Patent ID: 8226513

Claim:
A power plant for driving driven parts, comprising: a prime mover including an output shaft; a first distributing and combining device that includes first, second and third elements and has a function of distributing energy input to said second element to said first and third elements and a function of combining energy input to said first and third elements and then outputting combined energy to said second element, said first to third elements rotating while maintaining a linear speed relationship therebetween, during distributing and combining the energy, wherein the second element is coupled between the first element and the third element; a second distributing and combining device that includes fourth, fifth and sixth elements and has a function of distributing energy input to said fifth element to said fourth and sixth elements and a function of combining energy input to said fourth and sixth elements and then outputting combined energy to said fifth element, said fourth to sixth elements rotating while maintaining a linear speed relationship therebetween, during distributing and combining the energy, wherein the fifth element is coupled between the fourth element and the sixth element; and a speed-changing device that is connected to said third and sixth elements such that said speed-changing device is capable of changing a relationship between a rotational speed of said third element and a rotational speed of said sixth element, wherein said second and fourth elements are mechanically connected directly to said output shaft of said prime mover, and said first and fifth elements are mechanically connected directly to the driven parts.