IMPROVED CONTAINER OF CONSUMER ARTICLES COMPRISING AN ELEMENT OF DISCERNIBLE THICKNESS

Abstract

A container for consumer goods is formed from a laminar blank (100; 300) having a blank thickness (T1); and a three dimensional element (104; 304) having a thickness (T2) from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres. An inner surface of a first wall of the container comprises an affixing area (108) for at least partly receiving the element (104), the affixing area (108) comprising a debossed or ablated area having a residual thickness (T3) less than the blank thickness. The element (104) is affixed to N the container by means of adhesive provided on the debossed or ablated zone of the affixing area (108). A difference between the blank thickness (T1) and the residual thickness (T3) is less than the element thickness (T2), such that the element (104) projects beyond the inner surface of the container by an incremental thickness (T4) less than the element thickness (T2). Further, the container comprises a thickness compensating means (112; 312) on a region of the inner surface of the container.

Claims

1. A container for consumer goods, the container being formed from a laminar blank having a blank thickness; and a three dimensional element having a thickness from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres; wherein an inner surface of a first wall of the container comprises an affixing area for at least partly receiving the element, the affixing area comprising a debossed or ablated area having a residual thickness less than the blank thickness; and wherein the element is affixed to the container by adhesive provided on the debossed or ablated zone of the affixing area, wherein a difference between the blank thickness and the residual thickness is less than the element thickness, such that the element projects beyond the inner surface of the container by an incremental thickness less than the element thickness; and wherein the container comprises a thickness compensating element on a region of the inner surface of the container.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness compensating element comprises a coating layer applied at least on a region of the inner surface of the first wall of the container extending about the affixing area.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness compensating element comprises a three-dimensional patch member arranged on the inner surface of the container at a location other than the affixing region.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness compensating element has a thickness of at least about 70 percent of the incremental thickness.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness compensating element has a thickness substantially equal to the incremental thickness.

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional patch member is arranged on the inner surface of a wall of the container opposite the first wall.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness compensating element is removable.

8. The container of claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing member comprising at least a front wall lying against an inner surface of the front wall of the container, wherein the element is arranged in the affixing area on the container at a distance from a bottom edge of the front wall of the reinforcing member.

9. A blank for forming a container for consumer goods, the blank comprising a laminar substrate having a substrate thickness and a three dimensional element having a thickness thickness from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres, the element being affixed to the laminar substrate; wherein a first surface of the laminar substrate comprises an affixing area for at least partly receiving the element, the affixing area comprising a debossed or ablated area having a residual thickness less than the substrate thickness; and wherein the element is affixed to the laminar substrate by adhesive provided on the debossed or ablated zone of the affixing area, wherein a difference between the substrate thickness and the residual thickness is less than the element thickness, such that the element projects beyond the inner surface of the laminar substrate by an incremental thickness less than the element thickness; and wherein the blank comprises a thickness compensating element on a region of the first surface of the laminar substrate.

10. The blank of claim 9, wherein the element is arranged at a location along a longitudinal axis of the blank in its flat state, and a distance between the element and a midpoint of the longitudinal axis of the blank is less than about 20 percent of a longitudinal dimension of the blank.

Description

[0064] The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0065] FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a blank for forming a container in accordance with the present invention;

[0066] FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a detail of the blank of FIG. 1; and

[0067] FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a variant of a blank for forming a container in accordance with the present invention.

[0068] A container according to the present invention may be formed from the laminar blank 100 shown in FIG. 1. The laminar blank 100 may be assembled and filled using standard apparatus.

[0069] FIG. 2 shows a detail of the blank 100 of FIG. 1. The blank 100 comprises a laminar substrate 102 having a thickness T1 of about 320 micrometres and a parallelepiped element 104 having a thickness T2 of about 200 micrometres. The element 104 is affixed to the laminar substrate 102. A first surface 106 of the laminar substrate comprises an affixing area 108 for at least partly receiving the element 104. When a container is formed from the laminar blank 100, the first surface 106 faces the inside of the container.

[0070] The affixing area 108 comprises a debossed area having a residual thickness T3 of about 250 micrometres. The depth of the debossing is of about 70 micrometres. The element 104 is affixed to the laminar substrate 102 by means of a layer of adhesive 110 provided on the debossed area and projects above the first surface 106 by an incremental thickness T4 of about 130 micrometres.

[0071] In more detail, the element 104 is at a location along the longitudinal axis 200 of the laminar substrate 102, and a distance between the element 104 and a midpoint 206 of the longitudinal axis 200 of the laminar substrate is less than about 10 percent of the longitudinal end-to-end dimension 202 of the laminar substrate 102. In more detail, the element 104 comprises a radio frequency element and is shaped symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis 200.

[0072] The longitudinal dimension 202 of the laminar substrate is about 250 millimetres. The midpoint 206 of the longitudinal axis is at about 125 millimetres from either end of the laminar substrate. The distance between the element 104 and the midpoint 206 is about 12 millimetres (10 percent of the longitudinal dimension of the laminar substrate amounting to about 25 millimetres).

[0073] The blank 100 comprises (see FIG. 2) a further layer comprising a varnish 112 on a region of the first surface 106 of the laminar substrate 102 extending about the affixing area 108. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, a thickness of the further layer 112 is substantially as great as the incremental thickness T4. Thus, the further layer advantageously compensates for the entirety of the incremental thickness. The further layer 112 is removed from the laminar substrate 102 immediately prior to feeding the blank 100 to a packing machine for forming a container.

[0074] FIG. 3 shows a variant of a blank 300 for forming a container for consumer articles in accordance with the present invention. The blank 300 comprises a laminar substrate 302 and a parallelepiped element of discernible thickness 304, the element 304 being affixed to and received into an affixing area of a first surface of the blank 300.

[0075] The blank 300 differs from the blank 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that, instead of a further layer extending about the affixing area, it comprises a thickness compensating member in the form of a three-dimensional patch member 312 arranged on the inner surface of the laminar substrate at a location other than the affixing region.