Adaptive Multi-Pump Breast Pump Configuration for Suction Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical pumps, such as breast pumps, often employ a single motor that is overpowered and inefficient, leading to excessive energy consumption, noise, and difficulty in adjusting suction levels accurately, as they are designed for maximum conditions rather than typical usage.
Innovation Solution
A dynamically adaptive pump configuration using a plurality of small pumps actuated independently by a processing system to achieve required suction or pressure levels, with error detection and a distinctive suction profile, allowing for efficient power use, noise reduction, and modular design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a single high-power motor is used to meet maximum suction requirements, then the required vacuum level can be achieved, but energy consumption increases and the motor operates inefficiently under typical conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The single high-power motor is divided into multiple lower-power motors (e.g., three motors instead of one). Each motor can be independently controlled and contributes to the total suction force. This segmentation allows the system to use only the necessary number of motors based on current demand, reducing energy consumption when maximum suction is not required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the number of active motors based on real-time suction requirements. The controller monitors the current vacuum level and activates or deactivates motors accordingly, transitioning the system from a static single-motor configuration to a dynamic multi-motor configuration that adapts to changing demands.
2Stress or pressure
If a single high-power motor is designed for maximum vacuum conditions, then the required suction performance is achieved, but the motor is overly noisy and difficult to control at lower power levels
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the total motor power into multiple smaller motors, each motor operates at lower power levels during typical use, generating less noise individually and collectively than a single high-power motor would produce at equivalent output levels.
Solution Approach 2:
Different motors can be activated based on local needs - the system activates only the number of motors necessary to achieve the current suction requirement, rather than always running all motors at partial capacity. This creates a more favorable local operating condition for each active motor.
3Stress or pressure
If a single motor operates continuously to maintain vacuum, then the suction level is maintained, but the motor lifespan is reduced and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The workload is segmented across multiple motors, allowing individual motors to rest while others are active. This distribution of operational stress extends the effective lifespan of the motor system as a whole, since not all motors need to operate continuously to maintain the required vacuum level.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic activation of motors based on when vacuum levels drop below thresholds, rather than continuous operation. Motors are cycled on and off in a coordinated manner, providing periodic action that maintains vacuum while reducing cumulative wear on each motor.
4Device complexity
If a single motor is used, then the device structure is simple, but the system lacks redundancy and error detection capability
Solution Approach 1:
The pumping system is segmented into multiple independent motor units, each with its own control circuitry. This segmentation enables individual monitoring of each motor's performance, allowing the system to detect failures in specific motors while others continue to operate, providing inherent redundancy and error detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically manages multiple motors with independent on/off control, enabling real-time monitoring of each motor's operational status. This dynamic control architecture provides the flexibility to detect and respond to motor failures, enhancing system reliability compared to a static single-motor design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables adaptive power consumption, noise optimization, redundancy, extended pump lifespan, and cost-effectiveness by dynamically allocating pumps based on demand, ensuring efficient operation and reliability while maintaining accurate suction levels.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the pumps is a diaphragm pump
Data Source
AI summary
A pump unit (10) includes a number of pumps (14) each having a port in fluid connection to a combined port (12) of the pump unit. A processing system (16) is connected to each of the pumps (14) for independent actuation of each pump. A user interface (22) allows user actuation of the pump unit according to one or more mode of operation, requiring various different levels of suction or pressure. The processing system (16) determines what number of pumps (14) is required, and selectively actuates pumps in order to generate the required suction or pressure. Particularly preferred applications include breast pumps. Additional aspects of the invention relate to a cyclic pulsed suction profile generated by the device, implementations that detect when a milk extraction set is not properly deployed, and configurations which allow a touch screen to be used as a power-on switch for the device.