DE20108672U1 - Milk suction pump - Google Patents

Description

Fleck · Herrmann .* *. . : :*"..* * j PO Box U69-D-71657 Vaihingen/Enz

PATENT ATTORNEYS .i..*..* *··'···* »^telephone 7042) 97 28-0-fax (070 42) 9728-11 and 9728-22

A 14009 -fle/poe 22 May 2001

KaWeCo GmbH
Gerlinger Str. 36/38

71254 Ditzingen

Milk suction pump

The invention relates to a milk suction pump with an attachment part having a breast attachment piece, which is connected or can be connected to a pump unit and is connected or can be connected to an opening section of a container via a connection section.

Such a milk suction pump is specified in DE 87 14 995 UI. In this known milk suction pump, an attachment part is provided in one piece with a breast attachment and a connection section for screwing onto a container in the form of a bottle. A pump unit designed as a hand pump unit is attached to the attachment part, in which a displacement chamber with a pump piston that can be moved back and forth by means of an operating handle is arranged. To secure the pump unit, it is additionally held under the bottom of the rigid container with a section. The

- 2 - 22 May 2001

The container is designed to be used repeatedly in conjunction with the pump unit. For hygiene reasons, for example, it may be desirable to provide replaceable containers.

Another milk suction pump of the type mentioned above is also specified in PCT/EP 00/04758.

The invention is based on the object of providing a milk suction pump of the type mentioned at the beginning, with which milk suction pumps intended for rental in particular also offer advantages in terms of hygiene and use.

This object is achieved with the features of claim 1. According to this, it is provided that the container including its opening section consists of flexible material and that an adapter part consisting of rigid material is present, which on the one hand has a connecting section adapted to the connection section of the attachment part for connection to the connection section and on the other hand has a holding section for attachment to the opening section of the container.

The adapter part makes it easy to attach containers made of flexible material, particularly plastic bags, to the pump unit with their opening section in the same way as solid containers. Containers made of flexible material can be stored in large numbers when folded flat to save space and are also inexpensive and can preferably be made from easily disposable plastic material. Collected milk can be easily stored in them.

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For operation, the measures are advantageous in that the connection section has an internal thread, the connecting section has an external thread and the holding section has an outwardly projecting circumferential collar.

Another advantage of the adapter part is that it is tapered in the shape of a neck between the connecting section and the holding section. The neck-shaped middle section of the adapter part offers a good attachment option for the opening section of the container and, if an operating handle is present, also a practical holding area.

In order to limit the stroke of an actuating handle of a pump unit that is plugged onto the attachment part or firmly attached thereto, it is further advantageous to have the adapter part have a spacer that protrudes outwards from its outer casing as a stop for an actuating handle of the pump unit.

The construction and handling of the milk suction pump are further facilitated by the fact that the pump unit is designed as a hand pump unit which is detachably attached to an adapted bore or an adapted nozzle of the attachment part by means of a connecting piece or a connecting bore, and that the hand pump unit is secured, e.g. locked, to the attachment part to prevent it from being pulled out by means of a holding piece.

A further advantageous embodiment consists in the fact that between the operating handle and a fixed section of the hand pump unit, a return mechanism for the operating handle from a deflected position in which a pump piston moved with it is withdrawn from a displacement of the hand pump unit.

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unit is brought into a disengaged position, is returned to an initial position in which the pump piston is brought into an engaged position.

The measures that a closure means is integrated into the opening section, with which the container can be secured to the adapter part and also completely closed for storing the milk contained in it, result in easy handling and simple manufacture of the containers. The closure means can be, for example, a wire integrated into the opening section that is easily bendable and retains its bending shape, a band or cord, or an easy-to-use adhesive closure.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 a milk suction pump in partially disassembled perspective view,

Fig. 2 the milk suction pump shown in Fig. 1 in an assembled view,

Fig. 3 an attachment part, a pump unit and an adapter part of a milk suction pump according to Fig. 1 in a partially disassembled perspective view and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the adapter part of a milk suction pump according to Fig. 1.

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A milk suction pump 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 has as main components an attachment part 2 with a breast attachment piece 6.1 formed thereon, directed diagonally upwards and a screw connection 6.2 formed on the underside, an adapter part 10 that can be screwed onto it with a threaded section 10.1 and with a holding section 10.1 arranged in the lower area, and a container 2 that can be attached to this with an opening section 2.1. A hand pump unit 3 is placed on the top of the attachment part 6 by being attached airtight to a nozzle 6.3 of the attachment part 6 with a connecting nozzle 5.3 and held in the attachment position by means of a molded holding piece 5.1 in the form of a locking finger. By means of an actuating handle 4 pivotably mounted on a cap part 5 of the hand pump unit 3, a pump piston 7 which can move back and forth in a pumping chamber of the cap part 5 is moved to suck in the breast milk.

The locking finger 5.1 is arranged in the rear area of the attachment part 6 when it is attached and is deflected backwards by means of a run-on slope when the cap part 5 is pushed downwards onto the attachment part 6 and is locked into place at the lower edge of the screw connection 6.2, as can be seen in Fig. 2. In order to return the operating handle to its starting position after a stroke, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, in which the pump piston 7 (in Figs. 1 to 3) is completely inserted to the left into the displacement space provided in the cap part 5, a return mechanism 8 in the form of a curved leaf spring is arranged between the cap part 5, in this case the locking finger 5.1 and the lower pivot section of the operating handle 4 on its front side facing the attachment part 6. A correspondingly effective return mechanism can also be arranged above the pivot axis of the operating handle 4 by means of a tension spring or, for example, a

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rubber-elastic band, as also indicated as an alternative in the PCT/EP 00/04758 mentioned above.

To adjust the pumping effect, an air regulating unit 9 is provided, with which a channel between the displacement chamber and the outside can be manually regulated in its flow cross-section.

The holding section 10.2 of the adapter part 10, which is made of a solid plastic, is designed as an all-round collar or all-round bead at the lower end of a tapered neck section of the adapter part 20 in order to be able to reliably secure the container with its opening section 2.1 guided over it. The opening section 2.1 of the container 2, which is made of flexible material, in particular in the form of a plastic bag, is provided with an integrated closure means, e.g. easily bendable, dimensionally stable wires. Such plastic bags can be stored flat on top of each other to save space and can be easily attached to and removed from the adapter part 10 using the opening section 2.1. The container filled with milk can be reliably closed using the opening section 2.1 with the closure means and stored in a cold room.

On the outer wall of the adapter part 10, as can be seen in particular from Fig. 3 and 4, an outwardly projecting spacer 10.3 is attached, preferably molded, with which the stroke of the actuating handle 4 and thus the movement path of the piston 7 in the displacement space 5 within the cap part 5 is determined. When the actuating handle 4 is actuated, the adapter part 10 simultaneously serves as a holding part for the hand, whereby, for example, the index finger

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and the middle finger on the one hand and the thumb on the other hand enclose the neck portion of the adapter part 10.

In an alternative embodiment, the cap part 5 with the actuating handle 4 located thereon can also be connected to the attachment part 6 via a line between the connection piece 5.3 and the piece 6.3. An electrically actuated pump unit can also be connected to the piece 6.3 via a line.

Claims (7)

1. Milk suction pump with an attachment part ( 6 ) having a breast attachment piece ( 6.1 ) which is connected or can be connected to a pump unit ( 3 ) and is connected or can be connected to an opening section ( 2.1 ) of a container ( 2 ) via a connection section ( 6.2 ), characterized in that
that the container ( 2 ) including its opening section ( 2.1 ) consists of flexible material and
that an adapter part ( 10 ) consisting of rigid material is present, which on the one hand has a connecting section ( 10.1 ) adapted to the connection section ( 6.2 ) of the attachment part ( 6 ) and on the other hand has a holding section ( 10.2 ) for attachment to the opening section ( 2.1 ) of the container ( 2 ). 2. Milk suction pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection section ( 6.2 ) has an internal thread, the connecting section ( 10.1 ) has an external thread and the holding section ( 10.2 ) has an outwardly projecting circumferential collar. 3. Milk suction pump according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the adapter part ( 10 ) is tapered in a neck shape between the connecting section ( 10.1 ) and the holding section ( 10.2 ). 4. Milk suction pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter part ( 10 ) has a spacer ( 10.3 ) protruding outwards from its outer casing as a stop for an operating handle ( 4 ) of the pump unit ( 3 ). 5. Milk suction pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pump unit is designed as a hand pump unit ( 3 ) which is detachably attached to a connecting piece ( 5.3 ) or a connecting bore on an adapted bore or an adapted connecting piece ( 6.3 ) of the attachment part ( 6 ), and that the hand pump unit ( 3 ) is secured to the attachment part ( 6 ) by means of a holding piece ( 5.1 ) to prevent it from being pulled out. 6. Milk suction pump according to claim 5, characterized in that between the operating handle ( 4 ) and a fixed section of the hand pump unit ( 3 ), a return mechanism ( 8 ) for the operating handle ( 4 ) is returned from a deflected position in which a pump piston ( 7 ) moved with it is brought from a displacement space of the hand pump unit ( 3 ) into a disengaged position, to an initial position in which the pump piston ( 7 ) is brought into an engaged position. 7. Milk suction pump according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a closing means is integrated in the opening section, with which the container ( 2 ) can be fixed to the adapter part ( 10 ) and can also be completely closed for storing milk received therein.