WO2014067658A1

WO2014067658A1 - Container with removeable portion

Info

Publication number: WO2014067658A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/003274
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Michel Toinet; Lucas Chatelain
Original assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
Priority date: 2012-10-31
Filing date: 2013-10-30
Publication date: 2014-05-08

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container (22) for consumer goods comprises a box for housing the consumer goods the box comprising a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, and a hinge lid comprising a front wall, a top wall, a back wall and two side walls. The box and the hinge lid are partially connected via a removeable portion (17) of the container, which is adapted to be removed in order to allow opening of the container. The removeable portion (17) is an integral part of the hinge lid and a fixing panel (18) is provided on the hinge lid and is fixed to the box. The fixing panel (18) corresponds in its width substantially to the upper edge of the front wall of the box. The invention further relates to a blank (1) for a container and a method of manufacturing a container.

Description

Container with Removeable Portion

The present invention relates to a hinge lid container having a removeable portion that is adapted to be removed prior to opening the container for the first time. The container of the present invention finds particular application as a container for smoking articles, such as filter cigarettes.

It is known to package consumer goods in hinge lid containers formed from folded laminar blanks. For example, elongate smoking articles, such as cigarettes and cigars, are commonly sold in hinge lid packs having a box for housing the smoking articles and a lid connected to the box about a hinge line extending across the back wall of the container. Such packs are typically constructed from one-piece laminar cardboard blanks. In use, the lid is pivoted about the hinge line to open the pack and so gain access to the smoking articles held in the box.

Hinge lid containers, which are commonly used for packaging cigarettes and other consumer goods, are typically wrapped in an outer wrapper, which provides a barrier layer against the ingress or emersion of air, moisture, odours or flavours into and out of the container during storage. The outer wrapper is often a transparent polymeric materials, such as high or low density polyethylene, polypropylene, oriented polypropylene, polyvinylidene chloride, cellulose film, or combinations thereof. The outer wrapper usually includes a tear tape. The tear tape is positioned around the container below the lower edge of the front wall of the lid, such that once the tear tape has been removed, the lid is free to be rotated about the first hinge line. Alternatively or in addition, there may be a second tear tape positioned around the container above the hatch, such that once the tear tape has been removed, the hatch is free to be rotated about the second hinge line. Alternatively, the tear tape may be provided lengthways around the container.

The tear tape provides a tamper evidence in that once it is removed, it cannot be reclosed. Tamper evidence is a desirable feature as it assures the consumer that the contents of the container have not been touched by others.

However, overwrapping the container with a separate wrapper that has to be torn open and removed during the first opening of the container makes the production of the package more difficult and expensive since it introduces additional materials and processing steps. In addition, the wrappers are often discarded once opened and so this creates additional undesirable waste.

It would be desirable to address this issue.

In US-A1 -2003/0213722, a container for a meal kit has a tear strip provided in a panel of the meal kit container. The tear strip is arranged such that the panel can be severed into two parts which allows the container to be opened. However, the panel comprising the tear strip may become detached from the container, especially if forces are applied involuntarily to its edges. Furthermore, the quality of the appearance and the quality of the tactile impression of the container is reduced due to the design of tear strip panel. The removal of the tear strip allows the full opening of a major face of the container while the tear strip overlies a minor face. This allows the hinge lid to be opened to reveal the largest surface area possible of the container. Thus, the consumer has access to the food contents.

WO-A1 -2009/040 378 discloses a smoking article pack formed from a blank wherein the lid portion comprises an edge portion which connects a closure portion via a removeable portion to the outside of a front panel of the pack. However, the edge portion of the lid is smaller in its width than the front panel of the pack such that the overlap of the lid on the box front wall is visible to a consumer and provides an unsightly appearance of the pack. Furthermore, the front wall is not smooth due to the edge of the overlapping lid, as there is a small step between the lid and the box front wall. This step may cause inconvenience as it may be involuntarily engaged by the consumer or another object which may result in unintentional opening of the pack or at least in a worn out edge which makes the appearance of the pack even less favourable.

It is the object of the invention to provide a container, which has a novel tamper evidence feature. It is a preferred object to provide a novel tamper evidence feature in hinge lid containers.

Accordingly, the invention provides container for consumer goods comprising:

a box for housing the consumer goods the box comprising a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, and a hinge lid comprising a front wall, a top wall, a back wall and two side walls. The box and the hinge lid are partially connected via a removeable portion of the container, the removeable portion being adapted to be removed in order to allow opening of the container. The removeable portion is either an integral part of the box and or is an integral part of the hinge lid and a fixing panel is provided either on the hinge lid and is adhered to the box or is provided on the box and is adhered to the hinge lid. Preferably, the fixing panel corresponds in its width substantially to the upper edge of the front wall of the box. Even more preferably, the width of the fixing panel and the width of the front wall of the box correspond substantially to each other. Preferably, the width of the fixing panel which corresponds substantially to the width of the upper edge of the front wall or to the width of the front wall is slightly smaller than the width of the front wall or its upper edge, such that a more smooth edge in the upper area of the front wall is provided. Further, the fixing panel can be arranged inside the box, if it is fixed to the inside of the box front wall panel. The width of the fixing panel or front wall of the box is defined in the transverse direction across the front wall from the left to the right side wall and perpendicular to the height direction in the upright longitudinal direction of the box. The upright direction is defined as the direction from the bottom wall to the top wall of the container. This preferred design of the container allows that the container has the general shape of a regular hinge lid container once opened with an additional fixing panel remaining on the front wall or inside the front wall of the box. While the fixing panel inside of the box is not visible to a consumer at all, the fixing panel on the outside of the box is not significantly visible as it preferably substantially corresponds in its width to the lid such that only an upper and a lower edge may be visible. These edges may, however, be arranged in accordance with the design of the container to reduce the visibility. After removing the removeable portion a small dip may be present at the lower front edge of the lid, where, previously, the removeable portion was provided. The dip may help in opening the lid, in particular as it may comprise a slightly rougher surface than the other edges of the container or may slightly protrude from the container. The aforementioned preferred configuration of the container prevents the accidental opening of the container. This is in particular due to the extension of the fixing panel with a width which substantially corresponds to the width of the upper edge of the front wall of the box. Thus, the fixing panel or removeable portion are thus unlikely to be engaged on the side, and the fixing panel prevents engaging of the removeable portion from below along the whole lid of the front wall of the upper edge of the container. Preferably, the left and right side edges of the fixing panel are flush with the left and right side edges of the front wall in the upper portion of the box.

The removeable portion is located in at least the front wall such that it joins the front wall of the box to the front wall of the hinge lid. This is a simple configuration that is easy to make. It can also be provided across both the front wall and the two side walls so as to join the front and side walls of the box and hinge lid respectively. This provides an excellent structural stability to the container.

The invention further provides a blank for a container for consumer goods comprising hinge lid panels adapted to form a hinge lid of the container and box panels adapted to form a box of the container. A removeable portion is attached to either one or more box panels or one or more of the hinge lid panels and a fixing panel that is at least partially coated with adhesive means is provided adjacent the hinge lid panels or the box panels. Preferably, the fixing panel corresponds substantially in its width to the width of a box wall panel.

The invention also provides a method of manufacturing a container for consumer goods from a blank comprising box panels, hinge lid panels and a removeable portion formed adjacent one or more of the box panels or one or more of the hinge lid panels. The method comprises the steps of folding the blank at predetermined folding lines such as to form a box with box panels and a hinge lid with hinge lid panels, fixing the panels of the blank to each other, and attaching at least a part of a removeable portion, which is adjacent one or more box panels or one or more of the hinge lid panels to a panel of the other of the hinge lid panels or box panels. Preferably, the fixing panel corresponds substantially in its width to the panel of the box panels. A benefit of this method is that the container can be manufactured on existing equipment with only minor modifications.

While it is preferred that the removeable portion is an integral part of the hinge lid or the fixing panel is provided on the hinge lid and is adhered to the box, it is not essential for all embodiments of the invention, as the removeable portion may also be an integral part of the box or the fixing panel may be provided on the box and may be adhered to the hinge lid.

Accordingly, for the blank of the container as specified, according to the invention, the removeable portion may also be adjacent to one or more box panels and the fixing panel may be provided adjacent the removeable portion or hinge lid panel.

In the method according to the invention, it is also possible that the removeable portion is provided adjacent one or more box panels and a fixing panel is provided adjacent the removeable portion or a box panel, wherein the method comprises the step of attaching the fixing panel that is adjacent the removeable portion or one or more box panels to a panel of the hinge lid panels. In the aforementioned embodiments of the container, blank and method, the fixing panel may correspond substantially in its width to the lower edge of the lid front wall panel or to a lid wall panel.

In contrast to the substantially corresponding width of the fixing panel and the upper edge of the box panel, the fixing panel may also have a different width than the box wall panel in some embodiments.

Preferably, the box comprises an opening, wherein the cross-sectional area of the opening is smaller than the front or back wall of the container. The container only requires a small portion of the major face to be opened to access the consumer goods, which are in particular rod-shaped smoking articles. A small opening is desirable to ensure that the smoking articles are held in the box due to friction when removing one of the smoking articles. This is useful when the container is being opened while the consumer is moving, for example walking, whereas the opening of the containers known in the art is usually to be done when the consumer is preferably not moving as the risk of spilling the contents is much higher due to the large surface area accessible when the hinge lid is opened.

In one embodiment, the fixing panel provided on the hinge lid or the box is adhered to the inside of a wall of the other of the hinge lid or the box. Thus, the fixing panel is covered by the wall of the lid or the box to which it is fixed, such that its edges cannot be involuntarily touched and are not visible. This prevents that the part of the tear strip is involuntarily detached. Furthermore, the visual and haptic quality impression of the container is improved, as no edges of the tear strip part are visible. In particular, in the prior art these edges may be detached and thus provide a negative visual appearance. More in particular, in the prior art the edges may be involuntarily folded upwards during the usage of the container, such that the container quickly appears to be worn out.

The removeable portion is preferably a tear strip. The tear strip preferably comprises first and second weakening lines. The weakening lines are preferably scoring lines. In particular, each weakening line may be comprised of several separate cuts, which are positioned close to each other along the line. The weakening lines are preferably substantially parallel to each other. In one embodiment, the first weakening line is arranged at the lower edge of the lid front wall. In another embodiment, the second weakening line is arranged at the upper edge of the box front wall. Thus, when the removeable portion is removed by tearing the removeable portion off the container along the weakening lines, the respective former weakening line forms the lower edge of the lid or the upper edge of the box. Thus, the appearance of the container is not significantly changed and no additio al edges or steps are created.

In another embodiment, the tear strip is formed by a reinforcing element which is attached to the inside of the container wall in between the lid and the fixation panel. The tear strip preferably extends along the lower edge of the lid front wall and the upper edge of the box front wall. When the tear strip is removed the lower edge of the lid front wall and the upper edge of the box front wall are not connected anymore, while the appearance of the container is not significantly changed.

The fixing panel can be provided either adjacent the removeable portion, adjacent a panel of the box or adjacent a panel of the lid. The fixing panel may be fixed, preferably by adhesion, to the outside or the inside of a front wall of the box or lid. Nevertheless, it is preferably fixed to the inner surface of a front wall of the box or lid that faces into the container. In this configuration the fixing panel is not visible and the front wall of the box and lid are flush. This provides a desirable tactile sensation.

Once the fixing panel is adhered, it can be seen that the front wall of the lid is separated from the front wall of the box by the tear strip portion.

The removeable portion typically comprises a grasping tab that facilitates its removal by a consumer.

The removeable portion comprises first and second ends. The grasping tab may depend from the first or second end of the removeable portion. Alternatively, the grasping tab may depend from both the first and second ends. When the grasping tab depends only from one end, there is less risk of a consumer accidentally pulling the grasping tab.

The grasping tab may protrude from the container, such that it is even more easily grasped by a consumer.

The container comprises a front wall, a back wall and two side walls, the hinge lid being rotatable about a hinge line in the back wall and at least a part of the removeable portion located in the front wall of the container. In this case, the box side walls may be in contact with the respective hinge lid side walls along their entire length, which provides a desirable tactile sensation.

Alternatively, the respective walls may be arranged so that they are not in contact along their entire length. For instance, the box side walls and the respective lid side walls may not be parallel to each other, thus creating a gap between the walls. This gap preferably provides an access to the removeable portion. Preferably it provides a space for the grasping tab such that a consumer can more easily grasp and pull the tab so as to remove the removeable portion.

The box may be provided with a cut-out, which is substantially congruent to the removeable portion. In particular, the box front wall may be provided with the cut-out. The cutout is preferably provided at the upper edge of the box front wall panel. The removeable portion is accessible for the consumer through the cut-out.

In one aspect, the removeable portion is located across the front wall and substantially across the two side walls of the container. This provides stronger structural rigidity to the container.

In another aspect, which can be in addition to or instead of the removeable portion comprising a tear strip that is integral with the box portion or the hinge lid portion, a length of string may be provided in the container, the string being adapted to tear a weakening line between the lid front wall and the box front wall. The string is attached to the container in a manner such that the string is pulled and tears a portion of the container across the front wall so as to disconnect the box portion from the hinge lid portion. The string material has a higher strength than the part of the container wall that is adapted to be torn, such that when the string is pulled open, it forces the separation of the box portion from the hinge lid portion. The string may be fixed by means of adhesive to the container wall. The string may be formed of any suitable material such as a fibrous material, plastic or metal. Preferably the string is aligned with a removeable portion such that the string can be pulled in order to remove the removeable portion from the container. Preferably a portion of the string extends beyond the edge of the container so that it may be grasped more easily.

The terms "front", "back", "upper", "lower", "side", "top", "bottom" and other terms having the same meanings used to describe relative positions of the components of containers according to the invention refer to the container in an upright position with the lid at the top end and the hinge on the back. The terms "left" and "right" are used with reference to side walls of the container when the container is viewed from the front in its upright position. When the container in the upright position is open, the consumer articles contained in the box may be removed from the upper end of the container. The term "longitudinal" refers to a direction from bottom to top or vice versa. The term "transverse" refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction across the front wall, the back wall or one of the side walls.

The term "hinge line" refers to a line about which the lid may be pivoted in order to open the container. A hinge line may be, for example, a fold line or a score line in the back wall of the container. Alternatively, a hinge line may be a fold line or a score line in a piece of material bridging the lower edge of the back wall of the lid and the upper edge of the back wall of the box. Such a piece of material may be, for example, a label that is permanently or removably attached to the back wall of the lid and the back wall of the box. Preferably, the hinge line is positioned along the back wall of the container at a level below the upper edge thereof.

Preferably, the container further comprises an inner frame mounted within the box, wherein the inner frame extends above the upper edges of at least the front wall of the box of the container. The inner frame is therefore visible to the consumer when the lid is opened. The front wall of the inner frame may be printed with indicia which may be the same as, or different to the indicia printed on the front wall of the box. Alternatively, or in addition, the front wall of the inner frame may be cut into a distinctive shape, for example, to reflect the branding of the consumer goods. If required, the inner frame may also comprise a line of weakness to facilitate flattening of the container.

Preferably, the front wall of the inner frame is provided with a cut out portion at the upper edge thereof. This enables more convenient access to the consumer goods within the container, without significantly reducing the surface area of the front wall of the inner frame.

Alternatively, or in addition to an inner frame, the consumer goods within the container may be wrapped with an inner liner, which is visible above the upper edge of the front wall of the box and the front wall of the inner frame (if present) when the container is open.

Containers according to the invention may be in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, with right-angled longitudinal and right-angled transverse edges. Alternatively, the container may comprise one or more rounded longitudinal edges, rounded transverse edges, beveled longitudinal edges or beveled transverse edges, or combinations thereof. For example, the container according to the invention may comprise, without limitation:

- One or two longitudinal rounded or beveled edges on the front wall, and/or

- One or two longitudinal rounded or beveled edges on the back wall.

- One or two transverse rounded or beveled edges on the front wall, and/or

- One or two transverse rounded or beveled edges on the back wall.

- One longitudinal rounded edge and one longitudinal beveled edge on the front wall, and/or

- One transverse rounded edge and one transverse beveled edge on the back wall. - One or two transverse rounded or beveled edges on the front wall and one or two longitudinal rounded or beveled edges on the front wall.

- Two longitudinal rounded or beveled edges on a first side wall or two transverse rounded or beveled edges on the second side wall.

Where the container comprises one or more rounded edges and is made from a laminar blank, preferably the blank comprises three, four, five, six or seven scoring lines or creasing lines to form the rounded edge in the assembled container. The scoring lines or creasing lines may be either on the inside of the container or on the outside of the container. Preferably, the scoring lines or creasing lines are spaced apart from each other by between about 0.3 mm and 4 mm.

Preferably, the spacing of the creasing lines or scoring lines is in function of the thickness of the laminar blank. Preferably, the spacing between the creasing lines or scoring lines is between about 0.5 and about 4 times larger than the thickness of the laminar blank.

Where the container comprises one or more beveled edges, preferably the beveled one or more edges have a width of between about 1 mm and about 10 mm, preferably between about 2 and about 6 mm. Alternatively, the container may comprise a double bevel formed by three parallel creasing lines or scoring lines that are spaced apart such that two distinct bevels form on the edge of the container.

Alternatively to a container with a rectangular transverse cross section, the container may have a for example a polygonal cross section such as triangular, quadrangular or hexagonal, or a cross section which is oval, semi-oval, circular or semi-circular.

Where the container comprises a beveled edge and is made from a laminar blank, the bevel may be formed by two parallel creasing lines or scoring lines in the laminar blank. The creasing lines or scoring lines may be arranged symmetrically to the edge between a first wall and a second wall. Alternatively, the creasing lines or scoring lines may be arranged asymmetrically to the edge between the first wall and the second wall, such that the bevel extends further into the first wall of the container than into the second wall of the container.

The container may be formed from any suitable materials including, but not limited to, cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal, or combinations thereof. Preferably, the cardboard has a weight of between about 100 grams per square metre and about 350 grams per square metre.

Containers according to the invention may be used as packages for a variety of consumer goods. In particularly preferred embodiments, containers according to the invention are used to package smoking articles. Containers according to the invention may be advantageously used to package smoking articles including, but not limited to, known lit-end cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos, heated smoking articles comprising a combustible fuel element or heat source and an aerosol-generating substrate (for example cigarettes of the type disclosed in US-A-4, 714,082) and smoking articles for use with electrical smoking systems (for example cigarettes of the type disclosed in US-A-5,692,525).

Through an appropriate choice of the dimensions thereof, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold different total numbers of smoking articles, or different arrangements of smoking articles. For example, through an appropriate choice of the dimensions thereof, containers according to the invention may be designed to hold a total of between ten and thirty smoking articles.

Containers according to the invention may hold one, two, three four or five separate bundles of consumer goods. The separate bundles may be arranged substantially parallel to the front wall and to the back wall or substantially perpendicular to the front wall and to the back wall.

Within a bundle, the smoking articles may be arranged in different collations, depending on the total number of smoking articles, the dimensions of the smoking articles or the cross sectional shape of the container. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in a bundle in a single row of five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten. Alternatively, the smoking articles may be arranged in two or more rows. The two or more rows may contain the same number of smoking articles. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in: two rows of five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten; three rows of five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten; or four rows of four, five, six or seven. Alternatively, the two or more rows may include at least two rows containing different numbers of smoking articles to each other. For example, the smoking articles may be arranged in: a row of five and a row of six (5-6); a row of six and a row of seven (6-7); a row of seven and a row of eight (7-8); a middle row of five and two outer rows of six (6-5-6); a middle row of five and two outer rows of seven (7-5-7); a middle row of six and two outer rows of five (5-6-5); a middle row of six and two outer rows of seven (7-6-7); a middle row of seven and two outer rows of six (6-7-6); a middle row of nine and two outer rows of eight (8-9-8); or a middle row of six with one outer row of five and one outer row of seven (5-6-7).

Containers according to the present invention may hold smoking articles of the same type or brand, or of different types or brands. In addition, both filterless smoking articles and smoking articles with various filter tips may be contained, as well as smoking articles of differing length (for example, between about 40 mm and about 180 mm), diameter (for example, between about 4 mm and about 9 mm). In addition, the smoking articles may differ in strength of taste, resistance to draw and total particulate matter delivery. Wherein the container comprises more than one bundle, each bundle within the same container may hold the same or different types of smoking articles as listed above.

Preferably, the dimensions of the container are adapted to the length of the smoking articles, and the collation of the smoking articles. Typically, the outer dimensions of the container are between about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm larger than the dimensions of the bundle of smoking articles housed inside the container.

Preferably, containers according to the invention have a height of between about 60 mm and about 150 mm, more preferably a height of between about 70 mm and about 125 mm, wherein the height is measured from the top wall to the bottom wall of the container.

Preferably, containers according to the invention have a width of between about 12 mm and about 150 mm, more preferably a width of between about 70 mm and about 125 mm, wherein the width is measured from the first side wall to the second side wall of the container.

Preferably, containers according to the invention have a depth of between about 6 mm and about 100 mm, more preferably a depth of between about 12 mm and about 25 mm wherein the depth is measured from the front wall to the back wall of the container (comprising the hinge between box and lid).

Preferably, the ratio of the height of the container to the depth of the container is in between about 0.3 to 1 and about 10 to 1 , more preferably between about 2 to 1 and about 8 to 1 , most preferably between about 3 to 1 and 5 to 1

Preferably, the ratio of the width of the container to the depth of the container is in between about 1 to 1 and about 10 to 1 , more preferably between about 2 to 1 and about 8 to 1 , most preferably between about 2 to 1 and 3 to 1.

Preferably, the ratio of the height of the lid back wall to the height of the box back wall is between about 0 to 1 (hinge located at the top edge of the container) to about 1 to 1 , more preferably, between about 1 to 5 and about 1 to 10, most preferably, between about 1 to 6 to about 1 to 8.

Preferably, the ratio of the height of the lid front wall to the height of the box front wall is between about 1 to 0 (lid covering the entire front wall) to about 1 to 10, more preferably, between about 1 to 1 and about 1 to 5, most preferably, between about 1 to 2 and about 1 to 3.

The exterior surfaces of containers according to the invention may be printed, embossed, debossed or otherwise embellished with manufacturer or brand logos, trade marks, slogans and other consumer information and indicia. Alternatively, or in addition, the exterior surfaces of containers according to the invention may be at least partially covered with lacquer, metallisation, holograms, luminescent material, or any other materials that alter the feel, odour or appearance of the container.

Where the inner housing of a container according to the present invention contains one or more bundles of smoking articles, the smoking articles are preferably wrapped in an inner liner of, for example, metal foil or metallised paper.

Where the container comprises smoking articles, the container may further comprise waste-compartments (for example for ash or butts) or other consumer goods, for example matches, lighters, extinguishing means, breath-fresheners or electronics. The other consumer goods may be attached to the outside of the container, contained within the container along with the smoking articles, in a separate compartment of the container or combinations thereof.

The invention will now be explained with reference to exemplary embodiments as shown in the following figures.

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a blank for a container according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a container according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 shows a plan view of a blank for a container according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4 shows a plan view of a blank for a container according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a container according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a plan view of a blank for a container according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a container according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Figure 8 shows a plan view of a blank for a container according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

Figure 9 shows a perspective view of a container according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

In Figure 1 a blank 1 for a container according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown in plan view. Dashed lines indicate folding lines, while full lines indicate cutting lines.

The blank 1 comprises panels forming a box bottom wall 2, a box front wall 3 and a box back wall 4, and panels 5, 6 which form the box left wall when folded on each other, and panels 7, 8 which form the box right wall when folded on each other.

Further panels forming the lid of the container are depending via a hinge line 9 from the box back wall 4. These panels comprise in particular a lid top wall 10, a lid front wall 1 1 and a lid back wall 12. Further, the panels 13, 14 form the lid left wall when folded on each other, and panels 15, 16 form the lid right wall when folded on each other. The panel forming the lid front wall 1 1 is designated as first panel.

In particular, the blank 1 is adaptable to be folded around a bundle of smoking articles comprised in an inner liner, to form a smoking article container as shown in Fig. 2. The fixation of the blank in the container form is in particular obtained by fixing the side panels 5, 6, side panels 7, 8, side panels 13, 14 and side panels 15, 16 to each other by means of adhesive.

A removeable portion in the form of a tear strip portion 17 is provided adjacent the first panel 11. In particular, the tear strip portion 17 is provided in between first panel 11 and an attachment panel 18. The attachment panel 18 is only depending via the tear strip portion 17 from the remaining blank 1. Thus, the attachment panel 18 is provided in the hinge lid portion. The attachment panel 18 is coated with an adhesive to adhere the hinge lid panels to the box panels.

Tear strip portion 17 is defined by two parallel lines of weakness 19, 20. A grasping tab 21 , is provided on one side of the tear strip portion 17 enabling a consumer to remove the tear strip portion 17 more easily.

A cut-out 27 is provided in the upper region of the box front wall 3. The cut-out 27 coresponds in its size to the tear strip portion 17. In this embodiment, the cut-out extends in between the lid left side wall panel 6 and the lid right side wall panel 8. However, smaller cutouts only extending in a part of the upper portion of the box front wall 3 are possible, if a smaller tear strip portion 17 is provided, which does not have the full width of the container.

In Figure 2, the container 22 folded from the blank 1 of Figure 1 is shown.

The tear strip portion 17 extends between the walls formed by side panels 5, 6 and side panels 7,8 and perpendicular thereto. The tear strip portion 17 separates the lid front wall 11 and the box front wall 3.

The attachment panel 18 is glued to the surface of the box front wall 3 that faces into the container 22 so that it is not visible. Once adhered, it can be seen that the lid front wall 1 1 is separated from the box front wall 3 by the tear strip portion 17.

The grasping tab 21 of the tear strip portion 17 may protrude beyond the edge of the container defined by the side panel 13 to provide easy removal of the tear strip portion 17 by a consumer.

During production, the grasping tab 21 may be provided parallel to the tear strip portion 17 such that it protrudes parallely in between the lid front wall 11 and the box front wall 3 enabling the consumer to grasp the tab 21 very easily. Alternatively, it may be folded against the side panel 6, so to be perpendicular to the tear portion 17 (not shown) in which case risk of undesirable pulling of the tab prior to use is reduced.

The consumer removes the tear strip portion 17 by pulling at the grasping tab 21 thus breaking the lines of weakness 19, 20 along their entire length so as to detach the tear strip portion 17 from the container 22. The hinge lid front wall 11 is then no longer connected to the box front wall 3 via the tear strip portion 17 and the hinge lid can be opened to access the contents. In Figure 3, a blank 1 for a container according to a second embodiment is shown. A length of string 23 is provided between the first panel 11 and the fixing panel 18. The string 23 is attached to the blank 1 by a suitable adhesive and a section of the string 23' protrudes beyond the edge of the container defined by side panel 7. The consumer grasps the section of string 23' and pulls it to tear the container along a line between the lid front wall 11 and the box front wall 3 allowing the lid to be opened to gain access to the contents of the container.

In Figure 4, a plan view of a blank 1 for a container according to a third embodiment of the invention is shown. This embodiment is identical to the first embodiment except that the panels 5, 6, 7, 8 of the box, and 13, 14, 15, 16 of the lid are adapted not to touch along their length when the container 22 is folded from the blank 1.

This is shown in Figure 5 where a gap 24 is visible between panels 6,13. The gap 24 provides the consumer with an easy access to the grasping tab 21 to facilitate removal of the tear strip portion 17. A similar gap is provided at the other side of the container in between panels 8,15.

Alternatively, the grasping tab 21 may be defined by means of a cut in the lid left side wall panel 13. Additionally or alternatively, at the opposite side of the tear strip portion 17 as seen from the grasping tab 21 another cut may be provided in between the right side wall panel 15 and the tear strip portion 17, wherein this cut is a continuation of the adjacent folding line in between the first panel 11 and the right side wall panel 15. Thus, the tear strip portion 17 is not directly connected to its adjacent side panels 13, 15, even if no gap is provided in between the side panels 6, 13 or side panels 8, 15.

In Figure 6 another embodiment of the blank for the container is shown, wherein a first tear strip portion 25 extends across the side wall panel 13, a second portion 26 extends across side wall panel 15, and the remaining central tear strip portion extends along panel 1 1.

The partial perspective view for the blank this embodiment is shown in Figure 7. As can be seen, the lid front wall 11 and lid side walls 13, 15 are joined via the tear strip portion 17 to the box front wall 3 and box side walls 6, 8 respectively. This provides a strong attachment and very high structural stability to the container folded from the blank. The tear strip portion 17 is then removed by a consumer in the manner described for the first embodiment.

Figure 8 shows a blank 1 according to a fifth embodiment of the invention. It is identical to the blank shown in Figure 1 apart from the fact that no cut-out is provided in the box front wall 3. In the according assembled container 22 as shown in Figure 9 the fixing panel 18 is attached to the outer side of the box front panel 3. To enable the fixation of the fixation panel 18 to the box front wall 3 glue is provided on the side of the fixation panel 18 that faces towards the interior of the container 22. Alternatively or additionally glue may be provided on the outer side of the box front wall 3.

Claims

1. A container for consumer goods comprising:

a box for housing the consumer goods the box comprising a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, and

a hinge lid comprising a front wall, a top wall, a back wall and two side walls, wherein the box and the hinge lid are partially connected via a removeable portion of the container, the

removeable portion being adapted to be removed in order to allow opening of the container, wherein the removeable portion is an integral part of the hinge lid and a fixing panel is provided on the hinge lid and is adhered to the box, and wherein the fixing panel corresponds in its width substantially to the upper edge of the front wall of the box.

2. A container according to claim 1 , comprising an inner frame mounted within the box and extending above the upper edge of at least the front wall of the box.

3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing panel provided on the hinge lid is adhered to the inside of a wall of the box.

4. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removeable portion and the fixing panel are provided on the hinge lid, the removeable portion being arranged between the front wall of the hinge lid and the fixing panel.

5. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removeable portion comprises a tear strip.

6. A container according to claim 5, wherein the tear strip comprises first and second weakening lines.

7. A container according to claim 6, wherein the tear strip is formed by a reinforcing element which is attached to the inside of the container wall in between the lid and the fixation panel.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a grasping tab depends from the removeable portion.

9. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removeable portion joins the front wall of the hinge lid to the front wall of the box.

10. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the box is provided with a cut-out, which is substantially congruent to the removeable portion.

1 1. A container according to claim 9 in which the side walls of the hinge lid do not touch the side walls of the box along their entire length.

12. A container according to any one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the removeable portion joins the front wall and the two side walls of the hinge lid to the front wall and the two side walls of the box respectively.

13. A blank for a container for consumer goods comprising hinge lid panels adapted to form a hinge lid of the container and box panels adapted to form a box of the container, wherein the blank further comprises a removeable portion that is adjacent one or more of the hinge lid panels and a fixing panel that is at least partially coated with adhesive means, the fixing panel being provided adjacent the removeable portion or being provided adjacent a hinge lid panel, wherein the fixing panel corresponds substantially in its width to the width of a box wall panel.

14. A blank according to claim 13, wherein the removeable portion comprises a tear strip defined by two substantially parallel lines of weakness.

15. A method of manufacturing a container for consumer goods from a blank comprising box panels, hinge lid panels, a removeable portion provided adjacent one or more of the hinge lid panels, and a fixing panel provided adjacent the removeable portion or adjacent a hinge lid panel, the method comprising the steps of:

folding the blank at predetermined folding lines such as to form a box with box panels, a hinge lid with hinge lid panels, and a removeable portion between the box panels and hinge lid panels, fixing the panels of the blank to each other, and

attaching the fixing panel that is adjacent one or more of the hinge lid panels to a panel of the box panels, wherein the fixing panel corresponds substantially in its width to the panel of the box panels.