Retrofittable overdrive assembly

A retrofittable overdrive assembly for use in an automobile which includes an engine, a transmission disposed in spaced relationship to the engine, and a torque converter disposed between the engine and the transmission, comprising

• a housing adapted to be retrofitted into the existing space between the engine and the transmission normally occupied by the torque converter for coupling to the engine to be driven by the engine at the speed of the engine;
• turbine means disposed within the housing consisting of an impeller and a turbine, the impeller being operatively coupled to the housing for rotation by the housing and the turbine being hydraulically coupled to the impeller for rotation with the impeller;
• and
• gear means disposed within the housing for producing an increase in speed by a particular factor relative to the speed of the engine, said gear means including first and second sets of ring, sun and planetary gears, the planetary gear in the first set being driven by the turbine, the sun gear being stationary and the ring gear being overdriven and being coupled to the ring gear in the second set, the sun gear in the second set being driven by the housing and the planetary gear in the second set driving the transmission.

A retrofittable overdrive assembly for use in an automobile which includes an engine, a transmission disposed in spaced relationship to the engine, and a torque converter disposed between the engine and the transmission, comprising

• a housing adapted to be retrofitted into the existing space between the engine and the transmission normally occupied by the torque converter for coupling to the engine to be driven by the engine at the speed of the engine;
• turbine means disposed within the housing consisting of an impeller and a turbine hydraulically driven by the impeller for movement with the impeller, said impeller being coupled to the housing;
• and
• gear means disposed within the housing including first and second sets of gears, said first set of gears including a stationary first gear, a second gear driven by the turbine meshed with the first gear and a third gear meshed with the second gear and overdriven relative to the second gear, said second set of gears including a first gear, driven by the housing, a second gear, and an overdriven third gear driven by the overdriven third gear in the first set, the second gear of the second set driving the transmission.

A retrofittable overdrive assembly for use in an automobile which includes an engine, a transmission disposed in spaced relationship to the engine, and a torque converter disposed between the engine and the transmission, comprising

• a rotatable housing adapted to be retrofitted into the existing space between the engine and the transmission normally occupied by the torque converter for coupling to the engine to be driven by the engine at the speed of the engine;
• an impeller disposed within the housing and coupled to the housing;
• a single turbine disposed within the housing hydraulically coupled to the impeller for movement with the impeller;
• and
• gear means disposed within the housing operatively coupled to the housing, said gear means including first and second sets of gears, said first set of gears, being coupled to said turbine, said second set of gears including a first gear driven at a speed greater than the speed of the engine, a second gear driven at the speed of the engine, and a third gear for driving the transmission at a speed intermediate the speeds of the first and second gears in the second set.