JP2012019952A - Milking pad and milking device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a milking pad that allows a user to feel the peristaltic movement similar to a baby's sucking motion the baby sucks the nipple and has superior naturalness of a use feeling, and a milking device.SOLUTION: There are provided: the milking pad 12 including a body 12C whose one-end side is made as a large-diameter opening part, whose inner diameter is reduced from the one-end side toward the other-end side, whose the other-end side is made as a small-diameter opening part 12B having an inner diameter smaller than that of the large-diameter opening part and that is deformable by pressure from the outside; and an annular opening-part frame 12D that is fixed to the one-end side of the body 12C and forms a nipple-insertion-side opening part 12A, into which the nipple is inserted, on the one-end side of the body 12C together with the large-diameter opening part of the body 12C; and the milking device including the milking pad 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to a milking pad for collecting breast milk from a human body and a milking device using the same.

  In addition to applying a negative pressure in addition to the milking device for milking by inserting a teat from the large-diameter side opening of the milk receiving member formed in a trumpet shape and applying a negative pressure in the milk receiving member There is known a milking apparatus that applies a peristaltic motion (squeezing motion) to the nipple via a member.

  However, in a conventional milking apparatus that utilizes pressure fluctuations associated with negative pressure, the nipple covering member used therein is mainly applied to milking applications using negative pressure, and no consideration is given to applying sufficient pressure stimulation. Moreover, in the conventional milking apparatus which applies a squeezing exercise | movement, since a nipple coating | coated member (pad) is comprised by the flexible silicone rubber etc. as a whole, and this nipple coating | coated member deform | transforms as a whole, it is for giving a press stimulus. Accordingly, a gap may be formed between the breast and the nipple covering member, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

  Therefore, a cylindrical frame in which a large-diameter side opening for inserting a nipple is formed on one end side and a small-diameter opening side opening is formed on the other end side, and the large-diameter side opening of the cylindrical frame And a first flexible portion that is provided in a part of the circumferential direction between the first opening and the small-diameter side opening, and is deformable toward the inside of the cylindrical frame by a pressing force from the outside of the cylindrical frame, Provided independently of the first flexible portion at a position facing the first flexible portion between the large-diameter side opening and the small-diameter side opening of the cylindrical frame, and inside the cylindrical frame A nipple covering member having a second flexible portion that can be deformed toward the outside of the cylindrical frame by a pressing force from the tube, and the small-diameter side opening of the nipple covering member, and collecting the milk For transmitting a pressure stimulus to the nipple to the first flexible part The nipple covering member in response to a pressing stimulus to the nipple by the stimulating means that is disposed outside the second flexible portion of the nipple covering member and is transmitted through the first flexible portion. A milking device having a nipple support part for supporting a nipple inserted into the nipple and a support position adjusting means capable of adjusting a relative position of the nipple support part with respect to the stimulation means has been developed (Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2008-183143 A

  However, even in the milking device described in Patent Document 1, unlike the case where the infant sucks the nipple, it feels a peristaltic movement at a position away from the nipple, which is insufficient in terms of the natural feeling of use.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a milking pad and a milking device that allow a user to feel the same peristaltic movement as when an infant sucks a teat and is excellent in the natural feeling of use.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, one end side is a large-diameter opening, the inner diameter is reduced from the one end to the other end, and the other end is a small-diameter opening having a smaller inner diameter than the large-diameter opening. And a main body that can be deformed by a pressing force from the outside and a large-diameter opening of the main body, and a papillary insertion-side opening for inserting the teat together with the large-diameter opening of the main body is formed A milking pad provided with an annular opening frame.

  According to the first aspect, the feeling of adhesion when the nipple is inserted into the opening on the nipple insertion side is high, and a sufficient pressing force can be obtained by causing a part of the side surface of the main body to move in a swinging manner. Provides a milking pad that provides the same milking feeling as when sucking the nipple.

  Invention of Claim 2 is related with the milking pad of Claim 1 in which the thickness of the said main body is formed uniformly.

  According to claim 2, there is provided a milking pad which is further excellent in the feeling of adhesion and usability as compared with the milking pad having a non-uniform thickness of the main body.

  Invention of Claim 3 is related with the milking pad of Claim 1 or 2 with which the said main body is formed from the elastomer type material, and the said opening part frame is formed from the hard resin type material.

  According to the third aspect, since the main body is made of an elastomeric material, the flexibility is high. On the other hand, the opening frame is made of a hard resin material, so There is provided a milking pad in which the nipple insertion side opening is effectively prevented from being deformed by pressure.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the milking pad according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the breast milk collection bottle for collecting the breast milk communicated with the small diameter opening in the milking pad, and the milking. Peristaltic means for transmitting a pressing stimulus to the nipple by swinging a part of the side surface of the pad main body, and provided so as to face the peristalizing means across the main body, and against the pressing stimulus to the nipple by the peristaltic means A milking apparatus provided with the support part which supports the teat inserted in the said milking pad, and the support position adjustment means which adjusts the position of the said support part with respect to the said main body.

  According to claim 4, when a part of the side wall of the main body of the milking pad is swung by the swinging means with the teat inserted into the teat insertion side opening of the milking pad, the pressing force from the swinging means is A pressure load or displacement is input to the nipple via the side wall of the main body. On the other hand, the nipple is supported by the support portion via the side wall of the main body opposite to the swinging means. Thereby, since the pressing load or displacement from the said peristaltic means is reliably transmitted to a nipple, collection | collection of breast milk can be performed effectively.

  Invention of Claim 5 is further equipped with the negative pressure generation means for producing a negative pressure inside the said milking pad in the state in which the teat was inserted from the teat insertion side opening part of the said milking pad. It is related with the milking apparatus of description.

  According to invention of Claim 5, the negative pressure by a negative pressure generation means is provided to the teat inserted in the milking pad, giving the press operation by a peristaltic means. Thereby, a milking apparatus capable of collecting breast milk more efficiently is provided.

  The invention according to claim 6 is configured such that the support portion includes a support member configured to be able to contact and separate from the outside with respect to the milking pad, and the support position adjusting means moves the support member to the swinging means. The milking apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, comprising guide means for guiding so as to come into contact with and away from the body, and holding means capable of holding the support member at a plurality of positions in the contact and separation direction with respect to the peristaltic means. Relates to the device.

  In the invention of claim 6, when adjusting the nipple support position by the support member, the support member is brought into contact with and separated from the peristaltic means while being guided by the guide means, and at a desired position in the contact and separation direction. Since the supporting member is held by the holding means, a milking device capable of easily adjusting the nipple support position according to the state of the user is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there are provided a milking pad and a milking device that make a user feel the same peristaltic movement as when an infant sucks a teat and is excellent in the natural feeling of use.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a milking apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a teat support mechanism constituting the milking apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a main part of a milking mechanism constituting the milking apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4: shows the milking pad which comprises the milking apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. Drawing 5 is a figure showing a pad which constitutes a milking device concerning Embodiment 1, and (A) is a side view and (B) is a bottom view. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a peristaltic mechanism constituting the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 7 shows another example of the milking pad used in the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view. FIG. 8: shows another example of the milking pad used for the milking apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. FIG. 9 shows still another example of a milking pad used in the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view. FIG. 10 shows still another example of the milking pad used in the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view. FIG. 11 shows still another example of the milking pad used in the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1, (A) is a perspective view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a comparison between a position where a peristaltic movement is felt when milking is performed by the milking apparatus according to Embodiment 1 and a position where peristaltic movement is felt when breast feeding an infant. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a comparison between a position where a peristaltic motion is felt when milking is performed with the milking apparatus described in Patent Document 1 and a position where peristaltic motion is felt when feeding an infant. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing evaluation items and evaluation criteria evaluated for milking pads having different wall thicknesses and distributions, and calibers. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing evaluation results for three types of milking pads having different thickness distributions and thicknesses of the main body. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing evaluation results for three types of milking pads having different calibers. FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing the evaluation results for three types of milking pads having the same diameter but different only the thickness of the main body.

1. Embodiment 1

  The milking apparatus 10 as a milking apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on drawing. For convenience of explanation, the sides (directions) indicated by arrows F, U, and L in each drawing are referred to as the near side (direction), the upper side (direction), and the lower side (direction), respectively. The direction shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the milking apparatus 10 includes, as main components, a milking unit 102 that performs milking, and a vacuum pump unit 24 that applies negative pressure to a milking pad 12 described later that is sealed with a breast. It is configured.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the milking unit 102 is attached to a portion of the breast including the nipple and the vicinity of the areola and covers the nipple and its periphery from the outer peripheral side, and the collected milk is collected. A baby bottle 14 as a mother's milk collection bottle, a communication tube 16 for communicating the milking pad 12 and the baby bottle 14 so that breast milk circulates, and a peristaltic means for applying a pressure stimulus to the nipple via the milking pad 12 A nipple support mechanism 20 as a support portion and a support position adjusting means for supporting the nipple from the opposite side of the oscillating mechanism 18, the milking pad 12, the baby bottle 14, the communication tube 16, and the oscillating mechanism. 18 and an apparatus frame 22 for holding the nipple support mechanism 20 in a predetermined posture (relative position). As will be described in detail later, the peristaltic mechanism 18 applies a pressing action in the direction of pressing the nipple as a pressing stimulus. Here, the peristaltic movement of the tongue by the infant is reproduced, and the user can Is configured as a stimulating means that moves in a reverse direction from the front side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the milking pad 12 as a whole is formed in a substantially trumpet shape in which the nipple insertion side opening 12A on one end side has a larger diameter than the connection side opening 12B on the other end side. The nipple insertion side opening is formed so that the lower side is inclined 10 to 20 degrees, preferably about 15 degrees, in the front direction with respect to the vertical direction.

  The milking pad 12 has a main body 12C having a large-diameter opening at one end and a small-diameter opening having a smaller inner diameter at the other end than the large-diameter opening and forming a connection-side opening 12B. An opening frame 12D that is fixed to the large-diameter opening and forms the nipple insertion side opening 12A together with the large-diameter opening. The main body 12C is made of an elastomeric material, specifically silicone rubber, polyester elastomer, polyamide elastomer, polyolefin elastomer, styrene elastomer, soft polyvinyl chloride resin, ethylene / propylene rubber, ethylene / propylene / diene copolymer. Etc. are used. On the other hand, the opening frame 12D is made of a hard resin material such as an epoxy resin, a polypropylene resin, a polycarbonate, a polysulfone resin, a polyethersulfone resin, a polysulfide resin, or a hard polyurethane resin. In this embodiment, the opening frame 12D is configured using an epoxy resin (Crystal Resin Super Clear manufactured by Nissin Resin Co., Ltd.).

  The main body 12C may be formed so that its thickness changes from the nipple insertion side opening 12A to the connection side opening 12B as shown in FIG. 4, but as shown in FIGS. It is more preferable in terms of the natural feeling of use if the thickness is constant in both the direction and the direction from the nipple insertion side opening 12A toward the connection side opening 12B.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 to 11, the diameter of the nipple insertion side opening 12 </ b> A is preferably about 30 to 70 mm.

  Further, in the vicinity of the connection-side opening 12B of the main body 12C, the hard resin is used to prevent the main body 12C from expanding outwardly and loosening when a communication pipe 16 described later is inserted into the connection-side opening 12B. A reinforcing ring 12E made of a system material is fitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communication pipe 16 connected to the opening of the baby bottle 14 is opposite to the horizontal pipe 16A connected to the connection side opening 12B of the milking pad 12 and the milking pad 12 in the horizontal pipe 16A. And a standing tube 16B connected to the opening end of the baby bottle 14 at the lower end. An air vent 16C is provided at the upper end of the standing pipe 16B of the communication pipe 16. The air vent 16C communicates with the vacuum pump unit 24 via the tube 38. Preferably, the lower end of the vertical tube 16B is provided with a valve body that allows the milk to flow while separating the air of the baby bottle 14, and the upper end is prevented from flowing back to prevent the milk from flowing back to the vacuum pump unit 24. Means may be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus frame 22 mainly includes a breast milk collection side frame 22 </ b> A that mainly supports the baby bottle 14 and the communication pipe 16, and mainly a peristaltic mechanism 18 and a nipple support mechanism 20 (via the milking pad 12). The milking side frame 22B to support is connected and comprised. Although detailed explanation is omitted, the breast milk collection side frame 22A and the milking side frame 22B are configured to be able to adjust (change, hold) the relative angle around the axis of the milking pad 12. That is, the milking device 10 is configured to be able to impart a peristaltic motion by the peristaltic mechanism 18 to the breast including the nipple while maintaining the baby bottle 14 in a substantially vertical posture.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6, the peristaltic mechanism 18 is rotatably supported by a pair of side plates 22 </ b> C constituting the milking side frame 22 </ b> B so as to face in the width direction (arrow W direction). Each pair includes a first arm 40, a second arm 42, and a third arm 44. In FIG. 6, the arm on one side in the width direction is shown, and the illustration of the arm on the other side is omitted. The pair of first arms 40 are formed in the same shape as each other, and the rotation shafts 40A are arranged coaxially. Similarly, the pair of second arm 42 and third arm 44 are also formed in the same shape, and the rotation shafts 42A and the rotation shafts 44A are coaxially arranged. The rotating shafts 40A, 42A, and 44A are arranged apart from each other in this order (in different positions) from the front side to the rear side, and are parallel to each other. The first arms 40 and the second arms 42 are respectively disposed outside the pair of side plates 22C, and the third arms 44 are disposed between the pair of side plates 22C.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 6, each of the pair of first arms 40 is formed in a substantially V shape in a side view, and a rotation shaft 40 </ b> A is provided at one end of the V shape. Yes. Near the bent portion of the pair of first arms 40, a first pressing roller 46 as a pressing portion is bridged. The first pressing roller 46 is formed in a substantially cylindrical (roller) shape, and its longitudinal (axis) direction is substantially parallel to the axis of the rotation shaft 40A. One end of a bracket 48 is connected to the arm portion of the first arm 40 opposite to the first pressing roller 46 with respect to the rotation shaft 40A, and the cam roller 50 is rotated to the other end of the bracket 48. It is rotatably supported around an axis parallel to the axis 40A. In the swing mechanism 18, the pair of first arms 40 and the bracket 48 are configured such that a triangle connecting the axes of the rotation shaft 40 </ b> A, the first pressing roller 46, and the cam roller 50 forms an acute angle triangle in a side view.

  Each of the pair of second arms 42 is formed in a substantially “L” shape in a side view, and a rotating shaft 42 </ b> A is provided in the vicinity of one end thereof. A second pressing roller 52 as a pressing portion is bridged between the other ends of the pair of second arms 42. The second pressing roller 52 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and its longitudinal (axis) direction is substantially parallel to the axis of the rotation shaft 42A. In addition, one end of a bracket 54 is connected to the vicinity of the rotation shaft 42A of one second arm 42, and a cam roller 56 is rotatable about the axis parallel to the rotation shaft 42A to the other end of the bracket 54. It is supported. In the peristaltic mechanism 18, the pair of second arms 42 and the bracket 54 are configured so that a triangle connecting the axes of the rotation shaft 42 </ b> A, the second pressing roller 52, and the cam roller 56 forms an obtuse triangle in a side view.

  Each of the pair of third arms 44 is formed in a substantially “h” shape in a side view, and a rotation shaft 44A is provided in the vicinity of one end thereof. A third pressing roller 58 as a pressing portion is bridged between the other ends of the pair of third arms 44. The third pressing roller 58 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and its longitudinal (axis) direction is substantially parallel to the axis of the rotation shaft 44A. One end of a bracket 60 is connected to the middle portion of one third arm 44 in the longitudinal direction, and a cam roller 62 is rotatable at the other end of the bracket 60 about an axis parallel to the rotation shaft 44A. It is supported. In the swing mechanism 18, the pair of third arms 44 and the bracket 60 are configured so that a triangle connecting the axes of the rotation shaft 44 </ b> A, the third pressing roller 58, and the cam roller 62 forms an obtuse triangle in a side view.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing rollers 46, 52, and 58 constituting the peristaltic mechanism 18 shift different timings 34 </ b> A, 34 </ b> B, and 34 </ b> C in the main body 12 </ b> C of the milking pad 12 in the respective normal directions. It comes to press. These positions 34A, 34B, 34C correspond to positions on the tongue of the infant's oral cavity.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the swing mechanism 18 includes cams 64, 66, 68 in which the cam roller 50 of the first arm 40, the cam roller 56 of the second arm 42, and the cam roller 62 of the third arm 44 contact each other independently. It has. These cams 64, 66, and 68 are formed into substantially disc shapes, and are eccentric cams whose outer peripheral surfaces are brought into contact with corresponding cam rollers 50, 56, and 62. In this embodiment, the cams 64, 66, and 68 are connected to a common rotating shaft 72 that is driven by a common motor 70 (see FIG. 4) so as to be integrally rotatable. The rotating shaft 72 is supported by the milking side frame 22B so as to be able to rotate around its own shaft across a pair of side plates 22C, and the motor 70 is fixedly held to the milking side frame 22B.

  As a result, the peristaltic mechanism 18 causes the first arm 40, the second arm 42, and the third arm 44 to move around the rotation shafts 40A, 42A, and 44A when the motor 70 is operated and the cams 64, 66, and 68 rotate. The first pressing roller 46, the second pressing roller 52, and the third pressing roller 58 are rotated (oscillated) and periodically pressed so that the main body 12C of the milking pad 12 performs a squeezing operation at different timings. It is supposed to be. In this embodiment, in the peristaltic mechanism 18, the first pressing roller 46, the second pressing roller 52, and the third pressing roller 58 are brought into contact with different positions corresponding to the base side, the intermediate portion, and the tip side of the teat in the main body 12C. Each contact position is sequentially pressed (squeezing operation) with a predetermined phase difference from the base side of the nipple toward the tip side. In addition, although it is an experimental result, it turns out that it is desirable to comprise the peristaltic mechanism 18 so that the press rollers 46, 52, and 56 should preferably press the milking pad in a direction orthogonal to the arrow F direction shown in FIG. is doing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. 5, the nipple support mechanism 20 has a portion of the main body 12C opposite to the position 34A, 34B, 34C pressed by the peristaltic mechanism 18 on the outside of the milking pad 12. It has the support piece 74 as a nipple support member for pressing down from. As shown in FIG. 5 (B), the support piece 74 has a substantially T-shape with the long axis direction aligned with the longitudinal direction (arrow F) and is supported as shown in FIG. 5 (A). The pad contact surface of the piece 74 is formed in a block shape in which the central portion is recessed with respect to both end portions in the cross section in the width direction perpendicular to the F direction, and the milking pad 12 of the main body 12C as shown in FIG. It is arranged in contact with or in close proximity to the axially intermediate portion (between the rapidly changing portion and the slowly changing portion) to support the upper side of the nipple to which the operation of the peristaltic mechanism 18 is transmitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a piece position adjusting mechanism 76 as a guide means and a holding means is disposed on the side of the support piece 74 opposite to the milking pad 12 side. The piece position adjusting mechanism 76 includes a pair of sub-frames 78 that are connected or extended upward from the pair of side plates 22C of the apparatus frame 22, respectively. A bridge plate 80 that constitutes a holding unit is bridged between the pair of subframes 78. A set screw 82 that functions as a guide part and a holding part is screwed onto the bridge plate 80. In addition, this bridge board 80 is provided so that it may incline about 17 degrees with respect to the center axis direction (F direction) of a milking pad.

  The piece position adjusting mechanism 76 has a long hole 84A that penetrates the spiral portion of the set screw 82, and a guided portion 84 that is disposed between the head portion 82A of the set screw 82 and the bridge plate 80. The guided portion 84 is fixedly provided on the side of the support piece 74 opposite to the milking pad 12 side. The elongated hole 84A of the guided portion 84 is elongated in the direction (in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 5) in which the support piece 74 is brought into and out of contact with the milking pad 12 (swing mechanism 18). Therefore, the guided portion 84 is movable in parallel to the bridge plate 80, and the support piece 74 is brought into contact with the main body 12C of the milking pad 12 where the teat is not inserted (or the inside of the milking pad 12). The position of the support piece 74 can be adjusted in a range from the position where the support piece 74 is largely separated from the main body 12C.

  As a result, in the nipple support mechanism 20, the guided portion 84 is slid with respect to the bridge plate 80 while being guided by the set screw 82 and the long hole 84A in a state where the set screw 82 of the piece position adjusting mechanism 76 is loosened. The position of the support piece 74 with respect to the main body 12C of the milking pad 12 can be adjusted. In the teat support mechanism 20, the position of the guided portion 84 relative to the bridge plate 80, that is, the position of the support piece 74 relative to the main body 12C is held by tightening the set screw 82 of the piece position adjusting mechanism 76. For example, the guide projection provided on the other is inserted into the guide groove provided on one of the bridge plate 80 and the guided portion 84, or both ends in the width direction of the guided portion 84 are brought close to the pair of subframes 78. Thus, the rotation (swinging motion) of the guided portion 84, that is, the support piece 74 around the set screw 82 may be restricted.

  Although not shown, in this embodiment, the pair of sub-frames 78 is configured to be rotatable about the support shaft 78A with respect to the apparatus frame 22, and the unit frame 86 is moved from the use position shown in FIG. The support piece 74 can be separated from the main body 12C by rotating to the horizontal side. Thereby, it is set as the structure which can switch the use position and preparation position (position for teat insertion) of the support piece 74, maintaining the state which adjusted the position of the support piece 74 by the piece position adjustment mechanism 76. FIG. In addition, it is good also as a structure which can insert a teat by moving the support piece 74 instead of rotation centering on the spindle 78A.

  The configuration of the vacuum pump unit 24 may be the configuration shown in paragraphs “0043” to “0045” of FIG.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

  In the milking device 10 having the above-described configuration, when milking is performed, first, the pair of sub frames 78 are rotated around the support shaft 78A, and the support piece 74 of the teat support mechanism 20 is removed from the main body 12C of the milking pad 12. In a state of being separated, the milking unit 102 including the milking pad 12 is brought close to the breast so that the teat enters the milking pad 12 from the teat insertion side opening 12A, and the teat insertion side opening 12A of the milking pad 12 is placed in the breast. Press on.

  Next, after returning the subframe 78, the set screw 82 is loosened, the guided portion 84 is slid with respect to the bridge plate 80, and the support piece 74 is brought into contact with the main body 12C of the milking pad 12 in a state where the teat is inserted. The set screw 82 is tightened. When the position of the support piece 74 has been set in advance, the unit frame 86 is inserted into the milking pad 12 at the preparation position where the unit frame 86 of the nipple support mechanism 20 is tilted to the horizontal side, and then the unit frame 86 is moved to the use position. Just do it.

  Then, both the peristaltic mechanism 18 and the vacuum pump unit 24 are operated. Then, the pair of first arm 40, second arm 42, and third arm 44 of the swing mechanism 18 are driven to swing by the corresponding cams 64, 66, 68, and the respective pressing rollers 46, 52, 58 are respectively 1 The squeezing motion is transmitted to the nipple via the flexible portion 34. As a result, the nipple is squeezed directly by the peristaltic movement that reproduces the peristaltic movement of the infant's tongue. At this time, the nipple is supported by the support piece 74 of the nipple support mechanism 20 from the opposite side (upper side) of the peristaltic mechanism 18 via the main body 12C. In addition, negative pressure is periodically generated in the milking pad 12 in which the nipple is inserted and sealed by the operation of the vacuum pump unit 24 with a predetermined phase difference due to pressure (positive pressure) fluctuation caused by this peristaltic movement. The breast milk is collected from the nipple that has been applied and inserted into the milking pad 12.

  With the application of positive pressure (peristalsis-like movement) by the peristaltic mechanism 18 and the application of negative pressure by the vacuum pump unit 24, the milking apparatus 10 can perform milking in a form close to a milking movement by an infant. The collected breast milk flows into the baby bottle 14 from the milking pad 12 via the communication pipe 16 and is collected in the baby bottle 14.

  Here, in this milking device 10, since the milking pad 12 is provided with the rigid opening part frame 12D and the flexible main body 12C, the opening part 12A and the nipple insertion side opening part 12A in the milking pad 12 are provided by the opening part frame 12D. It is possible to transmit the peristaltic movement of the peristaltic mechanism 18 to the teat in the milking pad 12 through the side wall of the main body 12C while suppressing deformation of the vicinity thereof, and the main body 12C allows the teat (breast) and the milking pad to be transmitted. 12 is ensured. Thereby, in the milking apparatus 10 which provides the positive pressure (peristalsis-like movement) by the peristaltic mechanism 18 and the negative pressure by the vacuum pump unit 24 to the teat in the milking pad 12, the milking pad 12 and the breast are brought together with the milking operation. It is prevented that a gap is formed between them. That is, the milking pad 12 can be applied to the milking device 10 to effectively collect breast milk.

  Further, in the milking device 10, the teat in the milking pad 12 is supported from the side opposite to the peristaltic mechanism 18 by the teat support mechanism 20 from the outside of the milking pad 12. Can be transmitted reliably to the nipple. And since the part which the support piece 74 of the teat support mechanism 20 in the milking pad 12 contacts is the main body 12C, the main body 12C deform | transforms according to the shape of the teat inserted in the milking pad 12, and the teat support mechanism 20 The structure which can adjust the contact position with the support piece 74 via the main body 12C in the teat by the support position of the nipple (space | interval of the support piece 74 and the peristaltic mechanism 18) by the nipple is realized.

  Thereby, the milking device 10 to which the milking pad 12 is applied prevents deformation of the milking pad 12 (gap formation between the milking pad 12 and the breast) accompanying the milking operation as described above, and changes in the shape of the nipple or personal The nipple support position can be adjusted according to the difference. And in this milking apparatus 10, the adjustment function of a nipple support position is implement | achieved by providing the piece position adjustment mechanism 76 in the nipple support mechanism 20. FIG. Further, the piece position adjusting mechanism 76 includes guide means (mainly a long hole 84A of the guided portion 84 and a set screw 82) for guiding the support piece 74 in a direction in which the support piece 74 is moved toward and away from the main body 12C, and a support piece 74 (guided). Portion 84) is configured to have holding means (mainly bridge plate 80 and set screw 82) capable of holding the bridge plate 80 (milking pad 12) at an arbitrary position. The adjustment operation of the support position is easy.

1. Example 1
Using the milking apparatus 10 described in Embodiment 1 with the milking pad 12 shown in FIG. 4, five subjects milked for 1 minute. The results are shown in FIG. In FIGS. 12 and 13, a two-dot chain line is a position where the subject feels a peristaltic movement when feeding an infant, and a broken line indicates a position where the subject feels a peristaltic movement when milking the milking apparatus 10. Moreover, a number shows each of five test subjects.

  As is clear from FIG. 12, in any of the subjects 1 to 5, the position where the peristaltic movement is felt when the milking apparatus 10 is milked is almost the same as the position where the peristaltic movement is felt when breast feeding the infant. It was found to be the nipple and its vicinity.

2. Comparative Example 1
Five subjects performed milking according to the same procedure as Example 1 except having used the milking apparatus of the form of the prior art reference 1. The results are shown in FIG. As apparent from FIG. 13, in any of the subjects 1 to 5, the position that feels peristaltic movement when milked by the milking device of Comparative Example 1 is the position that feels peristaltic movement when breastfeeding an infant. Was found to be outside the areola.

3. Example 2
Using the milking device 10 described in the first embodiment, the diameter (center diameter of the circle of the opening frame member) of the milking pad 12 is 70 mm and the thickness of the main body 12C is not uniform (FIG. 4, P1), and the diameter is 50 mm and body 12C has a uniform thickness of 3.0 mm (FIG. 7, P2), 50 mm diameter and body 12C has a uniform thickness of 2.0 mm (FIG. 8, P3), 70 mm and body 12C has a uniform thickness of 2.5 mm (FIG. 9, P4), 50 mm diameter and body 12C has a uniform thickness of 2.5 mm (FIG. 10, P5), and diameter Was used, and the feeling of use was examined when each of the main bodies 12C having a uniform thickness of 2.5 mm (FIG. 11, P6) was mounted. The usability survey was conducted by subjects 1 to 5 same as those in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 milking according to the same procedure as in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, and five evaluation items (Q1: milking shown in FIG. 14). Q2: Whether milking by the device 10 feels like a baby's suckling, Q2: Milking by the milking device 10 feels like an infant's ironing, Q3: Milking by the milking device 10 is comfortable, Q4: The milking device 10 is easy to use Q5: Is the breastfeeding device 10 friendly?) Was evaluated in five levels: very unfeeling, not feeling a little, neither, feeling a little, feeling very much. The results are shown in FIGS.

  As can be seen from FIG. 15, the milking pad 12 has P2 having a uniform thickness of 50 mm in diameter and a main body 12C of 3.0 mm, and P3 having a uniform diameter of 50 mm in diameter and the main body 12C of 2.0 mm. When used, it is clearly superior in terms of sucking feeling, comfort and usability like an infant compared to the case of using P1 having a caliber of 70 mm and a non-uniform thickness of the main body 12C. understood.

  FIG. 16 is a comparison in the case where the thickness of the main body 12C is the same as 2.5 mm and only the diameter is different from 70 mm (P4), 50 mm (P5), and 30 mm (P6). P5 having a caliber of 50 mm was the most advantageous in terms of feeling of sucking and handling like an infant.

  On the other hand, when the diameter is the same as 50 mm and the thickness of the main body 12C is different from 3.0 mm (P2), 2.0 mm (P3), and 2.5 mm (P5), the above five evaluations can be seen from FIG. There was almost no difference in any of items Q1 to Q5.

  From the above results, it was found that in the milking pad 12, the main body 12C having a uniform thickness of 2.0 to 3.0 mm is optimal, and the aperture is optimally around 50 mm.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Milking apparatus 12 Milking pad 12A Nipple insertion side opening 12B Connection side opening 12C Main body 12D Opening frame 12E Reinforcement ring 14 Baby bottle 16 Communication pipe 16A Horizontal pipe 16B Standing pipe 16C part 18 Peristaltic mechanism 20 Nipple support mechanism 21C Main body 22C Device frame 22A Breast milk collection side frame 22B Milking side frame 22C Side plate 24 Vacuum pump unit 38 Tube 40 Arm 40A Rotating shaft 42 Arm 42A Rotating shaft 44 Arm 44A Rotating shaft 46 Pressing roller 48 Bracket 50 Cam roller 52 Pressing roller 54 Bracket 56 Cam roller 58 Press roller 60 Bracket 62 Cam roller 64 Cam 70 Motor 72 Rotating shaft 74 Support piece 76 Piece position adjustment mechanism 78 Subframe 78A Support shaft 80 Bridge plate 82A Head 84A Long hole 84 Guided part 86 Unit frame 102 Milking unit

Claims (6)

One end is a large-diameter opening, the inner diameter is reduced from the one end to the other end, the other end is a small-diameter opening having an inner diameter smaller than that of the large-diameter opening, and is pressed from the outside. A main body that can be deformed by pressure, and an annular opening frame that is in close contact with the large-diameter opening of the main body and forms a nipple insertion side opening for inserting the nipple together with the large-diameter opening of the main body. Milking pad.   The milking pad according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a uniform thickness.   The milking pad according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the main body is formed of an elastomer material, and the opening frame is formed of a hard resin material. The milking pad according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A milk collection bottle for collecting the breast milk communicated with the small-diameter opening in the milking pad;
A peristaltic means for transmitting a pressing stimulus to the teat by peristating a part of the side surface of the main body of the milking pad;
A support portion that is provided so as to face the peristalizing means across the main body, and that supports a teat inserted into the milking pad with respect to a pressure stimulus to the teat by the peristaltic means;
A support position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the support portion with respect to the main body;
A milking device comprising:   The milking apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising negative pressure generating means for generating a negative pressure inside the milking pad in a state where the teat is inserted from a teat insertion side opening of the milking pad. The support portion is configured to include a support member configured to be able to contact and separate from the outside with respect to the milking pad,
The support position adjusting means includes guide means for guiding the support member so as to make contact with and away from the swinging means, and holding means capable of holding the support member at a plurality of positions in the contact and separation direction with respect to the swinging means. The milking apparatus of Claim 4 or 5 comprised by these.

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