Claims
- 1. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of pressure in communication with said breastshield; and a programmable controller having an interface for the inputting of programs, said programs instructing said controller to produce different shaped sequences of operation of said source of pressure.
- 2. The breastpump of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of different programs for said controller.
- 3. The breastpump of claim 2 wherein said programs are contained on prerecorded media, and said interface includes a media reader which reads and inputs a program to said controller.
- 4. The breastpump of claim 3 wherein said prerecorded media includes cards wherein each program is recorded on a separate card.
- 5. The breastpump of claim 2 wherein said programs are different sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force and vacuum cycle according to an application curve.
- 6. The breastpump of claim 1 further including a source of positive pressure in communication with said breastshield, and said programmable controller further varies said positive pressure source.
- 7. The breastpump of claim 6 further comprising a plurality of different programs having different sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force, positive pressure force and vacuum cycle according to an application curve.
- 8. The breastpump of claim 1 further including a means for generating signals indicative of breastpump operating functions, and means for recording said signals for later retrieval.
- 9. The breastpump of claim 2 wherein said programs are recorded in said controller, and further including a program selection mechanism associated with said breastpump.
- 10. The breastpump of claim 9 wherein said program selection mechanism is at least one manually operated button located on said breastpump, said button being actuable to send a signal to said controller for selection of a program.
- 11. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of vacuum in communication with said breastshield; a mechanism for operating said source of vacuum according to a first sequence having a curve with a first waveform shape; and a controller for operating said source of vacuum according to a second sequence having a curve with a second waveform shape which is different than said first waveform shape.
- 12. The breastpump of claim 11 wherein said controller has a preset program for said first sequence which is a milk letdown sequence.
- 13. The breastpump of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of different programs for said controller wherein each program has a different sequence and curve shape.
- 14. An improved breastpump for the expression of mother's milk, the breastpump having a mechanism for manipulating the breast to express milk therefrom, wherein the improvement comprises a programmable controller for said mechanism, said controller having an interface for the inputting of programs, said programs instructing said controller to produce different pressure sequences of operation of said source of pressure.
- 15. The breastpump of claim 14 further comprising a plurality of different programs for said controller, and at least one of said programs causing a change in sequence shape beyond a change in pressure peak frequency and a change in pressure peak maximum amplitude.
- 16. The breastpump of claim 15 wherein said programs are contained on prerecorded media, and said interface comprises a media reader which reads and inputs a program to said controller.
- 17. The breastpump of claim 16 wherein each program is recorded on a separate media.
- 18. The breastpump of claim 14 wherein said programs are different sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force and vacuum cycle in a non-linear manner according to an application curve.
- 19. The breastpump of claim 14 wherein said mechanism further includes a source of positive pressure, and said programmable controller further varies said positive pressure source.
- 20. The breastpump of claim 19 further comprising a plurality of different programs having different sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force, positive pressure force and vacuum cycle according to an application curve.
- 21. The breastpump of claim 14 further including a means for generating signals indicative of breastpump operating functions, and means for recording said signals for later retrieval.
- 22. The breastpump of claim 15 wherein said programs are recorded in said controller, and said improvement further includes a program selection mechanism associated with said breastpump.
- 23. The breastpump of claim 22 wherein said program selection mechanism is at least one manually operated button located on said breastpump, said button being actuable to send a signal to said controller for selection of a program.
- 24. A method for operating a breastpump comprising the steps of:recording the pressure waveform of a suckling sequence of an infant in terms of at least suction force over time, and programming a breastpump to operate in accordance with said recording.
- 25. A method for breastpumping comprising:providing a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; providing a source of vacuum in communication with the breastshield which is operated by a controller; and programming the controller to operate the source of vacuum to produce different shaped sequences of operation, wherein at least one of said sequences has a pressure slope deviating from a simple curve between pressure peaks.
- 26. The breastpumping method of claim 25 further comprising providing a plurality of different programs for the controller for varying the vacuum in accordance with the different sequences.
- 27. The breastpumping method of claim 26 wherein the programs are provided on prerecorded media, and the breastpump further comprises a media reader, wherein said programming further comprises inputting a program through the media reader to the controller.
- 28. The breastpumping method of claim 27 wherein each program is recorded on a separate card.
- 29. The breastpumping method of claim 26 wherein the programs are different sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force and vacuum cycle according to an application curve.
- 30. The breastpumping method of claim 25 further including providing a source of positive pressure in communication with said breastshield, and programming said controller to vary said positive pressure source.
- 31. The breastpumping method of claim 30 further comprising providing a plurality of different programs having different shaped sequences for varying at least one of vacuum force, positive pressure force and vacuum cycle according to an application curve.
- 32. The breastpump of claim 11 wherein said mechanism includes an electric motor, said motor having a reduction drive system with at least first and second belts conveying motive power to a movable member of an expansible chamber device wherein a vacuum is generated.
- 33. The breastpump of claim 32 wherein said expansible chamber device is a diaphragm pump.
- 34. The breastpump of claim 33 wherein there are two diaphragm pumps, said diaphragm pumps having a membrane which is movable relative to a shell, each said membrane being connected to a respective shaft, each said shaft being mounted to a respective belt for linear movement with said respective belt.
- 35. The breastpump of claim 34 wherein said respective shafts are driven in tandem.
- 36. A motor drive for a breastpump, comprising:a motor having a rotary output; a reduction drive system communicating with said rotary output with at least first and second belts conveying motive power from said rotary output to a movable member of an expansible chamber device wherein a vacuum is generated.
- 37. The motor drive of claim 36 wherein said expansible chamber device is a diaphragm pump.
- 38. The motor drive of claim 37 wherein there are two diaphragm pumps, said diaphragm pumps having a membrane which is movable relative to a shell, each said membrane being connected to a respective shaft, each said shaft being mounted to a respective belt for linear movement with said respective belt.
- 39. The motor drive of claim 38 wherein said respective shafts are driven in tandem.
- 40. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of pressure in communication with said breastshield; and a user programmable controller including an input mechanism through which the user interfaces with said controller to provide program commands capable of varying the waveform shape of a curve defining one or both of an amount of pressure applied and a frequency of pressure application to said breastshield, said curve of at least one program being defined by more than a single peak pressure input.
- 41. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of pressure in communication with said breastshield; and a programmable controller having an interface which receives program commands from a user that cause a desired change in the curve defining a cycle sequence for operating said source of pressure, where said program commands are capable of changing said curve by more than a change in a selected maximum pressure and a selected frequency.
- 42. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of pressure in communication with said breastshield; and a programmable controller having means for a user to select programs, said programs operatively instructing said controller to produce different shaped sequences of operation of said source of pressure.
- 43. A breastpump comprising:a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; a source of pressure in communication with said breastshield; and a programmable controller having an input device through which a user can controllably vary the shape of a suction sequence from a simple curve, wherein said simple curve is established by only a pressure level input and a frequency input.
- 44. A method of operating a breastpump comprising:providing a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; providing a source of pressure in communication with the breastshield; providing a programmable controller having an interface; receiving from a user and through the interface commands that cause a desired change in operation of the source of pressure; and changing the shape of a curve defining a cycle sequence for operating the source of pressure in response to commands beyond simply selecting a variation in maximum pressure and frequency.
- 45. A method of operating a breastpump comprising:providing a breastshield having a portion within which a woman's breast is received for the expression of milk; providing a source of pressure in communication with the breastshield; providing a programmable controller having means for a user to input programs; inputting programs into the programmable controller; and instructing said controller to produce different sequences of operation of the source of pressure in response to said inputting of the programs by the user.
Parent Case Info
This application claims benefit of aplication Ser. No. 60/170,070 filed Dec. 10, 1999.
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Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
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Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/170070 |
Dec 1999 |
US |