Package for rolled smoking articles comprising an associated compact disc and method of packaging the articles

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to packaging, in particular for rolled smoking articles, such as cigarettes, cigars and the like. The invention further encompasses a method for packaging, and packages, particularly packages of rolled smoking articles, produced according to this method.

[0002] Conventionally, packaging for rolled smoking articles such as cigarettes comprises a robust paper or cardboard packet. The packet may comprise a box arranged to open at one end thereof; one such packet well known in the art comprises a hinged top. Typically, the packet is cuboidal in shape, having rectangular side, front and rear walls, and is sized to accommodate between ten and twenty cigarettes. The packet is therefore conveniently sized to be placed within the pocket or handbag of a user.

[0003] A cigarette box of this type is described in US-A-5938017, which discloses a box adapted to assist smokers in quitting smoking. The cigarette box described in US-A-5938017 is cuboidal in shape, and is adapted to accommodate a plurality of cigarettes and/or plugs in place of cigarettes.

[0004] US-A-5513752 meanwhile describes a package for an audio cassette tape and a booklet of lyrics. The package described in US-A-5513752 is also cuboidal in shape, and has a hinged or flip-top.

[0005] For various reasons, particularly to assist in combatting counterfeiting, it is desirable to enable the tracing of cigarette packets from manufacturer to consumer, such that details of the time and place of sale and use of particular packets or batches of packets can be made known to the manufacturer, distributor, or another interested party. This may be conveniently achieved by associating electronic data with each cigarette packet, which data may subsequently be traced by the interested party. There is a need in the art for a convenient means for enabling the association of electronic data with a conventional cigarette packet.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention therefore there is provided a packaging for rolled smoking articles, which packaging comprises a rectilinear container that is adapted to contain a plurality of rolled smoking articles, said container having a substantially flat wall with inner and outer surfaces; characterised in that said packaging comprises a compact disc carrying electronic data assembled with said container, and holding means for holding said compact disc contiguous the inner or outer surface of said wall; wherein said compact disc comprises a shape having an outer edge and an annular data-carrying zone that is disposed wholly within said outer edge, and is arranged such that said outer edge is disposed wholly within the area of said inner or outer surface.

[0007] Said compact disc may carry electronic data associated with said packaging, and may be formatted such that use of the disc by a consumer will enable access by an interested third party to said data. Additionally or alternatively, said compact disc may carry electronic data to enable the user for example to download or access software, information, music, or the like on the Internet. Said compact disc may be adapted to carry up to 5MB or more of electronic data.

[0008] Said packaging may be handled without the risk of damaging said compact disc, owing to the fact that said compact disc is held flat against said flat wall, and is disposed wholly within the area of the inner or outer surface of said flat wall so that no part of the compact disc protrudes outside the area of the wall.

[0009] In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of packaging rolled smoking articles, comprising the steps of providing a rectilinear container adapted to contain said rolled smoking articles, said container having a substantially flat wall with inner and outer surfaces and placing said rolled smoking articles in said container; characterised by assembling a compact disc carrying electronic data with said container; such that said compact disc is held contiguous the inner or outer surface of said wall by holding means; wherein said compact disc comprises a shape having an outer edge and an annular data-carrying zone that is disposed wholly within said outer edge, and is assembled with said container such that said outer edge is disposed wholly within the area of said inner or outer surface.

[0010] In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a package for rolled smoking articles, comprising rolled smoking articles packaged by a packaging in accordance with the present invention.

[0011] Preferably, said compact disc comprises a shape which corresponds to said wall. In particularly preferred embodiments, said wall is rectangular in shape, and said compact disc also comprises a rectangular shape, the dimensions of which correspond to the dimensions of the rectangular shape of said wall. Thus, when assembled with said container, said compact disc entirely covers said inner or outer surface of the wall.

[0012] In one aspect of the present invention, said holding means may be arranged to hold said compact disc contiguous said outer surface of the wall. Said holding means may comprise an outer wrapping, such as a plastic film wrapping, which is arranged to envelope said container and said compact disc, thereby holding said compact disc contiguous said outer surface of the wall. Alternatively or additionally, said holding means may comprise an adhesive, such as a hot-melt adhesive of the kind well known to those skilled in the art, which is adapted to affix said compact disc directly to said outer surface of the wall. The exposed surface of said compact disc may optionally be coloured and/or decorated, for example so as to resemble said outer surface of the wall.

[0013] In another aspect of the present invention, said holding means may be arranged to hold said compact disc contiguous said inner surface of the wall. Optionally, said holding means may comprise an inner wrapping which is adapted to enfold said rolled smoking articles; the arrangement being such that said compact disc is interposed said inner wrapping and said inner surface of the wall.

[0014] Typically, said rolled smoking articles will comprise cigarettes or cigars. Said rolled smoking articles may however comprise other substantially cylindrical tobacco products, such as cigarillos.

[0015] Advantageously, said container may comprise a paper or cardboard packet, preferably with a hinge- or flip-topped lid. In some embodiments, an inner wrapping is provided for enfolding said rolled smoking products. Preferably, said inner wrapping can be resealed, so as to preserve the freshness of said rolled smoking articles.

[0016] Following is a description, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of embodiments of the present invention.

[0017] In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective from above and to one side of a rear of a cigarette package in accordance with the present invention, comprising a cigarette packet and a compact disc held contiguous the outer surface of the rear wall of the cigarette packet.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of the cigarette package shown in Figure 1, along the line II-II in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional side view of another cigarette package in accordance with the present invention, comprising a cigarette packet and a compact disc held contiguous the inner surface of the rear wall of the cigarette packet.

[0018] A cigarette package 1 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a container 2 having an integral hinged lid 3 and a substantially flat rectangular rear wall 4; a compact disc 5; and an outer wrapping 6 which envelopes said compact disc 5 and said container 2, thereby serving to hold said compact disc 5 contiguous the outer surface of said rear wall 4, and to seal the contents of the container.

[0019] As shown in Figure 1, said compact disc 5 has a rectangular shape which corresponds to the rectangular shape of said rear wall 4, such that said compact disc 5 covers substantially the whole of the outer surface of said rear wall 4 but does not protrude outside the area of said rear wall 4. Said compact disc 5 comprises an annular data-carrying zone 10, which is disposed wholly within the area of said rear wall 4. Zone 10 carries electronic data, optionally for enabling the tracing of said cigarette package 1, and/or for enabling the user of said compact disc 5 to access or download information, music and the like from the Internet. Said compact disc 5 comprises an upper layer 11 which can be decorated with colourings, graphics and the like, and a lower layer (not shown) which comprises a protective transparent plastics material. Said compact disc 5 is oriented such that said lower layer is disposed contiguous the outer surface of said rear wall 4, whilst said upper layer 11 is exposed.

[0020] Said container 2 comprises an inner lining 7, and is adapted to accommodate cigarettes 8. Container 2 is formed in a manner known to the skilled man from a light robust material such as cardboard.

[0021] Said outer wrapping 6 comprises a transparent plastics material, and is shrink-wrapped around said compact disc 5 and said container 2 in a manner well known in the art. When purchased by a consumer, said outer wrapping 6 can be removed from the container 2 and discarded, thereby allowing the consumer to detach the compact disc 5 from the package 1.

[0022] A similar cigarette package in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in Figure 3. Features of this embodiment which are identical to those shown in Figures 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, said compact disc 5 is disposed within said container 2, and is held contiguous the inner surface of said rear wall 4, interposed said lining 7 and the rear wall 4. Upon removal of said outer wrapping 6 by a consumer, said compact disc can be withdrawn from the container 2 for use. Said compact disc can subsequently be replaced in said container 2, for storage therein.

Claims

1. A packaging for rolled smoking articles, which packaging comprises a rectilinear container (2) that is adapted to contain a plurality of rolled smoking articles (8), said container having a substantially flat wall (4) with inner and outer surfaces; characterised in that said packaging comprises a compact disc (5) carrying electronic data assembled with said container, and holding means (6, 7) for holding said compact disc contiguous the inner or outer surface of said wall; and said compact disc comprises a shape having an outer edge and an annular data-carrying zone (10) that is disposed wholly within said outer edge, and is arranged such that said outer edge is disposed wholly within the area of said inner or outer surface.

2. A packaging as claimed in claim 1, wherein said compact disc (5) has a shape which corresponds to the shape of said wall (4) and is arranged to entirely cover said inner or outer surface of the wall.

3. A packaging as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said wall (4) is rectangular in shape, and said compact disc also comprises a rectangular shape, the dimensions of which correspond to the dimensions of the rectangular shape of said wall.

4. A packaging as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said compact disc (5) is adapted to carry up to 5MB or more of electronic data.

5. A packaging as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said holding means comprises an outer wrapping (6) which is arranged to envelope said container (2) and said compact disc (5), so as to hold said compact disc (5) contiguous with said outer surface of the wall (4).

6. A packaging as claimed in any of claims 1-4, wherein said holding means comprises an inner wrapping (7) which is adapted to hold said compact disc (5) contiguous with said inner surface of the wall (4), the arrangement being such that the compact disc (5) is interposed between said inner wrapping and said inner surface of the wall (4).

7. A packaging as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said holding means (6,7) comprises an adhesive.

8. A method of packaging rolled smoking articles, comprising the steps of providing a rectilinear container (2) adapted to contain said rolled smoking articles (8), said container having a substantially flat wall (4) with inner and outer surfaces and placing said rolled smoking articles (8) in said container; characterised by assembling a compact disc (5) carrying electronic data with said container, such that said compact disc is held contiguous the inner or outer surface of said wall by holding means (6,7); wherein said compact disc comprises a shape having an outer edge and an annular data-carrying zone (10) that is disposed wholly within said outer edge, and is assembled with said container such that said outer edge is disposed wholly within the area of said inner or outer surface.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said compact disc (5) has a shape which corresponds to the shape of said wall (4) and is arranged to entirely cover said inner or outer surface of the wall.

10. A method as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 for forming a packaging in accordance with any of claims 1-7.

Ansprüche

1. Verpackung für gewickelte Rauchgegenstände, wobei die Verpackung einen geradlinigen Behälter (2) umfasst, der eine Mehrzahl von gewickelten Rauchgegenständen (8) enthalten kann, wobei der Behälter eine im wesentlichen flache Wand (4) mit Innen- und mit Außenfläche aufweist; dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Verpackung eine CD-Platte (5) mit darauf getragenen elektronischen Daten, welche in den Behälter eingelegt ist, und ein Haltemittel (6, 7) zum Halten der CD-Platte nahe an der Innen- oder der Außenfläche der Wand umfasst; und die CD-Platte eine Form mit einem Außenrand und einem ringförmigen Datenträgerbereich (10) umfasst, welcher gänzlich in dem Außenrand angeordnet ist, und derart angeordnet ist, dass der Außenrand gänzlich innerhalb des Bereiches der Innen- oder der Außenfläche angeordnet ist.

2. Verpackung nach Anspruch 1, wobei die CD-Platte (5) eine Form aufweist, welche zu der Form der Wand (4) korrespondiert, und derart angeordnet ist, dass sie die Innen- oder die Außenfläche der Wand vollständig bedeckt.

3. Verpackung nach Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch 2, wobei die Wand (4) eine rechteckige Form aufweist und die CD-Platte ebenfalls eine rechteckige Form aufweist, deren Abmessungen zu den Abmessungen der rechteckigen Form der Wand korrespondieren.

4. Verpackung nach einem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei die CD Platte (5) elektronische Daten bis zu 5MB oder mehr tragen kann.

5. Verpackung nach einem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei das Haltemittel eine äußere Hülle (6) umfasst, welche den Behälter (2) und die CD-Platte (5) derart umhüllen kann, dass sie die CD-Platte (5) nahe an der Außenfläche der Wand (4) hält.

6. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 - 4, wobei das Haltemittel eine innere Hülle (7) umfasst, welche die CD-Platte (5) nahe an der Innenfläche der Wand (4) halten kann, wobei der Anordnung derart ist, dass die CD-Platte (5) zwischen der inneren Hülle und der Innenfläche der Wand (4) eingelegt ist.

7. Verpackung nach einem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei das Haltemittel (6, 7) einen Klebstoff umfasst.

8. Verpackungsverfahren für gewickelte Rauchgegenstände, mit den Schritten des Bereitstellens eines geradlinigen Behälters (2), der die gewickelten Rauchgegenstände (8) enthalten kann, wobei der Behälter eine im wesentlichen flache Wand (4) mit Innen- und mit Außenfläche aufweist, und des Einbringens der gewickelten Rauchgegenstände (8) in den Behälter; dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass eine CD-Platte (5) mit darauf getragenen elektronischen Daten derart in den Behälter eingelegt wird, dass die CD-Platte mit einem Haltemittel (6, 7) nahe der Innen- oder der Außenfläche der Wand gehalten wird; wobei die CD-Platte eine Form mit einem Außenrand und einem ringförmigen Datenträgerbereich (10) umfasst, welcher gänzlich in dem Außenrand angeordnet ist, und derart in den Behälter eingelegt wird, dass der Außenrand gänzlich innerhalb des Bereiches der Innen- oder der Außenfläche angeordnet ist.

9. Verfahren nach Anspruch 8, wobei die CD-Platte (5) eine Form aufweist, welche zu der Form der Wand (4) korrespondiert, und derart angeordnet ist, dass sie die Innen- oder die Außenfläche der Wand gänzlich bedeckt.

10. Verfahren nach Anspruch 8 oder Anspruch 9 zum Ausbilden einer Verpackung gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1 - 7.

Revendications

1. Emballage pour articles à fumer enroulés, lequel emballage comporte un conteneur rectiligne (2) qui est adapté pour contenir une pluralité d'articles à fumer enroulés (8), ledit conteneur possédant une paroi sensiblement plate (4) avec des surfaces intérieure et extérieure ; caractérisé en ce que ledit emballage comporte un disque compact (5) portant des données électroniques assemblé avec ledit emballage, et un moyen de maintien (6, 7) pour maintenir ledit disque compact proche de la surface intérieure ou extérieure de ladite paroi ; et ledit disque compact comporte une forme possédant un bord extérieur et un espace portant les données annulaire (10) qui est situé entièrement à l'intérieur dudit bord extérieur, et qui est disposé de telle manière que ledit bord extérieur soit situé entièrement à l'intérieur de la zone de ladite surface intérieure ou extérieure.

2. Emballage selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit disque compact (5) a une forme qui correspond à la forme de ladite paroi (4) et est disposé de façon à couvrir entièrement ladite surface intérieure ou extérieure de la paroi.

3. Emballage selon la revendication 1 ou la revendication 2, dans lequel ladite paroi (4) a une forme rectangulaire, et ledit disque compact comporte aussi une forme rectangulaire, dont les dimensions correspondent aux dimensions de la forme rectangulaire de ladite paroi.

4. Emballage selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel ledit disque compact (5) est adapté pour porter jusqu'à 5 MB ou plus de données électroniques.

5. Emballage selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel ledit moyen de maintien comporte un emballage extérieur (6) qui est disposé de manière à envelopper ledit conteneur (2) et ledit disque compact (5), de façon à maintenir ledit disque compact (5) proche de ladite surface extérieure de la paroi (4).

6. Emballage selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, dans lequel ledit moyen de maintien comporte un emballage intérieur (7), qui est adapté pour maintenir ledit disque compact (5) proche de ladite surface intérieure de la paroi (4), la disposition étant telle que le disque compact (5) est intercalé entre ledit emballage intérieur et ladite surface intérieure de la paroi (4).

7. Emballage selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel ledit moyen de maintien (6, 7) comporte une colle.

8. Procédé d'emballage d'articles à fumer enroulés, qui comporte les étapes consistant à prévoir un conteneur rectiligne (2) adapté pour contenir lesdits articles à fumer enroulés (8), ledit conteneur possédant une paroi sensiblement plate (4) avec des surfaces intérieure et extérieure et à positionner lesdits articles à fumer enroulés (8) dans ledit conteneur ; caractérisé par l'assemblage d'un disque compact (5) portant des données électroniques avec ledit conteneur, de telle manière que ledit disque compact soit maintenu proche de la surface intérieure ou extérieure de ladite paroi par le moyen de maintien (6, 7) ; dans lequel ledit disque compact comporte une forme possédant un bord extérieur et un espace portant les données annulaire (10) qui est situé entièrement à l'intérieur dudit bord extérieur, et qui est assemblé avec ledit conteneur de façon à ce que ledit bord extérieur soit situé entièrement à l'intérieur de la zone de ladite surface intérieure ou extérieure.

9. Procédé selon la revendication 8, dans lequel ledit disque compact (5) a une forme qui correspond à la forme de ladite paroi (4) et est disposé de manière à couvrir entièrement ladite surface intérieure ou extérieure de la paroi.

10. Procédé selon la revendication 8 ou la revendication 9 pour former un emballage selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 7.

Drawing