Breast pump

Abstract

A breast pump comprises a housing formed from a transparent, sterilizable, plastic material and defining a unitary, airtight structure. An aperture is formed in one end of the housing to receive and form a substantially airtight connection with a breast. An internal rim extends around the breast receiving aperture to prevent milk from flowing outwardly therethrough. A surface is disposed at the opposite end of the housing from the breast receiving aperture in the path of milk entering the housing. An aperture is formed in the bottom of the housing and is provided with internal threads adapted to threadedly engage and form a substantially airtight connection with the external threads of a conventional baby bottle. A third aperture is formed in the housing at a point displaced from the path of milk entering the housing, and a manually collapsible bulb is connected to the third aperture for establishing a partial vacuum within the housing. A fitting is provided for threaded engagement with the bottle receiving aperture for use in connecting a flexible baby bottle to the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a breast pump, and more particularly to a novel breast pump design incorporating numerous advantages over the prior art.

Heretofore numerous breast pumps have been designed and patented. However, notwithstanding these attempts at providing a workable product, a number of problems have remained unsolved. For example, prior art breast pumps have not adequately provided for the transfer of milk to a baby bottle for subsequent feeding to an infant. Another problem involves the fact that prior art breast pumps have not been readily adapted to cleaning and sterilization, particularly with respect to accumulations of milk in the apparatus designed to establish a partial vacuum within the breast pump.

A very important difficulty which has been experienced in the use of prior art breast pumps involves the fact that these devices are often quite complicated in design. This factor renders many prior art breast pumps both expensive to purchase and cumbersome, if not difficult to use. Perhaps more importantly, many prior art breast pumps are substantially limited as to portability. This factor renders such devices almost useless in modern times in view of the fact that an important need of the modern woman for a breast pump is at work, while shopping, during travel, and on other occasions when the woman is away from home. A related factor in this regard involves the fact that prior art breast pumps have not provided means to prevent drainage of milk outwardly through the breast receiving aperture which also severely restricts use of such devices when away from the home.

The present invention relates to a novel breast pump which eliminates the foregoing and other disadvantages long since associated with the prior art. In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, a breast pump comprises a housing having a compact, streamlined shape so as to be readily portable. The housing comprises a unitary, airtight structure formed from one of the modern plastic materials and adapted for sterilization, as by boiling. The housing is preferably at least substantially transparent which facilitates both use and cleaning of the breast pump.

An aperture is formed in one end of the housing and is dimensioned to receive and form a substantially airtight connection with a breast of a woman. An inner rim extends around the breast receiving aperture to prevent milk from draining outwardly therethrough. A surface is disposed at the opposite ends of the housing to deflect milk entering the breast pump from a breast received in the breast receiving aperture.

In accordance with the present invention, milk is not stored even temporarily in the housing. Rather, the milk flows outwardly through an aperture formed in the bottom of the housing. This aperture is provided with internal threads adapted to threadedly engage and form a substantially airtight connection with the external threads of a conventional baby bottle. The invention further contemplates the use of a threaded adapter for use in connecting the housing to a flexible baby bottle.

The third aperture is formed in the housing at a point substantially displaced from the path of milk entering the housing from a breast positioned in the breast receiving aperture. A manually operable bulb having the usual check valves is secured to the housing in fluid communication with the third aperture for use in establishing a partial vacuum in the housing. The bulb is preferably detachably connected to the housing to facilitate cleaning of the breast pump.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a breast pump incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a first alternative use of the invention; and

Fig. 3 is an illustration of a second alternative use of the invention in which certain parts have been broken away more clearly to illustrate certain features of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a breast pump 10 incorporating the invention. The breast pump 10 includes a housing 12 having a compact, streamlined shape so as to be readily portable. The housing 12 comprises a unitary, airtight structure which is preferably fabricated by means of modern mass production techniques, for example one of the various molding processes. The housing 12 is preferably transparent to facilitate both the use of the breast pump 10 and the subsequent cleaning of the housing 12. The housing 12 may be fabricated from one of the various modern plastic materials that are tough and yet somewhat flexible, for example, materials such as polyethylene, polypropolene, polycarbonate, etc. or various proprietary plastic materials may be used in the fabrication of the housing 12. The housing 12 may also be manufactured from glass, if desired.

An aperture 14 dimensioned to receive a breast of a woman is provided at one end of the housing 12. An exterior rim 16 extends around the aperture 14 to form a substantially airtight seal with a breast received therein. An interior rim 18 also extends around the aperture 14 to prevent milk received in the housing 12 from draining outwardly through the aperature 14. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, the rim 18 extends entirely around the aperture 14. It will be understood, however, that the interior milk retaining rim 18 may be provided around only the lower portion of the aperture 14, if desired.

A milk deflecting surface 20 is disposed at the opposite end of the housing 12 from the breast receiving aperture 14. The surface 20 is shaped to deflect milk entering the housing 12 downwardly. As will become more apparent hereinafter, this feature of the invention has been found to be highly advantageous in facilitating cleaning of the component parts of the breast pump 10 following use.

In the practice of the invention, milk is not retained in the housing 12 even temporarily. Instead, milk is directed out of the housing 12 through an aperture 22 formed in the bottom thereof. The milk passes through the aperture 22 and into a container 24 secured to the housing 12. The aperture 22 is provided with internal threads 26 adapted to threadedly engage the external threads of a conventional baby bottle, and the container 24 is provided with external threads 28 which are identical to the threads of a conventional baby bottle. By this means the threads 26 and 28 cooperate to form a substantially airtight seal between the housing 12 and the container 24.

The housing 12 of the breast pump 10 further comprises a third aperture 30. The aperture 30 may be located at any convenient point on the housing 12, but should be substantially displaced from the path of milk entering the housing 12 from a breast positioned in the aperture 14. A manually collapsible bulb 32 is secured to the housing 12 in fluid communication with the aperture 30 for use in establishing a partial vacuum within the housing 12.

The bulb 32 is conventional, and includes the usual check valves at the inlets and outlets thereof. The bulb 32 is preferably small in size to facilitate portability of the breast pump 10, and is also preferably so designed that a number of actuations of the bulb are required in order to establish a partial vacuum of relatively high magnitude within the housing 10. This is to facilitate control over the operation of the breast pump 10 and also to increase the comfort of the user. The bulb 32 is preferably detachably secured to the housing 12 to facilitate cleaning of the component parts of the breast pump 10. This may be accomplished either by means of a threaded connection between the bulb 32 and the housing 12, or by means of cooperating flanges adapted to form an airtight seal between the bulb 32 and the housing 12.

In the use of the breast pump 10, the bulb 32 is engaged with the housing 12 in fluid communication with the aperture 30, and a container is secured to the housing 12 in fluid communication with the aperture 22 by means of the threads 26. Thereafter, a breast of a woman is received in the aperture 14 and the rim 16 is engaged with the breast so as to form a substantially airtight seal.

At this point in time the bulb 32 is actuated to establish a partial vacuum within the housing 12. The effect of the partial vacuum is to draw milk out of the breast positioned in the aperture 14 and into the housing 12. The surface 20 of the housing 12 functions to deflect milk entering the housing downwardly through the aperture 22 and into the container secured thereto, and to prevent milk entering the housing from entering the bulk 32. This has been found to be highly advantageous in facilitating the subsequent cleaning of the component parts of the breast pump 10. Thus, by preventing milk from entering the bulb 32, the surface 20 of the housing 12 eliminates a troublesome cleaning problem which has been experienced in prior art breast pumps.

As has been indicated previously, the housing 12 is preferably at least substantially transparent. This has been found to be highly advantageous in that it facilitates observation of the breast pump in drawing milk out of the breast positioned in the aperture 14. This fact in combination with the use of a bulb 32 requiring repeated actuation to establish a partial vacuum of relatively high magnitude within the housing 12 facilitate not only the operation of the breast pump 10 but also the comfort of the user.

The breast pump 10 is utilized to withdraw milk from each breast of the woman. It will be noted in this regard that following each use the interior rim 18 of the aperture 14 prevents milk from draining out of the housing 12 through the aperture 14. This is highly advantageous in that milk is prevented from draining onto the woman's clothing, etc. Following the use of the the breast pump 10 the container is disengaged from the aperture 22 and the housing 12 is cleaned. The transparent construction of the housing 12 is also highly advantageous in facilitating the cleaning of the housing.

The container 24 illustrated in FIG. 1 is primarily intended for use when the breast pump 10 is utilized to relieve pressure from the breasts. To this end the container 24 may have a relatively small capacity, i.e., between about 21/2 ounces and about 3 ounces. The small size of the container 24 is also advantageous in that it permits the component parts of the breast pump 10 to be carried in a woman's purse, etc. Following use of the breast pump 10 to relieve pressure, the milk is typically discarded from the container 24 and the container is cleaned. It will be understood, however, that the milk may be retained, if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the breast pump 10 may also be utilized in conjunction with a conventional baby bottle 34. For example, in the event that a woman will be out for the evening, etc., the breast pump 10 may be utilized to accumulate milk in the baby bottle 34 for subsequent feeding to an infant. This is advantageous in that it substantially eliminates the need of repeatedly switching the infant back and forth between mother's milk and a formula. To the contrary, by means of the present invention it is typically possible to accumulate milk in baby bottles to such an extent that the necessity of feeding the infant with formula is completely eliminated.

In FIG. 3, the breast pump 10 is shown utilized in connection with a conventional flexible baby bottle. In such instances an adapter 36 is provided. The adapter 36 comprises upper threads 38 which are identical to the threads of a conventional baby bottle and a lower flange 40.

In the use of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3, a conventional flexible baby bottle 42 is received in a conventional holder 44. Such a device is typically provided with an upper flange 46. The lower flange of the adapter 36 receives the flange 46 with the flexible baby bottle positioned therebetween, thereby forming a connection between the adapter 36 and the holder 44 and the flexible baby bottle 42 mounted therein. By this means milk received in the housing 12 of the breast pump 10 is directed into the flexible baby bottle 42. The flexible baby bottle 42 and the holder 44 may then be utilized to feed the milk to an infant.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the present invention comprises a breast pump incorporating numerous advantages over the prior art. Thus, breast pumps constructed in accordance with the invention are both readily portable and very convenient to use. In this regard the inner flange surrounding the breast receiving aperture is advantageous in preventing milk from flowing outwardly therethrough. Another advantage involves the milk deflecting surface and the transparent construction of the housing which cooperate to facilitate cleaning of the component parts of the breast pump following use. A very important advantage relates to the fact that breast pumps constructed in accordance with the invention are adapted for direct connection to a conventional baby bottle. By this means the breast pump may be utilized to provide mother's milk for subsequent feeding to an infant.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions of parts and elements without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A breast pump comprising:

a housing formed from a sterilizable material and defining a unitary, airtight structure;

a first aperture formed in one end of the housing and extending laterally with respect thereto for receiving a breast and forming a substantially airtight connection therewith;

an external rim formed around the entire periphery of the first aperture to form a substantially airtight seal with a breast inserted therein;

an internal rim formed around at least the lower portion of the first aperture to prevent milk from flowing outwardly therethrough;

a wall positioned at the opposite end of the housing from the first aperture and directly in alignment therewith whereby milk entering the housing from the breast received in the first aperture is deflected by the wall;

a second aperture formed in the bottom of the housing and extending downwardly with respect thereto and comprising means for forming a substantially airtight connection with a milk receiving container;

the second aperture comprising internal threads adapted for direct engagement wtih the external threads of a conventional baby bottle thereby forming a substantially airtight seal between the housing and the baby bottle;

a third aperture formed in the housing at a point displaced from the path of milk entering the housing from a breast received in the first aperture and extending upwardly relative to the housing; and

means connected to the third aperture for establishing a partial vacuum within the housing.

2. The breast pump according to claim 1 wherein the vacuum establishing means comprises a manually collapsible bulb connected directly to the third aperture of the housing.

3. The breast pump according to claim 2 wherein the housing is at least substantially transparent.

4. The breast pump according to claim 3 wherein the housing is formed from plastic.

5. The breast pump according to claim 1 further including an adapter having upper external threads for threaded engagement with the internal threads of the second aperture and a lower rim for connecting a flexible baby bottle to the housing.