Philip Morris USA Inc.

Philip Morris Inc.

Hector Alonso

Firooz Rasouli

A Clifton Lilly, Jr

Henry M Dante

Ping Li

Shalva Gedevanishvili

Rajesh K Garg

Peter Martin

Norman R Rowe

Weijun Zhang

Avis N Wyatt, Jr

Stephen G Zimmermann

Robert S Southard

A wrapper for a smoking article includes a web; and a patterned deposit on at least a portion of one surface of the wrapper, wherein the patterned deposit comprises catalyst particles. The patterned deposit can include a nanoparticle catalyst that is capable of catalyzing the conversion of a constituent gas component in the mainstream and/or sidestream smoke of the smoking article. The constituent gas component can be carbon monoxide and/or nitric oxide and the catalyst particles can be iron oxide. Also provided is a smoking article comprising a tobacco rod having a wrapper formed around the tobacco rod, the wrapper including a patterned deposit on at least a portion of one surface of the wrapper. A method of making the wrapper and a method of making a smoking article utilizing the wrapper are also provided.

Cigarette wrapper with printed catalyst

A piezoelectrically driven fluid pump includes a chamber having two opposite sidewalls formed by flexible membranes, and an inlet and an outlet each regulated by a valve. Separate piezo elements are fixed to each of the membranes, to flex the membranes and increase or reduce the chamber volume and thereby draw fluid into the chamber or expel fluid from the chamber. The valves are each formed by two adjacent piezo elements that are supported or flexibly joined together at two opposite ends. When actuated, the valve piezo elements flex outward between the two opposite ends, opening the valve to form an aperture between the two piezo elements. In another embodiment, a fluid pump includes a chamber having one flexible membrane sidewall. A valve-regulated inlet or outlet aperture through the membrane communicates with the pump chamber. A ring-shaped piezo centered around the aperture, on the membrane, flexes the membrane.

Piezoelectrically driven fluids pump and piezoelectric fluid valve

A method and apparatus are provided for detecting and removing foreign material which may be found in a stream of particulate matter, such as tobacco. The tobacco is allowed to fall in a cascade past an optical detector. The turbulence of the falling motion brings a large proportion of the particles in the cascade into the field of view of the detector. When foreign material is detected, a signal is generated to activate a fluid blast directed at the portion of the cascade in which the foreign material is located.

Method and apparatus for detecting and removing foreign material from a

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Richmond, VA, United States of America

Hector Alonso