Breast pump
First Claim
1. A portable pumping device for drawing milk from a human breast comprising:
- a breast shield adapted to fit over a nipple of a breast;
a flow line coupled to the breast shield, the flow line adapted to allow air to flow there through;
a pump coupled to the breast shield via the flow line, the pump having a pump intake and a pump exhaust and operable to create a pressure drop between the nipple and the pump, wherein the pressure drop creates a suction at the breast shield by lowering the air pressure in the flow line; and
a blow-back valve disposed between the flow line and the pump, the blow-back valve having a valve piston disposed in a valve housing, wherein the valve housing includes a flow line aperture that communicates via the flow line with the breast shield, a valve inlet adapted to communicate external to the flow line, and a valve exhaust adapted to communicate external to the flow line, wherein the valve piston is adapted to alternatively seal the valve inlet and the valve exhaust.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable pumping device for drawing milk from a human breast includes a breast shield adapted to fit over a nipple of a breast and a flow line coupled to the breast shield. The flow line is adapted to allow air to flow there through a pump coupled to the breast shield via the flow line. The pump includes a pump intake and a pump exhaust and is operable to create a pressure drop between the nipple and the pump, wherein the pressure drop creates a suction at the breast shield by lowering the pressure of air in the flow line. A blow-back valve is disposed between the flow line and the pump. The blow-back valve has a valve piston disposed in a valve housing The valve housing includes a flow line aperture that communicates via the flow line with the breast shield, a valve inlet adapted to communicate external to the flow line, and a valve exhaust adapted to communicate external to the flow line. The valve piston is adapted to alternatively seal the valve inlet and the valve exhaust.
38 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A portable pumping device for drawing milk from a human breast comprising:
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a breast shield adapted to fit over a nipple of a breast;
a flow line coupled to the breast shield, the flow line adapted to allow air to flow there through;
a pump coupled to the breast shield via the flow line, the pump having a pump intake and a pump exhaust and operable to create a pressure drop between the nipple and the pump, wherein the pressure drop creates a suction at the breast shield by lowering the air pressure in the flow line; and
a blow-back valve disposed between the flow line and the pump, the blow-back valve having a valve piston disposed in a valve housing, wherein the valve housing includes a flow line aperture that communicates via the flow line with the breast shield, a valve inlet adapted to communicate external to the flow line, and a valve exhaust adapted to communicate external to the flow line, wherein the valve piston is adapted to alternatively seal the valve inlet and the valve exhaust. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for drawing milk from a human breast comprising:
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at least one pump module, each of the at least one pump modules having a pump intake and a pump exhaust, wherein the pump intake and the pump exhaust are adapted to direct the flow of air through the at least one pump module;
an intake line coupled to the pump intake;
an exhaust line coupled to the pump exhaust;
a valve piston disposed in a valve housing, the valve piston having an intake seal and an exhaust seal, the intake seal and the exhaust seal coupled to a valve plunger, wherein the intake seal is operable to seal an a valve inlet in the valve housing, and wherein the exhaust seal is operable to seal a valve exhaust in the valve housing; and
a flow line aperture disposed in the valve housing between the intake seal and the exhaust seal, the flow line aperture adapted to communicate an air flow between the at least one pump module and a breast shield coupled to the valve housing via a flow line. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for pumping breast milk, the system comprising:
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at least one pump module, each of the at least one pump modules having a pump intake and a pump exhaust, wherein the pump intake and the pump exhaust are adapted to direct an airflow through the at least one pump module;
an intake line coupled to the pump intake;
an exhaust line coupled to the pump exhaust;
a valve housing, wherein the valve housing includes an intake sub-housing and an exhaust sub-housing;
a valve inlet disposed through a wall of the intake sub-housing;
a valve exhaust disposed through a wall of the exhaust sub-housing;
a valve piston disposed within the valve housing, wherein the valve piston includes a valve plunger, an intake seal disposed within the intake sub-housing, and an exhaust seal disposed within the exhaust sub-housing, wherein the intake seal is adapted to form a seal between the intake line and the valve inlet, and wherein the exhaust seal is adapted to form a seal between the exhaust line and the valve exhaust;
a flow line aperture disposed through a wall in a sub-housing connector, the sub-housing connector disposed between the intake sub-housing and the exhaust sub-housing, wherein the flow line aperture is adapted to communicate between the pump and the breast shield; and
a cam coupled to the valve piston, the cam operable to rotate, the rotation of the cam operable to move the valve piston back and forth within the valve housing. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A breast pumping apparatus comprising:
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at least one breast shield adapted to receive and seal against a human breast;
a suction pump hydraulically coupled to the at least one breast shield by an air flow conduit, the pump having an air intake and an air exhaust; and
a valve disposed along the conduit between the pump and the at least one breast shield, the valve cyclically operable to;
connect the pump inlet to the breast shield in a first position, in which the pump draws air from the at least one breast shield to generate suction to express breast milk, and to connect the pump outlet to the at least one breast shield in a second position, in which the pump pumps air toward the at least one breast shield. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification