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EP-4734908-A1 - NIPPLE CLEANING KIT

EP4734908A1EP 4734908 A1EP4734908 A1EP 4734908A1EP-4734908-A1

Abstract

An adapter for cleaning milk passages of a device for breast feeding an infant, the device having narrow passages conveying the milk from the mother, through a remote flow indication device, and back to the device tip for the infant. The adapter is externally tapered to match the inner surface of the protrusion of the device, and an axial bore providing fluid connection between the outer base region and the inner tip of the tapered adapter. The axial bore is able to receive the output opening of a fluid ejector, such that when the adapter is positioned within the feeding device, cleaning fluid from the fluid ejector can be flushed through the milk passage of the device. An alternative embodiment of the adapter has an internal hollow, shaped such that it fits snugly over the outside surface of the feeding device protrusion.

Inventors

  • NAHSHON, ALON
  • RICHTMAN, Amir
  • TRABELSI, Adi
  • HADOMI, Oded
  • KAN, Adir

Assignees

  • Kaizen Bio-Tech (2011) Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240627

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An adapter 40 to clean at least one milk passage 72 of a feeding device 70 for an infant, the adapter comprising: an outer surface 41c adapted to match an inner surface 71b of a protrusion 71 of the feeding device, such that the adapter, when sitting within the protrusion of the feeding device, is configured to inhibit a fluid leakage between the outer surface of the adapter and the inner surface of the protrusion of the feeding device; and an axial bore 43 providing a fluid connection between a base region 43b and a tip 43a of the adapter, wherein the outer surface and a length of the adapter are such that when the adapter is fully inserted into the feeding device, a space 50b is left between the tip of the adapter 43b and at least one milk flow aperture 74 disposed on the inner surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, the at least one milk flow aperture is connected to the at least one milk passage 72.
  2. 2. The adapter according to claim 1 wherein the adapterfurther comprises a surround rim 31 located at the base region in a position that limits splashing of a cleaning fluid leaking from between the outer surface of the adapter and the inner surface of the feeding device.
  3. 3. The adapter according to either of the previous claims, wherein the axial bore 43 is of a size such that receives an output opening of a fluid injector 35, such that when the adapter is positioned within the protrusion 71 of the feeding device, the cleaning fluid 79 from the fluid ejector flushes through the at least one milk passage 72 of the feeding device.
  4. 4. The adapter according to claim 3, further comprising a Luer connection 34 at a base end of the axial bore, such that the fluid ejector is connected to the adapter.
  5. 5. The adapter according to claim 3 wherein the fluid ejector 35 is connected as an integral part of the adapter 40.
  6. 6. The adapter according to any of the previous claims, wherein the inhibition of the fluid leakage between the outer surface 41c of the adapter and the inner surface 71b of the feeding device is configured to ensure a maintenance of pressure within the axial bore of the adapter, such that the cleaning fluid 79 is forced through the at least one milk passage.
  7. 7. The adapter according to any of the previous claims, wherein the fluid ejector 35 is any one of a syringe, a piston device, a manual pump, an electric pump, and an outlet of a main water supply.
  8. 8. An adapter 40 for cleaning at least one milk passage 73 of a feeding device 70 for an infant, the adapter comprising: a tapered hollow 41 formed in the adapter, having an inner surface 41a adapted to match an outer surface 71a of a protrusion 71 of the feeding device, such that the adapter, when sitting over the protrusion of the feeding device, is configured to inhibit a fluid leakage between the inner surface of the adapter and the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device; and an axial bore 43 providing a fluid connection between a tip 43a of the adapter and a narrow end region 43b of the tapered hollow 41 of the adapter, wherein the inner surface of the tapered hollow and a length of the adapter are such that when fully mounted over the protrusion of the feeding device, a space 49 is left between an inner end 43b of the tapered hollow of the adapter, and at least one milk flow aperture 75 disposed on the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, the at least one milk flow aperture 75 is connected to the at least one milk passage 73.
  9. 9. The adapter according to claim 8, wherein the axial bore 43 is of a size such that it can receive the output opening of a fluid ejector 35, such that when the adapter is positioned over the protrusion 71 of the feeding device, cleaning fluid from the fluid ejector can be flushed through the at least one milk passage 73 of the feeding device.
  10. 10 The adapter according to claim 9 wherein the fluid ejector 35 is connected as an integral part of the adapter 40.
  11. 11. The adapter according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the inhibition of leakage between the inner surface 41a of the adapter and the outer surface 71a of the protrusion of the feeding device is adapted to ensure the maintenance of pressure within the axial bore 43 of the adapter, such that the cleaning fluid is forced through the at least one milk passage 73.
  12. 12. The adapter according to any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the fluid ejector 35 is any one of a syringe, a piston device, a manual pump, an electric pump or an outlet of a mains water supply.
  13. 13. The adapter according to any of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a tapered hollow 41 formed in the adapter, having an inner surface 41a adapted to match the outer surface 71a of a protrusion of the feeding device70, such that the adapter, when sitting over the protrusion 71 of the feeding device, is configured to inhibit fluid leakage between the inner surface of the adapter and the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device; wherein the axial bore 43 provides fluid connection between a tip 43a of the adapter and a narrow end region 41b of the tapered hollow of the adapter, and wherein the inner surface and the length of the tapered hollow formed in the adapter, are such that when the adapter is fully mounted over the protrusion of the feeding device, a space 49 is left between an inner end 43b of the tapered hollow of the adapter, and at least one milk flow aperture 75 disposed on the outer surface 71a of the protrusion of the feeding device, the at least one milk flow aperture being connected to at least one milk passage 73.
  14. 14. The adapter according to any of claims 8 to 12, further comprising: an outer surface 41c adapted to match the inner surface 71b of a protrusion 71 of the feeding device, such that the adapter, when sitting within the protrusion of the feeding device, is configured to inhibit fluid leakage between the outer surface of the adapter and the inner surface of the protrusion of the feeding device; wherein the axial bore 43 provides fluid connection between a tip 43a of the adapter and a narrow end region 43b of the tapered hollow of the adapter; and wherein the outer surface and the length of the adapter are such that when fully inserted into the protrusion of the feeding device, a space 50b is left between the tip 43b of the adapter and at least one milk flow aperture 74 disposed on the inner surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, the at least one milk flow aperture being connected to at least one milk passage 72.
  15. 15. A method of cleaning at least one milk passage 72 of a feeding device 70 for an infant, the at least one milk passage being connected to at least one milk flow aperture 74 disposed on an inner surface of a protrusion 71 of the feeding device, the method comprising: inserting a cleaning adapter 40 into an inner space 50a within the protrusion of the feeding device, the cleaning adapter comprising: a shaped outer surface 41c adapted to fit snugly into the inner space of the protrusion of the feeding device, such that a predetermined space 50b remains between an outer end 43a of the cleaning adapter and at least one milk inlet flow aperture 72 on an inner surface 71b of the protrusion 71 of the feeding device; and an axial bore 43 extending from an inner end 43b of the cleaning adapter to the outer end 43a disposed adjacent to the inner space of the protrusion of the feeding device; and activating a fluid ejector 35 containing a cleaning fluid 79 connected to the inner end 43b of the axial bore of the cleaning adapter, to inject a stream of the cleaning fluid under a pressure into the at least one milk passage.
  16. 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the tip of the cleaning adapter has a flattened shape.
  17. 17. The method of either of claim 15 and 16, comprising the additional step of connecting a fluid bridging connection piece to the remote end of a milk passage connected to at least one milk flow aperture disposed on the inner surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, and to the remote end of a milk passage connected to at least one milk flow aperture disposed on an outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, such that injecting a stream of cleaning fluid under pressure generates a flow of fluid through both milk passages.
  18. 18. The method according to any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the fluid ejector is any one of a syringe, a piston device, a manual pump, an electric pump or an outlet of a mains water supply.
  19. 19. A method of cleaning at least one milk passage 73 of a feeding device 70 for an infant, the at least one milk passage 73 being connected to at least one milk flow aperture 75 disposed on an outer surface 71a of a protrusion 71 of the feeding device, the method comprising: mounting a cleaning adapter 40 over the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, the cleaning adapter comprising: a tapered hollow 41 having an inner surface 41a adapted to fit snugly over the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device, such that a predetermined space 49 remains between a narrow end 41b of the tapered hollow 41 and the at least one milk flow aperture on the outer surface of the protrusion of the feeding device; and an axial bore 43 extending from the outer end 43a of the cleaning adapter to the inner end 43b of the tapered hollow of the cleaning adapter; and activating a fluid ejector 35 containing a cleaning fluid 79 connected to the outer end of the axial bore of the cleaning adapter, to inject a stream of the cleaning fluid under a pressure into the at least one milk passage.
  20. 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the narrow end of the tapered hollow of the cleaning adapter has a flattened shape.

Description

NIPPLE CLEANING KIT FIELD [0001] The present disclosure describes technology related to the field of cleaning the inside bore of thin fluid transfer channels, especially for infant feeding nipples. BACKGROUND [0002] It is well-known that when feeding babies it is important to keep all parts of their feeding equipment, such as the bottles and teats, sterile to reduce risk of infection. Before baby equipment can be sterilized they have to be thoroughly cleaned to remove any leftover residue from a previous feeding. Many mothers breastfeed their babies and there are a range of devices that can help with any issues or difficulties that may arise from breastfeeding. [0003] Some of such feeding devices provide real-time information to the mother regarding the flow of milk that the infant is taking. Such feeding devices channel the milk flow from the mother's breast to the infant's mouth by means of narrow channels or passages, which direct the milk to a region away from the nipple region itself, where the flow becomes visible, and can be seen by the mother. One such device is shown in the published International Patent Application WO 2022/175833 entitled "Device for Flow Detection of Mother's Milk", commonly owned by the present applicant. That publication shows both channels which run completely within the device, from the inside of the nipple tip through the display channel and to the outside surface of the nipple tip, for consumption by the infant. Other implementations show channels which direct the milk to and from an end port where an external flow meter at the periphery of the device measures the flow. Further embodiments of such long milk channels are shown in published International Patent Application WO 2023/194997 entitled "System for Electronic Measurement of Milk Imbibed by an Infant", also commonly owned by the present applicant. [0004] However, unless the feeding device is disposable, which is less favorably viewed today because of the need to conserve the world's resources, including manufacturing resources, there exists a need to be able to thoroughly clean out the entire feeding device between feeding sessions, to ensure that it is clean before sterilization, to be safe for the child to use. It is difficult to thoroughly clean out milk residues from the passageways of such devices by regular washing procedures, as the passageways, also known as milk flow channels, are small, capillary like tubes of considerable length, that cannot be opened to clean out. [0005] Therefore, there exists a need to create a cleaning device that will enable the efficient cleaning of those narrow channels so that the feeding device can be a reusable device that is safe for use by an infant. [0006] The disclosures of each of the publications mentioned in this section and in other sections of the specification, are hereby incorporated by reference, each in its entirety. SUMMARY [0007] The present disclosure attempts to provide novel systems and methods that overcome at least some of the disadvantages of prior art systems and methods. The present disclosure provides a novel device and method that enables the cleaning of narrow channels, such as those that are found in a feeding device typically providing an indication of milk flow, such as those described in the above referenced WO 2022/175833 or in WO 2023/194997. [0008] The presently described cleaning kit is designed to provide a strong flow of cleaning fluid that enters the milk apertures or holes on the inside of the feeding device and exits from the apertures or holes on the outer surface of the feeding device, or vice versa. The fluid should be a cleaning fluid such as soapy water, or a sterilizing fluid, but may be any other fluid that is suitable for such use. [0009] According to one implementation, the cleaning adapter has a cone-like structure adapted to match the inner surface of the protrusion nipple part of the feeding device. The shape and length of the outer surface of the adapter is configured to fit within the inside of the protrusion of the feeding device, so that when the cone is inserted, the tip does not reach the feeding apertures inside the tip, so that they are not blocked by the tip pf the intruding cleaning adapter. The adapter also has a base surround limiting cleaning fluid from splashing back over the user when the fluid is forced into the feeding device. The cone-shaped structure has a hollow central tube that runs from the base of the conically shaped structure up to the tip of the adapter and has openings at both ends, one located at the base surface, and the other at the tip. [0010] According to an alternative implementation, the cleaning adapter has a structure that is adapted to fit over the outer surface of the feeding device. Such a cleaning adapter will then have an internal cone-shaped hollow, adapted to match the outer surface shape of the feeding device. Such a cleaning adapter also has a hollow central tube that runs from th