Patent ID: 8545121

Claim:
A dispensing apparatus for dispensing a flowable product comprising: a barrel defining an interior chamber for holding a flowable product, the barrel having an open bottom at one end thereof and an applicator tip having one or more orifices therethrough at the other end, wherein the barrel is configured to permit passage of air from the interior of the chamber to the exterior of the chamber at a first position substantially abutting a predetermined fill-level and at a second position between said first position and the open bottom of said barrel also configured to permit passage of air from the interior to the exterior of said chamber, wherein the barrel comprises a top aperture at the first position and bottom aperture at the second position, the bottom aperture located closer to the open bottom end of the barrel than the top aperture; and a dispensing mechanism disposed within the interior of the barrel between the open bottom and the fill-level, the dispensing mechanism engaging with the interior walls of the barrel to create a liquid-tight seal such that a product disposed in said barrel is prevented from exiting the open bottom, wherein, upon insertion of the dispensing mechanism into a product-filled barrel, an amount of air trapped between the dispensing mechanism and said product is forced through the first and second positions, thereby substantially lowering the pressure in the interior chamber of the barrel as compared to an otherwise identical dispensing apparatus having a barrel with one or no passages, to thereby prevent or inhibit said product from being discharged through said one or more applicator orifices in the absence of actuation of the dispensing mechanism.