A slide-open packet for smokers' articles

Abstract

 A slide-open packet for smokers' articles comprising a hinged lid (6), an inner container (100i), and an outer container (100e), which slidably houses the inner container (100i) so as to allow the inner container (100i) to slide relative to the outer container (100e) between a closed and an open configuration of the packet (100); the inner container (100i) houses a wrapper (I) obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material (F) around a group (100a) of smokers' articles (S); at least one tear line (35; 44, 45) is made in the wrapper (I) and defines a part of the wrapper (I) which the smoker can manually remove by tearing it off the first time the packet (100) is opened; the removable part wraps around and surrounds the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), an upper portion of the front face and an upper portion of the rear face, and has at least one pull tab (38; 42, 43) which, before the first time the packet (100) is opened, can be grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the removable part.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a slide-open packet for smokers' articles. Known in the prior art are hard, slide-open cigarette packets or packs comprising two containers, one inside the other. These packets comprise an inner container, which houses a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of metallized paper and which is situated inside an outer container in such a way that it can slide relative to the outer container between a closed configuration, where the inner container is entirely inside the outer container, and an open configuration of the packet, where the inner container is partly withdrawn from the outer container.

[0002] In a packet of this kind, an upper lid is associated with one of the two containers, and when the packet is in the open configuration, the lid is open. The lid may be opened by a manual action or it may be opened automatically when the inner container is slid to the open configuration.

[0003] One disadvantage of packets of the kind described above is due to the metallized paper wrapping around the cigarettes.

[0004] In effect, the upper portion of the wrapping normally has a front part which is removed by the smoker when the packet is opened the first time, while the rear part of the wrapping normally remains inside the packet. After removing cigarettes several times through the upper portion of the inner container, the rear part of the metallized paper wrapping may become crumpled or scrunched or may even stick out sideways from the inner container and, in such cases, often prevents the lid from being reclosed when the inner container is slid back into the outer container.

[0005] The removable front part of the upper portion of the metallized paper wrapping is normally a part of the wrapping itself and is joined to the rest of the wrapping by a perforated tear line.

[0006] If the metallized paper wrapping is a sheet wrapped around the group of cigarettes along fold lines parallel to the axes of the cigarettes making up the group, the tear line may extend uninterruptedly both at the front and at the back of the upper portion of the metallized paper wrapping and the smoker can tear off the upper portion itself by a single action the first time the packet is opened.

[0007] On the other hand, the situation is not so easy when the sheet constituting the metallized paper wrapping has, as is typically the case with slide-open packets, a median portion which is in contact with the lower end of the group of cigarettes and two extended surfaces connected at the bottom to two opposite ends of the median portion itself, extending upwards and adhering to respective larger vertical faces (front and rear) of the selfsame group of cigarettes. The sheet has two free upper ends which are folded onto each other on the top of the group of cigarettes and which are therefore independent of each other. In this case, the smoker cannot tear off the upper portion of the metallized paper wrapping by a single action the first time the packet is opened and usually tears off only the front of the upper portion, thus creating the negative condition described above.

[0008] The aim of this invention is to provide a slide-open packet for smokers' articles which is free of the above mentioned disadvantage. The invention accordingly provides a slide-open packet for smokers' articles as described in the appended claims.

[0009] More specifically, the invention provides a slide-open packet for smokers' articles, comprising a hinged lid, an inner container which houses a group of smokers' articles, and an outer container which slidably houses the inner container so as to allow the inner container to slide relative to the outer container between a closed configuration of the packet, where the inner container is entirely inside the outer container, and an open configuration of the packet, where the inner container is partly withdrawn from the outer container; the group of smokers' articles has an upper end, a lower end, a front face and a rear face, and the inner container houses a wrapper obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material around the group of smokers' articles; the piece of wrapping material has a substantially median portion placed in contact with the lower end of the group of smokers' articles and two longitudinal portions which extend from opposite sides of the substantially median portion and adhere to the front face and to the rear face, respectively, of the group of smokers' articles; at least one tear line is made in the wrapper and defines a part of the wrapper which the smoker can manually remove by tearing it off the first time the packet is opened; the removable part wraps around and surrounds the upper end of the group of smokers' articles, an upper portion of the front face and an upper portion of the rear face, and has at least one pull tab which, before the first time the packet is opened, substantially lies on the group of smokers' articles, and can be grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the removable part.

[0010] The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate two non-limiting embodiments of it, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the packet for smokers' articles according to the invention, in an open configuration;

Figures 2 and 3 are cross sections of the packet for smokers' articles of Figure 1 in two different operating configurations;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a first piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 5 and 6 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a second piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 8 and 9 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a third piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 11 and 12 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 10;

Figure 13 is a plan view of a fourth piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 14 and 15 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 13;

Figure 16 is a plan view of a fifth piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 17 and 18 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 16;

Figure 19 is a plan view of a sixth piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 20 and 21 show two perspective views of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 19;

Figure 22 is a plan view of a seventh piece of wrapping material for a group of smokers' articles, made according to the invention;

Figures 23 and 24 show two perspective views of the upper portion of a wrapping made by enclosing a group of smokers' articles in the piece of wrapping material of Figure 22; and

Figures 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d are scaled up perspective views of four respective variants of a portion of the wrapping of Figures 23 and 24.

[0011] The numeral 100 in Figures 1, 2 and 3 denotes in its entirety a packet for smokers' articles, in particular cigarettes, and consisting of a hard packet of the slide-open type.

[0012] Hereinafter in this description, reference is made to smokers' articles consisting of cigarettes, without thereby restricting the scope of the invention.

[0013] The packet 100 of cigarettes is designed to house a group 100a of smokers' articles, consisting for example of cigarettes S, enclosed in a wrapping I obtained by wrapping the cigarettes S in, for example, a piece F of wrapping material made from metallized paper. The group 100a of smokers' articles housed in the packet 100 has two opposite ends, respectively upper and lower.

[0014] The packet 100 of cigarettes comprises an inner container 100i, in which the wrapped group 100a of cigarettes is placed directly, and a hard outer container 100e which slidably houses the inner container 100i in such a way as to allow the inner container 100i to slide relative to the outer container 100e so as to move by translation between a closed configuration (illustrated in Figure 2), where the inner container 100i is entirely inside the outer container 100e, and an open configuration, illustrated in Figure 3), where the inner container 100i is partly withdrawn from the outer container 100e to allow access to the wrapped group 100a of cigarettes.

[0015] The inner container 100i has the shape of a parallelepiped, is hollow, and has an open top end 5. The inner container 100i comprises a hinged lid 6 which is hinged to a rear wall 11 of the inner container 100i along a hinge 7 to rotate between a closed position of the inner container 100i (illustrated in Figure 2) and an open position (illustrated in Figure 3) of the open top end 5.

[0016] The lid 6, when it is in the closed position, gives the inner container 100i a parallelepiped shape defined by a bottom wall 8, a top wall 9 (of the lid 6) which are parallel and opposite to each other, a front wall 10 and the above mentioned rear wall 11 which are parallel and opposite to each other, two side walls 12 which are parallel to each other and interposed between the walls 10 and 11, and two side walls 12a of the lid 6. The walls 10 and 11 and the side walls 12 define between them four longitudinal edges, while the walls 10, 11 and 12 and the walls 8 and 9 define between them eight transverse edges.

[0017] The outer container 100e has the shape of a parallelepiped and an open bottom end 13, opposite to a top end 14, also open, a front wall 15 and a rear wall 16 which are parallel and opposite to each other, and two side walls 17 which are parallel to each other and interposed between the walls 15 and 16. The walls 15 and 16 and the side walls 17 define between them four longitudinal edges, while the walls 15, 16 and 17 and the bottom walls 13 define between them four transverse edges. In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, all the edges are straight, but in alternative embodiments not illustrated, some of the edges might be bevelled or rounded.

[0018] As illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the open bottom end 13 of the outer container 100e allows the smoker, in use, to access the bottom wall 8 of the inner container 100i facing it in order to push the inner container 100i upwards to move it between the closed configuration and the open configuration. In other words, to use the packet 100 of cigarettes, the smoker holds the outer container 100e in one hand and simultaneously pushes the bottom wall 8 of the inner container 100i with a finger through the open bottom end 13 of the outer container 100e, applying a pushing force on the inner container 100i which causes the inner container 100i to slide relative to the outer container 100e.

[0019] Some zones of the containers 100i and 100e, and more specifically, their rear zones and the lid 6, are made in such a way as to open the lid 6 automatically every time the inner container 100i is made to slide in this way within the outer container 100e.

[0020] More specifically, when the inner container 100i is made to slide upwards relative to the outer container 100e, the lid 6 is opened automatically because a tab 25, associated in a per se known manner to an upper/rear portion of the lid 6, engages a tab 29 associated with an upper/rear inner portion of the outer container 100e and causes the lid 6 to rotate about the hinge 7, thereby opening the inner container 100i.

[0021] The packet 100 can be closed by pushing the inner container 100i back down all the way into the outer container 100e until reaching the situation shown in Figure 2. During this translational movement, the lid 6 is automatically re-closed.

[0022] It should be noted that the packet 100 described above is just one example of a slide-open packet to which this invention is applicable, but the invention may be usefully applied to any other type of slide-open packet equipped with a manual or automatic opening lid.

[0023] As shown in Figures 4-6 and in accordance with what is described above, the group 100a of cigarettes S is wrapped in a wrapping I obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material F made, for example, of metallized paper or plain paper. The piece of wrapping material F has a substantially median portion 30, placed in contact with the end of the group 100a furthest away from the lid 6 (the bottom end), and two extended longitudinal portions 31 and 32 which are connected at the bottom to two opposite ends of the selfsame median portion 30 and which extend upwards and adhere to respective opposite vertical faces (more specifically, the large front and rear faces) of the selfsame group 100a of cigarettes. An upper horizontal border 33 of the portion 31 which adheres to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes is located under the upper end of the group 100a and is preferably spaced from that end by a stretch whose length is such as to hide the selfsame upper border 33 under the front wall 10 of the outer container 100e. The portion 32 which adheres to the rear face of the group 100a of cigarettes extends past the top of that rear face, above the upper end of the selfsame group 100a, and is folded at the top in such a way as to run alongside the upper end of the group 100a of cigarettes with its horizontal part 34 which then extends downwards and runs alongside the upper portion of the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes, until (preferably) overlapping for a short stretch the top of the portion 31 which adheres to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0024] The flanks of the piece of wrapping material F, which run alongside the two opposite small vertical faces of the group 100a of cigarettes and which form part of the above mentioned portions 30, 31, 32 and 34, are folded in the traditional manner typical of metallized paper wrappings having a median portion placed in contact with the bottom end of a group of cigarettes and having two extended portions which are connected at the bottom to two opposite ends of the selfsame median portion and which extend upwards and adhere to respective opposite vertical faces (front and rear) of the selfsame group of cigarettes.

[0025] The portion 32 juxtaposed with the rear face of the group 100a of cigarettes has, under the upper end of the selfsame group 100a of cigarettes, a tear line 35, (preferably) horizontal, preferably partly perforated and extending the full width of the piece of wrapping material F.

[0026] In a (preferably) central zone of the portion 32 of the piece of wrapping material F situated above the tear line 35 an incision 36 is made which defines a tear line, preferably partly perforated and being substantially in the shape (for example) of a "C", or isosceles trapezoidal, with concavity directed downwards. The incision 36 is located astride of the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 31 adhering to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes, and delimits a wing or tab 38 which can be grasped manually by the smoker and simultaneously torn along the aforementioned line.

[0027] The part 39 of the piece of wrapping material F located above the tear line 35 constitutes a portion of the selfsame piece of wrapping material F which can be removed manually the first time the packet 100 is opened by pulling the tab 38 and tearing the free part 39 right off the part of the piece of wrapping material F which covers the upper portion of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0028] The variant shown in Figures 7-9 is a wrapping similar to that of Figures 4-6, where the incision 36, however, is made entirely in the part of the portion 32 of the piece of wrapping material F which extends downwards alongside the upper portion of the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes S, and the central zone of its cavity is substantially tangent to the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the above mentioned horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 31 adhering to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0029] The variant shown in Figures 10-12 is a wrapping similar to those of Figures 4-6 and 7-9, where the incision 36 is made substantially entirely in the horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F and the central zone of its cavity is substantially tangent to the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the above mentioned horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 31 adhering to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0030] The variant shown in Figures 13-15 is a wrapping similar to those of Figures 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12, where the incision 36 is made substantially entirely in the horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F and the central zone of its cavity is substantially tangent to the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the above mentioned horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 32 adhering to the rear face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0031] The variant shown in Figures 16-18 is a wrapping similar to that of Figures 13-15, where the incision 36 is made substantially entirely in the horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F. The horizontal part 34 is situated in a zone relatively close to the centreline of the piece of wrapping material F, and the piece of wrapping material F has, besides the above mentioned tear line 35 situated in the portion 32 which is juxtaposed with the rear face of the group 100a of cigarettes, a further horizontal tear line 35', also preferably partly perforated, extending the full width of the piece of wrapping material F and made in the portion 31 which is juxtaposed with the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes. The central zone of the cavity of the incision 36 is substantially tangent to the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the above mentioned horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 32 adhering to the rear face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0032] The part 40 of the piece of wrapping material F located between the tear lines 35 and 35' constitutes a portion of the selfsame piece of wrapping material F which can be removed manually the first time the packet 100 is opened by pulling the tab 38 and tearing the free part 40 right off the part of the piece of wrapping material F which covers the upper portion of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0033] The variant shown in Figures 19-21 is a wrapping which is substantially the same as that of Figures 16-18, where the central zone of the cavity of the incision 36 is substantially tangent to the horizontal transverse edge 37 which separates the above mentioned horizontal part 34 of the piece of wrapping material F from the portion 31 adhering to the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0034] In the variant of Figures 22-24, 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d, the piece of wrapping material F does not have any incisions like the above mentioned incision 36, has a substantially median portion 41, placed in contact with the bottom end of the group 100a furthest away from the lid 6. its two portions 31 and 32 are connected to two opposite edges of the selfsame median portion 41 and adhere to respective opposite large vertical faces (front and rear) of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0035] The portions 31 and 32 extend past the top of the group 100a of cigarettes and are folded in such a manner as to have, before the first time the packet 100 is opened, respective tabs 42 and 43 projecting above the group 100a placed in reciprocal contact, substantially co-planar and pressed against an upper zone, in particular the upper end, of the group 100a of cigarettes (Figures 23, 24a and 24b). In the embodiments of Figures 24c and 24d, the tabs 42 and 43 are pressed in reciprocal contact against the portion 31 of the piece of wrapping material F, that is, against the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes.

[0036] The portions 31 and 32 are provided, under the upper end of the group 100a of cigarettes, with respective horizontal tear lines 44 and 45, preferably partly perforated and extending the full width of the piece of wrapping material F. The tear line 45 on the portion 32 that runs alongside the rear face of the group 100a may be situated at a relatively short distance from the upper end of the group 100a of cigarettes, which can be freely chosen, for example, between one and fifty millimetres, while the tear line 44 on the portion 31 that runs alongside the front face of the group 100a of cigarettes is situated at a distance from the upper end of the group 100a of cigarettes which is such as to make it, preferably, hidden by the front wall 10 of the inner container 100i after opening the lid 6.

[0037] When the packet 100 is opened the first time, the smoker, after opening the lid 6, must grasp the reciprocally adhering tabs 42 and 43, must lift them off the upper portion of the wrapping I and must apply a pulling force to tear the tabs 42 and 43 off the wrapping I along the tear lines 44 and 45.

[0038] It should be noted that the tabs 42 and 43 of the piece of wrapping material F might be reciprocally connected in such a way that it is not possible for the smoker, when opening the packet 100 the first time, to grasp and tear off only one of the tabs 42 and 43. The reciprocal connection between the tabs 42 and 43 might be made, for example, by gluing or by applying knurling on the tabs 42, 43 arranged adjacent to one another.

[0039] Like the embodiments described above, the embodiment just described falls within the spirit of the invention in that it provides a slide-open packet for smokers' articles, comprising a hinged lid, an inner container which houses a group of smokers' articles, and an outer container which slidably houses the inner container so as to allow the inner container to slide relative to the outer container between a closed configuration of the packet, where the inner container is entirely inside the outer container, and an open configuration of the packet, where the inner container is partly withdrawn from the outer container; the group of smokers' articles has an upper end, a lower end, a front face and a rear face, and the inner container houses a wrapper obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material around the group of smokers' articles; the piece of wrapping material has a substantially median portion placed in contact with the lower end of the group of smokers' articles and two longitudinal portions which extend from opposite sides of the substantially median portion and adhere to the front face and to the rear face, respectively, of the group of smokers' articles; at least one tear line is made in the wrapper and defines a part of the wrapper which the smoker can manually remove by tearing it off the first time the packet is opened; the removable part wraps around and surrounds the upper end of the group of smokers' articles, an upper portion of the front face and an upper portion of the rear face, and has at least one pull tab which, before the first time the packet is opened, substantially lies on the group of smokers' articles, and can be grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the removable part. This packet is free of the above mentioned disadvantage of the prior art. More specifically, when the packet is opened the first time, the smoker can with a single action remove the upper portion of the metallized paper wrapping (the removable part which wraps around and surrounds the upper end of the group of smokers' articles, an upper portion of the front face of the group of smokers' articles and an upper portion of the rear face of the group of smokers' articles) without the remaining part of the metallized wrapping interfering with the correct re-closing of the lid of the packet.

Claims

1. A slide-open packet for smokers' articles comprising a hinged lid (6), an inner container (100i), which houses a group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), and an outer container (100e), which slidably houses the inner container (100i) so as to allow the inner container (100i) to slide relative to the outer container (100e) between a closed configuration of the packet (100), where the inner container (100i) is entirely inside the outer container (100e), and an open configuration of the packet (100), where the inner container (100i) is partly withdrawn from the outer container (100e);
the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) has an upper end, a lower end, a front face and a rear face, and the inner container (100i) houses a wrapper (I) obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material (F) around the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S);
the piece of wrapping material (F) has a substantially median portion (30), placed in contact with the lower end of the group (100a) of smokers articles (S), and two longitudinal portions (31, 32), which extend from opposite sides of the substantially median portion (30) and adhere to the front face and to the rear face, respectively, of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S);
at least one tear line (35; 44, 45) is made in the wrapper (I) and defines a part of the wrapper (I) which the smoker can manually remove by tearing it off the first time the packet (100) is opened;
the removable part wraps around and surrounds the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), an upper portion of the front face and an upper portion of the rear face, and has at least one pull tab (38; 42, 43) which, before the first time the packet (100) is opened, substantially lies on the group (100a) of smokers' articles, and can be grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the removable part.

2. A slide-open packet for smokers' articles, comprising an inner container (100i), which houses inside it a group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) having two opposite ends, respectively upper and lower; and an outer container (100e), which slidably houses the inner container (100i) so as to allow the inner container (100i) to slide relative to the outer container (100e) between a closed configuration of the packet (100), where the inner container (100i) is entirely inside the outer container (100e), and an open configuration, where the inner container (100i) is partly withdrawn from the outer container (100e); the packet (100) being equipped with a hinged lid (6), and the inner container (100i) housing a wrapper (I) obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material (F), which has a substantially median portion (30) placed in contact with the lower end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) and is equipped with two longitudinal portions (31, 32) respectively connected to two opposite ends of the substantially median portion (30) and adhering to respective opposite faces, front and rear, of the group (100a); the longitudinal portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which adheres to the rear face of the group (100a) extending past the upper end of the group (100a) with a part (34) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) and then projecting downwards to run alongside the upper portion of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S); at least one tear line (35) being made in a portion of the wrapper (I) located near the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) and defining a part of the wrapper (I) which can be manually removed by the smoker the first time the packet (100) is opened; at least one pull tab (38; 42, 43), being defined in the removable part of the wrapper (I), lies substantially on the group (100a) of smokers' articles before the first time the packet (100) is opened and can be grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the entire upper portion of the wrapper (I) which covers the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

3. A packet according to claim 1 or 2, where the longitudinal portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which adheres to the rear face of the group (100a) extends past the upper end of the group (100a) with a part (34) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) and then projects downwards to run alongside the upper end of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), characterized in that the part (34) of the portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which adheres to the rear face of the group (100a) also runs alongside the upper portion of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) until it overlaps a brief section at the top part of the portion (31) of the piece of wrapping material (F) adhering to the front face of the group (1 00a) of the smokers' articles (S).

4. A packet according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the portion (32) which runs alongside the rear face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) is equipped, under the upper end of the group (100a), with a tear line (35), preferably partially perforated, which extends the entire width of the piece of wrapping material (F); an incision (36) being obtained in a zone of said portion (32), which runs along the rear face located above the tear line (35), the incision (36) defining a further tear line, preferably partially perforated, delimiting a tab or flap (38) constituting the said pull tab, which may be manually grasped by the smoker to tear along the further tear line; and the part (39) of the piece of wrapping material (F) located above the tear line (35) constituting the upper portion of the wrapper (I) which can be removed by means of a pulling action.

5. A packet according to claim 4, characterized in that the incision (36), defining a further tear line, substantially has an isosceles trapezoidal shape.

6. A packet according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the incision (36), defining a further tear line, is located astride of a horizontal transversal edge (37) which separates the part (34) of the piece of wrapping material (F) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) of the portion (31) of the piece of wrapping material (F) adhering to the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

7. A packet according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line is completely obtained in the portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which runs alongside the rear face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) projecting downwards to run alongside the upper portion of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

8. A packet according to claim 7, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line has a central zone of the cavity which the incision (36) defines and is arranged substantially tangent to a horizontal transversal edge (37) which separates the part (34) of the piece of wrapping material (F) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) from the portion (31) of the piece of wrapping material (F) adhering to the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

9. A packet according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line is completely obtained in the part (34) of the portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which runs alongside the rear face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

10. A packet according to claim 9, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line has a central zone of the cavity which the incision (36) defines and is arranged substantially tangent to a horizontal transversal edge (37) which separates the part (34) of the piece of wrapping material (F) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) from the portion (31) of the piece of wrapping material (F) adhering to the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

11. A packet according to claim 9, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line has a central zone of the cavity, which the incision (36) defines and is arranged substantially tangent to a horizontal transversal edge which separates the part (34) of the piece of wrapping material (F) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a) from the portion (31) of the piece of wrapping material (F) adhering to the rear face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

12. A packet according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the incision (36) defining a further tear line is substantially completely obtained in the part (34) of the piece of wrapping material (F) running alongside the upper end of the group (100a); the piece of wrapping material (F) having a first tear line (35) located in the longitudinal portion (32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) which runs alongside the rear face of the group (100a) and a further tear line (35'), preferably partly perforated and which extends the entire width of the piece of wrapping material (F), obtained in the part of the portion (32) which runs alongside the rear face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) projected downwards to run alongside an upper portion of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S); the part (40) of the piece of wrapping material (F) between the tear lines (35, 35') consisting of the part of the wrapper (I) which can be manually removed by the smoker the first time the packet (100) is opened.

13. A slide-open packet for smokers' articles, comprising an inner container (100i), which houses inside it a group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) having two opposite ends, respectively upper and lower; and an outer container (100e), which slidably houses the inner container (100i) so as to allow the inner container (100i) to slide relative to the outer container (100e) between a closed configuration of the packet (100), where the inner container (100i) is entirely inside the outer container (100e), and an open configuration, where the inner container (100i) is partly withdrawn from the outer container (100e); the packet (100) being equipped with a hinged lid (6), and the inner container (100i) housing a wrapper (I) obtained by folding a piece of wrapping material (F), which has a substantially median portion (30) placed in contact with the lower end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S) and is equipped with two longitudinal portions (31, 32) respectively connected to two opposite ends of the substantially median portion (30) and adhering to respective opposite faces, front and rear, of the group (100a); the two longitudinal portions (31, 32) being equipped, below the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), with respective tear lines (44, 45), preferably partly perforated, which extend the entire width of the piece of wrapping material (F), past the edge of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), and are folded in such a manner as to have, before the first time the packet (100) is opened, respective tabs (42, 43) projecting above the group (100a) placed in reciprocal contact, pressed against an upper zone of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), which can be simultaneously grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the entire upper portion of the wrapper (I) which covers the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

14. A packet according to claim 1 or 13, where the two longitudinal portions (31, 32) are equipped, below the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), with respective tear lines (44, 45), preferably partly perforated, which extend the entire width of the piece of wrapping material (F), past the edge of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), and are folded in such a manner as to have, before the first time the packet (100) is opened, respective tabs (42, 43) projecting above the group (100a) placed in reciprocal contact, pressed against an upper zone of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), which can be simultaneously grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the entire upper portion of the wrapper (I) which covers the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), characterized in that the tabs (42, 43) of the two longitudinal portions (31, 32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) are pressed against the upper head, i.e. against the upper end, of the group (1 00a) of smokers' articles (S).

15. A packet according to claim 1 or 13, where the two longitudinal portions (31, 32) are equipped, below the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), with respective tear lines (44, 45), preferably partly perforated, which extend the entire width of the piece of wrapping material (F), past the edge of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), and are folded in such a manner as to have, before the first time the packet (100) is opened, respective tabs (42, 43) projecting above the group (100a), placed in reciprocal contact, pressed against an upper zone of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), which can be simultaneously grasped and lifted by the smoker to remove the entire upper portion of the wrapper (I) which covers the upper end of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S), characterized in that the tabs (42, 43) of the two longitudinal portions (31, 32) of the piece of wrapping material (F) are pressed against an upper portion of the front face of the group (100a) of smokers' articles (S).

16. A packet according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the tabs (42, 43) are connected to each other.

17. A packet according to claim 16, characterized in that the tabs (42, 43) are connected to each other by gluing.

18. A packet according to claim 16, characterized in that the tabs (42, 43) are connected to each other as a result of an operation of knurling applied on the flaps (42, 43) themselves arranged adjacent to one another.

Drawing