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(11) | EP 3 015 004 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | POCKET BOX FOR TOBACCO |
| (57) Pocket container (1) for tobacco and the necessary for assembling a cigarette, which
is substantially rigid and comprises a first half-shell (2) and a second half-shell
(3), with matching edges (5, 6, 17, 18), and a closing/opening device; said first
half-shell (2) comprises at least a first space (7) for storing the filters (11) and
a second space (9) for assembling the cigarette.
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Field of the invention
[0001] The invention relates to the field of tobacco. More particularly, the invention relates to a pocket container for shredded tobacco, filters and cigarette papers.
Prior art
[0002] The use of shredded tobacco is becoming increasingly popular and widespread, in particular among young people who prefer self-made cigarettes to pre-packaged cigarettes.
[0003] The main reason for this trend is without doubt the lower cost of shredded tobacco compared to conventional packaged cigarettes. The second reason for which many people switch to self-made cigarettes is the belief that these contain a smaller amount of chemical additives and therefore are less harmful to health. Thirdly, the psychological factor is to be taken into consideration; there is in fact a great difference between a ready-made cigarette which is smoked with little awareness and a "home-made" cigarette which is the result of a kind of ritual.
[0004] Therefore, the trend of smoking self-made cigarettes rather than conventional pre-packaged cigarettes is increasing significantly.
[0005] However, preparing a cigarette is definitely more uncomfortable than buying a ready-made cigarette and some people find cumbersome to carry always around the material needed to prepare a cigarette, i.e. tobacco, filters and cigarette papers.
[0006] Moreover, self-made cigarettes must be prepared with care so as to avoid causing further damage to health. For example, if the paper is not closely rolled up around the filter thus leaving gaps, the smoke may easily pass through said gaps. This is due to the fact that attention is not often paid during the manual preparation of a cigarette owing to haste or oversight.
[0007] Furthermore, it should also be considered that in many cases, places or situations make the rolling up of a cigarette difficult or very awkward, for example due to the absence of a support surface.
[0008] Moreover, since carrying around all the necessary to prepare a cigarette may result cumbersome and awkward, many people desirous to save space do not use the filters. However, cigarettes prepared without filter cause greater damage to health because harmful substances are not retained.
Summary of the invention
[0010] The invention aims to provide a container for shredded tobacco and all the material required for preparing a self-made cigarette, which allows: greater comfort and ease of transport, greater precision and accuracy in rolling up a cigarette thanks to the presence of a support surface, limited volume thanks to the small size, functional and rational layout of the spaces adapted to store tobacco, filters and cigarette papers.
[0011] The object is achieved by means of a pocket container for tobacco and the necessary for assembling a cigarette, according to the claims.
[0012] Said container, which is substantially rigid, comprises a first half-shell and a second half-shell having matching edges, and a closing/opening device, said container being characterized in that said first half-shell comprises at least a first space for storing filters and a second space for assembling the cigarette. Preferably, said second half-shell comprises at least one compartment for the tobacco. Even more preferably, one of said first half-shell and said second half-shell also comprises a space for storing cigarette papers.
[0013] In order to prevent the tobacco from coming out of the compartment formed in the second half-shell, hence its dispersion inside the first half-shell, and in order to protect the tobacco itself from moisture, said second half-shell is provided with a closing flap for said compartment, preferably provided with a hermetic closure.
[0014] Said first half-shell is also termed "bottom" and said second half-shell is also termed "lid".
[0015] As mentioned above, the bottom is divided into spaces with different size, shape and configuration according with the object to store.
[0016] In particular, the compartment designed to store the filters shows a plurality of holes, each of them being designed to hold a filter in vertical position. Preferably, these holes are arranged in rows which are parallel and staggered in pairs, so that the available space is made full use of. More preferably, said rows have the same length.
[0017] The compartment designed to store the cigarette papers has a flat bottom surface and rectangular form and reproduces the shape of the cigarette papers stored therein. Said compartment may be designed, for example, so as to store one or the other version of the cigarette papers commonly available on the market (i.e. "long" or "short" papers), both having a rectangular shape, but one having a form substantially longer than the other.
[0018] The compartment designed to act as a work surface preferably has a trapezoidal form, so as to reproduce the shape of a cigarette, and a convex bottom surface, so as to facilitate the operation of assembling the cigarette.
[0019] In particular, said compartment has the form of an isosceles trapezoid with converging longer sides and parallel shorter sides. As a consequence, said parallel sides have different length.
[0020] Said convex bottom surface is inclined in the direction of the converging sides and has a depth decreasing towards the shorter parallel side, wherein the cigarette-end comprising the filter is received.
[0022] Said compartment forming the surface for assembling the cigarette has a different length depending on the version of cigarette papers stored inside the aforementioned paper-holder compartment. In a particular embodiment, said first half-shell is also provided with a compartment for storing a cigarette lighter.
[0023] The shredded tobacco is instead stored inside the compartment formed in the lid of said container. Said compartment for the tobacco has preferably a convex bottom surface converging towards the centre, so that the tobacco is collected in the middle and therefore may be picked-up more easily. In another embodiment, said compartment is provided with a central concavity, advantageously having a conical bottom, designed to contain the tobacco.
[0024] In some embodiments, the compartment for the tobacco occupies a part of the lid, and another part is designed to store the cigarette papers.
[0025] Said second half-shell is also provided with a closing flap, preferably with hermetic closure, advantageously having a perimetral seal, for which various configurations are possible, within the scope of the invention.
[0026] In a first embodiment the closing flap is extractable slidably from the container in an open position, by means of at least one linear guide extending longitudinally with respect to said container.
[0027] In a more advantageous embodiment, the closing flap comprises a transverse hinge portion which divides it into two parts, one of them being provided with a handle. Said flap can be partially opened about said hinge portion by rotating the handle-provided part with respect to the adjacent part. Preferably said hinge portion is situated in the middle of said flap, thus resulting divided into two parts with equal area. Consequently, the flap can be opened over half of its surface.
[0028] Owing to the possibility of just partially opening said flap, tobacco is not exposed excessively to the air and is protected from atmospheric agents such as the wind.
[0029] Other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, according to a third embodiment, the closing flap occupies a portion of said second half-shell, advantageously the central portion, and has a polygonal or preferably circular form. Said flap, which is provided with a suitable handle, comprises a hinge extending along its entire perimeter and a pin, about which it rotates. By opening said flap, it is easier to pick up tobacco collected in the centre of the compartment formed in said second half-shell.
[0030] Said flap is designed to guarantee the tightness of the tobacco compartment. For example, it can be provided with a perimetral seal or can be realized with a deformable material, such as rubber.
[0031] Advantageously, the container is provided with an auxiliary device for pressing and compacting tobacco in excess at the end of the newly rolled cigarette (end opposite to the filter).
[0032] Said auxiliary device comprises a beating element useful for the aforementioned tobacco pressing operation, preferably in the form of a small cylinder or prism-shaped element. More preferably, said small cylinder or prism-shaped element has a diameter or size similar to the diameter of the filter and slightly smaller than the diameter of the cigarette.
[0033] In a first embodiment, for example, said small cylinder is positioned inside a recess, which is preferably circular, formed on an outer wall of the first or second half-shell. Advantageously, said recess houses the small cylinder in the centre, with consequent formation of a ring-shaped cavity around said cylinder, which, acting as a guide, facilitates insertion of the cigarette.
[0034] In a second embodiment, said small cylinder can protrude from an inner wall of the first or second half-shell.
[0035] In a third embodiment, said small cylinder is concealed in one of the half-shells and is manually extractable, for example by means of a proper slider.
[0036] Another aspect of this invention relates to the device for closing/opening the container. The first half-shell is hinged to the second half-shell by means of one or more hinges arranged along the hinging side of said container, which corresponds preferably to one of the two longer sides. The opposite side of said container is instead provided with a releasable locking device. After releasing said locking device, the container can be opened. The container in the open position has two stable positions, in particular at a relative angle of 90 degrees between said first and second half-shell and 180 degrees between the same.
[0037] The closing/opening device can be of various types, for example of the interlocking or snap-engaging type. In a preferred embodiment, the closure is magnetic, in particular said releasable locking device is a magnet. Said hinges are preferably metallic and are of the known type.
[0038] The container is substantially rigid and can be made of various materials. Preferably, it is made of plastic.
[0039] Said container has advantageously a polygonal cross-section and even more advantageously a rectangular cross-section. For the sake of easier illustration, in the following description reference will be made to a parallelepiped container, wherein the two half-shells have a rectangular form.
[0040] The advantages will emerge even more clearly with the aid of the detailed description below relating to a number of preferred embodiments.
Brief description of the figures
[0041]
Fig. 1 shows an axonometric view of a container comprising a bottom and a lid provided with a closing flap, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and shown in the open position.
Fig. 2 shows an axonometric view of the bottom of the container shown in
Fig. 1, according to an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a detail of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the bottom shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 shows an axonometric view of the lid of the container shown in Fig. 1, according to an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 6 shows in detail the closing flap of the lid according to Fig, 5.
Fig. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the lid according to Fig. 5.
Fig. 8 shows in detail the closing flap formed in the lid according to Fig. 5.
Figs. 9-11 show a number of variants of a system for pressing tobacco.
Fig. 12 shows the use of the system according to Figs. 9-11.
Fig. 13 shows a half-shell of a container according to another variant of the invention.
Fig. 14 is a top plan view of the half-shell according to Fig, 13.
Detailed description
[0042] Fig. 1 shows a pocket container 1 for tobacco in the open position. Said container 1 comprises essentially a first bottom half-shell 2, or simply bottom, a second top half-shell 3, or lid, having a rectangular cross-section and edges matching with said bottom 2, and a closing flap 4 for said lid 3.
[0043] The bottom 2 is hinged to the lid 3 by means of one or more hinges 30 (visible in Figs. 2, 4, 5 and 7) arranged along the hinging side 31 of said container, which corresponds to one of the two longer sides of the container itself. The opposite side 32 of said container is instead provided with a releasable locking device 33 (visible in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7). Said locking device 33 is preferably of the mechanical (for example interlocking or snap-engaging) or magnetic type. After releasing said locking device 33, the container 1 can be opened by rotating the lid 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow A visible in Fig. 1 through an angle of 90 degrees or 180 degrees, said angles corresponding to the two stable positions of the container 1 in the open position.
[0044] Fig. 2 shows in greater detail the bottom 2 of the container 1 for tobacco. Said bottom 2 has a rectangular base, whose edge is formed by the longer sides 5 and the smaller sides 6. Said bottom 2 is divided into three spaces, in particular a space 7 for storing filters, a space 8 for storing cigarette papers and a space 9 acting as a working surface for assembly of the cigarette.
[0045] Preferably, the compartment 7 intended for the filters has a rectangular form and comprises advantageously a plurality of holes 10, each of them being designed to hold a filter 11 arranged in vertical position. Said holes 10 have a diameter such that they can hold the filters 11 available on the market, the diameter being preferably equal to 0.6 cm or 0.8 cm. Advantageously, the depth of said holes 10 is smaller than the length of the filters, preferably is 2/3 of said length, such that said filters 11 can be easily extracted.
[0046] Preferably, said holes 10 are aligned in rows which are parallel to the sides 5 and 6 and staggered in pairs. This arrangement of the holes 10 ensures an optimum distribution thereof and maximum use of the space available.
[0047] In a particular embodiment, said compartment comprises 36 holes adapted to hold 36 filters, said holes being arranged in 9 rows of 4 holes each, said rows being parallel to each other and staggered in pairs.
[0048] The space or compartment 8 for storing the cigarette papers has a rectangular form and a flat bottom surface, so as to reproduce the shape of the package containing said papers. The depth of said compartment is preferably comprised between 0.5 cm and 1.2 cm, more preferably is 0.9 cm.
[0049] The space or compartment 9, which forms the working surface for assembling the cigarette, has a configuration such that the operation of cigarette assembling results facilitated. A particularly preferred configuration is the following.
[0050] Said compartment 9 has a trapezoidal form and, more in particular, has a side 13 adjacent to the compartment 7 for storing the filters and a side 14 parallel and opposite to said side 13, in the vicinity of the edge of said container. The longer sides 12 are slightly converging so that the side 13 is shorter than the side 14.
[0051] Said compartment 9 also has a convex bottom 15 with a variable depth which decreases towards the innermost side 13. In particular, the end of the cigarette comprising the filter will be positioned next to the shorter side 13 and the opposite end will be positioned next to the side 14. This feature is even more clearly shown in the top plan view of said compartment 9 in Fig. 3.
[0052] Said form of the compartment 9, substantially similar to a "slide", facilitates and accompanies the rolling movement of the cigarette.
[0053] The configuration of the bottom 2 shown in Fig. 2 is suitable for storing the version of cigarette papers having shortened form, and the compartments 7, 8 and 9 are preferably arranged as described below.
[0054] The compartment 7 for storing the filters 11 extends along the shorter side 6 of said bottom 2 and partially along the greater side 5, preferably over a length ranging from one third to about a half. The remaining area of the bottom 2 is occupied by the compartment 8 for storing the cigarette papers and the compartment 9 for assembling the cigarette. More particularly, the compartment 8 has a rectangular form and occupies about two thirds of said remaining area, while the compartment 9 has a trapezoidal form and occupies the remaining space.
[0055] The division of the bottom 2 into said compartment 7 and said compartments 8 and 9, as described above, is optimal since it allows all the available space to be used, with the sole exception of the portions 16, which actually represent a minimum loss in terms of use of the container area.
[0056] Fig. 4 shows the bottom 2 of the tobacco container 1, which is suitable for storing the version of cigarette papers with an elongated form.
[0057] For the sake of simplicity, elements similar to those shown in Fig. 2 are indicated by the same reference numbers, for example the compartment 7 intended for the filters, the compartment 8 intended for the cigarette papers and the compartment 9 forming the working surface for the cigarette assembly.
[0058] Also in this example, the compartment 7 for storing the filters has a plurality of holes 10, which are preferably arranged in two parallel rows having the same length and staggered relative to each other; the compartment 8 for the cigarette papers has a flat base and rectangular form such that it reproduces the shape of the papers stored therein, and the compartment 9 designed to act as a working surface has a trapezoidal form and convex bottom surface. Preferably, each of said compartments 7, 8 and 9 extends over the entire length of the longer side 5 and over about a third of the smaller side 6.
[0059] Fig. 5 shows, in greater detail, the lid 3 of the tobacco container 1. Said lid 3 has the same form and size as the bottom 2, its longer sides are indicated by the number 17, while its shorter sides by the number 18 and match with the sides 5 and 6, respectively, of the bottom 2.
[0060] Said lid 3 defines a compartment 26 for containing the tobacco, preferably with a bottom surface converging towards the centre or provided with a central concavity 19 designed to receive the shredded tobacco. Said concavity 19 has advantageously a conical bottom surface which allows the tobacco be collected in the middle of said lid 3 and, therefore, makes picking up of said tobacco easier.
[0061] The closing flap 4 has the function of preventing the tobacco from coming out of the tobacco storage compartment 26, and therefore being dispersed inside the adjacent bottom 2, and preventing tobacco from losing moisture. Preferably, said flap 4 has a hermetic closure, advantageously with a perimetral seal. For example, said seal is housed inside a suitable recess in the edge of said lid 3.
[0062] Said flap 4 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 6. Said flap 4 has a rectangular form, is located inside the lid 3 and is defined by the longer sides 20 and shorter sides 21.
[0063] Said flap 4 comprises a transverse hinge 24 which divides it into two parts 22 and 23, for example said hinge is formed by a more flexible line of smaller cross-section and is preferably situated in the middle of said flap 4, which is therefore divided into two identical parts. One of said two parts, in particular part 22, is provided with a handle 25.
[0064] Said flap 4 is also provided with a releasable locking device (not shown in the figure) on one of the two shorter sides 21.
[0065] As a result of said hinge 24, the flap 4 can be partially opened by rotating the part 22 relative to the part 23 in the direction of the arrow B indicated in Figs. 1 and 6.
[0066] Fig. 7 shows the lid 3 of the tobacco container 1, according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein the closing flap 4 has a circular form and is situated in the centre of said lid 3.
[0067] Said flap 4 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 8. Said flap 4, which is provided with a handle 34, comprises a hinge 35 extending along its circumference and a pin 41.
[0068] Owing to the action of said hinge 35, the flap 4 can be opened by rotation about said pin 41 in the direction of the arrow C indicated in Fig. 8.
[0069] Figs. 9a, 9b show a detail of the lid 3 (or, alternatively, of the bottom 2), wherein an auxiliary device 36 is obtained for pressing the excess tobacco at the end of the cigarette. Said auxiliary device 36 essentially comprises a small cylinder 37 having a diameter similar to the filter and which is embedded in the centre of a circular cavity 38 formed on the outer wall of the lid 3 (or the bottom 2).
[0070] The small cylinder 37 shown in Fig. 9a is suitable for pressing the tobacco in thin cigarettes, for example it has a diameter of 0.6 cm. The small cylinder 37 shown of Fig. 9b is instead suitable for larger cigarettes and has a diameter for example of 0.8 cm. Optionally, the pocket container can be provided with both said small cylinders so as to be used both for thin cigarettes and larger cigarettes.
[0071] Fig. 10 shows a detail of the bottom 2 (or the lid 3) in which the small cylinder 37 protrudes internally from an inner wall of said bottom 2 (or lid 3).
[0072] The embodiment of Fig. 10 is simpler; the embodiment shown in Figs. 9a and 9b, however, has the advantage of not having elements protruding from the surface and, moreover, the annular space between cavity 38 and cylinder 37 facilitates the operation since it guides the end of the cigarette.
[0073] Fig. 11 shows a further variant in which the small cylinder 37 is concealed inside one of the half-shells, e.g. in a seat 39 formed in the lid 3, and can be manually extracted by means of a slider 40.
[0074] Fig. 12 exemplifies the operation of pressing the end of a cigarette S, said end being opposite to the filter 11, with the aid of the small cylinder 37.
[0076] The container 1 has, by way of example but not necessarily, the following dimensions: surface area of 12 cm x 8 cm and thickness of about 3 cm.
[0077] Figs. 13 and 14 show a variant in which the first half-shell 2 comprises two spaces 9a and 9b for the assembly of the cigarette. Preferably said two compartments 9a and 9b are arranged in a complementary manner, i.e. with the short side 13 on opposite sides. In this way, use of the available space is improved and use by left-handed people is also facilitated.
1. Pocket container (1) for tobacco and the necessary for assembling a cigarette, the
container being substantially rigid, comprising a first half-shell (2) and a second
half-shell (3) having matching edges (5, 6, 17, 18), and a closing/opening device,
said container being characterized in that
said first half-shell (2) comprises at least a first space (7) for storing filters (11) and a second space (9) for assembling the cigarette.
said first half-shell (2) comprises at least a first space (7) for storing filters (11) and a second space (9) for assembling the cigarette.
2. Container according to claim 1, wherein said second half-shell (3) comprises at least
one compartment (26) for the tobacco.
3. Container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of said first half-shell (2) and
second half-shell (3) comprises a space (8) for storing cigarette papers.
4. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second half-shell
(3) comprises a flap (4) for closing said compartment (26), said closure being preferably
hermetic.
5. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first space (7)
for storing filters contains a plurality of holes (10), each being adapted to hold
a filter (11) vertically.
6. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said space (8) for
storing cigarette papers is a compartment having a flat bottom surface and rectangular
shape.
7. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second space (9) for assembling the cigarette is a compartment with a trapezoidal
shape and convex bottom (15) for facilitating the preparation of the cigarette, said
compartment preferably having the shape of an isosceles trapezoid with converging
longer sides (12) and parallel shorter sides of different length (13, 14), comprising
a longer side (14) and a shorter side (13).
8. Container according to claim 7, wherein said convex bottom (15) is inclined in the
direction of said converging sides (12), the depth of said bottom (15) decreasing
towards the shorter side (13) wherein the filter-end of the cigarette is arranged,
so as to accompany the cigarette rolling movement.
9. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said compartment (26)
for the tobacco has a bottom converging towards the centre, or is provided in the
centre with a concavity (19) having a conical bottom and adapted to collect the tobacco.
10. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said closing flap
(4) comprises a transverse hinge portion (24) which divides it into a first part (22)
provided with a handle (25) and a second part (23), said closing flap (4) being partially
openable about said hinge portion (24) by rotating said first part (22) provided with
the handle (25) relative to said second part (23).
11. Container according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein said closing flap (4) occupies
a part of said second half-shell (3), preferably the central part, and comprises a
perimetral hinge (35) and a pin (41), said closing flap (4) being openable by rotation
about said pin (41).
12. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second half-shell
(3) or said first half-shell (2) comprises an auxiliary device (36) for pressing tobacco
in excess at the end of a cigarette (S); said auxiliary device (36) comprising a beating
element (37).
13. Container according to claim 12, wherein a recess (38), which is preferably circular,
is formed on an outer wall of said first half-shell (2) or second half-shell (3) and
houses said beating element (37).
14. Container according to claim 12, wherein said beating element (37) protrudes internally
from a wall of said first (2) or second (3) half-shell, or is concealed inside one
of the half-shells (2, 3) and is manually extractable.
15. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first half-shell
(2) is hinged on one side (31) to said second half-shell (3) by means of at least
one hinge (30), said container being provided with a releasable locking device (33)
on the opposite side (32), said releasable device being preferably of mechanical type
or magnetic type.