R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Carl C Hein, Iii

Matthew S Koschak

Milly M Wong

Mark Stuart Powell

Roy E Yeatts

Peter P Shearer

William H Langley

A high barrier sealable packaging material and a high barrier heat sealed package for smoking articles, such as cigarettes and the like, are disclosed. The packaging material comprises a base layer of a polymeric film, such as a biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film which has been metallized on one surface thereof with a layer of metal, such as aluminum. The metallized film is then imprinted with ink with a design and/or printed matter on either the metallized or unmetallized surface. Subsequently to or concurrently with the printing, a heat seal layer is applied to the printed and/or unprinted surface for forming a heat seal about which the material is wrapped. In one embodiment, the high barrier packaging material is used as an overwrap for a cigarette package having a tear tape for removing one end of the overwrap. In another embodiment, the high barrier packaging material is used as an overwrap for a carton containing a plurality of cigarette packages and having a tear tape for removing one end of the carton overwrap.

High barrier packages for smoking articles and other products

The invention is directed to a packaging composite for barrier sealed cigarette or other smoking article packages. The composite includes a foil layer, exterior and interior skin layers of heat-sealable thermoplastic polymer, first and second biaxially oriented polypropylene homopolymer layers located between the exterior skin layers and the foil layers, and first and second adhesive layers coupling the polypropylene layers to the foil layer on each side thereof. The package laminate has a thickness of between 1.5 and 2.5 mils.

Barrier sealed packages for cigarettes and other smoking articles

Growing community of inventors

Winston-Salem, NC, United States of America

Carl C Hein, Iii