VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION

摘要

A continuously variable transmission (10) including a driving shaft (22) connected to an engine output member (12) and a driven shaft (24). The shafts are interconnected by a steplessly variable coupling (26). A bidirectional gear drive mechanism (28) connects the driven shaft to a differential mechanism (14) having two output shafts (16,18) extending therefrom. The drive mechanism includes a two gear forward (50,52) and a three gear reverse (58,60,62) drive path each of which is controlled by a fluid actuated starting clutch mechanism (46 or 48). Each gear path is adapted to drive a transfer gear (44) which continually intermeshes with a ring gear (29) of the differential defining another gear mesh. By such construction, the output shafts and the engine output member may rotate in the same direction during a forward drive mode of operation.