Rigid Smoking Packet Collar for Wrapper Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rigid cigarette packets with reduced size face challenges in providing sufficient space for health warnings and other information due to limited external surface area, and stability issues arise when the cigarette charge occupies less volume than the container, leading to potential movement and deterioration.
Innovation Solution
A packet design featuring a rigid collar inside the container that projects outside and engages the lid to keep it closed, with partition walls and folded tabs to stabilize the cigarette wrapper, ensuring stability and rigidity even when the charge occupies less volume than the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If the packet size is reduced to match the cigarette charge volume, then space utilization is improved, but the external surface area for health warnings and information becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The packet is divided into two functional zones: an inner collapsible packet containing the cigarettes and an outer rigid container providing structural support and surface area for warnings. This segmentation allows the inner packet to be small while the outer container maintains sufficient external surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible inner packet is nested within the rigid outer container. This nesting arrangement allows the inner packet to occupy minimal space while the outer container provides the necessary external surface area for health warnings and information display.
2Volume of stationary object
If the packet size is reduced, then space utilization is improved, but the stability of the cigarette charge deteriorates due to free movement
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is pre-formed with folding tabs and partition walls that are designed to engage with the container walls before the cigarettes are placed. This preliminary structuring creates a stable framework that prevents cigarette movement from the outset.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar acts as an intermediary element between the cigarettes and the container walls. It provides a stabilizing structure that directly contacts and restrains the cigarettes, preventing free movement while maintaining packet compactness.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid collar is added to stabilize the cigarettes, then cigarette charge stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is divided into functional segments: folding tabs for engagement and partition walls for separation. This segmentation allows each element to perform its specific stabilizing function while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar incorporates folding tabs that can dynamically adjust during assembly and use. These tabs fold into place to engage with the container, providing adaptive stabilization without requiring complex fixed structures.
4Reliability
If the collar projects outside the container to engage the lid, then the lid closing function is improved, but the packet dimensions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is nested within the container boundaries during normal storage, with only the necessary engagement portions extending minimally to contact the lid. This nesting minimizes the overall packet dimensions while maintaining reliable lid closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar extends only partially outside the container - just enough to engage the lid edges for reliable closing. This partial extension provides sufficient closing reliability without excessively increasing the packet dimensions.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A rigid packet for smoking articles comprising a parallelepiped- shaped container (2); a single wrapper (3) enclosing a charge of smoking articles contained centrally inside the container (2); said wrapper (3) having a width less than the width of the container (2) so as to create a respective empty chamber (69) at the two lateral sides of the wrapper (3); a collar (6) arranged inside the container (2) where the collar (6) has a front wall (61) and two partition walls (64) which divide the internal volume of the container (2) into a central chamber (68) occupied by the wrapper and two empty side chambers (69), each partition wall (64) being formed by a pair of folded and joined partition panels (64a, 64b); said collar (6) comprising a respective folded tab (7) placed within each of the two empty chambers (69) in order to immobilize said wrapper (3) in the container (2).