Appeal No. 1999-0953
Application No. 08/576,618
The diaphragm structurally tends to resist
bending when a viscous product applies pressure to
its inside or bottom, displacement of the diaphragm
required for valve opening being obtained largely if
not entirely via the annular hinging portion of the
flange which is free from restraint to radial
elastic flexure. [Column 3, line 68 to column 4,
line 12.]
While both Murphy and Laauwe pertain to dispensing caps
that act as applicators, the manner in which they operate to
cut off the flow of product is markedly different. The
applicator of Murphy functions like the present invention in
that, when product application has been completed, the
applicator is removed from the coated surface of the skin,
thereby relieving pressure from the cap and allowing the thin,
resilient inner section 28 to spring back to its original
shape. This leaves an air space 34 between the orifice 29 and
the inner section of the liquid, which acts as a reservoir to
receive liquid material caused to expand from the interior of
the container by changes of temperature and pressure, thereby
avoiding undesired extrusion of such material through orifice
29 (Murphy, paragraph spanning pages 4 and 5). In Laauwe, the
central opening 8 of the diaphragm and the wafer 4 act as a
valve to close off the flow of viscous product when the
contents of the container is relieved of pressure by ceasing
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