Patents Examined by Dionne A. Walls
  • Patent number: 8171940
    Abstract: A rotary cutter assembly for a lighter comprises a lighter body which is defined with a receiving groove in an outer periphery thereof. A rotary plate is pivoted to the receiving groove in such a manner that the rotary plate can be rotated within the receiving groove. In the receiving groove is disposed a push pole, and on the rotary plate is provided an annular cutter. When the rotary plate is closed, the push pole is inserted in the annular cutter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Inventor: Chin-Chung Chuan
  • Patent number: 8156944
    Abstract: An aerosol electronic cigarette includes a battery assembly, an atomizer assembly and a cigarette bottle assembly and also includes a shell (a) which is hollow and integrally formed. Said battery assembly connects with said atomizer assembly and both are located in said shell (a). Said cigarette bottle assembly is located in one end of the shell (a), which is detachable. Said cigarette bottle assembly fits with said atomizer assembly. Said shell (a) has through-air-inlets (a1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Ruyan Investments (Holdings) Limited
    Inventor: Li Han
  • Patent number: 8151803
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a smoking appliance which can heat a filter medium for eliminating particulate phase components in tobacco smoke to a desired temperature precisely as well as can ensure safety for the smoker. According to the present invention, there is provided a smoking appliance including a holder having a through hole serving as a smoke passage, which detachably holds a filter medium in a middle of the smoke passage, a heater attached to the holder at a location upstream to the filter medium, a heat insulator attached to the holder at a location upstream to the heater, and a metal plate which covers surfaces of the heater facing the filter medium and the smoke passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Inventor: Michihiro Inagaki
  • Patent number: 8122894
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a container for storing cigarette or cigar ash has a body, a mouthpiece opening with a connection surface, an end section with an igniting and a closure device, a secure and release device, a grip, and a filter. In another embodiment, a container includes an inner tube, a filter, an outer tube, a stopper and a handle, and connecting ends. In yet another embodiment, a disposal receptacle to store ash has a lid and a lower barrel where the lid includes an opening and a plate that covers the opening or exposes it, and all the components are made of non-flammable material including, but not limited to, non-flammable, hard plastic. In another embodiment, a method is disclosed that shows how a person uses the cigarette or cigar container and the disposal receptacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Inventor: Penny K Kilpatrick
  • Patent number: 8118034
    Abstract: A brand control method for an automatic tobacco article processing machine, the method including the steps of: defining a number of end product brands that can be produced on the automatic machine; creating a number of configurations, each associated with a respective brand and having a set of values of control parameters controlling electrically controlled operating parts to produce the brand; selecting a desired end product brand; loading the configuration corresponding to the desired end product brand onto a control unit to commence production of the desired brand; defining a number of sections, each having a set of control parameters and independent of the other sections; defining a number of recipes by assigning each section at least one respective set of values of the corresponding control parameters, so each recipe corresponds to a respective section and contains the values of the control parameters in that particular section; and defining each configuration by combining a number of compatible recipes,
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: G. D Societa' per Azioni
    Inventors: Giuseppe Faraci, Carlo Moretti, Gaetano De Pietra
  • Patent number: 8109275
    Abstract: A pipe lighter includes a lighter apparatus coupling with an inhaler apparatus. The inhaler apparatus includes a crucible unit coupled with the housing sidewall of the lighter housing and a tubular inhaling guider extended from the crucible unit, wherein the crucible unit has a substance chamber positioned adjacent to a flame opening of the lighter apparatus for retaining a smoking substance in the substance chamber, such that the lighter apparatus is actuated to produce a flame for a combustion of the smoking substance to be smoked and for an inhalation of smoked through the inhaling guider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Inventor: Fan Bao
  • Patent number: 8109276
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for filtering tobacco smoke from a cigarette, in particular a filter cigarette, the device comprising a portable housing provided with a combustion space in which the cigarette can burn, a filter unit for filtering the tobacco smoke of a burning cigarette, at least one discharge opening for discharging filtered tobacco smoke and one or more tobacco smoke displacing units for displacing the tobacco smoke via the filter unit to the discharge opening, wherein a mouthpiece is formed on the housing, the mouthpiece comprising a holding unit for holding the cigarette, wherein the holding unit comprises an opening along which the cigarette can be pushed partially into the housing from outside the housing, and the opening is formed to hold the cigarette clampingly in the partially inserted situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Vituva Operations Limited
    Inventor: Marinus Theodorus Franciscus Maria Gidding
  • Patent number: 8091557
    Abstract: The device consists of a first container body (1) with a lighter for a cigarette and a housing seat (2) having a size suitable to house a cigarette and it further has a container body (8) to extinguish the cigarette.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Inventor: Pierpaolo Cortesi
  • Patent number: 8087262
    Abstract: A process and device for abating air-borne particles during glass melt handling processes by using electrostatic precipitation. The invention is effective in abating both precious metal inclusions and non-metallic inclusions in the produced glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: David Myron Lineman, Matthew Carl Morse, Steven Robert Moshier
  • Patent number: 8069861
    Abstract: A finished tobacco product is formed by a set of pre-rolled sheets. In one embodiment a form casing is used which includes at least two portions—a non-smokable portion along with a container portion which includes tobacco filler material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Inventor: Daniel S. Sinclair, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8069860
    Abstract: A humidification control device comprising a container with a chamber for storing and dispensing liquids and a base section in which is formed an opening with a contact surface around the opening's periphery. Also provided is a cigar having at least one exposed cut end and a receptacle, which is hermetically sealed, inside the container's chamber for receiving and retaining the cigar. Additionally provided is a closure plug having a tubular housing member with a closed bottom, a top with an opening and a projecting flange for engaging the opening in the base section conformable to the shape of the area of the container peripheral to the opening. The device includes a humidification source and a tubular case, which is adapted to releasably join with the tubular housing member of the closure plug, for holding the humidification source, and an opening defined by a projecting rim in the tubular case through which the humidification vapors may freely pass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Fuente Marketing Ltd.
    Inventors: John Soyak, Matthew Bogosian
  • Patent number: 8056567
    Abstract: Assembly for perforating rod-shaped elements, particularly cigarettes, which comprises a driving shaft along which a number of rotary perforating cutters are arranged and the cutters are separated by distance rings, wherein each rotary cutter is positioned between two pushing elements and it protrudes from between those pushing elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: International Tobacco Machinery SP. ZO.O.
    Inventor: Marek E. Sieredzinski
  • Patent number: 8042550
    Abstract: The invention is directed at the full simulation of a smoking process when a smoker uses the inventive pipe. Said smoking-simulating pipe comprises a shank (1) and a bowl (2) which are embodied in one piece, and a stem (4) which is detachable from the shank (1) and is provided with a bit, wherein a cavity (5), which is used for placing a sealed capsule (6) provided with a nicotine-containing or flavoring agent, is embodied in a smoking channel (14), and an electric heater (7) connected to a power supply (8), which is arranged in the walls of the bowl (2), is located before the capsule (6) in the smoking channel (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Inventors: Vladimir Nikolaevich Urtsev, Dim Maratovich Khabibulin
  • Patent number: 7260959
    Abstract: A glass handling system and method are described herein where an enhanced robot is used to engage and hold a glass sheet in a manner that minimizes the motion of the glass sheet as it is moved from one point to another point in a glass manufacturing facility. The enhanced robot engages and holds the glass sheet by using one or more suction cups and one or more aero-mechanical devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Chester H. Chang, Michael Y. Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 7237408
    Abstract: A mold includes a pair of spaced elongated deformable members and spaced elongated flexible strap members between and connected to the deformable members with the axis of the deformable members parallel to one another and transverse to the axis of the strap members. A set of a plurality of donut rolls spaced from one another along the length of the strap members is provided in the space between adjacent strap members to move a heat softened glass sheet over the strap members and below shaped surface of a vacuum mold. The strap members are moved to lift the sheet off the rolls toward and into contact with the shaping surface. The deformable members are deformed as the flexible members bias the sheet against the shaped surface. Vacuum pulled through the shaping surface maintains the sheet against the shaped surface as the strap members move away from the shaped surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: PPG Industries, Ohio, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert G. Frank, Michael T. Fecik, William B. Zimmerman
  • Patent number: 7216509
    Abstract: It is described a sol-gel process that allows to obtain dry gels, and possibly the corresponding dense glassy bodies, having higher dimensions compared to similar known processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Degussa Novara Technology S.p.A.
    Inventors: Lorenzo Costa, Massimo Sparpaglione
  • Patent number: 7197899
    Abstract: A process includes the steps of disposing a solid core glass rod at a point removed from hot temperature that can cause crystallization in the core glass rod, disposing a solid clad glass rod at a point removed from the core glass rod; softening to the flowing condition the solid clad glass rod, transferring the softened clad glass to a lower point, the softened clad glass having a central void therethrough, heating the softened clad glass above its crystallization temperature, cooling the softened clad glass to a draw temperature, transferring the solid core glass rod into the central void in the softened glad glass, softening to the flowing condition the solid core glass rod with the heat from the softened and cooled clad glass, and drawing the core/clad, glass fiber by allowing the clad and core glasses to flow in the form of a fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Reza Mossadegh, Brian Cole, Pablo Pureza, Jasbinder Sanghera, Shyam Bayya, Ishwar Aggarwal
  • Patent number: 7104265
    Abstract: A tobacco smoke filter comprising one or more than one metal phthalocyanine, such as a copper phthalocyanine or an iron phthalocyanine, and further comprising one or more than one polycationic polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: Filligent Limited
    Inventor: Reid Von Borstel
  • Patent number: 7077931
    Abstract: The method is for bleaching cellulose pulp in a bleach line that has at least two bleaching steps. The filtrate distribution is led up through the bleaching line counter-currently to the flow of cellulose pulp established in the bleaching line. A single joint main conduit is used for the bleaching steps. Wash filtrates obtained from the wash steps, used after or before the bleaching step, are led in conduits to branch locations on the train conduit that are positioned downstream of the branch location for drawing off of wash and/or dilution liquor for the wash step in question. All branch points in the joint main conduit are in fluid communication with one another along the main conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Kvaerner Pulping AB
    Inventors: Vidar Snekkenes, Lennart Gustavsson
  • Patent number: RE39208
    Abstract: A comminuted cellulosic fibrous material treatment vessel assembly includes a substantially vertical vessel having a top, bottom, and outlet, and through which the material flows in a flow direction. The vessel preferably has a substantially cylindrical wall with at least one diameter-changing transition between the inlet and the outlet. A screen assembly is preferably provided at or just past the transition. The screen assembly comprises one or more annular screen surfaces diverging in the flow direction of the material, the angle of divergence being between about 0.5-10° to the vertical, and preferably substantially continuous. Providing such a screen assembly reduces the radial compression of material thereon, and increases the volume and rate of liquid that can flow through the material and be removed through the screen surface compared to a non-diverging screen surface (that is a right-cylindrical surface).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Andritz, Inc.
    Inventors: Jay K. Sheerer, Joseph R. Phillips, Jerry R. Johanson, John Pietrangelo