Breast Pump Breathable Membrane Reduces Air Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional breast pumps require a large air volume for the diaphragm to create a vacuum, limiting their size and efficiency, and often require significant pump power to overcome the spring force of the silicone diaphragm, making them less compact and more expensive.
Innovation Solution
A breast pump design using a breathable, gas-permeable, and liquid-impermeable hydrophobic membrane to separate the pressure chambers, eliminating the need for a diaphragm stroke and reducing the required air volume, allowing for a more compact and less expensive pump with improved handling and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a non-permeable resilient silicone diaphragm is used to create vacuum, then hygienic function is achieved, but the device size increases and pump power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a porous hydrophobic membrane instead of a solid diaphragm. The membrane has pore sizes that allow water vapor and gas molecules to pass through while blocking larger liquid droplets and particles. This porous structure enables the membrane to be permeable to gases (allowing vacuum transmission) while remaining liquid-impermeable (maintaining hygiene), thus resolving the contradiction between hygienic function and device size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the permeability parameter of the separating membrane from impermeable (solid diaphragm) to selectively permeable (porous hydrophobic membrane). By adjusting the pore size and hydrophobicity parameters, the membrane allows gas transmission for vacuum creation while blocking liquid transmission for hygiene, enabling a compact design without sacrificing hygienic function.
2Stress or pressure
If a non-permeable resilient silicone diaphragm is used to create vacuum, then vacuum pressure is achieved, but pump power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The porous hydrophobic membrane offers lower flow resistance compared to a solid diaphragm system that requires significant pump power to overcome spring force. The porous structure allows air to pass through with minimal resistance, reducing the energy required by the pump to maintain vacuum pressure, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving vacuum pressure and reducing power consumption.
3Volume of moving object
If a breathable membrane is used to reduce device size, then device compactness is improved, but liquid impermeability must be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous membrane with specifically controlled pore sizes that are small enough to block liquid droplets and particles while large enough to allow gas molecules and water vapor to pass through. This selective permeability based on pore size enables the membrane to be breathable (gas-permeable) while simultaneously providing liquid impermeability, thus resolving the contradiction between device compactness and contamination protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the permeability parameters of the membrane by controlling pore size distribution and introducing hydrophobicity. The hydrophobic property causes liquid to bead up and not penetrate the pores, while gas molecules can still diffuse through. This parameter adjustment enables the membrane to be thin and compact while maintaining effective liquid barrier properties.
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 breathable membrane design enables a smaller, more efficient breast pump with reduced power consumption, improved hygiene, and easier cleaning, while maintaining effective vacuum pressure for milk extraction.
Implementation Method 1
the first and the second pressure chamber are separated by a breathable membrane, which is gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable... wherein the breathable membrane is a hydrophobic membrane
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an expression kit (2) for a breast pump (1) for extracting breast milk (101) from a human teat (102). The expression kit (2) comprises: a breast pump body (10) comprising a first pressure chamber (11) and a second pressure chamber (21); wherein the first pressure chamber (11) is configured for connection to a pressure unit (30) for generating a in the pressure chamber (11); wherein the second pressure chamber (21) comprises a breast-receiving funnel (22), a milk outlet (23) and a milk path (24) from the breast-receiving funnel (22) to the milk outlet (23); and wherein the first and the second pressure (11, 21) chamber are separated by a breathable membrane (50), which is gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable, for separating the first pressure chamber (11) from liquid in the milk path (24), wherein the breathable membrane (50) is a hydrophobic membrane. Further, the present invention relates to a breast pump (1).