US-20260124346-A1 - Muffling Air Pump Structure For Breast Pump

US20260124346A1US 20260124346 A1US20260124346 A1US 20260124346A1US-20260124346-A1

Abstract

A muffling air pump structure for a breast pump is provided. A bracket is hermetically provided at a housing having an open end. An outer side of the bracket is provided with a motor. A shaft of the motor is a screw, penetrates through the bracket, extends into the housing, and is connected to a piston through a screw nut. The bracket is provided with a muffling airway that communicates an inner side with the outer side and is configured to reduce a volume of noise. The muffling airway includes a plurality of muffling chambers connected in sequence. Each of the muffling chambers is provided with a muffling hole. Some of the muffling chambers are provided with muffling plates. The muffling plate further divides the muffling chamber into a large chamber and a smaller chamber, such that a multi-stage muffling structure is formed, significantly reducing the volume of the noise.

Inventors

Jinxiang Ni
Xianwen WANG
Haoyuan LI

Assignees

Guangdong Youju Advanced New Materials Co., Ltd.
Guangdong Golden Baby Health Supplies Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20230627
Priority Date: 20221008

Claims (15)

1 . A muffling air pump structure for a breast pump, comprising a housing, wherein the housing is cylindrical and has an open end, and a bracket hermetically provided at the open end of the housing; a central part of an inner side of the bracket extends into the housing to form a hollow mounting post; an outer side of the bracket is connected to a motor; the bracket is provided with a muffling airway, wherein the muffling airway communicates the inner side with the outer side and is configured to reduce a volume of noise; a shaft of the motor penetrates through the bracket and the hollow mounting post of the bracket, and is connected to a piston; and the outer side of the bracket is provided with a hood configured to cover the motor.
2 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 1 , wherein the muffling airway comprises a hollow airway provided inside the bracket; the inner side and the outer side of the bracket are respectively provided with an airway inlet and an airway outlet, wherein the airway inlet and the airway outlet are communicated with the hollow airway; the hollow airway from the airway inlet to the airway outlet is internally divided into a plurality of muffling chambers, wherein the plurality of muffling chambers are sequentially connected; and each of walls of all the muffling chambers facing the airway inlet is provided with a muffling hole, wherein the muffling hole is communicated with the airway inlet or a previous muffling chamber.
3 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 2 , wherein the bracket comprises a bracket body; a central part of an inner side of the bracket body extends into the housing to form the hollow mounting post; the inner side of the bracket body is recessed inward at a peripheral position of the hollow mounting post and forms an internal space of the muffling chambers; and a cover plate is provided to cover the internal space of the muffling chambers.
4 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 2 , wherein the muffling hole is located at a radial inner/outer end of the wall of the muffling chamber, and the muffling hole faces a radial outer/inner wall of the muffling chamber.
5 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 2 , wherein the muffling chambers comprise an inlet muffling chamber connected to the airway inlet, an outlet muffling chamber connected to the airway outlet, and an intermediate muffling chamber between the inlet muffling chamber and the outlet muffling chamber; each of the walls of all the muffling chambers adjacent to the airway inlet is “<”-shaped; an upper end and a lower end of the “<”-shaped wall are respectively connected to the radial inner and outer walls of the muffling chamber; the muffling hole is located at an upper part of the “<”-shaped wall and faces the outer wall of the muffling chamber; as for the inlet muffling chamber and the intermediate muffling chamber, a midpoint position of the “<”-shaped wall facing away from the airway inlet is provided with a muffling plate extending towards the inner wall of the muffling chamber; and a gap is formed between the muffling plate and the inner wall of the muffling chamber.
6 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 5 , wherein a width of the gap is smaller than or equal to one tenth of a width of the muffling chamber.
7 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 5 , wherein the airway outlet is located at a bottom of the outlet muffling chamber adjacent to the outer wall; and the wall of the outlet muffling chamber facing the airway inlet is provided with a partition extending towards another wall.
8 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is a stepper motor.
9 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 8 , wherein the shaft is a screw and is connected to the piston through a screw nut.
10 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 3 , wherein the muffling chambers comprise an inlet muffling chamber connected to the airway inlet, an outlet muffling chamber connected to the airway outlet, and an intermediate muffling chamber between the inlet muffling chamber and the outlet muffling chamber; each of the walls of all the muffling chambers adjacent to the airway inlet is “<”-shaped; an upper end and a lower end of the “<”-shaped wall are respectively connected to the radial inner and outer walls of the muffling chamber; the muffling hole is located at an upper part of the “<”-shaped wall and faces the outer wall of the muffling chamber; as for the inlet muffling chamber and the intermediate muffling chamber, a midpoint position of the “<”-shaped wall facing away from the airway inlet is provided with a muffling plate extending towards the inner wall of the muffling chamber; and a gap is formed between the muffling plate and the inner wall of the muffling chamber.
11 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 10 , wherein a width of the gap is smaller than or equal to one tenth of a width of the muffling chamber.
12 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 10 , wherein the airway outlet is located at a bottom of the outlet muffling chamber adjacent to the outer wall; and the wall of the outlet muffling chamber facing the airway inlet is provided with a partition extending towards another wall.
13 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 4 , wherein the muffling chambers comprise an inlet muffling chamber connected to the airway inlet, an outlet muffling chamber connected to the airway outlet, and an intermediate muffling chamber between the inlet muffling chamber and the outlet muffling chamber, each of the walls of all the muffling chambers adjacent to the airway inlet is “<”-shaped; an upper end and a lower end of the “<”-shaped wall are respectively connected to the radial inner and outer walls of the muffling chamber; the muffling hole is located at an upper part of the “<”-shaped wall and faces the outer wall of the muffling chamber; as for the inlet muffling chamber and the intermediate muffling chamber, a midpoint position of the “<”-shaped wall facing away from the airway inlet is provided with a muffling plate extending towards the inner wall of the muffling chamber; and a gap is formed between the muffling plate and the inner wall of the muffling chamber.
14 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 13 , wherein a width of the gap is smaller than or equal to one tenth of a width of the muffling chamber.
15 . The muffling air pump structure for the breast pump according to claim 13 , wherein the airway outlet is located at a bottom of the outlet muffling chamber adjacent to the outer wall; and the wall of the outlet muffling chamber facing the airway inlet is provided with a partition extending towards another wall.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present utility model relates to a breast pump, and in particular to a muffling air pump structure in a main unit of a breast pump. BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY Breast pumps are designed to extract milk from breasts, and are categorized into manual and electric types. As a critical component of the electric breast pump, the air pump is configured to control air pressure. Prior air pumps typically include direct current motor (DCM)-driven diaphragm air pumps and gear-reduction DCM-driven piston pumps. In these air pumps, the piston of the air cylinder is connected to the gear set and the speed changer. The operation of the air pump will generate significant noise that severely impacts the usage environment. Especially for newborns and their mothers, excessive noise will severely impact newborns' sleep and growth, and exacerbate emotional stress in nursing mothers, whose emotional well-being is already vulnerable during the postnatal period, substantially increasing the risk of postpartum depression in nursing mothers. CONTENT OF THE UTILITY MODEL An objective of the present utility model is to provide a muffling air pump structure with low working noise for a breast pump, which reduces the noise in the usage environment, thereby improving the comfort of newborns and their mothers. In the present utility model, the muffling air pump structure for a breast pump includes a housing that is cylindrical and has an open end, where a bracket is hermetically provided at the open end of the housing; a central part of an inner side of the bracket extends into the housing to form a hollow mounting post; an outer side of the bracket is connected to a motor; the bracket is provided with a muffling airway that communicates the inner side with the outer side and is configured to reduce a volume of noise; a shaft of the motor penetrates through the bracket and the mounting post of the bracket, and is connected to a piston; and the outer side of the bracket is provided with a hood configured to cover the motor. Furthermore, the muffling airway includes a hollow airway provided inside the bracket; the inner side and the outer side of the bracket are respectively provided with an airway inlet and an airway outlet that are communicated with the airway; the airway from the airway inlet to the airway outlet is internally divided into a plurality of muffling chambers that are sequentially connected; and each of walls of all the muffling chambers facing the airway inlet is provided with a muffling hole that is communicated with the airway inlet or a previous muffling chamber. Furthermore, the bracket includes a bracket body; a central part of an inner side of the bracket body extends into the housing to form the mounting post; the inner side of the bracket body is recessed inward at a peripheral position of the mounting post and forms an internal space of the muffling chambers; and a cover plate is provided to cover the internal space of the muffling chambers. Furthermore, the muffling hole is located at a radial inner/outer end of the wall of the muffling chamber, and the muffling hole faces a radial outer/inner wall of the muffling chamber. Furthermore, the muffling chambers include an inlet muffling chamber connected to the airway inlet, an outlet muffling chamber connected to the airway outlet, and an intermediate muffling chamber between the inlet muffling chamber and the outlet muffling chamber; each of the walls of all the muffling chambers adjacent to the airway inlet is “<”-shaped; an upper end and a lower end of the “<”-shaped wall are respectively connected to the radial inner and outer walls of the muffling chamber; the muffling hole is located at an upper part of the “<”-shaped wall and faces the outer wall of the muffling chamber; as for the inlet muffling chamber and the intermediate muffling chamber, a midpoint position of the “<”-shaped wall facing away from the airway inlet is provided with a muffling plate extending towards the inner wall of the muffling chamber; and a gap is formed between the muffling plate and the inner wall of the muffling chamber. Furthermore, a width of the gap is not greater than one tenth of a width of the muffling chamber. Furthermore, the airway outlet is located at a bottom of the outlet muffling chamber adjacent to the outer wall; and the wall of the outlet muffling chamber facing the airway inlet is provided with a partition extending towards another wall. Furthermore, the motor is a stepper motor. Furthermore, the shaft is a screw and is connected to the piston through a screw nut. In the muffling air pump structure for a breast pump in the present utility model, main sources of the noise in an air pump include the rotation of the shaft of the motor, the relative movement between the shaft and the piston, the friction between the piston and an inner wall of the housing, and an airflow caused by a change in an air pressure inside the housing. These sources of the noise ar