamper Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Packaging for alternative tobacco products needs to be quickly and cost-effectively produced while ensuring the integrity and authenticity of the contents, with consumers being able to verify if the package has been opened.
Innovation Solution
A package design featuring a lid with an inner lid flap that pivots away and inserts as a tuck-in flap between the box part's front wall and a collar, with a tamper-evident seal provided by a residual connection, such as a perforation line, ensuring the package cannot be resealed after initial use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional lid and box part design is used, then the package structure is simple, but the package cannot provide reliable indication of whether contents are intact and original
Solution Approach 1:
The inner lid flap is pre-positioned to cover the opening of the box part before the package is opened. This preliminary positioning of the sealing element ensures that any attempt to open the package will necessarily disrupt the seal, providing reliable tamper evidence without requiring complex additional mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid is divided into two functional parts: an outer lid structure and an inner lid flap. This segmentation allows the inner flap to serve as a dedicated tamper-evident sealing element that can be independently positioned and disrupted, while the outer lid maintains the basic package structure.
2Reliability
If a tamper-evident seal mechanism is added, then the integrity verification is improved, but the production time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inner lid flap is integrated into the lid structure itself rather than being a separate attached component. The flap is formed as part of the lid blank and connected via a fold line, allowing it to be positioned and sealed automatically during the normal package closing process without requiring separate tamper-evident sealing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner lid flap automatically performs the tamper-evident sealing function as part of the normal package closing operation. When the lid is closed, the flap is positioned to cover the box opening and secured by the residual connection, providing tamper evidence without requiring additional manual intervention or complex sealing mechanisms.
3Productivity
If the inner lid flap is designed to pivot and insert as tuck-in flap, then the package can be quickly produced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fold line and residual connection are pre-formed during the package manufacturing process, establishing the correct positioning and attachment of the inner lid flap before the package is assembled. This preliminary preparation ensures that the flap will automatically assume the correct sealed position when the lid is closed, reducing the need for precise manual positioning during assembly.
4Reliability
If a residual connection is used to connect lid and box part, then the package provides tamper evidence, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The residual connection serves multiple functions simultaneously: it attaches the inner lid flap to the lid structure, enables the flap to pivot and position itself during closing, and provides the tamper-evident seal by connecting the lid to the box part. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a pack for products (11) in the cigarette industry, having a box part (22) for accommodating pack contents (29), and having a lid (23) for closing the box part (22), wherein, when the pack (10) is closed, the lid (23) and box part (22) butt against one another by way of respective closing edges. The invention is characterized in that, in the region of at least one closing edge, the lid (23) and box part (22) are connected to one another temporarily, that is to say until the pack (10) is opened for the first time.