Filter And Methol For Making A Filter For A Cigarette
A container (10) for tobacco industry products, the container (10) being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration comprises an interior region (50) and first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region (50) to become sufficiently pressurised so that pressure is perceivably released upon opening the container (10).
This invention relates to a container for tobacco industry products.
As used herein, the term tobacco industry product includes any item made in, or sold by the tobacco industry, typically including a) cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, tobacco for pipes or for roll-your-own cigarettes, (whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes); b) non-smoking products incorporating tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes such as snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and heat-not-burn products; and c) smokeless products, including oral tobacco products such as Snus, and nicotine delivery products. This list is not intended to be exclusive, but merely illustrates a range of products which are relevant to the tobacco industry.
Conventional tobacco industry product containers often include an outer wrap of heat sealable clear film, most commonly polypropylene with an embedded tear tape to assist in easy opening. The outer film provides both functional and user benefits. The film acts as a moisture barrier and thereby contributes to the shelf life stability of the packaged product. Furthermore, for the user, the plastic film confirms the freshness of the tobacco industry product therein.
The present invention provides an improved container for tobacco industry products.
The present invention provides a container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration, comprising an interior region and first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to become pressurised to a pressure of greater than atmospheric pressure.
Sliding one of the parts towards the other part may cause the interior region to become pressurised to a pressure of greater than 1.1 bar. However, the interior region may become pressurised to a pressure of greater than 1.2 bar, or greater than 1.5 bar. Preferably, said sliding causes the interior region to become pressurised to a pressure of between 1.1 and 2 bar.
The overpressure within the container improves the shelf life potential of the tobacco industry products therein by reducing the potential for spotting and staining of the cigarettes as compared with a corresponding container at atmospheric pressure.
The present invention also provides a container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration and comprising an interior region and first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to become sufficiently pressurised so that pressure is perceivably released upon opening the container.
Thus, when a user opens the container, he or she may perceive a release of pressure. The release of pressure provides a cue to the user as to the freshness of the tobacco industry products in the container.
The present invention also provides a container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration, the container comprising an interior region and first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to pressurise and such that the pressure is maintained in the interior of the container until the pack is opened or until the seal is broken.
Thus, the container may be arranged so that functional and user benefits of the pressurised container are preserved until the pack is opened or until the seal is broken
When the container is pressurised, the pressure forces therein tend to urge the first and second parts apart. In one example, the first and second parts are held in place against the pressure force by the frictional resistance therebetween. In another example, the container comprises a fastening mechanism adapted to hold the first and second parts in place after one of the parts has been slid towards the other part.
Preferably, the container is a container for smoking articles. As used herein, the term “smoking article” includes smokeable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco, tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobacco substitutes and also heat-not-burn products. The smoking article may be provided with a filter for the gaseous flow drawn by the smoker.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
As shown in
Referring in detail to the construction of the elongate body, as shown in
The lower section 60 comprises a closed cylindrical wall 65 having an annular upper face 66 and a closed bottom part 80. The bottom part 80 is integral with the cylindrical wall 65 and is disposed at substantially right angles to the longitudinal axis of the elongated body.
The collar section 70 has a closed cylindrical wall 75 which is integral with the annular upper face 66 of the body 40. The inner space defined by the wall 75 is open to the inner space defined by the wall 65 and in this way the walls 65, 75 define an elongate space inside the container for the cigarettes 20. As shown, the collar section 70 has an open end 90 for accessing the cigarettes.
Although the collar 70, annular upper face 66, cylindrical wall 65 and bottom part 80 are described above as being integral with one another, alternatively the body may be formed from two tubes, one fixed within the other, the inner tube comprising the collar section, and the outer tube comprising the cylindrical wall, annular upper face and base.
Referring to
As is graphically described in
Sliding the cap 40 towards the body 30 may cause the interior region to become pressurised to a pressure of greater than 1.1 bar. However, the interior region may become pressurised to a pressure of greater than 1.2 bar, or greater than 1.5 bar. Preferably, the interior region becomes pressurised to a pressure of between 1.1 and 2 bar.
In the example shown in
Furthermore, the tight seal between the cap 40 and the body 30 preferably allows a positive pressure to be maintained within the container for an extended period of time, for example, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or longer.
In this way, the cap and the body may fit together sufficiently tightly such that a positive pressure of greater than atmospheric pressure is maintained within the container for a period of longer than, for example: 1 week, or longer than 1 month; longer than 3 months; longer than 6 months, or longer than 1 year.
The fully closed container is shown in
Although the illustrated pressurisation process shows sliding a second part, in the form of a tubular cap 40 towards a first part, in the form of a tubular body 30, alternatively the container could be pressurised by sliding the tubular body 30 towards the tubular cap 40 or by simultaneously sliding the body 30 and cap 40 towards one another.
Furthermore, the skilled person would understand that many different adaptations and shapes of the first and second parts are possible in order to achieve the desired positive pressure.
Once the container has been closed in this manner, the compressed air inside the container exerts a pressure force which tends to urge the body and the cap apart. The pressure force may, for example, be balanced by frictional resistance between the inner surface of the cap and the outer surface of the collar region. That is, frictional resistance may maintain the cap in place on the body in spite of the pressure force from the compressed air in the container.
However, alternatively or in addition, the container 10 may have a fastening mechanism such as a bayonet-type fixing for holding the cap 40 and the elongated body 30 together.
The cap 40 is then twisted, so as to guide the protrusion 130 into the circumferentially extending portion 170, and is then released. When the cap is released in this position, the restoring force from the compressed o-ring 155 urges the protrusion 130 against the upper wall 175 of the circumferential portion 170 of the groove 150 so that the lid and the body are securely held together. The compressed o-ring 155 also provides a high quality hermetic seal between the cap and the base.
Although the closed container has been described hereinabove as containing a positively pressurised volume of air, alternatively, the container could contain a positively pressurised volume of another gas, such as nitrogen. This could be achieved by sliding the cap onto the base in a nitrogen atmosphere, thereby hermetically sealing a volume of nitrogen in the container.
Moreover, in another, example, the height of the cylindrical collar section of the body is different to the height of the cylindrical inner wall of the cap 40. In this case, the distance L over which the cap 40 and body are 30 slidable is the shorter of these two heights.
The container 10 may further comprise an indicating element (not shown) for indicating whether the container is pressurised. The indicating element may, for example, be a button or nipple disposed on the body 30 or cap 40, which noticeably protrudes from the surface of the container 10 when the container is pressurised.
The container may be pressurised by a human or a machine packer prior to being sold. The overpressure within the container improves the shelf life potential of the tobacco industry products therein by reducing the potential for spotting and staining of the cigarettes as compared with a corresponding container at atmospheric pressure. One possible, non-limiting explanation for this improvement is that the overpressure reduces the internal vapour pressure of the water and other volatile components. In addition, a purchaser opening the container for the first time may perceive a pressure release, thereby providing a cue to the freshness of the cigarettes.
Furthermore, each time the user closes the container, it becomes re-pressurised, so that the cigarettes can be stored with a reduced potential for spotting or staining.
Referring to
As shown in
Many modifications and variations will be evident to those skilled in the art, which fall within the scope of the following claims:
Claims
1. A container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration, comprising:
- an interior region; and
- first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to become sufficiently pressurised so that pressure is perceivably released upon opening the container.
2. A container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration, comprising:
- an interior region; and
- first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to become pressurised to a pressure of greater than approximately 1.1 bar.
3. A container for tobacco industry products, the container being adjustable between an open configuration and a closed configuration, comprising:
- an interior region; and
- first and second parts adapted to slidably fit together such that sliding one of said parts towards the other part causes the interior region to pressurise and such that the pressure is maintained in the interior of the container until released.
4. A container for tobacco industry products according to any preceding claim, further comprising a fastening mechanism adapted to fasten the first and second parts in place after said one of said parts has been slid towards said other part.
5. A container for tobacco industry products according to any preceding claim, further comprising an indicating element which indicates whether the container is pressurised.
6. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is a container for smoking articles.
7. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the first part has a collar section; and
- wherein the collar section and the second part are adapted to slidably fit together.
8. A container according to any of claims 1-6, wherein:
- the first part comprises a tubular body having a cylindrically shaped collar section;
- the second part comprises a tubular lid; and
- wherein the cylindrical collar section and the tubular lid are adapted to slidably fit together
9. A container according to claim 8 and having a fastening mechanism, wherein the fastening mechanism comprises a bayonet-type fastening mechanism.
10. A container according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the first part comprises a body, the body having a substantially parallelepiped shaped collar portion at one end and a hinged lid for opening and closing the container at an opposing end, and wherein the second part comprises a substantially parallelepiped shaped closure member, the collar portion and the closure member being adapted to slidably fit together.
11. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the container is formed from moulded plastic.
12. A method of pressurising a container for tobacco industry products, the method comprising sliding a part of the container towards another part of the container and thereby causing the interior region of the container to become sufficiently pressurised so that pressure is perceivably released upon opening the container.
13. A method of pressurising a container for tobacco industry products, the method comprising sliding a part of the container towards another part of the container and thereby causing the interior region of the container to become pressurised to a pressure of greater than approximately 1.1 bar.
14. A method of pressurising a container for tobacco industry products, the method comprising sliding a part of the container towards another part of the container and thereby causing the interior region to pressurise such that the pressure is maintained in the interior of the container until released.
15. A method according to any of claims 12-14, wherein the method is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere.
16. A machine configured to carry out the method of any of claims 12-15
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 3, 2009
Publication Date: May 10, 2012
Inventor: Darryl Stephenson (London)
Application Number: 13/132,293
International Classification: B65D 85/00 (20060101);