HomeHow It WorksWhat It DoesWhat It AvoidsFront Wheel DriveStatus
 



This design is in progress. This highly efficient design has a low weight to size ratio. The start up and low regime mode of operation has two power paths involving the combining planetary. Power from the engine goes through the reducing and reversing planetary to the planet carrier of the combining planetary. The engine is also connected to the input ring (IN RED) of the CVT. The output ring (IN DARK BLUE) is connected to the sun of the combining planetary. See "How It Works" in the banner for an explanation of changing the ratio between the input and output rings.

At rest, the CVT increases the speed of the output ring with respect to the engine speed. So, with the carrier driven at less than engine speed and the sun driven at more than engine speed, the output ring of the combining planetary may be anything from reverse to zero to something less than engine speed.

When the speed of the output ring of the combining planetary is the same as the speed of the sun (which is connected to the CVT output ring), both the CVT and the combining planetary ring are turning the same speed. The output gear (IN YELLOW) is connected to the combining planetary for reverse, zero and low forward. Then a shift is made and the output gear (IN YELLOW) is connected to the CVT output for operation at less than engine speed to more than engine speed, i.e. overdrive.The low weight-to-size ratio and the simplicity of the parts combine to result in a low manufacturing cost.