Self Returning Contamination Barrier
AssigneeMedela AG
InventorsMark A. Luzbetak, Thomas A. Sutrina, Erich Pfenniger, Patrik Bosshard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A barrier of a vacuum pump prevents contamination from entering a vacuum pump air line. The barrier separates parts of the pump and is moveable between an initial state and a distended state. The barrier is assembled within the pump with a pre-load. When the vacuum source is applied to the barrier, the barrier achieves a distended state and when the vacuum source is released, the barrier incrementally self returns to an initial state. The geometry and material construction of the barrier, along with the pre-load, assists in returning the barrier on its own to the initial state from the distended state.
Claims23
A breastpump assembly, comprising:
- a breastshield;
- a conduit structure adapted to convey pressure and liquid;
- a collection container communicating with said conduit structure;
- a housing;
- a vacuum source communicating with said housing;
- and
- a resilient barrier assembled in a pre-loaded initial state between parts of said housing, wherein said barrier achieves a distended state in response to vacuum from said vacuum source and said barrier utilizes said pre-load to assist in transforming from said distended state to said initial state.
A breastpump assembly, comprising:
- a breastshield,
- a vacuum source in communication with said breastshield via a vacuum line,
- a housing having a front side and a back side, said housing being adjacent to said breastshield;
- and
- a resilient barrier assembled in an initial pre-loaded state between said front side and said back side of said housing, wherein said barrier achieves a distended state in response to an applied vacuum from said vacuum source and said barrier returns from said distended state upon release of said applied vacuum.
An improved breastpump assembly, wherein said assembly has a contamination barrier located in a pressure line between a pressure generating pump and a breastshield, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a housing having a breastshield side and a pressure side;
- and
- said barrier separates and isolates said housing sides, said barrier having a shape and being assembled within said housing in an initial pre-loaded state between said housing sides such that said barrier has a pre-set bias in a direction toward said breastshield side in the absence of an applied pressure.
A breastpump assembly comprising:
- a breastshield within which a woman's breast and nipple are received,
- a container for expressed milk,
- a source of vacuum,
- a mechanism modulating said source of vacuum,
- a vacuum conduit structure which conveys a vacuum from said source to said breastshield,
- a resilient barrier in said vacuum conduit structure located in close proximity to said breastshield, said barrier being mounted within a housing, said housing having a breastshield side and a vacuum side, said barrier separating said housing sides, said barrier having an outer surface and an inner surface forming at least in part a convex shape made to give said barrier a bias toward said convex shape when returning from a distended position to a rest position, said housing having a breastshield side internal sidewall that generally conforms to said barrier convex shape on said outer surface of said barrier, said barrier being mounted in said housing in a manner where said outer surface of said convex shape is closer to said breastshield side internal sidewall of said housing than said rest position of said barrier would otherwise allow, such that said bias presses said barrier against said internal sidewall for an initial pre-load condition of said barrier.
A breastpump assembly which isolates parts of the pump in a vacuum line from contamination, comprising:
- a breastshield,
- a vacuum source in communication with said breastshield via said vacuum line,
- a housing having a breastshield side and vacuum side, said housing being in communication with said vacuum line;
- and
- a resilient barrier having a form with a first surface that is at least in part generally domelike and having an unassembled dome height as measured from a base for said dome to said first surface, said resilient barrier being assembled in said housing in a manner to separate and thereby isolate said housing sides from one another and in an initial state with a pre-loaded condition wherein said barrier has an assembled dome height that is less than said unassembled dome height.
The breastpump assembly of claim 21 wherein said initial level of vacuum to overcome said pre-load condition is about 4 mmHg.
The breastpump assembly of claim 22, further including a milk conduit structure which conveys milk from a breastshield to a container via a catch chamber and a one-way valve between said catch chamber and said container, said barrier upon returning to said initial state with a predetermined minimum amount of milk in said catch chamber generates an increased pressure in said catch chamber relative to said container so as to open said valve and release milk to travel into said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.