Torque-generating apparatus powered by piston buoyancy

A gas-powered apparatus, comprising:

• a tank containing a volume of liquid below a predetermined liquid level;
• a crankshaft rotatably mounted above said liquid level, said crankshaft having a main shaft extending along a longitudinal axis and rotatable about said longitudinal axis;
• one or more hollow pistons movably disposed within said liquid in said tank and connected to the crankshaft offset from said longitudinal axis of said main shaft, each piston of the one or more hollow pistons having an interior cavity, a trap door arranged at a top area of the piston, and an open bottom;
• and
• a manifold having an inlet to couple to a gas source, and having one or more controllable outlets, each one of said one or more of controllable outlets being disposed below one of said one or more hollow pistons, said manifold selectively injecting gas to the interior cavity of each piston of the one or more hollow pistons via the one or more controllable outlets, the gas having a density less than that of the liquid;
• wherein
• the apparatus is configured to adopt a first configuration in which the gas supply system is injecting gas into the interior cavity of at least one piston of the one or more hollow pistons while the trap door of the at least one piston is arranged in a closed position preventing fluid flow between the interior cavity and the outside of the piston through the top area of the piston, and further in which the gas injected into the interior cavity provides buoyancy to the at least one piston driving the at least one piston upward exerting a torque on the crankshaft.

A method of rotating a crankshaft comprises the steps of:

• providing a tank having a rotatable crankshaft, the crankshaft having a main shaft extending along a longitudinal axis and rotatable about said longitudinal axis, the tank further containing one or more movable, hollow pistons connected to the crankshaft offset from said longitudinal axis of said main shaft, each piston of the one or more hollow pistons having an interior cavity, a trap door arranged at a top area of the piston, and an open bottom;
• filling the tank with a liquid up to a liquid level arranged beneath the crankshaft such that the one or more pistons are disposed within the liquid;
• positioning at least one piston of the one or more hollow pistons at a bottom position within the tank;
• injecting gas into the interior cavity of the at least one piston while the trap door of the at least one piston is arranged in a closed position preventing fluid flow between the interior cavity and the outside of the piston through the top area of the piston, said gas injection causing the at least one piston to rise within the tank to rotate the section of the crankshaft about the longitudinal axis of the main shaft of the crankshaft;
• when said at least one piston reaches the liquid level, allowing the trap door to open due to an underlying pressure from the gas contained within the interior cavity of the at least one piston and permitting the release of the gas from the interior cavity of the at least one piston.