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AssigneeMedela Holding AG
InventorsBeda Weber, Etienne Furrer, André Schlienger, Brian H. Silver, Daniela Wäckerlin, Armin Felber
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A device for expressing human breast milk has a breast shield for bearing against a mother's breast, a vacuum pump for generating a vacuum, a line which connects the vacuum pump to the breast shield and is intended for transmitting the vacuum generated to the breast shield, and a chamber. The line ends on the pump side in a first port of the chamber. The chamber has a second port for connection to a milk collecting container. The two ports in the chamber are connected to each other in terms of fluid communication. During the expressing operation, the line forms a milk line for transporting breast milk expressed in the breast shield to the chamber and from the chamber to the milk collecting container. The pump can be designed to be quiet and small.
A device for expressing human breast milk, wherein the device has a breast shield for bearing against a mother's breast, and a vacuum pump for generating a vacuum, wherein the device further comprises a line which connects the vacuum pump to the breast shield and is intended for transmitting the vacuum generated to the breast shield, and wherein the device comprises a chamber with a breast-shield side and a pump side, the chamber having a first port on the breast shield side, the line starting at the breast-shield and ending in said first port of said chamber, thereby connecting the breast-shield side of the chamber to the breast shield, wherein the chamber has a second port on the breast-shield side for connection to a milk collecting container, wherein the two ports in the chamber are connected to each other in terms of fluid communication, wherein, during an expressing operation, the line forms a milk line for transporting breast milk expressed in the breast shield to the chamber, and from the chamber to the milk collecting container, wherein the chamber comprises a diaphragm dividing the chamber into the breast-shield side and the pump side, wherein the diaphragm is driven from the pump side only and is designed for conveying the expressed milk, and wherein a drive of the diaphragm serves to generate the vacuum in the chamber and to convey the flow of milk, the device changing during use from an initial pneumatic pumping system to a hydraulic pumping system using said line in the hydraulic pumping system, wherein the expressed milk acts in said line as a working fluid in order to express further milk from the mother's breast, and wherein the second port is provided with a nonreturn valve, which prevents the expressed milk from flowing back from the milk collecting container to the chamber, wherein the breast shield and the chamber remain in fluid communication throughout the duration of the expressing operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Suction or pumping devices for medical purposes; Devices for carrying-off, for treatment of, or for carrying-over, body-liquids; Drainage systems:…
Pump accessories: suction cups
Pump accessories: with means for hands-free operation
With programmable or pre-programmed sucking patterns: imitating the suckling of an infant
About 3 years 11 months of term left · ends 25 Sep 2030 (estimated)
The present invention relates to a device for expressing human breast milk, a vacuum pump and to a method for operating a device for expressing human breast milk.
Devices for expressing human breast milk are well known. In principle, there are two different types: the first device type is operated manually, i.e. the negative pressure required for the expressing operation is generated by manual actuation of the vacuum pump. In the devices of the second type, the vacuum pump is operated electrically, it being possible for the vacuum pump to be connected to the power supply network and/or to be operated via a battery or another energy accumulator. Examples for this include WO 96/22116, US 2009/0099511, US 2008/0287037, U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,217 and US 2008/0039781.
The vacuum pumps are connected to a breast shield either directly or via vacuum lines. The breast shield usually has a funnel-shaped part for receiving part of the mother's breast including the nipple. As a rule, the funnel-shaped part merges into a part, which is in the shape of a hollow cylinder and to which, firstly, either the vacuum pump is connected directly or via a suction line and which, secondly, is likewise connected directly or via a milk line to a milk collecting container. It is known to select breast shields in accordance with the size of the breast. In particular, breast shield sets are known, in which the size of the funnel-shaped part can be selected according to the mother.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings that serve merely for explanation and should not be interpreted as being limiting. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention, in which a side wall of the vacuum pump is not illustrated;
FIG. 2 shows the device according to FIG. 1 assembled for use, in which a side wall of the vacuum pump is not illustrated;
The same parts are provided with the same designations in the Figures.
FIGS. 1 to 5 illustrate a first embodiment of the device according to the invention. The device has a vacuum pump 1, a first line 2, a coupling part 3, a breast shield 4, a nonreturn valve 5, a second line 6, and a milk collecting container 7.
The breast shield 4 is connected to the vacuum pump 1 via the coupling part 3 and the first flexible line 2. The second flexible line 6 leads from the vacuum pump 1 to the milk collecting container 7, the connection being provided with the nonreturn valve 5. The two flexible lines 2, 6 are preferably tubes, preferably made of silicone.
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