Sorry Craig but this has been done already. A version of this planetary drive is already in every Prius as well.
The original marine version is now made by Ikanos but you may know it as Solomon Technologies.
It is a great idea in any case.
Tom
> I must remark that I hear all the time "if that could be done/if it
> was practical, someone would have done it." I find it's true much
> less often than you'd think.
>
> For example, I just realized last month that you can use a simple 3
> element planetary gear as a compact, infinitely variable torque
> converter to replace an entire automotive transmission. (My "Electric
> Hubcap" motor was named for where I want them to mount, not just for
> its pancake shape.) Just let the ring gear slip backwards at a
> controlled rate and you increase the reduction ratio between the sun
> gear and the planets assembly. You can have 1000 to 1 if it's needed.
> (Somewhat unintuitively, no energy is lost except frictional losses.
> The slip control is of course an important design detail. It can be
> controlled by a mechanical brake/clutch, possibly a magnetic brake,
> or with a motor/generator.)
>
> It took me 3 years to come up with that... and planetary gears have
> been around for maybe a century. If anyone else ever figured it out
> previously, they didn't tell anybody. There've been lots of people
> trying hard for a long time to come up with a good CVT or torque
> converter, and there are a number of strange, complex and inefficient
> designs out there.
>
> Craig
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