Method of and means for driving a pneumatic engine

A pneumatic engine device comprising:

• a drive-unit system including a plurality of actuating cylinders connected in line, each of said actuating cylinders further comprising:
• an airtight pressure expansion chamber bounded at one end by a movable piston plate;
• means for filling said pressure expansion chamber with a predetermined amount of compressed air, and means for sealing said pressure expansion chamber;
• a pressure diversion chamber,
• means for connecting said pressure diversion chamber of an actuating cylinder to pressure diversion chambers disposed in each of said plurality of actuating cylinders, said pressure diversion chamber in each of said actuating cylinders having means for connecting said pressure expansion chamber to an external air supply unit;
• means for selectively controlling air flow to selectively transfer air through pressure equalization between said pressure diversion chambers, and between each of said plurality of pressure diversion chambers and said external air supply unit;
• a piston rod,
• means for releasably locking said piston rod to said movable piston plate;
• means for releasably locking said movable piston plate at a top dead center position in said actuating cylinder, such that when said piston plate is released from said piston rod by said releasable locking means, said piston plate will move along a distance in said cylinder in response to expansion of a predetermined amount of compressed air to be filled into said pressure expansion chamber;
• means for returning said piston plate to its locked position on said piston rod and thus for re-establishing an aerostatic pressure in said pressure expansion chamber generated by said predetermined amount of compressed air to be filled into said pressure expansion chamber, said piston plate returning means comprising said pressure diversion chamber, said air flow controlling means, air introduced into said pressure diversion chamber by pressure equalization induced by said air flow controlling means, and a small compressor means to make up the remainder of the air pressure not provided to said pressure diversion chamber by pressure equalization.