Oh, patents! Kickstart International MoneyMaker hip pump

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Africa encompasses more than one-quarter of the world’s arable farmland (World Bank Data). It is a continent of great opportunity with untapped potential. However, only 4% of Africa’s farmlands are irrigated. This means that the whole continent remains largely tributary to rain cycles. In other words, small-scale farmers, comprising 80% of the workforce, are stuck in famine/feast cycles, able to farm when it rains, and left idle during dry seasons or droughts. The problem of weather dependency (rain-fed farming) also causes farmers to all plant and harvest at the same time, in turn to sell in oversaturated markets, thus creating unsold harvests and large amounts of spoilage. It is estimated that, If just 20% of farmlands were irrigated, the hunger problem might be solved. However, beyond survival, the goal is also prosperity, empowering farmers to permanently lift their families out of poverty.

In response to this problematic situation, Kickstart International Inc., co-founded by an American engineer, and British construction entrepreneur, Dr. Martin Fisher and Nick Moon, developed the MoneyMaker hip pump. The MoneyMaker pump is one of the many affordable and durable tools the company has designed to harness the entrepreneurial drive of families, seeking to make money to lift themselves out of poverty “quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably”. This particular irrigation tool is specifically designed to target some estimated 20 million farmers, who have access to sufficient renewable groundwater resources to escape rain dependence. Thus, the MoneyMaker hip pump is designed to provide access to groundwater, independently from rain cycles, so that farmers might produce harvests all year long, in order to sell in markets during the dry season, when prices are higher, in turn making profits, empowering them to make investments in ever improved means to increase productivity.

The Kickstart International Inc., hip pump invention is recited in the US utility patent US7517306B2, titled Hip Pump Assembly. The patent recites a pump assembly comprising a low-friction piston and cylinder pumping mechanism. The pumping mechanism is hinged off a base footplate, in such a way that the pumping mechanism can rotate relative to the base footplate and cooperate with the user, pushing the piston in and out the cylinder to pump. The hinge axle of the foot baseplate comprises the pump’s inlet and outlet pipes. Thus, the pumping cylinder actually rotates around the pipes.

The base footplate is otherwise designed to fold up against the pump, where it can be attached with a clip, for easy transport. The whole assembly actually weighs less than 5 kilos (approx. 10 lbs). It is also designed for easy operation, without fatigue during an extended period of time. Likewise, no training or technical background is required for operating and maintaining the pump.

The pump is called a “hip” pump because of the hip movement solicited from the user, rocking backward and forwards, transferring weight from one foot to another on the ground, when pulling and pushing on the piston handle, during pumping. In other words, the hip movement, coached by the rotation of the pumping cylinder on the hinged footplate, transmits force to the pushing and pulling movements, invoked in pumping. It is this distribution of effort on the whole body, vs. just on upper extremities, which results in a much less tiring experience. The hinged footplate also makes it possible for users of varying height to use the hip pump, since a short person simply uses the pump at a more acute angle than a tall person. 

In terms of performance, the hip pump is designed to suck up water as deep as 8.5 meters (approx. 30 ft.) at sea level, and push water up into a tank up to 7 meters above the pump. The pump can irrigate crops up to 100 meters (approx. 325 ft.) from the source, at a flow rate of more than 1000 liters/hour (approx. 260 gal/hr), which is far more efficient than using buckets. The pump is also designed with a maximum suction ratio, considering piston stroke, the volume of the cylinder and proximity to the valve box. Finally, all component parts of the pumps are inexpensively produced locally, where they do not require additional tools for assembly.

The abstract of this invention is included below, together with the already indexed Figure 41 drawing, extracted from the patent.

Provided herein is an innovative human-powered pumping device comprising a piston and cylinder pumping mechanism that is hinged off a base. In use, the piston is driven in and out of the cylinder by a handle which is pushed and pulled by the operator. The base is resting on the ground and the cylinder is hinged off the base such that the pumping mechanism can rotate with respect to the base during the pumping motion.           [Abstract US7517306B2]

References

Kickstart International Inc. (website) 

http://kickstart.org/

World Bank – Arable farmland world wide / per country

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS