Breast shield
AssigneeMedela, Inc.
InventorsSebastian Höner, Leon Mitoulas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A breast shield for expressing human breast milk. The breast shield includes an outer housing and a flexible inner liner within the outer housing. In use, with the breast shield applied to a breast, the inner liner is in contact with the surface of both the areola and nipple of the breast. The breast shield further includes an outer chamber between the outer housing and the inner liner and an inner chamber within the inner liner. In use, the inner and outer chambers, are subjectable to differential pressure and the differential pressure is operable to cause the inner liner to exert a massaging effect against the surface of both the areola and nipple of a breast.
Claims19
A breast shield for expressing human breast milk, in which the breast shield comprises an outer housing and a flexible inner liner within the outer housing, wherein in use, with the breast shield applied to a breast, the inner liner is in contact with the surface of both the areola and nipple of the breast, the breast shield further comprising an outer chamber between the outer housing and the inner liner and an inner chamber within the inner liner, in use, the inner and outer chambers being subjectable to differential pressure and the differential pressure being operable to cause the inner liner to exert a massaging effect against the surface of both the areola and nipple of a breast, the massaging effect created against the areola and the nipple resulting from inward and outward movement of the inner liner within and relative to the outer housing, as the vacuum pressure in the outer chamber oscillates about the vacuum pressure in the inner chamber.
A breast shield for expressing human breast milk, the breast shield comprising:
- a rigid outer housing and a flexible inner liner within the outer housing,
- the inner liner defining an inner chamber for receiving the nipple of a human breast and an annular outer chamber being defined between the outer housing and the inner liner, the inner and outer chambers being subjectable to differential pressure,
- the breast shield having an entry end which in use, bears against a surface of the areola of a breast, the outer housing and the inner liner extending to the entry end so that in use, the inner liner bears against the surface of the areola about the nipple,
- the inner liner having a compression section which is inboard of the entry end for receiving a nipple,
- in use, the application of differential pressure to the inner and outer chambers is operable to cause the inner liner at the entry end to move relative to the outer housing to create a massaging effect against the surface of the areola and for the compression section of the inner liner to expand and contract relative to an inserted nipple to create a massaging effect against the surface of the nipple, the massaging effect created against the areola and the nipple resulting from inward and outward movement of the inner liner within and relative to the outer housing, as the vacuum pressure in the outer chamber oscillates about the vacuum pressure in the inner chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.