Contico International LLC

Meadwestvaco Calmar Gmbh

Continental Afa Dispensing Company

Continental Sprayers International, Inc.

Silgan Dispensing Systems Corporation

Westrock Dispensing Systems, Inc.

Contico

Continental Sprayers Internatioal, Inc.

Philip L Nelson

Donald D Foster

Walter J Clynes

Mark Ochs

Martin S Laffey

Jeffrey P Stark

A trigger sprayer has a housing, a piston bore within the housing, and a piston reciprocally mounted within the piston bore. The housing further includes a flow passage through which liquid passes from a passage inlet to a passage outlet. An actuator is operable to reciprocate the piston within the piston bore between a vacuum stroke creating reduced pressure in the piston bore and a compression stroke creating increased pressure in the piston bore. A valve assembly within the flow passage controls the flow of liquid through the flow passage upon operation of the actuator. The valve assembly further comprises a check valve and a priming valve. The sprayer has a closure for mounting the sprayer to a container. The valve seat for the check valve is in a component formed separately from and operatively connected to the housing.

Low cost trigger sprayer

Pre-compression valve systems for trigger sprayers include one-piece valve systems having both check and pre-compression valves or multiple component valve systems. The pre-compression valve is positioned in a vertical cylinder, and may have a flat, concave, or convex surface.

Pre-compression valve systems for trigger sprayers

A trigger sprayer has a housing, a piston bore within the housing, and a piston reciprocally mounted with the piston bore. The housing further includes a flow passage through which liquid passes from a passage inlet to a passage outlet. An actuator is operable to reciprocate the piston within the piston bore between a vacuum stroke creating reduced pressure in the piston bore and a compression stroke creating increased pressure in the piston bore. A valve unit within the flow passage controls the flow of liquid through the flow passage upon operation of the actuator. The valve unit further comprises a check valve and priming valve. The check valve is shaped in a frusto-conical manner and is assembled into the check valve seat which is not part of the housing but is a separate component. The sprayer has a free spinning threaded type closure for mounting the sprayer to a container, the closure formed separately from and secured to said housing.

Trigger sprayer cover

A trigger sprayer has a one piece valve member that includes both an inlet valve element and an outlet valve element. The one piece valve member replaces the separate liquid inlet valve and liquid outlet valve of a conventional trigger sprayer, and thereby provides a more simplified construction for the trigger sprayer and a fewer number of component parts in the trigger sprayer.

Trigger sprayer having a reduced number of parts and a double tubular valve member

A manually operated liquid foaming dispenser is attached to the top of a container of liquid and is manually reciprocated to dispense the liquid from the container as a foam. The dispenser includes a liquid pump chamber and an air pump chamber that respectively pump liquid and air under pressure to a discharge passage of the pump where the liquid and air are mixed, generating the foam dispensed from the dispenser. The air pump chamber has a tube valve controlling the discharge of air from the air pump to the discharge passage, and the air pump chamber is charged with air by opening the air pump chamber to the exterior environment of the dispenser.

Air foaming pump trigger sprayer

A manually operated, vertically reciprocating liquid pump dispenser is removably connectable to a bottle containing liquid and simultaneously pumps liquid from the bottle and air from the exterior environment of the dispenser and mixes the liquid with the air to produce a foam that is dispensed from the dispenser. The dispenser includes a closure connector and a rotatable collar on the connector that provides a mechanism for venting the interior of the bottle to the exterior environment of the dispenser while avoiding leakage of the liquid from the bottle, and also incorporate a mechanism for locking the dispenser to prevent unintended pumping of liquid from the bottle.

Rotating collar and locking and venting closure connector for an air foaming pump dispenser

A manually operated, vertically reciprocating liquid pump dispenser is removably connectable to a bottle containing liquid and simultaneously pumps liquid from the bottle and air from the exterior environment of the dispenser and mixes the liquid with the air to produce a foam that is dispensed from the dispenser. The dispenser includes a closure connector that provides a mechanism for venting the interior of the bottle to the exterior environment of the dispenser while avoiding leakage of the liquid from the bottle, and also incorporates a mechanism for locking the dispenser to prevent unintended pumping of liquid from the bottle.

Rotating dispenser head with locking and venting closure connector for an air foaming pump dispenser

A manually operated trigger sprayer is constructed with a reduced number of parts and in a novel manner in which the conventional metal coil spring is replaced with a pair of plastic bowed springs that are integral with the piston rod and the pump piston is connected to the piston rod by a pivoting connection that prevents radial force components acting on the piston rod from the springs from being transferred to the pump piston.

Trigger sprayer piston rod with integral spring and pivoting piston connection

A manually operated trigger sprayer includes U-shaped springs that bias the trigger sprayer trigger away from the trigger sprayer pump chamber, where the U-shaped springs are connected to a piston rod by a snap-fit connection. The connection includes a compressible forward end of the piston rod that is pressed through an opening on the forward end of the spring to connect the piston rod to the spring. The rearward end of the spring is connected to the sprayer housing by a curved surface that engages around an exterior surface of the pump chamber.

Trigger sprayer with piston rod and spring snap connection

A manually operated vertically reciprocated pump dispenser has a simplified construction with two separate pumps that pump two separate liquids from a container and keep the two separate liquids separated from each other as they are pumped through the dispenser, mixing the liquids for the first time in a discharge passage of the dispenser just prior to the mixed liquids being discharged from the dispenser. The dispenser has a rotatable sleeve that covers the two pumps and is rotated to lock and unlock a dispenser head that operates the two pumps.

Dual chamber lotion pump

A manually operated trigger sprayer is constructed with a reduced number of parts and in a novel manner in which all of the component parts of the sprayer are constructed of a plastic material. The construction of the trigger sprayer replaces the conventional metal coil spring in the pump chamber with a pair of plastic bowed springs that are integral with the piston rod and are positioned outside the pump chamber. Constructing all of the sprayer parts of a plastic material enables a cost efficient recycling of the parts, which does not require disassembling the parts to remove a metal spring.

Trigger sprayer with integral piston rod and bowed spring

A manually operated trigger sprayer includes a feature that limits the forward pivoting movement of the trigger. By limiting the forward pivoting movement of the trigger, the novel construction of the trigger sprayer prevents the trigger from engaging against the nozzle assembly attached to the sprayer housing of the trigger sprayer and potentially dislodging the nozzle assembly from its attachment to the trigger sprayer housing.

Trigger forward pivot limit for a trigger sprayer

A closure is removably attachable to a container and comprises a dispensing orifice and a valve element that is biased closed over the orifice. By inverting the container so that a liquid contents of the container exerts pressure on the valve element, or by squeezing the container causing the liquid contents to exert pressure on the valve element, the valve element opens the dispensing orifice allowing the liquid contents to be dispensed from the container. On removing the pressure from the valve element, the valve element resiliently closes the dispensing orifice.

Growing community of inventors

Ellisville, MO, United States of America

Philip L Nelson