A PACKAGE OF CIGARETTE PAPER SHEETS

Abstract

A plurality of elongate rectangular tissues (10) of cigarette paper, of a width equal to, and of a length greater than a desired cigarette paper sheet, are respectively folded over along transverse folds (12) coinciding with their minor axes, are stacked and stapled together near their respective, opposite shorter sides (14, 16), and are perforated along transverse lines (18, 20) near each shorter side, at a distance from the transverse fold equal to half the desired length of the cigarette paper sheet.

Description

DISCLOSURE

This invention is concerned with a pocketable package or bundle of cigarette paper sheets, allowing individual sheets to be readily pulled out for use.

In cigarette paper packages as used universally nowadays, cigarette paper sheets, comprising elongate, rectangular leaflets of rice paper or similar light-weight paper, are individually folded in mutual overlapping, and are enclosed in a cardboard envelope or case, so that the user can grasp a visible border of the outermost cigarette paper sheet and pull it out. The opposite end of the paper sheet, as it comes loose from the case, will partially pull out the border of the next sheet, thereby making it graspable in its turn.

As the size of cigarette paper sheets have increased, up to sizes of about 10-15 cm×4-5 cm that are generally sold today, the above cigarette paper packages have become more fragile and more awkward to handle, because, due to their increased length, they are liable to be bent or crushed in the user's pockets.

It is therefore the main object of the invention to provide a package of cigarette paper sheets that is more compact and more pocketable than known packages, so that it can be placed in a hip pocket or breast pocket without protruding without becoming misshaped, while the convenience for the user to pick out individual paper sheets remains unaffected.

Another object is to provide such package of cigarette paper sheets so that it may be manufactured easily and cheaply.

The above and other objects and advantages, such as will appear from the disclosure below, are achieved by the invention with a package of cigarette paper sheets having the features recited in claim 1.

Other advantageous features of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be disclosed, by way of non limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, where, for the sake of clarity, thicknesses are everywhere represented to a larger scale than the surfaces, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a, perspective side view of a sheet of cigarette paper used in the manufacture of a package of cigarette papers according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic, perspective side view of a stack of folded paper sheets;

FIG. 3 is a perspective side view of a package of cigarette paper sheets according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic side view of a continuous cigarette paper ribbon, folded in view of manufacturing a package of cigarette paper sheets according to the invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, an elongate rectangular tissue 1o of cigarette paper, such as thin rice paper, is folded transversely along the minor axis of the rectangle, thereby forming a fold 12. Near its opposite shorter sides 14, 16, the sheet is provided with transverse perforated lines 18, 20. The width H of the tissue is the same as the desired width of a cigarette paper sheet, typically about 45 mm, while the distance L from fold 12 to each of perforations 18, 20 is half the desired length of the cigarette paper sheet; e.g., for a long-size sheet, about 50 mm.

A plurality of tissues 1o, folded according to FIG. 1, are stacked as shown in the side view of FIG. 2, where, for the sake of clarity, only three tissues are shown, although in actual practice their number shall be much larger, e.g. 30 or more. The terminal portions of the stack of tissues 10 are then stapled together by means of metal staples 22, or by another equivalent stapling or sewing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stapled stack is then encased in a protective cardboard comprising a front flap 24, a back panel 26 and a narrow cuff 28. The cardboard is, for instance, stapled together with the stack, as shown in FIG. 3, but it might be glued to the stapled portions of the stack of tissues along cuff 28 and along a narrow ledge on the other side of the stack.

In use, the user will pick out a single sheet by lifting the front flap 24 of the cardboard and by tearing off the paper of the uppermost tissue along perforated lines 18, 20, and then by spreading out the paper, thereby obtaining a cigarette paper sheet of a length such as 100 mm, although the package is only about half as long.

A person skilled in the art will readily understand that the manufacture of the above disclosed package can be easily implemented by suitably equipping known folding machines. More particularly, the rectangular tissues 10 described above may be individually handled or, for a faster or an automatic process, and as schematically shown in FIG. 4, they could comprise a continuous ribbon 30 that is folded in accordion pleats, thereby giving rise to a stack of linked leaflets that will be provided with perforations along line 32 and then stapled in 34, and provided with a protective cardboard (not shown) as disclosed above. The expression “tissue” as used in this specification and in the attached claims should therefore be understood to mean a rectangular paper element, which may either be individual or belong to a continuous ribbon.

Obviously, the embodiments described by way of example are liable to be modified, particularly in the kind of stapling, in the shape of the protective sheath, and more generally it should be understood that the scope of the patent should encompass all embodiments which attain the same objects by functionally equivalent means.

Claims

1. A package of cigarette paper sheets, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of elongate rectangular tissues of cigarette paper, of a width equal to, and of a length greater than a desired cigarette paper sheet, which tissues are respectively folded over along transverse folds coinciding with their minor axes, are stacked and stapled together near their respective, opposite shorter sides and are perforated along transverse lines near each shorter side, at a distance from the transverse fold equal to half the desired length of the cigarette paper sheet.

2. The package of cigarette paper sheets of claim 1, characterized in that said folded tissues are stapled to one another by metal staples.

3. The package of cigarette paper sheets of claim 1, characterized in that said tissues are joined to one another at their shorter sides to form a continuous ribbon.

4. The package of cigarette paper sheets of claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a protective cardboard that is stapled or glued to the ends of the stacked tissues and of such a size that it is folded around the stack of tissues.