Modified 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 comprises a three dimensional element (104, 304) having a thickness (T2) from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres. The element (104, 304) is affixed to the container by means of adhesive provided on an affixing area (106) of an inner surface (108) of a first wall of the container. The container comprises a thickness compensating means (112, 312) provided in its entirety on a region of the inner surface of the container other than the affixing area.

Claims

1. A container for consumer goods, the container being formed from a laminar blank having a blank thickness; the container comprising a three dimensional element having a thickness from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres, wherein the three dimensional element is affixed to the container by adhesive provided on an affixing area of an inner surface of a first wall of the container; and wherein the container comprises a thickness element for at least partly offsetting or compensating the thickness of the three dimensional element, the thickness element provided in its entirety on a region of the inner surface of the container other than the affixing area, wherein the thickness element increases the thickness of the container at the region in which the thickness element is provided.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the three dimensional element is at a location along a longitudinal axis of the laminar blank, and a distance between the three dimensional element and a midpoint of the longitudinal axis of the laminar blank is less than about 20 percent of a longitudinal dimension of the blank.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness 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.

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

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the three dimensional patch member is at a location along the longitudinal axis of the blank, and a distance between the three dimensional element and the three dimensional patch is at least about 35 percent of a longitudinal dimension of the blank.

6. The container of claim 4, 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 element has a thickness of at least about 70 percent of the thickness of the three dimensional element.

8. The container of claim 1, wherein the thickness element has a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the three dimensional element.

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

10. 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 three dimensional element is affixed to the container at a distance from a bottom edge of the front wall of the reinforcing member.

11. The container of claim 1 wherein the consumer goods are smoking articles.

12. 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 from about 50 micrometres to about 500 micrometres, the three dimensional element being affixed to the laminar substrate; wherein the three dimensional element is affixed to the blank by adhesive provided on an affixing area of a first surface of the laminar substrate; and wherein the blank comprises a thickness element for at least partly offsetting or compensating the thickness of the three dimensional element, the thickness element being provided on a region of the first surface of the laminar substrate other than the affixing area, the entirety of the thickness element extending over a region of the first surface other than the affixing area, wherein the thickness element increases the thickness of the container at the region in which the thickness element is provided.

13. The blank of claim 12, wherein the three dimensional element is at a location along a longitudinal axis of the laminar blank, and a distance between the element and a midpoint of the longitudinal axis of the laminar blank is less than about 20 percent of a longitudinal dimension of the blank.

14. The blank of claim 12, wherein the thickness element comprises a coating layer applied at least on a region of the first surface of the laminar substrate extending about the affixing area.

15. The blank of claim 12, wherein the thickness element comprises a three-dimensional patch member arranged on the first surface of the laminar substrate at a location other than the affixing region.

Description

(1) The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a blank for forming a container in accordance with the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of a detail of the blank of FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a variant of a blank for forming a container in accordance with the present invention.

(5) A container according to the present invention may be formed from the laminar blank 100 shown in FIG. 1. In more detail, the laminar blank 100 of FIG. 1 is for forming a parallelepiped hinge lid container of the type commonly used for housing smoking articles, such as filtered cigarettes. The laminar blank 100 may be assembled and filled using standard apparatus. FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a detail of the blank 100 of FIG. 1.

(6) The blank 100 comprises a laminar substrate 102 having a thickness T1 of about 320 micrometres. The laminar substrate 102 has a longitudinal axis 200, a longitudinal dimension 202 and a transverse dimension 204. Further, the blank 100 comprises a parallelepiped shaped element 104 having a thickness T2 of about 200 micrometres. As shown in FIG. 2, the element 104 is affixed to the laminar substrate 102 by means of adhesive provided on an affixing area 106 of a first surface 108 of the laminar substrate 102. When a container is formed from the laminar blank 100, the first surface 108 faces the inside of the container.

(7) As illustrated in FIG. 1, 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 15 percent of the longitudinal 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. 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).

(8) As shown in FIG. 2, the blank 100 comprises a further layer 112 comprising a varnish on a region of the first surface 108 of the laminar substrate 102 extending about the affixing area 108. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, a thickness T3 of the further layer 112 is substantially as great as the element thickness T2. Thus, the further layer advantageously compensates for the entirety of the element 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.

(9) 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.

(10) 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 first surface of the laminar substrate at a location other than the affixing region.