Cigarette Package Bottom Projections for Hygienic Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cigarette packages require smokers to touch the cigarette end to extract a single cigarette, which is not hygienic and inconvenient, as they often lift all cigarettes simultaneously due to the design of flexible holders.
Innovation Solution
A parallelepiped container with elastically deformable hemispherical projections on its bottom, allowing each cigarette to be lifted and removed without touching the end, by pressing the protrusions upwards when the package is opened.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flexible holder with plates and adhesive tape is used to lift cigarettes, then cigarettes can be held in a raised position, but all cigarettes are lifted together making it impossible to remove a single cigarette without touching the end
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is divided into multiple independent elastic projections instead of a single flexible plate. Each projection corresponds to one cigarette and can be independently deformed, allowing selective lifting of individual cigarettes without affecting others. This segmentation enables the user to lift only the desired cigarette without touching its end, resolving the hygiene issue while maintaining ease of extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of lifting cigarettes from the top or requiring finger contact with the cigarette end, the invention inverts the approach by lifting cigarettes from the bottom through elastic projections. The projections are pressed upwards from below, causing upward movement of the corresponding cigarette when the container is opened, eliminating the need for direct finger contact with the cigarette end.
2Ease of operation
If pressure is applied to the bottom of the package to lift cigarettes, then cigarettes can be held in a raised position, but the structure causes all cigarettes to shift together
Solution Approach 1:
The holder structure is segmented into multiple independent elastic projections rather than a single flexible plate. Each projection is independently deformable and corresponds to one cigarette, allowing localized pressure application. When pressure is applied to a specific projection, only the corresponding cigarette is lifted, preventing simultaneous shifting of all cigarettes and simplifying the extraction process.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder provides different functional properties at different locations through the array of elastic projections. Each projection can be independently deformed by local pressure, creating a localized lifting effect on the corresponding cigarette. This local quality enables precise control over which cigarette is lifted without affecting the entire pack structure.
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
Enables easy and hygienic removal of cigarettes without touching the cigarette end, improving convenience and reducing contamination risk.
Implementation Method 1
a support having a plurality of elastically deformable projections, preferably having a hemispherical shape, pointing downwards
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
It is provided a package (10) for smoking articles, in the form of a container (11) of parallelepiped shape capable of containing a specific number of cigarettes (S), wherein the container (11) has a support (12) at the bottom having a plurality of elastically deformable protrusions (13), facing downwards and each arranged at the end of a cigarette (S) that is opposite the end intended to be put in to the mouth, wherein each of the protrusions (13) is configured in such a way that pressure from below deforms the protrusion (13) by turning it upwards so that it is susceptible of being pressed from below upwards in order to cause an upward displacement of the corresponding cigarette (S) juxtaposed against the protrusion (13) when the container (11) is opened at the top to allow the release of the cigarette (S).