Gas turbine engine for vehicle propulsion

Claim 1

In a gas turbine engine for driving a pair of wheels at a vehicle and adapted to be mounted adjacent to said wheels and including a rotor unit comprising a compressor and a turbine rotor driving the same, a combustion chamber having fuel burning means and being supplied with air from said compressor, means providing a gas flow path downstream of said combustion chamber, concentric shafts arranged in the gas flow path, said concentric shafts being aligned with the axis of the compressor/turbine rotor unit, first and second power turbine rotors mounted upon said concentric shafts and including a transmission comprising a common housing, a further shaft geared to said turbine rotor shafts within the common housing and adapted to transfer power between the power turbine rotors and the compressor/turbine rotor unit, the improvement including a power take-off shaft from the power turbine rotors coaxially aligned with said transmission shaft, a first planetary gearing, enclosed in a housing and including a sun wheel, a planetary wheel carrier and an enclosing ring wheel mounted upon said power take-off shaft, said sun wheel being carried by said power take-off shaft, upon which said planetary wheel carrier is rotatably mounted and a pinion with which said ring wheel is geared, means provided at said power take-off and at said housing for locking, at will, said planetary wheel carrier to either of said power take-off or said housing, a differential located about midway between said pair of wheels and two pendulum shafts to connect said differential with said vehicle wheels, an external gear wheel for driving the differential, and an external transmission shaft having ends, a gear wheel at each end for cooperation with said ring wheel pinion and said differential external gear wheel, respectively, connecting said first planetary gearing with the differential.