Abstrict A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that operates similar
to a regular nursing bra, yet differs in that it has a detachable
hands free pumping panel positioned behind the nursing cup. To nurse,
a woman detaches the nursing cup with the pumping panel attached
thereto. To perform hand free pumping, the nursing cup is detached
from the pumping panel, a breast shield is inserted from the back
of the pumping panel through an opening in the pumping panel, so
that it can be attached to the pump. The pumping panel is then reattached
to the brassiere allowing the woman to pump her breast milk in a
hands free manner.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere comprising:
a base support;
a side and back strap attached to said base support, said base
support and said side and back strap fitting around a torso of a
woman;
a pair of nursing cups;
a pumping panel positioned behind each of said nursing cups;
first fasteners for detachably securing said nursing cups to said
base support; and
second fasteners for detachably securing said pumping panel to
said brassiere;
each of said pumping panels having a opening at a crest of each
of said pumping panels, said opening being sized to permit a narrow
end of a tapered pump shield of a breast pump to pass through from
an inside of said pumping panel to an outside of said pumping panel
when said first fasteners are detached from said base so that said
nursing cups are not positioned over said woman's breasts.
2. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 wherein said first and second fasteners are detachable from said
base so that one or both of said pair of nursing cups and said pumping
panel do not lie over said woman's breasts to permit direct nursing
of a child.
3. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 wherein said opening is shaped as one of a slit, a circle, a
triangle, a square, and a combination of the foregoing shapes.
4. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 wherein said first fasteners are disposed at a juncture of said
nursing cups.
5. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
4 wherein said second fasteners are disposed adjacent said first
fasteners at said juncture of said nursing cups.
6. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
4 wherein said nursing cups are sewn to a portion of said base
away from said first fasteners.
7. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 wherein said second fasteners are disposed so that said pumping
panel is completely removable from said brassiere.
8. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 further comprising shoulder straps attached to said side and
back strap, and attached to a top portion of said pair of nursing
cups.
9. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere, as recited in claim
8 wherein said shoulder straps are further attached to a top portion
of said pumping panel.
10. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere comprising:
a base support;
a side and back strap attached to said base support, said base
support and said side and back strap fitting around a torso of a
woman;
a pair of nursing cups having a first portion permanently attached
to one of said brassiere and said nursing cups;
a pumping panel positioned behind each of said nursing panels;
first fasteners for detachably securing a second portion of said
nursing cups to said brassiere; and
second fasteners for detachably securing said pumping panel to
said brassiere;
each of said pumping panels having an opening at a crest of each
of said pumping panels, said opening being sized to permit a narrow
end of a tapered pump shield of a breast pump to pass through from
an inside of said pumping panel to an outside of said pumping panel
when said first fasteners are detached from said base so that said
nursing cups are not positioned over said woman's breasts.
11. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 wherein said first and second fasteners are detached from said
base so that one or both of said pair of nursing cups and said pumping
panel are positioned off of said woman's breasts to permit direct
nursing of a child.
12. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 wherein said opening is shaped as one of a slit, a circle, a
triangle, a square, and a combination of the foregoing shapes.
13. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 wherein said first fasteners are disposed at a juncture of said
nursing cups.
14. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
13 wherein said second fasteners are disposed adjacent said first
fasteners at said juncture of said nursing cups.
15. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
14 wherein said nursing cups are sewn to a portion of said base
away from said first fasteners.
16. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 wherein said second fasteners are disposed so that said pumping
panel is completely removable from said brassiere.
17. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 further comprising shoulder straps attached to said side and
back strap, and attached to a top portion of said pair of nursing
cups.
18. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere, as recited in claim
17 wherein said shoulder straps are further attached to a top portion
of said pumping panel.
19. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
18 wherein said second fasteners are disposed at tops of said pumping
panel adjacent front ends of said shoulder straps.
20. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere comprising:
a base support;
a side and back strap attached to said base support, said base
support and said side and back strap fitting around a torso of a
woman;
a pair of nursing cups;
a pumping panel positioned behind each of said nursing panels;
first fasteners for securing said nursing cups to said base support;
and
second fasteners for securing said pumping panel to said brassiere;
each of said pumping panels having an opening at a crest of each
of said pumping panels, said opening being sized to permit a narrow
end of a tapered pump shield of a breast pump to pass through from
an inside of said pumping panel to an outside of said pumping panel
when said first fasteners are detached from said base so that said
nursing cups are not positioned over said woman's breasts,
wherein said first and second fasteners are detachable from said
base so that one or both of said pair of nursing cups and said pumping
panel do not lie over said woman's breasts to permit direct nursing
of a child,
wherein said opening is shaped as one of a slit, a circle, a triangle,
a square, and a combination of the foregoing shapes,
wherein said first fasteners are disposed at a juncture of said
nursing cups, and
wherein said nursing cups are sewn to a portion of said base away
from said first fasteners.
21. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
1 wherein said opening is formed by two overlapping fabric pieces.
22. A hands free pumping and nursing brassiere as recited in claim
10 wherein said opening is formed by two overlapping fabric pieces.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hands free pumping and nursing
brassiere. More particularly, the present invention relates to a
brassiere which can be used in one mode, in a conventional manner,
to nurse a child and can be used in a second mode to support breast
pumps while leaving the mother's hands free.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In response to recent studies detailing the benefits of breast
milk for newborn children and the American Academy of Pediatrics
recommendation that women breast feed for a minimum of one year,
the number of women, and the length of time women breast feed is
increasing.
The most common way for an infant to receive breast milk is by
directly nursing on a woman's breast. To facilitate such breast
feeding, numerous nursing brassieres are well known. These nursing
brassieres allow the woman wearing them to expose sufficient breast
tissue to allow the child to latch on to her breast and nurse.
While direct nursing has been used for hundreds of years, there
are drawbacks to this technique. For example, it is not possible
to monitor how much breast milk a child is receiving during breast
feeding. Also, some children do not latch on correctly, and as a
result do not receive enough nutrition. From the nursing mother's
point of view there are other drawbacks, such as, sore nipples and
sleep deprivation due to frequent feedings. In addition, mothers
who return to work need to express their milk every 2 to 3 hours
in order to maintain their milk supply and to provide a supply of
milk for their baby while they are away. To overcome these problems,
various breast pumps have been developed to express milk from the
mother's breasts. These pumps are either manual pumps with a piston-like
mechanism, or electric pumps. Both types of pumps usually have a
conical pump shield that fits around the woman's nipple and facilitates
the creation of a vacuum to express milk from the breast and collect
it.
The use of such breast pumps can be difficult and awkward. The
manual pumps are especially difficult as the mother has to hold
the pump in place with one hand and operate the pump with the other
hand. This leaves no hands free to see to the newborn's needs or
to attend to other tasks, during pumping. The electric pumps, while
not requiring a hand to operate, require the mother to hold the
pump shield in place with at least one hand.
While a nursing mother can wear a nursing brassiere for proper
support, and such a brassiere does not impede expressing milk with
a pump, there is a need for some device that can support the mother's
breasts, allow for direct nursing, and which holds a breast pump
in place during expressing of milk, thereby leaving the mother's
hands free. Such a device has to take into account the fact that
the weight of the pump increases as milk is expressed, and therefore
the device must be strong enough to maintain the pump in position
even when full (at least 5 ounces and as much as 8 ounces).
One attempt at such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5514166
(Silver et al.) which discloses a device and method for supporting
a breast shield and related pump equipment. In the embodiment of
FIG. 1 a brassiere 12 having two breast cups 20 is provided. Each
of the breast cups 20 has a flap 28 connected to the brassiere at
the bottom of each cup 20. The cup is detachably connected to the
brassiere near the shoulder strap 29. In FIGS. 3 4 5 6 11 and
12 of the Silver et al. patent, a breast pump 30 (shown in FIG.
2), having a breast shield or hood 32 can be amended with various
fastener arrangements so that it can be attached to the cup 20.
In the embodiments of FIGS. 7 9 10 18 and 19 of the Silver et
al. patent, the breast shield 32 of the breast pump 30 is inserted
through the flap 28 of the brassiere 12 so that the breast shield
32 is supported on the breast 14 between the breast 14 and the inside
surface of the flap 28. These embodiments rely upon the flap 28
and a stiffened peripheral edge 590 of the breast shield 32 to cooperate
to support the breast shield on the breast. In addition, the embodiment
shown in FIG. 9 of the Silver patent employs an additional strap.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 of the Silver et al. patent,
a flap 628 is provided and has two overlapping sections 691 and
692. The breast shield is inserted through the front of the brassiere
cup and relies on sections 691 and 692 to surround the breast shield
and support it against the breast. Such an arrangement would prevent
a mother from nursing.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 of the Silver et al patent,
the breast cup 20 may have a crisscrossed overlap portion 803. The
crisscrossed overlap portion has an opening sufficient to allow
insertion of the breast shield and is relied upon to surround the
breast shield and to support it against the breast.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 of the Silver et al.
patent, a strap 1022 is relied upon to support the breast shield
32 of the breast pump 30. The breast shield 32 is placed near the
breast and the strap 1022 is fastened around the pump shield. The
breast shield 32 is placed on the breast 14 and supported by the
strap 1022.
The device taught in Silver et al. suffers from numerous disadvantages.
First, the embodiments requiring fasteners, are cumbersome and bulky.
In addition, pump shield designs vary between manufacturers and
therefore not every fastener would work for each breast pump.
Second, the embodiments that do not employ fasteners will not provide
sufficient force upon the breast shield to maintain the shield against
the breast in such a way that sufficient vacuum can be maintained.
All of the embodiments of the Silver et al. device require the breast
shield to be inserted from the front of the brassiere. As a result,
in order for the breast shield to fit through an opening in the
cup, which is smaller than the diameter of the breast shield, the
material of the cup must be elastic or flexible. Such material will
not provide sufficient pressure against the breast shield as it
fills with milk.
Furthermore, in the embodiments utilizing straps to secure the
breast shield against the breast, the straps are not arranged so
that they create even pressure all the way around the breast shield,
and thus reduce the capability of the device to keep the breast
shield properly positioned against the breast to maintain the necessary
vacuum.
Finally, the device according to Silver et al. does not provide
a simple design that is easy to utilize, provides clean lines when
used solely as a breast support, and provides adequate pressure
to create and maintain a vacuum between the breast shield and the
breast during pumping.
From the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a hands free pumping and nursing brassiere that creates
appealing contours in the brassiere when not used for pumping or
nursing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free
pumping and nursing brassiere that can support the mother's breasts,
allow for direct nursing, and which holds a breast pump in place
during expressing of milk, thereby leaving the mother's hands free.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hands
free pumping and nursing brassiere that does not employ fasteners
to support the breast shield of a pump, and yet will provide sufficient
force upon the breast shield to maintain the shield against the
breast in such a way that sufficient vacuum can be maintained.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a hands
free pumping and nursing brassiere that creates even pressure all
the way around the breast shield and thus keeps the breast shield
of a breast pump properly positioned against the breast to maintain
the necessary vacuum.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hands free
pumping and nursing brassiere that is easy to utilize, provides
clean lines when used solely as a breast support, and provides adequate
pressure to create and maintain a vacuum between the breast shield
and the breast during pumping.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hands
free pumping and nursing brassiere that can be used with a number
of different manufacturer's breast pumps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other deficiencies of the prior art are addressed by
the present invention which is directed to a hands free pumping
and nursing brassiere that operates similar to a regular nursing
brassiere, yet differs in that it has a detachable hands free pumping
panel positioned behind the nursing cup. To nurse, a woman detaches
the nursing cup with the pumping panel attached thereto. To perform
hand free pumping, the nursing cup is detached from the pumping
panel, a breast shield is inserted from the back of the pumping
panel through an opening in the pumping panel, so that it can be
attached to the pump. The pumping panel is then reattached to the
brassiere allowing the woman to pump her breast milk in a hands
free manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other attributes of the present invention will be described
with respect to the following drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the outside of the hands
free pumping and nursing brassiere according to the present invention;
FIGS. 2a and 2b are front perspective views of the hands free pumping
and nursing brassiere according to the present invention with the
one side open in a nursing configuration;
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the hands free pumping and
nursing brassiere according to the present invention with the one
side open in a hands free pumping configuration;
FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a top opening embodiment
of the pumping panel according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a center opening embodiment
of the pumping panel according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the pumping panel of the present
invention positioned over a breast with a breast pump positioned
over the nipple; and
FIGS. 7a-7e are front views of a pumping panel for a right breast
according to the present invention showing square, oval, circular
and triangular openings, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 a perspective view of the outside of the hands
free pumping and nursing brassiere 50 according to the present invention
is shown. The brassiere 50 has two nursing cups 52 two shoulder
straps 54 and a back and side strap 56 that wraps around the torso
and connects at the middle of a woman's back. The shoulder straps
54 are connected to the back and side strap 56 by metal or plastic
circles or rings 58. The shoulder straps 54 may further have strap
adjusters 60. The strap adjusters 60 may be of any conventional
type.
The nursing cups 52 each have snaps or fasteners 62 provided at
the juncture of the two nursing cups 52 which lies over the women's
breast bone when worn. While snaps are shown in the illustrated
embodiment, other types of fasteners such as buttons or hook-and-loop
type fasteners may be employed. Furthermore, the snaps or fasteners
62 may be made of metal or plastic. The nursing cups 52 may be made
from any type of suitable cloth.
The nursing cups 52 may be partially detached from the remainder
of the brassiere 50 as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, so that a woman
may nurse a child. In FIG. 2a, snap or fastener 62 of the left nursing
cup 52 is detached so that the left nursing cup 52 may be moved
out of the way and the breast exposed sufficiently for a child to
nurse. As shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 5 a pumping panel 70 is provided
behind each nursing cup 52. The pumping panel 70 attaches to the
brassiere 50 with its own separate snaps or fasteners 72. Openings
76 may be provided in the pumping panel 70 so that the snaps or
fasteners 62 can extend through the pumping panel 70 and hold the
nursing cups 52 closed as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 2b is similar to FIG. 2a, but shows a brassiere 50 having
an additional fabric frame 57 extending from the juncture of the
two nursing cups 52 to shoulder strap 54. While only one fabric
frame 57 is illustrated, the left and right sides of the brassiere
50 are mirror images of one another, and a second fabric frame 57
would be provided on the left side (not shown). The fabric frame
57 provides additional breast support and support for the pumping
panel 70. The brassiere 50 may also have an underwire (not shown)
for even more breast support.
FIGS. 2 through 5 further show openings 76 formed in the pumping
panel 70. The openings 76 are sized to allow the smaller end of
a breast shield to be inserted from the rear, or side of the pumping
panel 70 lying adjacent the mother's skin, towards the outside of
the brassiere 50. The openings 76 however, are not large enough
for the entire pumping shield to pass through. Typically, the pumping
shield has a conical shape, and therefore the openings 76 need only
be large enough to allow the smallest diameter portion of the pumping
shield to protrude. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 2 through
5 the openings 76 are slits, however, the openings 76 may have alternative
shapes, such as circles, ovals, triangles, squares, overlapping
or combinations thereof, as shown in FIGS. 7a-7e. Here a square
slit 76a is shown in FIG. 7a. FIGS. 7b-7e shown circular, oval,
triangular and overlapping openings 76b-76e, respectively.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 7e has an opening 76 formed from overlapping
pieces of fabric, namely, an underside piece 90 and an outside piece
92. The two fabric pieces 90 and 92 overlap horizontally to form
a vertically oriented overlap area 94. The pump shield 80 can be
positioned to extend through the opening 76 formed between the two
fabric pieces 90 and 92.
If a woman wanted to express milk from her left breast using the
brassiere 50 of the present invention, she would detach the left
nursing cup 52. Then she would detach the left pumping panel 70
and pass the pumping shield 80 through the opening 76 from the inside
towards the outside. The left pumping panel 70 would then be refastened
to the brassiere 50 so that the pumping panel 70 and the woman's
breast 90 hold the pumping shield 80 in place, as shown in FIG.
6. The opening 76 is formed in the pumping panel 70 so that it will
lie over the nipple 92 of the breast 90.
Referring to FIG. 3 the brassiere 50 is shown configured for pumping
milk from woman's the left breast. No pump is shown so that the
details of the brassiere can be seen. The pumping panel 70 remains
attached to fasteners 72 while the fastener 62 for the left nursing
cup 52 is detached. As an alternative, a single fastener can be
used to connect to nursing cup 52 to the pumping panel 70 and the
underlying brassiere base. Such a configuration would consolidate
the separate fasteners 62 and 72 into one fastener.
FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the pumping panel 70
for use in a brassiere 50 that opens from the top, or juncture with
the shoulder straps 54. Here the snaps or fasteners 72 are positioned
to attach to ends of the shoulder straps 54 and are not placed
over the breast bone at the juncture of the left and right nursing
cups 52.
While the openings 76 are positioned at the crests of the nursing
cups 52 to support the breast shields over the nipples, the pumping
panels 70 may provide non-smooth contours under clothes during everyday
wearing. To eliminate such unsmooth contours, the pumping panel
70 may be complete detachable from the brassiere 50. For example,
each pumping panel 70 may have fasteners 72 located at the juncture
of the two nursing cups 52 the juncture with each shoulder strap
54 and the back and side strap 56 as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment,
the woman would first open one or both nursing cups. Next the pumping
panel(s) 70 would be attached using fasteners 72 as the pumping
shield is inserted as described previously. Finally the pump would
be attached to the pumping shield and milk can be expressed as the
pumping panel(s) hold the pump(s) in place.
Having described several embodiments of the hands free pumping
and nursing brassiere in accordance with the present invention,
it is believed that other modifications, variations and changes
will be suggested to those skilled in the art in view of the description
set forth above. It is therefor to be understood that all such variations,
modifications and changes are believed to fall within the scope
of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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