Electric drive mechanism and method of operating same

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN ROAD VEHICLE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A ROAD TRACTOR VEHICLE HAVING A ROAD-ENGAGING DRIVING WHEEL, DIRECT CURRENT MOTOR MEANS MOUNTED ON THE TRACTOR VEHICLE AND COMPRISING THE SOLE PRIME MOVER ON THE TRACTOR VEHICLE AND CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVING WHEEL TO DRIVE THE SAME, A PLURALITY OF ELECTRICALLY RECHARGEABLE CALLS CONNECTED IN SERIES AND CARRIED BY THE TRACTOR VEHICLE WITH SAID SERIES HAVING AN OUTSIDE POSITIVE TERMINAL AT ONE END AND AN OUTSIDE NEGATIVE TERMINAL AT THE OTHER END, ELECTRIC CIRCUITS FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID CELLS TO THE MOTOR MEANS TO POWER AND VARY THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO THE MOTOR MEANS, A TRAILER VEHICLE CONNECTED TO THE TRACTOR VEHICLE, AN ENGINE-GENERATOR SET MOUNTED ON THE TRAILER VEHICLE FOR SUPPLYING A RECHARGING CURRENT AT A VOLTAGE HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE SERIALLY CONNECTED CELLS, AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT OPERABLE INDEPENDENT OF SAID CIRCUITS FOR VARYING VOLTAGE APPLIED TO THE MOTOR MEANS AND CONNECTED TO THE ELECTRICAL GENERATOR OF SAID SET AND TO THE TWO OUTSIDE TERMINAL OF SAID SERIES OF CELLS TO ELECTRICALLY RECHARGE THE SAME, AND SAID ENGINE-GENERATOR SET SIZED TO ELECTRICALLY RECHARGE SAID SERIES OF CELLS DURING MOTOR OPERATION AT MINIMUM POWER DRAIN BUT OF INSUFFICIENT SIZE TO ELECTRICALLY RECHARGE THE SERIES OF CELLS AT MAXIMUM POWER DRAIN.