Rigid Cigarette Package Collapsible Collar Warning Space

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Solution Overview

Problem

Rigid cigarette packages with reduced dimensions face challenges in providing sufficient surface area for information and health warnings due to minimized external space, making it difficult to accommodate the required legal minimal space for health warnings and additional information.

Innovation Solution

A rigid package design featuring an external container of standard dimensions with a collapsible collar that partially covers the internal wrapper, creating internal spaces and allowing for a smaller number of cigarettes to be securely positioned within a larger container, while maintaining a standard external size.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of stationary object

If the package dimensions are reduced to accommodate fewer cigarettes, then the space occupied by the package is reduced, but the surface area available for information and health warnings is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepackage volumeVSAvoidexternal surface area
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of stationary objectVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies nesting by placing an internal wrapper containing cigarettes inside an external container of standard dimensions. This allows the package to maintain a standard external size (preserving surface area for warnings) while the internal wrapper can be sized appropriately for the actual number of cigarettes contained, creating a nested structure where one object is placed inside another.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

The package is segmented into distinct components: an external container and an internal wrapper. This segmentation allows the external container to maintain standard dimensions for regulatory compliance (surface area for health warnings), while the internal wrapper can be optimized to fit the actual quantity of cigarettes, resolving the contradiction between package size and warning label space.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Volume of stationary object

If the internal wrapper is tightly enclosed by the external container, then space optimization is achieved, but the external surface area for information display is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepackage volume utilizationVSAvoidexternal surface area for information
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of stationary objectVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The internal wrapper is nested within the external container, allowing the external container to maintain its full standard dimensions and surface area for information display, while the internal wrapper is sized to fit the actual cigarette bundle, optimizing internal space utilization without compromising external surface area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Area of stationary object

If standard-sized packages are used for fewer cigarettes, then sufficient space for health warnings is ensured, but the package contains excessive empty space

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface area for health warningsVSAvoidempty space in package
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The solution nests an internal wrapper inside the external container, where the external container maintains standard dimensions to provide sufficient surface area for health warnings, while the internal wrapper is sized to fit the actual number of cigarettes, thereby minimizing empty space within the nested structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

By segmenting the package into external container and internal wrapper, the design allows the external portion to fulfill regulatory requirements for warning label space while the internal portion is optimized to closely fit the cigarette bundle, reducing wasted space through separate dimension optimization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3066013B1Rigid container with hinged lid
Publication Date: 2019.10.23 IMA IND MASCH AUTOMATICHE SPA
  • EP3066013B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3066013B1 patent drawingFigure 2~4
  • EP3066013B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

The present invention refers to a rigid package for smoking articles comprising: a bundle (4) of articles; an internal wrapper (3) that encloses the bundle (4) of articles; a rigid external container (2) that houses the internal wrapper (3) and that has an open extremity (21); and a rigid collar (5) that partially projects from the open extremity (21) of the external container (2), said collar (5) being placed between the internal wrapper (3) and the external container (2); an interspace (7) that is present between the internal wrapper (3) and the external container (2), in which the collar (5) comprises at least one top wall (53) arranged at a predefined distance with respect to a top wall (33) of the internal wrapper (3).