Breastshield Membrane Surrounding Nipple for Compact Pump Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breast pumps face challenges in compact design, ease of assembly and cleaning, and effective media separation while maintaining efficient milk expression.
Innovation Solution
A breast shield unit with a membrane that surrounds the receiving part and is positioned to generate negative pressure close to the nipple, allowing for a compact and efficient design with a large membrane area for effective pumping and easy cleaning, and optionally integrated with a milk connection and vacuum chamber for hands-free operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the membrane is arranged further away from the nipple in the vacuum chamber (prior art), then there is sufficient space for media separation, but the device size increases and compactness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is repositioned from a distant arrangement in the vacuum chamber to a position that at least partially surrounds the receiving part, utilizing the radial dimension around the nipple rather than only the axial dimension. This dimensional change enables compact device size while maintaining effective media separation between air and milk.
2Productivity
If a large-area membrane is used for effective pumping, then pumping efficiency is improved, but the device becomes more complex and harder to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is designed as a flexible thin film that can be arranged in one or more pieces to at least partially surround the receiving part. This flexible film configuration provides large surface area for effective pumping while maintaining a simple, easy-to-clean structure without complex rigid components.
3Volume of moving object
If the membrane is positioned close to the nipple, then the vacuum chamber volume is reduced for compact design, but the membrane area for effective pumping may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane utilizes the radial dimension by surrounding the receiving part laterally, rather than only extending axially. This enables the membrane to achieve sufficient area for effective pumping while keeping the vacuum chamber volume compact through optimized spatial arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is arranged to at least partially surround the receiving part, creating a nested configuration where the membrane envelops the nipple-receiving area. This nesting enables efficient use of space, providing adequate membrane area within a compact vacuum chamber volume.
4Ease of manufacture
If the membrane is made in one or more pieces surrounding the receiving part, then assembly and cleaning are simplified, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is designed to be made in one or more separate pieces that can be independently assembled around the receiving part. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing and cleaning processes, allowing each piece to be handled separately while the overall structure remains relatively simple.
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
The solution results in a compact, easy-to-clean, and efficient breast pump that effectively separates air and milk, reducing the lifting requirement and maintaining consistent pump performance.
Implementation Method 1
a membrane for generating a negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A breastshield unit for expressing human breastmilk has a receiving part (10) for receiving a human nipple, an underpressure chamber (40) for applying an underpressure to the nipple, wherein the receiving part (10) opens into this underpressure chamber (40), and a membrane (3) generating an underpressure in the underpressure chamber (40). The membrane (3) is designed in one or more pieces and at least partially surrounds the receiving part (10). This breastshield unit permits a separation of media in the area near the breast. It is small and easy to clean and is suitable in particular for use as a hands-free breastshield unit.