Smokeless tobacco article
AssigneeAltria Client Services LLC
InventorsGregory James Griscik, Carl Gregory Miller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for making a smokeless tobacco article can include combining thermoplastic polymer particles with tobacco particles to form a mixture of particles, compressing the mixture of particles within a pressing apparatus to form the mixture into a predetermined shape, separating the mixture from the pressing apparatus such that it retains the predetermined shape, and heating the mixture outside of the pressing apparatus to at least partially melt at least some of the thermoplastic polymer particles and form a matrix of polymer and tobacco particles.
Claims18
A method for making a smokeless tobacco article, comprising
- combining thermoplastic polymer particles with tobacco particles to form a mixture of particles;
- compressing the mixture of particles within a pressing apparatus with a force of at least 1 kN to form the mixture into a predetermined shape, wherein the compression of the mixture of particles is performed at approximately room temperature;
- releasing pressure on the mixture such that the mixture retains the predetermined shape;
- and
- heating the compressed mixture to at least partially melt at least some of the thermoplastic polymer particles and form a matrix of polymer and tobacco particles, wherein the compressed mixture having the predetermined shape is removed from the pressing apparatus prior to heating the mixture, wherein the heating is performed at approximately atmospheric pressures, and wherein the heating is performed to a temperature and for a time period to provide the smokeless tobacco article with a Shore M hardness of at least 90.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.