US Patent 10039871 Milk repellent breast pump

A breast pump system includes a flexible vinyl suction tube that connects a milk collection device to a vacuum pump. If a milk droplet accidentally backflows into the suction tube, a supplementary opening injects tiny volumes of air sequentially into the vacuum pump or into the suction tube near the pump. As the vacuum pump operates in a cyclical manner, the injected air returns the droplet in sequential steps back to the milk collection device.