Flexible Conduit Mounting for Pump Vibration Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional breast pump assemblies generate excessive noise due to vibrations transferred from the pump to the housing through stiff conduits, which are designed to be short for vacuum performance and compactness, leading to rattling noises during operation.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating flexible conduits as part of the mounting arrangement to reduce vibration transfer from the pump to the housing, using materials like silicone, nitrile rubber, or thermoplastic elastomers, which can deform elastically to absorb vibrations, and optionally combining with resilient supporting members like coil springs for additional stability and noise reduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If stiff conduits are used to connect the pump to the housing, then the vacuum performance is improved and the device size is reduced, but vibrations are strongly transferred from the pump to the housing causing rattling noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible conduits made of elastomeric material to replace stiff conduits. The flexible conduit acts as a vibration isolator while maintaining the necessary fluid transport function, thus reducing noise without compromising vacuum performance or increasing device size significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible conduit serves as an intermediary element between the pump and the housing, decoupling the vibration transmission path. It allows the pump to be connected to the housing while preventing direct vibration transfer, thereby reducing rattling noise.
2Productivity
If the conduit length is reduced to maintain compactness, then the dead volume is minimized improving vacuum performance, but the conduit becomes stiffer increasing vibration transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible elastomeric conduit allows short conduit length for compact design and minimal dead volume while inherently providing vibration isolation through its flexible properties, thus maintaining vacuum performance without increasing noise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter of the conduit from rigid to elastomeric, which fundamentally alters its mechanical properties. This allows the conduit to remain flexible and vibration-dampening even at short lengths, resolving the contradiction between compactness and noise reduction.
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 significantly reduces noise generation during pump operation while maintaining compactness and vacuum performance, ensuring a more silent and efficient milk expression process without increasing the pump's size.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one conduit has flexible properties so as to reduce an extent to which vibrations of the pump are transferred to the housing through the mounting arrangement during operation of the pump device
Data Source
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AI summary
A pump device (1) as may be used in a breast pump assembly comprises a pump (10) configured to put fluid in motion, a housing (40) accommodating the pump (10), at least one fluid transporting conduit (21, 22) connected to the pump (10), the at least one conduit (21, 22) extending between the pump (10) and the housing (40), thereby connecting the pump (10) to a position at the housing (40) where the housing (40) is provided with at least one opening (41) for allowing fluid to pass, and a mounting arrangement (30) for mounting the pump (10) in the housing (40). The at least one conduit (21, 22) is part of the mounting arrangement (30) and has flexible properties so as to reduce an extent to which vibrations of the pump (10) are transferred to the housing (40) through the mounting arrangement (30) during operation of the device (1).