Patents Assigned to THE FULL BELLY PROJECT
  • Patent number: 9194093
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a water pump that may be easily constructed from inexpensive parts and materials and that is powered by the water source from which the water to be pumped is drawn. In a preferred embodiment, two pairs of lever arms located on opposite sides of the pump are alternately filled with water from the source and then emptied causing the lever arms to alternately ascend and descend. As the lever arms ascend and descend, they alternately fill and then compress a pair of pistons causing water to be pumped to an outlet of the pump. Water from the emptied lever arms may preferably be returned to the source, thus minimizing any impact of the pump on the environment and downstream users of the water source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: The Full Belly Project Ltd.
    Inventors: Joost Brender A. Brandis, Jeffrey Lynn McKay
  • Patent number: 8734132
    Abstract: The present invention addresses the need for a water pump that may be constructed from inexpensive materials available even in impoverished areas. The pump uses a simple rocking motion to pump water and can pump significant amounts of water from sources that otherwise could not be reached. In a preferred embodiment, the pump comprises three concrete chambers, a pumping platform adapted to rock in a see-saw fashion, and a plurality of valves to control the flow of water. The first two chambers contain diaphragms that, as a result of rocking the pumping platform, draw liquid into the chambers and force liquid from those chambers into the third chamber. Two valves selectively permit liquid to be drawn into the first and second chambers, and prevent the liquid from exiting the chambers and returning to the source. Third and fourth valves allow liquid to flow from the first and second chambers into the third chamber, and prevent the liquid in the third chamber from flowing back into the first or second chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: The Full Belly Project Ltd.
    Inventor: Joost Brender a Brandis
  • Publication number: 20120195771
    Abstract: The present invention addresses the need for a water pump that may be constructed from inexpensive materials available even in impoverished areas. The pump uses a simple rocking motion to pump water and can pump significant amounts of water from sources that otherwise could not be reached. In a preferred embodiment, the pump comprises three concrete chambers, a pumping platform adapted to rock in a see-saw fashion, and a plurality of valves to control the flow of water. The first two chambers contain diaphragms that, as a result of rocking the pumping platform, draw liquid into the chambers and force liquid from those chambers into the third chamber. Two valves selectively permit liquid to be drawn into the first and second chambers, and prevent the liquid from exiting the chambers and returning to the source. Third and fourth valves allow liquid to flow from the first and second chambers into the third chamber, and prevent the liquid in the third chamber from flowing back into the first or second chambers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2009
    Publication date: August 2, 2012
    Applicant: THE FULL BELLY PROJECT
    Inventor: Joost Brender a Brandis