Abstract:
A rotary machine includes a housing divided into a first stationary portion and a second rotational portion. The second rotational portion is supported for rotation with respect to the stationary portion about an axis of the housing. The first and second portions of the housing cooperate to define a generally toroidal passage which is coaxial with the housing axis. A first piston and a second piston are disposed in the passage. Each piston has an interconnection mechanism for selectively interconnecting the piston to either the stationary portion or the rotational portion.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention is for a machine such as an internal combustion engine or a compressor that utilizes a special torus-shaped housing. The operation of the machine is made possible by using half of the torus as a rotor and by employing unique, specially designed pistons to drive the rotor. The overall design makes it possible to eliminate the intake and exhaust valves, crankshafts, overhead cams, and timing chains found in conventional internal combustion engines and compressors.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Conventional devices utilizing pistons and crankshafts, such as internal combustion engines and compressors present challenges to the designer. The reciprocating motion of the pistons makes it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a perfectly balanced engine. Valves require maintenance. Air-cooling of an engine is preferable to water-cooling.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention provides several embodiments of a rotary machine, and a method for compressing and expanding a gas. One embodiment of a rotary machine includes a housing divided into a first stationary portion and a second rotational portion. The second rotational portion is supported for rotation with respect to the stationary portion about an axis of the housing. The first and second portions of the housing cooperate to define a generally toroidal passage which is coaxial with the housing axis. A first piston and a second piston are disposed in the passage. Each piston has an interconnection mechanism for selectively interconnecting the piston to either the stationary portion or the rotational portion of the housing.  
         [0004]     Since it will be understood that the devices that will be described herein may be utilized for similar machines, such as engines and compressors, the description that follows will be for internal combustion engines only, with the understanding that it applies to similar devices as well.  
         [0005]     Since design features such as mounting means, inlet and exhaust ductwork, bearings, shafts, and seals vary widely, depending on the intended application of the device, the drawings shown herein are used only to describe the basic elements of the engine.  
         [0006]     Further, because of the complexity of the design, sectional drawings may not show every component that actually makes up the section. In such cases, the description of the drawing will indicate which components of the total are being illustrated.  
         [0007]     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent when the following description is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of one embodiment of an engine of the present invention having toroidal separation that is at right angles to the engine shaft;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a sectional drawing of the engine showing the body of the engine;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is also a section of the engine showing other components that make up the engine;  
         [0011]      FIGS. 4, 5 , and  6  are detailed views of the special pistons that are a preferred part of the engine of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0012]      FIGS. 7, 8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 , and  12  are cut-away views of an embodiment of an engine according to the invention, illustrating the engine cycles;  
         [0013]      FIG. 13  is a sectional drawing showing a second embodiment of an engine according to the invention, having toroidal separation parallel to the engine shaft;  
         [0014]      FIG. 14  is a cross-section drawing of one torus shape showing the section detailed in the large-scale  FIG. 17 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 15  is a cross-section drawing of a second torus shape showing the section detailed in the large-scale  FIG. 18 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 16  is a cross-section drawing of a torus showing the section detailed in  FIG. 19 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 17  details one means of separating the torus halves and providing a separate seal;  
         [0018]      FIG. 18  details another means of separating the torus halves and providing a seal;  
         [0019]      FIG. 19  details yet another means of separating the torus halves and providing a seal;  
         [0020]      FIG. 20  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the torus that includes the combustion chamber; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 21  is cross-sectional view of the torus that shows certain special features. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0000]     General Description of the Torus  
         [0022]     Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various drawings to designate corresponding parts, and more particularly to  FIG. 1 : The elevation view of the toroidal engine shows the preferred design in which there are two air or air/gas inlet ducts al and two exhaust ducts a 2  as well as two combustion chambers a 3 . Some engine components, such as cooling air directional ducts and engine mounting means, are not shown.  
         [0023]     Referring to cross-sectional view  FIG. 2 : It will be noted that the torus consists of two halves, divided at right-angles to the engine shaft. As shown, the left half  12  is the stationary half and the right half  13  rotates. The tube of the torus  8  contains the pistons. The ports  15  shown in the torus could be for combustion air inlet al or for exhaust gas outlet  2 . The reason for splitting the ports  15  will be explained later.  
         [0024]     The walls of the torus are shown as  6  and  7 . The housing of one combustion chamber  3  is shown, together with a spark plug  4  and the optional fuel injector  5 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows the rotating half of the torus  13  positioned relative to the stationary half of the torus  12  by the rotating shaft  20 . Two bearings  21  and  23  are embedded in the housing  22  which is part of the end bell  25 . The rotating half of the torus  13  is supported by the end bell  26  and loosely keyed to the shaft  20 . The spring  27 , backed by the washer  28  and the adjusting nut  29 , causes the rotor  13  to press against the stator  12  at some controlled pressure. The edges of the rotor  13  that ride against the edges of the stator  12 , in the preferred design, are lined with an anti-friction, lubricated metal, as will be described later.  
         [0026]     Although a coil spring  27  is used to illustrate one means of applying pressure between the rotor  13  and the stator  12 , it will be obvious that other means may be employed to accomplish the same function. Another spring-type device that might be used is a Belleville washer. A means of providing adjustable pressure while the engine is running would be the utilization of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder.  
         [0000]     Design and Operation of the Pistons  
         [0027]     The essence of the operation of the toroidal engine described herein is the provision of a means to enable any particular piston to convert from a dynamic state to a static state, and vice versa, almost instantly.  
         [0028]     Consider the case of two spheres of equal size and weight. One sphere is stopped and the other sphere is moving. The resting sphere is directly in the path of the moving sphere. When the moving sphere strikes the static sphere the sphere that had been stopped almost instantly moves at the velocity of the sphere that struck it. The sphere that struck the standing sphere stops, almost instantly. Thus, it can be said that one sphere changes from a static state to a dynamic state and the other sphere changes from a dynamic state to a static state.  
         [0029]     The pistons used in the torus engine described herein are required to start and stop almost instantly, for reasons that will be described later. A complication in the design of the pistons is the fact that the moving pistons must be connected to the rotating half of the torus in order to drive the rotor and the static pistons must be connected to the static portion of the torus for reasons that will be explained later.  
         [0030]     Referring now to  FIG. 4  which is a top view of a piston: As shown in the drawing, the piston is moving to the right. The stator half of the torus  12  is shown in phantom view above the piston, and the rotor portion of the torus  13  is shown in phantom view below the piston. The body of the piston  75  is curved to fit the shape of the torus. There is a left plunger plate  76  and a right plunger plate  77 . The two plunger plates  76  and  77  are connected by means of the curved rods  78  and  79  and by the slider plate  80 . At the center of the piston are the pins  82  and  83  that lock the piston to the torus stator  12  or rotor  13 . Two piston rings  81  and  86  are shown.  
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the piston showing slider plate  80  and the pin control mechanism  84 , without showing the pins  82  or  83  themselves.  FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the piston  75  together with the surrounding torus  12  and  13 , shown in phantom.  
         [0032]     Looking at  FIG. 4 : If the left-hand plunger plate  76  is pushed and moved to the right while the piston remains stationary, the left-hand plunger rod  78  and the right-hand plunger rod  79  will be moved to the right and plunger plate  77  will be moved away from the main body of the piston  75 .  
         [0033]     As the rods  78  and  79  move to the right, the movement of the slider plate  80  pushing on the round bar  85  of the pin control mechanism  84  causes the pin control mechanism  84  and the pins  82  and  83  to move down, in the view shown in  FIG. 4 . The result of this movement is that the pin  83  will be extended downward into a slot in the rotor  13  and the pin  82  will be retracted from a slot in the stator  12 . The reverse is true when the plunger rods  78  and  79  are moved to the left.  
         [0034]     Thus, the rule is: A piston that is impinged on from behind is caused to unlock from the stator  12  and to lock on to the rotor  13  of the torus; likewise, a piston that impinges on the plunger plate of the piston ahead of it is caused to be unlocked from the rotor  13  and to be locked to the stator  12  of the torus.  
         [0035]     The drawings of the piston show a design for a toroidal engine that is divided at right-angles to the engine shaft. It will be obvious that for a toroidal engine that is divided parallel to the engine shaft, the pin control mechanism  84  would be rotated 90 degrees from the position shown.  
         [0036]     It should be understood that the ratio of piston length to piston diameter shown in  FIG. 4  and the number and location of the piston rings  81  and  86  were selected only for illustration purposes and the particular design shown is not intended to suggest any particular piston length/diameter ratio or piston ring number or location.  
         [0037]     As will be clear to those of skill in the art, the interconnection of the pistons with the housing portions may be accomplished in a variety of ways other than the illustrated and described approach.  
         [0000]     Piston Plungers  
         [0038]     In describing the mechanism for causing the pistons to start and stop, above, the words “impinge” and “impinged” were used in referring to the plunger plates. However, the words “impinge” and “impinged” should not be taken literally.  
         [0039]     Note that the plunger plates  76  and  77  are almost the full diameter of the inside of the torus. Further, the faces of the plunger plates  76  and  77  will be machined or ground to a fine finish. The combination of the large diameter and the smooth finish of the plunger plates  77  and  78  has two effects:  
         [0040]     1. When a leading plunger plate  77  of one piston meets a trailing plunger plate  78  of another piston there will always be gas or air between the two plates  77  and  78 . The velocity of the moving piston toward the static piston is so great that a pressure builds up between the two plunger plates  77  and  78 . This compressed air or gas between the plates prevents the actual touching of the two plunger plates  77  and  78 .  
         [0041]     2. In cases where the velocity of the rotor is very low, such as when the engine is being started, the fine finish of the two plunger plates  77  and  78  will prevent the touching of the two plates; i.e., there will always be a thin layer of gas or air between the surfaces of the two plates. Further, there will be a film of lubricating oil on the plunger plates that will assist in the prevention of metal-to-metal contact of the two plunger plates  76  and  77 .  
         [0042]     It should be noted that as one plunger plate of one piston—say, a trailing plate  76 —is pushed forward by the leading plate  77  of another piston, neither the trailing plate  76  nor the leading plate  77  preferably ever actually touches its respective piston. The reason for this is that the front piston will be connected to the rotor  13  and disconnected from the stator  91  before the trailing plunger plate  76  actually touches the rear piston  76 .  
         [0043]     In order to illustrate the operation of the piston plunger plates and piston pins, one particular design has been described and illustrated. There can be, however, many designs of such a piston/plunger plate/locking pin mechanism and this patent is not limited to any particular design of the piston control mechanism.  
         [0000]     Operation of the Engine  
         [0044]      FIG. 7  through  FIG. 12  shows the operation of a typical engine. It should be understood that the drawings are intended to illustrate the components that are a part of the engine cycle and that the drawings are not intended to be totally accurate in all facets.  
         [0045]     The following description assumes a fuel-injection engine. Reference will be made to combustion air being pulled into the engine. It should be understood that the engine could be carbureted and that a mixture of combustion air and vaporized fuel could be pulled into the engine in place of combustion air only.  
         [0046]     For the purpose of the illustration, the torus is assumed to be split parallel to the engine shaft; i.e., the inside ring  13  represents the rotating half of the torus.  
         [0047]     The drawings show six pistons, two air inlet ducts  1 , two exhaust gas outlets  2  and two combustion chambers  3 . Each combustion chamber  3  is equipped with a fuel injector  5  and spark plug  4 . The engine could be designed to operate with half the components listed above but with some loss in balance and temperature uniformity.  
         [0048]     The rotor  13  is turning clockwise, as shown by the arrows.  
         [0049]     In  FIG. 7 , pistons  110 ,  111 ,  113 , and  114  are pinned to slots in the stator  91 , as illustrated by the pins  83 . Pistons  112  and  115  are pinned to the rotor  13  as illustrated by the pins  82 . It should be noted that the pins  83  and  82  are shown extending through the stator  91  and rotor  13  only for the purposes of illustration.  
         [0050]     Fresh air that has been trapped between pistons  115  and  110  and between pistons  112  and  113  is being forced into the combustion chambers  3  via the ports  10  as the pistons  115  and  110  are driven by the rotor  13 . The combustion chambers  3  are sized so that the air being forced into the chambers  3  will be compressed to some desired value.  
         [0051]     While the trapped air is being forced into the combustion chambers  3  as described above, fresh air is also being pulled into the torus via the air inlets  1  by the movement of the pistons  115  and  112 .  
         [0052]     In  FIG. 8 , the front plunger plates  77  of pistons  115  and  112  have reached the rear plunger plates  76  of pistons  110  and  113 , respectively. Compression of the air in the combustion chambers  3  is complete.  
         [0053]      FIG. 9  shows the results when rotating pistons meet static pistons and the former static pistons begin rotating. In all cases, the front plunger plate  77  is pushed back (counterclockwise) and the rear plunger plate  76  of the forward piston is pushed forward (clockwise). As the front plunger plates  77  of pistons  115  and  112  are moved back by contacting the rear plunger plates  76  of pistons  110  and  113 , the locking pins  83  of pistons  112  and  115  are moved to lock those pistons to the stator slots (rather than to the rotor); the locking pins  82  of pistons  110  and  113  are moved to lock those pistons to the rotor (rather than the stator).  
         [0054]     As pistons  110  and  113  move with the rotor  13 , fuel is injected into the combustion chambers  3  via the injectors  5 . The spark plugs  4  begin firing. Hot pressurized combustion gases flow from the combustion chambers  3  to the torus via the passages  11 .  
         [0055]     Old exhaust gas between pistons  110  and  111  and between piston  113  and  114  are driven out of the torus via the exhaust ports  2  as pistons  110  and  113  rotate. The pressure of the exhaust gases causes piston  111  and piston  114  to move slightly clockwise, to free the exhaust gas ducts  2 . The means by which pistons locked to the stator can move some pre-set distance as will be described later.  
         [0056]     In  FIG. 10  pistons  110  and  113  come into contact with pistons  111  and  114 . Fuel injection and spark ignition are turned off. All exhaust gases have been discharged.  
         [0057]      FIG. 11  shows that pistons  110  and  113  are now pinned to slots in the stator  12  while pistons  111  and  114  have become the driving pistons by being pinned to the rotor  13 . As the driving pistons  111  and  114  begin moving, carried by the inertia of the rotor, the low pressure between pistons  111  and  110  and between pistons  114  and  113  causes pistons  110  and  113  to move forward. The driving pistons  111  and  114  begin compressing the air between themselves and pistons  112  and  115 .  
         [0058]     In  FIG. 12  the motion of pistons  111  and  114  causes fresh air to be pulled into the torus via the ducts  1 . The low pressure between pistons  111  and  110  and between pistons  114  and  113  causes pistons  110  and  113  to begin rotating forward. The pressure of the air between pistons  111  and  112  and between pistons  114  and  115  causes the pistons  112  and  115  to rotate forward and to free the ports  10  leading to the combustion chambers  3 . The combustion chambers  3  begin filling with air.  
         [0059]     As pistons  111  and  114  continue to move, turned by the inertia of the rotor  82 , the results will be seen back in  FIG. 7 , where the cycle continues.  
         [0000]     Engine Cooling  
         [0060]     The toroidal shape of the engine lends itself to air cooling. In  FIG. 3  angled fins  31  on the rotating half of the engine  13  pull cooling wind over the engine, the wind being directed over the stationary half of the engine  12  by the shroud  40 . Fins  32  on the stationary half of the torus  12  help cool that portion of the torus  12  as the cooling wind passes over them. The general paths of the cooling wind are shown by the arrows  28  indicating the inlet paths for cooling air plus the arrows  29  indicating the path of the cooling air exiting the exterior of the torus.  
         [0061]     Preferably, the fins  31  and the fins  32  are cast as a part of the torus to increase the conductivity between the torus proper and the fins.  
         [0062]     Although fins  31  and  32  are represented in the drawings cited above, the number, design, and location of cooling fins requires a specific design for each specific application.  
         [0063]     The combustion chambers  3  may require extra fins or larger fins than the torus proper. Further, it may be desirable to separate the combustion chambers  3  from the torus proper, with only the ducts  10  and  11  connecting the combustion chamber  3  to the torus  12 .  
         [0064]     It is obvious that the torus may be designed with passages for water cooling in place of air cooling.  
         [0000]     Dividing The Torus  
         [0065]     The torus may be divided between the static half  12  and the rotary half  13  with the dividing line either parallel to the engine shaft or at right angles to the engine shaft, or some line between.  
         [0066]      FIG. 13  shows an engine in which the torus is split parallel to the engine shaft. The inner, rotating half of the torus  13  is connected by the rotor plate  50  to the shaft  51 . The outer, stationary half of the torus  12  is supported by the end bells  52  and  53 . The shaft  51  rotates within the two bearings  54  and  55 . The combustion air inlets  1  and exhaust gas outlets  2  are shown.  
         [0067]     Cooling fins  56  on the rotating half of the torus  13  pull cooling air into the space between the two end bells  52  and  53 . By centrifugal action, the flow of cooling air is out past the fins  57  on the stationary half of the torus. The cooling wind is directed with the assistance of the ducts  58 .  
         [0068]     Although  FIG. 13  shows the rotating half of the torus inside the stationary half of the torus, the inside of the torus could be the stationary half of the torus.  
         [0000]     Toroidal Spacing and Sealing  
         [0069]     There are various methods that may be employed to control the interstice between the fixed  12  and the rotary  13  halves of the torus.  
         [0070]     One preferred method is detailed in  FIG. 17 . A ring of bearing material  130  such as a bronze alloy is fastened, preferably, to the rotary portion  13  of the torus. A channel or channels  131  are cast or drilled into the stator  12  in order to feed lubricant to the surface of the bearing material  130 . The bearing material  130  serves a dual purpose; it provides a low-friction, long-wearing surface to enable the rotary half  13  of the torus to run against the stationary half  12  of the torus and it prevents or minimizes leakage from the inside of the torus to the atmosphere.  
         [0071]     Other means may be employed to separate and seal the two halves  12  and  13  of the torus. An enlarged section of one possible arrangement of a torus is illustrated in  FIG. 18 . A series of bearing balls  60  between the two halves  12  and  13  of the torus is held in position by the retainer  61 . This design may require that the exterior of the torus be elliptical in shape, as shown, in order to accommodate the bearing balls  60  plus a seal as described below.  
         [0072]     If the two halves  12  and  13  of a torus are held physically separated, as would be the case if bearing balls  60  were used, it would be necessary to seal the space between the two torus halves  12  and  13 . Where the two halves  12  and  13  of the torus meet there is a seal, designed to minimize leakage from the torus to the atmosphere and leakage past the pistons. There can be almost any number of designs for such a seal. One design is shown in  FIG. 18 .  
         [0073]     A segmented ring  70  is held in position by the two halves  12  and  13  of the torus. A compression spring  71  pushes the segmented seal ring  70  against the pistons (not shown).  
         [0074]     Another means for sealing the two halves  12  and  13  of the torus while holding he halves separated would be to use a combination of the bearing ball spacers  60  and the low friction bearing plate  130 , preferably with a torus having an elliptical outside shape. This design is shown in  FIG. 19 . Many other designs are possible.  
         [0000]     Toroidal Alignment  
         [0075]     The two halves of a torus divided at right angles to the drive shaft, such as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 , must have effective diameters that are exactly equal, regardless of torus temperatures, in order to insure minimum wear of the pistons, piston rings, and the torus halves themselves.  
         [0076]     It may happen that the two halves  12  and  13  will expand and contract uniformly with changes in operating temperature. If so, no further controls would be required. However, in case the two halves  12  and  13  do not maintain dimensional uniformly, means can be designed to determine the dimensional relationship of the two halves  12  and  13  continuously: The measurement of the two halves of the torus  12  and  13  can then be used as the primary element of a controller that would increase or decrease the cooling to one half of the torus.  
         [0077]     Similarly, in the case of an engine in which the torus is divided parallel to the engine shaft, as shown in  FIG. 13 , continuous measurement would be taken of the vertical spacing between the two halves of the torus  12  and  13  and the results of that measurement would again be used to control the cooling of one half of the torus. It is unlikely that a torus such as shown in  FIG. 13  would require horizontal position control but such control could be provided by using a measuring system similar to that described above and directing its output to move the rotor  13  horizontally.  
         [0000]     Stator and Rotor Slots  
         [0078]     It will have been noted that throughout the description of the operation of the toroidal engine a piston that is “pinned” to the stator is capable of moving some fixed distance while “pinned”.  
         [0079]     Between  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 , for example, it can be seen that the pistons  115  and  112  must be free to move clockwise about  30  degrees.  
         [0080]      FIG. 20  shows a cross-sectional view of the rotor  13 , stator  12 , and combustion chamber  3  of a torus divided at right angles to the drive shaft.  
         [0081]      FIG. 21  shows passages  10  that admit air to the combustion chamber  3  and passages  11  that connect the combustion chamber  3  to the torus  13  when the combustion chamber  3  is firing.  
         [0082]     Between the two passages  10  and the two passages  11  there is the slot  120 . In fact, the passages  10  and  11  are separated in order to permit the central location of the slot  120 . This slot  120  is one of those that accept the pin  83  from a “stationary” piston  76 .  
         [0083]     Although  FIG. 20  and  FIG. 21  show the piston pin stator slot  120  at one combustion chamber  3  only, the general design features apply equally to the area of the engine near the fresh air inlets  1  and the flue gas outlets  2  as well.  
         [0084]     The slots in the rotor  13 , although not shown, are only long enough to permit the piston pin  82  to connect the piston  76  to the rotor  13 . An analysis will show that the theoretical length of the slots in the rotor  13  will be the same as the length of the movement of the plunger plates  76  and  77 , when the piston is engaged by another piston.  
         [0085]     It should be noted that the slots  120  do not result in detrimental air or gas leakage past the pistons. Looking at the left side of  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 : The piston  115  that has compressed the air in the combustion chamber  3  acts to seal the compressed air in the combustion chamber  3 . Any tendency of the compressed air to leak downstream of the piston  115  would be stopped by the piston ring  81 . There would be no compressed air leakage forward of the piston  115  toward piston  110  because the compressed air pressure at port  11  is the same as the compressed air pressure at port  10 . The possibility of compressed air leaking forward of piston  110  would be stopped by the piston ring  86  in piston  110 .  
         [0086]     Thus, it can be seen that during the micro-seconds that pistons such as  115  and  110  are in the positions shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the piston rings  81  and  86  prevent air leakage past the pistons.  
         [0087]     It will be understood that the reasoning that applies to the left side of the torus applies equally to the right side of the torus and to the areas between the fresh air inlet ducts  1  and the exhaust ducts  2 .  
         [0000]     Lubrication  
         [0088]     The design of the torus engine presents special piston lubrication needs and possibilities.  
         [0089]     It is recommended that a lubricant be injected through the stator  12  in front of pistons immediately before they begin turning with the rotor  13 . In  FIG. 7  oil would be injected through the stator  12  just ahead of pistons  110  and  113  at the same time that the spark plugs fire and fuel is injected into the combustion chambers  3 . In  FIG. 11  oil would be injected ahead of pistons  111  and  114  just as they begin moving.  
         [0090]     Oil would be drained from the torus into a common container at appropriate points; for example, near the flue gas outlets  2  to collect the oil ahead of pistons  110  and  113 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , and between the ports  10  and  11 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . Lubricating oil would be recalculated.  
         [0091]     Another means of lubricating the pistons  76  and the walls of the torus  8  would be to use a gasoline/lubricating oil mixture as is done now with two-cycle engines. Other lubrication approaches may also be used.  
         [0000]     Multiple Engines  
         [0092]     It is possible for multiple torus engines of the designs described herein to be connected to a single drive shaft. Such an arrangement would be useful, for example, where extreme overall reliability is required, such as in aircraft.  
         [0093]     Multiple engine connections also could be used in automobiles and trucks where high horsepower is required for acceleration but only modest horsepower is required for steady-state driving.  
         [0094]     To enable the use of multiple engines, any number of engines could be connected to a common drive shaft by means of automatic clutches. In case of the failure of one engine, the intact engine(s) would continue running while the faulty engine was disconnected automatically from the drive shaft. In cases where less horsepower would be required, such as in automobiles, one or more engines could be disconnected from the drive shaft automatically by programmed controls.