Product portion enrobing machines and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12193473-B2
Application number	US-202418426761-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2024
Priority date	Mar 14, 2013
Publication date	Jan 14, 2025
Grant date	Jan 14, 2025

Abstract

An apparatus for enrobing a product portion can include at least one polymer spray head adapted to create at least one flow of polymeric fibers to produce at least one polymer enrobing zone and a conveyor system adapted to move at least one product portion from at least one position below at least one polymer enrobing zone and to at least one position above at least one polymer enrobing zone to drop each product portion through one or more polymer enrobing zones a plurality times at different orientations to enrobe each product portion with polymeric fibers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An oral product comprising:
an outer material formed from nonwoven fibers, the nonwoven fibers including,
a compound polymer including,
an elastomer, and
a filler that increases a hydraulic permittivity of the outer material;

and

an inner material including,
a cellulosic material, and
an additive.

2. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the additive is mixed with the cellulosic material.

3. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the oral product is free of tobacco and nicotine.

4. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the filler includes a colorant.

5. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic material includes tea leaves, coffee, red clover, coconut flakes, mint leaves, citrus fiber, bamboo fiber, ginseng, apple, corn silk, grape leaf, and basil leaf, or any combination thereof.

6. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic material includes microcrystalline cellulose.

7. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the inner material further includes a flavorant.

8. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the inner material further includes a sweetener.

9. The oral product of claim 8 , wherein the sweetener is an artificial sweetener.

10. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the inner material further includes a plasticizer.

11. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the inner material further includes a pH modifier.

12. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the inner material further includes a salt.

13. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven fibers have a diameter of less than or equal to 100 microns.

14. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer includes polyurethane.

15. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the elastomer includes polypropylene.

16. The oral product of claim 1 , wherein the outer material further includes a flavorant, a sweetener, or both a flavorant and a sweetener on a surface of the nonwoven fibers.

17. An oral product comprising:
an outer material formed from nonwoven fibers, the nonwoven fibers including,
a compound polymer including,
an elastomer, and
a filler that increases a hydraulic permittivity of the outer material; and

an inner mixture including,
a cellulosic material,
an additive,
a flavorant,
a sweetener,
a pH modifier, and
a plasticizer.

18. The oral product of claim 17 , wherein
the elastomer includes polyurethane.

19. The oral product of claim 18 , wherein the elastomer consists essentially of polyurethane.

20. The oral product of claim 17 , wherein the sweetener includes an artificial sweetener.

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Carroll Andrew Nathan
• Black Shannon Maxwell
• Sun Yan Helen
• Burke William J
• Smith Robert

Classifications

• B05B13/0221

  characterised by the means for moving or conveying the objects or other work, e.g. conveyor belts (B05B13/0207 takes precedence; conveyors in general B65G) · CPC title

• A24F23/02

  Tobacco pouches · CPC title

• A24B15/403

  having only oxygen as hetero atoms · CPC title

• A24B15/14

  made of tobacco and a binding agent not derived from tobacco · CPC title

• A24B3/14

  Forming reconstituted tobacco products, e.g. wrapper materials, sheets, imitation leaves, rods, cakes; Forms of such products (delustering A24C1/40) · CPC title