PRIORAT The handling of water has an exceedingly long history, probably as long as life in human settlements from the earliest times to the present, where water is used not only for drinking but also for washing, cooking, watering of animals, agricultural and horticultural activities, cooling purposes, recreation, industrial applications such as washing ores and other materials, manufactures, rinsing produce, separating and extracting, dissolving and many others.

In underdeveloped, rural and poor areas human or animal power for lifting and moving water is resorted to, but generally there is an unfulfilled need not only for lifting and moving water but also for various options for storage of water, for convenient delivery and for transportability of appliances meeting needs such as these. Powered pumps are a highly developed technology and a wide variety of types and sizes is available, however, they can not be used where there is a lack of power available or sub-economic conditions make them unaffordable. Hand operated and animal powered pumps and water lifting devices of course date from very early times but are confined to devices having handles to reciprocate or rotate and to contraptions fixed on foundations for animal or human powering or even using flow or fall of water, such as water wheels.

Various needs have thus been identified for means of handling water which include a greater versatility of uses to which the means can be applied and purposes to which it can be adapted, a capability of optimum effective use of human power, transportability to sites where required, a capability of water lifting and a capability of water storage. A means fulfilling these needs must be robust and durable and if required for use in rural or underdeveloped areas must especially be simple and inexpensive, and preferably capable of manufacture and repair from materials readily available in a third world economy.

THE INVENTION The solution of these needs in accordance with the present invention is a machine which includes means for lifting and/or moving water with a mechanical drive train for transmitting human, animal or other power and one or more features selected from: a water lifting means which will raise water from a datum level, comprising a conduit leading from the datum level to a head at an elevated level, including a foot valve, the head being rotatable and having downwardly depending or upwardly reaching and outwardly extending arms, outlets at distal ends of the arms, closure means at ends of the arms openable by centrifugal effect, a circular collection ring for water issuing from the outlets; a water storage means comprising a circular form capable of serving also as a wheel for transport of the machine; and a frame supporting the means for lifting and/or moving water in an upright orientation, the frame capable of being tipped on its side and in this orientation facilitating transport of the machine to a site where it is required by means of wheels on the frame.

Each of these features is an innovation which can be applied to meet one of the needs which have been identified in this field. While the invention is described in this description and specified in the claims with reference to water, it can be applied to other liquids and the scope of this patent extends to those applications.

In a preferred embodiment the arms of the head are downwardly depending and together with the conduit form a siphon.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheels on the frame which facilitate transport comprise the collection ring and the water storage means, which are of circular form, so that in the upright orientation they can receive water being lifted and/or moved by the machine, the circular ring and storage means being of diameter larger than the frame size, so that when tipped on its side the frame can be rolled on the circular ring and storage means as wheels. Although the storage means is adapted to hold and store water while the frame is in an upright position and the ring can be adapted also to store water while the frame is in an upright position, the ring will not hold water while the frame is tipped on its side. The storage means could be adapted to hold water while the frame is tipped on its side and so allow transporting of water, however, preferably the storage means

is rather adapted to provide a convenient holder for a hose which extends the conduit down to a datum level, by coiling the hose into the storage means when not in use.

For convenience the the storage means will also be referred to simply as a tank.

Preferably the ring and tank of circular form are joined by conduits which allow water in the ring to be transferred to the tank.

The mechanical drive train is in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention adapted to facilitate and transmit human power, by means of hand operable cranks and/or pedals operated by feet, preferably allowing more than one person simultaneously to work the drive train. However, the invention may be implemented using a motor or auxiliary motor which draws on a source of electrical or fossil fuel power or solar power.

The lifting means using downwardly and outwardly depending arms is preferably used and an angle at which the outlets direct the water issuing from the arms can be selected to have a circumferential component of direction in addition to a radial component of direction, preferably in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the arms, in use. The angle of discharge may be calculated in accordance with a number of parameters including the rate of rotation and the configuration of the ring.

The closure means are preferably in the form of boots which are hinged to the arms and spring loaded to be closed but to open under centrifugal effect when the arms are rotated and the centripetal force provided by the spring is not sufficient to keep them closed.

Preferably the boots have inclined surfaces for the water to be directed at a required angle as has been described above. Thus the angle may be achieved not necessarily by an inclination of the outlet from the arms, but by angled surfaces of the boots.

In accordance with a preferred construction of the invention the downwardly and outwardly extending arms are equal in number on either side of the conduit and all discharge into outwardly and radially oppositely extending sparge pipes leading to the outlets which discharge into the ring.

Similarly, if the arms extend upwardly and outwardly, they may discharge into sparge pipes and thence into the ring.

THE DRAWINGS The invention will more fully described by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the drawings, in which:- figure 1 is a left side elevation of the machine in upright position, fitted for one person to pedal, figure 2 is a similar view of the machine, fitted for two persons to pedal, figure 3 is a similar view of the machine fitted for two persons to crank, figure 4 is a plan view of the machine fitted for one person to pedal, sectioning the frame 6 below the ring 4, figure 5 is view of the machine tipped on its side for transport, rolling on its circular tank and ring, figure 6 is a left side view of the machine, axially sectioned, figure 7 is a plan view of the rotating head of the machine, figure 8 is an enlarged view of the outlet and closure boot, showing the latter sectioned, figure 9 is an axially sectioned view of the upper bearing of the central conduit, figure 10 is an axially sectioned view of the lower bearing of the central conduit and seal, figure 11 is left side view of the machine discharging into a 210 litre drum, figure 12 is a similar view of the machine discharging into four 25 litre containers, figure 13 is a similar view of the machine discharging from the tank through hoses, and figure 14 shows a head which has upwardly reaching and outwardly extending arms.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in figures 1 to 5, the machine 1 comprises means 2 for lifting water, a mechanical l drive train 3 for transmitting human power, a collection ring 4 and tank 5, both of circular form capable of serving also as wheels for transporting the machine and a frame 6 which is capable of being tipped on its side for transport of the machine as shown in figure 5.

Referring also to figure 6, the means for lifting water comprises a central conduit 7 leading via a hose 8 and foot valve 10 from a datum level (not shown, which can be up to nine

metres below the machine) to a head 9 at an elevated level. The head is rotatable with the conduit 7 in upper bearing 11 and lower bearing 12 and has downwardly depending and outwardly extending arms 13 and 14 which form siphons and all lead into sparge pipes 80. Outlets 15 and 16 are provided at the distal ends of the sparge pipes with closure means 17 and 18 operable by centrifugal effect. The collecting ring 4 for water issuing from the outlets has capacity to hold some water while the frame is upright. In this example the outlets are of restricted size forming nozzles so that the water issues from the arms as jets. A filler cap 19 is provided at the top of the head 9 so that the pump may be primed by filling it with water, down to the foot valve 10 at the end of the hose. The foot valve is placed below the level from which the water is to be raised. A filter 20 is provided. The ring 4 has spigots 21 dispersed about its circumference, to which pipes 22 are connected, leading to spigots 23 in the tank 5. The ring 4 and tank 5 are integrally formed (by rotational moulding). The ring 4 has a shield 24 to reduce splashing onto the frame area. The conduit 7 is joined to the head 9 by means of a coupling 25 so that both rotate together.

The lower end of the conduit 7 is given a rotating joint 26 using a seal so that the conduit 7 may rotate while the elbow 27 which leads to the hose 8 does not rotate. Since the ring 4 into which the outlets discharge water as they are rotating is open around its inner surfaces, it can not hold water when the machine is tipped onto its side for transport. The tank 5 has outlets 28 to which hoses or pipes can be connected for delivery of water as may be required. The upper surface 29 of the tank is open in this embodiment so that again this tank can not contain water when the machine is tipped onto its side for transport. The frame 6 has tubes 30 and 31 with clamps 32 and 33 for attachment of pedaling means and hand cranking means. Storage for cranking handles is provided at 34. A pulley 39 is provided on the conduit 7 for rotation of the conduit to cause pumping action to take place.

Figures 1 and 4 show the mechanical drive train for transmitting human power generated by pedaling to the water lifting means. The train is on a frame 40 with foot piece 41 and saddle support 42 for the saddle 43. The frame 40 is inserted into the tube 30 and clamped tight by clamp 32, for use. Before clamping, a belt 44 is fitted around the pulley 39 and a drive pulley 45 which has pedals 46 for pedaling. A guide 47 assists in the direction change of the belt from the pulley 45 in the vertical plane to the pulley 39 in the horizontal plane. The belt is pulled tight by tensioning at the frame 40 and then tightening the clamp 32. In figure 4 the outlines of the ring 4 and tank 5 are shown in broken lines.

Figure 2 shows an extension of the pedaling mechanism to allow two persons to pedal in tandem for powering of the machine. A tubular frame 60 is inserted into the tube 40 and <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> clamped by clamp 52. An extension 61 of the frame 60 provides a foot for support. An extension 62 provides a support for a saddle 63. A pulley 64 is journalled on the frame 60 and has cranks 65 for pedaling, with a belt 66 transmitting effort to a pulley 57 which is on the same shaft as the pulley 45. Hence the power is transmitted via belt 44 to the pulley 39 on the conduit 7.

Figure 3 shows a cranking mechanism attached to the machine to allow transmitting power to the machine by hand cranking by two persons, one on each side of the cranks. A frame 50 is attached to the machine by insertion into the tube 31 of the machine frame, tightened by clamp 33. Frame 50 has an extension 51 which leads into the frame 40 of the pedaling <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> means, tightened by a clamp 52. A pulley 53 is journalled in structure 56 and has pedals 54 for hand cranking by means of handles 34 which must be attached. A belt 55 joins the pulley 53 to a pulley 57 which is on the same shaft as the pulley 45 so that the drive is transmitted by belt 44 to the pulley 39 on the conduit 7.

Figure 5 shows the machine tipped over and rolling on a ground surface 81.

Referring to figures 7 and 8, the head 9 has closure means 17 and 18 in the form of boots <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> 35 which are hinged at 36 and spring loaded at 37 with a spring rack 82 to allow adjustment of spring tension. The boots have deflection surfaces 38 which provide for deflection of water issuing from nozzles 15 and 16.

Figure 9 shows the conduit 7, coupling 25 and lower part of the head 9 in greater detail and in particular, the upper bearing 11.

Figure 10 shows the lower part of the conduit 7 with pulley 39, the lower bearing 12, the seal 26, the elbow 27 and the beginning of the hose 8.

Figure 11 shows a drum 70 being filled by three hoses 22 which have been disconnected from the tank and directed into the drum. The fourth hose 22'is out of use.

Figure 12 shows the hoses 22 directed into four containers 71.

Figure 14 shows the head with upwardly extending arms. The same reference numerals are used for the analogous parts of the embodiment with downwardly extending arms and reference and the descriptions thereof are referred to.

The operation of the machine can conveniently be described with reference to figures 1 and 6. The machine is primed by filling the hose 8, conduit 7 and head 9 with water at the filler cap 19. The conduit is rotated by pedaling on the drive train shown in figure 1. Centrifugal effect on the water in the arms 13 and 14 cause the water to be moved out of the outlets 15 and 16 and the boot closures 17 and 18 open under centrifugal effect as the centripetal force exerted by the springs 37 is insufficient to keep them closed. The water is discharged into the collecting ring 4. As the water moves outwardly along the arms 13 and 14 siphon effect raises water up the head 9 and conduit 7, drawing it via the hose 8 from a body of water in which the foot valve and filter are immersed. A lift of up to 9 metres has been achieved at 800 metres above sea level. The height to which the machine can lift water is adversely affected by higher altitude and improved by lower altitudes. For higher lifts in one place more than one machine can be used in sequence.

The tank 5 can be used, when the pump is not in use, for storage of the hose 8 by coiling the hose into the tank; up to 15 metres of hose can be stored in this way.