Patents by Inventor Sharon Dunlap

Sharon Dunlap has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20070107743
    Abstract: A reconstituted tobacco material incorporates an exogenous tocopherol or derivative thereof, such as in the amount of at least about 0.1 weight percent. A tobacco blend can be formed by combining reconstituted tobacco material incorporating such an additive with one or more additional tobacco materials, such as burley tobacco, Oriental tobacco, and flue-cured tobacco. A smoking article, such as a cigarette, contains such a reconstituted tobacco, as part of the smokable material, as part of tobacco paper wrapping material, or as part of a reconstituted tobacco-containing filter element. The invention also provides a method of forming reconstituted tobacco material wherein a tocopherol or derivative thereof is added to the tobacco material, either by adding the tocopherol to an aqueous extract or water insoluble pulp formed during the reconstituted tobacco process or by adding the tocopherol to the solid reconstituted tobacco sheet after the aqueous extract and pulp are recombined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2007
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventors: Thomas Perfetti, Curtis McGee, James Best, Paul Brinkley, Sharon Dunlap, Charles Risner
  • Publication number: 20050066985
    Abstract: A smokable rod for a smoking article, such as a cigarette, possesses a co-axial or concentric construction. A longitudinally extending inner core of tobacco cut filler is positioned within a smokable rod. The outer material that circumscribes the inner core in an annular fashion is composed of a tobacco material treated with a burn suppressing agent, and the outer material acts as a substrate for an aerosol forming material. A preferred aerosol forming material is glycerin. An outer paper wrapper circumscribes the length of the smokable rod, and another paper wrapping material also can circumscribe the inner core material. In use, one end of the smokable rod is lit, and the tobacco cut filler of the inner core burns to yield tobacco smoke. The outer material smolders, and hence thermal decomposition products of the outer tobacco material and volatilized aerosol forming material are produced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: August Borschke, Dwayne Beeson, Sharon Dunlap, Thomas Perfetti
  • Publication number: 20050066982
    Abstract: A filter element incorporating an adsorbent material is provided. The filter element may comprise a first section of filter material and a second section of filter material spaced apart to form a compartment therebetween. The compartment may be filled with one or more adsorbents or the compartment may be divided into two regions, wherein one compartment region is filled with an adsorbent and the other compartment region is either filled with an ion-exchange resin or remains empty. The section of filter material adjacent to the tobacco rod may include one or more channels therethrough for passaging smoke directly from the tobacco rod into the adsorbent-filled compartment. The mouth end section of filter material may contain a breakable capsule, wherein the breakable capsule is filled with a flavoring agent capable of altering the taste characteristics of mainstream smoke.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: Melissa Clark, Sharon Dunlap, Chandra Banerjee
  • Publication number: 20050066983
    Abstract: A filter element incorporating an adsorbent material is provided. The filter element may comprise a first section of filter material and a second section of filter material spaced apart to form a compartment therebetween. The compartment may be filled with one or more adsorbents or the compartment may be divided into two regions, wherein one compartment region is filled with an adsorbent and the other compartment region is either filled with an ion-exchange resin or remains empty. The section of filter material adjacent to the tobacco rod may include one or more channels therethrough for passaging smoke directly from the tobacco rod into the adsorbent-filled compartment. The mouth end section of filter material may contain a breakable capsule, wherein the breakable capsule is filled with a flavoring agent capable of altering the taste characteristics of mainstream smoke.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: Melissa Clark, Evon Crooks, Paul Braxton, Chandra Banerjee, Sharon Dunlap, Timothy Nestor