Turbine engine for automotive vehicles

Claim 2

A turbine engine for an automotive vehicle, comprising a rotatable drive shaft, a plurality of turbine rotors mounted on the shaft, a main compressed air tank, a compressor driven by the drive shaft and connected to supply compressed air to the main air tank, a distributor valve, means for supplying compressed air from the main tank to the distributor valve, connections for transmitting compressed air from the distributor valve to the drive side of each rotor, means operated by the drive shaft for continuously operating the distributor valve to cause compressed air to flow to the rotors in sequence, a manifold, connections between the delivery side of each rotor and the manifold, and a connection for supplying second stage compressed air from the manifold to the main air compressor.

Claim 3

A turbine engine according to claim 1, in which the distributor valve comprises a closed cylindrical casing the interior of which is open to the main air tank, a plurality of outlet ports in the casing the number of which is equal to that of the rotors and which are spaced axially of the casing, a rotatable cup shaped valve within the casing which is open to the interior of the casing and is connected to be rotated by the drive shaft, the valve cup shaped having a plurality of openings in its wall equal in number to that of the outlet ports in the casing, each of the outlet ports in the casing corresponding in axial position to only one of the openings in the wall of the cup shaped valve member and the ports and openings being spaced circumferentially of the casing and the cup shaped valve member, whereby the ports in the casing are sequentially supplied with compressed air from the interior of the casing.