US2701053A - Cigarette package with pull strip - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 1, 1955 B. J. TAMARIN CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1947 E W 5 E M D A Feb. 1, 1955 B. J. TAMARIN CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1947 ADHESIVE ADHESIVE ADHESIVE INVENTOR. fiwrzwwfiefwm 1955 B. J. TAMARIN 2,701,053

CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP Filed Feb. 3, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheezgifi mmss B. J. TAMARIN CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP Feb. 1, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 3, 1947 INVENTOR.

BY m 5 H w ATTORNEY Feb. 1, 1955 B. J. TAMARIN CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 5, 1947 IS ADHESIVE INVENTOR. Ber-M217]. 2am ri BY N %rrceg 6 Sheets-S eet 6 Pmy- 1955 B. J. TAMARIN CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP Filed Fe 3' 1947 United States Patent CIGARETTE PACKAGE WITH PULL STRIP Bernard J. Tamarin, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pa., assignor to Pull-Packaging, Inc., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 3, 1947, Serial No. 726,023

8 Claims. (Cl. 206-412) My invention relates to portable packages and it is designed to render more readily accessible cigarettes and similar rod-shaped articles enclosed in packages which are sealed when vended, and preferably to provide for the automatic withdrawal or ejection of one of the articles upon the opening of a closure of the package.

This application is, in part, a continuation of my ap plication Serial No. 467,676 for Letters Patent No. 2,415,117 granted February 4, 1947.

My invention is generally embodied in a package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes and openable by a pull strip or pull, a jacket positioning said wrapper and having an open end, and an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper enveloping said jacket and its open end to prevent inadvertent operation of the pull strip and prevent such strip from acting as a wick and extracting moisture from or introducing excess moisture into the package. It is ordinarily a somewhat slow and tedious task to extract a cigarette from such a package even when the outer wrapper is notched to facilitate tearing or even when a rip strip is interposed between the jacket and outer wrapper for severing an end or tab of the latter.

in accordance with my invention, a tab formed by the severance of a section of the outer wrapper may be pulled to make a pull strip accessible or to operate such pull strip for opening the inner wrapper and preferably for partly withdrawing a cigarette therefrom.

it is generally desirable that the pull strip be adhesively tacked to the outer wrapper, to the inner wrapper and to a cigarette, but certain of the advantages of my invention may be attained by tacking the pull strip with a cigarette or with either one of the wrappers, or with any two of these package constituents if the pull strip is looped around an appropriately cut and unfolded flap of the inner wrapper.

My invention is particularly applicable to a common form of moisture-resistant package wherein a group of cigarettes is arranged in several, and usually three, rows of unequal length and encircled by the body of an inner wrapper having end extensions forming flaps hinged to and folded down into overlapping relation with one another to form tucks and folds partly overlying the tucks and providing therewith end closures for the package. In such packages, the body and one end of the inner wrapper are usually permanently enveloped by a labeled jacket having a sealed bottom and a sealed side seam. Such jacket leaves the wrapper flaps forming the top end closure exposed and unsealed excepting for a seal spanning the top end flaps of the wrapper and secured to the sides of the jacket. The seal ordinarily consists of an internal revenue stamp. The inner wrapper and jacket are enveloped in a sealed outer wrapper formed from a tough, transparent, moisture-repellant, cellulose acetate film. A tab may be easily severed from such outer wrapper by grasping and pulling a section adjacent to a notch therein or by pulling a rip cord adjacent to a notched area.

In accordance with my invention, an end extension of the inner wrapper is slit topermit the unfolding of a flap of the end closure by a pull strip looped around such flap and anchored. Preferably, the slits are cut in the overlying flaps forming folds of the top end closure and extend from the free edges thereof to the hinge lines along which the folds are connected with the body of the inner wrapper. These slits are preferably positioned adja- 2,701,053 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 cent to the inner edge of a tuck formed by an overlaid flap of the end closure. The overlaid flap or tuck is hinged along a line extending transversely to the hinge lines of the overlying flaps or folds so that, when the overlaid flap or tuck is lifted, it lifts sections of the overlying flaps or folds from the remainder of such flaps, which are held in closed position by the seal or stamp. Preferably, an edge of the seal overlies the slits so as to yieldingly secure the separable fiap sections in folded down position.

The overlaid flap may be raised and unfolded to unfold the overlying, separated flap sections and form therewith a spout-like opening by a flexible pull strip having a section which lies between the bottoms of the overlying flap sections of folds and the top of an overlaid flap and sections or tuck, and is looped around the inner edge and across the bottom of the latter flap and anchored. Such anchorage may be to the overlaid flap or to a cigarette beneath such flap, or to both, and is preferably effected by a spot or spots of adhesive.

A section of the pull strip projecting from between the overlapped flaps preferably overlies or underlies the revenue stamp and the free or outer end of the pull strip is connected with a separable section of the outer wrapper which may be torn loose from the body of the outer wrapper by a tug on the separable section or on a rip cord encircling the wrapper.

The tab thus detached from the outer wrapper may be readily grasped and pulled to apply stress to the pull strip to position it for seizure between a finger and thumb or to apply sufiicient stress to open the inner wrapper and withdraw a cigarette therefrom. In the latter case, stress is first applied from the tab, through the pull strip, to the overlaid flap or tuck to lift and unfold such flap and, in the preferred form, also to unfold the flap sections or folds overlying it. The turning of the overlaid flap, relatively to the direction of pull, imposes a splitting action on the adhesive spot connecting the overlaid flap and pull strip and frees the latter from the flap. Continued pulling on the freed pull strip at an angle to the side of the package imposes a lifting stress on the cigarette to which the pull strip is adhesively attached and moves the cigarette rectilineally. When, however, the zone of adhesive attachment of the pull strip to the cigarette rises to the top of the inner wrapper body, the continued stress on the pull strip splits the spot of adhesive connecting the cigarette with the pull strip and frees the latter from the cigarette. The cigarette is thus left partially projecting from the spout formed by the opened flaps, so that it can be readily grasped and withdrawn but will not fall from the package.

It will, however, be understood that the pull strip may be attached to the outer wrapper tab and to the overlaid flap only and not to the cigarette if it is desired to merely open the package without simultaneously withdrawing a cigarette. Likewise, the pull strip may be attached to the cigarette only and merely looped around the flap, without adhesive attachment thereto, if the flaps are sufiiciently yielding to be displaced by the stress imparted to the pull strip between the cigarette and the point of application of force at the pull tab. If the pull strip and inner wrapper tuck are composed of friction tape, the pull strip need only be looped around the tuck and attached to the outer wrapper.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive illustrate diagrammatically the sequential steps involved in the opening of and withdrawal of a cigarette from a cigarette package embodying a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary, broken perspective view of the cigarette package shown in Figs. 1 to 8, before the opening thereof; Fig. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary, broken, perspective view of the cigarette package shown in Fig. 9, with the tab formed from the outer wrapper in position to be pulled to open the inner wrapper and withdraw a cigarette; Fig. 11 is an enlarged. broken, perspective view illustrating the splitting of the pull strip from a partly withdrawn cigarette; Fig. 12 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the cigarette package with a cigarette partly withdrawn through a spout to permit grasping it by the fingers; Fig. 13 is a plan view showing the slitting and scoring of the inner wrapper of the package shown in Figs. 1 to 12; Fig. 14 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating a modification in which the pull strip underlies the sealing stamp before attachment to the tab section of the outer wrapper; Fig. 15 is a top plan view illustrating a modified form of outer Wrapper; Figs. 16 to 21 illustrates diagrammatically a sequence of steps for opening, and withdrawing a cigarette from, a package having the modified outer wrapper shown in Fig. 15; Fig. 22 is a plan view of a slit and scored blank for forming a modified inner wrapper; and Fig. 23 illustrates the folding of the blank of Fig. 22 to form a modified inner wrapper.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, three rows a, b, c, of cigarettes (Fig. 6) are encircled by the body 1 (Figs. 9, ll, 13) of an inner wrapper composed of sheet material, such as laminated paper and foil. End extensions 2 are hinged to the bottom of the body 1 and are tucked and folded in the usual manner to provide a bottom closure.

The inner wrapper body 1 and bottom flaps 2 are held folded about the group of cigarettes by a labeled jacket 3 having a usual sealed vertical seam and a sealed bottom closure formed from overlapped flaps in a usual manner and forming no part of the present invention.

The side, front and back members of the inner wrapper body 1 have top end extensions 4, 5, 6 and 7, forming flaps hinged to the body 1 along creases 8, 9, 10 and 11, located adjacent to the top edge of the jacket 3. The extensions 4 and 5 are folded over and lie against the tops of the cigarettes and form tucks which are overlaid by, and have their lateral areas integrally connected with (Figs. 8, 11) folds formed by the extensions 6 and 7, the fold formed by the extension 7 overlapping the fold formed by flap 6.

A seal 12 such as, for instance, a revenue stamp, tautly spans the top closure of the inner wrapper and has its ends adhesively fixed to the sides of the jacket 3.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 21, the extensions 6 and 7 contain slits 13 and 14 extending from their free edges to, but not beyond, the creases 10 and 11. The slits 13 and 14 are so positioned and disposed relatively to one another that, when the extensions 6 and 7 are folded down, the slits extend from points of intersection of the creases 10 and 11 with the edge 12 of the seal 12 diagonally inward under the seal 12. The slits 13 and 14 cross one another beneath the seal 12, as indicated particularly in Figures 4, 9 and 15, and divide the sections 6 and 7' from the main portions of the extensions 6 and 7 along lines adjacent to the inner edge 4' of the tuck member 4 (Figs. 9 and 10).

In lieu of providing two slits 13 and 14 in the end extensions 6 and 7 of the wrapper 1 and folding the body of the wrapper around the cigarettes so as to bring these slits opposite to one another, as shown in Figs. 1-21, the end extension 7 of the wrapper 1 may be provided with a single slit'14, as shown in Fig. 22, and the body of the wrapper wrapped around the cigarettes so as to position this slit 14' opposite to the vertical joint between the edges 13' and 13 of the wrapper 1. This joint is left unsealed above the jacket 3 so that the top end extensions 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the wrapper may be tucked and folded and sections 6' and 7' thereof unfolded in the same manner as illustrated in Figs. 1-21.

The folded over sections 6' and 7' are lightly and yieldingly held in place by having their flaring inner edges overlapped by the edge section 12' of the seal 12 (Fig. 4), and such seal 12 securely holds down the main bodies of the folds formed by the extensions 6 and 7. The seal is generally tacked by adhesive to these main bodies of the folds formed by the extensions 6 and 7, but is preferably not tacked by adhesive to the sections 6' and 7.

A pull strip 15 is anchored by a spot of adhesive 16 (Figs. 9 and 10) to an end cigarette a of the central, short row a, beneath the tuck 4. The pull strip preferably consists of laminated narrow strips of flexible, transparent sheet material, such as cellulose acetate film, and may have an advertising slogan or directions printed in the inner surface of one of the laminated strips.

By reason of the arrangement of the group of cigarettes in parallel rows containing unequal numbers of units, the cigarette a is spaced slightly from the adjacent side of the wrapper body 1, thereby providing space between the side of the wrapper 1 and the cigarette a for the movement of the strip 15 without substantial frictional engagement of the pull strip 15 with the side of the wrapper. The cigarette a is movable rectilinearly in slideways formed on either side thereof by cigarettes of the rows b and c, as illustrated in Figs. 6, 8 and 11. The pull strip 15 is tacked by the adhesive spot 16 to the cigarette a intermediate the ends of the latter and preferably within a central portion of the cigarette not exceeding in length approximately three-fifths of the length of the cigarette, so as to avoid complete ejection of the cigarette from the package.

The pull strip 15 extends from its point of attachment to the cigarette :1 (Figs. 9, 10) upwardly along the cigarette a, is then bent inwardly over the tops of adjacent cigarettes of row a, is bent around the edge 4, and extended reversely over the top of the tuck 4, to which the pull strip 15 may be attached by an adhesive spot 17. Hence the pull strip is normally held in place by being looped around the tuck 4 and partially overlaid by the fold sections 6' and 7', and the latter are yieldingly secured by the edge section of the seal 12.

As illustrated in Fig. 23, there may be substituted for the narrow tape 15 a wide strip 15' connected by adhesive spots 16' with several cigarettes and by an adhesive spot 17' with the tuck 4.

A portion of the pull strip 15 extends beyond the outer diagonal edges of the fold sections 6' and 7 and overlies the stamp 12, as shown in Figs. 1-13 and 15-21, or may underlie such stamp 12 as shown in Fig. 14.

The package formed as above described is completely enveloped in an outer wrapper 18 having sealed bottom and side joints and preferably composed of a tough, transparent, moisture-resistant film of cellulose acetate.

In the embodiments of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 14, the side, front and back members of the outer wrapper 18 have top end extensions 19, 20, 21, 22, forming flaps hinged to the outer wrapper body along creases located adjacent to the creases 8, 9, 10, 11. The extensions 19 and 20 are folded over and lie against the top of the inner wraper 1 and form tucks which are overlaid by, and have their lateral areas integrally connected with, folds formed by the extensions 21, 22; the fold formed by the extension 22 overlapping the fold formed by the extension 21.

The flaps 19, 20, 21, 22 are sealed together and to the pull 15, preferably by fusion resulting from the application of heat to the top of the package. If desired, an adhesive may be substituted for fusion to cause the flaps 19--21 and pull 15 or 15' to adhere together.

A rip tape or ripper 23 encircles the jacket 3 adjacent to the top thereof and has an end 24 projecting through the sealed joint between the vertical edges of the wrapper 18 between notches 25 therein. When the end 24 of the ripper 23 is pulled, it severs the top of the body of the wrapper 18 and the flaps 19-21 from the remainder of the body of the wrapper 18 to form a pull tab connected with the pull 15, so that stress may be readily applied to the pull 15 to unfold the tuck 4 and the fold sections 6' and 7' and withdraw the cigarette a, as indicated in the drawings.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 15-21, the cellulose acetate film wrapper 18 has upper end extensions 19', 20', 21' and 22', which are tucked and folded similarly to the tucking and folding of the extensions 19, 20, 21 and 22, excepting that the tucks 19' and 20' extend substantially to the center of the top and the fold 22 projects beyond the edge of the package and contains a notch 25' midway of the width of its pro ecting section.

The flaps 19', 20', 21' and 22 are bonded together and the tuck 19' is bonded to the pull 15 which projects slightly under the tuck 20'.

When the fold 22 is ripped crosswise from the notch 25' and unfolded, it pulls up the tuck 19 connected therewith along the crease 19" and this movement draws the pull 15 from beneath the tuck 20 and raises the pull 15 to an upright position transverse to the package top. In this position, the end of the pull 15 may be readily grasped to apply stress to the pull either by seizing the upstanding end of the pull or by seizing the detached fragment 19', 22 of the outer wrapper if this has adhered to the pull.

When stress is applied to the pull 15, directly by the fingers or through a pull tab formed from a top section of the wrapper 18, the stress on the body of the pull 15 1s, initially, substantially in the plane of the adhesive spot 17 (Fig. 4). Against such a stress, the adhesive spot has sufficient tenacity to cause the tuck 4 to be partially lifted (Fig. 5) and turned about the crease 8 (Fig. 6). The lifting of the inner end of the tuck 4 eflects the withdrawal of the flaring edges of the fold sections 6' and 7' (Fig. 5) from beneath the seal 12, and causes the unfolding of the sections 6' and 7' along their creases 10 and 11. As the tuck 4 turns on its crease 8, the stress on the pull exerts a splitting action on the adhesive spot 17 sufficient to break the pull 15 loose from the tuck 4 (Fig. 6). This permits the flexible pull 15 to slide relatively to the edge 4' of the tuck 4, with consequent crumpling of the latter (Fig. 12) and the application of stress from the pull strip rectilineally to the cigarette a; the stress at the adhesive spot 16 being substantially in the direction of the plane of the spot of adhesive (Fig. 6). The rectilineal stress causes the cigarette a to rise through the spout formed by the unfolded members 4, 6' and 7 until the adhesive spot 16 reaches the top of the wrapper body 1. In this position of the cigarette, the pull on the strip 15 angularly from the package (Fig. 11) exerts a splitting action on the adhesive spot 16 sufficient to separate the pull 15 from the cigarette a and leave the latter projected approximately halfway from the package (Fig. 12). The cigarette a may then be manually withdrawn. The space left by such withdrawal (Fig. 8) sufiiciently loosens the group of cigarettes to permit the withdrawal of the remainder of them one at a time.

If it is not desired to dispense the entire group of cigarettes one at a time, the members 4, 6' and 7 may be folded down to re-close the package or may, if desired, be torn away along the creases 8, 10 and 11, to leave an open access aperture, as shown in Fig. 8.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper enveloping said jacket and its open end, a flexible pull strip attached to one of said cigarettes, to the inner wrapper and to the outer wrapper, and a tear strip between the jacket and outer wrapper for severing from the latter the portion thereof to which said pull strip is attached, said inner wrapper having an end closure adjacent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip is looped between its connections with said cigarette and outer wrapper, said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of said last named extensions.

2. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper, and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper enveloping said jacket and its open end, a flexible pull strip attached to the inner wrapper and to the outer wrapper, and a tear strip between the jacket and outer wrapper for severing from the latter the portion thereof to which said pull strip is attached, said inner wrapper having an end closure adjacent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip is looped, said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sec tions folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of said last named extensions.

3. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper, and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper enveloping said jacket and its open end; a flexible pull strip attached to one of said cigarettes and to the outer wrapper, and a tear strip between the jacket and outer wrapper for severing from the latter the portion thereof to which said pull strip is attached, said inner wrapper having an end closure adjacent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip is looped between its connections with said cigarette and outer wrapper, said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of said last named extensions.

4. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning sa1d wrapper, and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper enveloping said acket and its open end; said inner wrapper having an end closure ad acent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which sa1d pull strip is looped between its connections with sa1d cigarette and inner wrapper, a flexible pull str1p detachably bonded to said tuck and to an intermediate portion of one of said cigarettes and extending along a portion only of the length thereof said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of said last named extensions.

5. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper, a flexible pull strip attached to one of said cigarettes, to the inner wrapper and to the outer wrapper, said inner wrapper having an end closure adjacent to the open end of said acket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip is looped between its connections with said cigarette and outer wrapper, said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of sa1d last named extensions, and said outer wrapper having an end closure overlying the end closure of the inner wrapper and having a notch for facilitating the severance of a section of said outer wrapper including the point of attachment of the pull strip to the outer wrapper and affording access to such pull strip.

6. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper, a flexible pull strip attached to the inner wrapper and to the outer wrapper, said inner wrapper having an end closure adacent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of sa1d acket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip 18 looped, said end closure also including inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfoldlng the remainder of said last named extensions, and sa1d outer wrapper having an end closure overlying the end closure of the inner wrapper and. having a notch for facilitating the severance of a section of said outer wrapper including the point of attachment of the pull strlp to the outer Wrapper and affording access to such pull strip. a

7. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper enveloping said cigarettes, a jacket positioning said wrapper and having an open end, an outer moisture repellant and sealed wrapper, a flexible pull strip attached to one of said cigarettes, and to the outer wrapper, said inner wrapper having an. end closure adjacent to the open end of said jacket and including an inner wrapper extension folded along the open end of said jacket to form a hinged tuck around which said pull strip is looped between its connections with said cigarette and outer wrapper, said end closure also ineluding inner wrapper extensions having separable sections folded over part of said tuck and unfoldable therefrom without unfolding the remainder of said last named extensions, and said outer wrapper having an end closure overlying the end closure of the inner wrapper and having a notch for facilitating the severance of a section of said outer wrapper including the point of attachment of the pull strip to the outer wrapper and affording access to such pull strip.

8. A package comprising a group of cigarettes, an inner wrapper encircling said group and having an end closure comprising hinged extensions of said wrapper overlapped upon one another, a moisture-resistant casing enclosing said cigarettes and wrapper, and a flexible pull having an inner end tacked to one of said cigarettes,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bard Dec. 9, 1919 Cadmus June 14, 1921 Rauber et a1. Oct. 11, 1932 Koch Jan. 31, 1933 Stevenson Nov. 7, 1933 Wall Aug. 14, 1934 Luckett Dec. 31, 1935 Tamarin Sept. 13, 1938 Austin et a1. Oct. 7, 1941 Stephano May 12, 1942 Tamarin June 8, 1943 Crommey Feb. 29, 1944 West Apr. 25, 1944 Suskowitz June 27, 1944 Tamarin Feb. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany June 11, 1937

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