Passive milk collector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a passive milk collector (2) having a body (4) at least partially shaped to fit inside a bra of a user. The body (4) comprises a compressible milk bag (6), a sealing surface (12) and an opening (14). The compressible milk bag (6) is adapted to be manually compressed by a user to create a negative pressure inside the milk bag (6). The opening (14) is adapted to receive a nipple of a user. The sealing surface (12) is adapted to seal the milk collector (2) against the user's breast when the milk bag (6) is manually compressed and when the nipple is received within the opening (14). The opening (14) is surrounded by the sealing surface (12), and the opening (14) is in fluid communication with a reservoir (16) provided by the milk bag (6). The body (4) is formed from a single piece of plastic.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a passive milk collector.

[0002] Such a collector is generally known from WO 2021 / 084283 A1.

[0003] A passive milk collector has a compressible milk bag and is adapted to be manually compressed by the user to generate negative pressure within the milk bag for expressing milk from the user's breast. During use, the corresponding collector can be mounted within and supported by a brassiere. The passive collector can be worn within a brassiere. In other words, the user does not need to hold the collector in place. Even when manually compressing the milk bag, the collector remains in place, with the nipple of the user's breast positioned in an opening in fluid communication with the milk bag. The milk bag provides a reservoir for expressed milk. The opening is the only orifice of the milk bag. Aside from the opening, the milk bag is sealed from the surrounding environment. Therefore, in the collector's use position, the milk bag is primarily, if not exclusively, positioned below the opening.

[0004] In the following description, the use position refers to the position of the collector in which the longitudinal axis of the collector body extends substantially parallel to the sagittal plane, resting against the user's breast. The longitudinal axis is typically the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the body. The respective bodies are typically shaped in a mirror-symmetrical manner relative to this longitudinal axis. Thus, a passive milk collector can be used to express milk from either the left or right breast in the same manner. In the use position, the collector body can be slightly tilted relative to the sagittal plane when viewed from above, such that the upper portion or top portion of the body faces outward, while the lower portion or bottom portion of the body faces inward relative to a plane parallel to the sagittal plane.

[0005] Milk collectors generally need to meet various requirements. They should be lightweight, as they are supported by the brassiere, yet rigid enough to retain their shape during use (e.g., when mounted within a brassiere). This rigidity should not hinder compression and cause the milk collector to collapse when manually compressed. Furthermore, the collectors should be economical and easy to manufacture. The materials used should be comfortable against the skin, which particularly applies to materials that come into direct contact with the user's breasts. The breasts of nursing mothers are particularly sensitive.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a passive milk collector that solves at least part or all of the above problems and requirements.

[0007] To this end, the present invention provides a milk collector having a body that is, for example, at least partially formed within a user's bra. The body includes a compressible milk bag, a sealing surface, and an opening. As in the prior art, the compressible milk bag is adapted to be manually compressed by the user to generate negative pressure within the milk bag. The opening in the body is adapted to receive the user's nipple. Typically, the opening is the only opening in the milk bag. The body of the milk collector further provides a sealing surface adapted to seal the collector against the user's breast when the milk bag is manually compressed and the nipple is received within the opening. The opening is surrounded by the sealing surface and is in fluid communication with the milk bag, in particular, with a reservoir within the milk bag. The body of the passive milk collector of the present invention is formed from a single piece of plastic. Thus, the body of the present invention is a unitary plastic body. The entire passive milk collector is provided by a single, unitary body made from a single piece of solidified or hardened plastic.

[0008] In order to facilitate the manufacture of the body, the body is preferably molded from a single plastic material. This single plastic material is preferably the only material used to manufacture the milk collector. The corresponding plastic material is preferably a silicon material.

[0009] To improve a tight seal with the breast during use, the opening is preferably surrounded by a collar that protrudes outward from the sealing surface. In this embodiment, this sealing surface can form a concave contact surface adapted to contact the user's breast when the milk bag is compressed to express milk. In this embodiment, at least the opening can be sealed by the collar. The collar not only protrudes from the corresponding concave surface. It also provides a substantial contact surface with the breast, thereby maintaining negative pressure within the milk bag. Thus, the collar can provide a funnel-shaped, resilient sealing surface that can be placed against the breast in a sealing manner. Upon being placed against the breast in a sealing manner, the resilient sealing surface can be deformed, for example, by widening the funnel provided by the funnel-shaped surface and / or changing the inclination of the funnel-shaped surface. Furthermore, the collar can be deformed within a handle portion, with the handle portion of the collar providing a certain distance between the collar's sealing surface and the concave contact surface.

[0010] The collar can have a varying wall thickness along its circumference. The lower portion of the collar can have a relatively thin wall thickness, corresponding to the wall thickness of the milk bag, while the upper peripheral section of the collar can have a thicker wall surface and / or be rigid, without any voids, to increase the collar's rigidity. This embodiment assumes that the upper portion of the collector's body does not deform significantly when the collector is in use. That is, when the lower portion of the body, which includes the milk bag, elastically deforms and displaces to a certain degree of activation, it does not lose contact with the user's breast, thereby maintaining negative pressure within the milk bag. The peripheral section of the collar furthest from the milk bag, where the collar has the greatest wall thickness, can also be formed by the tip of the shell. The tip can be rigid to provide support that forces the milk bag to assume its initial position when compression of the milk bag is released during use of the collector.

[0011] The portion of the body that at least partially defines the milk pocket has a thinner wall thickness than the portion of the body that at least partially surrounds the opening and has a thicker wall thickness. For this reason, the milk pocket is preferably completely surrounded by the thin wall. The thin-walled portion of the body may terminate in an inlet channel defined by the opening and the aforementioned collar protruding outward from the concave contact surface, or a funnel-shaped recess protruding inward from the sealing surface into the body. The inwardly protruding funnel-shaped recess improves the seal against the user's breast. For better sealing performance, it is recommended that the intersection of the funnel-shaped recess and the outer concave contact surface define an elongated profile. This elongated profile extends along the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the body, which, in the use position of the milk collector, extends substantially parallel to the sagittal plane.

[0012] In top view, the body has a droplet shape, having a larger base section and a tapered, but rounded, tip section. Specifically, within the outer perimeter defined by this droplet shape, a milk pocket is defined between the body's base perimeter and a boundary line, which extends convexly between two points located on the base perimeter. In fact, these two points are positioned mirror-symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of symmetry. These two points are located within the maximum width of the body in top view. In other words, the boundary line extends convexly from opposing lateral sections of the lower portion of the body's outer perimeter. Preferably, the opening is surrounded by the boundary line. In other words, the opening in top view is located between the boundary line and the base perimeter. Preferably, the section above the boundary line is solid. The section of the body below the boundary line provides the milk pocket, which is most preferably completely surrounded by a wall of constant thickness, with the wall being relatively thin. Preferably, the boundary line separates a thinner-walled portion of the milk collector from a thicker-walled portion.

[0013] In a cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis of symmetry, the tip section preferably has a concave outer surface and a concave inner surface.Preferably, the tip section forms part of a collar.

[0014] Preferably, the outer concave surface adapted to contact the user's breast during use is provided with a scale adapted to display the volume of expressed milk in the milk bag. Such a scale is preferably provided below the opening.

[0015] The particular construction of the milk collector with a hollow section providing the milk pocket and a solid tip section has proven to be rigid while allowing the pocket to be compressed without risk of collapse. An embodiment having a convex boundary line extending between the tip section and the milk pocket and an opening surrounded by the boundary line when viewed from above the body further improves rigidity without hindering compression.

[0016] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the milk collector along the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the embodiment;

[0018] Figure 2 is a rear view of the first embodiment;

[0019] Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment;

[0020] Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the first embodiment;

[0021] Figure 5 is a side view of the first embodiment;

[0022] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a milk collector along the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the embodiment;

[0023] Figure 7 is a rear view of the second embodiment;

[0024] Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment;

[0025] Figure 9 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment;

[0026] Figure 10 is a side view of a second embodiment;

[0027] Figure 11 is a rear view of a modification of the first embodiment; and

[0028] Figure 12 is a rear view of a modification of the second embodiment.

[0029] In the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates a passive milk collector, which is defined by a body 4. The body 4 consists of a milk bag 6 in a lower section 8 of the body 4 and a solid tip section 10 in an upper section.

[0030] The rear side of the body 4, which is placed against the user's breast, provides a sealing surface 12. The respective sealing surface 12 is concave in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction of the body 4.

[0031] Figure 1 Also shown is an opening 14 in the sealing surface 12, which leads to a reservoir 16 provided by the milk bag 6. The opening 14 is therefore surrounded by the sealing surface 12. The opening 14 is arranged on the longitudinal axis, which for the embodiment shown in the figures is the longitudinal axis of symmetry L. The body 4 has a mirror-symmetrical shape relative to this longitudinal axis of symmetry L.

[0032] The main body 4 of each embodiment is formed by a single piece of plastic. In fact, the main body 4 is molded from silicon material, and this silicon material is the only material forming the main body.

[0033] Elements of a scale 18 extending along the longitudinal axis of symmetry L are provided on the sealing surface 12 by printing or moulding the plastics material against the negative profile.

[0034] exist Figure 1 1 , reference numeral 20 denotes a funnel-shaped recess extending inwardly into the main body 4. The funnel-shaped recess 20 extends from the sealing surface 12. A junction 22 between the funnel-shaped recess 20 and the sealing surface 12 defines an elongated profile extending along the longitudinal symmetry axis L of the main body 4.

[0035] While the sealing surface 12 is substantially entirely concavely shaped to provide a concave contact surface for the user's breast, the outer surface 24 of the body 4 is strictly curved convexly; see Figure 3 The junction between the outer surface 24 and the sealing surface 12 provides an outer periphery of the body 4 , which is indicated generally at 26 .

[0036] In the use state, wherein the longitudinal symmetry axis L extends substantially parallel to the sagittal plane of the user, the opening 14 is arranged in the vertical upper half of the body 4. The milk bag 6 is arranged substantially below the opening 14.

[0037] A user's breast can be placed against sealing surface 12. The user's nipple will protrude through opening 14. Funnel-shaped recess 20 will improve the seal with the breast, while the user will compress milk bag 6 to create negative pressure within milk bag 6 for expressing milk from the user's breast. Relative movement may result in an incomplete seal across sealing surface 12. However, funnel-shaped recess 20 will generally provide a substantially complete circumferential seal around opening 14. Thus, compression of milk bag 6 will result in negative pressure within milk bag 6. When the pressure is released, the elastic properties of the body will force the body to assume the original shape of body 4, which corresponds to the shape that body 4 would assume when no external force is applied to it.

[0038] The thickness design of different sections of the main body 4 will also become clear from the following description.

[0039] The opening 14 is disposed within an inlet channel 28 which provides a further surface extending perpendicularly to the opening 14. The lower boundary of the inlet channel 28 has the cross-sectional shape of a lip 30. The upper boundary of the inlet channel 28 is provided by a solid tip section 10.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the wall thickness t1 surrounding the milk pocket and thereby defining the milk pocket 6 is much smaller than the wall thickness t2 of the solid tip section 10. The wall thickness is generally defined by the distance between the outer and inner surfaces of a portion of the body 4, the distance extending along a line intersecting at right angles with at least one of the inner and outer surfaces. The thicknesses t1 and t2 can vary arbitrarily, but the thickness t2 needs to be large enough to maintain the rigidity of the solid tip section 10.

[0041] Due to its limited wall thickness, the wall of body 4 defining milk pocket 6 can be easily squeezed by the user's hand, with the breast providing at least some counteracting force. The wall of body 4 defining milk pocket 6 offers only limited resistance to the user's hand grasping body 4 and squeezing milk pocket 6. The solid tip section 10 provides support with a higher resistance to deformation. Because tip section 10 is solid, it cannot be considered manually compressible.

[0042] exist Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, reference numeral 32 designates a boundary line which shows the boundary between the milk bag 6 and the solid tip section 10. In other words, above this boundary line 32, the body 4 is solid and below this boundary line 32 it is hollow. This boundary line 32, together with the bottom periphery 34 of the outer periphery 26, is formed completely in a convex manner. The boundary line 32 extends between two points 36 on the bottom periphery surface 34. These two points 36 are arranged opposite each other transversely to the axis of symmetry longitudinal extension L of the body 4. The opening 14 is surrounded by the boundary line 32. In other words, at Figure 2In a top view, the opening 14 is located below the junction line 32 and above the bottom perimeter 34. This has the advantage that the bag is completely located below the inlet channel 28, so the user only needs to insert the brush from one direction to clean the bag. This is a convenient feature for daily washing.

[0043] from Figure 2 As can be clearly seen from a top view, the main body 4 has a teardrop-like overall shape. The entire outer surface is smoothly curved. The solid tip section 10 has a cross section that tapers gradually in a wedge-shaped manner towards the free upper end of the main body 4.

[0044] from Figure 6 1 and 2 show a second embodiment of the present invention in which a collar 38 surrounds the opening 14. The collar 38 projects outwardly from the sealing surface 12. In the second embodiment, the collar 38 is positioned outwardly away from the sealing surface 12 by a stem 40 that provides the inlet passage 28.

[0045] and Figure 1 Same, Figure 6 Where t1 represents the wall thickness of the main body portion 4 surrounding the milk bag 6, the thickness t2 of the solid tip section 10, which forms part of the collar 38, is approximately three times thicker than the first thickness t1. The peripheral section 42 of the collar 38, which is furthest from the milk bag 6, has the greatest wall thickness, while the lowest peripheral section 44 of the collar 38 provides the smallest wall thickness. As is apparent from this depiction, the opening 14 is surrounded by portions of the housing 4 having different wall thicknesses. As a result, the uppermost portion of the collar 38 rests more fully against the user's breast, while the lower portion can flex during use of the passive collector 2. Sealing contact between the breast and the collar 38 is maintained even in the lower portion of the collar, as the lower peripheral section 44 of the collar 38 can press against the breast with higher performance rather than higher pressure.

[0046] As in the previous embodiment, Figure 7 Reference numeral 32 in the figure indicates a junction line. Below this junction line, the body 4 provides a hollow section 46 that provides a milk bag 6. Above the junction line 32, the body 4 provides a solid tip section 10.

[0047] from Figure 6 As can be seen in FIG, the tip section 10 presents a concave outer surface 48 and a concave inner surface 50 which forms part of the upper peripheral section 42 of the collar 38.

[0048] Figure 11 and Figure 12 A variation of the above-described embodiment for the transition between the sealing surface 12 and the reservoir 16 is shown. Figure 11In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , the funnel-shaped groove 20 is curved in a convex manner, thereby providing a smooth transition and thereby sealing against the breast.

[0049] exist Figure 12 In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the collar is disposed away from the sealing surface 12 by the cylindrical stem 40 . Thus, the collar 38 is spaced apart from the sealing surface 12 in an equidistant manner from the surrounding sealing surface 12 .

[0050] The flexible material forming the body 4 can be provided so that a single embodiment can present an inwardly directed funnel-shaped recess 20 and an outwardly protruding collar 38. In other words, Figure 11 and Figure 12 These can be different instances provided by the same entity / product.

[0051] Reference Signs List

[0052] 2 Passive milk collector

[0053] 4 main body

[0054] 6 milk bags

[0055] 8 lower section

[0056] 10 solid tip segments

[0057] 12 Sealing surface

[0058] 14 openings

[0059] 16 memory

[0060] 18 scales

[0061] 20Funnel shaped recess

[0062] 22 connecting part

[0063] 24 outer surface

[0064] 26 outer perimeter

[0065] 28 Entranceway

[0066] 30 lip edge

[0067] 32 Junction

[0068] 34 bottom perimeter

[0069] 36 points

[0070] 38 rings

[0071] 40 handles

[0072] 42 ring peripheral section

[0073] 44 ring peripheral section

[0074] 46 hollow section

[0075] 48 concave outer surface

[0076] 50 concave inner surface

[0077] L longitudinal symmetry axis

[0078] t1 milk bag wall thickness

[0079] t2 Wall thickness of the solid tip section.

Claims

1. A passive milk collector (2) having a body (4) comprising a compressible milk bag (6), a sealing surface (12) and an opening (14), wherein: The compressible milk bag (6) is adapted to be manually compressed by a user to generate a negative pressure within the milk bag (6), wherein the opening (14) is adapted to receive a nipple of a user, wherein the sealing surface (12) is adapted to seal the milk collector (2) against the user's breast when the nipple is received in the opening (14), wherein the opening (14) is surrounded by the sealing surface (12) and is in fluid communication with a reservoir (16) provided by the milk bag (6), and wherein the body (4) is formed from a single piece of plastic, characterized in that the body (4) has a hollow section (46) providing the milk bag (6) and a solid tip section (10) arranged above the hollow section in the use position of the collector (2).

2. The milk collector according to claim 1, wherein: In a top view of the body, a boundary line (32) extends in a convex manner between the tip section (10) and the milk pocket (6).

3. The milk collector according to claim 2, wherein: In a top view of the main body (4), the opening (14) is surrounded by the boundary line (32).

4. A milk collector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein In a top view, the tip section (10) is arranged on a longitudinal axis of symmetry (L), which extends substantially parallel to a sagittal plane in the use position of the milk collector (2), wherein the tip section (10) is shaped mirror-symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of symmetry (L) in a top view, wherein the tip section (10) presents a concave outer surface (48) and a concave inner surface (50) in a cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis of symmetry (L).

5. A milk collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein In a top view of the body (4), the milk bag (6) is defined by a bottom periphery (34) of the body (4) and a junction line (32), the junction line extending in a convex manner between two points (36) on the bottom periphery (34), the points (36) being positioned mirror-symmetrically with respect to a longitudinal axis of symmetry (L), the longitudinal axis of symmetry (L) extending substantially parallel to the sagittal plane in the use position of the milk collector (2).

6. A milk collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The main body (4) is molded from a single plastic material.

7. The milk collector (2) according to claim 6, wherein: The main body (4) is molded from silicon material.

8. The milk collector (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The opening (14) is surrounded by a collar (38) that projects outwardly from the sealing surface (12).

9. The milk collector (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The opening (14) is defined by the open end of a funnel-shaped recess (20) that projects inwardly from the sealing surface (12) into the body (4).

10. The milk collector (2) according to claim 9, wherein: The junction (22) of the funnel-shaped recess (20) and the sealing surface (12) defines an elongated profile extending along a longitudinal axis of symmetry (L) of the body (4), the longitudinal axis of symmetry (L) extending substantially parallel to the sagittal plane in the use position of the milk collector (2).

11. A milk collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The portion of the body (4) that at least partially defines the milk bag (6) has a thinner wall thickness (t1) than the portion of the body that at least partially surrounds the opening (14).

12. The milk collector (2) according to claim 11, wherein: The ratio between the thickness (t2) of the wall at least partially surrounding the opening (14) and the thickness (t1) of the wall at least partially defining the milk pocket (6) is between 3 and 8, preferably between 3 and 6, most preferably between 4 and 5.

13. The milk collector (2) according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: The opening (14) is surrounded by a collar (38) which has a varying wall thickness along its circumferential direction, wherein the peripheral section (42) of the collar (38) which is furthest from the milk bag (6) has the greatest wall thickness.

14. A milk collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The body (4) is at least partially shaped to fit inside a user's brassiere.

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