- 1 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: British American Tobacco (Germany) GmbH Actual Inventors: Alexander Schlag and Dirk Minkner and Michael Kuepper Address for Service is: SHELSTON IP 60 Margaret Street Telephone No: (02) 9777 1111 SYDNEY NSW 2000 Facsimile No. (02) 9241 4666 CCN: 3710000352 Attorney Code: SW Invention Title: TOBACCO PACKAGING FOR A PERSONAL CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING DEVICE, A SYSTEM CONSISTING OF A TOBACCO PACKAGING AND A PERSONAL CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING DEVICE AND A SUPPLYING METHOD FOR A PERSONAL CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING DEVICE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: File: 66345AUP00 2 Tobacco Packaging for a Personal Cigarette Manufacturing Device, a System Consisting of a Tobacco Packaging and a Personal Cigarette Manufacturing Device and a Supplying Method for a Personal Cigarette Manufacturing Device 5 Field of the Invention The invention relates to a tobacco packaging for a personal cigarette manufacturing device, a system consisting of such a tobacco packaging and a personal cigarette manufacturing device, and a supplying method for such a device. 0 Background of the Invention Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. 5 One specific application of the present invention is in the field of cigarette machines which are used by the consumer to manufacture individual cigarettes and/or a multitude of individual cigarettes (as a supply). Such tabletop cigarette machines are more elaborately configured than simple known filling devices, allow a greater supply of tobacco to be processed and produce generally very high-quality, personally manufactured cigarettes. .0 WO 2007/093417 discloses a device which can be used as a personal cigarette manufacturing device and uses a tobacco packaging which can be attached to the device as a separate unit, wherein latching and unlatching mechanisms are described. 25 It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. It is the object of the present invention in at least its preferred forms to provide a tobacco packaging for a personal cigarette manufacturing device and a system and method which 30 facilitate handling, in particular when supplying the device with tobacco.
3 Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a tobacco packaging for a personal cigarette manufacturing device, comprising: a cup-shaped tobacco receptacle which comprises a removable seal on its opening side; 5 an adaptor element configured to attach the packaging to the personal cigarette manufacturing device; and an unlatching element configured to unlatch a security latching on the personal cigarette manufacturing device when the packaging is attached to the manufacturing device, wherein at least one part of the unlatching element which is embodied such that it can be o detached from the tobacco packaging is connected to the seal, in order to remove it. Unlatching elements which can be at least partially detached are used in order to provide a security feature. Such unlatching elements are destroyed by being detached and make it possible to ensure that the device can only be operated with the correct, corresponding tobacco packaging, 5 so as to prevent damage to the device and to minimise the danger of injury to the end consumer which could arise if packaging which does not correspond to the device or has already been used once were used. The present invention has then recognised that the process of detaching the part of the unlatching element provided for this purpose can be combined with opening the seal, which elegantly simplifies handling. In other words, the detachable part of the unlatching element, which is connected to the seal, is provided in accordance with the invention with the function of a grip for the seal, and when removing this part, it is possible to also open and/or remove the seal with the same movement. This simplifies the handling of the tobacco packaging and the system, and configures 25 them to be more user-friendly. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the tobacco receptacle forms a cup with its opening side turned downwards, on which the attaching adaptor element and the unlatching element are arranged, wherein the attaching adaptor element can comprise a lower projecting 30 edge on the cup, in particular a guiding flange, which can then be inserted into a corresponding counter piece on the personal manufacturing device. This ensures that the tobacco packaging is correctly attached.
4 If the unlatching element is arranged on a lower edge side of the tobacco receptacle, it will advantageously pass simply into engagement with latching mechanisms attached to the device after the tobacco receptacle has been attached to the device. 5 In accordance with one embodiment in accordance with the invention, the seal comprises a removal grip portion, and the detachable part of the unlatching element is connected to this removal grip portion, such that the seal can be removed with the aid of the detachable and/or detached part which is positioned at the correct point on the seal as a "grip". 0 It is possible to provide the unlatching element with a part for holding the latch open which is connected to the tobacco receptacle, where it is designed to remain, and arranged adjacent to the detachable part. Embodying the unlatching element in two parts in this way is advantageous because it reflects the two separate functions of unlatching and holding open on the one hand, and 5 the function as a grip for the seal on the other hand, wherein it is unimportant whether the detachable part of the unlatching element itself already has an unlatching function or is correspondingly embodied. It is thus possible for the part for holding the latch open to fulfil both functions, namely that of unlatching on the one hand and the function of holding the latch open on the other hand, while the detachable part is not involved in this. On the other hand, and as 0 described in the adjoining example embodiment, the function of unlatching itself can be performed by the detachable part, while the part for holding the latch open, which remains on the tobacco packaging, then ensures that the device remains unlatched. The detachable part of the unlatching element can only be connected to the tobacco 25 receptacle via the seal. The integrity of the tobacco packaging is then established in its unused state by fixedly attaching the seal to the packaging, where the detachable part also therefore remains. In another possible embodiment, a break-off connection between the seal and the tobacco 30 receptacle is also additionally provided, and this can in particular be advantageous when the connection via the seal alone may not be rigid enough and it is necessary to provide more dimensional stability.
5 In one embodiment of the present tobacco packaging, the seal comprises a flexible protective foil which can be drawn off; it is however also possible to use any other sealing technique, for example a rigid sealing plate or covers which are destroyed when opened. 5 According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system consisting of a tobacco packaging according to the first aspect of the invention and a personal cigarette manufacturing device to which the tobacco packaging can be attached in order to supply the personal cigarette manufacturing device with tobacco, and which comprises a security latching 10 which prevents the device from being operated if it is not unlatched by means of the unlatching element of the packaging. In the system, a latch which can be shifted can be provided for the security device and is set and/or biased in its initial position such that it blocks a tobacco processing movement of the 15 device, and is shifted by its interaction with the unlatching element of the packaging, into a release position in which it allows a tobacco processing movement of the device. Another possible embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention provides for a security latching which is arranged at a point on the device at which, when the tobacco packaging 20 is attached, the security latching is initially passed by the detachable part of the unlatching element, and in particular thereby unlatched, after which it passes into engagement with a part of the unlatching element for holding the latch open, which maintains the unlatching even after the detachable part has been detached. 25 According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method for supplying a personal cigarette manufacturing device with tobacco from a tobacco packaging comprising a cup-shaped tobacco receptacle which comprises a removable seal on its opening side, an adaptor element configured to attach the packaging to the personal cigarette manufacturing device and an unlatching element configured to unlatch a security latching on the personal cigarette 30 manufacturing device when the packaging is attached to the manufacturing device, wherein once the packaging has been attached to the personal cigarette manufacturing device and the security latching has been unlatched, the seal is removed from the tobacco packaging by 6 being removed together with at least one part of the unlatching element which can be detached from the tobacco packaging and which the seal is connected to. The system in accordance with the invention and the method embodiment in accordance 5 with the invention naturally have the same advantages as have already been described above with reference to the tobacco packaging. The invention is explained below in more detail on the basis of a preferred embodiment. It can comprise any of the features described here, individually and in any expedient combination, 10 and can in particular also be regarded as the use of a described tobacco packaging with a personal cigarette manufacturing device and/or in a tobacco supplying method as respectively described here. It should also be noted that, although the present description is directed to tobacco processing in the course of personal tobacco manufacturing, the fundamental features of the invention are also applicable in processing devices for other bulk food and luxury food products. 5 Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 to 3 an embodiment of a tobacco packaging in accordance with the invention; !0 and Figures 4 and 5 inserting a tobacco packaging in accordance with the invention into a receptacle device of a personal cigarette manufacturing device with an unlatching function. 25 The tobacco packaging I shown in various views in Figures I to 3 has the shape of an inverted cup which has rounded, right-angled comers and converges slightly towards the top. The packaging - which is shown obliquely from above in Figure I, from the side in Figure 2 and obliquely from below in Figure 3 - is designed to be placed on top of a personal cigarette manufacturing device, and for this reason its opening side is situated at the bottom. Together with 30 the design which converges slightly towards the top, this ensures that the tobacco is extracted optimally and completely. The tobacco is situated in the tobacco receptacle 2 which is also 7 referred to below as the "cup". The lower end of the cup 2 has a flange 3 which projects outwards and encloses the cup 2 at the bottom on three sides, i.e. it is not provided and open on the front side, such that the tobacco packaging I can be inserted together with the flange 3 into a corresponding guide on the personal tobacco manufacturing device, wherein the two lateral 5 portions of the flange 3 support the fixed connection between the tobacco packaging and the device. In the region of its opening, the front side of the cup 2 has a fortified flange portion 4 connected to a part 5 for holding the latch open which protrudes upwards at right angles and the o function of which will be explained further below. The removable part 6 of the unlatching element 5, 6 is separated from the part 5 for holding the latch open by the gap 65 (Figure 2), wherein this wedge-shaped removable part can also be referred to as the unlatching part 6 and tapers towards the front. Its rear end is equally as high as the part 5 for holding the latch open. Figure 3 also shows how the tobacco packaging I is sealed on the underside, namely with the aid 5 of a sealing film which has been provided as a whole with the reference sign 7. The lower opening of the tobacco receptacle 2 is actually sealed by the first part 8A of the sealing film 7, which is adhered to the lower edges of the flange 3 or has been fastened by heat treatment such that it can be drawn and/or peeled off from the opening with the aid of its folded-over portion 8B which again leads towards the front. Thus, if the portion 8B is pulled in the direction of the arrow 0 at the front of the grip portion of the sealing film 7 which is marked with the reference sign 9, the actual sealing part 8A is peeled off from the underside of the flange and the tobacco provided in the cup 2 can fall out and into the personal cigarette manufacturing device, in order to be processed in the personal cigarette manufacturing device. 25 It is in particular also clear in Figure 3 that the grip portion 9 of the sealing film 7 extends both under the part 5 for holding the latch open and under the unlatching part 6 of the unlatching element 5, 6. The unlatching element, in particular including its unlatching part 6, is thus connected to the sealing film 7. 30 The unlatching part 6 can only be connected to the rest of the tobacco packaging at all via the sealing film 7; it is, however, also possible to provide break-off connections, which are shown 8 in Figure 1 and have been marked with the reference sign 21. Such connections 21 help to maintain the shape and alignment of the unlatching part 6, even in its unused state. Figures 4 and 5 then show how such a tobacco packaging 1 can co-operate with a personal 5 cigarette manufacturing device. The personal cigarette manufacturing device is not show completely here, since only its unlatching mechanism is relevant to the present description and is to be discussed. It bears the reference sign 10 as a whole and comprises a housing I I and a rotating drum 12 which can be rotated around the axis 20, wherein the tobacco is circulated in the rotating drum and prepared for portioning. 0 The rotating drum 12 has a shoulder 13 which is rotated with it and in which an engaging groove 18 (shown by a broken line in Figure 5) for a latch 14 is provided. Figure 4 shows the device in a state in which the drum 12 is prevented from rotating by the engagement of the latch; in Figure 5, the latch is shifted upwards, such that it is possible for the drum 12 to rotate. 5 The latch 14 is arranged in a cavity 17 of the housing, such that it can be shifted, and comprises a latch body 15 which has a passage opening 16. The latch is in principle biased and/or adjusted towards its latching position (Figure 4), either by gravity or by a spring force. The security latching as a whole has been provided with the reference sign 19 in Figure 4. 0 Figure 4 shows the state before a tobacco packaging I which corresponds to the device 10 is inserted, in which operating the device is not permitted because of the latching by the latch 14. In order to operate the device, the cup 2 is slid on top of the device - in the direction from left to right in Figures 4 and 5 - wherein the wedge-shaped unlatching part 6 is slid to the right, into the passage opening 16 of the latch body 15, and the latch 14 is raised due to the oblique upper edge. 25 The cup 2 is then shifted further to the right, into the security latching 19, until it is stopped by the abutment 22 and the part 5 for holding the latch open comes to rest in the passage opening 16. The latch 14 remains at the top and open in this state, and the device can be operated, i.e. the rotating drum 12 can be rotated. 30 Proceeding from the state in Figure 5, the sealing film 7 - to which the unlatching part 6, i.e. the detachable part of the unlatching element 5, 6, is fastened - can then be removed. If the part 6 is bent downwards (arrow), the break-off point 21 (or both break-off points 21) break(s) 9 first, and the part 6 can then be simply gripped by hand, in order to draw out the sealing film 7 to the right in the direction of the arrow and therefore peel it off from the lower opening. The tobacco can then fall into the rotating drum 12 and be processed. The detachable part 6 thus represents both an unlatching element and a convenient grip for opening the sealing film and thus 5 assimilates a number of functions in a synergetic way, which optimises the handling of the system. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as o opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".