Cigarette pack made from plastic film

Abstract

A cigarette pack is described which is made from a thermoplastic film. In addition, an opening device for opening cigarette film packs made from thermoplastics and a process for the production of an opening device are described.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A cigarette pack consisting essentially of a thermoplastic film.  
     
     
         2 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film comprises a polypropylene film.  
     
     
         3 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film thickness is from about 20 μm to 200 μm.  
     
     
         4 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film comprises an opaque polypropylene film.  
     
     
         5 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film comprises a transparent polypropylene film.  
     
     
         6 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film has a multilayer structure.  
     
     
         7 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 6   , wherein the multilayered structure is a two-layer, three-layer, four-layer or five-layer structure.  
     
     
         8 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein the film is printed.  
     
     
         9 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 1   , wherein said cigarette pack further is provided with a device comprising a thermoplastic tape disposed on the side of the pack exposed to the atmosphere with a tab at the end of said tape, wherein the tape is fixed in place over a nominal tear point in the thermoplastic film at the point intended for opening.  
     
     
         10 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 9   , wherein the tape is made of a thermoplastic material.  
     
     
         11 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 9   , wherein the tape is fixed in place by an adhesion-promoting layer.  
     
     
         12 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 9   , wherein the tape is fixed in place by heat-sealing.  
     
     
         13 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 9   , wherein the tab is stamped out over a cut edge of a blank.  
     
     
         14 . A cigarette pack as claimed in    claim 9   , wherein the tab is produced by a two-stage stamping process.  
     
     
         15 . An opening device for opening film packs made from a thermoplastic material, comprising a thermoplastic tape disposed on the side of the pack exposed to the atmosphere is provided at its end with a tab, and the thermoplastic tape is fixed in place over a nominal tear point in the film forming the pack.  
     
     
         16 . An opening device as claimed in    claim 15   , wherein the tape is a self-adhesive tape.  
     
     
         17 . A process for the production of an opening device, which comprises the following steps: 
 (a) applying a nominal tear point in a film in the form of a blank for a cigarette pack at a suitable point on the side of the pack which will be exposed to the atmosphere;    (b) disposing a thermoplastic tape over the nominal tear point;    (c) fixing the tape in position over said nominal tear point; and    (d) trimming the pack blank by means of a cut edge which is not a straight line.    
     
     
         18 . The process as claimed in    claim 17   , wherein the tape is a self-adhesive tape.  
     
     
         19 . The process as claimed in    claim 17   , further comprising applying a stamping which combines with the cut edge to produce a tab before application of the nominal tear point.  
     
     
         20 . The process as claimed in    claim 17   , further comprising applying a stamping which combines with the cut edge to produce a tab after application of the nominal tear point.  
     
     
         21 . A cigarette pack comprising a plurality of cigarettes wrapped in a material consisting essentially of a thermoplastic film.