Patents by Inventor Watson Minyard Dufour

Watson Minyard Dufour 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).

  • Method for chemically modifying tobacco during curing
    Patent number: 7293564
    Abstract: A method for chemically modifying a tobacco material during a curing process involves treating the tobacco material in a curing enclosure at a temperature and for a time sufficient to produce cured tobacco. The method also involves contacting the tobacco material with a chemical reagent before and/or during the time period that the tobacco material is cured so that the chemical reagent can interact with the tobacco material, thus resulting in further change in the chemical nature of the cured tobacco material. An exemplary chemical reagent is an ammonia source, which can be applied to a tobacco material in a variety of ways, including by spraying an aqueous ammonia source onto the tobacco or by introducing gaseous ammonia into the curing enclosure during the curing process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2007
    Assignee: R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Thomas Albert Perfetti, Watson Minyard Dufour, Stephen Keith Cole, William Monroe Coleman, III, Marvin Glenn Riddick, Wennuan Liu, Paul Andrew Brinkley
  • Method for chemically modifying tobacco during curing
    Publication number: 20040250821
    Abstract: A method for chemically modifying a tobacco material during a curing process involves treating the tobacco material in a curing enclosure at a temperature and for a time sufficient to produce cured tobacco. The method also involves contacting the tobacco material with a chemical reagent before and/or during the time period that the tobacco material is cured so that the chemical reagent can interact with the tobacco material, thus resulting in further change in the chemical nature of the cured tobacco material. An exemplary chemical reagent is an ammonia source, which can be applied to a tobacco material in a variety of ways, including by spraying an aqueous ammonia source onto the tobacco or by introducing gaseous ammonia into the curing enclosure during the curing process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2003
    Publication date: December 16, 2004
    Applicant: R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
    Inventors: Thomas Albert Perfetti, Watson Minyard Dufour, Stephen Keith Cole, William Monroe Coleman, Marvin Glenn Riddick, Wennuan Liu, Paul Andrew Brinkley