Tobacco Smoking Article

Patent No. US2755206 (titled "Tobacco Smoking Article") was filed by Edward L Chapman on Aug 17, 1953. The application was issued on Jul 17, 1956.

'206 is related to the field of tobacco smoking articles, specifically addressing the reduction of harmful ingredients in tobacco smoke. The background acknowledges the long-standing problem of harmful components like nicotine and various acids present in tobacco smoke and the difficulty in creating effective filters and consistently fresh neutralizing substances.

The underlying idea behind '206 is to encapsulate a neutralizing substance within a rupturable capsule placed in the cigarette butt or a holder. This capsule, containing a liquid, paste, or jelly, is designed to be broken by the user squeezing the device, releasing the substance into a filter material. The released substance then chemically reacts with and neutralizes the harmful components of the smoke before it reaches the smoker's mouth.

The claims of '206 focus on a tobacco smoking article (or holder) incorporating a rupturable capsule containing a neutralizing substance. The capsule is positioned within a filtering material, such as cotton batting, located in the butt of the cigarette or within a separate holder designed to accommodate standard cigarettes or cigars. The capsule is designed to rupture upon squeezing, releasing the neutralizing substance into the filter.

In practice, the user squeezes the butt of the cigarette or the body of the holder to break the capsule. The released neutralizing substance then saturates the surrounding filter material. As the smoker inhales, the smoke passes through this moistened filter, allowing the neutralizing substance to react with and convert harmful components into harmless ones. The patent suggests using organic acids or salts of iron, manganese, nickel, or cobalt as neutralizing agents.

The differentiation from prior approaches lies in the on-demand release of a fresh neutralizing substance. Earlier attempts at filtration were hampered by the difficulty of maintaining a consistently effective filter and ensuring the neutralizing substance remained fresh. By encapsulating the substance, the invention ensures its potency until the moment of use, providing a more reliable and convenient method for reducing harmful smoke components.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical Landscape

In the early 1950s when '206 was filed, tobacco smoking articles were typically manufactured without integrated mechanisms for neutralizing harmful smoke components. At a time when filtration was primarily achieved through simple filter materials, the concept of incorporating active chemical agents within the article itself was not yet common practice. The challenge of maintaining the freshness and availability of such agents presented a non-trivial engineering constraint.

Prosecution Position

The disclosed invention provides a tobacco smoking article with an integrated rupturable capsule containing a neutralizing substance. This design overcomes the problem of delivering a fresh neutralizing agent directly into the smoke path. By embedding the capsule within a filter material, the invention enables on-demand release of the substance, facilitating chemical conversion of harmful smoke components into harmless materials. This integration of a neutralizing agent represents a meaningful advancement in the design of tobacco smoking articles.

Claims

This patent contains zero claims, so there are no independent or dependent claims to analyze.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)	Support for Specification	Interpretation
Filtering material (Claim 1)	This, when released, passes into and moistens a charge, cartridge or plug 16 of filtering material, such as cotton batting inserted in the rearward portion or butt 18 of the article 10 and encased in a tubular liner 20 of thin cardboard or other suitable flexible stiffening material for the ordinary cigarette paper wrapper 22 in which the tobacco 24 is rolled. As the tobacco 24 is burned, the harmful ingredients heretofore mentioned pass along with the smoke through the moistened filtering material charge 16 where they are subjected to chem2,755,206 ical action which converts their harmful ingredients to harmless materials which are either absorbed in the filtering charge 16 or passed harmlessly into the smoker’s mouth.	A charge, cartridge, or plug of absorbent material, such as cotton batting, that is moistened by the neutralizing substance after the capsule is ruptured, and through which the tobacco smoke passes.
Neutralizing substance (Claim 1)	The neutralizing substance by chemical action attacks the harmful ingredients of the tobacco smoke and converts them to harmless chemical compounds, thereby preventing them from reaching the smoker’s mouth and lungs. The capsule 12 may be of any suitable material, such as gelatine, or polyethylene plastic, natural or synthetic rubber or a material having similar flexible yet rupturable properties. The neutralizing substance 14 within the capsule 12 may consist of an organic acid such as tannic acid, tartaric acid or citric acid, ferrous sulfate, ferric chloride, ferrous tartrate, or the double sulfate of ferrous oxide and ammonia, or similar salts of the iron group, namely salts of iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt with mineral acids such as hydrochloride or sulfuric acids or with organic acids such as tartaric or citric acid.	A liquid, paste, or jelly contained within the rupturable capsule that chemically attacks and converts harmful ingredients of tobacco smoke into harmless compounds.
Rupturable capsule (Claim 1)	The present invention provides means for making the neutralizing substance constantly available in a fresh condition by encasing it in an easily rupturable capsule located in the butt of the tobacco smoking article, such as a cigar or cigarette, or in the base of a smoking tobacco holder such as a cigarette or cigar holder. The capsule maintains the neutralizing substance, such as a liquid, paste or jelly, in a fresh condition over an indefinite period of time, because it is thus kept sealed off from the atmosphere yet it is instantly and easily brought into action by squeezing the portion of tlie article or device containing the capsule in order to rupture the capsule and distribute the neutralizing material in the path through which the tobacco smoke must pass in order to reach the mouth of the smoker.	A container that can be broken open by squeezing, designed to hold a neutralizing substance.
Weakened portions (Claim 1)	In order to increase the ease of rupturing the capsule 12, it is optionally provided with weakened portions or indentations 26 by thinning the wall 28 of the capsule. The indentations 26 are shown as dimples but may be otherwise shaped, and may be directed toward the portion of the filtering material 16 which it is desired to moisten with the neutralizing substance 14.	Areas of reduced thickness or indentations in the wall of the capsule to facilitate rupturing.

Patent Family

File Wrapper

The dossier documents provide a comprehensive record of the patent's prosecution history - including filings, correspondence, and decisions made by patent offices - and are crucial for understanding the patent's legal journey and any challenges it may have faced during examination.

Get instant alerts for new documents

US2755206

EDWARD L CHAPMAN

Application Number: US37448653
Filing Date: Aug 17, 1953
Publication Date: Jul 17, 1956
External Links: Slate, USPTO, Google Patents

IP Verse