Fabric having tobacco entangled with structural fibers

• US 9,066,540 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2011
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altria Client Services LLC (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Altria Client Services, Inc. (Altria Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Atchley, Frank Scott, Rossman, James M., Mishra, Munmaya K.
• Primary Examiner(s): CORDRAY, DENNIS R
• Application Number:
  US13/197,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20120031416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 131/111, 131/112, 131/117, 131/118, 131/300, 131/306, 131/328, 131/329, 131347-358, 131/370, 131/373, 206242-275
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 13/00 Tobacco for pipes, for cigars, e.g. cigar inserts, or for cigarettes; Chewing tobacco; Snuff reconstituted tobacco products A24B3/14
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/28 by chemical substances
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 23/02 Tobacco pouches
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2255/02 on fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0223 Vinyl resin fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0238 Vinyl halide, e.g. PVC, PVDC, PVF, PVDF
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0246 Acrylic resin fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0253 Polyolefin fibres vinyl or acrylic copolymers B32B2262/0223 or B32B2262/0246
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0261 Polyamide fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/0276 Polyester fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/04 Cellulosic plastic fibres, e.g. rayon
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/062 Cellulose fibres, e.g. cotton
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/065 Lignocellulosic fibres, e.g. jute, sisal, hemp, flax, bamboo
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/12 Conjugate fibres, e.g. core/sheath or side-by-side
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/14 Mixture of at least two fibres made of different materials
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/7163 Biodegradable
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/732 Dimensional properties
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/734 Dimensional stability
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/75 Printability
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/022 Non-woven fabric
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/06 : characterised by a fibrous or filamentary layer mechanically connected, e.g. by needling to another layer, e.g. of fibres, of paper
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/26 : another layer next to it also being fibrous or filamentary relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/04 : Interconnection of layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 9/02 : comprising animal or vegetable substances , e.g. cork, bamboo, starch
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 9/047 : made of fibres or filaments
• CPC Class Codes: D01F 2/00 : Monocomponent artificial filaments or the like of cellulose or cellulose derivatives; Manufacture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/04 : from fleeces or layers composed of fibres having existing or potential cohesive properties, e.g. natural fibres, prestretched or fibrillated artificial fibres felting apparatus D04H17/00
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/42 : characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/425 : Cellulose series
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/4258 : Regenerated cellulose series
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/4291 : Olefin series
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/4374 : using different kinds of webs, e.g. by layering webs
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/43828 : sheath-core
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/43832 : side-by-side
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/43838 : Ultrafine fibres, e.g. microfibres
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/46 : by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres D04H1/45 takes precedence; needling machines D04H18/00
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/48 : in combination with at least one other method of consolidation
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/49 : entanglement by fluid jet in combination with another consolidation means
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/492 : by fluid jet D04H1/49 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/498 : entanglement of layered webs
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/728 : by electro-spinning electro-spinning methods and apparatus D01D5/0007
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/005 : Synthetic yarns or filaments D04H3/013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/105 : by needling needling machines D04H18/00
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/11 : by fluid jet
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/16 : with bonds between thermoplastic filaments produced in association with filament formation, e.g. immediately following extrusion
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 5/02 : strengthened or consolidated by mechanical methods, e.g. needling needling machines D04H18/00
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 5/03 : by fluid jet
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 5/08 : characterised by the method of forming fleeces or layers, e.g. reorientation of fibres or yarns
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 13/00 : Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics or fibrous goods made from such materials, with non-macromolecular organic compounds D06M10/00, D06M14/00 take precedence; treatment with complexes of organic amines with inorganic substances D06M11/59; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 13/005 : Compositions containing perfumes; Compositions containing deodorants
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 2101/06 : cellulosic

Abstract

A smokeless tobacco product includes smokeless tobacco and structural fibers. The structural fibers forming a network in which the smokeless tobacco is entangled. The structural fibers have a composition different from the smokeless tobacco. The tobacco-entangled fabric can have an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent. In some embodiments, the structural fibers form a nonwoven network. In some embodiments, fibrous structures of the smokeless tobacco are entangled with the structural fibers.

Claims

1. A smokeless tobacco product comprising,

smokeless tobacco;

and

structural fibers forming a network, in which smokeless tobacco is entangled, to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, said structural fibers having a composition different from the smokeless tobacco, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric surrounds a mass of the smokeless tobacco that is free of structural fibers.

2. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of about 4% by weight to about 61% by weight.

3. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers form a nonwoven network.

4. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers are entangled with fibrous structures of the smokeless tobacco.

5. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric has dimensional stability.

6. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers are at least partially mouth-stable and the tobacco-entangled fabric is adapted to remain substantially cohesive when placed in an adult tobacco consumer'"'"'s mouth and exposed to saliva.

7. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise cotton fibers.

8. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise viscose fibers.

9. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise polypropylene.

10. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise milled tobacco at least partially embedded in polymeric thermoplastic material of the structural fibers.

11. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise reconstituted cellulosic fibers.

12. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 11, wherein the reconstituted cellulosic fibers are reconstituted by dissolving and spinning tobacco plant material.

13. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the structural fibers comprise composite fibers, each composite fiber including two or more materials.

14. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 13, wherein the composite fibers comprise at least one mouth-stable material and at least one mouth-dissolvable material.

15. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric has an arrangement resulting from the needle punching of the structural fibers with the smokeless tobacco.

16. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric comprises multiple layers of structural fibers and multiple layers of smokeless tobacco, wherein the fibers from adjacent layers are entangled.

17. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, further comprising flavorants within the tobacco-entangled fabric.

18. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein said product has a thickness of between 5 mm and 15 mm, a width of between 10 mm and 20 mm, and a length of between 10 mm and 30 mm.

19. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric is folded or rolled upon itself.

20. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the smokeless tobacco product comprises tobacco material exposed along an outer surface.

21. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, further comprising a dissolvable film at least partially coating the tobacco-entangled fabric.

22. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the smokeless tobacco comprises cured tobacco.

23. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 22, wherein the smokeless tobacco comprises cured, aged, fermented tobacco.

24. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 22, wherein the smokeless tobacco comprises cured, aged, non-fermented tobacco.

25. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric comprises from about 15% to about 85% of smokeless tobacco on a dry weight basis.

26. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the smokeless tobacco comprises dark tobacco.

27. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the smokeless tobacco has an average length of between 0.1 and 1.0 inches and an average width of 0.009 to 0.1 inches.

28. A packaged smokeless tobacco product comprising:

a container that defines a moisture-tight interior space; and

at least one piece of tobacco-entangled fabric according to claim 1 disposed in the moisture-tight interior space.

29. The packaged smokeless tobacco product of claim 28, comprising a plurality of similarly shaped pieces of tobacco-entangled fabric disposed in the interior space.

30. The packaged smokeless tobacco product of claim 28, wherein the container defines a second interior space for the disposal of used pieces of tobacco-entangled fabric.

31. A smokeless tobacco product comprising,

smokeless tobacco;

and

structural fibers forming a network, in which smokeless tobacco is entangled, to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, said structural fibers having a composition different from the smokeless tobacco,

wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric comprises multiple layers of structural fibers and multiple layers of smokeless tobacco, wherein the fibers from adjacent layers are entangled,

wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric comprises a needled composite including a central layer comprising primarily cotton fibers as structural fibers, two intermediate layers comprising primarily smokeless tobacco adjacent the central layer, and two outer layers comprising cotton fibers as structural fibers.

32. The smokeless tobacco product of claim 31, wherein the tobacco-entangled fabric surrounds a mass of smokeless tobacco that is free of structural fibers.

33. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product, wherein the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers are entangled by direct jets of fluid through the combination of the smokeless tobacco fibers and the structural fibers, wherein the fluid is a liquid.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising extruding and drawing polymeric material to form the structural fibers.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the structural fibers are extruded though a plurality of extruder dies and the structural fibers are drawn by jets of air adjacent the plurality of extruder dies to create a flow of structural fibers.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the flow of structural fibers is collected on a collection surface.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the extruded and drawn structural fibers are melt-blown.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the extruded and drawn structural fibers are spunbond fibers.

39. The method of claim 35, further comprising bonding the structural fibers.

40. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product, further comprising extruding and drawing polymeric material to form the structural fibers,

wherein the structural fibers are extruded though a plurality of extruder dies and the structural fibers are drawn by jets of air adjacent the plurality of extruder dies to create a flow of structural fibers,

wherein the flow of structural fibers is collected on a collection surface,

wherein the smokeless tobacco is deposited on the collection surface and subsequently coated by the flow of structural fibers to bring the fibers into contact with the smokeless tobacco.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers are entangled by needling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers are entangled by direct jets of fluid through the combination of the smokeless tobacco fibers and the structural fibers.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the fluid is a gas.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein jets of fluid are directed into the smokeless tobacco to intermingle the smokeless tobacco with the structural fibers.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the jets of fluid directed into the smokeless tobacco is positioned at a point at or near an area where the flow of structural fibers is collected on the collection surface.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the structural fibers and smokeless tobacco are needled to intermingle the smokeless tobacco with the structural fibers.

47. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product,

wherein the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers are entangled by direct jets of fluid through the combination of the smokeless tobacco fibers and the structural fibers,

wherein the fluid is a gas,

wherein the jet of fluid has a diameter of between 0.1 mm and 2 mm.

48. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric,

wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product, further comprising extruding and drawing polymeric material to form the structural fibers,

wherein the structural fibers are extruded though a plurality of extruder dies and the structural fibers are drawn by jets of air adjacent the plurality of extruder dies to create a flow of structural fibers,

wherein the flow of structural fibers is collected on a collection surface,

wherein a flow of smokeless tobacco is directed towards the flow of structural fibers to bring the fibers into contact with and to intermingle the fibers and the smokeless tobacco.

49. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product, further comprising extruding and drawing polymeric material to form the structural fibers,

wherein the structural fibers are extruded though a plurality of extruder dies and the structural fibers are drawn by jets of air adjacent the plurality of extruder dies to create a flow of structural fibers,

wherein at least one structural fiber is coextruded with at least two material components.

50. A method of making a smokeless tobacco product, the method comprising:

bringing smokeless tobacco into contact with structural fibers;

intermingling the smokeless tobacco and the structural fibers to form a tobacco-entangled fabric, wherein tobacco-entangled fabric has an overall oven volatiles content of at least 10 weight percent; and

cutting, folding, or rolling the tobacco-entangled fabric to form the smokeless tobacco product, further comprising extruding and drawing polymeric material to form the structural fibers,

wherein the structural fibers are extruded though a plurality of extruder dies and the structural fibers are drawn by jets of air adjacent the plurality of extruder dies to create a flow of structural fibers,

wherein the structural fibers comprise a reconstituted cellulosic material, wherein reconstituted cellulosic material is formed by dissolving tobacco plant material and extruding and drawing the non-dissolved tobacco plant material to create the reconstituted cellulosic material.