Basecoat and associated paperboard structure including a pigment blend of hyper-platy clay and calcined clay
Patent No. 9,181,658
A basecoat including a pigment blend including a calcined clay component and a hyper-platy clay component, wherein the hyper-platy clay component has a shape factor of at least about 40:1, and wherein the pigment blend has a sediment void volume of at least about 50 percent.
Inventors: Steven G. Bushhouse (Richmond), Terry L. Clark (Columbus, Ga.), Gary P. Fugitt (Richmond), James P. E. Jones (Roswell, Ga.), Anthony V. Lyons (Macon, Ga.), Roger W. Wygant (East Dublin, Ga.)
Assignee: WestRock MWV (Norcross, Ga.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Container for housing a tray or blister pack
Patent No. 9,180,068
A container includes a base portion and a shell attached to the base portion to form a sheath for receiving one or more articles. The shell includes a primary shell panel and a shell side panel. The shell side panel is connected to the primary shell panel by a first fold line. The shell primary panel has a cutout area adapted to allow a finger to be inserted therethrough to slidably move the one or more articles. The shell includes an indexing tab for yieldably restricting movement of the one or more articles in the sheath. The indexing tab is hingedly connected to the primary shell panel along a perimeter of the cutout area and is folded inwardly of the sheath.
Inventors: Caleb S. Loftin (Richmond)
Assignee: WestRock MWV (Norcross, Ga.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Hydrosol based flavor delivery device
Patent No. 9,179,700
A handheld hydrosol delivery device includes a canister which is at least partially filled with a liquid formulation of one or more liquids and optional particles, and one or more propellants where at least one of the liquids, propellants, particles and combinations thereof is a flavor; a pressure valve which expels at least a portion of the liquid formulation and at least a portion of the propellant from the canister while dispersing the propellant into the liquid formulation forming a consumable flavored hydrosol comprising one or more gases dispersed within the liquid formulation, through a nozzle delivering the hydrosol to a user.
Inventors: Firooz Rasouli (Pully, Switzerland), Wei-Jun Zhang (Richmond), Jon Regrut (Richmond), James Pflueger (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 10, 2015
Method and apparatus for use in the formation of a tobacco pouch
Patent No. 9,180,988
An apparatus for use in the formation and filling of a pouched product. The apparatus includes an elongated outer tubular member, the elongated outer tubular member having a first end, a second end and an outer surface; an elongated inner tubular member, the elongated inner tubular member coaxially aligned within the elongated outer tubular member so as to form an annular delivery chamber and having a first end and a second end, the first end for receiving the product to be pouched, the second end having a plurality of circumferentially spaced exit orifices in fluid communication with the annular delivery chamber and directed radially inwardly, the second end for placing the product within the pouch being formed; and an inlet hub adjacent the first end of the elongated outer tubular member and the first end of the elongated inner tubular member, the inlet hub having a first inlet in communication with the first end of the elongated inner tubular member and a second inlet in fluid communication with the annular delivery chamber; wherein the outer surface of the elongated outer tubular member provides a surface for forming the pouched product thereabout.
Inventors: Steve Rinehart (Chesterfield, Va.), Marc D. Belcastro (Glen Allen, Va.), Dwight D. Williams (Powhatan, Va.)
Assignee: Philip Morris Usa Inc. (Richmond, VA)
Nov. 10, 2015
System and method for providing contactless payment with a near field communications attachment
Patent No. 9,183,491
A system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include an attachment with a near field communication antenna, a secure element, a plug capable of connecting the attachment to an audio jack on a mobile device. Further, a system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving a payment initiation instruction from a customer, using a near field communication antenna, sending payment information to a point of sale device, using one or more computer processors, encoding data related to the payment as audio data, and transmitting the data related to the payment through an audio jack.
Inventors: Paul Young Moreton (Glen Allen, Va.), Thomas Poole (Chantilly, Va.)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corp. (McLean, Va.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Fluid flow filter and method of making and using
Patent No. 9,180,397
A filter well suited for paint arrestor usage having a monolithic high loft manmade fiber body with a convoluted flow contact surface. The filter is preferably formed by a convoluter as in one with a roller set and blade cutter to form mirror image fiber filter sheets from a received fiber batt. Provided is a well mixed proper fiber blend, such as one having a set of fibers made of a majority of course fibers joined by way of thermal bonding fibers which facilitate, during convoluting, formation of a crisp cut and high integrity three dimensional surface, as in one of rows of peaks separated by valleys. The projection/recess arrangement over the flow contact surface as well as the thickness and relative projection-to-base dimensions are arranged to provide a high paint holding capacity without too fast a load up of, for example, paint particles and while avoiding too great of a pressure drop within that load up time.
Inventors: Dennis L. Mater (Glen Allen, Va.), Steve Hawkins (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: Carpenter Co. (Richmond)
Nov. 10, 2015
Liquid filtration media
Patent No. 9,180,393
A liquid filter with a composite medium that has a nanoweb adjacent to and optionally bonded to a microporous membrane. The membrane is characterized by an LRV value of 3.7 at a rated particle size, and the nanoweb has a fractional filtration efficiency of greater than 0.1 at the rated particle size of the membrane. The nanoweb also has a thickness efficiency ratio of greater than 0.0002 at that efficiency. The nanoweb acts to provide depth filtration to the membrane, prefilters particles and extends the lifetime of the membrane.
Inventors: Guanghui Chen (Glen Allen, Va.), Henricus Jacobus Cornelis Gommeren (Hockessin, Del.), Lawrence Mark Knorr (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont De Nemours and Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Oral product
Patent No. 9,185,931
An oral product includes a body that is wholly receivable in an oral cavity. The body includes a mouth-stable polymer matrix, cellulosic fibers embedded in the mouth-stable polymer matrix, and a mouth-soluble binder dispersed in the mouth-stable polymer matrix.
Inventors: Feng Gao (Midlothian, Va.), Frank Scott Atchley (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), Gregory James Griscik (Midlothian, Va.), Christopher Joseph DiNovi (Ruther Glen, Va.), Phillip M. Hulan (Midlothian, Va.), Diane L. Gee (Chesterfield, Va.), Jason Flora (Richmond), Shuzhong Zhuang (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Altria Client Services Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015
Distributed energy system disconnect switch with mechanical isolation
Patent No. 9,190,871
A switching assembly includes a first terminal and a second terminal, and a contactor connected to the first terminal, where the contactor includes a relay switch and a coil. The switching assembly further includes a first switch connected to the second terminal, and a rectifier bridge connected in series between the contactor and the first switch. The switching assembly also includes a control unit configured to selectively apply a control signal to the coil to cause the relay switch to open or close based on a voltage measured at the first terminal or based on a voltage drop measured across the rectifier bridge.
Inventors: Hans-Erik Pfitzer (Chesterfield, Va.)
Assignee: Thomas & Betts International (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Electrical busway splice connector
Patent No. 9,190,791
A splice connector for a busway system utilizes individual connectors made of a conductive material and having a u-shaped cross-section that fit over ends of a pair of busbars to be connected to each other, and within which are mounted multi-contact louvers that extend the length of the connectors to establish a low impedance electrical connection between the connector and the respective busbars. The louvers are secured in place by a dovetail groove that retains the louvers within the connectors and causes the individual contact sections of the louvers to bow outwardly so as to press against the busbars when the connector is fitted over the busbars. The connectors are snapped into insulative housing halves or sections that align the connectors with the busbars, and that provide isolation between horizontally aligned pairs of connectors. A planar insulator board provides separate between vertically-aligned pairs of busbars when the connectors are fitted over the busbars and the insulative housing sections are aligned and secured to each other. Spacers may be utilized to enable different sized u-shaped connectors to fit within a standard insulative housing.
Inventors: Mario L. Jaena (Kent, Wash.), Vladimir Gulkarov (San Diego, Calif.), Isaac Folk (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Power Distribution Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015
Multilayer reinforced hose
Patent No. 9,188,258
This invention pertains to an umbilical hose comprising in order a thermoplastic inner liner, at least one fibrous reinforcement layer having a layer thickness no greater than 1.5 mm, comprising continuous filament yarns having a yarn tenacity of at least 13 g/dtex and a linear density no greater than 6667 dtex, and a thermoplastic outer cover.
Inventors: Mark Allan Lamontia (Landenberg, Penn.), Caio P. Faury (Barueri, Brazil), David William Litchfield (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont Nemours And Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Knit fabric and an article comprising same
Patent No. 9,188,255
A knit fabric suitable as a reinforcement for elastomeric articles comprises a plurality of reinforcement yarns wherein each course of the fabric comprises either a first or second yarn, the modulus of the first yarn being different from the modulus of the second yarn, and the courses comprising the first and second yarns are arranged in one of the following sequences, (a) alternating courses comprise first and second yarns respectively, (b) the courses form a repeat pattern of, in order, a course comprising a first yarn, two courses comprising a second yarn and a course comprising a first yarn or (c) the courses form a repeat pattern of, in order, a course comprising a second yarn, two courses comprising a first yarn and a course comprising a second yarn.
Inventors: David William Litchfield (Midlothian, Va.), Carlo Fiorella (Wilmington, Del.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Lifting device, system, and method
Patent No. 9,187,293
A lifting device comprises three or more links hingedly joined end-to-end such that the lifting device is able to hingedly move in a first direction from a linear arrangement to a bent arrangement but is not able to hingedly move from the linear arrangement to a bent arrangement in a second direction opposite the first direction.
Inventors: Timothy Craig Schlothauer (Mechanicsville, Va.)
Assignee: N/A
Nov. 17, 2015
Immobilized flavorants for flavor delivery
Patent No. 9,185,925
Disclosed is a copolymer that includes a repeat unit containing a flavorant-containing pendant and a salt-containing repeating unit. In addition, a comestible, a smoking composition, a smoking article, a smokeless tobacco composition and a heatable or combustible product are provided which incorporate one or more of the flavorant-containing copolymer.
Inventors: Shengsheng Liu (Henrico, Va.), Munmaya K. Mishra (Manakin Sabot, Va.), Peter J. Lipowicz (Midlothlan, Va.), Biao Duan (Appleton, Wisc.)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015
Basecoat and associated paperboard structure including a pigment blend of hyper-platy clay and calcined clay
Patent No. 9,181,658
A basecoat including a pigment blend including a calcined clay component and a hyper-platy clay component, wherein the hyper-platy clay component has a shape factor of at least about 40:1, and wherein the pigment blend has a sediment void volume of at least about 50 percent.
Inventors: Steven G. Bushhouse (Richmond), Terry L. Clark (Columbus, Ga.), Gary P. Fugitt (Richmond), James P. E. Jones (Roswell, Ga.), Anthony V. Lyons (Macon, Ga.), Roger W. Wygant (East Dublin, Ga.)
Assignee: WestRock MWV (Norcross, Ga.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Container for housing a tray or blister pack
Patent No. 9,180,068
A container includes a base portion and a shell attached to the base portion to form a sheath for receiving one or more articles. The shell includes a primary shell panel and a shell side panel. The shell side panel is connected to the primary shell panel by a first fold line. The shell primary panel has a cutout area adapted to allow a finger to be inserted therethrough to slidably move the one or more articles. The shell includes an indexing tab for yieldably restricting movement of the one or more articles in the sheath. The indexing tab is hingedly connected to the primary shell panel along a perimeter of the cutout area and is folded inwardly of the sheath.
Inventors: Caleb S. Loftin (Richmond)
Assignee: WestRock MWV (Norcross, Ga.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Hydrosol based flavor delivery device
Patent No. 9,179,700
A handheld hydrosol delivery device includes a canister which is at least partially filled with a liquid formulation of one or more liquids and optional particles, and one or more propellants where at least one of the liquids, propellants, particles and combinations thereof is a flavor; a pressure valve which expels at least a portion of the liquid formulation and at least a portion of the propellant from the canister while dispersing the propellant into the liquid formulation forming a consumable flavored hydrosol comprising one or more gases dispersed within the liquid formulation, through a nozzle delivering the hydrosol to a user.
Inventors: Firooz Rasouli (Pully, Switzerland), Wei-Jun Zhang (Richmond), Jon Regrut (Richmond), James Pflueger (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 10, 2015
Method and apparatus for use in the formation of a tobacco pouch
Patent No. 9,180,988
An apparatus for use in the formation and filling of a pouched product. The apparatus includes an elongated outer tubular member, the elongated outer tubular member having a first end, a second end and an outer surface; an elongated inner tubular member, the elongated inner tubular member coaxially aligned within the elongated outer tubular member so as to form an annular delivery chamber and having a first end and a second end, the first end for receiving the product to be pouched, the second end having a plurality of circumferentially spaced exit orifices in fluid communication with the annular delivery chamber and directed radially inwardly, the second end for placing the product within the pouch being formed; and an inlet hub adjacent the first end of the elongated outer tubular member and the first end of the elongated inner tubular member, the inlet hub having a first inlet in communication with the first end of the elongated inner tubular member and a second inlet in fluid communication with the annular delivery chamber; wherein the outer surface of the elongated outer tubular member provides a surface for forming the pouched product thereabout.
Inventors: Steve Rinehart (Chesterfield, Va.), Marc D. Belcastro (Glen Allen, Va.), Dwight D. Williams (Powhatan, Va.)
Assignee: Philip Morris Usa Inc. (Richmond, VA)
Nov. 10, 2015
System and method for providing contactless payment with a near field communications attachment
Patent No. 9,183,491
A system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include an attachment with a near field communication antenna, a secure element, a plug capable of connecting the attachment to an audio jack on a mobile device. Further, a system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving a payment initiation instruction from a customer, using a near field communication antenna, sending payment information to a point of sale device, using one or more computer processors, encoding data related to the payment as audio data, and transmitting the data related to the payment through an audio jack.
Inventors: Paul Young Moreton (Glen Allen, Va.), Thomas Poole (Chantilly, Va.)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corp. (McLean, Va.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Fluid flow filter and method of making and using
Patent No. 9,180,397
A filter well suited for paint arrestor usage having a monolithic high loft manmade fiber body with a convoluted flow contact surface. The filter is preferably formed by a convoluter as in one with a roller set and blade cutter to form mirror image fiber filter sheets from a received fiber batt. Provided is a well mixed proper fiber blend, such as one having a set of fibers made of a majority of course fibers joined by way of thermal bonding fibers which facilitate, during convoluting, formation of a crisp cut and high integrity three dimensional surface, as in one of rows of peaks separated by valleys. The projection/recess arrangement over the flow contact surface as well as the thickness and relative projection-to-base dimensions are arranged to provide a high paint holding capacity without too fast a load up of, for example, paint particles and while avoiding too great of a pressure drop within that load up time.
Inventors: Dennis L. Mater (Glen Allen, Va.), Steve Hawkins (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: Carpenter Co. (Richmond)
Nov. 10, 2015
Liquid filtration media
Patent No. 9,180,393
A liquid filter with a composite medium that has a nanoweb adjacent to and optionally bonded to a microporous membrane. The membrane is characterized by an LRV value of 3.7 at a rated particle size, and the nanoweb has a fractional filtration efficiency of greater than 0.1 at the rated particle size of the membrane. The nanoweb also has a thickness efficiency ratio of greater than 0.0002 at that efficiency. The nanoweb acts to provide depth filtration to the membrane, prefilters particles and extends the lifetime of the membrane.
Inventors: Guanghui Chen (Glen Allen, Va.), Henricus Jacobus Cornelis Gommeren (Hockessin, Del.), Lawrence Mark Knorr (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont De Nemours and Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 10, 2015
Oral product
Patent No. 9,185,931
An oral product includes a body that is wholly receivable in an oral cavity. The body includes a mouth-stable polymer matrix, cellulosic fibers embedded in the mouth-stable polymer matrix, and a mouth-soluble binder dispersed in the mouth-stable polymer matrix.
Inventors: Feng Gao (Midlothian, Va.), Frank Scott Atchley (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), Gregory James Griscik (Midlothian, Va.), Christopher Joseph DiNovi (Ruther Glen, Va.), Phillip M. Hulan (Midlothian, Va.), Diane L. Gee (Chesterfield, Va.), Jason Flora (Richmond), Shuzhong Zhuang (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Altria Client Services Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015
Distributed energy system disconnect switch with mechanical isolation
Patent No. 9,190,871
A switching assembly includes a first terminal and a second terminal, and a contactor connected to the first terminal, where the contactor includes a relay switch and a coil. The switching assembly further includes a first switch connected to the second terminal, and a rectifier bridge connected in series between the contactor and the first switch. The switching assembly also includes a control unit configured to selectively apply a control signal to the coil to cause the relay switch to open or close based on a voltage measured at the first terminal or based on a voltage drop measured across the rectifier bridge.
Inventors: Hans-Erik Pfitzer (Chesterfield, Va.)
Assignee: Thomas & Betts International (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Electrical busway splice connector
Patent No. 9,190,791
A splice connector for a busway system utilizes individual connectors made of a conductive material and having a u-shaped cross-section that fit over ends of a pair of busbars to be connected to each other, and within which are mounted multi-contact louvers that extend the length of the connectors to establish a low impedance electrical connection between the connector and the respective busbars. The louvers are secured in place by a dovetail groove that retains the louvers within the connectors and causes the individual contact sections of the louvers to bow outwardly so as to press against the busbars when the connector is fitted over the busbars. The connectors are snapped into insulative housing halves or sections that align the connectors with the busbars, and that provide isolation between horizontally aligned pairs of connectors. A planar insulator board provides separate between vertically-aligned pairs of busbars when the connectors are fitted over the busbars and the insulative housing sections are aligned and secured to each other. Spacers may be utilized to enable different sized u-shaped connectors to fit within a standard insulative housing.
Inventors: Mario L. Jaena (Kent, Wash.), Vladimir Gulkarov (San Diego, Calif.), Isaac Folk (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Power Distribution Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015
Multilayer reinforced hose
Patent No. 9,188,258
This invention pertains to an umbilical hose comprising in order a thermoplastic inner liner, at least one fibrous reinforcement layer having a layer thickness no greater than 1.5 mm, comprising continuous filament yarns having a yarn tenacity of at least 13 g/dtex and a linear density no greater than 6667 dtex, and a thermoplastic outer cover.
Inventors: Mark Allan Lamontia (Landenberg, Penn.), Caio P. Faury (Barueri, Brazil), David William Litchfield (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont Nemours And Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Knit fabric and an article comprising same
Patent No. 9,188,255
A knit fabric suitable as a reinforcement for elastomeric articles comprises a plurality of reinforcement yarns wherein each course of the fabric comprises either a first or second yarn, the modulus of the first yarn being different from the modulus of the second yarn, and the courses comprising the first and second yarns are arranged in one of the following sequences, (a) alternating courses comprise first and second yarns respectively, (b) the courses form a repeat pattern of, in order, a course comprising a first yarn, two courses comprising a second yarn and a course comprising a first yarn or (c) the courses form a repeat pattern of, in order, a course comprising a second yarn, two courses comprising a first yarn and a course comprising a second yarn.
Inventors: David William Litchfield (Midlothian, Va.), Carlo Fiorella (Wilmington, Del.)
Assignee: E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co. (Wilmington, Del.)
Nov. 17, 2015
Lifting device, system, and method
Patent No. 9,187,293
A lifting device comprises three or more links hingedly joined end-to-end such that the lifting device is able to hingedly move in a first direction from a linear arrangement to a bent arrangement but is not able to hingedly move from the linear arrangement to a bent arrangement in a second direction opposite the first direction.
Inventors: Timothy Craig Schlothauer (Mechanicsville, Va.)
Assignee: N/A
Nov. 17, 2015
Immobilized flavorants for flavor delivery
Patent No. 9,185,925
Disclosed is a copolymer that includes a repeat unit containing a flavorant-containing pendant and a salt-containing repeating unit. In addition, a comestible, a smoking composition, a smoking article, a smokeless tobacco composition and a heatable or combustible product are provided which incorporate one or more of the flavorant-containing copolymer.
Inventors: Shengsheng Liu (Henrico, Va.), Munmaya K. Mishra (Manakin Sabot, Va.), Peter J. Lipowicz (Midlothlan, Va.), Biao Duan (Appleton, Wisc.)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Nov. 17, 2015