# US 8,539,958 B2 · Oral moist smokeless tobacco products with net-structured gel coating and methods of making

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- Number: US 8,539,958 B2
- Document ID: US8539958B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/790,043
- Filed: 2010-05-28
- Published: 2011-05-05
- Granted: 2013-09-24
- Earliest claimed: 2009-10-13
- Assignees: Philip Morris USA Inc.
- Applicants: Munmaya K. Mishra; Shengsheng Liu; William R. Sweeney; Szu-Sung Yang; Dennis Geib
- Inventors: Munmaya K. Mishra; Shengsheng Liu; William R. Sweeney; Szu-Sung Yang; Dennis Geib
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8539958B2

## CPC

- A24B 15/186: {by coating with a coating composition, encapsulation of tobacco particles (encapsulation of additives other than tobacco : A24B15/283)}
- A24B 13/00: Tobacco for pipes, for cigars, e.g. cigar inserts, or for cigarettes; Chewing tobacco; Snuff (reconstituted tobacco products A24B3/14)
- A24B: MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF

## Abstract

Oral tobacco products having a gel-coating and methods for making are provided. The method includes (a) molding a portion of tobacco material to form a pre-portioned piece of tobacco material, the tobacco material comprising moist smokeless tobacco; (b) contacting the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material with a gel-coating solution to form a gel-coating comprising at least one polymer on an outer surface of the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material to form a gel-coated oral tobacco product, said gel-coating comprising an inner surface disposed around the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material and an outer surface; and (c) forming one or more of perforations, uncoated areas and holes in the gel-coating of the oral tobacco product to form a gel-coated oral tobacco product.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A pre-portioned oral tobacco product comprising:
a pre-portioned piece of tobacco material comprising moist smokeless tobacco; and
a gel-coating at least partially surrounding the pre-portioned piece of tobacco and having a plurality of perforations, uncoated areas and/or holes extending through a thickness of the gel-coating, interspersed throughout the gel-coating and formed in the gel-coating prior to use; said gel-coating comprising at least one insoluble polymer, wherein each of the perforations, uncoated areas and/or holes is sufficiently small to substantially prevent pieces of the tobacco material from traveling therethrough.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the bulk density of the oral tobacco product is about 1.0±0.2 g/cm3.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material has a length of up to about 1.5 inch, a width of up to about 0.75 inch and a height of up to about 1 inch and wherein the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material weighs about 0.5 g to about 2.5 g.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the pre-portioned oral tobacco product has one or more ends and sides that are gel-coating-free.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the gel-coating is about 0.2 mm to about 1.0 mm thick when the gel-coating is removed from the pre-portioned oral tobacco product and dried.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, wherein the gel-coating has a moisture content of about 10% to about 50%.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The pre-portioned oral tobacco product of claim 1, further comprising an additive selected from the group consisting of flavorants, sweeteners, preservatives, nutraceuticals, antioxidants, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, botanical extracts, humectants, chemesthetic agents and combinations thereof in the gel-coating and/or the pre-portioned piece of tobacco material.