Patent ID: 6461324
Filing Date: 2002-10-08
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
A suction bell for a breast pump, said bell comprising:a rigid outer shell having, in axial direction, a substantially Y-shaped cross section and comprising a conical top portion having an open upper end and a cylindrical body portion having an inner surface and an open lower end; said conical top portion having an outwardly extending rim at said upper end; said cylindrical body portion having a first connecting means for connecting said shell with a source of a cyclic sub-atmospheric pressure, an annular shoulder extending about said lower end, and second connecting means for connecting said shell with a milk collecting means; and a thin, flexible, and elastic liner having a conical upper portion disposed within said conical top portion of said shell and provided with a peripheral lip sealingly engaging said rim; an elongated tubular portion extending through the shell's cylindrical body portion and having an outer surface spaced inwardly from the shell's inner surface when a pressure within said cylindrical body portion of said shell is ambient atmospheric; said tubular portion of said liner including a resilient annular flange sealingly engaging said shoulder of said shell and maintaining said liner in an axially stretched and tensioned state; and integral one-way valve means provided by said liner at said lower end of said tubular portion below said shoulder of said shell.