Sliding-Opening Smoking Packets from Segmented Boxes on Standard Packers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of rigid packets of cigarettes with a sliding opening requires a specialized packer machine due to the complexity of folding a blank with a dividing wall, making it costly and impractical to adapt existing machines designed for hinged lids.
Innovation Solution
A wrapping method and packer machine that uses standard components to produce a packet of smoking articles with a sliding opening, allowing for the use of existing machines with minimal modifications, enabling cost-effective production of packets with two side-by-side compartments and a sliding mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a specialized packer machine is used to produce packets with sliding opening and dividing wall, then the packet structure with two compartments and sliding mechanism is achieved, but the manufacturing cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The inner container is divided into two separate boxes that are joined together, allowing each box to be manufactured independently using standard packer machines. This segmentation enables the use of existing equipment while achieving the desired two-compartment structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Standard packer machines designed for hinged lid packets are made multi-functional by enabling them to produce the individual boxes for sliding opening packets. The machines can now produce components for both hinged lid and sliding opening packet types, reducing the need for specialized equipment.
2Ease of manufacture
If a specialized packer machine is designed for sliding opening packets, then the production of packets with dividing wall is enabled, but the manufacturing cost increases due to high development and amortization costs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes standard packer machines multi-functional so they can produce both hinged lid packets and sliding opening packets. This eliminates the need for specialized machines and allows the high cost of standard machines to be amortized over a larger production volume.
Solution Approach 2:
By dividing the inner container into two separately manufactured boxes, the invention enables production using standard equipment. The segmentation allows each box to be produced on existing machines without requiring complex specialized equipment for the complete assembly.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the inner container is divided into two compartments with a dividing wall, then the user can choose different compartments for different purposes, but the folding complexity and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inner container is segmented into two separate boxes that are joined together. Each box can be manufactured independently using standard folding processes, avoiding the complexity of folding a single blank with a dividing wall while still achieving the two-compartment functionality.
4Device complexity
If standard packer machines are adapted to produce sliding opening packets, then the manufacturing cost decreases, but the machine requires modifications from its original configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables standard packer machines to become multi-functional by producing both hinged lid and sliding opening packets. The modifications required are minimal compared to the benefit of eliminating specialized machines, as the core machine structure remains the same.
Solution Approach 2:
The production process is segmented into producing individual boxes separately and then joining them. This segmentation allows standard machines to handle simpler tasks (producing individual boxes) without requiring complex modifications for the complete sliding opening packet assembly.
Data Source
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AI summary
A packet (1) of smoking articles with a sliding opening and having: at least one wrap (2) containing a group of smoking articles; a rigid container (3), which is provided with two compartments (4) arranged side-by-side, one of which houses the wrap (2); and a tubular casing (5), which houses the container (3) in a sliding manner so as to allow the container (3) to slide with respect to the tubular casing (5) in order to move, with a linear movement, between a closed position, in which the container (3) is completely inserted inside the tubular casing (5), a first open position in which the container (3) is partially extracted from the tubular casing (5) so as to expose a first compartment (4), and a second open position, which is opposite the first open position in which the container (3) is partially extracted from the tubular casing (5) so as to expose a second compartment (4). The container (3) is formed by two boxes (6) which, are initially separate from and independent of one another, define the two compartments (4), and are glued to one another by means of glue (7).