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EP-4344712-B1 - BREAST PUMP

EP4344712B1EP 4344712 B1EP4344712 B1EP 4344712B1EP-4344712-B1

Inventors

  • SCHLIENGER, André
  • HÖNER, SEBASTIAN
  • RIGERT, MARIO
  • FELBER, ARMIN
  • STEINER, Marco

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20171024

Claims (14)

  1. A breast pump for pumping human breast milk, wherein the breast pump includes a breast shield (2) having an interior (200) for receiving a mother's breast and a pump chamber (47), wherein a cyclically changing negative pressure can be applied to the interior (200) by means of the pump chamber (47), wherein a milk channel leads from the interior (200) via a first inlet opening into the pump chamber (47) through which pumped milk flows from the interior (200) of the breast shield (2) into the pump chamber (47), and wherein the pump chamber (47) includes an outlet opening (480) through which the pumped milk flows from the pump chamber (47) into a milk collection container (9), characterized in that the milk pump is configured such that in a vertical usage orientation of the breast pump the outlet opening (480) is positioned in an upper region of the pump chamber (47) and/or above the inlet opening at least at the beginning of a pumping operation, wherein the pump chamber (47) includes a rigid first shell and a flexible pump membrane (7), wherein the pump membrane (7) sealingly abuts against the rigid first shell and the pump membrane (7) is configured such that it is driven and by the movement thereof relative to the rigid first shell generation of a negative pressure in the pump chamber (47) is enabled.
  2. The breast pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the milk channel defines a vacuum channel for applying the cyclically changing negative pressure to the interior (200) of the breast shield (2).
  3. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that between the rigid first shell and the flexible pump membrane (7) a flexible media separation diaphragm (6) is provided so that the pump membrane (7) is protected against contact with pumped milk.
  4. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first shell includes an outlet groove extending from the outlet opening of the pump chamber to an output, wherein the outlet groove extends perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the pump membrane at least over a section, wherein preferably the pump membrane (7) or, if any, the media separation diaphragm (6) closes the outlet groove off the rigid first shell up to a channel closed except for the outlet opening and the output.
  5. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the breast shield (2) includes a first through opening (25) that is part of the milk channel, wherein the breast pump is configured such that in a vertical usage orientation of the breast pump the through opening (25) is positioned in an upper region of the interior (200) at least at the beginning of a pumping operation so that the interior (200) below the first through opening (25) can be filled with pumped milk.
  6. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the milk channel can be closed by means of a first valve for removing the pumped milk from the pump chamber (47) at the end of the pumping operation.
  7. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an evacuation channel is provided between the interior (200) of the breast shield (2) and the pump chamber (47) extending separately from the milk channel, and wherein the evacuation channel can be closed by means of a second valve, wherein the evacuation channel is closed during the pumping operation and opened at the end of the pumping operation.
  8. The breast pump according to claim 7, characterized in that a vent valve (11) is provided for ventilation of the interior (200) of the breast shield (2), wherein preferably the vent valve (11) can concurrently be closed with the second valve and concurrently be closed with the same.
  9. The breast pump according to claims 7 or 8, characterized in that a third valve is provided for keeping a baseline negative pressure when the cyclically changing negative pressure in the interior (200) of the breast field (2) increases and/or in that in the milk channel a fourth valve is provided which opens and closes according to the applied negative pressure and/or in that in the evacuation channel a fifth valve is provided which opens and closes according to the applied negative pressure.
  10. The breast pump according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that at least part, preferably all, of the said valves are arranged in a common valve body.
  11. The breast pump according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the breast pump includes a pump housing (8) having a drive for the pump membrane (7), and wherein the rigid first shell is releasably connected to the pump housing (8).
  12. The breast pump according to claim 11, characterized in that the rigid first shell is a component of a multipart hygiene module jointly connectable to the pump housing (8).
  13. The breast pump according to claim 12, characterized in that the hygiene module further includes a first part including a flow-through opening for communication with the interior (200), a valve body (3) including at least one valve, and a second part including the rigid first shell for forming the pump chamber (47), wherein the valve body (3) is disposed between the first and the second parts and wherein the hygiene module as a whole can be sealingly and releasably connected to the pump housing (8) of the breast pump.
  14. The breast pump according to claim 11, characterized in that the rigid first shell is a component of a multipart hygiene module jointly connectable to the pump housing (8), wherein the rigid first shell is a component of an adapter member (4) and wherein the valve body (3) is held in a receptacle of the adapter member (4).

Description

TECHNICAL AREA The present invention relates to a breast pump for pumping human breast milk. STATE OF THE ART Devices for expressing human breast milk are well known. Basically, there are two different types: the first are manually operated, meaning the vacuum necessary for expressing is created by manually operating the vacuum pump. In the second type, the vacuum pump is electrically operated. These vacuum pumps are connected to a breast cup either directly or via a vacuum line. The breast cup has an interior space to accommodate the mother's breast and/or nipple. The vacuum is transferred into this space via a first line, and the expressed milk flows through a second line into a milk collection container. WO 2016/014494 A1 and WO 2016/014469 A1 They describe a compact breast pump in which expressed milk is transported under positive pressure into a milk collection container. This is achieved, for example, by cyclically squeezing a milk tube. WO 2011/035447 A1 The image reveals a breast pump in which the vacuum line simultaneously serves as the milk line. The pumping chamber, where the vacuum is generated, fills with milk during pumping, so that the pumping system switches from a pneumatic to a hydraulic system, and the already pumped milk... Milk becomes the working fluid. To allow the pump chamber to fill with milk, a valve is located at the outlet of the pump chamber, which leads to the milk collection container. This valve only opens when a certain pressure is reached inside the pump chamber, i.e., when the pump chamber is sufficiently filled with milk. This combined pneumatic and hydraulic pump offers several advantages. The system has little to no dead volume. The pump unit can be minimized because, once the system is filled with milk, only minimal pumping power is required to express more milk. In particular, lower-capacity batteries can be used compared to pneumatic vacuum pumps. This allows the vacuum pump to be designed more cost-effectively and compactly. The breast pump is especially suitable for hands-free applications, where the pump is worn on the body and no hands are needed to hold the breast shield. Furthermore, the minimized dead volume makes it easier to control the applied pressure. This allows for individually optimized pumping parameters for each mother. In WO 2013/049944 A2 A breast pump is also described, which switches from a pneumatic to a hydraulic pumping system. A pressure sensor is located in the pump chamber, which includes a flag attached to a flexible diaphragm. Another relevant state-of-the-art breast pump is, for example, in EP3058967 A1 revealed. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, one of the aims of the invention is to optimize the aforementioned breast pump. This task is solved by a breast pump according to claim 1. In a preferred embodiment, the disclosed breast pump for expressing human breast milk comprises a pump housing with a drive unit, a The pump chamber comprises a flexible pump diaphragm driven by the drive unit to generate a vacuum, and a breast cup with an interior space to accommodate a mother's breast. The interior space can be pressurized with a cyclically changing negative pressure by means of the pump chamber. A milk channel leads from the interior space through a first inlet opening into the pump chamber, allowing expressed milk to flow from the interior of the breast cup through the milk channel into the pump chamber. The pump chamber has an outlet opening through which the expressed milk flows from the pump chamber into a milk collection container. A multi-part hygiene module is provided, comprising a first part with a flow opening for connection to the interior space, a valve body with at least one valve, and a second part with a rigid first shell forming the pump chamber. The valve body is positioned between the first and second parts, and the hygiene module as a whole can be sealed and detachably connected to the pump housing of the breast pump. This hygiene module has a compact design. It is easy to assemble and disassemble, allowing for easy cleaning of the relevant parts of the breast pump. The use of a valve body within the hygiene module further simplifies manufacturing, assembly, and cleaning. Preferably, the rigid first shell has a milk path that flows from the pump chamber into a milk collection container and that runs perpendicular to a drive axis of the pump diaphragm over at least a portion of its length. Preferably, the milk path runs in a plane perpendicular to the drive axis, extending in this plane over at least half the height of the pump chamber, preferably over the entire height of the pump chamber. The shape of this milk path allows the pump chamber to be at least partially, preferably completely, filled with pumped milk, so that during pumping, the system switches from a pneumatic pumping system to a mixed or even a fully hydraulic pumping system. Preferably, the valve body has at least one flow valve and one vent valve