Bra-Fit Breast Pump Shell Layout for Component Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breast pumps designed to fit inside a bra face challenges in providing sufficient space for functional components while adhering to anatomical constraints, often limiting their spatial extension to one half of the female breast.
Innovation Solution
A breast pump with an outer shell having a specific oval shape defined by three circles in the frontal orthographic plane, where the bottom circles have equal radii and the top circle's radius is between 0.3 and 0.8 times the bottom circles' radius, offering a convex boundary that provides ample space for components and a milk container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the outer shell is shaped to fit inside a bra and imitate the anatomic shape of the bust, then the breast pump can be operated without holding it, but the space available for arranging functional components is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional planar layout to a three-dimensional spatial arrangement by positioning the milk container below the housing and using vertical stacking. This allows functional components to be arranged in multiple dimensions (horizontal and vertical), effectively utilizing the limited space within the bra while maintaining hands-free operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nesting by placing the milk container below the housing, with the housing receiving the breast shield and pump components. This nested arrangement allows multiple functional elements to occupy overlapping or adjacent spatial zones, maximizing the use of available volume within the anatomical constraints.
2Adaptability or versatility
If two individual breast pumps are provided for left and right breasts, then each breast can be pumped independently, but the spatial extension is limited to one half of the female breast
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the breast pump system into separate functional modules: a housing containing the pump mechanism, a milk container for collection, and a breast shield for contact with the breast. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates versatile configurations for different breast sizes and shapes while maintaining compact spatial extension.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a universal breast pump configuration that can accommodate different breast anatomies through adjustable components. The housing, milk container, and breast shield can be arranged in various configurations to suit different users, providing independent pumping capability for either breast while maintaining a compact overall footprint.
3Device complexity
If the outer shell provides sufficient space for functional components, then all necessary components can be arranged within the bra, but the anatomical shape imitation may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different structural characteristics in different regions of the outer shell. The housing portion is designed with specific dimensions to accommodate pump components, while the milk container portion extends below to provide additional space. This localized optimization allows sufficient component arrangement space while maintaining an overall anatomical shape that fits within the bra.
Data Source
AI summary
A breast pump shaped at least in part to fit inside a bra with an outer shell and a breast shield element including a nipple tunnel adapted to receive a nipple of the lactating mother, which breast pump provides sufficient space within the outer shell for arranging the functional components of the breast pump within the outer shell while meeting the anatomical circumstances posed by the user of the breast pump.The outer shell of the breast pump projects a frontal orthographic plane that is shaped like an oval, which oval is defined by a convex boundary encircling three circles, a first top circle, a first bottom circle and a second bottom circle, wherein a radius (RB) of the of the first bottom circle and a radius (RB) of the second bottom circle are equal and the ratio of a radius (RT) of the first top circle to the radius (RB) of the first or the second bottom circles is between 0.3 and 0.8.