Patent ID: 7114639

Claim:
A self-contained viscous liquid dispenser, comprising: a housing; an internal liquid reservoir defined by the housing; a manually operated dispensing pump mechanism disposed in liquid communication with the reservoir and having a delivery end disposed for delivering metered doses of viscous liquid from the reservoir upon actuation thereof by a user; a vent mechanism disposed in an upper wall of the housing, the vent mechanism comprising: a body member insertable through an opening in the housing wall, the body member defining a vent orifice disposed through an inside lower surface of the body member and a vent passage in communication therewith; and a movable plug member resiliently disposed in the vent passage, the plug member comprising a plate-like member having a perimeter and a ridge attached to and extending from the perimeter to contact the inside lower surface, wherein the ridge seals the orifice from the vent passage in an at-rest position, and wherein the plug member is movable to unseal the orifice and vent the reservoir upon a sufficient vacuum being established in the reservoir upon actuation of the pump mechanism.