KR20230027911A - Breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and method of operating thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a breast pump with improved breast milk pumping efficiency and a method for operating the same, wherein a holding period maintained at medium pressure is set between operation-off and operation-on states of an air suction pump so that a breast milk sucking action can be repeated at least two times in succession by means of the supply of a breast milk pumping signal with a complex waveform. Accordingly, the breast milk pumping efficiency can be maximized by imitating a situation in which a baby sucks milk while maintaining the breast milk pumping pressure on a mother's breast. According to the present invention, the breast pump with improved breast milk pumping efficiency comprises: an inhaler; a suction tube connected to the inhaler; an air suction pump for sucking air inside the inhaler through the suction tube; a ventilation control valve mounted on the suction tube to control air suction through the air suction pump; an air discharge tube connected to the outlet side of the air suction pump; and a drive controller for separately controlling the turning on and off of the air suction pump and ventilation control valve. The air suction pump is set to be maintained at atmospheric pressure in the operation-off state, maintained at the breast milk pumping pressure in the operation-on state, and maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value between the atmospheric pressure and the breast milk pumping pressure in a section between the operation-off state and the operation-on state to supply a breast milk pumping signal with a complex waveform.

Description

Breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and its operating method {BREAST PUMP WITH IMPROVED PUMPING EFFICIENCY AND METHOD OF OPERATING THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and an operating method thereof, and more particularly, to a pumping signal of a complex waveform by setting a maintenance section maintained at an intermediate pressure in a section between an operation off state and an operation on state of an air suction pump. By supplying, it is possible to repeat at least two consecutive breastfeeding operations, thereby maintaining the breastfeeding pressure applied to the mother's breast and simulating the situation in which the baby sucks milk, thereby maximizing the breastfeeding efficiency. It relates to an improved breast pump and its operating method.

A conventional breast pump uses a funnel-shaped inhaler made of a plastic material. Such an aspirator for a breast pump plays a role of expressing milk of a mother with a suction force using an electric pump or a manual pump while being in close contact with the mother's breast.

However, since conventional inhalers for breast pumps are made of plastic materials, their surface is hard and their adhesion to the mother's breast is poor. It is only a structure that comes out, but it is a structure that cannot replace the role of the baby's oral cavity. In other words, the current pumping aspirator has a structure similar to the shape of a breast and performs milking depending on the suction power of the pump.

In addition, the conventional breast pump has a general sine wave form in which the pump is pumped by simply repeating turning on and off. However, in fact, the ventilation process of sucking only once in the process of sucking the breast and then opening the mouth again to remove the existing expression pressure is not repeated. Accordingly, when breast pumping is performed, there is a problem of loss of pressure and lowering efficiency of breast pumping in a process in which pressure is to be formed again from the atmospheric pressure state.

As a related prior literature, there is Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-2009-0009611 (published on September 24, 2009), which describes an inhaler for a breastfeeding device.

An object of the present invention is to set a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure in the period between the operation off and operation of the air suction pump to supply a pumping signal of a complex waveform, thereby providing at least two consecutive breastfeeding operations. An object of the present invention is to provide a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency capable of maximizing the pumping efficiency by simulating a situation in which a baby sucks milk while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast and an operating method thereof.

A breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes an inhaler; a suction tube connected to the inhaler; an air suction pump for sucking air inside the inhaler through the suction tube; a ventilation control valve mounted on the intake tube to control air intake through the air intake pump; an air discharge tube connected to an outlet of the air intake pump; and a drive controller for controlling on and off of the air suction pump and the ventilation control valve, respectively, wherein the air suction pump is maintained at atmospheric pressure in an operating off state and maintained at an expansion pressure in an operating on state, It is characterized in that it is set to supply a compression signal of a complex waveform maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value between atmospheric pressure and compression pressure in a section between the operation off state and the operation on state.

When maintaining the medium pressure, the number of times of maintaining the medium pressure is set to 2 to 5 times.

The atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg, and the pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure lowered by a maximum of 300 mmHg from the atmospheric pressure, and the intermediate pressure is from a minimum of 50 mmHg to a maximum in the middle of the set pump pressure. The pressure of 150mmHg is adjusted to the median value of each set pumping pressure.

The inhaler includes a funnel body formed in a cone shape; a connecting rod extending from an end of the funnel body; an elastic deformable body mounted along the circumference of the funnel body and having pores for introducing air; and a suction support coupled to the connecting rod, having a coupling port for coupling with a baby bottle on one lower side, and a suction port for sucking air inside the funnel body through the connecting rod on the upper side of the other side.

The air discharge tube has one end connected to the outlet side of the air suction pump and the other end connected to the pores of the elastic deformable body.

The air discharge tube is mounted on an exhaust port located at an outlet of the supply suction pump, and supplies air discharged from the supply suction pump to the pores of the elastic deformable body to inflate the elastic deformable body to further enhance the mother's breast. pressurize

The elastic deformable body is formed of a silicon material, at least one elastic deformable body is disposed around the circumference of the funnel body, and each elastic deformable body has at least one pore.

A method for operating a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes: (a) assembling a ventilation control valve, an air suction pump, and a suction tube, and then coupling the suction tube to an inhaler; (b) bringing the inhaler coupled with the suction tube into close contact with the mother's breast; and (c) operating the air suction pump and the ventilation control valve to express milk from the mother's breast. In the step (c), the air suction pump is in an off state. To supply a compression signal of a complex waveform that is maintained at atmospheric pressure, maintained at the pumping pressure in the operation on state, and maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure in the section between the operation off state and the operation on state. It is characterized by being set.

In the step (c), when maintaining the medium pressure, the number of times of maintaining the medium pressure is set to 2 to 5 times.

In the step (c), the atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg, the pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure lowered by a maximum of 300 mmHg from the atmospheric pressure, and the intermediate pressure is the set pumping pressure. In the middle stage, the pressure is adjusted to the middle value of each set pumping pressure, from a minimum of 50 mmHg to a maximum of 150 mmHg.

A breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and an operating method thereof according to the present invention set a maintenance section maintained at an intermediate pressure in a section between an operation off state and an operation on state of an air suction pump to supply a pumping signal of a complex waveform, It is possible to repeat at least two consecutive sucking motions, so that the pumping efficiency can be maximized by simulating the situation in which the baby sucks the breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast.

As a result, the breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and its operating method according to the present invention supply a deformed complex waveform pumping signal in the sine wave pumping mode, but set the number of times of maintaining the intermediate pressure from 2 to 5, ~ 5 successive breastfeeding operations can be repeated to simulate the situation in which the baby sucks the breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast, which has the effect of enabling more effective artificial breastfeeding.

In addition, in the breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and its operating method according to the present invention, when the elastic deformable body sucks air through the connecting rod and the suction force acts, air flows in through the pores provided in the elastic deformable body, and the elastic deformable body moves through the funnel body. It swells toward the inner center, so that pressure similar to that of a real baby suckling can be applied to the mother's breast, and since the elastic deformable body is made of a silicone material, adhesion to the mother's breast can be improved.

Accordingly, a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and an operating method thereof according to the present invention, when suction power is generated by sucking in air through a connecting rod, inflates the elastic deformable body in a state of being firmly in close contact with the mother's breast, thereby improving the mother's breast. Since it can be strongly compressed, suction power and adhesion are improved, so that the baby's oral structure has the same effect as the tongue wrapping around the nipple during the actual sucking process, minimizing the loss of suction pressure and maximizing the pumping effect. there will be

In addition, in the breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and its operating method according to the present invention, since the exhaust port of the air suction pump is connected to the pores of the elastic deformable body so that the elastic deformable body can inflate better, air is sucked in during the milking process. Since the air discharged through the exhaust port of the suction pump induces the elastic deformable body to further inflate through the pores to further compress the breast, the breast pumping efficiency can be further improved.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a general expression mode;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the expression mode of the present invention.
Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the inhaler of Figure 1;
5 and 6 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operating principle of a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a process flow chart illustrating a method of operating a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to the detailed description of the following embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the holder of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numbers designate like elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and an operating method thereof according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a general expression mode.

As shown in FIG. 1, a general breast pump operates in a general sine wave form in which breast pumping is performed by simply repeating turning on and off of an air suction pump. Here, when the air suction pump is turned off, the pressure rises, and when the air suction pump is turned on, the pressure decreases.

However, in fact, the ventilation process of sucking only once in the process of sucking the breast and then opening the mouth again to remove the existing expression pressure is not repeated.

That is, the intensity of breast pumping is adjusted by changing the rotational speed of the air suction pump to adjust the pumping pressure, and ventilation (ventilization) proceeds by opening the valve to match the pressure inside the funnel in which negative pressure is formed to the atmospheric pressure. Here, the expression mode is determined according to the cycle and repetition rate.

However, general breast pumps cause loss of pressure and decrease the efficiency of breast pumping in the process of forming pressure again from atmospheric pressure when pumping is performed.

In order to solve this problem, a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention sets a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure in a period between an operation off state and an operation on state of the air suction pump.

In this way, the breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention can repeat at least two consecutive sucking operations by supplying a pumping signal of a complex waveform in which a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure is set. Therefore, it is possible to simulate the situation in which the baby sucks the breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast.

In this regard, a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the breast pumping mode of the present invention.

2 and 3, the breast pump 300 with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an inhaler 100, a suction tube 220, an air suction pump 240, and a ventilation control valve 260. , an air discharge tube 280 and a drive controller 290.

The inhaler 100 includes a funnel body 120, a connector 140 extending from an end of the funnel body 120, mounted along the circumference of the funnel body 120, and having pores 165 for air inflow. It is coupled to the elastic deformable body 160 and the connecting rod 140, and has a coupling hole 182 for coupling with a baby bottle on one lower side, and air inside the funnel body 120 through the connecting rod 140 on the upper side of the other side. It includes a suction support 180 having a suction port 184 for inhaling.

Suction tube 220 is connected to inhaler 100 . One end of the suction tube 240 is connected to the suction port 184 of the suction support 180, and the other side is connected to the air suction pump 240.

The air suction pump 240 is installed to suck air inside the inhaler 100 through the suction tube 220 . That is, the air suction pump 240 is installed to suck air inside the funnel body 120 of the inhaler 100 through the suction tube 220 . The air suction pump 240 may have a suction port for sucking in air and an exhaust port for discharging the sucked air. At this time, an electric pump or a manual pump may be used as the air suction pump 240 .

The ventilation control valve 260 is mounted on the intake tube 220 to control air intake through the air intake pump 240 . That is, when the ventilation control valve 260 is opened and closed, air intake through the air intake pump 240 is performed, and when the ventilation control valve 260 is opened, air intake through the air intake pump 240 is blocked. .

The air discharge tube 280 is connected to the outlet of the air suction pump 240. Here, the air discharge tube 280 has one end connected to the outlet of the air suction pump 240 and the other end connected to the pore 165 of the elastic deformable body 160 . Here, the air discharge tube 280 is mounted on an exhaust port located on the outlet side of the air suction pump 240, and supplies air discharged from the air suction pump 240 to the pores 165 of the elastic deformable body 160, The elastic deformable body 160 is inflated to further compress the mother's breast.

The driving controller 290 is mounted to control the on and off of the air intake pump 240 and the ventilation control valve 260, respectively. To this end, the driving controller 290 may include operation buttons for the user to control on and off of the air intake pump 240 and the ventilation control valve 260, respectively. This drive controller 290 includes at least one processor. The processor may be implemented as an array of a plurality of logic gates, or may be implemented as a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which programs executable by the microprocessor are stored.

The breast pump 300 with improved breast pumping efficiency according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention repeats at least two or more consecutive sucking operations to keep the breast pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast constant while the baby sucks milk. In order to simulate , a holding period maintained at an intermediate pressure was additionally set.

To this end, when the operation of the air suction pump 240 is turned off, the pressure rises and is maintained at atmospheric pressure, and at the time of turning on the operation, the pressure decreases and is maintained at the compressed pressure, and the atmospheric pressure and the compressed pressure are maintained. It is set to supply an expression signal of a complex waveform maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value between atmospheric pressure and expression pressure in the interval between.

Atmospheric pressure can be adjusted by opening the ventilation control valve 260 in a state in which the driving of the air suction pump 240 is turned off, and adjusting the pressure inside the funnel body 120 where the negative pressure is formed to be the same as the outside.

Here, the atmospheric pressure is set to a first pressure, the breast pump pressure is set to a second pressure lower than the first pressure, and the intermediate pressure is set to a third pressure lower than the first pressure and higher than the second pressure. desirable. More specifically, the atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg, and the pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure lowered by a maximum of 300 mmHg from the atmospheric pressure, but the highest from the lowest stage of 80 to 100 mmHg for each stage of pumping. The high stage pressure is adjusted to 300 ~ 320mmHg, and it is desirable that the middle pressure is adjusted to the middle value of each set breast pumping pressure, from a minimum of 50 mmHg to a maximum of 150 mmHg in the middle stage of the set breast pump pressure, but this is variable according to the breast pump function design. It is possible to apply as

As such, the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure are regulated by controlling the air intake pump 240 on and off. In addition, when maintaining the medium pressure, a method of controlling the rotational speed of the air suction pump 240 to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure may be used. On the other hand, when maintaining the medium pressure, the medium pressure maintenance valve 294 is opened to inject separate air supplied through the medium pressure maintenance pipe 292 into the inhaler 100, and the air suction pump 240 Even if it operates in a warming state, a method of artificially increasing the pressure and controlling it to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure can be used. Alternatively, when maintaining the medium pressure, air is directly injected into the inhaler 100 through the ventilation control valve 260 to artificially increase the pressure even when the air suction pump 240 operates in an on state. A method of increasing the pressure and controlling it to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure may be used. In this case, since there is no need to mount the intermediate pressure maintaining valve 294 and the intermediate pressure maintaining pipe 292, the structure of the breast pump can be further simplified.

Here, when maintaining the medium pressure state, since the pressure may not rise well if only the number of rotations of the air suction pump 240 is changed, it is more preferable to inject separate air in terms of pressure control.

In particular, when maintaining the medium pressure, the number of times of maintaining the medium pressure is preferably set to at least 2 or more times, more preferably 2 to 5 times. Here, the number of medium pressure maintenance times may be defined as the number of controls shown in FIG. 3 . As such, in the present invention, by additionally setting a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure in the period between the operation off and operation on state of the air suction pump 240 to supply a compression signal of a complex waveform, at least two times or more Because the sucking action can be repeated, the pumping efficiency can be maximized by replicating the situation in which the baby sucks the breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast.

As a result, the breast pump 300 with improved pumping efficiency according to the present invention supplies a breast pumping signal of a complex waveform modified in the breast pumping mode of a sine wave, but sets the number of times of maintaining the intermediate pressure to 2 to 5 times, so that 2 to 5 Since it is possible to repeat five successive sucking motions, it is possible to simulate a situation in which a baby sucks a breast while maintaining the expression pressure applied to the mother's breast, enabling more effective artificial expression.

This will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the inhaler of FIG. 1 and will be described in connection with FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 , the inhaler 100 of the present invention includes a funnel body 120, a connecting rod 140, an elastic deformable body 160, and a suction support rod 180.

The funnel body 120 is formed in a cone shape. To this end, the funnel body 120 has a shape in which the diameter gradually decreases from one end in contact with the mother's breast to the other end connected to the connector 140.

A connecting rod 140 extends from an end of the funnel body 120 . The connecting rod 140 has a cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the funnel body 120 so that the air passes smoothly when the air inside the funnel body 120 is sucked in by compression by the air suction pump 240. it is desirable to have Here, the connecting rod 140 may be made of the same plastic material as the funnel body 120 . In addition, the connecting rod 140 may be formed integrally with the funnel body 120 by injection molding.

A portion of the funnel body 120 that comes into contact with the mother's breast is made of a plastic material. The funnel body 120 is an important factor enabling milking by maintaining adhesion and suction power with the mother's breast. Therefore, when the adhesion of the funnel body 120 is not good, the suction power is weakened and the milk is not well expressed. In addition, when a baby sucks a breast, it is impossible to imitate the structure of the baby's oral cavity in a situation in which milk comes out by applying pressure by biting and pressing with the mouth and generating a suction force at the same time.

In order to solve this problem, the elastic deformable body 160 of the present invention is mounted along the circumference of the funnel body 120 and has pores 165 for air inflow.

Here, the funnel body 120 may be made of a plastic material, but is not limited thereto. In the funnel body 120, a position where the elastic deformable body 160 is mounted may be selectively removed. This elastic deformable body 160 may be coupled to the funnel body 120 by a bonding means.

As described above, in the present invention, a part of the funnel body 120 is replaced with an elastic deformable body 160 made of an elastic material of silicon along the circumference of the funnel body 120 so that the elastic deformable body 160 inflates when a suction force is generated. By pressing the mother's breast, suction power and adhesion are improved, so that the milking effect can be maximized by exerting the same effect as the child actually sucking the breast.

To this end, the elastic deformable body 160 is preferably mounted on the inner surface of the funnel body 120 and disposed adjacent to the connecting table 140 .

As described above, in the present invention, since the elastic deformable body 160 is mounted on the inner surface of the funnel body 120 adjacent to the connector 140, when the suction force is generated by the air suction pump, the elastic deformable body 160 made of an elastic material is attached to the funnel body ( 120), the elastic deformable body 160 presses the mother's breast while inflating to the inner center, thereby improving the suction power and adhesion, thereby demonstrating the same effect as the child actually sucking the breast, thereby improving the milking effect. .

The suction support 180 is coupled to the connector 140, has a coupling hole 182 for coupling with a baby bottle on one lower side, and sucks air inside the funnel body 120 through the connector 180 on the upper side of the other side. It has a suction port 184 for The suction support 180 may be made of the same plastic material as the funnel body 120 . In addition, the suction support 180 may be formed integrally with the funnel body 120 and the connecting rod 140 by injection molding.

Meanwhile, FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic diagrams for explaining the operating principle of a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described in detail in connection with FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, in the inhaler 100 of the present invention, the elastic deformable body 160 is mounted on the inner surface of the funnel body 120 and is disposed adjacent to the connecting rod 140.

At this time, at least one elastic deformable body 160 is disposed on the circumference of the funnel body 120, and at least one pore 165 is provided in each elastic deformable body 160.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of pores 165 are installed in each elastic deformable body 160, even if the size of the breast T is different for each mother, the elastic deformable body ( 160), it is possible to diversify the contact area, so it is possible to cope with various possible situations.

In particular, in the inhaler 100 of the present invention, when the elastic deformable body 160 sucks in air through the connecting rod 140 and the suction force acts, air flows in through the pores 165 provided in the elastic deformable body 160, The deformable body 160 swells toward the inner center of the funnel body 120 so that a pressure similar to that of a real baby sucking can be applied to the mother's breast T, and the elastic deformable body 160 is made of a silicone material. As a result, it is possible to improve adhesion with the mother's breast (T).

In this process, the elastic deformable body 160 applies pressure to the mother's breast T when a suction force is applied by sucking air through the connecting rod 140 so that the baby sucks the breast.

In addition, as the air inside the funnel body 120 is discharged to the outside of the suction support 180 through the connecting rod 140 by the suction force by air suction, the mother's breast milk (M) generated while squeezing the breast (T) is introduced into a baby bottle (not shown) coupled to the coupler 182 of the suction support 180 via the connector 140.

Therefore, in the inhaler 100 of the present invention, when suction power is generated by sucking air through the connecting rod 140, the elastic deformable body 160 is inflated in a state of being in close contact with the mother's breast T, so that the mother's breast (T) can be strongly pressed, so suction power and adhesion are improved, and the baby's oral structure has the same effect as the tongue wrapping around the nipple during the actual suckling process, minimizing the loss of suction pressure and breastfeeding effect. can be maximized.

In addition, the air discharge tube 280 of the present invention has one end connected to the outlet of the air suction pump 240 and the other end connected to the pore 165 of the elastic deformable body 160. Here, the air discharge tube 280 is mounted on an exhaust port located on the outlet side of the air suction pump 240, and supplies air discharged from the air suction pump 240 to the pores 165 of the elastic deformable body 160, By causing the elastic deformable body 160 to swell, it is possible to further compress the mother's breast.

As described above, the breast pump 300 with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention uses the exhaust air discharged from the air suction pump 240 that generates a suction force and discharges it to the pores 165 of the elastic deformable body 160. inject air.

As a result, in the breast pump 300 with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention, the exhaust port of the air suction pump 240 is formed through the pores ( 165), the air discharged through the exhaust port of the air suction pump 240 at the same time as suction during the breast pumping process induces the elastic deformable body 160 to further inflate through the pore 165, further compressing the breast Therefore, it is possible to further improve the pumping efficiency.

Hereinafter, a method for operating a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7 is a process flow chart showing a breast pump operation method with improved breast pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described in connection with FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7 , the method of operating a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention includes assembling a part (S110), attaching an inhaler (S120), and performing breast pumping (S130).

assembling pieces

In the component assembling step (S110), the ventilation control valve 260, the air suction pump 240, and the suction tube 220 are assembled, and then the suction tube 220 is coupled to the inhaler 100.

Here, it is preferable to keep the ventilation control valve 260 open and closed, and keep the air suction pump 240 in an off state.

close inhaler

In the step of attaching the inhaler (S120), the inhaler 100 coupled with the suction tube 220 is brought into close contact with the mother's breast.

Here, in the inhaler 100 of the present invention, at least one elastic deformable member 160 is disposed on the circumference of the funnel body 120, and the elastic deformable member 160 is made of a silicone material to increase adhesion with the mother's breast. be able to improve

express expression

In the expressing step (S130), the air suction pump 240 and the ventilation control valve 260 are operated to express milk from the mother's breast.

In this step, by operating the air suction pump 240 and the ventilation control valve 260, the suction force acts by sucking air through the connecting rod 140 of the inhaler 100, and as a result, the elastic deformable body 160 has Air is introduced through the pores 165 . In this process, the elastic deformable body 160 swells toward the inner center of the funnel body 120 so that a pressure similar to that of a real baby sucking a breast can be applied to the mother's breast T.

In addition, in this step, the air suction pump 240 is maintained at atmospheric pressure in the operation off state, and maintained at the oil pressure in the operation on state, and the value between the atmospheric pressure and the oil pressure in the interval between the operation off state and the operation on state It is set to supply a compression signal of a complex waveform maintained at an intermediate pressure having

Here, the atmospheric pressure is set to a first pressure, the breast pump pressure is set to a second pressure lower than the first pressure, and the intermediate pressure is set to a third pressure lower than the first pressure and higher than the second pressure. desirable. More specifically, the atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg, and the pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure lowered by a maximum of 300 mmHg from the atmospheric pressure, but the highest from the lowest stage of 80 to 100 mmHg for each stage of pumping. The high stage pressure is adjusted to 300 ~ 320mmHg, and it is desirable that the middle pressure is adjusted to the middle value of each set breast pumping pressure, from a minimum of 50 mmHg to a maximum of 150 mmHg in the middle stage of the set breast pump pressure, but this is variable according to the breast pump function design. It is possible to apply as

As such, the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure are regulated by controlling the air intake pump 240 on and off. In addition, when maintaining the medium pressure, a method of controlling the rotational speed of the air suction pump 240 to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure may be used. On the other hand, when maintaining the medium pressure, the medium pressure maintenance valve 294 is opened to inject separate air supplied through the medium pressure maintenance pipe 292 into the inhaler 100, and the air suction pump 240 Even if it operates in a warming state, a method of artificially increasing the pressure and controlling it to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure can be used. Alternatively, when maintaining the medium pressure, air is directly injected into the inhaler 100 through the ventilation control valve 260 to artificially increase the pressure even when the air suction pump 240 operates in an on state. A method of increasing the pressure and controlling it to an intermediate value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure may be used. In this case, since there is no need to mount the intermediate pressure maintaining valve 294 and the intermediate pressure maintaining pipe 292, the structure of the breast pump can be further simplified.

Here, when maintaining the medium pressure state, since the pressure may not rise well if only the number of rotations of the air suction pump 240 is changed, it is more preferable to inject separate air in terms of pressure control.

In particular, when maintaining the medium pressure, the number of times of maintaining the medium pressure is preferably set to at least 2 or more times, more preferably 2 to 5 times. Here, the number of times of maintaining the medium pressure may be defined as the number of controls shown in FIG. 3 . As such, in the present invention, by additionally setting a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure in the period between the operation off and operation on state of the air suction pump 240 to supply a compression signal of a complex waveform, at least two times or more Because the sucking action can be repeated, the pumping efficiency can be maximized by replicating the situation in which the baby sucks the breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast.

As a result, the breast pump 300 with improved pumping efficiency according to the present invention supplies a breast pumping signal of a complex waveform modified in the breast pumping mode of a sine wave, but sets the number of times of maintaining the intermediate pressure to 2 to 5 times, so that 2 to 5 Since it is possible to repeat five successive sucking motions, it is possible to simulate a situation in which a baby sucks a breast while maintaining the expression pressure applied to the mother's breast, enabling more effective artificial expression.

As described above, a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and an operating method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention set a maintenance period maintained at an intermediate pressure in a period between an operation off state and an operation on state of an air suction pump to form a complex waveform. By supplying the pumping signal of , it is possible to repeat at least two consecutive breastfeeding operations, thereby maintaining the breastfeeding pressure applied to the mother's breast and simulating the situation in which the baby sucks milk, thereby maximizing the efficiency of breastfeeding. can

As a result, the breast pump with improved pumping efficiency and its operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention supply a modified complex waveform pumping signal in the sine wave pumping mode, but set the number of times of maintaining the intermediate pressure to 2 to 5 times. , it is possible to repeat 2 to 5 consecutive sucking motions to simulate the situation in which the baby sucks breast while maintaining the pumping pressure applied to the mother's breast, enabling more effective artificial milking. there is

In addition, in the breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and its operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the elastic deformable body sucks air through the connecting rod and the suction force acts, air flows in through the pores provided in the elastic deformable body, and the elastic deformable body It is inflated toward the inner center of the funnel body, so that pressure similar to that of a real baby suckling can be applied to the mother's breast, and since the elastic deformable body is made of silicone, it is possible to improve adhesion with the mother's breast.

Accordingly, the breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and its operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention inflate the elastic deformable body in a state of being tightly adhered to the mother's breast when suction power is generated by sucking air through the connecting rod, so that the mother Since it can strongly press the breast, suction power and adhesion are improved, so that the baby's oral structure has the same effect as the tongue wrapping around the nipple during the actual sucking process, minimizing the loss of suction pressure and increasing the pumping effect. can be maximized.

In addition, in the breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency and its operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the exhaust port of the air suction pump is connected to the pores of the elastic deformable body so that the elastic deformable body can inflate better, suction occurs during the milking process. At the same time, the air discharged through the exhaust port of the air suction pump induces the elastic deformable body to further inflate through the pores to further compress the breast, so that the pumping efficiency can be further improved.

Although the above has been described based on the embodiments of the present invention, various changes or modifications may be made at the level of a technician having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. Such changes and modifications can be said to belong to the present invention as long as they do not deviate from the scope of the technical idea provided by the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention will be determined by the claims described below.

300: breast pump 220: suction tube
240: air intake pump 260: ventilation control valve
280: air discharge tube 290: drive controller
100: inhaler 120: funnel body
140: connecting rod 160: elastic deformable body
165: pore 180: suction support
182: coupling port 184: intake port

Claims (10)

inspirator;
a suction tube connected to the inhaler;
an air suction pump for sucking air inside the inhaler through the suction tube;
a ventilation control valve mounted on the intake tube to control air intake through the air intake pump;
an air discharge tube connected to an outlet of the air intake pump; and
A drive controller for controlling on and off of the air intake pump and the ventilation control valve, respectively;
The air suction pump is maintained at atmospheric pressure in the operation-off state, maintained at the pumping pressure in the operating-on state, and maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure in the section between the operating-off state and the operating-on state. A breast pump with improved pumping efficiency, characterized in that it is set to supply a pumping signal of a complex waveform.
According to claim 1,
When maintaining the medium pressure,
A breast pump with improved pumping efficiency, characterized in that the number of times of maintaining the middle pressure is set to 2 to 5 times.
According to claim 1,
The atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg,
The pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure of up to 300 mmHg lowered from atmospheric pressure,
The intermediate pressure is a breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency, characterized in that adjusted to an intermediate value of each set pumping pressure at a pressure of from 50 mmHg to 150 mmHg at the middle stage of the set pumping pressure.
According to claim 1,
the inhaler
A funnel body formed in a cone shape;
a connecting rod extending from an end of the funnel body;
an elastic deformable body mounted along the circumference of the funnel body and having pores for introducing air; and
a suction support coupled to the connecting rod, having a coupling port for coupling with a feeding bottle at one lower portion, and a suction port for sucking air inside the funnel body through the connecting rod at an upper portion of the other side;
A breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency, characterized in that it comprises a.
According to claim 4,
The air outlet tube is
A breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency, characterized in that one end is connected to the outlet of the air suction pump and the other end is connected to the pores of the elastic deformable body.
According to claim 4,
The air outlet tube is
Attached to the exhaust port located on the outlet side of the supply suction pump, supplying the air discharged from the supply suction pump to the pores of the elastic deformable body to inflate the elastic deformable body to further press the mother's breast A breast pump with improved suction power and adhesion.
According to claim 4,
The elastic deformable body is formed of a silicone material,
The breast pump with improved breast pumping efficiency, characterized in that at least one elastic deformable body is disposed on the circumference of the funnel body, and at least one pore is provided in each elastic deformable body.
(a) assembling the ventilation control valve, the air intake pump and the intake tube, and then coupling the intake tube to the intake;
(b) bringing the inhaler coupled with the suction tube into close contact with the mother's breast; and
(c) operating the air suction pump and the ventilation control valve to express milk from the mother's breast;
In the step (c), the air suction pump is maintained at atmospheric pressure in the operation-off state and maintained at the pumping pressure in the operating-on state, and between the atmospheric pressure and the pumping pressure in the section between the operating-off state and the operating-on state. A method of operating a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency, characterized in that it is set to supply a pumping signal of a complex waveform maintained at an intermediate pressure having a value.
According to claim 8,
In step (c),
When maintaining the medium pressure,
A method of operating a breast pump with improved pumping efficiency, characterized in that the number of times of maintaining the middle pressure is set to 2 to 5 times.
According to claim 8,
In step (c),
The atmospheric pressure is set to a pressure of 760 to 800 mmHg,
The pumping pressure is set to a pressure of 400 to 500 mmHg, which is a pressure of up to 300 mmHg lowered from atmospheric pressure,
The middle pressure is adjusted to the middle value of each set pumping pressure at a pressure of 50 mmHg to 150 mmHg at the middle stage of the set pumping pressure.

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