JP2009154926A - Wrapping material for tobacco industrial product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a package containing a tightly closed container for accommodating a tobacco industrial product, and a plastic material coating formed on the container as an airtight seal-forming layer between the inside and the outside of the vessel. <P>SOLUTION: The wrapping material for the tobacco industrial product such as a cigarette or the like includes the tightly closed container 1 having a body 2 and a flip top 3 and coated with a continuous layer of a transparent plastic material for forming an airtight seal. The container 1 can be pressurized with nitrogen gas or the like through one way valve 8. The wrapping material may be biodegradable by using a biodegradable material for all of the inner wrapping material 5 and the outer coating. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to packaging materials for tobacco industry products, for example tobacco products for smoking such as cigarettes.

  Conventional cigarette box packaging consists of a bundle of cigarettes wrapped in a paper / metal foil laminate sheet, usually contained in a container made of carton paperboard. The container typically has a hinged lid to allow access to the cigarette bundle. This container is often formed of a pre-printed semi-finished SBS board, which is folded to wrap a cigarette bundle. The container is wrapped with a heat-sealable transparent film, most commonly polypropylene, with an opening tape embedded to facilitate opening.

  Among the materials constituting these packages, only the outermost film greatly contributes to the storage stability of the packaged cigarette. Although plastic film functions as a moisture barrier, its effectiveness is highly dependent on forming a suitable seal in the folded and overlapping areas of the film wrapping material. Nevertheless, when cigarettes packaged in an environment with a relative humidity that is either higher or lower than the humidity in the cigarette pack, the low moisture barrier permeation rate of the plastic film is Helps maintain the initial moisture and other volatile components of the cigarette. Polypropylene film is commonly used as an external packaging material, and other film materials that can provide a low moisture transmission rate, such as vacuum metalized plastic film, are also used. Relies heavily on forming a suitable seal in the folded and overlapped area of the film when wrapped around.

  Alternative packages have been proposed instead of internal packaging or SBS boards that have the necessary moisture-proof properties and thus eliminate the need for an external film of plastic material as the overwrap material. An example is a rigid injection molded plastic pack with an integral seal. However, these methods are not suitable for combined use with conventional carton paperboard containers produced in large quantities by mass production techniques.

  In one aspect, the present invention provides a package comprising a sealed container containing tobacco industry products and a coating of plastic material applied to the container as a layer that forms a hermetic seal between the interior and exterior of the container. .

  By applying the plastic material as a coating, a continuous phase is provided over the entire exterior of the container, avoiding the need to seal the connection, thereby improving between the interior and exterior of the container. A seal can be formed.

  A valve can be provided to create a pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the container. This pressure difference can include an increase in pressure inside the vessel formed using an inert gas such as nitrogen, for example.

  An inner packaging material can be provided between the container and the tobacco product, and the material can be biodegradable.

  The container can be made from a breathable material such as carton paperboard, eg SBS, and the plastic layer can extend across the entire outer surface of the container to form an airtight seal. The plastic layer can include a polymer such as polypropylene or polyethylene, and can include an additive that promotes the degradation of the plastic material and / or an additive that improves the hermetic seal provided by the plastic material.

  The container can have a body and a lid that can be opened to reach the tobacco product, and the plastic material layer forms a seal between the body and the lid.

  To facilitate the opening of the lid, a fragile line in the form of a tear strip or a reduced thickness line in the plastic layer can be provided in the plastic material layer.

  The present invention also includes a method for packaging a tobacco industry product comprising the step of applying a coating of plastic material to the container containing the tobacco product to hermetically seal the container.

  The present invention is an apparatus for packaging tobacco industry products for coating a container with a packaging mechanism operable to package tobacco industry products and a layer of plastic material forming an airtight seal. And a coating mechanism.

  In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a package comprising a container and a tobacco product in a hermetically sealed flexible bag within the container.

  A valve can be provided in the bag to create a pressure differential between the inside and the outside of the bag. In order to be able to reach the tobacco industry product, means can be provided for breaking the hermetically sealed bag.

  In order that the present invention may be more fully understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 3 are in the form of a rectangular body 2 with a hinged flip-top lid 3 and according to the invention comprising a container 1 containing two parallel rows of filter cigarettes 4 contained in an inner packaging material 5. Shows cigarette pack.

  The container 1 can be manufactured from carton paperboard such as SBS by folding from a semi-finished product preprinted in a known manner. The inner packaging material 5 may be made of paper, does not need to include a metal foil laminate, and does not need to be biodegradable.

  As can be seen from FIG. 3, the outer surface of the container 1 is coated with a plastic material to form a continuous coating 6, thereby forming an airtight seal. As shown in FIG. 2, the tear strip 7 is constructed around the joint between the body 2 and the lid 3, so that the user can remove the strip 7 to keep the coating 6 continuous. It can be destroyed and the lid 3 can be opened. The tear strip 7 can be applied to the container before or after the coating 6 is applied. Thus, the tear strip 7 provides a line of weakness that allows the lid to be opened. This line of weakness can also be formed in other ways, for example, the plastic coating 6 opens the lid without breaking along the periphery of the lid 3 by scoring or otherwise thinning. You can also.

  A one-way valve 8 is attached so as to enter the wall of the container 1. This valve can create a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container. Conveniently, the valve can create an overpressure in the container, and this pressure is not substantially dissipated over time due to the hermetically sealed coating 6 provided on the exterior of the container. . The valve 8 includes a unit that can be pushed into a small hole in the side wall of the container either before or after application of the coating 6. When installed after application of the coating 6, the valve 8 can be bonded to the coating 6 as the coating 6 cures. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the valve 8 includes a body 9 with a central passage 10 having an integrated one-way flap valve 11 so that excess pressure can be obtained by pumping gas into the container. . The magnitude of the overpressure depends on the structural integrity of the coated container 1. Application of overpressure provides both functional benefits and user benefits. Excess pressure reduces the internal vapor pressure of water and other volatile components and reduces the potential for contamination and smearing of cigarettes 4 than the corresponding hermetically sealed containers at atmospheric pressure, thus reducing the shelf life of cigarettes. Improved. For the user, the container 1 is hardened by the excessive pressure, so that a unique feel can be obtained for the pack. When opened, the user can hear the sound of gas leaking, confirming the freshness of the cigarette and creating an aroma that provides a clue as to the freshness of the tobacco product.

  The coating 6 applied to the container 1 may be a polymer such as polypropylene or polyethylene having the desired physical properties and barrier properties. This coating is selected to easily adhere to the surface of the container 1 and is preferably selected to solidify so that it is substantially transparent so that the printed surface of the container 1 can be seen through the coating. The plastic coating 6 can be selected to give a specific tactile or visual impression on the outer surface. Depending on the plastic material selected, it may be desirable to use a clear lacquer or varnish ink coating to facilitate the bonding of the plastic coating 6 to the printing area of the container 1.

  In order for the plastic coating 6 to be easily degraded in a compost or landfill environment, the plastic material may contain additives. In this way, the inner packaging material 5 that does not need to contain a metal foil, together with the container 1 and the plastic coating 6, becomes all biodegradable and can be certified as degradable or biodegradable structures. Additives used for degradation are products provided by EPI Environment Plastics Inc (Vancouver, BC), or other similar available products You can choose from.

  The plastic coating 6 can include additives that improve the air barrier properties of the coating without compromising optical clarity. One such material is Nanolock ™, sold by InMat Inc., Hillsboro, New Jersey, USA (Hillsboro, NJ, USA). This additive greatly improves the shelf stability of the resulting package to near airtight levels, thus improving shelf life and improving the freshness of tobacco products for the user.

  FIG. 4 shows an apparatus for wrapping tobacco products to provide a pack as shown in FIGS. In a typical conventional method, the packaging machine 12 forms the container 1 by wrapping a cigarette bundle with an inner wrapping material 5 and then wrapping with a preprinted semi-finished product of SPS material. A continuous pack of cigarettes with containers 1 produced by the machine 13 is fed along the conveyor 13 in the direction 14 to the station 15 where the tear strips at the junction between the lid 3 and the body 2 7 is applied to the container 1. The container 1 then moves from the tear strip attachment station 15 to the coating station 16 where liquid or molten plastic polymer material containing the aforementioned additives is pumped from the reservoir 17 through the spray head 18. Then, each container 1 is completely spray-coated to obtain the continuously sealed coating 6 shown in FIG. The coated container moves from the coating station 16 to the valve mounting station 19, where the valve 8 is pushed into the container. These packs then move to the gas supply station 20 where gas is pumped through the one-way valve 9 and the container 1 is pressurized. The gas can include filtered air or an inert gas such as nitrogen. In another arrangement, this gas supply is replaced by a vacuum pump and air is evacuated from the container.

  The pressurized container 1 can then be sent from the conveyor 13 to a packaging station (not shown) and packaged in a larger container for transport. To improve the seal provided by the one-way valve 8, the exterior of the valve, which may be formed of plastic material, is heated to close the central opening 10 to partially melt the plastic material. Can do.

  Another embodiment of the coating station 16 is shown in FIG. 5, in which the container 1 is passed through a curtain 21 of liquid coating material. The curtain 21 is discharged from the series of nozzles 22 and falls into the reservoir 23 and is returned to the nozzles 22 by a pump (not shown). The conveyor 13 is composed of two parts 13a and 13b, and the liquid curtain 21 falls between them. FIG. 5A shows the uncoated container 1 approaching the coating station 16 and the curtain 21 of liquid coating material. As shown in FIG. 5B, the container 1 is moved to the curtain 21 by the conveyor portion 13a, whereby the coating material from the curtain 21 is coated on all sides including the lower surface. The container 1 with the coating 6 of material from the curtain 21 then moves onto the conveyor part 13b, and FIG. 5C shows that the fully coated container 1 moves towards the valve mounting station 19 shown in FIG. It shows how to do.

  FIG. 6 shows another method for forming the coating 6 on the container 1, in which the container 1 on the conveyor part 13a is loosely pre-wrapped with a sheet 24 of plastic material in an unsealed state. Then, it falls in the tunnel 25 to which the upward flow of hot air from the blower 26 is supplied. A series of containers 1 each wrapped in a sheet 24 is fed into the upper opening 25a of the tunnel, passes through hot air onto the conveyor part 13b, falls to the tunnel opening 25b, and is shown in FIG. Sent to the mounting station 19. The container 1 falls freely under the action of gravity and passes hot air from the blower 26, and the packaging material 24 melts to form a hermetically sealed coating 6. The advantage of arranging the tunnel 25 vertically is that the container 1 is not supported by the conveyor 13 during the melting process, so that a continuous hermetic coating 6 is easily formed on the entire container 1. However, the tunnels 25 can be arranged in other ways, for example horizontal, and the conveyor can be operated therein.

  Another embodiment of a cigarette pack according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the container 1 has a structure similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and has a main body 2 and a lid 3. However, the cigarette 4 is housed in a flexible sealed bag 27 that can be pressurized. The inner packaging material 5 of the above embodiment is omitted, and the outer coating of the plastic material 6 is not used. The cigarette is placed into the plastic bag 27 through the opening at the top, and then heat sealed and closed to form the weld rib 28 along the top of the bag as shown in FIG. Next, in this example, the bag 27 is pressurized through the valve 8 arranged at the bottom of the bag. The bag 27 can be pressurized with an inert gas or filtered air by the method described above. The sealed flexible bag 27 may be made of a polymer such as polyethylene or polypropylene as described above and may contain the aforementioned additives to make the bag biodegradable. In order to make it easier for the user to open the bag and reach the cigarette 4, a weak line 29 can be formed along the top of the bag. A sharp protrusion 30 can also be provided in the container, and the user can press the pressurized bag onto the protrusion to open a hole in the bag and degas the bag. This embodiment allows cigarettes to be packaged in a conventional container 1 made of SBS board without the need for an external transparent plastic wrapping material or internal wrapping material 5, keeping the cigarette fresh, The entire package can be made biodegradable.

  Many modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the plastic material can be applied by methods other than those described, for example by dipping. Also, although the packages described above relate to tobacco industry products in the form of cigarettes, these packages can also be used for other such products and as used herein the term “tobacco industry”. "Product" means any item that is manufactured or sold in the tobacco industry, and usually the term includes a) cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipe tobacco, or hand-rolled cigarettes (tobacco derivatives). ), Expanded tobacco, based on either regenerated tobacco, or tobacco substitutes; b) snuff, snus, hard tobacco, and heat but not heat-not- burn) Tobacco products Tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or non-smoking products containing tobacco substitute; and c) an adhesive patch, an inhaler, lozenges, and include non smoking supplements and other nicotine delivery systems, such as gums. The above is not intended to be exclusive, but merely represents a range of products that are manufactured and sold in the tobacco industry.

It is a perspective view of the pack of cigarettes with the lid open. It is a perspective view corresponding to Drawing 1 in the state where a lid was closed. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pack shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus for packaging cigarettes. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the progression of a container through another form of coating station utilizing a curtain of coating material. FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a coating station utilizing a heated air tunnel. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the cigarette pack of another embodiment by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Main body 3 Lid 4 Cigarette 5 Inner packaging material 6 Coating 7 Tear strip 8 Valve 9 Main body 10 Central passage 11 Integrated one-way flap valve 12 Packaging machine 13 Conveyor 14 Direction 15 Tear strip installation station 16 Coating station 17 Reservoir 18 Spray Head 19 Valve mounting station 20 Gas supply station 21 Curtain 22 Nozzle 23 Reservoir 24 Sheet 25 Tunnel 25a Upper opening 25b Tunnel opening 26 Blower 27 Bag 28 Welding rib 29 Weak line 30 Sharp protrusion

Claims (46)

  A package comprising a hermetically sealed container (1) containing a tobacco industry product (4) and a coating of plastic material (6) applied to said container as a layer forming an airtight seal between the interior and exterior of said container .   The package according to claim 1, comprising a valve (8) for creating a pressure difference between the interior and the exterior of the container.   The package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein there is a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container.   The package according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the pressure difference includes an increase in pressure in the container.   The package of claim 3, wherein the container contains an inert gas.   The package according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising an inner packaging material (5) between the container and the tobacco product.   The package of claim 6, wherein the inner packaging material is biodegradable.   The container includes a body (2) and a lid (3) that can be opened to reach the tobacco industry product, and wherein the plastic material layer forms a seal between the body and the lid. Item 8. The package according to any one of Items 1 to 7.   The package of claim 7, comprising a line of weakness in the plastic material layer to facilitate opening of the lid.   9. Package according to claim 8, comprising a tear strip (7) for providing the line of weakness.   The package of claim 8, wherein the line of weakness comprises a line of reduced thickness in the plastic layer.   12. A package according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is made of a breathable material and the plastic layer extends over the entire outer surface of the container.   The package according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the container is made of a carton paperboard material.   14. Package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plastic layer comprises a polymer, for example polypropylene or polyethylene.   15. A package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plastic layer comprises an additive that promotes the degradation of the plastic material.   The package according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the plastic layer includes an additive that improves an airtight seal formed by the plastic material.   A method for packaging tobacco industrial products, comprising applying a coating of plastic material to a container containing tobacco products to hermetically seal the container.   The method of claim 17, comprising spray coating the exterior of the container with the plastic material.   The method of claim 17, wherein the coating is applied by passing the container through a curtain of liquid coating material.   The method of claim 17, wherein the coating is applied by packaging the container with a sheet of meltable plastic material and melting the sheet to form the coating.   21. The method of claim 20, comprising melting the packaging material by passing the container through a tunnel supplied with hot air.   The method according to claim 21, comprising the step of free-falling the container downward in the tunnel and colliding with the rising flow of hot air.   The method of claim 17, comprising immersing the container in the plastic material to form the layer.   The container includes a main body and a lid that can be opened to reach the tobacco industrial product, and the plastic material layer forms a seal between the main body and the lid, allowing the lid to be opened. 24. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising providing a line of weakness in the plastic material layer to achieve.   25. The method of claim 24, comprising providing a tear strip on the container either before or after applying the plastic layer.   26. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, comprising the step of creating a pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the container when coated with the plastic material.   27. The method of claim 26, comprising attaching a valve to the container and creating the pressure differential through the valve.   28. A method according to claim 26 or 27, comprising pumping gas into the vessel to create a positive pressure therein.   29. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 28, comprising the step of adding an additive into the plastic material to promote the degradation of the plastic material.   30. A method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, comprising the step of adding an additive into the plastic material to improve the hermetic seal formed by the plastic material.   A packaging mechanism (12) operable to package tobacco products in a container; and a coating mechanism (16, 17, 18) for coating the container with a layer of plastic material forming an airtight seal. Equipment for packaging tobacco products.   32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the coating mechanism comprises a spray coating mechanism.   31. Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the coating mechanism is operable to form a curtain (21) of liquid coating material through which the container passes.   31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the coating mechanism is operable to wrap the container with a sheet (24) of meltable plastic material and melt the sheet to form the coating.   35. Apparatus according to claim 34, comprising a tunnel (25) supplied with hot air for melting the packaging material.   36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the tunnel is arranged vertically so that the container falls freely down the tunnel and impinges on the rising hot air.   37. The apparatus according to any one of claims 30 to 36, comprising a mechanism for attaching a valve to the container for creating a pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the container.   38. The apparatus according to claim 37, comprising a gas supply (20) for pumping gas into the vessel through the valve.   38. The apparatus of claim 37, comprising a vacuum pump for evacuating gas from the vessel through the valve.   40. Apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 39, including a mechanism for attaching a tear strip to the container.   41. Apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 40 including a mechanism for forming a line of weakness in the plastic layer on the container.   A package comprising a container (1) and a tobacco product (4) in a hermetically sealed flexible bag (21) in said container.   43. Package according to claim 42, comprising a valve (8) in the bag for creating a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the bag.   44. Package according to claim 42 or 43, comprising means (24) for breaking the hermetically sealed bag so as to reach the tobacco product.   45. A package according to any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein the container is made of carton paperboard and the bag is made of a plastic material.   46. The package of any one of claims 1-16 or 42-45, wherein the tobacco industry product comprises a cigarette.