Abstract
A container includes a housing and an outer film. The housing has an inner surface, an outer surface, a rear wall and a circumferential length. The housing includes a box and a lid hingedly attached to the box at a hinge line on the rear wall of the housing. The housing also includes an opening line. The outer film is disposed on the outer surface of the housing. The outer film includes a covering portion and an opening portion. The opening portion has a length that is less than the circumferential length of the housing and the opening portion is disposed along the opening line of the housing.
Claims
1. A container for consumer goods, comprising: a housing having an inner surface, an outer surface, a rear wall and a circumferential length, the housing comprising a box, a lid, a hinge line and an opening line, where the lid is hingedly attached to the box at the hinge line on the rear wall of the housing, the hinge line having two end points adjacent the two ends of the opening line; and an outer film disposed on the outer surface of the housing, the outer film comprising a multilayer structure, the multilayer structure comprising a first layer and a second layer, the first layer comprising at least a first line of weakness and a second line of weakness, the second layer comprising a third line of weakness; and an adhesive layer positioned between the first layer and the second layer, the outer film comprising a covering portion and an opening portion, the opening portion having a length that is less than the circumferential length of the housing and the opening portion being disposed along the opening line of the housing, wherein the opening portion is removed to open the container.
2. The container of claim 1, wherein the entire covering portion remains attached to the housing even after the housing is opened.
3. The container of claim 1, wherein the covering portion makes up at least 90 percent of the outer film.
4. The container of claim 1, wherein the first and second line of weakness are within 1 mm to 5 mm, perpendicularly, of the opening line on the top and bottom of the opening line respectively.
5. The container of claim 1, wherein the first and second line of weakness are within 1 mm to 3 mm, perpendicularly, of the opening line on the top and bottom of the opening lines respectively.
6. The container of claim 1, wherein the opening portion of the outer film is the portion of the first layer between the first and second line of weakness.
7. The container of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a nonpermanent adhesive region; and a permanent adhesive region, the nonpermanent adhesive region being positioned between the first and second line of weakness.
8. The container of claim 4, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a nonpermanent adhesive region; and a permanent adhesive region, the nonpermanent adhesive region being positioned between the first and second line of weakness.
9. The container of claim 1, wherein the third line of weakness is positioned between the first and second lines of weakness.
10. The container of claim 1, wherein the opening portion comprises the first line of weakness.
11. The container of claim 10, wherein the covering portion comprises substantially 100 percent of the outer film.
12. The container of claim 1, wherein the opening portion is formed from the outer film by mechanical cutting; use of a laser; degraded using UV energy, IR energy, Gamma energy, X-ray energy, chemical treatment, thermal treatment, galvanic treatment, or any combination thereof; or any combination thereof.
13. The container of claim 1, wherein the first line of weakness, the second line of weakness, the third line of weakness, or any combination thereof have an average thickness from 1 micrometers to 40 micrometers.
14. The container of claim 1 further comprising a tearing component laminated on the outer film directly over at least a portion of the opening portion.
15. A container for consumer goods, comprising: a housing having an inner surface, an outer surface, a rear wall and a circumferential length, the housing comprising a box, a lid, a hinge line and an opening line, where the lid is hingedly attached to the box at the hinge line on the rear wall of the housing, the hinge line having two end points adjacent the two ends of the opening line; and an outer film disposed on the outer surface of the housing, the outer film comprising a multilayer structure, the multilayer structure comprising a first layer and a second layer, the first layer comprising at least a first line of weakness and a second line of weakness, the second layer comprising a third line of weakness; and an adhesive layer positioned between the first layer and the second layer, the outer film comprising a covering portion and an opening portion, the opening portion being the portion of the first layer between the first and second line of weakness and having a length that is less than the circumferential length of the housing and the opening portion being disposed along the opening line of the housing, wherein the opening portion is removed to open the container.
16. The container of claim 15, wherein the opening portion comprises the first line of weakness.
17. The container of claim 15, wherein the covering portion comprises substantially 100 percent of the outer film.
18. The container of claim 15, wherein the opening portion is formed from the outer film by mechanical cutting; use of a laser; degraded using UV energy, IR energy, Gamma energy, X-ray energy, chemical treatment, thermal treatment, galvanic treatment, or any combination thereof; or any combination thereof.
19. The container of claim 15, wherein the first line of weakness, the second line of weakness, the third line of weakness, or any combination thereof have an average thickness from 1 micrometers to 40 micrometers.
20. The container of claim 15 further comprising a tearing component laminated on the outer film directly over at least a portion of the opening portion.
Description
(1) Referring now to the drawings, in which some aspects of the present invention are illustrated.
(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a container in an open position, where the container includes a housing and an outer film.
(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the front of the container of FIG. 1 in a closed position.
(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the back of the container of FIG. 1 in a closed position.
(5) FIG. 4 is a top down view of the container of FIG. 1 showing the circumferential length of the housing.
(6) FIG. 5 is a top down view of the container of FIG. 1 showing the length of the opening portion.
(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an outer film, not disposed around a housing having one line of weakness.
(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an outer film, not disposed around a housing having two lines of weakness.
(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an outer film, not disposed around a housing having three lines of weakness.
(10) FIG. 9 is a schematic cross section of a portion of a multilayer outer film.
(11) FIG. 10 shows an illustrative container before being opened.
(12) FIG. 11 shows an illustrative container while it is being opened.
(13) FIG. 12 shows an illustrative container after is has been opened.
(14) FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 depict schematic perspective views (FIG. 1 side, FIG. 2 front and FIG. 3 back) of an embodiment of a container 10 for consumer goods. The container includes a housing 12 that includes a box 14 and a lid 20 hingedly attached to the box via a hinge line 15. The hinge line 15 extends across a rear wall 18 of the box 14 of the container 10, and acts to allow the lid 20 to be moved from a closed position (FIG. 2) to an opened position (FIG. 1). The box 14 includes an inner surface 17 and an outer surface 19, and the rear wall 18, a front wall 16 and two side walls 13 and 11. The box 14 and the lid 20 are defined by the opening line 35. The hinge line 15 has two end points on the rear wall 18 of the box 14 from which two points the opening line 35 begins and goes around the housing 12 circumferentially.
(15) The container 10 also includes an outer film 30. The outer film 30, once the container has been opened (as is the case in FIG. 1) only includes the covering portion 32 which covers both the box 14 and the lid 20 but before opening (as is the case in FIG. 2) also includes the opening portion 33. It should be noted that the outer film 30 is depicted as having space between it and the housing 12. This space is depicted only for the sake of being able to visualize the outer film 30. Preferably, the outer film 30 is snug or tight around the housing 12 of the container 10.
(16) An optional inner frame 25 can be disposed within the housing 12. The inner frame 25 can at least partially define an interior volume for housing consumer goods.
(17) The housing 12 has a circumferential length which is demonstrated in FIG. 4. As seen in FIG. 4, the circumferential length x of the housing is the total distance around the perimeter of the housing. Therefore, the circumferential length x in the depicted example is a+b+c+d, wherein a denotes the transversal width of the right side wall 11, as referenced in FIG. 4 by the reference numeral 61, b denotes the transversal width of the left side wall 13, as referenced in FIG. 4 by the reference numeral 62, c denotes the transversal width of the back wall 18, as referenced in FIG. 4 by the reference numeral 63 and d denotes the transversal width of the front wall 16, as referenced in FIG. 4 by the reference numeral 64.
(18) The opening portion 33 has a length y which is demonstrated in FIG. 5. It is noted that the opening portion 33 is angled along the sides of the box 14. The length y in the depicted example is e+f+g, wherein e denotes the length of the portion of the opening portion along the left side wall 13, as referenced in FIG. 5 by the reference numeral 65, f denotes length of the portion of the opening portion along the right side wall 11, as referenced in FIG. 5 by the reference numeral 67 and g denotes the transversal width of the portion of the opening portion along the front wall 16, as referenced in FIG. 5 by the reference numeral 66. Because the opening portion 33 is angled along the sides of the box e is longer than b (in FIG. 4) and f is longer than a (in FIG. 4). In all embodiments, the length of the opening portion (y) is less than the circumferential length of the housing (x).
(19) FIG. 6 shows an outer film 30. The outer film 30 in FIG. 6 either has not yet been disposed around a housing or has been removed from a housing. The outer film 30 in FIG. 6 depicts the future edges 34 that once the outer film 30 is placed on a housing will reside on the edges of the housing. The outer film 30 in FIG. 6 also depicts fold lines 35 at which the outer film 30 can be folded in order to go around the edges of the housing. The outer film 30 includes an opening portion 33. The particular opening portion 33 depicted in FIG. 6 includes only a single line of weakness. FIG. 7 shows another outer film 30 that includes an opening portion 33 that includes two lines of weakness. The outer film 30 in FIG. 7 shows a first line of weakness 36 and a second line of weakness 37 that span or straddle the location where the opening line of the housing would be located once the outer film 30 has been placed on a housing. In this embodiment, the region between the first line of weakness and the second line of weakness forms the opening portion 33 and the remainder of the outer film 30 is the covering portion 32. FIG. 8 shows an outer film 31 that is a multilayer film. This outer film 31 includes a first line of weakness 36 and a second line of weakness 37 that are both in a first layer of the multilayer film. The outer film 31 also includes a third line of weakness 38 that is disposed between the first and second lines of weakness 36 and 37 but within the second layer. The region of the first layer between the first and second lines of weakness 36 and 37 is therefore the opening portion 33.
(20) FIG. 9 is a schematic cross section of an illustrative multilayer outer film 40. The outer film 40 includes a first layer 42, a second layer 44 and an adhesive layer 46 disposed there between. The first layer 42 includes a first line of weakness 36 and a second line of weakness 37, and the second layer 44 includes a third line of weakness 38. The region of the first layer 42 between the first line of weakness 36 and the second line of weakness 37 is the opening portion 33. As seen in this figure, the third line of weakness is located in the second layer 44 but between the first line of weakness 36 and the second line of weakness 37. The adhesive layer 46 includes a first adhesive region 48 and a second adhesive region 49. The first adhesive region 48 can but need not be contiguous and can include the entire adhesive layer with the exception of the second adhesive region 49. As seen therein, the second adhesive region 49 is disposed in the adhesive layer 46 but between the first line of weakness 36 and the second line of weakness 37. In some illustrative embodiments, the first adhesive region 48 can include permanent adhesive and the second adhesive region 49 can include nonpermanent adhesive.
(21) FIG. 10 illustrates a container 10 that includes a first line of weakness 36 and a second line of weakness 37 in the outer film 30. The container 10 in FIG. 10 also illustrates an optional tearing component 50. The optional tearing component 50 is affixed or adhered to at least a portion of the opening portion 33. The optional tearing component 50 can make it easier for a consumer to remove the opening portion 33 from the container and thereby allows opening of the container 10. FIG. 11 illustrates the container when a consumer 52 is in the process of opening the container 10. The consumer 52 is removing the opening portion 33 by grasping (in this case) the optional tearing component 50. Removal of the opening portion 33 reveals the third line of weakness 38. FIG. 12 illustrates the container 10 after the consumer has completed the process of opening the container 10. The opening portion 33 including the optional tearing component 50 has been completely removed from the container 10 while the covering portion 32 remains on the lid 20 and box 14. The lid 20 has been hingedly pushed away from the box 14 which simultaneously broke the third line of weakness opening the container 10.
