A CONTAINER FOR ELONGATED CONSUMER ARTICLES WITH A TILTED LONGITUDINAL EDGE BETWEEN THE BOX FRONT WALL AND A SIDE WALL

Abstract

A container for consumer goods including elongated articles is provided, including: a lid and a box for housing consumer goods, the box including a box front wall with a box front lower section and a box front upper section and a first box side wall and a second box side wall, the upper first longitudinal edge in the box front upper section being tilted with respect to the lower first longitudinal edge in the box front lower section so that the upper first longitudinal edge is at an angle to the lower first longitudinal edge. The titled upper first longitudinal edge may advantageously assist in a smooth lid closure by reducing the risk that the lid catches the upper edges of the box when the lid rotates to its close position.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A container for consumer goods including elongated articles, the container comprising: from a one-piece blank, a box configured to house the consumer goods, the box comprising a box front wall, a box rear wall, a first box side wall, a second box side wall, and a box bottom wall, wherein a top end of the box is at least partially open and configured to provide an access opening to access the consumer goods; a lid pivotably connected to the box rear wall along a hinge, wherein the lid is pivotable about the hinge between a closed position, in which the lid covers the access opening, and an open position, in which the access opening is exposed; and a first longitudinal edge connecting the first box side wall with the box front wall, the box front wall comprising a box front lower section and a box front upper section, the first box side wall comprising a first box side lower section and a first box side upper section, the second box side wall comprising a second box side lower section and a second box side upper section, wherein the box front lower section, the first box side lower section, and the second box side lower section are adjacent to the box bottom wall, wherein the box front upper section, the first box side upper section, and the second box side upper section are configured to be covered by the lid when the lid is in the closed position, and wherein an upper first longitudinal edge in the box front upper section is tilted with respect to a lower first longitudinal edge in the box front lower section so that the upper first longitudinal edge is at an angle to the lower first longitudinal edge.

17. The container according to claim 16, further comprising a second longitudinal edge connecting the second box side wall with the box front wall, wherein an upper second longitudinal edge in the box front upper section is tilted with respect to a lower second longitudinal edge in the box front lower section so that the upper second longitudinal edge is at an angle to the lower second longitudinal edge.

18. The container according to claim 17, wherein one or both of the upper first longitudinal edge and the upper second longitudinal edge are tilted towards a central longitudinal axis of the box front wall.

19. The container according to claim 17, wherein one or both of the upper first longitudinal edge and the upper second longitudinal edge are tilted by an angle of between 2 degrees to 8 degrees.

20. The container according to claim 16, wherein a minimum height of the first box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall, a minimum height of the second box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall, or both a minimum height of the first box side wall and the second box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall is at a same height or lower than a height of the box rear wall.

21. The container according to claim 16, wherein an upper edge of the first box side upper section, an upper edge of the second box side upper section, or both the upper edges of the first box side upper section and the second box side upper section comprises a recess formed by a cut-out portion.

22. The container according to claim 16, wherein a narrowest width of the box front upper section is between 0.1 percent to 5 percent smaller than a width of the box front lower section.

23. The container according to claim 16, wherein the box front lower section is in a same plane with the box front upper section.

24. The container according to claim 16, further comprising at least one retaining tab in the box front upper section, the retaining tab protruding from the box front upper section.

25. The container according to claim 16, wherein the lid comprises a lid top wall, and wherein a width of the lid top wall is larger than a width of the box rear wall.

26. The container according to claim 25, wherein the width of the lid top wall is up to 2 mm larger than the width of the box rear wall.

27. A blank for forming a container for elongated articles according to claim 16, the blank comprising: a box-forming section and a lid-forming section; and a first longitudinal fold line connecting the first box side wall with the box front wall, wherein the lid-forming section comprises a lid top wall, a lid rear wall, a lid front wall, and two lid side walls, wherein the lid rear wall is connected to the box-forming section along a lid fold line, wherein the box-forming section comprises a box front wall, a box rear wall, a box bottom wall, a first box side wall, and second box side wall, wherein the box rear wall is connected to the lid-forming section along the lid fold line, wherein the box front wall comprises a box front lower section and a box front upper section, wherein the first box side wall comprises a first box side lower section and a first box upper section, wherein the second box side wall comprises a second box side lower section and a second box upper section, wherein the box front lower section is adjacent to the box bottom wall, wherein an upper first longitudinal fold line in the box front upper section is tilted with respect to a lower first longitudinal fold line in the box front lower section so that the upper first longitudinal fold line is at an angle to the lower first longitudinal folding line, wherein a height of the box front lower section is equal to or larger than a total height of the container minus a height of the lid front wall, and wherein the total height of the container is the sum of a height of the box rear wall and a height of the lid rear wall.

28. The blank according to claim 27, further comprising a second longitudinal fold line connecting the second box side wall with the box front wall, wherein an upper second longitudinal fold line in the box front upper section is tilted with respect to a lower second longitudinal fold line in the box front lower section so that the upper second longitudinal fold line is at an angle to the lower second longitudinal fold line.

29. The blank according to claim 28, wherein the upper first longitudinal fold line, the upper second longitudinal fold line, or both the upper first longitudinal fold line and the upper second longitudinal fold lines are tilted by an angle of between 2 degrees to 8 degrees.

30. The blank according to claim 28, wherein a minimum height of the first box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall, a minimum height of the second box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall, or both a minimum height of the first box side wall and the second box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall is at a same height or lower than a height of the box rear wall.

31. The blank according to claim 30, wherein an upper edge of the first box side wall, an upper edge of the second box side wall, or both the upper edges of the first box side wall and the second box side wall comprises a recess formed by a cut-out portion.

Description

[0055] The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0056] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0057] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view from the side of a box portion of the container;

[0058] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the front upper section and the first side upper section of a container together with the lid;

[0059] FIG. 4 depicts a closeup of the first longitudinal edge portion of FIG. 3 showing in detail the determination of the tilt angle;

[0060] FIGS. 5 and FIGS. 7 show different embodiments of blanks for forming containers of the invention, and

[0061] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a different embodiment of a container of the invention in a perspective view and in a side view.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a container 10 for housing elongated articles is depicted. The container comprises a lid 14 and a box 12. The box 12 comprises a box front wall 16 comprising a box front lower section 16A and a box front upper section 16B. Furthermore, a first box side wall 20 is present, including a first box side wall lower section 20A and a first box side wall upper section 20B. The box further comprises a second box sidewall 22, of which only the second box side wall upper section 22B is shown in FIG. 1. The box also comprises a box bottom wall 24 and a box rear wall 18. The upper sections of the box front wall and the box side walls are separated from the respective lower sections of the box front wall and the box side walls by an imaginary separation line 28. This separation line 28 is entirely covered by the lower edge of the lid, when the lid 14 is in its closed position. The lid 14 therefore covers the first box side upper section 20B, the box front upper section 16B, and the box second side upper section 22B when the lid is closed.

[0063] A first longitudinal edge 26 connects the box front wall 16 to the first box side wall 20. A lower first longitudinal edge 26A in the box front lower section 16A is present. In the box front upper section 16B a upper first longitudinal edge 26B is present, which is tilted by an angle 30 with respect to the lower first longitudinal edge 26A in the front lower section. This results in the width 32 of the box front upper section being smaller than the width 34 of the box front lower section. Additionally, the width 38 of the first side upper section is larger than the width 40 of the first side lower section. Similarly, a second longitudinal edge 27 connects box front wall 16 to the second box side wall 22. The upper second longitudinal edge 27B in the box front upper section is tilted by the inclination angle 30 with respect to the lower second longitudinal edge 27A in the box front lower section. Both of the upper first longitudinal edge 26B and the upper second longitudinal edge 27B are tilted towards a central longitudinal axis 16C of the box front wall. The box further comprises retention tabs 36 in the box front upper section. These retention tabs can frictionally engage with the lid, when the lid is in its closed position. The inclination angles 30 of the upper first longitudinal edge 26B and the upper second longitudinal edge 27B in the front upper section result in the box front upper section protruding outwards. The protruding box front upper section can advantageously engage with the lid from the inside of the lid when it gets closed. The tapered top end of the box, particularly on the box front upper section, may also ensure a smooth closing of the lid when the lid rotates to its close position by preventing the upper edges of the box front wall and the box side walls from catching with the lower edges of lid front wall and the lid side walls.

[0064] FIG. 2 shows a perspective side view of the box portion 12 of the container 10 shown in FIG. 1. The dashed line 42 shows the position of the box front upper section which would be present if the upper first longitudinal edge and the upper second longitudinal edge in the front upper section are not tilted. It can clearly be seen that the box front upper section is slightly protruding outwards, which enables an enhanced frictional interaction with the lid when it's closed.

[0065] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of the top portion of the container with the lid 14. Lid 14 comprises the lid rear wall 58, the lid side walls 52, the lid front wall 54 and the lid top wall 48. The width 48A of the lid top wall 48 is shown as a dashed line. This width 48A of the lid top wall is larger than the with 50 of the rear upper section of the box. Due to the dimensional configuration of the width of the lid top wall and the rear upper section of the box, the larger width of the lid top wall 48 may lead at least parts of the lid side walls 52 to protrude slightly outwards in comparison with the first box side upper section 20B and the second box side upper section 22B so that the lid side walls 52 can be prevented from colliding with the box side walls when pivoting the lid from the open position to the close position. Therefore, the lid 14, particularly the bulging lid side walls 52 can ensure an easy and smooth closure to cover the box without any major interference from the edges of the box side walls, which are shown in the dashed circles denoted with the reference sign 29.

[0066] FIG. 4 shows a perspective closeup view of the region marked by the dashed circle 23 in FIG. 3. The FIG. 4 shows one way of determining the tilt angle 30. The lower first longitudinal edge 26A in the box front lower section is shown. At the vertex point 31, the upper first longitudinal edge 26B in the box front upper section diverges from the lower first longitudinal edge 26A in the box front lower section. The tilt angle 30 can be measured as the angle between the tilted upper first longitudinal edge 26B and an imaginary line 26A′ of the lower first longitudinal edge 26A, which is a straight extension from the box front lower section into the box front upper section. In this case the first longitudinal edge 26B in the box front upper section is tilted towards the central longitudinal axis of the box front wall 16C.

[0067] FIG. 5 shows one example of a blank 74 for forming a container of the present invention. The blank 74 comprises a box forming section 74A and a lid forming section 74B. The box forming section 74A comprises a box front wall 16 which is connected to a first box side wall 20 by a lower first longitudinal fold line 26C in the box front lower section and an upper first longitudinal fold line 26D in the box front upper section. Additionally, the box front wall 16 is connected to a second box side wall 22 by a lower second longitudinal fold line 27C in the box front lower section and a upper second longitudinal fold line 27D in the box front upper section. The first and second longitudinal fold lines 26D and 27D are tilted towards the central longitudinal axis 16C of the box front box wall 16. Both the first box side wall 20 and the second box side wall 22 comprise upper edges 60A and 60B sloping downwardly from the box front wall to the box rear wall. These sloped upper edges of the box side walls 20, 22 serve to minimize the interference of the box side walls with the lid side wall at the initial move of the lid upon pivoting from the open position to the close position and therefore help the smooth closing of the lid by avoiding any collision between the lid and the box.

[0068] A bottom fold line 64 connects the box front wall 16 to the box bottom wall 24. This box bottom wall 24 is also separated by a fold line from the adjacent rear wall 18. The box rear wall 18 is connected by the lid fold line 62 to the lid-forming section 74B of the blank. In particular, the box rear wall 18 is connected to the lid rear wall 58, which is directly connected to the lid top wall 48 through another fold line. The lid top wall 48 is connected to the lid sidewalls 52 and the lid front wall 54 through further fold lines. Connection taps 68 are present which are connected to the respective walls of the blank through further fold lines.

[0069] A U-shaped cut-out region indicated by the dashed circle 60C is present in the box front upper section of the box front wall 16, which serves to ease the withdrawal of elongated articles from the container. The height 70 of the box front lower section is shown. This height is equal to or larger than the total height of the container minus the height 75 of the lid front wall. The total height of the container is the sum of the height 72 of the box rear wall and the height 73 of the lid rear wall. These height proportions can ensure that the lid front wall can reliably cover, particularly entirely cover the box front upper section after the container has been folded from the blank. The maximum height 71 of the complete box front wall is also depicted.

[0070] FIG. 6 shows a blank for forming another container according to the invention. In comparison to the blank shown in FIG. 5 different shaped edges 60A and 60B are present in the upper sections of the first and second box side walls. These edges 60A and 60B in FIG. 6 comprise a recess formed by a cut-out portion, which differ from the sloped straight edges 60A and 60B shown in the blank of FIG. 5. This is another design of the edges of the first and second box side walls in order to avoid any interference of the box side walls during closing of the lid.

[0071] FIG. 7 shows a blank for yet another container according to the invention. In comparison to the blank shown in FIG. 6 the upper first longitudinal fold line 26D and the upper second longitudinal fold line 27D in the front upper section are tilted away from the central longitudinal axis 16C of the box front wall 16 and are tilted toward the box side walls.

[0072] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the container of the present invention. For the sake of clarity, the tilted upper first longitudinal edge in the box front upper section is not shown. This container comprises a first box side wall 20 with a height 76 of the first box side wall adjacent to the box rear wall, a minimum height 78 of the first box side wall and a height 80 of the first box side wall adjacent to the box front wall are indicated. It can clearly be seen that the first box side wall 20 comprises a recessed upper edge formed by a cut-out portion, wherein a minimum height 78 of the first box side wall is smaller than the height 76 of the first box side wall adjacent to the rear wall. This container comprises a second box side wall, where symmetrically the second box side wall may comprise the same structural configuration as the first box side wall 20. In comparison with the container embodiment of the invention formed by the blank shown in FIG. 5, such a configuration of the recessed upper edges of the box side walls may further minimize the interference of the box side walls with the lid side wall, particularly at the initial move of the lid upon pivoting from the open position to the close position. Therefore, the cut-out portions on the recessed upper edges of the box side walls advantageously ensure a smooth closing of the lid by avoiding any collision between the lid and the box.

[0073] FIG. 9 shows a side view of the container of FIG. 8. The cut-out portion as indicated by the hatched area 88 is the part of the container blank which is removed for forming the recessed upper edge of one box side wall. This hatched area 88 is located below an imaginary connecting line 82 drawn between the upper edge 86 of the first box side wall which is adjacent to the box front wall and the upper edge 84 of the first box side wall which is adjacent to the box rear wall.