Rigid Cigarette Packet Inner Frame Support Flaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rigid packets with hinged lids for cigarettes fail to provide adequate support to inner wrappers with reduced longitudinal dimensions, leading to deformation and buckling issues, and complicate the packaging process with additional constructional requirements.
Innovation Solution
A rigid packet design featuring an inner frame with flaps that provide a stable lower support to the inner wrapper, allowing the flaps to fold inside the container and create a parallel support plane, simplifying the packaging process by eliminating the need for complex handling elements and maintaining the packet's structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If supporting flaps are hinged on inner panels of the side walls and folded towards the inside of the container, then the inner wrapper receives support, but the packaging machine complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting flaps are pre-formed as integral parts of the outer container during the blank fabrication process, rather than being added as separate components during packaging. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex handling elements in the packaging machine while ensuring the flaps are already positioned and configured to provide stable support to the inner wrapper.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting flaps are merged with the outer container structure by making them integral parts of the same blank. This combining of functions (structural container + supporting elements) into a single component eliminates the need for separate handling mechanisms in the packaging machine, reducing device complexity while maintaining support reliability.
2Length of moving object
If the inner wrapper has reduced longitudinal dimension, then the packet size is reduced, but the inner wrapper lacks adequate support and deforms
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting flaps provide localized support at critical positions (bottom and side walls) where the inner wrapper is most vulnerable to deformation. Rather than uniformly supporting the entire inner wrapper, the flaps concentrate support at specific locations, allowing the inner wrapper to have reduced dimensions while maintaining structural reliability at key points.
3Reliability
If flaps are added to support the inner wrapper, then support stability improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting flaps are merged with the outer container by fabricating them as integral parts of the same blank. This combining means that a single blank fabrication process produces both the container and supporting elements, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing and assembly operations, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while providing stable support.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A rigid packet (1) for smoke articles comprises a container (2), which has a parallelpipedon shape and has a front wall (9), a rear wall (10), a lower wall (8) and two side walls (11) and has an open upper end (4); a lid (5), which is hinged on the container (2) to close the open upper end (4) of the container (2); an inner wrapper (3) that encloses a group of smoke articles, which is housed inside the container (2) and has a longitudinal dimension that is less than the longitudinal dimension of the container (2). The rigid packet (1) further comprises an inner frame (15) which is arranged inside the container (2) to protrude partially outside the open upper end (4) and has a first side wall (16) which rests on a side wall (11) of the container (2), a front wall (17) which rests on the front wall (9) of the container (2) and a second side wall (18) that rests on the other side wall (11) of the container (2) and is opposite the first side wall (16) of the inner frame (15) and further has an upper border (19) facing the open upper end (4) and a lower border (20). The rigid packet (1) further comprises supporting means (21, 22) for providing a lower support to the inner wrapper (3), which comprises a first flap (21) and a second flap (22) folded inside the container (2), wherein the first flap (21) and the second flap (22) are bounded by the lower border (20) of the inner frame and are separated from the inner frame (15) respectively by a first incision (23) and a second incision (24), the first flap (21) having a respective first end connected to the inner frame (15) by a first hinge (21a) and a second end connected to the inner frame (15) by a second hinge (21b) and further comprising a third hinge (21c) arranged between the first hinge (21a) and the second hinge (21b), the second flap (22) having a respective first end connected to the inner frame (15) by a first hinge (22a) and a respective second end connected to the inner frame (15) by a second hinge (22b) and further comprising a third hinge (22c) arranged between the first hinge (22a) and the second hinge (22b).