Gas turbine vehicle drive

Claim 1

A vehicle drive comprising, a. a gas turbine and a compressor and an electric generator rotationally coupled together as an assembly, said compressor being a piston compressor having air flow control means at its intake, b. a speed governor arranged to sense the rotational speed of the said assembly, c. a combustion chamber connected to receive the air from the said compressor and connected also to fuel supply control means and to the intake of the said turbine, d. the combustion chamber including a thermostat coupled to a fuel control valve in series with the said fuel control means whereby to limit tempertures within the combustion chamber by limiting fuel flow at excessive temperatuRes, e. a valve at the intake to the said turbine, said valve being coupled to the said fuel supply means an to air flow control means on the said compressor whereby said valve and said fuel control means and said flow control means act together under control of the said governor to which each is coupled to pulse the said turbine to maintain the turbine at a relatively constant speed irrespective of loads within the limits of the turbine design, f. heat exchange means between the turbine gas outlet and the air flowing to the combustion chamber from the said compressor, g. electrical coupling between said generator and motors connected to drive vehicle wheels and, h. means to control drive applied to the said wheels by regulation of the output of the said generator as it is driven at relatively constant speed by the said turbine.