| 摘要 |
A breast pump system includes a vacuum break backflow preventer for preventing breast milk from accidentally backflowing into a suction tube leading to a vacuum pump. The backflow preventer is a vacuum passageway with two spaced apart suction openings. The two openings convey air to cyclically pressurize and depressurize a small milk charging chamber. If milk accidentally covers one of the openings, air at the other opening minimizes the pressure differential that might otherwise draw the milk deep into the suction tube and toward the vacuum pump. For ease of cleaning and sanitizing, the system avoids or minimizes the use of baffles, permanently enclosed passageways, moving parts, and tight inside corners. Some passageways can be split open for access during cleaning. To make the breast milk collection device less protruding under a brassier, the vacuum passageway curves around the side of a nipple receptacle rather than in front of it. |
| 主权项 |
1. A breast pump system usable by a lactating woman for collecting milk, the breast pump system comprising:
an outer shell; a breast receiver coupled to the outer shell, the breast receiver comprising a breast guide and a nipple receptacle; the breast guide being adapted to engage a breast of the lactating woman; the nipple receptacle being of a tubular shape and having an inner curved wall surface, an outer curved wall surface, a proximate end and a distal end; the proximate end being adjacent to the breast guide, the inner curved wall surface defining a nipple chamber extending from the proximate end to at least the distal end, the nipple chamber being adapted to receive a nipple of the breast, the nipple receptacle defining a longitudinal centerline, the nipple receptacle defining a forward direction that is parallel to the longitudinal centerline, the nipple receptacle having a minimum radial distance from the longitudinal centerline to the inner curved wall surface of the nipple receptacle, the minimum radial distance being perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline, the forward direction pointing away from the breast when the breast is engaging the breast guide, the nipple receptacle extending in the forward direction from the proximate end at the breast guide; a storage chamber being defined between the outer shell and the breast receiver; a fluid exchanger coupled to the nipple receptacle; a valve; a charging chamber defined within at least one of the fluid exchanger and the valve, the charging chamber being connected in fluid communication with the nipple chamber, the valve connecting the charging chamber in at least momentary fluid communication with the storage chamber; a suction tube having a connection end coupled to the fluid exchanger and a remote end extending beyond the storage chamber, the suction tube being more flexible than at least one of the outer shell, the breast receiver, and the fluid exchanger; an air duct connecting the connection end of the suction tube in fluid communication with the charging chamber, the air duct defining a supply port adjacent to the connection end of the suction tube, the air duct defining a first opening adjacent to both the nipple receptacle and the charging chamber; and the outer shell, the breast receiver and the fluid exchanger being selectively positionable as a unit to a predetermined orientation such that when the unit is in the predetermined orientation, the longitudinal centerline is horizontal, the longitudinal centerline extends over at least a portion of the charging chamber, the connection end of the suction tube is above the longitudinal centerline, and the nipple chamber extends farther forward than the first opening of the air duct by a horizontal distance that is greater than the minimum radial distance between the longitudinal centerline and the inner curved wall surface of the nipple receptacle. |
