Patents Examined by Dionne Walls Mayes
  • Patent number: 10602772
    Abstract: A vial for packing a substance to be smoked from the vial and a method of manufacturing the vial, the method of manufacturing including providing a glass vial, the glass vial having a first end portion and a second end portion connected by a tubular portion having a hollow interior, the first end portion being open and the second end portion being closed; applying heat to a section of the tubular portion to heat the section of the tubular portion; applying a pressure around the heated section of the tubular portion to collapse the section of the tubular portion into the hollow interior of the tubular portion; pressing the first end portion and the second end portion together until an exterior surface of the tubular portion surrounding the collapsed section is level with a remaining exterior surface of the tubular portion; and forming an opening in the second end portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: R.Y.L. INC.
    Inventor: Suk Hwan Ou
  • Patent number: 10327467
    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: April 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Nathan Carroll, Shannon Maxwell Black, Tommy C. Holland, Jason Andrew Macko, Christopher Joseph DiNovi
  • Patent number: 10117453
    Abstract: An orally-enjoyable tobacco product includes a portion of smokeless tobacco comprising an active ingredient and either: (1) a collection of tobacco particles at least partially enclosed by a coating comprising a water-soluble non-crosslinked component and a substantially water-insoluble cross-linked component, or (2) a pouch comprising smokeless tobacco enclosed in a water-permeable wrapper. The active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of a mercaptan, camphor, borneol, isoborneol, bornyl acetate, isobornyl acetate, mono-bornyl succinate, mono-isobornyl succinate, mono-bornyl formate, and mono-isobornyl formate. The active ingredient is present in an amount effective to reduce or eliminate the sensory irritation arising from the smokeless tobacco. Also disclosed is a method of making such a product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc.
    Inventors: Gerd Kobal, Justin Heynekamp, Timothy B. Langston, Peter Reeh, Munmaya K. Mishra, Jason W. Flora
  • Patent number: 10058121
    Abstract: A biodegradable bi-component fiber may include a polyhydroxyalkanoate and/or polylactic acid with cellulose acetate and/or plasticized cellulose acetate for use in a filter material configured for use in a filter of a smoking article. The bi-component fiber may have a sheath-core construction where one component of the bi-component forms the core, and the other component forms the sheath of each fiber. A filter made in accordance with this design may also include non-biodegradable material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Andries D. Sebastian, Alan B. Norman, Leigh Ann Joyce, Huamin Gan
  • Patent number: 9961936
    Abstract: Filter for a smoking product, the filter including a first filter segment and a second filter segment, wherein the first filter segment includes a component that is given off into a smoke stream passing through a filter outlet opening, and the second filter segment includes a sorption means that absorbs a component from a smoke stream passing through the filter inlet opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (GERMANY) GMBH
    Inventors: Horst Grzonka, Markus Schosnig, Eduard Nica, Paulo Oliveira, John Richardson, Martin Graham Duke, Maya Nikolaeva
  • Patent number: 9907748
    Abstract: A composition intended to be employed for therapeutic purposes incorporates an active ingredient (e.g., a source of nicotine) and at a non-active ingredient that is carried by a porous substrate. The non-active ingredient can be a substance that has the capability of affecting the pH of the biological system to which it is applied (e.g., basic substance and/or buffering agent is sorbed onto the porous carrier, so as to be in intimate contact with that carrier). Representative forms of nicotine include free base (e.g., as a mixture of nicotine and microcrystalline cellulose), a nicotine salt (e.g., as nicotine bitartrate) and nicotine polacrilex. The basic substance can be sodium carbonate, and the porous substrate can be microcrystalline cellulose. The composition is useful for treatment of central nervous system conditions, diseases, and disorders, and can be used as a nicotine replacement therapy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Niconovum USA, Inc.
    Inventors: August Joseph Borschke, Darrell Holton, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9848634
    Abstract: A melt spun tobacco composition, e.g., in flake or particle form, for oral use in a mammal made by melt spinning comprising tobacco and/or a tobacco extract and at least one material which is solid at room temperature, which melts at or below 500° F., and carries from 1% to 70% of tobacco when processed through melt spinning, and solidifies again in less than 5 seconds after melt spinning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A.
    Inventor: Richard C. Fuisz
  • Patent number: 9820508
    Abstract: A wearable electronic simulated smoking device (100, 100?, 100?) is provided for delivery of a desired active ingredient responsive to a user's inhalation through the device (100, 100?, 100?). The device (100, 100?, 100?) includes an elongated tubular member (110) having at least one reversibly bendable portion (112, 112a, 112b) to at least partially encompass a portion of a user's body and is releasably retainable thereat. Device (100, 100?, 100?) includes a nebulization chamber 140 supplied with a liquid smoking composition (132) held in a fluid container (130) and enabled by a controller (150) responsive to detection of a user's inhalation through the device (100, 100?, 100?).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Inventors: Scott M. Arnel, Eric Schmiesing
  • Patent number: 9808033
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette includes a battery assembly, an atomizer assembly and a cigarette bottle assembly. An external thread electrode is located in one end of battery assembly. An internal thread electrode is located in one end of atomizer assembly. The battery assembly and the atomizer assembly are connected by the screwthread electrode. The cigarette bottle assembly is inserted into the other end of the atomizer assembly and both form a cigarette type or cigar type body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Lik Hon
  • Patent number: 9795164
    Abstract: A smoking pipe with a jacket containing an inner glass tube. The glass tube has a hole in its wall that aligns with a hole in the jacket. The pipe has a bowl holder that holds a glass bowl with a stem that extends proximate to the hole in the glass tube. The joint between the bowl stem and an insert in the bowl holder can form a frosted glass fitting. End-caps with threaded inserts can match glass threads on the ends of the glass tube holding the glass tube in the jacket. A decorated metal bowl holder can be mounted on the jacket and decorated with gems, glass and the like. The pipe can be manufactured using different types of premium woods for the jacket for design and beauty. The use of an inner glass tube that contains the smoke eliminates contamination and cools the smoke for inhalation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Inventor: Jeff Hood
  • Patent number: 9739013
    Abstract: A low ignition propensity cigarette has wrapping paper (6) wrapping filling material into a rod-like shape, and the wrapping paper (6) includes highly conducting bands (10) formed by calendering and arranged in a longitudinal direction of the cigarette, the highly conducting bands (10) having higher thermal conductivity than inherent thermal conductivity of the wrapping paper (6), and burning depression bands (16) formed in the wrapping paper (6) and superposed upon the respective highly conducting bands (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Shinzo Kida, Masaaki Fukaya, Ken Uyama
  • Patent number: 9723871
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an electronic cigarette and a method for disposing smoking data of the electronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette includes a microcontroller, a smoking signal detecting module and a memory that are both connected with the microcontroller; the smoking signal detecting module configured to detect smoking signals and send the smoking signals to the microcontroller; the microcontroller configured to record a time of each reception of the smoking signals and a continuation time length of each received smoking signal, and calculate a smoking data according to the time and the continuation time length; the memory configured to store the time, the continuation time length and the smoking data; the smoking data including a time interval between every two smoking signals and a number of receiving the smoking signals during a preset period. The smoking data of the users using the electronic cigarette can be recorded and stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: HUIZHOU KIMREE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. SHENZHEN BRANCH
    Inventor: Zhiyong Xiang
  • Patent number: 9717278
    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: May 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Lik Hon
  • Patent number: 9713346
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette comprises nicotine without harmful tar. The cigarette includes a shell, a cell, nicotine solution, control circuit, and an electro-thermal vaporization nozzle installed in the air suction end of the shell. The advantages of the present invention are smoking without tar, reducing the risk of cancer, the user still gets a smoking experience, the cigarette is not lit, and there is no fire danger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
    Inventor: Lik Hon
  • Patent number: 9693586
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an anti-tamper atomizer and electronic cigarette. Wherein the anti-tamper atomizer comprises a protective sleeve, a suction nozzle cap fixed on a first end of the protective sleeve, and a battery cartridge connector fixed on a second end of the protective sleeve; a vent pipe, a heater strip component and an oil storage cotton coated outside of the vent pipe and the heater strip component are arranged in the protective sleeve, the battery cartridge connector comprises a protective sleeve connecting part and a battery cartridge connecting part connected with each other, wherein the battery cartridge connector has a center hole extending along the axis of the protective sleeve, and a groove is formed at the adjacency of the protective sleeve connecting part and the battery cartridge connecting part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: HUIZHOU KIMREE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. SHENZHEN BRANCH
    Inventor: Qiuming Liu
  • Patent number: 9682204
    Abstract: A non-heating type flavor inhalator of the invention includes a hollow cylindrical holder (2) having an ambient air admission opening (16) at a front end thereof and a mouthpiece end (4) at a rear end thereof, and a flavor cartridge (30) extending inside the holder (2) from the ambient air admission opening (16) toward the mouthpiece end (4) along the axis of the holder (2). The flavor cartridge (30) accommodates a flavor generating material (32) containing granular tobacco, and the flavor generating material (32) is kept in a predetermined required compressed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Matsumoto, Takeshi Shinkawa, Atsuro Yamada, Kazuhiko Katayama, Manabu Yamada, Tomoichi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9682800
    Abstract: An electronic cigarette case with sterilization function is provided in the present invention, said electronic cigarette case comprises a microcontroller and a power supply module that are both built in the electronic cigarette case; wherein, the electronic cigarette case further comprises a sterilization module connected with the microcontroller; wherein, said sterilization module is configured to sterilize under the control of said microcontroller, and said sterilization module includes an ozone generator or a negative ion generator; said microcontroller is configured to control said sterilization module to start working or stop working. When implementing the electronic cigarette case with sterilization function, the following advantageous effects can be achieved: the electronic cigarette case, and electronic cigarettes and cigarette holders stored in the electronic cigarette case can be sterilized, which ensures the safety of users of the electronic cigarette case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: HUIZHOU KIMREE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. SHENZHEN BRANCH
    Inventor: Zhiyong Xiang
  • Patent number: 9675102
    Abstract: The invention provides an smokeless tobacco composition adapted for oral use, the composition including a tobacco material and an effervescent material. The effervescent material includes an acid component and a base component, wherein the acid component includes a triprotic acid such as citric acid and at least one additional acid. The invention also provides a method for making a smokeless tobacco composition that involves first forming a granulation mixture, granulating the granulation mixture, and then blending the resulting granules with further blending components. Thereafter, the material can be formed into a predetermined shape, such as by compression or extrusion. The acid component of the effervescent material is divided into two portions, the first portion added to the granulation mixture and the remaining portion added during the blending step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Eric Taylor Hunt, Darrell Eugene Holton, Jr., Frank Kelley St. Charles
  • Patent number: 9668516
    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 material-free openings between said leading edge and said trailing edge. The 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 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC
    Inventors: Timothy S. Sherwood, Robert Kikkert, Robert N. Smith, Ali A. Rostami, Georgios Karles
  • Patent number: 9655381
    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: October 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Blunt Wrap U.S.A., Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel S. Sinclair, Jr.