US 4,481,841 AGranted

Multiple engine drive arrangement

AssigneeDaimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft

InventorsJorg Abthoff, Hans-Dieter Schuster, Karlwalter Schmidt

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Abstract

A drive arrangement which includes a number of internal combustion engines which are adapted to be connected to a flow of working force through free wheeling or one way clutches and gears to a common output shaft. In addition to a flow of working force the individual internal combustion engines may be interconnected by another flow of a tractive force which is formed by gearing up gears and one way or free wheeling clutches. This flow of tractive force acts only in a direction of force flow which opposes the flow of the working force. The internal combustion engines may be mechanically arranged in parallel next to one another or in series behind one another with working or output shafts of the internal combustion engines being located parallel or in series one behind the other. The working shafts are connected with parallel gear stages which transmit at different ratios and have opposing force flows. Only one gear stage acts at a time in any direction of force flow due to an alternating arrangement of the one way or free wheeling clutches.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A drive arrangement comprising at least two internal combustion engines and connecting means for connecting the internal combustion engines to each other in such a manner that both engines drive a common output shaft or each engine is individually operable, characterized in that the connecting means includes a force transmission means arranged between the engines, said force transmission means includes a plurality of gear means each operatively adapted to transmit at different transmission ratios and provide opposing force flows, each of the gear means includes a free wheeling clutch means connected to an output shaft of the respective engines, in that the respective free wheeling clutch means are arranged such that only one of the gear means acts at a given time in a direction of force transmission, and in that the plurality of gear means includes a first spur gear mounted on an output shaft of a first of the engines for rotation therewith, a second gear means mounted on the output shaft of the first engine by a free wheeling clutch means, a second spur gear meshing with the second gear means and mounted on an output shaft of a second engine for rotation therewith, and a further gear means meshing with the first spur gear and mounted on the output shaft of the second engine by another free wheeling clutch means.

A drive arrangement comprising at least three internal combustion engines, the engines respectively have a high, intermediate, and low power output, and connecting means for connecting the internal combustion engines to each other in such a manner that both engines drive a common output shaft or each engine is individually operable, characterized in that the connecting means includes a force transmission means arranged between the engines, said force transmission means includes a plurality of gear means each operatively adapted to transmit at different transmission ratios and provide opposing force flows, each of the gear means includes a free wheeling clutch means connected to an output shaft of the respective engines, in that the respective free wheeling clutch means are arranged such that only one of the gear means acts at a given time in a direction of force transmission, and in that the plurality of gear means includes a first spur gear mounted on an output shaft of a first of the engines for rotation therewith, a second gear means mounted on the output shaft of the first engine by a free wheeling clutch means, a second spur gear meshing with the second gear means and mounted on an output shaft of a second engine for rotation therewith, and a further gear means meshing with the first spur gear and mounted on the output shaft of the second engine by another free wheeling clutch means.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.