Patents by Inventor Donald D. Foster

Donald D. Foster has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10159997
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: SILGAN DISPENSING SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 9579675
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: WestRock Dispensing Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20140353404
    Abstract: According to certain embodiments of the invention, a trigger sprayer may include a plunger and piston combination wherein the piston may include a flap valve or other valve system that opens upon at a certain pressure to allow fluid from within a piston chamber to pass through the plunger and out a nozzle of the trigger sprayer. According to other embodiments of the invention, an inlet valve may be seated between a container and a piston chamber such that fluid may pass the inlet valve upon return of a plunger piston combination to a non-actuated state and such that fluid is prevented from entering the container from the piston chamber when a plunger piston combination is being actuated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Inventor: Donald D. Foster
  • Publication number: 20140014691
    Abstract: Pre-compression valve systems for trigger sprayers include one-piece valve systems having both check and pre-compression valves or multiple component valve systems.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2012
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicant: MEADWESTVACO CALMAR, INC.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20120286069
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2011
    Publication date: November 15, 2012
    Applicant: Tangent Technology Team, LLC
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20120280065
    Abstract: Described are multi-chamber trigger sprayers and fluid dispensing apparatuses, including a sprayer housing including a pump piston and at least two pump chambers, a closure attachment configured to couple the trigger sprayer to an opening of a container, at least two fluid discharge passageways, each passageway in fluid communication with one of the pump chambers, and at least two priming valves, each configured to prevent backflow of fluid into one of the at least two fluid discharge pathways, and a biasing element configured to bias the pump piston. In some embodiments, the biasing element may be disposed outside of the closure attachment and adjacent to a pivot point of the trigger. Some embodiments of the multi-chamber trigger sprayer may be formed entirely from plastic. Other embodiments may also be disclosed and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2012
    Publication date: November 8, 2012
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson, Stephen R. Dennis
  • Publication number: 20120273596
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2011
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: Tangent Technology Team, LLC
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 8104646
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: MeadWestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20110240681
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7967171
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: Meadwestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7942291
    Abstract: A manually operated trigger sprayer has an integral plastic spring and pump piston rod that are connected by a breakable connection, whereby the spring and piston rod can be assembled to the trigger sprayer as one piece and are subsequently broken into two separate pieces in response to their assembly to the trigger sprayer, or subsequent manual operation of the trigger sprayer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: MeadWestvaco Calmar Inc.
    Inventor: Donald D. Foster
  • Patent number: 7780098
    Abstract: A trigger sprayer has a nozzle assembly that dispenses a spray of liquid in a fan pattern that is selectively oriented horizontally or vertically. The nozzle assembly includes a nozzle housing and nozzle cap mounted on the nozzle housing, where the nozzle cap is rotatable relative to the nozzle housing to direct a fan spray pattern of liquid from the nozzle cap in both a vertical and horizontal orientation, and prevent the discharge of liquid from the nozzle cap in cap positions between the horizontal and vertical orientations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Meadwestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip P. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7775406
    Abstract: A trigger sprayer is provided with a passive venting system of simplified and inexpensive construction. A gas permeable, liquid impermeable membrane is positioned over a vent opening in the trigger sprayer housing and prevents the leakage of liquid from a container attached to the trigger sprayer, while allowing the venting of air from the exterior of the trigger sprayer to the container interior. The membrane is secured to a vent opening surface of the sprayer housing that is surrounded by a vent side wall that protects the vent membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Meadwestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Jeffrey P. Stark
  • Patent number: 7735688
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Meadwestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7712636
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Meadwestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7677416
    Abstract: A hand operated liquid dispenser has a simplified, in-line construction that reduces the number of component parts of the dispenser and thereby reduces the dispenser's manufacturing costs. The in-line construction of the liquid dispenser coaxially aligns a liquid discharge orifice, a liquid discharge passage, and a pump chamber of the dispenser. The construction provides a compact liquid dispenser that can be easily held in one hand by a user and manipulated by the fingers of the user's hand to pump liquid from a bottle attached to the liquid dispenser and dispense the liquid in a variety of different discharge patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: MeadWestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Jeffrey P. Stark
  • Patent number: 7637396
    Abstract: 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 ball and socket connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: MeadWestvaco Clamar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Jeffrey P. Stark
  • Publication number: 20090308897
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2008
    Publication date: December 17, 2009
    Applicant: ContinentalAFA Dispensing Company
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Publication number: 20090256008
    Abstract: An indexing nozzle assembly for a trigger sprayer is comprised of a nozzle base that is attachable to a sprayer housing of the trigger sprayer, a cap that is mounted for rotation on the nozzle base, and a foaming tube that is mounted for linear reciprocating movement on the cap. Rotation of the cap on the nozzle base changes liquid discharge from the trigger sprayer between an off condition and at least a spray condition. In the spray condition of the nozzle cap, the foaming tube can be manually pulled and extended from the nozzle cap. With the foaming tube extended from the nozzle cap, the liquid discharge from the nozzle assembly in a spray pattern comes into contact with an interior surface of the tube and generates a foam discharge from the nozzle assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Applicant: CONTINENTALAFA DISPENSING COMPANY
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson
  • Patent number: 7571836
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: MeadWestvaco Calmar, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald D. Foster, Philip L. Nelson