Method and apparatus for packaging smoking articles

Abstract

A method of producing a pack of smoking articles includes providing a pre-assembled pack of smoking articles comprising an inner pack having a flexible sheet in which a group of smoking articles is wrapped or enclosed and a re-closable flap movable between a closed position preventing access to the smoking articles and an open position for accessing the smoking articles, and an outer pack comprising a container which holds and substantially encompasses the inner pack, the outer pack having a lid in a closed position preventing access to the inner pack; creating a space or gap between the lid of the outer pack and the inner pack; and attaching the re-closable flap of the inner pack to the lid of the outer pack via and/or through the space or gap. An apparatus for producing a pack of smoking articles per the above method is also provided.

Claims

1. A method of producing a pack of smoking articles, comprising: providing a pre-assembled pack of smoking articles comprising an inner pack comprising a flexible sheet in which a group of smoking articles is wrapped and having a re-closable flap movable between a closed flap position for preventing access to the smoking articles and an open flap position for accessing the smoking articles, and an outer pack comprising a container which holds and substantially encompasses the inner pack, the outer pack having a lid in a closed lid position preventing access to the inner pack, wherein the lid is movable between the closed lid position and an open lid position for accessing the inner pack; subsequently, creating a space between the lid of the outer pack and the inner pack to provide access to a portion of the re-closable flap, wherein creating the space comprises pivoting the lid relative to the container, from the closed lid position to an at least partially open lid position; attaching the re-closable flap of the inner pack to the lid of the outer pack via the space; and subsequently, transporting the pack to a wrapping station to wrap the pack individually in a clear film.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising introducing attaching means via the space for attaching the flap of the inner pack to the lid of the outer pack, wherein the attaching means is introduced into the space for contact with the flap of the inner pack and/or with the lid of the outer pack.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of introducing the attaching means comprises applying adhesive means onto the lid and/or onto the flap of the inner pack.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the adhesive means comprises at least one of: an adhesive element or strip; and an adhesive medium.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive medium is an adhesive in fluid state.

6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the adhesive means comprises at least one of: a drying adhesive, a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and a hot-melt adhesive.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein the attaching step comprises bringing an inner surface of the lid and an outer surface the re-closable flap into direct contact with one another or indirect contact through the attaching means.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the space is created between an inner surface of the lid and an outer surface of the inner pack and measures less than or equal to 8 mm.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the lid is pivotally connected to the container of the outer pack, such that the lid is configured for pivoting between the closed lid position and the open lid position, wherein the step of relatively moving the lid from the closed lid position comprises relatively pivoting the lid with respect to the container through an angle (β) of less than or equal to 35°.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: relatively moving the lid of the outer pack back to the closed lid position after introducing the attaching means; wherein the step of moving the lid of the outer pack back to the closed lid position presses the attaching means into contact with either or both an outer surface of the re-closable flap of the inner pack and an inner surface of the lid of the outer pack.

11. An apparatus for producing a pack of smoking articles using the method of claim 1, comprising: a receiver configured to receive the pre-assembled pack of smoking articles, and an applicator configured to apply an adhesive means and attach the re-closable flap of the inner pack to the lid of the outer pack.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the applicator is configured to introduce the adhesive means as an adhesive element or medium onto an outer surface of the flap of the inner pack and/or onto an inner surface of the lid of the outer pack via the space.

13. An apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a sensor device for detecting an application of the means to the lid of the outer pack and/or to the flap of the inner pack; and a sorting mechanism for rejecting the pack if the application of the adhesive means is detected as having failed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) For a more complete understanding of the invention and the advantages thereof, exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing figures, in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a pack of smoking articles that is known from the prior art;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the pre-assembled pack of smoking articles with the lid of the outer pack in a closed state during a method according to a preferred embodiment; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the outer pack of the pack of smoking articles in a partially opened state during a method according to a preferred embodiment;

(5) FIG. 4 is a flow diagram schematically illustrating steps in a method of producing a pack of smoking articles according to an embodiment; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a conveyor arrangement for transporting a completed pack towards a wrapping station according to a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate particular embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as they become better understood with reference to the following detailed description.

(8) It will be appreciated that common and well understood elements that may be useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are not necessarily depicted in order to facilitate a more abstracted view of the embodiments. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily illustrated to scale relative to each other. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps in an embodiment of a method may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrences while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used in the present specification have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study, except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

(9) With reference firstly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a pack P of smoking articles C, e.g. cigarettes, is shown schematically reproduced from drawings of European patent EP 2 155 568 B1. The pack P has a conventional rectangular cuboid configuration with major front and rear panels F, R and smaller side panels S. The pack P is a hybrid pack and comprises a soft inner pack 1 having a flexible sheet 2 of barrier film in which a group or charge of the smoking articles C is wrapped or enclosed and a re-closable flap 3 that is movable between a closed position (not shown) for preventing access to the smoking articles C and an open position (shown) for accessing the smoking articles. The underside of the flap 3 includes a tacky adhesive around a smoking article extraction opening in the inner pack 1 that provides access to the charge of smoking articles C. This allows repeated closure of the flap 3 to the inner pack 1 about the extraction opening. The pack P further includes a rigid outer pack 4 formed of card and comprising a container body 5 which holds and substantially encompasses the inner pack 1 and a lid 6. The lid 6 is pivotally hinged to the container body 5 and is movable between a closed position (not shown) and an open position (shown). As may be noticed from FIG. 1, the re-closable flap 3 of the inner pack 1 is firmly attached to the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 for movement therewith between the open and closed positions.

(10) With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, a method of producing such a configuration for a pack P of smoking articles C according to an embodiment will be described. A pre-assembled pack P of smoking articles C as shown in FIG. 2 is provided. The pre-assembled pack P again has a conventional rectangular cuboid configuration with major front and rear panels F, R and smaller side panels S. The pre-assembled pack P furthermore again comprises a soft inner pack 1 in which a group or charge of smoking articles C is wrapped or enclosed in a flexible sheet 2 of barrier film and having a re-closable flap 3 that is movable between a closed position (shown) preventing access to the smoking articles C and an open position for accessing the smoking articles (not shown). The pre-assembled pack P further comprises a rigid outer pack 4 essentially defining the rectangular cuboid shape and having a container body 5 which holds and substantially encompasses the inner pack 1 and a lid 6 in a closed position (shown) for preventing access to the inner pack 1. As with the pack P in FIG. 1, the lid 6 is pivotally connected to the container body 5 of the outer pack 4 via a hinge line 7 and is movable between the closed position (shown) and an open position (not shown).

(11) The soft inner pack 1 is represented by the rectangular broken line within the outer pack 4. In this regard, it can be seen that an upper end region of the inner pack 1 is received and covered by the lid 6. Thus, when the lid 6 is pivoted at least partially open by a rotation of the lid 6 relative to the container body 5 about the hinge line 7 (e.g. as seen in FIG. 3), the upper end region of the inner pack 1 including the re-closable flap 3 is exposed for access to the inner pack 1. A pivot angle β for partially opening the lid 6 relative to the container body 5 is no more than 35°, and preferably between about 8° and about 25°. By limiting the degree to which the lid 6 is opened, the pristine appearance of the outer pack 4 can be generally maintained.

(12) Referring further to FIG. 3, the partial opening of the lid 6 of the outer pack P creates a space or gap between the lid 6 of the outer pack and the flexible sheet 2 of the inner pack 1. The space or gap may be considered or measured in different directions. For example, if considering the pack P from above or in a plan view, the space or gap may be represented by a dimension “h” shown in FIG. 3 between a lower edge 8 of the lid 6 and a complementary edge 9 of the container body 5. On the other hand, if considering the pack P from an end view, the space or gap may be represented by a dimension “d” shown in FIG. 3 between the lower edge 8 of the lid 6 and a front panel F of the container body 5. The space or gap h is typically no more than 15 mm, preferably of no more than 12 mm, and more preferably in the range of 4 mm to 8 mm. The space or gap d is typically no more than 8 mm and preferably in the range of 2 mm to 6 mm.

(13) After partially opening the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 by pivoting the lid 6 about the hinge line 7 through the angle β to access the inner pack 1, an adhesive medium 10, such as a hot-melt adhesive may be introduced via the space or gap d for application to an outer surface 11 of the flap 3 of the inner pack 1 and/or to an inner surface 12 of the lid 6 of the outer pack 4. To this end, a nozzle applicator as shown in FIG. 3 may be employed. Alternatively, the adhesive medium 10 could comprise a double-sided adhesive strip to be applied (e.g. by means of applicator tool) through the space or gap h, d for application onto an outer surface 11 of the flap 3 of the inner pack 1 and/or onto an inner surface 12 of the lid 6 of the outer pack 4. Thereafter, the lid 6 is pivoted back to the closed position to bring the inner surface 12 of the lid 6 and the outer surface 11 of the flap 3 close together, e.g. by applying pressure to the lid 6. In this way, the adhesive medium 10 introduced via the space or gap h, d is brought into intimate bonding contact with both the flap 3 and the lid 6 to effect a permanent and non-removable attachment between them. The applied pressure is maintained for a predetermined period of time to ensure a permanent and non-removable attachment.

(14) The predetermined period of time may be of the order of tenths of a second, for example between one and ten tenths of a second, in particular when no adhesive means is used. The inventors have discovered that in embodiments in which an adhesive in fluid state is used, the predetermined period of time is advantageously in the range of about 3 s to about 6 s, for example, the predetermined period of time may be of about 5 s.

(15) It has been found that, when a PVA adhesive is used, maintaining the applied pressure for a minimum of about 4 s, specifically for a minimum of about 5 s, is especially preferred for creating an adequate bonding of the flap and the lid.

(16) A sensor device (not shown) is typically provided for detecting application of the adhesive medium 10 to the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 and/or to the flap 3 of the inner pack 1. Furthermore, a sorting mechanism is also provided for rejecting the pack P if application of the adhesive medium 10 is detected as having failed; that is, if no adhesive medium 10 is detected, or if a location or extent of the adhesive medium 10 is incorrect. A controller and/or processor for receiving and analysing data from the sensor device and for controlling the operation of the sorting mechanism may also be provided.

(17) The sensor device is, or comprises, preferably a camera configured to obtain one or more images of the applied adhesive medium 10. The obtained images are sent to a controller and/or processor, where they are analysed to detect presence, or absence, of the adhesive medium 10. The analysis may be conducted by measuring the extent and/or the location of the adhesive medium 10 and then comparing the measured values with a range of predetermined reference values. If the measured values are out of the predetermined reference values, then the pack is rejected. Alternatively, or in addition, the obtained images may be compared with a control or reference image. The images are obtained before the lid 6 is pivoted back to the closed position. Those packs P marked as defective are preferably rejected by the sorting mechanism after the lid 6 is pivoted back to the closed position.

(18) Finally, with reference now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, a flow diagram is shown that schematically illustrates steps in a method of producing a pack of smoking articles according to a preferred embodiment of the invention as described above with respect to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. In this regard, the first box i of FIG. 4 represents the step of providing a pre-assembled pack P of smoking articles, such as cigarettes, with the pack P comprising an inner pack 1 having a flexible sheet 2 in which a group of smoking articles C is wrapped or enclosed and a flap 3 movable between a closed position and an open position, and an outer pack 4 including a container body 5 which holds and substantially surrounds the inner pack 1, the outer pack 4 having a lid 6 in a closed position preventing access to the inner pack. The pre-assembled pack P is preferably provided in a lying orientation with a front panel F of the pack facing upwards and the lid 6 of the pack P at a forward end in a direction of travel.

(19) The second box ii represents a step of creating a space or gap h, d between the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 and the inner pack 1. As noted above, this step may involve partially opening the lid 6 relative to the container body 5 of the outer pack.

(20) The third box iii then represents the step of attaching the re-closable flap 3 of the inner pack 1 to the lid of the outer pack 4 via and/or through the space or gap h, d; for example, by introducing or inserting an adhesive medium 10 via the gap or space h, d. The attaching step may include relatively moving the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 back to the closed position, especially after introducing the attaching means, to press the adhesive medium 10 introduced or inserted via the gap or space h, d into contact with either or both an outer surface 11 of the re-closable flap 3 of the inner pack 1 and an inner surface 12 of the lid 6 of the outer pack.

(21) The final box iv shown in FIG. 4 represents the optional steps of detecting an application of the adhesive medium 10 to the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 and/or to the flap 3 of the inner pack and rejecting the pack if application of the adhesive medium 10 is detected as having failed; for example, if no adhesive medium 10 is detected, or if an amount or location of the adhesive medium 10 detected is incorrect. These steps can be performed during or after the step of attaching the re-closable flap 3 of the inner pack 1 to the lid of the outer pack 4 via and/or through the space or gap h, d. Indeed, as previously explained, the detection step may be performed before relatively moving the lid 6 of the outer pack 4 back to the closed position to press the adhesive medium 10 introduced or inserted via the gap or space h, d into contact with either or both an outer surface 11 of the re-closable flap 3 of the inner pack 1 and an inner surface 12 of the lid 6 of the outer pack, while the rejection step may be performed after such relative movement.

(22) After this, the method may include the step of transferring or transporting the completed pack P to a wrapping station to wrap the pack P individually in a clear film, such as cellophane, prior to final packing in a carton for dispatch to customers. Before wrapping the pack P, the method may include the step of transferring or transporting the completed pack P to a tax- or excise-stamp application station for applying a tax-stamp or excise-stamp as may be required by applicable regulations.

(23) FIG. 5 shows a preferred conveyor belt arrangement for transporting the pack P to the wrapping station once the lid 6 has been pivoted back to the closed position. This conveyor belt arrangement may be located upstream or downstream of the sorting mechanism to reject defective packs. Preferably, the conveyor belt arrangement is located between the sorting mechanism and the wrapping station.

(24) In the preferred conveyor belt arrangement of FIG. 5, the completed pack P is transported by a first conveyor belt B1 that engages the rear panel R of the pack P along the direction indicated by the arrow. At a certain point, the front panel F of the pack P engages with a second conveyor belt B2. This results in a pressure being exerted against the lid 6, which is maintained while the rear and front panels R, F of the pack P are in contact with the first and second conveyors B1, B2. Therefore, by selecting the length and speed of the conveyor belts B1, B2, it is possible to establish the predetermined period of time during which pressure is applied to the lid 6. This has been found to be an efficient manner of applying pressure to the lid 6 as it reduces machine footprint.

(25) Although specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations exist. It should be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Generally, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein. Any method step herein described may be performed while packs are in movement or at a standstill. The apparatus may be modified accordingly to perform the corresponding method steps while the packs are in movement or at a standstill.

(26) In this document, the terms “comprise”, “comprising”, “include”, “including”, “contain”, “containing”, “have”, “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to be understood in an inclusive (i.e. non-exclusive) sense, such that the process, method, device, apparatus or system described herein is not limited to those features or parts or elements or steps recited but may include other elements, features, parts or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the terms “a” and “an” used herein are intended to be understood as meaning one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on or to establish a certain ranking of importance of their objects.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(27) 1 inner pack 3 flexible sheet 3 re-closable flap 4 outer pack 5 container body 6 lid 7 hinge line 8 lower edge of lid 9 edge of container body 10 adhesive medium 11 outer surface of flap 12 inner surface of lid P pack C smoking article F front panel R rear panel S side panel h space or gap in plan view d space or gap in end view B1 first conveyor belt B2 second conveyor belt