Philip Morris Inc.

Donald H Evers

Robert E Talley

Reginald W Newsome

James A DeBlasio

Christopher N Chance

William C Harris, Jr

Michael A Kirby, Sr

John Mathew Adams

Xuan M Pham

David L Roberts

Donald L Brookman

Charles D Hansen

James B Draucker

Susan J Douglas

Pamela D Moore

William J Rech

William P Taylor

Edward J Woolridge

James A BeBlasio

Front opening cigarette box

A front opening cigarette box comprises a container portion and an integral cover portion which articulates between opened and closed positions. The container portion includes a front face, a rear face generally parallel to the front face, a bottom face, and spaced apart side walls interconnecting the front and rear faces. The cover portion includes a front face that fully covers the container portion when the cover portion is in its closed position. The cover portion also includes top and bottom faces, and a rear face contiguous with and forming a continuation of the rear face of the container portion when the cover portion is in its closed position. Spaced apart side walls on the cover portion interconnect the front and rear faces thereof. A hinge line extends between the rear faces of the container and cover portions, and the cover portion articulates about that hinge line between its opened and closed positions. Such front opening cigarette box provides easy access to the individual cigarettes within the container portion and total access to the upper ends of the individual cigarettes when the cover portion is in its opened position.

A cigarette package comprises a plurality of packs, and a binder member bonded to adjoining edge faces of the packs. A releasable retainer normally holds the packs together. Upon release of the retainer, the packs can be fanned-out about axes coinciding with adjoining corners of the packs. Any number of the packs can be detached by the user for individual use.

Packaging for articles such as cigarettes

A half-carton container for cigarette packs, formed from a unitary blank, having windows formed in a first wall to display and facilitate the removal of the contained goods and having partitions hingedly attached to the first wall and secured to a second wall to support the half-carton structure and to partition and hold in place the contained goods. The half-carton container can be paired with another half-carton by attachment or by placing in a full-carton container such that they can be tax-stamped as a pair and later easily separated for sale as independent units.

Half-carton structure and method of forming same

A limited-life reusable hard pack for encasing a soft pack of cigarette. The reusable hard pack permits easy access to the cigarette by the feature of a sliceable interior wall attached to a pivotable bottom wall that when moved relative to the exterior walls of the hard pack pushes the soft pack upward and beyond the top of the hard pack. An overhang on a top wall extends across and beyond one side wall to prevent the bottom wall from pivoting downward, beyond the bottom plane of the hard pack. The opposite side of the top wall leaves a gap through which cigarette may be removed without opening to top closure. One such hard pack is collapsed and inserted into a standard ten-pack carton.

Reusable hard-pack cigarette case and blank therefor

A cigarette carton comprising two half-carton sections, each containing five cigarette packs, which may be sold as one standard ten-pack cigarette carton or may be separated and sold as individual half-cartons. The dual half-carton configuration permits the use of existing tax-stamping machines without any modifications. The dual half-carton unit is formed from a single blank and is detachably connected along a perforated line running along the top of the interior walls of each half-carton section, extending from one side wall to the other. Each half-carton section contains a top closure attached to the external hull that may be closed to encase the five cigarette packs in that half-carton section by tucking a tuck portion into the interior of the box along the inside of that half-carton section's interior wall. The top portion of the interior walls may be folded away from each half-carton section to which they are attached to create a space in which each tuck portion may be inserted.

Tax-stampable half-carton

A method of attaching two containers wherein two containers faced toward each other are secured by cooperation of at least one tab on the front wall of one container and at least one slot on the front wall of the other container, and the dual container structure formed thereby. The slot and tab act to securely attach the two containers such that the containers may easily be separated for later sale as independent units.

Dual half-carton structure and method of forming same

A box-like cigarette pack includes a lid with a tab that extends below the bottom of the lid. All or part of the tab may be made readily removable by providing a line of weakness between the removable tab and the remainder of the lid. The tab may be printed or embossed with any desired information and may form a coupon or coupon-like article when removed. Until removed, the tab may be somewhat of an impediment to easy removal of cigarettes or reclosure of the pack, thereby prompting the consumer to remove the tab as intended.

Hinged lid box with attached pop-out coupon

A dual carton formed from two cartons each having at least one pair of opposed top flaps. One carton has an extended top flap which extends over the other carton when the cartons are positioned adjacent one another such that the extended top flap may be secured to the top flaps of the other carton to thereby join the two cartons to form a dual carton. The extended portion of the extended top flap is joined to the remainder of the extended top flap along a weakened line to facilitate later separation of the two joined cartons. The dual carton may be a cigarette carton of dimensions compatible with tax-stamping machinery and temporarily sealed in such a manner as to facilitate the opening and later resealing of the carton for tax-stamping purposes.

Dual carton

A method of attaching two containers wherein a releasable attachment insert is placed during assembly between the side walls and side flaps at each end of two containers faced toward each other, and the dual container structure formed thereby. The insert acts to securely attach the two containers such that they may easily be separated for later sale as independent units.

Method of attaching two half-cartons and the product

A box-like cigarette pack has an innerframe which initially extends upward into what is normally a cutout in the front of the innerframe. This extension may then continue over the top of the cigarettes in the pack. The innerframe is weakened along the line which normally defines the cutout. When the consumer first opens the pack, he or she can remove the innerframe extension by tearing or separating along this line of weakening. Thereafter, the pack is like a normal pack. Additional information can be printed on the removable portion or portions of the innerframe. If provided, the portion which initially extends over the cigarette tops is a convenient size for use as a coupon or the like.

Cigarette pack with partly removable innerframe

A cigarette carton formed from a blank in which the front and rear long walls of the carton are joined along a side wall instead of along a top or bottom wall. The carton thus has two sets of closure flaps, one set along the top end and another set along the bottom end. At least one set of closure flaps is a set of lap flaps, which are easily opened by a tax-stamping machine and easily closed by a machine. Preferably the other set of closure flaps is a tuck-in flap which is easily openable and reclosable by a consumer. Also disclosed is a multiple unit carton formed by applying adhesive bearing carrier means across top and bottom walls of the adjoining cartons. The multiple unit carton may be separated by a retailer or consumer for purchase of the individual component cartons.

Easily sealable, openable, and reclosable carton

A cigarette carton comprising two half-cartons, each containing five cigarette packs, which may be sold as one standard 10-pack cigarette carton or may be separated and sold as individual half-cartons. The dual half-carton configuration permits the use of existing tax-stamping machines without significant modifications. Each half-carton is formed from a single blank and has a perforated extension tab extending from one side wall, and a top closure. Two half-cartons are joined together by positioning the walls from which the top closures are foldably attached remote from each other and by gluing each extension tab to the side wall of the other half-carton.

A dual cigarette carton formed from two substantially identical single cigarette cartons. The two cartons are connected along their front walls, which face one another, with releasable adhesive, and along their bottom walls with a label such that the two cartons remain securely connected when in the dual carton configuration and hence can be processed for tax-stamping through standard machinery and distributed to the consumer as a dual unit. The cartons can readily be separated by the consumer for the sale of an individual carton.

Two cartons joined as a single unit separable into two single cartons

A carton having a tuck-in flap extending from each wall which travels substantially parallel to the path of travel through a tax-stamping machine. At least one tuck-in flap is provided with a tapered tuck-in portion which is positioned and dimensioned so that the hold-down guide positioned to hold down the shorter of a pair of lap flaps of a conventional cigarette carton will hold down the tuck-in flap having the taper as if it were a short lap flap. Moreover, the longer portion of the tapered tuck-in flap is properly held down as well, without being snagged by the hold-down guide. An additional extension panel may be provided along the free edge of the tuck-in portion of either or both tuck-in flaps. The tuck-in portion may be folded under the top closure portion of the tuck-in flap, and the additional extension panel tucked between the cigarette packs in the carton and the wall from which the folded tuck-in flap extends. The folded tuck-in flap thus resembles a short lap flap which may be sufficiently held down by the hold-down guide for a short lap flap.

Growing community of inventors

Richmond, VA, United States of America

Donald H Evers