Altria Client Services LLC

Robert Smith

Andrew Nathan Carroll

William J Burke

Shannon Maxwell Black

Yan Helen Sun

Jason Andrew Macko

Christopher Joseph Dinovi

David Phillips

William Joseph Burke

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.

Product portion enrobing machines and methods

A method of enrobing a product portion in polymer strands includes mounting at least one product portion on a holding device and passing the at least one product portion through a polymer enrobing zone. The polymer enrobing zone can include a flow of polymeric fibers produced by a polymer spray head. The polymer fibers can wraparound the at least one product portion to produce an enrobed product portion. The holding device can hold the at least one product portion by passing at least partially through the body of the product portion. At least a portion of the holding device is removed from the enrobed product portion. In some cases, the at least one product portion includes smokeless tobacco.

Product portion enrobing process and apparatus, and resulting products

Methods for encasing bodies including smokeless tobacco or a tobacco substitute with a polymeric casing can include coating a compressed body with microfibers, applying tubular casings to compressed bodies, printing netting and webs on compressed bodies, injection molding around compressed bodies, applying a webbing to compressed bodies, placing compressed bodies into a skin forming bath, and including thermoplastic polymers in a compressed body.

Polymer encased smokeless tobacco products

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Glen Allen, VA, United States of America

Robert Smith