Patents Examined by Dionne W. Mayes
  • Patent number: 10952468
    Abstract: A nicotine salt liquid formulation for generating an inhalable aerosol in an electronic cigarette comprising nicotine salt that forms about 0.5% to about 20% nicotine is provide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: JUUL LABS, INC.
    Inventors: Adam Bowen, Chenyue Xing
  • Patent number: 10952477
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette includes a shell and a mouthpiece. The external wall of the shell has an air inlet. An atomizer and a liquid-supply are in contact with each other. The air inlet, atomizer, and an aerosol passage are interconnected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: FONTEM HOLDINGS 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Lik Hon
  • Patent number: 10918129
    Abstract: A filter segment for use in a filter of a smoking article includes a substrate loaded with at least one smoke-modifying agent. The substrate is located within the body of the filter segment and is formed from filter plug wrap having an air permeability ranging from about 6,000 Coresta units to about 24,000 Coresta units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc.
    Inventors: Clement Besso, Charles Kuersteiner
  • Patent number: 10906726
    Abstract: A dispensing system for a tobacco-related product is provided, including a tubular member having a dispensing end, and a heterogeneous tobacco-related product received within the tubular member. A dispensing mechanism is operably engaged with the tubular member, and is configured to direct an amount of the heterogeneous tobacco-related product outwardly of the tubular member through the dispensing end for consumption by a user. An associated method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Jeremy Barrett Mabe, Darrell Eugene Holton, Jr., Daniel Verdin Cantrell, Barry Smith Fagg
  • Patent number: 10905154
    Abstract: A cigarette wrapper includes transversely extending banded regions applied by a printing technique, such as gravure printing. The banded regions may be applied in a one or more application of a printing composition that may be an aqueous starch solution also containing an anti-wrinkling agent such as propylene glycol, and calcium carbonate. The pattern of banded regions may be bands or stripes and the like along and/or around the tobacco rod. The banded regions may be solid or contain any number of cross-web and/or longitudinal discontinuities. The pattern may be configured so that when a smoking article is placed on a substrate, at least two longitudinal locations along the length of the tobacco rod have film-forming compound located only on sides of the smoking article not in contact with the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Timothy S. Sherwood, Robert N. Smith, Marc W. Rose, Tyrone W. Murray
  • Patent number: 10881132
    Abstract: The invention provides a smokeless tobacco composition adapted for oral use, the composition including a tobacco material and an effervescent material. The effervescent material includes a sugar material containing an entrapped gaseous component, such that release of the entrapped gaseous component occurs upon dissolution of the sugar material in the oral cavity. The invention also provides a method for making a smokeless tobacco composition that involves mixing a tobacco material with an effervescent material, the mixing step including either admixing a granulated composition comprising a tobacco material with a gasified sugar material in particulate form, or forming a gasified sugar material in situ by mixing a water source with a molten composition comprising a tobacco material and a sugar alcohol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: John-Paul Mua, Eric Taylor Hunt
  • Patent number: 10834956
    Abstract: The invention relates to a homogenized tobacco sheet production line comprising: ?A tank (501) adapted to contain a slurry formed by a tobacco powder blend, a binder and an aerosol former in an aqueous medium; ?A cast apparatus (600) adapted to receive slurry from the tank and to cast the slurry so as to form a homogenized tobacco material; ?A movable transporting support (606) on which said slurry is casted and adapted to transport the homogenized tobacco material along a transport direction; ?A slitter (611) located downstream the cast apparatus adapted to slit the homogenized tobacco material along the transport direction so as to form portioned homogenized tobacco sheets; and ?A winding station (613) located downstream the slitter adapted to receive the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets from the slitter and to wind at least one of the portioned homogenized tobacco sheets in a bobbin. It also relates to a method for inline production of a homogenized tobacco sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
    Inventor: Francisco Rosado
  • Patent number: 10791757
    Abstract: A plant material assembly for separating cannabis plant material is provided having a plant material hopper configured to receive the cannabis plant material and feed the cannabis plant material to a plant material separator. The plant material separator is configured to separate undesirable plant material from desirable plant material by using a first roller, a second roller, and a third roller. The first roller and the second roller separating the cannabis plant material into the desirable plant material and the undesirable plant material by sending the desirable plant material in a first directional path and the undesirable plant material in a second directional path. Next, the third roller is used in relation to the first roller and the second roller, wherein the third roller redirects the undesirable plant material from the second directional path into a third directional path and finally into a catch depository.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: LFT Technologies Corp
    Inventors: Yao Wu Ma, Calvin Tse, Donny Sun, Xiaochen Ji
  • Patent number: 10791756
    Abstract: The invention relates to a reconstituted tobacco sheet having a basis weight of less than about about 230 grams per square metre and comprising tobacco stem or tobacco stalk refined fibres having an average length of at least about 200 micrometres and tobacco cast leaf material. There is further provided a method of making a reconstituted tobacco sheet, the method comprising providing tobacco stems and conditioning the tobacco stems such that their moisture content is increased to at least about 40% Oven Volatiles (OV). The tobacco stems are processed in a twin screw extruder to so as to obtain a pulp suspension having a Schop-per-Riegler index of at least about 30 degrees and comprising tobacco stem or tobacco stalk refined fibres having an average length of at least about 200 micrometres. This pulp suspension is combined with tobacco cast leaf material to obtain a slurry and a sheet is formed from this slurry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Philip Morris Products S.A.
    Inventors: Fabien Zuchuat, Alen Kadiric
  • Patent number: 10786006
    Abstract: A vaporization apparatus configured to support a vaporization rig and a heating element, comprises a body including a back end, a front end, and a top surface. The front end includes a hole that extends towards the back end, the hole being configured to support the heating element. The top surface defines a receptacle sized to support the vaporization rig, the hole and the receptacle being positioned to align a heatable portion of the vaporization rig with a heat generating portion of the heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Inventor: Rodrigo Escorcio Santos
  • Patent number: 10772349
    Abstract: A method of preparing a whitened tobacco material is provided, the method including the steps of (i) extracting a tobacco material with an aqueous solution to give a tobacco pulp and a tobacco extract; (ii) treating the tobacco pulp with at least one of a caustic reagent and an oxidizing agent for a time and at a temperature sufficient to lighten the color of the tobacco pulp to give a whitened tobacco pulp; (iii) clarifying the tobacco extract to remove higher molecular weight components; and (iv) combining the whitened tobacco pulp with a clarified tobacco extract to form a whitened tobacco material. The whitened tobacco material can be isolated and incorporated into a smokeless tobacco product. The invention also provides a smokeless tobacco product incorporating a whitened tobacco material. The smokeless tobacco product may be a snus-type formulation contained within a sealed pouch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Dwayne William Beeson, Jack Gray Flinchum, Jr., Huamin Gan
  • Patent number: 10710756
    Abstract: A smoking article provides a purchased, as-built cigar that can be disassembled to form multiple cigars, enabling a consumer to make his or her own cigars using custom tobacco filler. The as-built cigar is capped as part of its construction, preferably at one end or at both ends. A smoker removes the cap or caps to enable smoking of the as-built cigar or disassembly into layers. Each layer can then be rolled with a smoker's custom tobacco. The inner layer contains tobacco filler. Upon disassembly, the inner layer and tobacco filler can be smoked. Alternatively, the inner layer can be pulled apart at a provided serration to discard the tobacco filler and then filled and rolled with a smoker's custom tobacco filler material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Blunt Wrap U.S.A., Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel S. Sinclair, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10701982
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette includes a shell and a mouthpiece. The external wall of the shell has an air inlet. An atomizer and a liquid-supply are in contact with each other. The air inlet, atomizer, and an aerosol passage are interconnected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: FONTEM HOLDINGS 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Lik Hon
  • Patent number: 10701969
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an inhaler component including a housing with a housing cover; a mouthpiece with a mouthpiece opening for supplying an inhalable medium into the oral cavity of a user; and a flavor reservoir communicable with the environment by diffusion, containing a flavor, wherein the flavor reservoir is formed from a porous body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: BATMARK LIMITED
    Inventor: Helmut Buchberger
  • Patent number: 10688900
    Abstract: A portable cigar holder for holding both a lit cigar and an extinguished stub at the same time, configured to be mounted on a support in moving vehicle. The cigar holder comprises a vertical heat-resistant rubber tube with a resilient tubular sidewall and an open upper end, a metal cup connected to or inserted in a lower end of the tube, and a pair of splits formed in opposing sides of the resilient sidewall. The splits define horizontally spaced vertical cigar-clamping slots with resiliently serrated side edges, the slots terminating at their lower ends above the rim of the metal cup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Cigar Riders IP Inc.
    Inventor: James E. Allen
  • Patent number: 10681935
    Abstract: A wrapper of a smoking article comprising a base web and banded regions comprising a leading edge, a trailing edge and a plurality of add-on material-free openings between said leading edge and said trailing edge. The add-on material-free openings establish a predetermined, nominal opened-area within said banded regions to control diffusivity. The add-on material can be applied by a gravure roller comprising a surface region with cells, cell-free areas and a chevron shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Timothy S. Sherwood, Robert Kikkert, Robert N. Smith, Ali A. Rostami, Georgios Karles
  • Patent number: 10668233
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a flavor cartridge for a flavor inhalator, the method comprising the steps of filling a predetermined amount of a flavor generating material capable of emitting a flavor component in a frame compressing the flavor generating material in the frame by applying pressure thereto by a pusher and fixing a lid to the frame, wherein the flavor generating material contains a tobacco material obtained by shredding or pulverizing tobacco leaf, and the lid has air permeability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Matsumoto, Takeshi Shinkawa, Atsuro Yamada, Kazuhiko Katayama, Manabu Yamada, Tomoichi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 10645968
    Abstract: Some embodiments of a smokeless tobacco system include one or more preformed smokeless tobacco products configured to generally retain their shape during processing, shipping, and consumer handling. In particular embodiments, each smokeless tobacco product can comprise a moist smokeless tobacco in combination with a selected binder such that the final product is configured to have material properties providing improved handling, an improved mouth feel, and a satisfying flavor profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Nathan Carroll, Shannon Maxwell Black, Tommy C. Holland, Jason Andrew Macko, Christopher Joseph Dinovi
  • Patent number: 10624390
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for making a fuel element for a smoking article comprising forming a combustible carbonaceous material into a fuel element adapted for use in a smoking article; incorporating a metal-containing catalyst precursor into the fuel element or onto the surface thereof to form a treated fuel element, the incorporating step occurring before, during, or after said forming step; and optionally heating or irradiating the treated fuel element at a temperature and for a time sufficient to convert the catalyst precursor to a catalytic metal compound. Examples of metal-containing catalyst precursors include iron nitrate, copper nitrate, cerium nitrate, cerium ammonium nitrate, manganese nitrate, magnesium nitrate, and zinc nitrate. Fuel elements treated according to the invention, and smoking articles including such fuel elements, are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Chandra Kumar Banerjee, Stephen Benson Sears
  • Patent number: 10609952
    Abstract: A tobacco industry rod assembly apparatus comprising a tobacco industry rod article infeed (2) having an epicyclic drum arrangement (3) is disclosed. The tobacco industry rod article infeed (2) is configured to transfer tobacco industry rod articles towards an assembly stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED
    Inventors: Gary Fallon, Martin Paul Fuller, Thomas Bailey