Packaged article

Claim 1

A WRAPPED PACKAGE COMPRISING: (A) A NARROW, ELONGATED, GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ARTICLE; (B) A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL, LONGITUDINALLY TEARABLE WRAPPER ENCLOSING SAID ARTICLE, THE ENDS OF SAID WRAPPER EXTENDING BEYOND THE ENDS OF SAID ARTICLE, EACH END OF SAID WRAPPER HAVING DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED END-WALL PORTIONS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY IN A SINGLE LONGITUDINAL DIAMETRAL PLANE TO PROVIDE AN END CLOSURE HAVING A SHARP CREASE ALONG EACH LATERAL EDGE; (C) A PAIR OF TEAR STRIPS ADJACENT TO THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID WRAPPER AND EXTENDING ENTIRELY THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH THEREOF, SAID TEAR STRIPS BEING DISPOSED ONE ON EACH SIDE OF SIDE WRAPPER, THOSE PORTIONS OF THE TEAR STRIPS THAT ARE NEXT TO THE SIDEWALLS OF SAID ARTICLE BEING ADJACENT TO BUT SLIGHTLY OFFSET FROM SAID DIAMETRAL PLANE, THE ENDS OF SAID TEAR STRIPS BEING SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE OPPOSED END-WALL PORTIONS OF SAID WRAPPER, LYING SUBSTANTIALLY IN SAID DIAMETRAL PLANE, AND BEING ADJACENT TO THE LATERAL EDGES OF SAID END CLOSURES; AND (D) MEANS ADHESIVELY SEALING THE OPPOSED END-WALL PORTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE ENDS OF THE WRAPPER TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE ENDS OF THE TEAR STRIPS THEREBETWEEN WHEREBY A USER MAY OPEN THE PACKAGE BY GRASPING ONE OF THE LATERAL EDGE PORTIONS OF ONE OF SAID END CLOSURES BETWEEN THE THUMB AND FOREFINGER OF ONE HAND AND THE OTHER OF THE LATERAL EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID ONE END CLOSURE BETWEEN THE THUMB AND FOREFINGER OF THE OTHER HAND WITH THE ENDS OF THE TEAR STRIPS BETWEEN SAID FINGERS OF THE RESPECTIVE HANDS, LONGITUDINALLY TEARING SAID ONE END CLOSURE BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID TEAR STRIPS, AND COMPLETING THE OPENING OF THE PACKAGE BY RIPPING ONE OF SAID TEAR STRIPS THROUGHT ONE SIDE OF SAID WRAPPER, THE OTHER OF SAID TEAR STRIPS REINFORCING THE OTHER SAID ONE END CLOSURE TO PREVENT SEVERANCE OF THE GRASPED PORTION THEREOF FROM THE WRAPPER.