AP571A

AP571A - A fufu Pounding machine

Info

Publication number: AP571A
Application number: APAP/P/1994/000664A
Authority: AP
Inventors: Kwadho Ohemeng Kessey; Roger Eliezer Dodoo; Lawrence Emmanuel Ansong
Original assignee: Kwadho Ohemeng Kessey; Roger Eliezer Dodoo; Lawrence Emmanuel Ansong
Priority date: 1994-06-28
Filing date: 1994-06-28
Publication date: 1996-12-06
Also published as: AP9400664A0

Abstract

The KEDOAN Fufu Pounder is capable of pounding the four basic foodstuffs (plantain, cassava, yam and cocoyam) and their combination. It produces the right texture of Fufu and without any lumps whatsoever over a process cycle of approximately three minutes to serve about three people of normal appetite for Fufu.

Description

APPLICANTS CONTINUED

2. ROGER ELIEZER DODOO 3. LAWRENCE EMMANUEL ANSONG

All of:Departaent of Mechanical Engineering

UST, KUMASI

GHANA

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ABSTRACT

This paper is presented in support of an application submitted by Prof. K.O.Kessey, Mr. RE.Dodoo and Dr.L.E.Ansong, of the University of Science and Technology. Kumasi, Ghana, for the patenting of their invention for a Fufu Pounding Machine.

The paper describes the traditional process of preparing Fufu by cooking one of four basic foodstuffs (yam, cocoyam, plantain and cassava) and pounding it in a mortar by means of a pestle accompanied by mixing, turning and watering the stuff by hand to produce the desirable texture. The various types of mortar and the pestle in use are also described.

It is pointed out in the paper that the indigenous process has many obvious drawbacks or objections including: undue expenditure of human energy accompanied by profuse sweating by the pounder, high risk of contamination, lade of operational safety; and loss of foodstuff through spillage. To circumvent these drawbacks, the paper notes that a few mechanical devices have been designed and highlights these devices.

In the paper, considerable coverage is given naturally to the Machine, the KEDOAN, an acronym coined after the names of the three inventors of the new Fufu Machine, KEssey, DOdoo and ANsong and the subject of this patent. Besides the superior mechanical attributes of the KEDOAN that are rightly claimed by virtue of the well co-ordinated functions of the various components of this device, the remarkable feat of pounding, mixing or turning and watering the foodstuff to produce Fufu from yam or plantain or cocoyam or cassava or their combination in UNDER THREE MINUTES places this invention in an unequal class.

2. CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION

A few innovations based on various design principles have evolved in an attempt to mechanise the preparation of Fufu. Hence, two grades of machines have been designed in the past and apparently tried. At the lower grade is the machine-assisted unit in which only the human energy expended in pounding Fufu is mechanised; the concomitant turning and mixing of the foodstuff and application of water to promote the right texture or consistency are achieved in the usual manner by means of the human hand in this unit. Having a little more complexity is the slightly higher grade machine which is. designed to eliminate human intervention in almost all the areas of Fufu preparation except watering; hence, minimal human energy is required in this unit.

In the first grade is found the connecting rod and crank arrangement which actuates the reciprocating movement of the pestle that does the pounding of the foodstuff gathered in a mortar. In the second grade are shredders/extruders. In this arrangement a screw transporter carries the shredded carbohydrate through a conical cage and in the course of its transport, the carbohydrate is mashed and eventually forced through an orifice, thus providing a measure of pounding and mixing or turning.

Reports on trials with these units indicate that no appreciable successes have been achieved by means of these contraptions. It is apparent that the best results with these units are produced on yam, even though the final product is reported to have consistency or

AP/P/ 9 4 / 0 06 6 4 plasticity that is noticeably different from Fufii as enjoyed in Ghana and most other West African countries like the Togo and Ivory Coast. It is noteworthy that an attempt has also been made to produce Fufu by the passage of the carbohydrate into direct contact with a gear train; its partial success is also with yam only.

Mention should also be made of the marketing of instant powders of carbohydrates from which Fufu may be prepared by simple mixing in water and kneading while heat is applied to the receptacle. For most of these powders, potato starch is invariably used as the binder. The final product from these mixes lacks the plasticity known for Ghanaian Fufu.

3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

L Description of the Prior Art

Fufu is a typical Ghanaian meal that is prepared by pounding some staple foodstuff or a combination of foodstufis, namely yam, plantain, cocoyam and cassava. It is eaten together with one of various soups at a time, such as palm or ground-nut or light soup. Therefore, a dish of Fufii consists of the pounded foodstuff immersed in a bowl of soup and it is consumed in lumps dipped into the soup.

At one time, this dish constituted the main meal of probably only a few ethnic groups in Ghana, notably the Ashantis, Brong Ahafos, Gas and Ewes. However, its popularity grew over the years presumably as a result of migration within the country and so Fufu has become a favourite dish in many homes throughout the country. It is taken at least once a week by most ethnic groups except the originating groups who relish it daily.

Fufu is also popular in certain areas of Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Togo even though the combinations of foodstuffs and soups differ from country to country. Indeed, Fufu can be traced to various countries in the West African Region.

Taken together with the appropriate soup, Fufu is considered to be very nutritious and palatable. However, most of the nutritional values are contained in the soup that goes with it. Consequently, the soup is usually prepared very elaborately with a conglomeration of several vegetables, meat (bush and domesticated) and fish or poultry.

ii. Preparation Of Fufu

Foodstuffs

As mentioned above, Fufu may be prepared from a number of foodstuffs, mainly yam, cocoyam, plantain and cassava. Any of these foodstuffs may be pounded alone to yield the required Fufu, which is then called after the name of the particular foodstuff, such as Yam Fufii, etc. Otherwise, each of the first three foodstuffs may be combined with cassava in varying ratios depending upon the degree of plasticity required to meet one's taste. Such combinations of base foodstuff with cassava appear to be greatly preferred by most people to the single-base Fufii in view of the high degree of plasticity that is attainable with the cassava combination. Thus, for most connoisseurs of Ghanaian Fufu, plasticity appears to be a most desirable requirement of the texture of Fufii, unlike the Nigerians and Togolese

AP.00571 who prepare Fufu with the single base, mostly yam, and consequently the resulting Fufu is not as plastic as the Ghanaian Fufu.

Processing

The process of Fufu preparation begins by cooking the desired foodstuffs) in boiling water for a while to a suitable degree of softness in order to remove the rawness in fresh foodstufls. For cassava in particular, cooking removes the cyanide contained in it. The cooked foodstuff is generally dried in the open air to some extent and then fed gradually in small amounts into a mortar to be pounded by means of the reciprocating motion of a pestle. Since straight pounding alone does not produce the desirable texture of the mashed stuff the reciprocating motion of the pestle is accompanied by an appropriate mixing and turning process as well as intermittent watering. In the Ashanti and some coastal areas of Ghana, the mixing and turning process is achieved by hand. On the other hand, in the Volta and Northern regions, the required tuming/mixing action depends on the relative angle between the pestle and mortar as well as the pounding action which tends to scoop up the material. Thus, in these regions where manual turning of the stuff is eliminated, a suitable mortar is employed, which can be deftly manipulated by means of the pestle to produce mixing/tuming of the stuff without any direct human intervention in the turning process.

Watering is by hand. In the case where mixing/tuming is done manually, the same hand applies the water at appropriate intervals bi the second situation which is without hand mixing, water is introduced externally at intervals by hand or by means of a cup of water gradually sprinkled into the mortar.

Texture

The desirable characteristics of the texture of Fufu appear to be mainly smoothness, homogeneity and plasticity. The indigenous processes of cooking, drying, gradually feeding, pounding, watering and kneading the material in that sequence are each calculated to produce these characteristics in varying degrees. Hence, for example, cooking and gradual feeding of the foodstuff into the mortar ensure that the stuff is properly mashed to minimise losses. Again, turning obviously results in a homogeneous texture. In addition, hard lumps are quickly removed during pounding by admirable dexterity of the hand to make the Fufu smooth and homogeneous on finish.

iii. Indigenous Pounding Units

The indigenous approach to the production of the right consistency of Fufu is to use a mortar and a pestle to pound the foodstuff; the mortar houses the foodstuff and the pestle smashes it by pounding (see Fig. 1).

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r.

The Mortar

The mortar is a hollow block carved from two types of wood known as Kusia and

Danta”. The cavity is given a smooth finish to make it safe for the bare fingers that are

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FIG. V. TYPICAL INDIGENOUS FUFU POUNDING UNIT

AP · Ο Ο 5 7 1 applied to turn the foodstuff in some instances. There are basically two types of mortar, namely, the shallow broad mortar and the deep narrow one (see Fig.2, a and b). The shallow broad mortar is found in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, and the de^g narrow mortar in the Volta and Northern Regions. **

It is interesting to note that the structural differences between the two models are due to the fact that the Ashanti/Brong Ahafo shallow broad mortar necessitates the turning of the foodstuff by human hand since mere pounding in this type of mortar hardly turns the medium over. Hence its broadness is meant to allow room for the hand to manoeuvre. No human hand is needed to turn the medium in the Northem/Volta narrow version and as such only one person is required for the entire process of pounding. Its narrowness allows enough room for only the medium and pestle. Therefore, the shallow broad mortar demands two people for Fufu processing, one to pound the foodstuff and the other to turn it. However, for domestic applications of a small mortar, one person can perform the two functions of pounding with one hand and turning with the other. In any case, the use of either mortar requires a lot of skill or dexterity.

It is also noteworthy that the deep narrow mortar has its cavity tapering downward and ending with a circular arc at the bottom. Dropping the pestle to touch any part of the bottom arc causes the mortar to lose considerable balance. This instability or mechanical imbalance is indeed intentional and turns out to be very advantageous. Again, owing to the narrowness and the bottom am of the Northem/Brong Ahafo model, the pestle tends to * force the uppermost layer of foodstuff down to the bottom and consequently to bring the lower layer up. Thus, when the deep shallow mortar is in use, its unique imbalance and the ; displacement of the lower material by the upper combine to bring about the desired turning of the foodstuff Indeed, the tendency for the pestle to cause mixing by simple impact with the foodstuff and the mortar is veiy pronounced and highly noticeable at the beginning of the pounding process when chopped pieces of the foodstuff are introduced into the mortar. This turning effect reduces slightly towards the completion of the pounding. However, the skill or dexterity of the pounder as evidenced by his/her judgement in pointing the pestle at

C the right angle and in the right direction contributes immensely in maintaining proper mixing even towards the end of the pounding process when the stuff is quite sticky.

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The Ashanti/Brong Ahafo model does not lend itself to such manoeuvrability of pestle and mortar to cause medium turning on the impact of the pestle and so the human hand is required to turn the foodstuff in tandem with the pounder. Unusual skill or dexterity is however required by both the pounder and the kneader in co-ordinating their actions so that the pestle does not smash the fingers of the turner instead of the foodstuff

The design of these mortars clearly demonstrates the ingenuity of African craftsmanship. Here, the remarkable imagination of the designer is highly in evidence. He not only anticipates but also literally accommodates the different approaches to or techniques of Fufu pounding, thus underscoring the engineering principle of relating design to usage or function in such a mundane device as a mortar.

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6.

MORTAR

Main body

FIG. 2' TYPES OF MORTAR

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a.

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b.

c.

d.

o r· e.

f

The Pestle

The pestle is a long, slender wooden stick (vide Fig.3a and b) shaped out of a kind of wcx^i called woma by which the stick is called in the Ashanti language. Measuring between '2^ and 3m, the pestle has a hairlike brush, formed like mushroom, at the working end. This working end is obtained by hitting the end against a hard rigid surface such as that of a stone until it loosens into longitudinal fibres which curve outward to give it the mushroom shape (vide Fig. 3c). The fibres of a good pestle are so strong and flexible that they are not easily severed from the pestle until after a long use. The hairlike mushroom end provides a cushioning effect during mashing and consequently minimises the wear on or damage to the mortar in spite of frequent and rapid impact by the pestle and also suppresses spillage or flying of the foodstuff. And so, while the working end of the pestle requires periodic repair by cutting and reproduction, a good mortar lasts for a very long time.

The design of the pestle, like that of the mortar, underpins the engineering considerations that are brought to play by the apparently unlettered African designer in his specific task, as

V mentioned above.

iv. Drawbacks of the Indigenous Units

The main objections to the indigenous units are as follows:

Undue expenditure of human energy accompanied by profuse sweating by the pounder,

Tardiness in processing the foodstuff into Fufu;

The high risk of contamination;

Lack of operational safety in view of the possibility of inadvertent smashing of the turner's fingers due to poor co-ordination;

Loss of foodstuff through frequent spillage which is highly likely, particularly in the Ashanti/Brong Ahafo model;

High noise and vibrative forces induced into its surroundings.

v. Mechanical Design Objectives

The drawbacks of the indigenous units enumerated above call for a mechanical design that will circumvent them without introducing any undesirable effects. Hence, the mechanical design should meet the following requirements in addition to those implied in the shortcomings of the indigenous units:

a. Suitability for pounding flawlessly all the four popular foodstuffs;

b. Construction with neither toxic nor corrosive materials;

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8.

55' ' Λ? Λ <*·· -

FIG. 3: PRODUCTION OF

THE PESTLE

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c. Ready availability of the source of power,

d. Reduction in noise level and vibrative forces induced into its surroundings;

e. Attainment of reduced duration of Fufii preparation.

4. THE KEDOAN, THE NEW INVENTION

Description of Drawings

The following parts are arranged in specific and functional relationship to make up the

assembly of the machine.
1.	Hopper	12.	Rubber Damper
2.	Bowl	13.	Frame-Work
3.	Gate	14.	Sensor Module
4.	Pounder	15.	Hand Switch
5.	Driven Pulley	16.	Rubber Damper
6.	Shaft.	17.	Water Reservoir
7.	Anti-Friction Bearings	18.	Control Valve
8.	Friction Belt	19.	Control Handle
9.	Driver Pulley	20.	Water Circuit
10.	Electric Motor	21.	Spray Heads
11.	Base	22.	Cover.

The aforementioned parts are as shown in Rg.4

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

W L Functions of Main Parts

O The KEDOAN is a Fufii Pounder named after its three inventors, Kessey, Dodoo and

Ansong, of the University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. It is simple in design, and its parts perform well-known basic functions as follows:

The cooked foodstuff (usually a carbohydrate) is fed into the hopper⁰' and is prevented from entering the bowl® by the gate® See Fig.4.

The pounding vane^<4), simply called pounder, is rotated by means of a driven pulley⁰’ which is connected to the pounder through a vertically mounted shaft® installed in appropriate bearings®. This pulley is in turn driven through a friction belt® by the driver pulley® coupled to the electric motor⁰⁰*, the main source of power.

The base⁰⁰, which carries the bowl, rests on rubber dampers⁰²* embedded on top of the frame-work*ⁱ³⁾. The dampers are provided to reduce vibrations transmitted from the driver pulley and its driven members as well as minimise vibrations due to the pounder and pounding action of the bowl.

AP/P/ 9 A / 0 0 6 6 4

10.

A sensor¹¹⁴* is attached to the bowl to trip off the electric motor at the appropriate time. The electric motor is switched on by means on the hand switch⁰⁵*.

Water is added to the stuff by releasing water through the spray head⁰¹’ when the control handle⁰⁹* is manipulated to open the control valve⁰’*. Water from the Reservoir⁰⁷* flows across the opening into the water circuit⁰⁰* ,thus reaching the spray heads.

ii. The Pounding Process

Prior to initiation of the pounding process, the foodstuff is first kept in the right quantity in the hopper with the gate in a closed or idle position. Consequently, the motor is started with the bowl completely empty and so the moving parts of the KEDOAN Fufu Pounder, such as the pounder and pulleys, begin their runs under no-load condition. While the machine is in operation with all the parts moving, the operator then draws the gate outward to create an opening which permits the foodstuff to drop steadily from the hopper by its own weight into the bowl, thereby hitting the rotating pounder on the top and sides.

This first contact between the pounder and carbohydrate produces two immediate effects. The carbohydrate is first disintegrated into particles or mashed stuff in an essentially pulverising action by the pounder. The second effect is random propulsion of the roughly mashed stuff in several directions by the pounder causing further pounding of the stuff against the bowl and indeed against parts of the pounder itself in an apparent boomerang fashion, thus yielding a smooth powdered stuff The interaction between the bat and ball in the game of baseball or cricket probably provides a good analogy to the propulsion/smashing situation described above except that the ball is too hard for the bat to pulverise but only to propel.

Continuous propulsion of the smooth powdered stuff by the pounder causes noddles to form, initially in a rather chaotic movement until a little later when particles of the powdery foodstuff glue together and finally an orderly ball is formed, indicating the end of the pounding process. Water for softening and keeping the consistency right is added through the spray heads.

During the closing stage of ball formation more pronounced vibratory and impulsive forces are employed to actuate the sensor attached to the bowl to trip off the electric motor and its drive and so end the pounding process. The pounded Fufu is then retrieved manually from the bowl by means of a hand spatula.

iii. The Pounding Vane

The pounding vane, simply called the pounder, is obviously the most crucial part of the

KEDOAN Fufu Pounder and it turns out to be the most demanding of innovativeness and imagination. In particular, its shape and clearance away from the bowl should be just right and within a certain tolerance for effective pounding action on all foodstuffs popularly used for Fufu processing in Ghana.(vide Table 1).

12.

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To achieve the noddle formation, the vertical slope on the pounder (vide Fig.5) acts as a pump to push the mashed carbohydrate above its own height. Again, the top edge of the pounder conglomerates the mashed foodstuff against the side of the bowl to achieve tl£ required texture (i.e. consistency, softness and smoothness) or plasticity. ¹

Claims

6. CLAIMS WITH THE KEDOAN

The KEDOAN is a one link rotary machine having the simplest of designs and achieving the following mechanical operations:

1. The Pounding Vane*^{4 * *}’ (See Fig. 4) is multi-sided and has multi-faceted functions as described below (See Fig.5)

i. Using the momentum of its own body weight, it DISINTEGRATES the carbohydrate fed from the hopper through the feeding gate into particles.

ii. Its Face marked (B) TEARS and SHEARS the particles into minute flakes and powder.

iii. Its Face marked (C), in conjunction with the Base*¹¹’, with which the right clearance must be established, then GRINDS or MASHES the minute pieces to wet powder and so starts the formation of NODDLES in which * the particles are then bonded together.

iv. Its Face marked (A) PUMPS/PUSHES the noddles above the height of the vane whilst bringing them together against the bowl®.

v. Its Face marked (E) and Edge (E) SPIN and TRANSPORT the noddles along its entire length, thereby COLLECTING the noddles into a BALL.

v. Its Edge marked (F) HITS and THROWS the ball against the side of the bowl to achieve the required texture (i.e. consistency, softness and smoothness) or plasticity.

All the causes and effects enumerated above obviously occur simultaneously and are indeed integrated but not distinct.
2. The Sensor module^(l4) attached to the bowl is actuated by means of the pronounced vibratory and impulsive forces generated during the closing stages of pounding to TRIP OFF the electric motor tnd its drive and so END the pounding process.
3. The Damper*¹²⁾ ISOLATES the vibratory forces from reaching the framework’¹³’ and Damper*¹⁴’ ISOLATES the sum total of vibratory forces from affecting its surroundings
4. The most hygienic way of water administration is employed by STORING water in the Reservoir*¹⁷’. The water is SPRAYED through the Spraying heads*²¹’ by operator pressing the control handle*¹⁹’ to open the control valve*¹⁸⁾ to enable the £9900/96 /d/dV

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ρ * water to reach the Spraying heads. The water therefore has no direct contact with the operator, thus preventing contamination inherent and objectionable in the indigenous method of watering by hand. This system also allows just the right amount of water to be used in controlling the texture of Fufu, particularly its softness.
5. The feeding of carbohydrate into the bowl is by DISCHARGING the content of the Hoppe?⁰ steadily IN ONE LOT through the opening created by drawing the Gate^P) manually.
6. The machine is able to produce Fufu within 1/20 or 5 percent of the known pounding time as depicted in the attached photographs taken during trial runs of the prototype which produced Fufu in TWO (2) MINUTES.
7. The machine PRODUCES FLAWLESS (i.e. right texture, plasticity and without ' lumps or pebbles) pounding of all FOUR carbohydrates (cassava, yam, plantain, cocoyam) individually or their COMBINATION in either HOT or COLD state»..,
8. The machine ACHIEVES easily all the consistencies of Fufu such as hard, medium, soft textures by the normal SETTING OF THE POUNDING VANE as well as the extra soft texture by the control of clearance between the face marked (D) and the base⁰⁰.
9. The machine produces Fufu in a SINGLE PASS and NO RECYCLING is needed.
10. An adaptable and flexible drive system is employed such that the electric motor*¹⁰¹used on the prototype can be replaced for the machine to be propelled by either the HAND or LEG through appropriate gear box, thus extending its scope of USAGE TO BOTH URBAN AND RURAL DWELLERS.

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11. STALLING and SLIPPAGE of the friction drive are used to PROTECT the f electric motor or to PREVENT the hand or leg from receiving sudden shock loads that could be harmful when a hand- or leg- propelled gear box is used.
12. The Bowl⁽²⁾ can be constructed from one material such as wood, aluminium and stainless steel.
13. The Pounding Vane⁽⁴⁾ is manufactured from any of two local wood species, KUSIA or DANTA but can be manufactured in aluminium or stainless steel
14. The machine can be used for COMMERCIAL purposes as in catering houses, hotels and Chop Bars or as a pure DOMESTIC appliance.
15.

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

The KEDOAN Fufii Pounder is capable of pounding the four basic foodstuffs (plantain, cassava, yam and cocoyam) and their combination. It produces the right texture of Fufu and without any lumps whatsoever over a process cycle of approximately three minutes serve about three people of normal appetite for Fufu.

The current version is motorised. However, conversions and modifications are in a well advanced stage of development for manual operation in a rural setting where electricity may not be available. Hence, the target is to develop the KEDOAN for both rural and urban as well as domestic and commercial use. In these research and developmental efforts, the basic concepts as depicted in Figs.4 and 5 will remain unchanged. The motor as the source of power will only be replaced by a hand- or leg-propelled gear train for rural application, for commercial use, the configuration will essentially be enlarged but the motor retained.

A few photographs, taken during actual trial runs, are attached to illustrate some key stages in the processing of Fufu with the new invention and so demonstrate in a small way the tremendous capabilities of the KEDOAN

To prepare Ghanaian Fufii without any visible flaws in less than three minutes compared to the usual period of twenty minutes or more required by the indigenous technology is no mean achievement. This is unbeaten and unequalled by any of the devices encountered for pounding Fufu. Indeed, this amazing feat is believed to be hitherto unattainable until the * impending advent of the KEDOAN in spite of its unsurpassed simplicity.

ALL THIS IS ACHIEVED ONLY BY PRESSING TWO BUTTONS TO START AND THEN WATER THE MACHINE!