JPS6147487B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a breast pump, in particular, a milking sleeve made of an elastic material such as rubber and having a teat socket at the upper end, which expresses milk by alternately crushing and restoring a required length of the sleeve. Regarding breast pumps.

In conventional breast pumps of this type, even when the milking sleeve is crushed, a gap is created between the inner circumferential surfaces of the milking sleeve, so the milk inside the milking sleeve is sucked out through the sucking pipe. There were still negative pressures (vacuum pressure), which constantly stimulated the teats and did not allow resting time, which not only reduced the amount of milk produced, but also caused swelling and damage to the teats, causing mastitis.

The present invention is capable of automatically venting the inside of the milking sleeve to the atmosphere to stop the generation of negative pressure when the milking sleeve is crushed.Moreover, the atmosphere venting function can be achieved using a complicated structure such as the installation of a dedicated atmosphere release valve. It is designed to be able to be performed accurately with an extremely simple configuration without having to take any additional steps.

That is, in the present invention, a pair of protrusions are provided protruding from a nipple inserted into a lower end opening of a milking sleeve, and an atmosphere vent hole is provided on the outer surface of the protrusion. While the milking sleeve is pushed open from the inside and deformed into an oval shape, the opening of the air vent hole is closed by the inner peripheral surface of the milking sleeve, and as the milking sleeve is crushed, the air vent hole opens automatically. The milking sleeve is opened to expose the inside of the milking sleeve to the atmosphere, and as the milking sleeve is restored, the opening of the atmosphere opening hole is closed again.

The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 1, this breast pump includes a milking sleeve 1 made of rubber, a nipple 2 made of hard synthetic resin, and a vacuum tube 3 made of hard synthetic resin.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the milking sleeve 1 has a cap-shaped portion 4 integrally formed on the upper end thereof, and a circular teat socket 5 is formed in the center of the upper surface of the cap-shaped portion 4. A seat portion 6 is formed extending from the lower peripheral edge of the shaped portion 4, and an annular groove 7 is further formed on the inner peripheral surface of the lower end opening.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the nipple 2 has a small diameter cylindrical pipe connection part 9 integrally formed on the lower side of the large diameter insertion part 8, and a small diameter cylindrical pipe connection part 9 on the upper surface of the insertion part 8. A hole 10 communicating with the pipe connecting portion 9 is formed, and a pair of protrusions 11 are provided on both sides of the hole 10.
11 are integrally provided facing each other with a slight inclination toward the outside, and a collar portion 1 is provided on the upper edge of the outer circumferential surface of the insertion portion 8.
2. A packing groove 13 is formed on the lower side thereof.
Further, the nipple 2 passes through one of the protrusions 11 and the insertion part 8, and has an upper end opening 14 at the upper end of the outer surface of the protrusion 11, and a lower end opening 15 at the lower surface of the insertion part 8. An atmosphere opening hole 16 is provided. The distance L (FIG. 3) between the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the pair of protrusions 11, 11 is slightly larger than the diameter R of the inner peripheral surface of the lower end of the milking sleeve 1.

The nipple 2 has a pair of protrusions 11, 11 located within the milking sleeve 1, and an insertion portion 8 inserted into the lower end opening of the milking sleeve 1. Nipple 2
The collar portion 12 is fitted into the annular groove 7 of the milking sleeve 1, and the packing groove 13 is fitted with a packing 17. Since the distance L between the pair of protrusions 11, 11 is larger than the diameter (inner diameter) R of the milking sleeve 1 as described above, the milking sleeve 1 with the nipple 2 inserted therein is shaped as shown in FIGS. A pair of protrusions 1
1 and 11 from the inside and partially deformed into an oval shape, and a pair of protrusions 11,
Since the upper end of the outer surface of the milking sleeve 11 comes into pressure contact with the inner circumferential surface of the milking sleeve 1, the upper end opening 14 of the atmosphere opening hole 16
is normally hermetically closed by the inner peripheral surface of the milking sleeve 1.

The vacuum cylinder 3 airtightly covers most of the milking sleeve 1 except for the cap-shaped part 4.

To use this breast pump, the vacuum tube 3 is connected to a known vacuum device (not shown) via the suction hose 18.
Next, the nipple 2 is connected to a known milk sucking device (not shown) via the suction hose 19, and the milking sleeve 1 is placed on the teat of the cow.

By intermittently creating a vacuum inside the vacuum tube 3, the milking sleeve 1 is alternately crushed and restored. Since it is thus deformed into an elliptical shape, the deformation is performed in the minor axis direction of the ellipse until both sides of the inner circumferential surface come into contact with each other, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. When crushed in this way, the inner circumferential surface of the milking sleeve 1 is separated from the outer circumferential surfaces of the pair of protrusions 11, 11, and the upper end opening 14 of the atmosphere opening hole 16 is
is opened, and the inside of the milking sleeve 1 is exposed to the atmosphere. When the milking sleeve 1 is restored, the upper end opening 14 is closed again.

Therefore, the inside of the milking sleeve 1 is maintained from the middle of the crushing process to the middle of the restoring process, that is, the crushing deformation is at the third stage.
The system is opened to the atmosphere from the time when it exceeds the oval state shown in the figure until it returns to this state again, and even when the milking sleeve 1 is crushed, the inside of the milking sleeve 1 does not become negative pressure and the teats are not continuously stimulated. A complete rest time without stimulation can be given to the teat, and the milk in the milking sleeve 1 can be smoothly sucked out by opening to the atmosphere.

Note that the reference numeral 20 in FIG. 6 is a brush that also serves as a filter and is prepared for cleaning the air vent hole 16.

In the above embodiment, the atmosphere opening hole 16 was provided only in one of the protrusions 11, but it may be provided in both protrusions.

As detailed above, the present invention has the following effects.

Since the inside of the milking sleeve can be automatically opened to the atmosphere when it is crushed, it is possible to give the teat a complete resting period without irritation, which can prevent damage to the teat due to engorgement and improve milk production. The milk inside the milking sleeve can be sucked out smoothly.

An atmosphere release hole is provided in the nipple, and the opening is opened and closed as the milking sleeve is crushed and restored, so it is more economical with fewer parts compared to the case where a dedicated atmosphere release valve is prepared and attached separately to release the atmosphere. In addition to being compact and precise in its opening and closing operations, it is also hygienic because the opening and closing portion is located within the milking sleeve.

A part of the milking sleeve is pushed open from the inside by a pair of protrusions protruding from the nipple and deformed into an oval shape, so that the milking sleeve can be crushed smoothly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the whole, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the milking sleeve when it is crushed together with the nipple, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken at the - line position in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the milking sleeve, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the nipple. 5... Teat socket, 1... Milking sleeve, 11...
...Protrusion, 16...Atmosphere opening hole, 14...Opening, 2
...Nitspur.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A breast pump that expresses milk by alternately crushing and restoring a required length of a milking sleeve made of an elastic material such as rubber and having a teat socket at the upper end. A nipple having an air vent opening on the outer surface of at least one of these is inserted into the lower end opening of the milking sleeve, and the side surfaces of the pair of protrusions are normally pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the milking sleeve. At the same time, when the milking sleeve is crushed, the opening of the atmosphere opening hole is closed, and a part of the milking sleeve is expanded from the inside by these projections and deformed into an oval shape, and when the milking sleeve is crushed, the opening of the atmosphere opening hole is closed. A breast pump in which the opening of the breast pump is opened.