Partitioned Breast Pump Housing for Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breast pumps generate significant noise due to structural and operational factors, such as membrane oscillation and pressure fluctuations, which existing noise reduction measures have not adequately addressed.
Innovation Solution
The breast pump design incorporates a partitioned housing with structurally and acoustically optimized compartments to decouple sound vibrations, featuring a pneumatic pump in one compartment and valves in another, with insulation tailored to critical sound frequencies, and includes a remote control for user-specific settings and storage of user data to adjust air pressure and frequency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the breast pump uses a membrane pump with high-speed electric motor to generate vacuum, then the pumping efficiency and vacuum generation capability are improved, but the noise level increases significantly due to membrane oscillation and pressure fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separate compartments: a first compartment containing the electric motor and drive shaft, and a second compartment containing the membrane pump. This segmentation isolates the noise sources (motor and membrane oscillation) from each other and from the external environment, allowing targeted noise reduction measures in each compartment while maintaining the high-speed pumping capability needed for efficient milk extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The noise-generating components (electric motor and membrane pump) are extracted and isolated within a dedicated noise-reducing housing structure. The housing acts as a separate enclosure that contains and dampens the noise, effectively removing the harmful noise effect from the user experience while preserving the pumping function.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the breast pump housing is designed with integrated noise-reducing material lining, then the noise transmission is reduced, but the structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed as two separate half-shells that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. The noise-reducing material is integrated into these modular components, allowing each half-shell to be produced with standardized manufacturing processes. This segmentation simplifies production compared to creating a single complex molded piece with integrated damping layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The noise-reducing material is integrated within the housing structure itself, with the damping layers embedded in the wall sections of the half-shells. This nesting approach incorporates noise reduction functionality directly into the structural components without adding separate external attachments or complex multi-layer assemblies.
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 design effectively reduces noise transmission, providing a low-noise operation with precise vacuum control and user-adapted settings, enhancing comfort and hygiene by allowing multiple pump sets to be connected to a single breast pump.
Implementation Method 1
Typical of these known membrane pumps is their generation of noise, caused by the membrane oscillating at a high frequency as a function of the speed of the electric motor driving the membrane pump.
Implementation Method 2
The two compartments are each provided with insulation (17, 18) which is structurally and acoustically optimized with regard to the sound generation of the components contained in the respective compartment.
Implementation Method 3
By inserting a partition into the housing of the breast pump according to patent claim 1, two structural spaces are created in the housing. A compartment with its own insulation is installed in each room. These two compartments are decoupled in terms of their sound vibrations, which prevents possible resonances.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a novel quiet breast milk pump for mothers who are breastfeeding which consists of at least one pump set and a breast pump. The pump set and breast pump are connected to one another by means of an air hose. A pneumatic pump and valves, the operation of which causes disturbing noise due to the resulting frequencies, are typically installed in the housing of the breast pump. The invention makes it possible to reduce the noise by introducing a separating wall into the housing of the breast pump and by lockably inserting a compartment into each of the resulting two chambers. One compartment contains the pneumatic pump while the other compartment accommodates the valves. Each compartment is lined with sound insulation optimally adapted to the frequency ranges for the pneumatic pump or to the frequency ranges for the valves, and they are also insulated from one another with respect to their sound vibrations so that no uninsulated sound passes outwardly.