Patents Assigned to ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC
  • Patent number: 12685332
    Abstract: A exhausted-tobacco tablet that includes a solid solution of soluble fiber and one or more sugar alcohols, the solid solution having a glass transition temperature of less than 40° C., and exhausted-tobacco is dispersed in the solid solution, and one or more additives dispersed in the solid solution such that at least one additive is released from the tablet when the tablet is chewed or dissolved within an adult tobacco consumer's oral cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Feng Gao, Diane L. Gee, Shuzhong Zhuang, Phillip M. Hulan, William J. Burke
  • Patent number: 12685340
    Abstract: The nicotine electronic vaping device includes a nicotine reservoir, a heater and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to: determine a plurality of resistance values for the heater during a time window; calculate a percent change in resistance of the heater between a first of the plurality of resistance values and a second of the plurality of resistance values; decide whether the percent change in resistance of the heater exceeds a percent change in resistance threshold; and disable power to the heater in response to deciding that the percent change in resistance of the heater exceeds the percent change in resistance threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Niall Gallagher, Terrance Theodore Bache, Rangaraj S. Sundar, Jarrett Keen, Raymond W. Lau, Eric Hawes
  • Patent number: 12685336
    Abstract: The method includes establishing a housing defining chambers, the chambers including a first chamber and a second chamber, each of the chambers being configured to accept a consumable, and configuring a mouthpiece to be selectively connected to the housing on an end of the chambers in at least a first position or a second position, the first position aligning an inlet opening of the mouthpiece to direct at least one first airflow in a first direction through the first chamber and in a second direction through the second chamber, the second position aligning the inlet opening of the mouthpiece to direct the at least one first airflow in the first direction through the second chamber and in the second direction through the first chamber, the first direction and the second direction being substantially opposite directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Tony Reevell
  • Patent number: 12686512
    Abstract: An apparatus configured to provide portioned instances of a compressible material includes a channel assembly, a gas source, a cutting assembly, and a discharge assembly. The channel assembly holds a bulk instance of the material extending through upper and lower channels of a continuous channel. The gas source supplies gas to compress the bulk instance. The cutting assembly moves in relation to the channel assembly to isolate the upper and lower channels, severing upper and lower material portions of the bulk instance. The discharge assembly directs gas to impinge on a lower face of the cutting assembly to discharge the lower material portion as a portioned instance. The channel assembly may be moveable, where operation of the gas source, cutting assembly, and/or discharge assembly are based on moving the channel assembly between various positions. The gas supply may be controlled based on a determined property of the portioned instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2025
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Dwight David Williams, James David Evans, Patrick Sean Mcelhinney, Jarrod Wayne Chalkley
  • Publication number: 20260198544
    Abstract: A cartridge may include a housing, a liquid supply reservoir in the housing and configured to store a pre-vapor formulation, a vaporizer, and a porous plug. The vaporizer may be in liquid communication with the liquid supply reservoir. The vaporizer may be configured to generate a vapor from heating a portion of the pre-vapor formulation. The porous plug may be connected to the housing and separated from the liquid supply reservoir. The porous plug may be permeable to the vapor. The porous plug may enclose a flavoring additive contacting a storage material. The flavoring additive may be configured to at least partially elute from the storage material or at least partially volatilize from the storage material if the vapor flows through the porous plug. An e-vaping device may include the cartridge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2025
    Publication date: July 16, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Gerd KOBAL, San LI, Peter LIPOWICZ
  • Patent number: 12677881
    Abstract: An element for an aerosol-generating system, a cartridge for an aerosol-generating system, and an aerosol-generating system, wherein the element, the cartridge and the aerosol-generating system each include a storage portion for storing an aerosol-forming substrate and a manually operated disabling mechanism for rendering the element, the cartridge, or the aerosol-generating system irreversibly inoperable. The element, the cartridge, and the aerosol-generating system may include an aerosol generator and one or more air passages. The disabling mechanism may be configured to render at least one of the storage portion, the aerosol generator, and the one or more air passages irreversibly inoperable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Tony Reevell
  • Patent number: 12678441
    Abstract: The method includes forming encapsulated caffeine from a caffeine complex that includes caffeine and an organic acid in a 1:1 molar ratio, dispersing the encapsulated caffeine throughout at least a portion of a base composition, the encapsulated caffeine being included in an amount sufficient to release 50 mg to 200 mg of caffeine when consumed, and adding at least one pH adjusting agent to the base composition to maintain a pH of the base composition within a range between 2 and 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Munmaya K. Mishra, Gerd Kobal
  • Patent number: 12677868
    Abstract: A smoking article has a burn portion and a mouth portion. The burn portion includes a smoking rod filled with a smokeable filler material formed almost exclusively of cellulose material. The mouth portion includes either a filter portion with or without an interface or a tip with an interface. The mouth end may include an orthonasal property and the interface may store an additive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Munmaya K. Mishra, Shaoyong Yu
  • Patent number: 12677876
    Abstract: A nicotine e-vaping device may include a nicotine pod assembly and a device body. The nicotine pod assembly has upstream and downstream ends and is configured to hold a nicotine pre-vapor formulation. The upstream end may define at least one upstream recess, and the downstream end may define at least one downstream recess. The device body defines a through hole configured to receive the nicotine pod assembly. The through hole includes an upstream sidewall and a downstream sidewall. The upstream sidewall may include at least one upstream protrusion, and the downstream sidewall may include at least one downstream protrusion. The at least one upstream protrusion and the at least one downstream protrusion may be configured to engage with the at least one upstream recess and the at least one downstream recess, respectively, so as to retain the nicotine pod assembly within the through hole of the device body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Dean Twite, Yannick Hourmand, Charles Dendy, Bipin Patil, Rangaraj S. Sundar, Christopher Newcomb, Niall Gallagher, Raymond W. Lau, Eric Hawes
  • Publication number: 20260191277
    Abstract: An aerosol generating device including a heater configured to generate heat for heating an aerosol generating product; and processing circuitry configured to cause the aerosol generating device to use at least one inductive coil to monitor a magnetic permeability of a temperature sensing element, determine a temperature of the aerosol generating product based on the monitored magnetic permeability, and control the heating of the aerosol generating product based on the determined temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2026
    Publication date: July 9, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: James YORKSHADES, Tristan HUGHES, Callum FRANKS, Katherine WEILBACHER, Rangaraj S. SUNDAR, Raymond W. LAU, Eric HAWES
  • Publication number: 20260191262
    Abstract: A capsule for a heat-not-burn (HNB) aerosol-generating device may include a base portion, a first cover, a second cover, an aerosol-forming substrate, and a heater. The base portion includes an engagement assembly configured to couple with the first cover and the second cover. The first cover defines a first recess, and the second cover defines a second recess. When assembled, the first cover is aligned with the second cover such that the first recess and the second recess collectively form a chamber. The aerosol-forming substrate is within the chamber. The heater is configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol. The heater includes a first end section, an intermediate section, and a second end section. The heater extends through the base portion such that the intermediate section is in the chamber, while the first end section and the second end section are external segments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2026
    Publication date: July 9, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Zack W. BLACKMON
  • Publication number: 20260192952
    Abstract: Systems and methods for manufacturing and inserting a predetermined number of material-filled pouches into containers are disclosed. A system includes a pouch providing system comprising a plurality of lanes, wherein each one of the plurality of lanes includes a pouch making machine and a hold-back structure. The system also includes a conveyor system structured and arranged to move a plurality of containers into alignment with the plurality of lanes. The system further includes a controller structured and arranged to control the hold-back structure in each one of the plurality of lanes such that the pre-determined pouches are inserted into the plurality of containers when the plurality of containers are aligned with the plurality of lanes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2026
    Publication date: July 9, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: James D. EVANS, Herbert Cary LONGEST, Tamika S. MURRELL, Robert V. POWELL JR., Jeremy STRAIGHT, Jarrod CHALKLEY
  • Publication number: 20260193665
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes methods and compositions for improving leaf quality in low-alkaloid tobacco plants, e.g., by combining inducible promoters and non-coding RNAs for suppression of an ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) gene. Also provided are low alkaloid tobacco plants with normal, suppressed, or otherwise altered polyamine levels. Further provided are tobacco plants with altered total alkaloid, nicotine levels, commercially acceptable leaf grade, their development via breeding or transgenic approaches, and production of tobacco products from these tobacco plants.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2026
    Publication date: July 9, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Marcos Fernando de Godoy Lusso, James A. Strickland, Jesse Frederick, Dongmei Xu, Chengalrayan Kudithipudi
  • Patent number: 12672676
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system may include a liquid storage portion, a vaporizer, and a pump. The liquid storage portion may be configured to store a liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The vaporizer may be configured to volatilize the liquid aerosol-forming substrate. The pump may be configured to pump air into the liquid storage portion so as to push out a volume of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion and to supply the volume of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate to the vaporizer. A method for generating an aerosol may be performed with the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Ben Mazur, Eva Saade Latorre, Alain Tabasso
  • Patent number: 12673797
    Abstract: A system for use in manufacturing vapor-generating articles may include a rotatable drum that is configured to hold a plurality of the vapor-generating articles. The system may also include a tagging drum that is configured to tag a respective label to a housing of each of the vapor-generating articles. The system may also include a pressing roller that is configured to press a leading edge of the label against the housing after the tagging. The system may further include a rolling drum that is configured to roll the label around the housing after the pressing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventor: Martin Garthaffner
  • Publication number: 20260182635
    Abstract: A capsule for an aerosol-generating device may include a housing defining inlet openings, outlet openings, and internal channels between the inlet openings and the outlet openings. The internal channels are configured to hold an aerosol-forming substrate. The housing is configured to facilitate a heating of the aerosol-forming substrate via conduction and/or convection so as to generate an aerosol.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2026
    Publication date: July 2, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Zack BLACKMON, III, Patrick GOOD, Rangaraj S. SUNDAR, Jarrett KEEN, Eric HAWES, Yannick HOURMAND, Niall GALLAGHER
  • Publication number: 20260185863
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system includes a liquid storage portion for holding a liquid aerosol-forming substrate; a pair of electrodes arranged adjacent to or in the liquid storage portion; a sensor configured to sense an orientation of the liquid storage portion; and a control system configured to, measure an electrical quantity between the pair of electrodes, receive orientation information from the sensor, and determine an amount of liquid aerosol-forming substrate held in the liquid storage portion based on electrical quantity information measured between the pair of electrodes and the orientation information received from the sensor, wherein the liquid storage portion has a length and the pair of electrodes extend substantially the length of the liquid storage portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2026
    Publication date: July 2, 2026
    Applicant: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Michel BESSANT, Jacques ROBERT, Tony REEVELL
  • Patent number: 12668438
    Abstract: A dosing apparatus includes a doser mechanism that discharges an index amount of a granular material based on drawing the granular material from an intake hopper. A drop-down device is coupled between the intake hopper and a supply hopper and enables enable a flow of the granular material from the supply hopper to the intake hopper through a conduit. The drop-down device restricts a flow rate of the flow of granular material through the conduit based on directing the flow around a slat extending into the conduit. The slat has an upper slat surface that is angled downwards at an inclination angle that may correspond to an angle of repose of the granular material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2024
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Dwight David Williams, Dremere Kevon Woods
  • Patent number: D1133894
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Christopher J. Hession, William J. Bogdziewicz, Bipin Patil
  • Patent number: RE50963
    Abstract: An aerosol-generating system includes a liquid-storage portion configured to hold a liquid aerosol-forming substrate, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a control system. The second electrode is spaced from the first electrode. At least a portion of the liquid storage portion is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode. The control system is configured to measure an electrical quantity between the first electrode and the second electrode, and detect a draw on the aerosol-generating system based on the measured electrical quantity information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2026
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Oleg Mironov, Ihar Nikolaevich Zinovik, Jerome Christian Courbat, Tony Reevell