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US 5,476,354 AGranted
Method and apparatus for opening soft-cup cigarette packs
AssigneeBrown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
InventorsWallace O. Crain, Stephen E. Fischer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for opening soft-cup packs of cigarettes. In progressive stages, the cellophane wrapper top and the pack closure strip are cut, the cellophane wrapper top piece is removed, the remaining cellophane is removed, the soft-cup is removed, and the foil bundle containing the cigarettes is raked open and the cigarettes removed. Various conveyors move the packs through the stages.
Claims10
An apparatus for opening packages of cigarettes, comprising:
- means for individually conveying packages of cigarettes, said packs having an outer cellophane wrapper circumscribing a soft-cup pack, said soft-cup pack having therein a foil wrapper having a plurality of cigarettes therein;
- said cellophane wrapper having a lap along a side of said cellophane wrapper and said soft-cup pack having opposing sides being connected by a closure strip passing across said foil wrapper;
- means for providing said packages of cigarettes in a proper alignment for opening said packs;
- means for cutting said closure strip;
- means for removing said cellophane wrapper;
- means for removing said soft-cup pack;
- means for opening said foil wrapper and separating said cigarettes;
- said means for individually conveying said packages including means to feed said packages to said means for cutting said closure strip, to said means for removing said cellophane wrapper, to said means for removing said soft-cup pack, and to said means for opening said foil wrapper and separating said cigarettes.
5 more elements
A method for opening soft-cup cigarette packs, comprising the steps of:
- a. cutting through a cellophane wrapper of a soft-cup cigarette pack having a plurality of cigarettes contained therein and cutting a closure strip of said pack;
- b. removing and discarding said cellophane wrapper from said pack, leaving said plurality of cigarettes contained in a foil wrapper and partway surrounded by a soft-cup, said foil wrapper having a lap;
- c. removing and discarding said soft-cup, leaving said plurality of cigarettes contained in said foil wrapper;
- and
- d. brushing open said foil wrapper at said foil wrapper lap, separating said plurality of cigarettes from said foil wrapper, and discarding said foil wrapper.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.