Patents Assigned to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
  • Patent number: 6874623
    Abstract: The invention relates to a smoking article package, which package comprises a sealed enclosure (1) around a charge of smoking articles and a sheet material wrap (7) disposed exteriorly of the enclosure (1). The sheet material wrap (7) is so configured as to provide means by which the first opening of the enclosure (1) cannot take place without the wrap (7) being torn or partially or fully removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Andrew Jonathan Bray
  • Publication number: 20040261806
    Abstract: Size reduction equipment is added at the feed end of a cigarette maker to take separated winnowers and other overages from a tobacco feed to the maker, cut or shred the overages to appropriate size and reintroduce the cut or shred overages into the lamina stream from a tobacco feed hopper for the cigarette maker. The winnowers may be pneumatically or mechanically conveyed back into the feed stream in the cigarette maker.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2002
    Publication date: December 30, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Johnny K. Cagigas
  • Publication number: 20040261805
    Abstract: A cigarette having reduced ignition propensity and machine for making the cigarette is disclosed. The machine applies a material in longitudinal bands onto the cigarette wrapper for reducing the ignition propensity of the cigarette. The material may be applied by roller, spray or printing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2003
    Publication date: December 30, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph T. Wanna, William J. Buda, Douglas R. Hicks, Luis A. Barros
  • Patent number: 6827573
    Abstract: A micro gas burner is provided that generates a stable, pre-mixed flame that produces little to no soot or unburned hydrocarbons. The gas burner includes a fuel inlet, nozzle, oxygenation chamber with at least one air inlet, a mixing chamber having a frustoconical inner wall, at least one permeable barrier and a flame holder. The gas burner thoroughly mixes fuel and entrained air to form a nearly stoichiometric mixture prior to combustion. The gas burner mixes the fuel and air so thoroughly that it requires a lower fuel flow rate than would otherwise be necessary to produce a stable, pre-mixed flame. The gas burner may include an optional flame tube in which a flame is contained and sequestered from diffusing air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Frank Kelley St. Charles, Kayyani C. Adiga
  • Patent number: 6807969
    Abstract: A method of processing reconstituted tobacco which reduces the attrition of reconstituted tobacco and increases the capacity of a primary processing facility by bypassing several conventional primary processing steps. This improved process allows reconstituted tobacco to bypass the primary processing steps up through final cut tobacco drying by separately cutting conventional reconstituted tobacco using a tobacco cutting machine. The method also includes the steps of drying reconstituted tobacco in a pre-dryer, forming sheets of reconstituted tobacco, cutting the sheets to a pre-selected width, transferring the sheets of pre-selected width to a primary processing facility, feeding the sheets of pre-selected width to a tobacco cutting machine, the sheets being cut to a pre-selected size, and blending the pre-selected size cut reconstituted tobacco with conventional cut tobacco.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Eric W. Wessinger, Kevin R. Korte, Robin Schlinger
  • Publication number: 20040182405
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for supplying a flowable medium to the tobacco rod of a smoking product, wherein the medium is introduced on a drum (1) of a cigarette machine, after the tobacco rod is formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Publication date: September 23, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Horst Grzonka, Heiko Hertrich
  • Patent number: 6779531
    Abstract: The invention relates to a reconstituted smoking material which comprises a non-polyol aerosol generator, tobacco (optional), binder (optional) and inorganic filler. A further polyol aerosol generator may also be contained in the smoking material. There is also provided a smoking article containing such material in a conventional arrangement or with a core axially disposed within an annulus. A further aspect of the invention is the provision of a polyol or non-polyol aerosol generated disposed in the filter element of a smoking article, which may contain the inventive smoking material. The aerosol material on the filter is eluted into the aerosol of the smoke on burning of the smoking article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Philip John Biggs, Richard Thomas Gilbert, Kevin Gerard McAdam, Bhasker Natarajan
  • Patent number: 6779529
    Abstract: A cigarette filter includes a multiple section filter which reduces the level of predetermined smoke constituents. The filter includes a fibrous filter plug section, a selective adsorbent section, and a general adsorbent section co-axially aligned in tandem. The selective adsorbent section includes a selective absorbent material which is a phenol-formaldehyde resin matrix surface-functionalized with mainly primary and secondary amine functional groups which removes specific smoke constituents from the tobacco smoke. The general adsorbent section is a material capable of adsorbing a range of chemical compounds without a high degree of specificity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: James N. Figlar, Brian E. Tucker, F. Kelley St. Charles
  • Patent number: 6772767
    Abstract: A process for reducing lignin and nitrogenous content in tobacco lamina and tobacco fiber material, including whole leaf, stems, scraps, fines and lamina, as well as burley leaf and stem, in an extraction with a solution containing hydrogen peroxide and an alkali metal hydroxide. The treated tobacco may then be further processed for use in cigarettes and other smoking articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: John-Paul Mua, Brad L. Hayes, Kenneth J. Bradley, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6745778
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for supplying a flowable medium to the tobacco of a smoking product (2), wherein the medium is introduced on a drum (1) of a cigarette machine, after the rod is formed, as well as to a device for supplying a flowable medium to the tobacco of a smoking product (2), comprising a means by which the medium is introduced on a drum (1) of a cigarette machine, after the rod is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Horst Grzonka, Heiko Hertrich
  • Publication number: 20040094171
    Abstract: A cigarette with burn rate modification is described. The cigarette has a partial double wrap design and incorporates an inner wrap material which extends partially around the interior portion of the outer wrapper of a cigarette. The inner wrap can be a single element or can be a plurality of strips which extend coaxially along the tobacco column and which affect the burn rate of the cigarette. The partial inner wrap material exhibits a low porosity and forms zones of high diffusion and low diffusion along the length of the tobacco rod. These zones may be singular or may be alternating and are coaxial. The low diffusion zones are aligned with the inner wrap material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2002
    Publication date: May 20, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph T. Wanna, Douglas R. Hicks
  • Publication number: 20040094172
    Abstract: A cigarette with burn rate modification is described. The cigarette has a partial double wrap design and incorporates an inner wrap material which extends partially around the interior portion of the outer wrapper of a cigarette. The inner wrap can be a single element or can be a plurality of strips which extend coaxially along the tobacco column and which affect the burn rate of the cigarette. The partial inner wrap material exhibits a low porosity and forms zones of high diffusion and low diffusion along the length of the tobacco rod. These zones may be singular or may be alternating and are coaxial. The low diffusion zones are aligned with the inner wrap material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2003
    Publication date: May 20, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph T. Wanna, Douglas R. Hicks
  • Patent number: 6722372
    Abstract: A smoking article particularly to eliminate spotting or staining and provide good smoke quality includes a double wrap smoking article which includes an outer wrap of a conventional cigarette paper and an inner wrap which is comprised of from about 55 to 85% wood fibers and 15 to 45% flax fibers, a basis weight of 12-15 gm/M2 and a porosity of 200 to 160,000 Coresta or greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Daniel V. Cantrell
  • Patent number: 6718988
    Abstract: This invention describes a pressurized drying process particularly useful for changing the aroma of Burley tobacco, and the taste and flavor of cigarettes comprising such processed tobacco. Burley tobacco is treated in a pressurized dryer at temperatures of 120° C. or more in a pressure range of 0.25-7 Bar absolute to provide a processed Burley tobacco with a more toasted character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Wendy Stella Cooper, Paul Clive Chadwick, Helen Elizabeth Ruth Howitt
  • Patent number: 6705325
    Abstract: A cigarette making machine for manufacturing of a cigarette with burn rate modification is described. The cigarette maker allows for mounting of a special bobbin of material which is different in size and width of a normal wrapper bobbin and feeds both the outer wrap web of material and narrower inner wrap web of material to the garniture. A slitting device may be utilized to cut the inner wrap web of material into a plurality of individual strips which are placed adjacent the outer wrap web of material in the garniture area of the maker. The inner wrap web of material may derive from a transverse wound bobbin in order to store large linear amounts of inner wrap web material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Hicks, Joseph T. Wanna
  • Publication number: 20040045565
    Abstract: A process for reducing lignin and nitrogenous content in tobacco lamina and tobacco fiber material, including whole leaf, stems, scraps, fines and lamina, as well as burley leaf and stem, in an extraction with a solution containing hydrogen peroxide and an alkali metal hydroxide. The treated tobacco may then be further processed for use in cigarettes and other smoking articles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2002
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: John-Paul Mua, Brad L. Hayes, Kenneth J. Bradley
  • Publication number: 20040031706
    Abstract: A resealable hard box cigarette pack is provided with a window type opening extending across a portion of the pack top wall and also a portion of the front wall of the pack. The window is covered by a closure that may be resealed to the pack body either through insertion of a tab on the closure into a tab receiving slot in the front wall of the pack or by applying a permanent package adhesion along the outer edges of the closure with the edges of the openings in the top wall and the front wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2002
    Publication date: February 19, 2004
    Applicant: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Don Stringfield
  • Patent number: 6645305
    Abstract: A process for the manufacture of a homogeneous fibriform element comprising a smoke-modifying agent. In the process a mixture comprising a solution of a polysaccharide (an alginate for example) and a smoke-modifying agent (menthol for example) is fed through nozzle means, and a jet of said mixture issuing from the nozzle means is brought into contact with a solution containing multivalent cations (such as calcium ions). Solidification of the mixture is thus effected. In a second aspect of the invention, a fibriform element is manufactured by passing a thread through a mixture comprising a solution of a polysaccharide and a smoke-modifying agent whereby the thread is coated with the mixture. The coated thread is brought into contact with a solution containing multivalent cations thus to effect solidification of the mixture on the thread. A fibriform element as manufactured by the inventive process and a smoking article comprising such a fibriform element are also claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Richard Oliver
  • Patent number: 6612429
    Abstract: The invention relates to a flip open box package, such as a cigarette pack, with enhanced aroma due to encapsulated flavor materials incorporated on the interior surface of the flip top. The encapsulated flavor is released upon opening of the box by frictional interaction of frame components or with the product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventor: Robert P. Dennen
  • Patent number: 6613149
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for applying glue to banderoles, more particularly banderoles for cigarette packs, comprising a glue supply, a nozzle device (7, 9, 12), a guide for the banderoles to be glued and a means for controlling glue delivery, whereby the nozzle device (7, 9, 12) comprises a glue distributor (7) which applies the glue in two streaks to the banderole by a continual contact process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Jung, Thomas Kremer